School is never out for the pro. This year was no different with small business owners demonstrating their commitment to life-long learning by downloading key pieces of business development.
Here are the most loved downloads for the small businesses of 2015:
1. Core Business Assessment – The Core Business Assessment provides smart business insight into business growth strategies.
2. The Stages of Business Growth & Development – Do you know which stage of growth and development your business is in? This chart defines your business stage so you can take the appropriate actions now.
3. Business Growth Strategy Worksheet – Business growth strategies are the decidable difference between your business and your competition. Download your free business growth strategy worksheet.
4. Bite-Size Chunks of Wisdom – Synnovatia’s small business coaching blog gives entrepreneurs the tools, tips, and techniques they need to grow their business. (When you subscribe, you make sure you never miss another free download.)
5. Strategic Planning Workbook – The economy may be uncertain but the future of your business doesn’t need to be in doubt. A strategic plan provides the framework for decision-making that translates into easy daily action steps to keep you focused and on fire.
6. The Daily Goal Planner – Those who achieve greatness in their small business learn to manage their goals rather than their time.
8. End of Year Business Assessment – Business growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It takes a keen eye, critical thinking, and unrelenting planning based on an objective assessment.
10. Features–Benefit Worksheet – Once your Buyer Persona is defined, learn how to “benefit-speak” to turn more qualified leads into satisfied clients for your small business.
Did you find your favorite? How did it enhance your business growth?
Ralph Waldo Emerson says it beautifully, “Your actions speak so loudly, that I cannot hear what you’re saying.”This year was no different. As 2015 draws to a close, small business owners from around the globe revealed what was most important to their business success by what they read.
As you sip on your holiday cheer, enjoy our most read blogs of 2015!
I Run a Small Business #LikeAGirl & Achieve Because of It – If running a small business #LikeAGirl means achieving in spite of overwhelm, conflicting priorities, and being scolded for ambition, count me in! (My personal favorite.)
Growing a small business in today’s highly competitive, fast-paced business environment is no small task. It takes courage, tenacity, commitment, and disciple. Although your business is small, the value it holds for you is not!
A survey conducted by Staples a few years back discovered that more than 80 percent of the 300 small business owners they surveyed said that they don’t keep track of their business goals. Yikes! At least they had goals.
I’m going to venture a guess as to the primary reason small business owners don’t set or keep track of their goals—they’ve yet to identify anything significant that makes a goal worth fighting for.
Beyond the Paycheck
There was a time when my business goals gave me direction, focus, and a sense of purpose—a reason to get up in the pre-dawn hours and work long past the setting sun. My business goals were a primary contributor of value—personally and professionally.
Bam! That’s when it hit me! The day that business goals lose their luster is the day that the value of the business begins to dwindle. Business goals, minus personal goals and objectives, are ineffective.
Don’t we all have personal goals we want to achieve? Sometimes, they become part of the “nice to have” or “wish I had” list. Most entrepreneurs refer to these as the “goals and achievements one invests in—once business goals are achieved.” That’s laughable, isn’t it. There’s always another business goal lurking around the corner.
Yet, isn’t business the tool by which to accomplish that which you want, need, and desire?
Give Personal Planning the Green light
What business owner isn’t familiar with the importance of planning—especially for the business. Add a personal plan and your business becomes invaluable!
Consider this simple exercise to turn your “wish I had” list into an actionable plan that gives your business new meaning, purpose, and inspiration.
What “nice to have” or “wish I had” desires lurk in the wrinkles of your brain? What personal goals and objectives are near and dear to your heart? Are you looking to build retirement? Have more time to spend with, and enjoy, your family? Is less stress and more energy important to you? How about the ability to send your kids to private schools? Hike the Camino de Santiago? Buy your first home? Purchase a second home? Recognize the things that mean the most to you—”if only.”
Do you remember the old MasterCard commercials? They compared the cost of different aspects of an activity to something that is priceless. It went something like this…
Someone’s careening off the edge of a cliff. The caption reads—Mountain biking in California? $90. The next picture shows a family on a sailboat that collides with the caption and begins to tip over—Sailing in Florida? $120. The final picture shows a guy getting bucked from a horse with the accompanying caption—Weekend at a dude ranch? $250.
And, finally—Adding a little adventure to your life? Priceless.
