New Federal HIRE Act May Not Increase Employment, Says Business Owners
When the federal Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE) became law, its purpose was to provide tax incentives to employers to hire more of the high number of unemployed. Employers (including nonprofit organizations) will be exempt from paying their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid from March 19 through Dec. 31 for new employees hired after Feb. 3, 2010. An important fine-print point is that, to qualify, those new hires must have worked 40 hours or less during the 60 days prior to their hire date. Employers also receive a $1,000 credit on their business income tax...
Read MoreCell Phones: Every Employee Has One…But Do You Have a Use Policy?
It seems that everyone has a cell phone; and, according to one industry report, more than 90 percent of your employees have them. Just because cell phones are virtually ubiquitous doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have an employee cell-phone-use policy. For some companies, safety is the paramount benefit: drivers and delivery personnel being involved in accidents because they were on their cell phones. For other employers, it’s the protection of sensitive data and the bottom line as well as the company’s image that make an employee cell-phone policy so important. There are also Internal Revenue...
Read MoreEmployer Concerns About Employees’ Access to Social Networks Leads to Stricter Policies, According to New Study
The findings of a spring 2010 Robert Half survey reveals that many of the respondents (chief information officers) are troubled at how much social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, distract employees during the workday. This has led to 38 percent of those surveyed stating that they have implemented stricter rules relating to employees’ access to social network sites during the workday. The new survey as well as a similar Robert Half survey in October 2009 found that the number of CIOs with policies that don’t allow any access to social network sites has remained same at a bit more than...
Read MoreEmployers Can Retain Key Employees and Improve Productivity with Personal Growth Opportunities
Successful business owners know that much of their success depends on their key employees being more productive and serving as positive-attitude role models. Employers can help workers develop the skills and attitude to be leaders and contribute to the company’s success by providing personal growth opportunities. When employees prove to be high performers, employers can support their drive to be even better employees and individuals in four areas of personal development: education and training, a healthy lifestyle, being fully engaged in their work and reduced job-related stress. Employers...
Read MoreThe Pros and Cons of Telling Employees That the Business Is Being Sold
In a free-enterprise economy, businesses of all sizes are bought and sold with regularity; it’s a perfectly natural occurrence in a dynamic business environment. Employees, however, don’t typically view the sale of the company for which they work as anything but “natural.” Their reaction is more likely to be stunned, confused and even angry. That leads to a dilemma that many business owners face, especially small-business owners: When should employees be told that a business is being sold? According to one business broker, strict confidentiality is the best strategy....
Read MoreSurvey Suggests that Employers Are Addressing Employees’ Personal E-Mail and Web Use
As technology continues to leap forward, many employers continue to develop and apply personal e-mail and Internet use policies, as the data from the 2009 American Management Association and the ePolicy Institute survey would seem to suggest. According to the survey, 27% of businesses have implemented personal blog posting policies. Half, or 50%, of companies surveyed do not allow employees to send or receive personal e-mails at the workplace. Slightly more than 25% of businesses have terminated employees for violating company policies on Internet use. Nancy Flynn, executive director of the...
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