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Inflation increases The Hidden Costs Of Small Businesses

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:42:52 +0000

Inflation exaggerates the hidden costs which can affect a small businesses’ performance and longevity.
Even if any small business employs a financial savant on its team, there are a number of. hidden costs that can rapidly become apparent and made all the more cumbersome during times of economic inflation, as witnessed with the US’s economy throughout 2021.
According to Jay Jung, founder and Managing Partner of Embarc Advisors inflation is defined as the decline of purchasing power over a specific timeframe as the prices of goods and services in an economy increase during that same period. For small businesses, in particular, this means that not only are their own internal costs higher, but they also tend to have to raise the prices of their own products and/or services to customers.
Jung offers some of the most common ways in which inflation creates hidden costs for small businesses.
Impact on Financials: During periods of inflation, the cost of business operations subsequently increases. Materials used for manufacturing or production, the transportation of goods, and labor costs all rise parallel with economic inflation. This, in turn, heightens a business’s cost of goods sold (COGS), forcing them to raise their prices to consumers in order to stay out of the proverbial financial “red zone.”
Inventory concerns: Inventory is a double-edged sword; too little and your business won’t be able to turn a profit by meeting customer demand, but too much can force businesses to sell off excess inventory at lower profit margins. This is especially risky during periods of economic inflation, as even the reduced cost of a good’s excess inventory may not off-shoot the cost of inventory storage or wasted inventory in the event that not enough inventory can be sold quickly enough.
Customer Experience issues: During periods of inflation, the first sign of its impact on business almost unilaterally comes from consumers. Suddenly, the same product or service they purchased a few weeks or months ago is now higher. This, in turn, can cause tension between the consumer as your customer and the experience they have with your business, prompting a stream of negative online reviews that only further harm your business’s reputation and perception to other customers.
Reactionary responses to inflation: When your small business begins experiencing the ramifications of inflation, it can be tempting to start immediately implementing new initiatives or methods to mitigate its impact. However, these reactionary responses more often than not only serve to further harm your business’s performance. For example, a small businesses’ reactionary responses to inflation might appear in the form of lay-offs of otherwise outstanding employees (or even entire teams), leading to sudden drops in the quality of your products or services.
Solutions for small businesses: There are a number of steps small businesses can take to remain competitive in the face of inflation. For instance, monitoring your competitors’ pricing can spur small businesses to act accordingly, modifying their own prices in response to inflation and periods of growth or decline in consumer demand and spending behaviors.
Additionally, monitoring industry wages and salary increases for certain roles can better position small businesses against inflation by offering stronger incentives than their competitors. Lastly, should a small business be able to invest in automation, this can also increase productivity and profit margins during periods of inflation, benefiting company stakeholders and customers alike.

Jay Jung, Founder & Managing Partner — Embarc Advisors

Section:

HR Administration

5 Steps To Ease Hiring An Independent Contractor

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 14:42:57 +0000

An independent contractor can change the way any business operates for the better.

According to Lesley Pyle founder of HireMyMom.com outsourcing parts of a business, small business leaders can take advantage of the opportunity cost associated with delegating task-based assignments.

Hiring an independent contractor need not be difficult. In fact, it essentially involves two simple steps:

1. Defining your needs and resources
2. Completing the required paperwork and processes to hire an independent contractor.

Defining Your Needs: Determining the scope of work is the first step in hiring. This creates a realistic overview of the position and helps clarify responsibilities, timeframe, and estimated number of hours needed to complete the project. Be sure to include both the primary skills needed and your desired results from the contractor’s role:

Primary responsibilities and skills needed
Desired results from the task or role

Independent contractors typically trade on niche skills. For example, freelancers, like artists, editors, and writers, are often independent contractors, highlighting the wide variety of roles you may consider hiring for. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has set guidelines for determining if someone is an employee or an independent contractor for you to consider.