Coming up through the business world when I did, business behavior was much more formal. There was an expectation—albeit unspoken—of how one was to dress, behave, and act. Granted, the culture of business set the stage for professionalism but, it also caused many people to hide their true self.
Many business owners experienced the need to be someone they truly weren’t. It was as if they were a cardboard cutout of themselves—devoid of authenticity—to meet the unexpressed assumptions of others.
It happened to me, too.
Take a licking and keep on ticking
Early on in my coaching career, I was coaching a small business owner through a challenge. Wanting to be the most effective coach possible, I reached out to other coaches for insight.
In doing so, I got my hands slapped. What I was asking apparently had nothing to do with coaching. I was told I was advising or consulting…not coaching.
Yikes! I got “schooled.”
You see, the pure coaching model is about asking thoughtful, thought-provoking questions to help a client discover the answers within themselves. It’s a very effective model—when the client has a context from which to draw.
The small business owners, with whom I work, are masters of their craft. They are highly proficient—even gifted—in their particular field. Their domain knowledge or context of business concepts, however, sometimes fall short. It’s not that they aren’t capable. They have not yet had the entrepreneurial experience or training. Therefore, without context, the traditional coaching model leaves small business owners frustrated and disappointed with strategic business coaching.
Back to the experience that left its mark…
As a result of that “licking”, I found myself holding back—suppressing some of my talents, gifts, and passion. Certainly, my genuineness took a beating. As a result, business growth was, shall we say, lackluster for a few years. Additionally, my own business was much more stressful than it needed to be…until I decided I was willing to risk failure and be myself.
I had a similar conversation with a client recently.
Sensing the need to be someone else, he drug his feet when it came to asking for referrals. He agonized over the script. What would he say? How would he say it? The stress of it was so enormous that he completely shut down his business growth activities. The way in which the “business world” taught to acquire referrals was not in alignment with who he is. He wasn’t a sales guy; he is a relationship guy.
Curiously, I inquired how he would ask if he did it in his way. His response was brilliant. So authentic. So real. So him! Willing to risk failure by not following conventional wisdom, he launched enthusiastically into his relationship strategy. As his stress declined, his referrals grew.
He, too, was hiding his gifts, talents, and genuine love of people—to conform with the conventional wisdom and expectation of the business world.
Come out, come out, wherever you are!
The truth—for both my client and myself—is this: if it feels risky to be yourself because no one else is doing it your way, do it anyway.
You are “one-of-a-kind”. And, your business growth is dependent upon your ability to be who you truly are. Authenticity creates greater value for your client than merely providing a service or executing a task.
As you begin to express your legitimate self, you are able to tap into values, talents, and skills to use as tools to help you achieve more naturally—with less stress—and with considerable value to those around you.
In the words of MasterCard, finding the perfect business domain? $30. Printing your first set of business cards? $50. Treating your first client to lunch? $45.
Realizing business growth with authenticity and integrity? Priceless!
One aspect of small business HR that’s often overlooked is employee engagement. But getting your team members to invest emotionally in your company is a huge part of the equation for success. The benefits of employee engagement are numerous, and the strategies for achieving it are just as abundant.
career opportunities in your industry to a junior or senior high class?
If you have a retail business, how about a “buy one/give one” campaign where customers buy a particular product, like books or blankets or a specific toy, and you give the same product to a local children’s hospital, family shelter or inner-city school?
If you have a coffee shop, pizzeria or sandwich shop, how about holding a fundraising event and donating the proceeds for the day to a local homeless shelter or a local college scholarship fund or a charity close to the hearts of your employees?
Sponsor Organized Volunteer Days, that provide an experience with a low time commitment (1 day a year or a few hours every couple months) like a Habitat for Humanity build. Not every employee will want to take on big community investment projects, but many will want to feel a part of a corporate culture that values service.
Winning the Employee Engagement Challenge
When it comes to HR for small business, managers often neglect the philanthropic aspect of the job. Maybe you thought giving back only benefits the community—maybe you never realized it encourages employee engagement, thus boosting your business growth. Or perhaps you were under the impression that giving back and volunteering aren’t effective HR solutions. But science doesn’t lie. So if you’re not fostering prosocial behavior at your office, now’s the time to start.
At MJ Management Solutions, Inc., we know exactly what it takes to push your business toward success. We have the HR solutions to help you significantly increase your employee engagement. When you’re ready to learn more, give us a call.
