• HR consulting firms provide specialized guidance and support for businesses in multiple areas, from strategic planning to performance management.
• By leveraging the expertise of a dedicated HR consultant, companies can gain fresh insights and accelerate their business transformation.
• At EmPower HR, we understand your business’s unique needs and create personalized strategies to drive your success. Contact us to get started!

Every business faces unique HR challenges. From navigating compliance to managing employee relations, the to-do list is endless and time is always running out. That’s where HR consulting steps in, offering expertise and insights to transform organizational structures and cultivate a thriving workplace environment.

A human resource consulting firm can cover a lot of ground, such as crafting effective recruitment strategies, implementing diversity initiatives in the workplace, or designing a stellar onboarding process.

Read on to learn how HR consulting can elevate your business and provide a tailored plan to address your current challenges.

Let’s jump right in!

Understanding the Power of HR Consulting

First thing first: What is HR consulting? Short for Human Resources Consulting, HR consulting refers to a specialized service provided by professionals or firms with expertise in various aspects of HR management.

An HR consultant provides strategic advice, support, and customized solutions to companies seeking to improve their workforce management practices and increase employee engagement.

Here are some of the many areas where HR consulting can help companies:

• Strategic planning
• Recruitment and selection
• Employee engagement
• Performance management
• Training and development
• HR compliance
• Diversity and inclusion

By leveraging the expertise of HR consulting, you can unlock the true power of your workforce, creating a competitive advantage and paving the way for success.

Strategic Steps for Business Transformation

Transforming your business through HR consulting involves strategic planning and implementation. Here are some key steps to guide your business transformation journey:

• Know your starting point. Assess your current HR practices, policies, and procedures. Identify areas of strength and areas that need improvement.
• Define your goals. Clearly define your business objectives and goals. Determine how HR initiatives can support these objectives, whether it’s improving employee retention, increasing diversity, enhancing performance, or achieving compliance.
• Involve key stakeholders in your transformation. This includes senior leadership, department heads, and employees. Seek input, gather feedback, and ensure alignment with your business priorities.
• Work with HR consultants to develop customized solutions tailored to your business needs and goals. This may involve designing strategic recruitment plans, implementing performance management systems, or establishing diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Implement effective change management strategies. To ensure a smooth adoption of the new HR practices, make sure to communicate openly with employees about the reasons for change, provide training and support, and address any concerns.
• Embrace a culture of continuous improvement. Regularly monitor and evaluate your HR initiatives. Ask your employees for feedback, track key performance metrics, and make adjustments along the way.
• Measure the impact of your HR transformation efforts. A few key business metrics to keep in mind are employee satisfaction, retention rates, productivity, and profitability. Use data-driven insights to assess the effectiveness of your strategies and make informed decisions.
• Remain adaptable and flexible. Continuously reassess your HR strategies and adjust as necessary to stay competitive and responsive to evolving needs, market dynamics, and trends.

The Role of HR Consulting Partnerships

Engaging in a partnership with an HR consulting firm can boost your business transformation efforts in various ways.

These are some of the benefits of working with an HR consultancy firm:

• Specialized expertise: HR consulting firms bring specific industry knowledge to the table. By partnering with these professionals, you gain access to a diverse team with experience in various HR domains, including recruitment, talent management, and compliance.
• Objective perspective: External HR consultants offer an objective perspective on your organization’s HR challenges and opportunities. They can identify blind spots, uncover hidden inefficiencies, and offer fresh insights that you may not be aware of.
• Tailored solutions: Rather than offering fixed solutions, HR consulting partnerships work closely with your team to understand your organizational culture, challenges, and objectives, and craft customized solutions that align with your strategic priorities.
• Resource optimization: Instead of hiring full-time HR staff or overburdening your existing employees with additional responsibilities, you can tap into the specialized skills and resources of consulting partners on an as-needed basis.
• Risk mitigation: HR consulting partnerships help mitigate risks associated with HR initiatives, such as legal compliance issues, regulatory changes, and reputational risks. Consultants are always up-to-date with industry trends and emerging regulations, providing proactive guidance and support to ensure your business remains compliant and resilient.
• Accelerated results: HR consulting partnerships can accelerate the pace of business transformation by providing access to best practices, proven methodologies, and efficient implementation processes. Consultants bring a wealth of experience and industry insights, helping you avoid common pitfalls and achieve results more quickly.

Conclusion: Embrace Transformation with HR Consulting

HR consulting can go a long way in unlocking the full potential of your business and helping you navigate HR challenges, from compliance to employee engagement.

Looking for a personalized approach to HR? At EmPower HR, we take the time to fully understand your unique goals and challenges and provide dedicated HR consulting services. We believe that having a solid foundation is the key to long-term success, so we focus on ensuring your HR strategies align with your goals and values.