Find the Right Resource: When you decide to hire an independent contractor, you take it upon yourself to find the right person for your needs. Niche platforms like HireMyMom.com source qualified candidates specifically looking for remote or contract work. You can save time and money by turning to a site dedicated to matching qualified professionals with small businesses.

Paperwork and Processing: Finding the right contractor isn’t the end of the story. There are a few more steps business leaders must follow before they can start supercharging their business efficiency through contractor work.

Collect the Right Forms: Filing paperwork often seems like a chore, but the benefits deserve attention. The right forms offer clarity, protection and peace of mind for both you and the contractor.

Securing the proper documents at the beginning of the relationship will ensure you are getting off on the right step. According to The Balance Small Business, there are several forms to collect and keep on file:

A completed W-9 tax form.
A contract
A resume and reference information.

Additional Forms to Consider Depending on the Scope of Work:

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
A non-compete agreement
A non-solicitation agreement

Laws can vary by, country, state, and country, particularly if you’re hiring out of your local region. Moreover, these laws can be difficult to understand on your own. Consult an attorney to make sure your business doesn’t run into issues in the future.

Bring in a Pro to Answer Any Questions: Laws relating to employment status and taxes can also be confusing. The IRS offers some guidelines for making the correct choices. A tax attorney or accountant can answer specific questions and provide advice when hiring people or businesses to partner with.

Lesley Pyle is the founder of HireMyMom.com, a boutique service connecting Small Businesses with Virtual Professionals across the country.

Section:

HR Administration

Steel Cutting Company Uses PEO To Ease Growth

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 20:17:28 +0000

Retaining talent in the steel coil processing business is not easy.
Cutting steel is a dangerous job, and as for Andes Coil Processors keeping the best people on board can be even more challenging.
As a fast-growing business doubling in size in three years, the HR needs of General Manager Angie Nocktonick was constantly changing.
She adds, “When small businesses experience this type of rapid growth, the company’s needs can often end up becoming the de-facto HR lead as they are closely connected to the administrative operations.”
Nocktonick also admits that initially she struggled with the added responsibilities of HR and employee management.
“I was not familiar with the proper management and reporting tools that could help address the evolving issues of our employees as our business grew. I was under a huge amount of pressure to meet the day-to-day needs of our people, as well as set time aside to think long-term about engagement and retention to ensure we were well poised for growth,” she says.
For Nocktonick, ultimately, it became too much for one person to take on.
“We needed to find a true HR solution, and we needed it fast,” she says.
Nocktonick points out for example, the company’s medical premiums started rising; therefore, the cost of insuring employees was going through the roof, and at the same time workers compensation premiums were going up.
At that point in time, Mocktonick says she had Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) reaching out to her weekly.
“We knew the solution was available, but we didn’t think it was appropriate for our business. At first, we believed the common misconception that if we went with a PEO, we would lose control of our company,” she remembers.
“I can understand why many businesses might be nervous as there is a real fear that your employees might not be your employees anymore. Once I learned more about the benefits of co-employment, I quickly understood that PEOs help you to retain control as you can better focus on the core business needs,” she adds.
Nocktonick also describes the processing dirty steel as not a glamorous job with safety a huge concern to her company
As a result, Nocktonick says, “One of our biggest challenges has always been retaining quality people who are willing to work the hours, and in the environment that we have, over the long haul. Not only do we have to provide solid wages and sound benefits, but we also need to demonstrate excellence and consistency when it comes to having a safe work environment. Once we get great people in the door, we need to do more than a lot of other businesses in order to keep them here, and the things we need to do are unique. “
By partnering with a PEO, ADP TotalSource®, Nocktonick says her company has been able to attract and retain top talent with meaningful benefits that are on par with much larger companies.
Adding she says, “they are meeting the company’s specific business requirements – for example, our PEO offering provides a dedicated safety person, who helps us identify areas of need and recommends programs to make our environment safer and more compliant with the latest industry regulations.”
One final thought from Nockonick, “This partnership has brought so much peace of mind. As soon as we started the PEO process, we felt very comfortable in co-employment. Acting as a true extension of our team, ADP TotalSource helped us not only navigate our growth smoothly but thrive while doing it. They gave us back control as we could focus on the core business while they provided HR guidance and dealt with administrative tasks. And, on a personal note, gave me the industry knowledge so I too am able to thrive in my career.”