Did you know that providing a chance for your employees to give back to the community boosts engagement? It may come as a surprise to you, but this theory is actually backed by science. It’s all about the concept of prosocial behavior, or doing something for the benefit of someone else. Prosocial behavior positively affects the individuals participating in it, and in return, their workplaces.
Creating an Environment Conducive to Employee Engagement
Of all the methods for increasing employee engagement preached about from business coaches nationwide, workplace philanthropy is possibly the least common. But it shouldn’t be. According to the 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey of employed adults ages 21–35, millennials who frequently participate in workplace volunteer activities are nearly twice as likely to be very satisfied with the progression of their career. In a report from Network for Good, “Employee engagement through cause is a vital means by which to strengthen employee relationships, enhance employee morale and even build critical skill sets and expertise. Plus, employees are hungry for ways to get involved in cause.”
Here are four ways that prosocial behavior through workplace giving and volunteering impacts employee engagement.
1. Productivity
Productivity increases when employees work together toward a common goal. This creates the sense that each worker is an integral part of a bigger team. As a result, every employee feels empowered and inspired to do their part, to not let the team down.
Workplace giving and volunteering is an effective method for fostering that desired team environment and the resulting productivity. Through this sort of prosocial behavior, employees strive to meet a common goal for their community—the community in which they all live and/or work. A common community equals a common interest.
2. Pride
Understandably, corporate pride is directly related to employee engagement. If an employee is ashamed of her company for whatever reason—whether it’s the culture, the lack of values, or management’s philosophy—she’s not going to hang around for long.
People desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves—now more than ever. In fact, last year the Huffington Post reported that Millennials care more about giving back than those who came before them. What better way to cultivate company pride and build employee engagement than by providing philanthropic opportunities for this social-conscious generation?
3. Gratitude
Gratitude is a strong emotion. It can change a person’s outlook on just about any situation, including a work environment. Employees who feel gratitude toward their employers are more likely to build a strong emotional connection with their workplace—and less likely to leave it.
We mentioned the desire of today’s worker to give back to her community. If you’re offering that as part of your company culture, she’ll be forever grateful to you for providing an outlet for her prosocial thirst.
4. Ethics
Philanthropic activity often results in a personal attitude that identifies with more ethical behavior. Think of it as do good, be good. Ethical behavior leads to ethical thoughts. Ethical thoughts lead to ethical people. And finally, ethical people lead to ethical businesses.
What happens when companies make a habit of practicing good ethical behavior as a whole? Employees begin to feel pride in their work, gratitude for their employers, and show a boosted level of productivity. See how it all comes full circle?
4 Ideas for Volunteer/Giving Opportunities
So you are convinced that volunteer or giving opportunities are a good idea for your business, but wondering what a small business can do? Your company’s cause initiative should be integrated into your employee engagement goals, workforce diversity initiatives, employee interests, and your investment commitment in your community. Here are 4 ideas, but you can come up with better ideas if you and your team put your heads together:
How about connecting with a neighborhood school and giving employees paid time to volunteer in primary grade classrooms, tutor in afterschool programs, or talk about career opportunities in your industry to a junior or senior high class?
If you have a retail business, how about a “buy one/give one” campaign where customers buy a particular product, like books or blankets or a specific toy, and you give the same product to a local children’s hospital, family shelter or inner-city school?
If you have a coffee shop, pizzeria or sandwich shop, how about holding a fundraising event and donating the proceeds for the day to a local homeless shelter or a local college scholarship fund or a charity close to the hearts of your employees?
Sponsor Organized Volunteer Days, that provide an experience with a low time commitment (1 day a year or a few hours every couple months) like a Habitat for Humanity build. Not every employee will want to take on big community investment projects, but many will want to feel a part of a corporate culture that values service.
Winning the Employee Engagement Challenge
When it comes to HR for small business, managers often neglect the philanthropic aspect of the job. Maybe you thought giving back only benefits the community—maybe you never realized it encourages employee engagement, thus boosting your business growth. Or perhaps you were under the impression that giving back and volunteering aren’t effective HR solutions. But science doesn’t lie. So if you’re not fostering prosocial behavior at your office, now’s the time to start.
Did you know that providing a chance for your employees to give back to the community boosts engagement? It may come as a surprise to you, but this theory is actually backed by science. It’s all about the concept of prosocial behavior, or doing something for the benefit of someone else. Prosocial behavior positively affects the individuals participating in it, and in return, their workplaces.