Let’s get your business ready for sustained growth! Contact us to learn how an HR consultant can help.

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But what is the best way to address evolving employee expectations? This post outlines 9 HR best practices that small business owners should tackle this year.

What Are HR Best Practices? (And Why They Matter)

HR best practices are the guiding principles that businesses keep in mind when managing their relationship with employees.

They set the groundwork for fostering a positive workplace culture, while improving operational efficiency, and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.

No matter the size of your business or who oversees your HR efforts, you should set some time aside to discuss HR best practices and define how to bring them into the workplace.

9 HR Best Practices to Follow this Year

1. Get High-Quality Talent on Board

In such a competitive landscape, small businesses might find it harder to attract top talent than larger organizations.

To bridge this gap, you need to adopt a strategic and proactive approach that resonates with potential candidates.

Here are three actionable tips to discover top-tier candidates — and get them to say YES!

• Leverage local networks. Tap into your local communities and networks to identify talent. Building relationships with local universities, attending community events, or participating in industry-specific gatherings can give you access to a pool of skilled professionals who are already connected to the area.
• Highlight company culture. Emphasizing your business’ unique culture and values in job ads and recruiting materials can attract candidates looking for more meaningful and impactful work experience.
• Build a strong online presence. Refresh your company website and be active on social media. Potential candidates often research companies online before applying, so be sure to make a good impression.

2. Design a Memorable Onboarding Experience

Onboarding is much more than paperwork and basic orientation. In fact, research shows that companies with a solid onboarding program see 50% greater employee retention and 62% greater productivity than those who don’t implement one.

Effective onboarding is about making new hires feel supported and integrated into your company culture.

Here’s how to improve your onboarding process:

• Create a 30-60-90-day plan for your new hires. Provide clear expectations and set realistic goals right from the start. Be sure to include regular check-ins to follow up on their progress.
• Let your best employees be part of the training process. Encourage employees to have an active role when someone joins the team: this not only speeds up the new hire’s learning curve but can also foster supportive relationships.

3. Invest in Training: If your Employees Grow, You Grow

When you invest in training, you invite employees to develop their skills, keep them motivated, and encourage them to do their best work.

Having a solid training program also gives you a competitive edge and helps you stay ahead of the curve with new trends and technologies.

Even if you are a small business with a limited budget, there are creative and cost-effective ways to implement training programs to improve your employees’ skills and contribute to your business growth.

A few ideas to plan your training strategy for the year ahead:

• Provide diverse learning options, from e-learning courses to mentorship programs.
• Emphasize soft skills training, enhancing communication, customer service, and leadership abilities.
• Are you growing fast? Align training initiatives with your strategic goals and train employees in the skills they’ll need in the near future.

4. Embrace Regular and Constructive Employee Feedback

Providing regular feedback contributes to a healthy work environment. But employee feedback is not just about evaluating performance and showing employees what to improve — it’s also about encouraging open, honest communication.

Keep this in mind for your performance evaluation conversations:

• Be solution oriented. Your goal is to help employees grow and improve their performance. Keep your feedback actionable and focus on the future.
• Recognize and reward employee contributions, motivating outstanding work.
• Promote a culture of continuous feedback rather than limiting it to annual reviews.

5. Stay Up to Date on Labor Laws & Regulations

Staying compliant is a critical responsibility, regardless of the size of your business. It involves staying on top of the latest regulations related to data protection, employment laws, health and safety, corporation taxes, and industry-specific regulations, among other areas.

Understanding this amount of information might be overwhelming, but it’s key to avoid costly fines and penalties.

Here’s how to navigate compliance nowadays:

• Use HR compliance management software to stay up to date with compliance requirements, get access to real-time reporting and analytics, and ensure you are ready for audits.
• Consider partnering with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). A PEO helps you handle compliance and minimize risks while providing expert assistance and support. Check out our compliance services at EmPower HR to learn how we can get you covered.

6. Foster Team Building and Employee Engagement

If finding top talent is a challenge, keeping your workforce actively engaged is an even bigger one. In small businesses, a close-knit team is crucial for success. Research shows that teams with high engagement levels were able to reduce absenteeism by 81% and boost profitability by 23%, among other benefits.

How to promote engagement among employees?

• Organize regular team-building activities to strengthen relationships. From a team lunch at the office to an off-site team-building day, there are plenty of options to allow workers to share some quality time together, stay motivated, and encourage collaboration.
• Define specific strategies to keep remote and hybrid workers engaged. Recent studies have shown that remote and hybrid workplaces have an eroding connection to the purpose and mission of the organization. To address this, schedule meaningful conversations on a weekly basis, encourage open communication channels, and provide remote-specific professional development opportunities.