Section:

HR Administration

Small Business Leaders Seek Americans With Disabilities Act Rules

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 17:37:15 +0000

Small business leaders need to know what are their fundamental obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

These regulations apply to businesses with more than 15 employees, is to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified disabled employees that enable them to perform the essential functions of their jobs. This obligation applies throughout the employment process – from hiring through termination.

Attorney Mauro Ramirez of Fisher Phillips offers these guidelines:

First, identify the essential functions of the job position: During the hiring process, the ADA does not require employers to provide disabled applicants preferential consideration. However, a hiring decision must be based on sound, business-related reasons and not an applicant’s disability.
From the ADA’s perspective, these decisions should focus on whether a disabled applicant or employee is “qualified.” A “qualified” individual is one who satisfies the requisite skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements of the position the individual desires or holds, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the position. Thus, to determine if an applicant is qualified, an employer must first identify the essential functions of the position sought. The employer may then ask the applicant whether and how he can perform such functions.
Ideally, the essential functions will be documented in a job description.

Reasonable accommodations do not cause an undue hardship: Once hired, an employer does not have to provide a reasonable accommodation that would cause an “undue hardship.” Undue hardship is defined as an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as an organization’s size, financial resources and the nature and structure of its operation. An action that is reasonable for a large employer may be unreasonable for a smaller employer.
To determine whether an accommodation is reasonable, an employer must engage in a thoughtful “individualized” assessment. “Blanket” or “one-size-fits-all” policies are contrary to the ADA’s requirement for an “individualized” assessment. This includes inflexible leave policies. Therefore, although the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to businesses with over 50 employees, affording leave may constitute a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for smaller employers.

ADA does not prohibit employers from firing disabled employees: If a reasonable accommodation is not available and the employee cannot perform the essential functions, the employee is not a “qualified individual with a disability” and, therefore, may be subject to lawful termination. Hence, an individual’s ability to maintain employment while disabled often rests upon the employer’s ability to determine the availability of a reasonable accommodation. This means that an employer must be prepared to adequately explain the reason for denying an accommodation request.
Employers, therefore, should be vigilant of the importance of the interactive process. If conducted in a thorough manner – whether an accommodation is granted or denied – at its conclusion an employer should have a reasoned, documented explanation for its actions. In light of such evidence, an employer is much more likely to withstand a subsequent legal challenge.

Section:

HR Administration

PEOs Are Advantageous For Small- and Medium-size Business

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Mon, 07 May 2018 14:01:06 +0000

