Small Business Advice

3 Things that Don’t Look Like HR Problems But Actually Are

Unwritten rules, multi-tasking employees, a sense of shared purpose – these things can be essential to getting a business off the ground. But they can also cause major problems as you start to grow.

In this blog post, we’ll address three common DIY scenarios that can lead to HR-related problems, along with ways to solve them.

How to Save Your Startup from Costly Hiring Mistakes

How to Save Your Startup from Costly Hiring Mistakes

Most startups and small businesses can’t afford the costs that associated with employee turnover. Tips to improve recruiting, interviewing and on-boarding so you’re more likely to end up with a great team.

We’ve written in the past about what to do if you make a hiring mistake. Now we’ll offer some insight on how to avoid that problem in the first place.

First, some context: a bad hire isn’t just a people problem – it’s hurts your bottom line. Replacing an employee can cost more than 200 percent of their salary – not the kind of money most startups can spare.

Preventing bad hires and avoiding the associated costs requires a two-pronged approach: first, focus on recruiting the right people. Second, make sure you set them up for success in their first days, weeks, and months on your team. Let’s dig into both.

Handling Employee Performance Issues: When There’s More to the Story

Handling Employee Performance Issues: When There’s More to the Story

If your business has 15 or more employees, you’re obligated to follow ADA guidelines for providing reasonable accommodation to employees with disabilities. Here’s how to do that.

Managing an underperforming employee is one of the trickiest jobs business leaders have, especially if you’re a startup or small business without a head of HR to turn to for guidance.

The job gets even more complicated if an employee has a disability, which is what we’ll dedicate this blog post to. “Disabilities” don’t just include things like using a wheelchair or having a vision impairment: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines “disability” broadly, including conditions like…

Why Incubators & Coworking Spaces Need an Employee Company Handbook

Why Incubators & Coworking Spaces Need an Employee Company Handbook

Good fences make good neighbors, and good policies make good shared workspaces. We make the case for company handbooks at incubators and coworking hubs.

When we talk to business owners about coworking spaces and tech incubators, they tend to focus on the positives: amenities, learning from and networking with other business owners, and the opportunities to develop their business with help from experts.

One thing that doesn’t seem to come up much: house rules – the kinds of policies that would normally be outlined in a company handbook.

That’s a problem. In fact, it’s a problem not only for for the organizations running these spaces but also for the businesses considering working from the shared space. Without policies in place, there’s no clear protocol for how to behave if something goes wrong.

Here’s a look at why shared working spaces need HR policies and how you can put these policies into action if you’re in charge of running such a space.


What Benefits Must Small Businesses Legally Offer Employees?

What Benefits Must Small Businesses Legally Offer Employees?

Starting a business is full discoveries and learning experiences. Once you hire your first employee, you discover there are a variety of rules and regulations you do have to follow, including the benefits you’re required to provide your employees. 

To be clear: by “benefits,” we don’t just mean value-add perks that help you recruit and retain top-level employees (like a keg of cold-brew in the break room). We’re talking about benefits mandated by state and local governments, like paying into unemployment insurance.

So which benefits are optional and which are you legally required to provide?

Which are mandated by the state and which by the federal government?

Read on for a guide to make sure you’re offering the right benefits to your employees and staying in compliance with the laws where you live.

How to Offer Benefits as a Small Business

How to Offer Benefits as a Small Business

While we can all agree that there are many benefits to working at a small business (avoiding bureaucracy, trying new things, knowing everyone in your company), the most important benefits are the benefits benefits. I’m talking health insurance. Retirement plans. Paid leave options. Meaningful stuff.

So how can you, a small-business owner, provide these kinds of benefits and still have the time and money to run your business? And maybe more to the point: how can you provide benefits that are actually competitive with what your team would get at a much larger company ?


What is a PEO and Why Do You Need One?

What is a PEO and Why Do You Need One?

A professional employer organization (PEO) helps manage your HR operations, so your business can run smoother. PEOs handle payroll, provide employee benefits, HR software systems, expertise and much more.

A PEO is a Professional Employer Organization. We’re not all the same, but generally, we’re HR experts who help small-business owners save time, worry less, and access better employee benefits for a better price. 

Our experts take care of four main areas:

  1. Payroll & HR Administration: We handle payroll, paperwork (like employee onboarding and filing forms by important deadlines), and other admin duties that eat away at your free time.

  2. Compliance: This includes workers’ comp, exempt and nonexempt status, workplace policies, and other legal requirements that keep you up at night.

  3. Benefits: We help SMBs offer big-business benefits plans by pooling our clients’ employees for increased buying and negotiating power. Translation: better benefits at a lower cost.

  4. Infrastructure: Whether you’re 5 or 500 employees we provide HRIS systems, processes and procedures to help your HR ops run smoothly.