7. Encourage Flexible Work Schedules

Flexible work schedules allow for a more harmonious work-life balance and contribute to improved job satisfaction and productivity.

There are different models you can implement, such as remote work, flextime, or compressed workweeks. Choosing the right model for your business will depend on your workforce’s preferences and needs, as well as your goals and priorities.

If you are implementing flexible work models this year, you can consider:

• Allowing employees to set flexible working hours to fit family needs and responsibilities.
• Emphasizing results over rigid working hours, focusing on productivity. To prevent burnout, it’s important to set realistic expectations and performance goals beforehand.
• Implementing technology solutions that facilitate remote work and collaboration.

8. Prioritize Mental Health and Well-being

After the pandemic, mental health has taken center stage among HR best practices. Recognizing and prioritizing the mental health and well-being of your employees is the key to an open and supportive work environment.

Creating a healthy workplace has a positive impact on productivity and employee satisfaction. Employees are taking it seriously: research from the American Psychological Association indicates that 81% of workers will be looking for places that support mental health when looking for job opportunities in the future.

How can you promote a healthy and supportive work environment?

• Encourage open conversations about mental health in the workplace. Foster an environment where employees feel supported and heard. Break the stigma around mental health and empower employees to talk about their feelings and challenges.
• Implement mental health awareness programs. Introduce initiatives that raise awareness about mental health and provide resources for support. This could include workshops, webinars, or seminars led by mental health professionals, addressing topics such as stress management, work-life balance, and resilience.
• Provide Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): Implementing Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can be a valuable resource for employees facing personal or professional challenges. These programs typically offer confidential counseling services, mental health assessments, and referrals to external resources.

9. Craft an Employee Handbook for Clarity and Consistency

Creating a comprehensive employee handbook is a fundamental step to make sure that employees understand your business policies.

An employee handbook is a vital document that outlines company policies, procedures, and expectations, promoting clarity and consistency across the organization.

Consider this when crafting your employee handbook:

• Tailor policies to your culture. Customize your handbook to reflect the unique values and culture of your small business, ensuring that policies resonate with your team.
• Communicate clearly. Use plain language to articulate policies, making them easily understandable for all employees. Foster an open-door policy for questions or clarifications.
• Regular updates. Keep the handbook dynamic by updating it regularly to align with evolving company policies and compliance requirements.

HR Best Practices Final Thoughts

HR best practices help you navigate the challenges of the modern workplace while preparing your organization for success.

However, we know that staying on top of all the responsibilities of being an employer can be overwhelming. At EmPower HR, we serve more than 400 small businesses across many industries, taking the heavy work off their plates so they can focus on what matters most.

From handling HR administration and payroll to providing employee benefits, we can be your dedicated HR partner. Contact us to learn how we can elevate your business with HR best practices!

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These established values create more meaning for a company, potentially attracting new talent that aligns with the same vision. According to a Glassdoor study, 77% of respondents said they would consider a company’s culture before applying to a new job.

In rapid growth, it’s essential to not lose sight of company culture efforts. Make sure this infrastructure is built prior to growth plans to ensure everyone understands the company’s mission. Below are tips on how to maintain culture in a growing company. 

Why Is Maintaining Company Culture So Important?

It takes time to establish the infrastructure to shape company culture. This becomes difficult to maintain during periods of growth when leadership and HR are tied up in onboarding and training sessions. Without the proper introduction of the company values, the established culture efforts can get lost in information overload for new employees. If the time isn’t taken to introduce and establish those beliefs, the information will not be retained and practiced.

HR Tip: Introduce your company culture in the onboarding process. This is a good way to set the tone right off the bat so employees know what to expect and see how their values align with the company and its growth culture. 

Four Ways Companies Can Maintain Company Culture During Rapid Growth

To offer the best company culture, you need to practice what you preach. Figure out what your company culture should look like as you grow. What’s your ideal work environment? Have you made an effort to get your team on board with your vision? Don’t let your company vision exist only in your mind, be sure to encourage everyone to get involved in the company trajectory. (Sharing is caring – and the key to your business’ success.) 

If your company’s infrastructure does not align with day-to-day practices, the culture is not going to be understood or enforced. To set clear standards and consistency, here are four ways to establish company culture:

1. Have A Solid Mission Statement

If you haven’t already, identify the key beliefs that represent your organization. Using these ideas to create a solid mission statement lets everyone know what your company stands for. A defined mission, vision and set of values are crucial in laying the foundation for company culture. This gets every employee on the same page while also attracting new talent that aligns with your mission and goals. 

Yes, the work that gets produced is important, but what truly draws employees to a company is the culture. According to a Glassdoor study, 89% of adults felt an employer needed to have a clear mission and purpose. If compiling your values into one statement isn’t your strong suit, we’re here to help. We have established mission statements for various clients that make an impact, especially when it comes to company culture growth. 