Creating an Environment Conducive to Employee Engagement
Of all the methods for increasing employee engagement preached about from business coaches nationwide, workplace philanthropy is possibly the least common. But it shouldn’t be. According to the 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey of employed adults ages 21–35, millennials who frequently participate in workplace volunteer activities are nearly twice as likely to be very satisfied with the progression of their career. In a report from Network for Good, “Employee engagement through cause is a vital means by which to strengthen employee relationships, enhance employee morale and even build critical skill sets and expertise. Plus, employees are hungry for ways to get involved in cause.”
Not sure how to integrate cause into your company’s
employee engagement strategy? We’re here to help.
Here are four ways that prosocial behavior through workplace giving and volunteering impacts employee engagement.
1. Productivity
Productivity increases when employees work together toward a common goal. This creates the sense that each worker is an integral part of a bigger team. As a result, every employee feels empowered and inspired to do their part, to not let the team down.
Workplace giving and volunteering is an effective method for fostering that desired team environment and the resulting productivity. Through this sort of prosocial behavior, employees strive to meet a common goal for their community—the community in which they all live and/or work. A common community equals a common interest.
2. Pride
Understandably, corporate pride is directly related to employee engagement. If an employee is ashamed of her company for whatever reason—whether it’s the culture, the lack of values, or management’s philosophy—she’s not going to hang around for long.
People desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves—now more than ever. In fact, last year the Huffington Post reported that Millennials care more about giving back than those who came before them. What better way to cultivate company pride and build employee engagement than by providing philanthropic opportunities for this social-conscious generation?
3. Gratitude
Gratitude is a strong emotion. It can change a person’s outlook on just about any situation, including a work environment. Employees who feel gratitude toward their employers are more likely to build a strong emotional connection with their workplace—and less likely to leave it.
We mentioned the desire of today’s worker to give back to her community. If you’re offering that as part of your company culture, she’ll be forever grateful to you for providing an outlet for her prosocial thirst.
4. Ethics
Philanthropic activity often results in a personal attitude that identifies with more ethical behavior. Think of it as do good, be good. Ethical behavior leads to ethical thoughts. Ethical thoughts lead to ethical people. And finally, ethical people lead to ethical businesses.
What happens when companies make a habit of practicing good ethical behavior as a whole? Employees begin to feel pride in their work, gratitude for their employers, and show a boosted level of productivity. See how it all comes full circle?
4 Ideas for Volunteer/Giving Opportunities
So you are convinced that volunteer or giving opportunities are a good idea for your business, but wondering what a small business can do? Your company’s cause initiative should be integrated into your employee engagement goals, workforce diversity initiatives, employee interests, and your investment commitment in your community. Here are 4 ideas, but you can come up with better ideas if you and your team put your heads together:
How about connecting with a neighborhood school and giving employees paid time to volunteer in primary grade classrooms, tutor in afterschool programs, or talk about .
– See more at: http://www.mjms.net/blog/4-ways-workplace-givingvolunteering-can-drive-employee-engagement/#sthash.mN8kVHfb.dpuf
MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.
Long gone are the days of the “used car sales” approach (with apologies to any colleagues selling cars). Today’s buyer is a different breed.
Thanks to the digital explosion, the sales process is now in the hands of the consumer—no matter what you may think. This new “consumer in charge” phenom begs the question—are you selling in the manner in which your consumer wants to buy?
I’m confused…
I said to myself on more than one occasion while recently upgrading my phone.
I was ready to buy. I knew what I wanted to buy. There was no sales funnel to pass through. It was relatively straightforward…until the sales rep (excuse me, I mean “consultant”) poked around my account.
The simple in-and-out, 15-minute process quickly turned into 2 hours of a crazy roller coaster ride. (Thank goodness I didn’t have a load of laundry waiting for me.)
The sales “consultant” was very pleasant, although I had trouble making a connection with him. His eyes darted left and right. He checked his phone numerous times. (Waiting for a text from his BFF, perhaps?) And, periodically, he engaged in a side conversation with a colleague. He was all over the map. Too much coffee? FOCUS, BUDDY!
His presentation of my account upgrade options was just as chaotic. I could do this…no, wait! Here’s an even better plan. Waaaiiiiiittttt…we have another that gives an even better deal.