In today’s world of regulations, administering employees has become an often onerous task.
More importantly, employee administration has become a legal trap for many small businesses.
Leaders like you of small- and medium-sized businesses have a vision, build and inspire a team, want to make money, and do something meaningful.
You want to run a business while insuring that your employees are paid, receive the best benefits and all employment regulations are met.
Just look at some of the key responsibilities of employee administration: workers’ comp, 1099s, W-2s, payroll administration and related tax filings, disability insurance, PRO administration, etc.
They all take time away from focusing on other critical aspects that makes your business successful.
An outsource alternative exists: PEO (Professional Employer Organization). PEOs provide services to between nearly 180,000 SMBs employing an estimated 3.4 million people.
A PEO can help your business get the benefit cost savings and perks of a large company along with employment related compliance; plus streamline your payroll, HR and other back office functions.
Here are some of key advantages to PEOs:
Co-Employment: PEOs can take on such responsibilities because of a practice called co-employment.
With this contract, a PEO will handle payroll administration, and related tax filing, plus provide HR support and access to benefits.
Your company will retain responsibility for daily operations and management of employees.
This sharing of responsibilities allows you to focus more on your employees and running your business.
Save Money: PEOs have collective bargaining power; they are able to get better rates for benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, workers’ compensation, commuter, gym memberships, and more. Because the PEO is negotiating for a large pool of employees, they can get your small- or medium-size business access to better benefits at lower rates
Free Up Time: Small- or medium-size businesses never takes a lot of time to run. There always seems there is more to do than hours in the day. With a PEO handling the employment-related administrative work, you get multiple hours back every day or week to focus on what matters.
Be Compliant, Avoid Fines: Each year more than 33% of small businesses get fined for making payroll mistakes. PEOs are experts in employment-related compliance; they can help you with your payroll and filings, and in most cases file it for you.
PEOs offer many similar services, but they are not all the same. Each PEO has different service providers, benefit packages and HR tools unique to their company. Here are a few things you will want to look out for in a high-quality PEO that helps your business:
Access to Quality Benefits: health (medical, dental, vision, HSAs/FSAs), short- and long-term disability, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, on-demand primary care services, commuter benefits, bike shares, gym memberships, among others.
Payroll Processing and Tax Filing: automatic direct deposit payroll, pay vendors and contractors, and direct deposits; plus integrate with the existing software you are using. In addition file tax documents such as W-2s, 1099s, 940s, and 941s on your behalf. Provide compliance support: new hire reporting, Workers’ compensation, W-2 and 1099 filing, employment practices liability insurance, unemployment filings, ACA filings (1094-C and 1095-C), employer payroll filings (940 and (941), and statutory disability insurance.
Customer Service: allow you to access customer support through a variety of means (telephone, Slack, chat, email, text). Other services: HR Consulting to help you address complex HR questions; a Resources Center to see if you are up-to-date on the many labor and employment laws; and HRIS (human resources information services) Tools to manage paid time-off, onboard new employees, store important documents, access HR templates, etc.
In 2017, the IRS approved the first certified PEOs (CPEOs). They are subject to ongoing bonding, audits, and IRS reporting, so you can be confident that the CPEO you select is being held to the highest operational standards. That leaves you time to focus on other aspects to grow your business.
While adding to employee administration overhead, a PEO solution can be a path to greater success.

How Small Businessses Can Use New Tax Law To Their Advantage

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 14:36:27 +0000

As small business leaders consider more efficient tax-prep process, 2018 will be even more complicated because of the new tax act that was introduced by the government.
What is important is that the new act is generally viewed as a win for small businesses.
According to Kevin Miller, CMO of Neat even in a flat year profit wise, most small businesses will be incurring significantly lower tax liability as compared to 2017, leaving enterprises open to various financial opportunities.
Adds Miller, small businesses may want to use some of the additional capital they saved on taxes to hire more employees, but a new aspect of the tax act called the Qualified Business Income Deduction will make them take a closer look as to if new employees should be W-2’s or 1099’s.
The difference between a W-2 and 1099 employee is that W-2’s payroll taxes are automatically deducted from their paycheck and paid to the government through the employer, while a 1099 is an independent contractor who is responsible for calculating and remitting their tax liabilities.
The Qualified Business Income Deduction, which applies to pass-through entities like sole proprietorships, S-corporations and partnerships, affects new employees because it is limited to the lesser of:
• 20% of qualified business income, or
• 50% of the total W-2 wages paid by the business
This means a small business that adds or employs mostly independent contractors would have a small W-2 limitation and in-turn, a small Qualified Business Income Deduction. There are additional factors, like benefits and overtime, but it is certainly something a small business owner should consider and may want to discuss with their accountant.
The new tax act also features a change to meals and entertainment expenses. Under the previous act, client entertainment was deductible by 50%, so a small business owner could expect the government to chip-in when they wanted to treat their best customers, but under the new act, the employer should expect to pay entirely for that quarterly round of golf.
Deductions as they pertain to internal team meals are also different under the new act. The government will no longer pay 50% of internal staff meals, like weekday lunches or after work happy hours, unless the business is traveling. If traveling, staff meals are then deductible by 100%.
While small businesses try and get a better understanding of the new tax act, it is vitally important that they set up a system that lets them efficiently collect and record business receipts and documents because meals and entertainment are not the only things deductible. Despite the changes in the new act, general deductions available to small businesses include:
• Professional Fees (Accountants, Lawyers, Business Consultants)
• Advertising and marketing (Business Cards, Google Listings, Social Media Ads)
• Repairs and Maintenance (Computer or Copier Repairs)
• Education (Industry Events or Seminars)
• Software (Accounting Apps or Website Software)
With so many possible deductibles, small businesses will want to make sure they are collecting expense receipts year-round and today’s modern technology makes it easier than ever. With modern tools, small business owners can simply snap a photo of their expense receipts and upload the information to popular accounting software, like QuickBooks.
This also allows owners and managers to share their important documents with accountants and bookkeepers, avoiding a shoebox full of crumbled receipts, which will ultimately lead to a stress-free tax season that maximizes earnings.