2. Create Open Communication With Your Employees

Growth culture is reliant on its people. To understand your company, the people working for you are your best resource. Employees can provide feedback that is essential to listen to for making improvements. As times are changing, companies need to adapt to new needs and understand what employees are looking for to continue to evolve. 

Crafting your company culture is not a one-and-done assignment. It’s something that needs constant attention to stay up to date and remain effective. Losing sight of cultural efforts will lead to outdated offerings or a lack of communication of your business’ standards. 

Lean on your team for feedback. Creating open communication will help you identify areas of improvement you may not have noticed on your own. Keep in mind that listening to your team members is only the first step – the real work is following through and making an effort to improve. 

Offering opportunities for learning creates an environment that feels safe for constant feedback and better results. If leadership only focuses on the final product, questions along the way are ignored and never answered. This leads to confusion and disconnects employees within the organization. Prioritizing learning and growth will empower employees to feel more engaged and committed to the work. 

3. Lead With A Growth Mindset

Define your culture by leading with a growth mindset. In a fast-paced environment, people tend to keep their heads down and focus only on the results. However, without paying attention to your growing culture, your employees might get left in the dark. Leading with a growth mindset (as opposed to a performance culture) will allow you to coach employees to learn every step along the way. Instead of strictly looking at numbers, a growth culture focuses on constructive feedback, personal responsibility and organizational culture.

Focusing on sales numbers is a great way to accomplish short term goals, but to drive company culture growth, company leaders need to look at the big picture. Instead of just looking at sales goals and performance, keeping a pulse on your company culture will help your company accommodate new clients and achieve better employee and client satisfaction. 

Remember, managers are the #influencers of the organization. How you set the tone will determine how your employees will follow. If you take the time to mentor your employees, they will feel more supported and confident on the job. With hands-on instruction, continuous learning and collaboration, employees will find more meaning and purpose in their projects. Leading with this mindset will drive your company’s success. 

4. Maintain Culture By Outsourcing HR

With ever-growing to-do lists, it’s easy to kick culture to the bottom of the list. As people get busy, especially in rapid growth, company culture might not be the focus of leadership’s day-to-day. Outsourcing HR allows you to have an expert third party take over your HR needs so you can save time on HR and focus on your company culture growth.

HR professionals can help managers stop answering onboarding questions (wait where’s my I-9?) and focus on the growth trajectory. Outsourced HR allows you to get the HR services you need without adding extra overhead to your company. 

Outsourcing HR will allow an expert to dedicate their time to establishing and improving your processes so you can focus on your culture. Instead of having other people neglect this crucial element, an outsourced expert will ensure everything stays on track. While enforcing the company’s mission, they will be able to identify any misalignments within the organization and handle potential conflicts. 

Am I Going To Lose Culture By Outsourcing HR?

Leading a company is something to take pride in, which makes it tough to give up control of certain areas of your business. (We understand, company leaders.) Your business is extremely important to you, but there’s no reason to bite off more than you can chew. Leading a growing company culture is a lot of work. Allowing outsourced HR assistance will free up your time and ensure your HR needs are being taken care of effectively. 

It’s a common misconception that outsourcing your HR will lead to your company losing culture. Many companies prefer to have an internal HR team and may fear that letting someone that doesn’t know about your company could hurt company culture. In reality, outsourced HR is an extension of your team. Our president, Scott Carter, discusses how outsourcing HR can benefit your business.

At EmPower HR, we believe in authentic connections. We take the time to understand you and your business to make sure we are aligned with your mission and to make sure we’re implementing the proper initiatives. With this in mind, we will make sure your culture is built around your same vision. You won’t lose your culture by outsourcing HR, your company will be primed to grow. 

Be Prepared

As a manager, you should always be prepared for your performance evaluation conversations. Before the meeting, take some time to review the employee’s work over the past year. Make notes of both their successes and areas where they could improve. This will help you to have a productive conversation. 

Questions you want to ask yourself are:

• What have they been working on? What has been going well? Are there any areas that need improvement?  Reviewing your employees’ recent successes and challenges will help you to put the conversation in context and understand where they are performing well and where there is room for improvement. 
• Second, list specific examples to use as evidence during the conversation. These could be instances where an employee went above and beyond or times when they may have struggled to meet a goal. Having concrete evidence will help to make your case more effective. 
• Finally, remember to be honest and open-minded during the conversation. Performance evaluations are an opportunity to provide feedback and help employees grow, so approach the conversation with that goal in mind. You can make the most of this important opportunity with a bit of preparation.

Be Solution-Oriented

A performance evaluation aims to help the employee grow and improve. Therefore, it is important to focus on solutions rather than problems. For each area of concern, brainstorm possible solutions the employee can implement. While it’s important to give employees honest feedback about their performance, it’s also important to be solutions-oriented. 