Ask any of my colleagues and they would describe me as someone with a lot of energy who’s capable of rapid thinking. I’m decisiveness…except this particular day. I lost my mojo. The “consultant” downloaded information in a way that didn’t mesh with my internal CPU. We were on two different operating systems. Like iOS and Windows. It was punishing to process. I felt discomboobled!
BOING! It struck me. His selling style was not matching my buying style.
Are you connecting the dots?
Consumers tell us what they want—and how they want to buy. For instance, consumers engaged in purchasing an automobile expressed that, at the most, they want a 2-hour in-showroom buying experience. In actuality, the process is 4 hours.
What would your potential customers say about your buying process? Are you connecting the dots between your sales process and consumers buying behavior?
Over time, we develop “habits” and “patterns” of behaviors that we carry from one experience to another.
Recently, Hubspot asked for feedback on their newly launched support inbox. I used it to initially ask my questions, then reverted to email for further communication. During the call, and with some good probing questions by the facilitator, we uncovered a few key points of importance.
By understanding their consumer’s behavior, Hubspot redesigned the support inbox for greater consumer effectiveness and use. Here are just two of the insights gleaned through the process that changed by use of the inbox:
The support inbox was buried in the help section of the platform. This deterred me from “digging” for it. Hence, the reason for responding by email. (They brought it the forefront, making it much prominent.)
The “reply” button wasn’t intuitive. Being a long-term gmail user, I’ve grown accustomed to the location of the “reply” button. I’ve carried this “habit” into other programs. Therefore, if the “reply” button is not in my expected location, I look for other locations. If it’s not immediately apparent, however, I click out of the program and use programs that don’t cause me to lose valuable time hunting for what I need. (A “reply” button was added similar to that in gmail.)
Align Your Sales Process With Buying Behaviors
You don’t have to be Hubspot to understand your consumers buying behaviors. All it takes are a few simple steps to adjust your sales process to your clients purchasing patterns to spark business growth.
Understand your buyer persona. If you’ve not yet defined your buyer persona(s), don’t go any further. Make sure the sales course you chart meshes with the right buyer. Download a free buyer persona worksheet now.
Identify 3-5 current or former clients that match your buyer persona.
Schedule 30-minute intellegince seeking appointments with each client.
Ask probing questions to understand their buying habit for services and/or products like yours.
Hack your sales process to correspond with your clients buying behaviors.
Voila! It’s a match made in heaven that fosters trust, builds credibility, and promotes business growth. You can take that all the way to your shopping cart!
Ready to rock your sales and light a fire under your business growth? Let us coach you to create probing questions, interpret your clients buying habits, and set up your sales process.
Have you heard the good news? California is getting rain!
In preparation for El Nino, I recently engaged a local painting firm. Sounds almost as exciting as watching paint dry, doesn’t it? What makes this story valuable is what is to be learned to make sure business growth doesn’t inadvertently suffer when performance wanes.
The Paint Whisperer
We all play the role of customer in sales meetings from time to time.
Some companies are disorganized in their presentation. Uncertain of their process. Materials lack any brand identity. They leave you scratching your head—wondering how these companies stay in business.
Other companies sparkle. Their presentation is polished and professional, yet casual enough to ebb and flow easily with questions and concerns. Their materials are well-branded. Their process is standardized (which generally produces a better end product, by the way.) Most importantly, they understand their reputation is at stake with every stroke of the pen. These are trust and credibility builders.
This was that sort of meeting. This company was different. This company set the standard. This company does what it claims—provide a superior end-product. This company is concerned enough about their Yelp reviews to make sure performance is high. This company’s price is higher.
price + performance + value = Sale
Have you heard the saying, “When value outweighs the price, seldom is price an objection?”
This company did an exceptional job of building value—and backing it up with evidence. I was willing to pay the price for the outcome promised—a superior product.
No chocolate Easter bunnies here! The value built. The expectation set. The price paid. I made the decision to trust.
The performance? Well, it didn’t match the value + price expectation.
Work dries up. Change orders, or opportunities for additional work, vanish. The pipeline for future business from a particular source is capped off.
Referrals disappear. Consumers are more likely to share a bad experience (54%) with five or more friends than they are a good experience (33%). (The Impact of Customer Service)
Reputation is tainted. News, good or bad, travels fast. In fact, 58% of consumers are likely to share their experience with others. (The Impact of Customer Service)
Profit margins are reduced.Profit margins are squeezed, or evaporate completely, when corrections need to be made in order for a business to keep its promise.