Section:

HR Administration

Real Time Technology Means Today’s Training Differs From Yesterday’s

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 16:38:05 +0000

Today’s fast paced world needs massive amounts of training ‘’in the moment,’’ particularly in the digital world.
Many company learning and development departments have started responding with the needs of immediate learning by creating small amounts of learning, called micro learning.
According to Pierce Ivory, Marketing Director of Advance Systems, this approach is critical for ‘’just in time’’ training. For many companies this is standard operational procedure.
But, according to Ivory, there are many more options available to help employees improve their skills or learn new skills.
Moving Training into Today’s Real Time World: Deloitte’s 2017 survey of Corporate Learning revealed that companies are now very concerned about improving employee careers and transforming corporate learning. Learning technology is finally moving forward as traditional learning management systems are replaced or complemented with numerous technologies used in content, distribution, videos and mobile usage.
An important point of concern for both employees and companies is the idea that humans will likely live for 100 years. This means that humans can expect to work for 60 years. Most of us grew up with the assumption that a career consisted of learning the skills for a career, working during the career period, and, then retiring for the remainder of life. This is now changing to a growing need for continuous learning during our career(s) because of the fast pace of technology and the increased demands of change in order to accelerate productivity and profits.
The future for both companies and employees is change and change must be frequent. Continuous learning is and will be, more critical to business success. Digital organizations are at the forefront of change as these companies demand that their learning and development departments deliver learning that is always available and that this availability includes a wide range of mobile programs.
These companies are demanding ‘’real-time’’ learning. This type of learning is more than one instance of training/learning and must be available ‘’when needed, as needed’’.
Real-time training/learning is a live, real-time working environment that provides learning as it is needed. This allows employees instant availability to learn by connecting to needed information in order to accomplish tasks at the exact moment it is needed. This is, in reality, a ‘’productivity’’ platform that is always on and available to all employees. For example, an employee is putting together a new process for his team. He needs to know how to do one simple task. Rather than sitting through days of training for the entire process, he simply goes on-line and looks up the solution he needs. Learning time? About three minutes, as compared to the old-style learning of 24-40 hours.
According to the 2017 Deloitte Insight on Learning and Careers, ‘’ Virtually all CEOs (90 percent) believe their company is facing disruptive change driven by digital technologies, and 70 percent say their organization does not have the skills to adapt. This doubt reflects the fact that skills are becoming obsolete at an accelerating rate. Software engineers must now redevelop skills every 12–18 months. Professionals in marketing, sales, manufacturing, law, accounting, and finance report similar demands.’’
Solutions for Real Time Training: One of the possible ‘’instant’’ solutions is the advent of low cost or free, high-quality continuous learnings that are offered to both employees and companies. For example, the Deloitte Insight survey recommends ‘’Khan Academy, Udacity, Udemy, Coursera’’ and many others are available online instantly.
Additionally, many progressive companies are utilizing real-time learning that is delivered digitally by employees and shared with other employees. GE recently shared data on their creation of ‘’Brilliant U, an online learning platform that offers employee-driven learning across the company. Thirty percent of GE employees developed content and shared it with their peers during the first year of Brilliant U.’’
Many other companies are actively looking for available new learning tools at all levels of technology for all levels of their employees. Their goal is to provide a first-class learning experience which promotes learning for the full 60 years of careers and the resultant 60 years of career learnings.
Additionally, as continual movement across organizations becomes standard, organizations are providing employees’ opportunities to adapt through ‘’intelligent assistance.’’ One of the primary companies leading the way is AT&T. They state that they ‘’ have invested $250 million for employees’ education and development programs for approximately 14,000 employees with a focus on continuous career development (learning).’’
AT&T’s stated that they believe they have a ‘’fundamental obligation to reskill their workforce and expects that this group will change roles every four years.’’ They add that ‘’continual learning will benefit the company and the employees as they learn new skills and advance their careers.’’
Technology is driving continual change; as technology drives the future of work, businesses must look further into the future to determine increased real-time learning strategies. Technology will be of no value if employees cannot quickly learn to utilize the new technology. Doing so results in improved employee productivity which results in business success.
Productivity in Real Time: Productivity is the ‘’holy grail’’ of U.S. business and companies now understand that an increased focus on improving their workforce results in greater productivity which results in greater profitability.
Real time learning can provide the needed training for increased knowledge and productivity. Those companies who create environments in which employees can continually learn are rewarding themselves and their employees. Employees are more valuable when they learn new skills and/or refresh their current skills. Even better, when employees also have access to data and decisions are backed accordingly, they can easily perform higher level tasks. And those tasks have improved accuracy, quality and time to complete as they quickly move forward to other tasks.
Real time learning is here to stay and we will soon forget the old style lengthy learning processes that were time consuming and often non-beneficial. As we move forward to probable lengthened careers, we can look forward to real time learning as it helps our careers, keeps us on the path of career progression and helps avoid the boredom we once experienced in a repetitive task environment. Life is good and we’re glad to be in this area of continual technology and real time learning.