• Rather than dwelling on what an employee has done wrong, try to focus on what they can do to improve. This doesn’t mean sugarcoating your feedback but framing it in a way that emphasizes improvement. For example, rather than saying, “you didn’t meet your sales goals this quarter,” you might say, “sales were below goal this quarter. In order to improve, let’s focus on these three areas,” or you might suggest that they attend a training course on effective selling techniques.
• By taking a solutions-oriented approach, you can help the employee develop a plan to improve their performance and make the most of their strengths. This will make employees see their performance evaluations as growth opportunities rather than personal attacks.

Make A Plan And Follow Through

When it comes time for a performance evaluation, one of the most important things you can do is to create a work plan. This will help to ensure that you and your employees are on the same page regarding your goals and objectives. Here are a few tips for creating a work plan that will help your performance evaluation go smoothly:

• Define The Goals: What do you want them to achieve in the coming year? Be specific and realistic in your goals, and make sure that they align with the objectives of your company.
• Outline A Timeline: When do you want them to achieve each goal? Breaking down the goals into smaller milestones will make them more achievable and help your employees track your progress over time.
• Identify Risks and Challenges: What could prevent them from achieving your goals? By identifying potential obstacles early on, you can develop contingency plans to overcome them.
• By taking the time to work with your employees to create a well-thought-out work plan, you can set yourself up for a successful performance evaluation conversation as a manager and win the day. 

Suggest A Mentor or Coach

As a manager, you play an important role in mentoring your employees and helping them to grow in their careers. One way to do this is to suggest that they get a mentor. A mentor can provide guidance, support, and advice on navigating the workplace, developing professionally, and reaching their goals. Additionally, a mentor can help your employee to build self-confidence and learn new skills. If you think that your employee would benefit from having a mentor, here are a few tips on how to suggest it:

• Talk about the benefits of mentorship: Explain how a mentor can help your employee to grow professionally and reach their goals.
• Share your own experience with mentorship: If you have had a mentor in your own career, talk about how they helped you and why you think it was beneficial
• Help them find a mentor: Ask if they have someone in mind you would like to approach or offer to help connect them with someone you think would be a good match.
• Encourage them to take the first step: Remind them that the best way to get started is to simply reach out and begin building a relationship with their mentor.

As a manager, conducting performance evaluation conversations comes with the job, but it’s not all bad or scary as it can come across to be. Focusing on the positives and the outcomes of the conversation will help to prepare and outline key conversation points which will allow your employees to feel valued, seen and a part of the team. Even if you need to deliver more challenging news, see this as an opportunity for your employees to improve, align to new goals and set a successful plan. 

Business owners and hiring managers looking to hire interns, we’ve got your back. In this article, we answer whether employers have to pay for an internship, explain the legality of unpaid internships and give the pro and cons of paid internships.

Do You Pay For An Internship?

Ultimately, it’s up to the employer as long as the intern is the one benefitting the most from the work arrangement. Although most internships (about 60%) tend to be paid, the Department of Labor (DOL) is flexible when it comes to internship payment options and allows the employer to make the final decision. But only if the work arrangement adheres to the DOL’s primary beneficiary test – that the intern is the “primary beneficiary.” 

The primary beneficiary in a work arrangement determines whether the internship should be unpaid. If the employer is the primary beneficiary (they benefit the most from the work arrangement) then the intern is considered an employee and entitled to all FLSA protections – including federal minimum wage and overtime pay. 

Although it’s not technically required to pay for internships if the intern is the primary beneficiary, most career services professionals recommended paying interns. Interns are contributing meaningful work to your organization (as long as they’re not stuck getting coffee!) They should be compensated for their time and effort. Just be sure that you’re adhering to minimum wage and overtime laws.

Unpaid Internships For Nonprofits

It’s important to note that unpaid internships for non-profit organizations are generally persmissible. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does exempt certain people who perform services for a state or local government agency or who volunteer for humanitarian purposes at nonprofit food banks. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division also recognizes an exception for individuals who volunteer their time.

How Much Should I Pay an Intern?

A recent National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) study found that companies can expect to pay an average of $20.76 per hour for bachelor’s degree-level interns. While younger interns with less experience, such as high school students, may receive minimum wage.

Are Unpaid Internships Legal?

Unpaid internships are legal as long as the intern is the “primary beneficiary” of the work arrangement. According to the DOL, a “primary beneficiary test” determines whether an intern is classified as an employee. The test examines who primarily benefits from the relationship: the employer or the intern. In all cases, employers should document the duties of the internship to show it adheres to the DOLs primary beneficiary test.