So, yes. When performance is not up to the promise, it definitely hits where it hurts most—business growth.
The Fix For Broken performance
Make sure your business growth stays on its upward trajectory by diligently applying the following principles:
Make promises you can routinely, and easily, keep. Today’s consumers count on a consistent experience.
Manage expectations—yours and the clients. Use the tools at your disposal (i.e., blog, email, text, phone) to communicate and inform clients.
Get it right the first time. Fine tune your process to prevent costly re-work. And, when things do go a bit off the rails…
Take responsibility. The customer is always right—even when they’re not.
It’s one thing to say that “something” creates results, but when scientific studies verify its existence, I get downright giddy! The latest neuroscientific research on the influence of gratitude on business growth has me “grateful” for geeks.
Gratitude: A Tradition
From a young age, my parents taught me to be grateful. After all, there were “starving children in Biafra,” mom narrated, “who would be more than happy to eat” whatever was being served.
As a young whipper snapper, I had “plenty”. I had enough to eat, a good education, and clothes to wear, even though most were hand-me-downs. There was an empty lot for softball, the perfect hill for winter sledding, and lots of neighborhood friends like Delbert, Bobby, and Dougie.
What I didn’t realize—until much later—was the stress my parents endured to feed, clothe, and educate five kids on a meager salary. I didn’t know we were poor. Why? Gratitude was a way of life.
Many people didn’t grow up in an atmosphere of gratitude. They missed the opportunity to learn the importance of gratitude. And, although I grew up without the benefit of scientific research, I knew gratitude created a lasting impact.
The Merry-Go-Round Called Gratitude
Scientific studies on gratitude, and its intriguing influence, are growing rapidly. In fact, did you know that five-minutes a day writing in a gratitude journal can increase your well-being by more than 10 percent. This is equivalent to doubling your income. Yowsa!
According to the article, The Grateful Brain, “gratitude can have such a powerful impact on your life because it engages your brain in a virtuous cycle. Your brain only has so much power to focus its attention. It cannot easily focus on both positive and negative stimuli. It is like a small child: easily distracted.”
One of the most underutilized strategies for most small businesses is tapping into the unconventional method of business growth: growing from the inside out. It’s tough knowing where to start with an insider’s strategy that’s soft and squishy. So we turn to the tried (or is that “tired”?) strategies commonly utilized by most businesses.
Undoubtedly, traditional business growth strategies play an important role in business planning. However, can we make room for something more esoteric—like gratitude as a business growth strategy?
Drs. Blaire and Rita Justice reported for the University of Texas Health Science Center, “a growing body of research shows that gratitude is truly amazing in its physical and psychosocial benefits.”
What can gratitude do for you and your business growth? Here’s what science has to say…
Gratitude adds elasticity to our bounce back ability.
Gratitude fosters relaxation. Ahhhhhhhh!
Gratitude improves social behaviors which makes it easier to network. Studies show that those who are 10% more grateful than average had 17.5% more social capital.
Gratitude stimulates goal achievement. In one study, participants instructed to keep a gratitude journal for two months reported more progress toward their goals.
Many small businesses still manage human resources (HR) information manually—that is, paper records are kept either in file folders or in some cases, scanned and retained in a file on someone’s computer. When it is time to look for some information on a particular employee, or gather some data to support an initiative or set salaries for the coming year, there is no easy way to find the data.
Additionally, the person responsible for HR (generally the business owner or an “Accidental HR Manager”) finds that they are spending way too much time doing the paperwork involved in the routine, day-to-day activities instead of finding ways to save on employee-related costs, finding and hiring good talent and developing the workforce through training activities.
According to recent research by Ed Lawler and John Boudreau (Center of Effective Organizations), over 50% of an HR department’s time is spent processing information and answering employee questions.
Business challenges escalate the time and energy required by HR managers:
Limited staff and resources: Many small enterprises have one person responsible for benefits administration, payroll and routine HR administration.
Managing risk of litigation and compliance: How does one person stay on top of the ever-changing landscape of employment law and ensure that the business is in compliance and protected?
Managing payroll in an accurate and timely manner: When paychecks are late or have errors, employee morale is damaged and the company bottom line is impacted. HR’s credibility is damaged as well.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) news release for June 2015 data states that private employers spent an average of $31.39 per hour worked for employee compensation. Salaries and wages account for 69.5 percent of the costs, and benefits added another 30.5 percent—this amounts to over 30 percent of the operating costs in a typical organization. It is necessary, then to identify ways to improve results, increase efficiency and lower costs.