Section:

HR Administration

Employees Are Critical To Long Term Small Business Success

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 14:05:56 +0000

Training functions own arguably one of the most important roles in business – getting the best from their people. In business terms, the chief learning officers leads the ‘end-to-end’ people processes, yet, still this group can be hard-pressed for their functions to be regarded as a ‘business essential’.

Andy Lothian is Chief Executive of Insights Learning and Development. Positioned in dual roles as CEO and Head of People for a global learning and development company, Insights, he knows how vital it is for today’s C-suite to realize the importance of investing in people.

Here are a few areas he believes will help build into business cases:

Let the data speak for you: Every training function needs to be able to use clear metrics to provide quantitative data on the outcomes of learning programs. This type of credible data validates the importance of investing in people and allows people functions to move into trusted business advisory roles. Business expert, Peter Drucker, famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” By using hard data to substantiate the value of soft skills, training functions can begin to tell their story with confidence and evidence.
Underpin strategic priorities with people projects:Any type of development initiative can have value to employees, but it is only talent development programs that are intrinsically tied to strategic business goals that can yield organizational success. To get the green-light from the C-suite, CLOs must be able to connect development initiatives with business priorities. In his work published by Harvard Business Review in 1998 titled “A New Mandate for Human Resources,” author and professor Dave Ulrich said, “HR should not be defined by what it does but by what it delivers – results that enrich the organization’s value to customers, investors and employees.”
Make an offer they can’t refuse:Lastly, and potentially most importantly, training leaders need to brush up on their audience and make the C-suite an offer they can’t refuse. This means they have to present training information and tell the people story in the way executives are looking for – essentially, making it easy for them to get on board. Author and founder of HR Capital Source Jac Fitz-enz said, “Talent managers’ ability to maximize HR’s value is now married to their ability to talk in understandable terms. It’s more than just running your service. It’s making a financial contribution to your organization. If HR doesn’t add financial value, it has a limited future.”