The DOL Test To Determine An Internship

To determine whether a student or intern should be classified as an employee under the FLSA, consider using the DOL’s primary beneficiary test. The test considers seven factors and how they apply to the intern-employer relationship. For example, any direct or implied promise of pay suggests that the intern is an employee, and vice versa.

The key consideration is determining who benefits more from the internship; the student or the employer. If the employer is profiting from the work, the company may have to treat the intern like an employee and pay them at least minimum wage and overtime according to federal guidelines. States, cities, and local jurisdictions may have additional, conditions that employers must satisfy.

The “Black Swan” Lawsuit

The importance of the determination “primary beneficiary” in an internship was solidified when a lawsuit on the production of “Black Swan” was settled. According to CNBC, Eric Glatt and Alex Footman worked on the award-winning film “Black Swan” as interns, filed a lawsuit against Fox Searchlight alleging the production company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying them for their work. 

After an appeal in 2015, the judge found that rather than consider if the organization received a benefit from the work of an intern, “the proper question is whether the intern or the employer is the primary beneficiary of the relationship.” 

In 2016, Glatt and Footman settled their case with 21st Century Fox. Those who interned on the movie were awarded amounts ranging from $495 to $7,500.

State Laws and Unpaid Internships

As long as the intern passes the DOL primary beneficiary test, it depends on your state. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require compensation for interns and students, but state laws may beg to differ. Some states, such as California, require that workers must be paid at least minimum wage except in very limited circumstances. California has a stipulation that student workers must be paid 85% of the California minimum wage (as little as $11.90 per hour.)  When meeting terms of federal standards, local rules may be more strict and can take precedence.

The Pros Of Offering Paid Internships

Hard work should always be rewarded. If your interns are contributing good work for your company (more than just the intern doing a coffee run!)  — they deserve to be compensated. Offering paid internships will benefit the intern but also your business, you will notice an increase in: 

• Motivation. Knowing the work you’re putting in comes with monetary results can motivate interns to work hard and feel included and encouraged.
• Appreciation. It makes people feel good when they are rewarded and a paycheck is a great way to show appreciation for the work your interns are putting in. 
• Reputation. Giving your interns a great experience will make your company stand out. This reputation boost will give you positive brand awareness and candidates will be more likely to apply for future opportunities. (Hello new customers and awesome employees!)

Perks of paying your interns go beyond internal reward and recognition. While those are great benefits – paid vs. unpaid internships can spark legal confusion or backlash. When in doubt, the safe option is to make it paid.

The Cons Of Offering Paid Internships

Let’s be real, no one prefers to not get paid. But as a small business owner, it may not be in your budget to offer a paid internship. If you’re unable to compensate your interns, that’s okay – but they must receive academic credit instead and ideally, an impactful experience as well. 

If your business has the means to pay your interns, it’s highly recommended that you should. If you think you’re saving money or time by avoiding paperwork, it’s not worth it in the long run and can damage your reputation and even company morale.

Preparing To Hire An Intern? Here’s How HR Can Help

Planning ahead is crucial to the success of your internship program. If you don’t know where to start, HR can help you determine payment guidelines for an internship. Here’s what HR can do to make your interns give glowing recommendations: 

• Develop a policy. An internship policy will set the tone prior to an intern starting so they’re aware of what to expect and any company rules, values, etc.
• Define job duties. Clarifying the job role informs the intern of what their responsibilities include in order to be prepared for the role and what’s to come. 

• Define supervisor roles. Identifying the intern supervisor is a must. Interns need mentorship in order to be successful. 
• Implement evaluations. Coordinating check-ins and reviews allow the intern to know how they are doing, how they can improve, or any feedback they can share to benefit their experience. 

Lean on HR professionals to create an impactful internship program for your organization. Need kick a** HR? Get started today.

Employee benefits packages can come in many forms, shapes, and sizes; along the way, they can get complicated (trust us, we know!). With new options and vendors becoming available on the market every other day, it’s important to ensure that you do a check-in on your employee benefits package. A competitive employee benefits package has its perks and is a great avenue to help employees reduce the cost of taking care of themselves and their families. Reviewing your employee benefits package is key to ensuring it’s comprehensive and, most importantly, that the packages are competitive with what other businesses are providing as part of their total compensation package for employees. Companies are now going the extra mile to include more creative benefits, which serve as differentiators and give a competitive advantage, therefore attracting and retaining bright minds.

 So, what are some great ways to ensure your company employee benefits packages stay competitive?

1. Have well-defined organizational goals

You might be wondering what do organizational goals have to do with employee benefit packages. Well, my friend, it has everything to do with it. Without clear goals to align your benefits to, you will be shooting in the dark to know if what you want to change will help you achieve the correct end result. For example, if you are looking to hire more executive talent as a key organizational goal, you need to know if the employee benefits package you have or want to change will appeal to that talent market. Without this in place, you’ll likely be running around in circles and wouldn’t even be close to being competitive. Having clear goals makes it easier to assess if your package is competitive enough and where you may need to make more changes.