Want to explore how an HRMS can help your small business, but don’t know where to begin? Contact us for HR Solutions that are customized for your business.
HRMS Technology
Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) can help manage the time spent on routine HR tasks and mitigate exposure risks. This article is not to tout any particular HRMS system, but to inform the reader of the benefits of at least exploring the possibility of integrating such a system into the management of a business’s human resource function.
HRMS can eliminate much of the routine paperwork, automate many of the manual and time-consuming HR functions and free up the valuable time of those charged with the HR responsibilities.
For example, HRMS can impact your bottom line by:
Providing standard processes for key HR activities, organizing all employee benefits, payroll, attendance, training and recruiting information to prevent having to spend time searching for data.
Reducing the time necessary for data entry, creating reports and resulting in a more efficient operation
Eliminating duplicate data entry since the information will flow across the system, thereby making you more efficient and productive.
Helping to avoid fines, penalties and lawsuit threats by ensuring thorough recordkeeping and centralized data.
Assisting employees to manage their own benefits and make routine changes to contact information and changes to dependent status. It also answers many of an employee’s routine questions about payroll, time off and benefits.
Adaptability of HRMS
Begin with a system that fits your company today and be sure that it will grow with your business. It’s generally easy to expand today’s systems to add functions such as Employee Self Service and benefits enrollment capabilities. Employees appreciate the ability to make choices about benefits packages by comparing costs and coverage among the plans offered. HR can monitor the status of enrollment in real time.
You can even add on-boarding capabilities as your workforce grows and eliminate the tedious and time-consuming task of processing hiring paperwork. When these functions can be handled on-line, applicants, employees and HR are happier. Add to this the elimination of all that paper and you are on your way to being “green.”
Bottom Line
Implementation of an HRMS can have a huge impact on your bottom line, improve your organization’s efficiency and productivity, and bring consistency to your HR processes. This can positively impact employee engagement and morale.
I mentioned earlier that this was not to tout a specific system, but I do want to direct your attention to a few platforms I find work well for small to medium size businesses—take a look at these and decide for yourself:
Improving your bottom line and making your HR processes more streamlined isn’t difficult, and it doesn’t take a lot of money either. If you find your HR processes bogged down and a drain on your time and resources and you are beginning to think about how to use technology to fix this but don’t know where to start, we may have some HR solutions that will get you thinking and moving in the right direction. Contact us to begin the conversation.
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MJ Management Solutions, Inc., is a human resources consulting firm that provides small businesses with a wide range of virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. From ensuring legal compliance to writing customized employee handbooks to conducting sexual harassment training, businesses depend on our expertise and cost-effective human resources services to help them thrive.
Synnovatia is a strategic coaching firm that is detailed and knowledgeable about business. i have a small business that grew from $150K to $750K because of the goal setting and resources that Synnovatia provided. It saves me years of learning on my own.
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As you sip on your holiday cheer, enjoy our most read blogs of 2015! 
Early on in my coaching career, I was 
The truth—for both my client and myself—is this: if it feels risky to be yourself because no one else is doing it your way, do it anyway.
So you are convinced that volunteer or giving opportunities are a good idea for your business, but wondering what a small business can do? Your company’s cause initiative should be integrated into your employee engagement goals, workforce diversity initiatives, employee interests, and your investment commitment in your community. Here are 4 ideas, but you can come up with better ideas if you and your team put your heads together:
So you are convinced that volunteer or giving opportunities are a good idea for your business, but wondering what a small business can do? Your company’s cause initiative should be integrated into your employee engagement goals, workforce diversity initiatives, employee interests, and your investment commitment in your community. Here are 4 ideas, but you can come up with better ideas if you and your team put your heads together:
The simple in-and-out, 15-minute process quickly turned into 2 hours of a crazy roller coaster ride. (Thank goodness I didn’t have a load of laundry waiting for me.)
Consumers tell us what they want—and how they want to buy. For instance, consumers engaged in purchasing an automobile expressed that, at the most, they want 
Understand your buyer persona. If you’ve not yet defined your buyer persona(s), don’t go any further. Make sure the sales course you chart meshes with the right buyer. 
We all play the role of customer in sales meetings from time to time.
For example, HRMS can impact your bottom line by: