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Vacations are an important tool to help employees take some time off and recharge every once in a while. However, improper planning and coordination before a vacation can leave employees and their employers in a difficult situation.

Without the right steps, a vacationing employee can lead to missing deadlines, confused customers or clients, and stressed out workers if you don’t take the right steps to prepare for someone’s absence. Here are four things your employees should do before they head out on a well-earned vacation.

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Eddie woke up one frigid, Ohio, winter morning as he always did. That day, he assumed, would be no different than any other day. He arose to the tune of his 4:30 a.m. alarm clock sounding, what his wife and children often called “the fall-out alarm.” His wife darted awake as well, but quickly rolled back over and off to sleep again. 

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Americans work the majority of their lives with the hope of one day retiring and enjoying the fruits of their labor. Unfortunately, more and more people have to work well into their golden years without any end in sight. This is especially true for people that work for small businesses for the bulk of their career.

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Business owners should feel like shouting “mayday” when preparing for pay day. Unfortunately, payroll management can be a time-consuming, frustrating ordeal for owners if they don’t have any help. 

Payroll needs to be done securely, accurately, and on-time, which leads to extra aggravation, but it’s better than having several employees questioning where their paychecks are or why they’re incorrect. Online payroll helps business owners streamline the process by giving them the tools to make management faster and easier. Here are three big benefits of using online payroll for your business. 

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Snow and ice is nothing new for people in the Midwest, but winter weather still creates plenty of headaches each year. While many people have to deal with heating bills, bad road conditions, and frighteningly large icicles that ominously hang overhead, winter weather can pose a few other problems for business owners.

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Back in June of 2016, I wrote a blog that talked about some of the changes that were being planned over at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. As 2017 kicks off, there’s more to talk about.

According to an interview in Smart Business, there are some distinctions that may have slipped under the radar for some small business owners.

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As a sales rep for a Professional Employer Organization, I have spent the last four years talking with business owners who were worried about the impact of the Affordable Care Act on their businesses and employees. In many cases, I helped them find a cost-effective solution that helped them gain control of one of their most uncontrollable costs. Sometimes, I didn’t. Sometimes, the uncertainty of the previous two election cycles caused them to freeze up, maintain their status quo and hope for the best.

Now, we are about to embark on the Donald Trump era. For many, this is a sign that the ACA is going away and they can go back to things as they were. Perhaps so, but were things all that great before?  

The reality is that it’s impossible to predict with any certainty what will happen in the next 12 months, let alone the next two years. A recent article on Smart Business’ website does have some thoughts on it that I would like to share and expand on.

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Employment Practices Liability Insurance is an often overlooked form of insurance coverage for small business owners, and many do not realize its significance until it’s too late. EPLI protects employers from employee liability damages and defense costs from claims brought by any employee alleging claims such as sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and retaliation.

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Happiness can be very lucrative for a business. Unfortunately, unhappy employees can hurt bottom line and make it harder for businesses to grow. Employee morale can be affected by a number of factors, including work conditions, coworkers, and personal matters, but regardless of the reason, disengaged workers can lead to future issues for business owners.

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Employers often wonder if a wellness program can truly fit into their workforce demographic. Every employee’s needs can vary depending on their job description and working environment. Nowadays, this could mean work that is sedentary office-based, labor intensive, extended shifts, travel, working from home, and more. The good news is that there is a way to provide specific information to any diverse demographic. 

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