2. Listen to what your employees ask for

Your employee benefits package wouldn’t be very competitive if you build them within a vacuum. It is key that if you are going to have a competitive employee benefits package, you design them with an understanding of your employee’s needs and areas of coverage that matter most to them. A great way to uncover this is to conduct a benefits needs assessment. This will serve as an eye-opener to what your employees really want without any guesswork. Trust us –  you don’t want to be spending a large amount on a plan employees’ don’t utilize or find helpful for their healthcare needs. The needs assessment can be in the form of surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups, and the feedback should be applied to any changes you are considering.

3. Don’t rush the development stage

At the development stage of making your employee benefits package more competitive, you need to assess the pieces of information, including goals, costs, and package offerings, and analyze how they would fit into your organizational budget and processes. Employee benefits packages are not cheap; they can sometimes be up to 40% of the total compensation package for employees. Knowing that this area can vary in cost, you want to ensure you are striking a balance between being creative and competitive but being in line with the budget for that cost center. One thing you dont want is that the cost runs too high, resulting in the benefits package being reduced or stripped back after the first year. This will definitely leave a bad taste in your staff’s mouth.

4. Market your benefits to your employees

Beyond someone’s first day and in a case of emergency or medical need, many employees don’t always remember what is in their employee benefits packages. The value of the benefits offered needs to be reinforced and communicated in detail in an HR folder or company intranet so that employees know the perks they’re entitled to. They also need to have a good understanding of how their benefits work. For example, is there an online portal for reimbursements, or do they need to be mailed in? Also, by marketing your employees’ benefits package, you are demonstrating that you are listening to your employees and considering their needs in  the benefits offered.

5. Always seek ways to improve by evaluating consistently

If you want your employee benefits to be competitive, this is not an area of your business where you want to ‘set it and forget it.’ At least on an annualized basis, you want to review your benefits package, analyze usage rates and compare it to new offerings in the market. Bake this review and analysis process into your annual employee lifecycle calendar to ensure you never forget and make any changes within the renewal period.

Here are 5 simple but effective ways to help your employees’ mental health:

1. Detect signs of burnout fast

As managers, we usually react to signs of burnout amongst our employees versus being aware of the red flags and being proactive with solutions.  Burnout can show in several ways, but most common in your employees are disengagement, increased absenteeism, decreased productivity, and even isolation. The best practice is to be proactive to try and prevent stress from getting to the level of burnout. The best way to do this for your employees’ mental health is to implement resources such as counseling, allowing flexible working hours, creating “working time” in employees’ calendars, and encouraging them to utilize their PTO and vacation time to unplug.

2. Connect and Collaborate

Since the pandemic, remote and hybrid work is now a norm, which has its benefits but can be challenging when trying to keep your employees engaged as a team. Creating opportunities for connection and collaboration is critical to helping your employees’ mental health. A few ways you can do this is to begin setting up your meetings in collaborative ways. From having structured agenda to leaving room at the end of the meetings to discuss innovative or out-of-the-box ideas, this can be just the avenue employees need to feel supported and heard. Also, let’s not forget the important role managers play in employees’ mental health. Setting up one-on-ones to connect on giving positive feedback and support on how to improve, can help reduce anxiety and support employees’ mental health.

 3. Make mental health training a part of your organization

Many employees may be facing various elements of stress and mental health concerns in their personal life, and us as managers may not always know what it is. These stressors can cause disruptions at work by increasing absenteeism, and a company support system must be in place to help employees’ mental health whenever possible. Employee Assistance Programs offering counseling and resources can be a great support and avenue for employees. In addition, HR must also look to implementing mental health programs to build mental resilience in the employees’ professional and personal lives. Including training that serves as a preventive measure would encourage real collaboration and foster a feeling of safety.

4. Recognize changes needed for a post-pandemic office

If you are looking to have your employees return to the office full time, you need to recognize that after two years, this is going to be a shift for some employees and their mental health. To help with this, you’ll need to accommodate your employees in the return-to-office plans to ensure the shift does not negatively impact the employees’ mental health. Ways to help this is increasing communication to update new office practices, schedules, and resources as it will help reduce anxieties about returning to the office while improving wellbeing and creating more collaboration at work.

5. Managers need to be a good example

Managers know the importance of employee mental health and how workplace performance heavily depends on this but what they don’t remember is that this goes both ways. If you expect your employees to use their existing EAPs, emphasize that this includes every position, level, or title in the company. Managers must take their mental health seriously, as leaders aren’t superhuman with special abilities. In extreme cases, all employees can experience stress, anxiety, burnout, and depression. Encouraging teams to harness the benefits of mental health awareness and training is beneficial for everyone.