Most managers would first think of competitors or economic changes as the biggest risks to their business, but it’s arguable the biggest risk to business success occurs when people development is not considered a business essential. People investment, training and development in today’s business landscape is not just an HR interest, but rather, an opportunity that should be shared by all business leaders. Training leaders must not only focus on moving the needle on the value of soft skills, but positioning the function as an enabler of business success by showing human capital is equal to – or more important than – financial capital.

Andy Lothian is President and Head of People for Insights Learning and Development a successful global development company.

Section:

HR Administration

Five Reasons Small Business Leaders May Not Be As Influential As They Think

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 18:35:51 +0000

A company title does not determine the level of employee influence/
Author and small business leader Stacey Hanke of Stacey Hanke Inc. knows from which she speaks.
She adds, “You can imagine how many times I hear the following misconceptions.

I communicate all the time. I’m Comfortable, therefore I’m a good communicator.
When I know my topic, it’s easy.

Stacey believes small business leaders need to be careful with these two words: “Comfortable” and “easy.
According to her,”they do not equal influence. It is a natural human tendency to base our opinion of ourselves on how we feel when we communicate rather than on the facts of how we actually look and sound. Our thinking is, “I feel good, therefore I am good.”
Says Stacey, “more often than not, what we feel inside doesn’t translate to what listeners are seeing and hearing.”
According to her, the third excuse is that “our titles determine the level of influence we have.”
Continues Stacey, “Influence is not a badge of honor. It’s a choice that takes discipline and a lot of hard work every day.”
“One of the reasons that leaders believe they’re more influential than they really are is because the definition of influence is flawed. There’s a misconception of what influence is and an outdated, inadequate understanding of what it means to be influential,” she adds.
“You may be familiar with this definition: the ability to motivate people to take action. This is true, but it’s not the complete picture. This definition misses a key component of influence. Influence is more than turning it on when you think you need it the most,” says Stacey.
Stacey says there are five crucial factors:

Influence is Monday to Monday – your body language and message are consistent during all interactions, no matter whom you’re talking to and what medium you’re pushing your message through. If you have ever set a New Year’s Resolution or you know individuals who have, you have to be all in, Monday to Monday. You can’t eat healthy Monday to Wednesday and slip the rest of the week. Influence requires the same level of discipline Monday to Monday.
Influence means you have the ability to move people to take action long after the interaction occurs.
Influence is built on verbal and nonverbal communication.
Influence is measured not by how you feel but by the results you consistently achieve.
Influence is a critical skill that can be developed by anyone through feedback, practice and accountability.

Accomplishing these definitions of influence is difficult because we live in a new world of work; it’s noise 24/7. Think about how many messages you have already received today. We have noise from our own dialogue and the multitude of messages we receive 24 hours a day, every day.
The critical first step to taking a closer look at your level of influence requires you to be open-minded, vulnerable and committed. Influential communicators acknowledge that they don’t know everything, and they are open to self-discovery.
To enhance your influence, you need to evaluate your communication based on facts, not feelings. You need to get to the heart of what is really going on by experiencing your communication through the eyes and ears of your team and colleagues.
Applying this practical and immediate advice will help you gain a greater understanding of how you communicate and continuously grow you and your team’s influence.

Stacey Hanke is the founder and communication expert of Stacey Hanke Inc. She is the author of Influence Redefined: Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday and Yes You Can! Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action.

Section:

HR Administration

Where Bad Hires Hurt Your Business the Most

dmazzella@is-incorp.com — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 17:54:16 +0000

The true cost of a bad hire affects two major areas of any business: cash flow and productivity.
To help combat this problem, Adam Robinson co-founded Hireology.
According to Robinson either can have a very negative effect on long-term growth.
The Effect a Bad Hire has on Cash Flow: A bad hire may seem like a bump in the road but is much more of a dent from a financial perspective. Today, some organizations utilize hiring platforms to fish out the best pool of candidates for a position within their company while many are still relying on their gut. Employers want to keep hiring costs low but soon realize that a new hire comes with a price tag they may not have expected. On average, the cost to hire new employee is close to $4,000. Of course, hiring costs vary by industry and region, but prove to be very costly for everyone involved in the hiring process –especially considering on-boarding, training, and recruiting costs.
The first order of business a new employee must take care of is the paperwork that comes with the job. This process includes the ever-popular “payroll signup” form that ensures they’re on the company’s payroll.
Once a bad hire is placed onto the payroll, companies are throwing cash out the door and receiving very little business benefits in return. A business owner is consistently paying wages, federal, state and local payroll taxes. As soon as a bad hire departs, they are hit hard by their insurance company, which has just decided to increase their unemployment insurance withholding rate.
From a business owner’s point of view, a bad hire is equivalent to watching someone torch an entire year in salary. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost of a poor hiring decision can equal 30 percent of the individual’s first-year potential earnings. In nearly all cases, it is always better to have an unfilled position – no matter how painful – than to hire a warm body and pray it works out.
The Effect a Bad Hire has on Productivity: While the cash flow impact of a bad hire is substantial, the larger impact comes from the massive production costs incurred by placing a bad hire into your business.
A business owner and their team spend time trying to train and retain the new employee in addition to managing existing team members. The amount of time that adds up in the end when it comes to training a new hire will absolutely drain your productivity. Then, if the bad hire doesn’t pull their weight, it can cause your brand to lose market share or even fail.
Another cost associated with bad hires is the wasted resources spent training and working to retrain these employees. Training sessions cost a business not only production time but also money. As soon as the bad hire is making their way to the door, you and your employees are thinking that the resources could have been used to train new, more effective employees. You’re back on the market searching for a someone who will actually be worth the investment and the employees who were training them begin questioning the hiring team’s decisions. In some cases, bad hires can even cost a business their best employees if their workloads become unmanageable. When workloads get to that point, management-level employees can no longer move business initiatives forward and employees even begin to question the morale of the company itself. When morale is down, productivity goes down too because they are concerned about hitting targets and training new employees.

One way to combat low employee morale is by building a strong and intentional company culture. At my company, Hireology, we put a strong emphasis on culture fit when looking for the best candidates to hire and encourage our customers to do the same. We know that successful businesses have employees that are a solid cultural fit--not just a candidate with the right skills.
Not only does a business need to make culture a priority, it also needs to make their clients one.
Of course, business owners like to believe they’ve built such a strong relationship with their clientele that it can withstand a bad hire, however, there is definitely a negative connotation to high turnover, especially if a bad hire was in a role that required them to interact with customers. Customers can get the impression that your business isn’t stable if they are talking to different day-to-day contacts every week.
While there are some red flags to watch out for during the hiring process, most businesses are unable to determine which candidates embody the anatomy of a bad hire and many employers only begin to identify a bad hire once they actually begin working. A business is better off taking the time to fully vet applicants and to seek more qualified talent. In the end, it will boost your team’s morale and help your business thrive.

Adam Robinson is the co-founder and CEO of Hireology – the integrated hiring and retention platform that empowers multi-location, owner-operated, and independently owned businesses to build their best teams with confidence. He's the author of 'The Best Team Wins: Build Your Business Through Predictive Hiring' available at www.TheBestTeamWins.com.

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HR Administration