So, what keeps employees happy? What can you do to keep your workers happier and more productive? We’ve listed our best advice to help jumpstart a happier workplace. To keep employees happy, check out our 4 actionable steps you can take today.

The Importance of Employee Happiness

While the idea of leading an upbeat team sounds great, is it really necessary? As long as employees are doing their job, its fine…right? 

Well, unfortunately no. Here’s why employee happiness should be a top priority for your business – not an afterthought. 

• A happy workplace retains employees. Obviously, unhappy staff are more likely to quit, so if retention is something you care about (and it really should be, given the cost of replacing staff!) you should start paying attention to employee happiness.
• Happy employees are more productive. About 12% more productive, actually. Boost workplace morale and bump up your bottom line. 
• Happy employees provide better customer service. Job satisfaction creates a positive feedback loop— that sense of satisfaction makes employees willing to go above and beyond for your clients. Happiness is contagious and your clients will enjoy interacting with your employees that have a positive attitude. 

Clearly, having happy employees isn’t a bonus; it’s a necessity for every successful workplace. Productivity, motivation and retention all depend on it.

How to Keep Employees Happy in 4 Steps

1. Set the Standard

Company leaders are the #influencers of an organization. As a leader, your words and actions carry massive weight — and your employees are easily influenced by your example. You create the office mindset! Taking time for positive conversation with your employees = a happy workplace. 

But why is it important to lead a positive work culture? 1 in 3 employees left a job because they didn’t feel their employer cared about them as a person. As the boss, don’t underestimate the importance of walking into the office with a smile, saying good morning to your employees and making them feel important. 

2. Level Up Your Benefits Package and Add Little Perks

When employees feel their company takes care of them, they’re more likely to feel satisfied and be productive. But when benefits like dental and optical are expected, how can you go above and beyond without breaking the bank?

Discounts on a gym membership or matching an employee donation to a charity are low-cost ways to let your employees know you care. 83% of Millennials would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues. So, establishing an employee matching gift program can be an easy win. (Make my employees happier and more loyal without extra overhead? Sign me up!) 

It’s the extra benefits and little perks that show your employees you’re there for them. Some cool perks include:

• Matching charitable contributions
• Team-building charitable activities
• Discounts to fitness centers or free gym memberships
• Offering in-office delicious, healthy snacks
• Hosting monthly, quarterly or yearly in-house training opportunities
• Free books. Employees can also join or form book clubs with their colleagues and make it a team building exercise. (Double win!)

The secret to finding the right perks is to get to know your employees and find out how you best support them. When your employees feel you are truly listening to them, they will be much happier and put in the extra effort. 

3. Revamp Your Workplace Culture

A positive work culture encourages employee friendships, improves personal well-being, and ultimately benefits your bottom line. (No really, it does.) The first step to creating a happy workplace is to open up company communication and improve transparency. 

Having regular meetings such as daily team stand-ups, bi-weekly status reports and quarterly activity reviews will ensure that your employees on the front lines are engaged in your company. It’s important that your employees are engaged in your company projects and that their thoughts and views are heard and appreciated. It’s a no brainer: making sure all employees are on the same page will increase motivation and productivity.

4. Create a Successful Work-Life Balance

It can be hard maintaining a social life, spending time with family, traveling the world, reaching fitness goals and excelling at work. Your employees want their job to be a fulfilling part of their life — but you need to be mindful that work isn’t the biggest slice of that pie. (And don’t mention pie if they’re really trying to reach their fitness goals!) Juggling these to-dos is easier with a healthy work-life balance. 

Overworking your employee can—and likely will—lead to burnout and high turnover. When an employee feels satisfied in their role, they’re more motivated to succeed. But spoiler alert: rebalancing your employee’s work/ life ratio isn’t always easy. Try these tips:

Implement a flexible schedule

Offer flexible working options like allowing workers to work remotely a few days a week. Encourage managers to measure progress in productivity—instead of time spent in the office. Employees shouldn’t be locked to their computer screens the whole work day. Allow your employees to: 

• Take time to run daytime errands
• Use their full lunch breaks
• Drop-off kids at school without using PTO
• Turn in-office days into remote days when needed
• Choose their hours, (not everyone works best with a 9-5pm schedule—and we want their best!)

Set work boundaries

It’s important to respect your employees’ time after work. Don’t schedule meetings or calls outside working hours. To maintain a highly productive and happy workplace, make sure you have clear boundaries set up between your employees and your clients.

Encourage your employees to take time off

PTO is critical to your employees’ well-being but workers might feel guilty requesting days off if it’s not the norm. (If you’re all-work-no-play, your employees will be too!) As an employer, you have the power to encourage them to take the PTO they’ve earned and enjoy time to refresh.

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