|
|
Volume 3 | Issue 6
|
June 2011
|
|
|
|
|
Dear
Mark,
The Spring is
in full bloom and small business is (generally speaking) beginning to
see some growth. Do challenges persist? Yes! There is some
minor increase in competition, but not enough to interfere with broad
revenue growth. However, there is still enough competition not to be
able to strengthen margins at this time. The growth is causing
some comfort, perhaps too much comfort, for small business
owners. Instead of preparing for the next set of challenges a
lasseiz-faire attitude of "that was close, but we made it"
seems to becoming the consensus which will lead small businesses to
continue to react to future challenges instead of preparing for them.
One such
challenge, in my opinion, will be retaining key employees. I know
your focus is on making your next payroll, so why worry about
retaining employees when you can barely pay them? Well, it's because
over the next two years this boring economy is set to expand. As it
expands the unemployment rate will begin to fall from its current 9%
to 7%. The battle for talent will begin. Unfortunately,
small business isn't well positioned financially to compete for top
talent and large corporations have lots of cash. As the economy
improves large corporations have the funds to attract and retain
qualified employees. Additionally, most employees seem to be
miserable at their current employer, but they do not have the
confidence to change jobs for fear the new job will be worse or they
will be the first to be cut. Over the next two years as the
economy improves I believe the employee's confidence will improve and
the likelihood of finding a new employer will dramatically
increase. Bottom line: find and retain good talent today!
Best of
luck,
Mark
Wyssbrod, CPA
|
|
Employee
Retention
Four Suggestions to Retain Top Talent
 How can you make your business more productive? Hire
and retain the right employees and create a good working environment.
Although money is important to employees, other items are also
factors. Team members want to feel they have a say or are being listened
to. They want inventstments in their education and career,
flexible working schedules and dress codes as well as to be
respected. The following are four ways you can accomplish this:
- Improve
the work environment - This can start with
improving communications with team members and providing rewards
for extra efforts. Or, something as novel as providing plants,
artwork or other relaxing and inspircing pieces is sure to make
a difference. One sure-fire way to find out what employees would
like to see to improve their work environment is to ask them!
|
- Increase
investment in Employees - Employees like to
know you care enough about them to invest in them and have a
long-range goal in mind. Do this by providing leadership roles
and ongoing training. Obtain insight into their personality by
offering personality profile assessments such as DISC and always
provide opportunities for employees to stay up to date with what
is going on in the industry.
- Have
Compensation Package that Motivate Employees
- Think creatively when it comes to compensating
your employees. Review and adjust compensation to motivate employees
to work for a bonus instead of a pay check. Include rewards for
having a good attitude or working late to get client projects
completed.
- Fire
Bad Employees, Hire Better Fits! - An employee with a poor
attitude can demoralize your team and bad attitudes are
contagious. Plus, clients do not enjoy working with companies
with poor attitudes. Replacing a poor performing employee can
have dramatic improvements with your employees' morale,
environment and customer appreciation.
|
Important
Dates to Remember
|
- June
15 - 2nd quarter estimate tax payments due.
|
|
Black Swan Events
Bet
You Didn't See These Coming!
|
|
 Only white swans existed, until a black
swan flew in. Black swan events are events which were
unforeseen. Unforeseen events are not taken into consideration
in forecasting models. How accurate can models predict if Black
Swan events happen on a regular basis? Below is the most recent
example of a a Black Swan event that caught many off
guard:
- Monday, May 23, 2011 - The deadliest
tornado in the US strikes: 126+ dead in Joplin, Missouri.
|
|
|
IRS
Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements
imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice
contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not
intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose
of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii)
promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction
or matter addressed herein
|
|
|
|
Financial
Ratio Of The Month - Inventory Days
The
Inventory Days (ID) is a measurement of the amount of inventory in
days you have on hand. If you are a business that works with
inventory, this will be an important ratio for you to follow. The ID
equals
(Inventory/Cost
of Goods Sold) X 365
Generally speaking the
lower the ratio the better (i.e. you are managing inventory
effectively). However, too low of a ratio could indicate you do not
have enough product on hand to meet demand.
|
|
Contact
Information
11770
Haynes Bridge Road
Suite
205
Alpharetta,
Georgia 30009
phone:
(770)
664-8583
fax:
(678)
762-9413
www.pro-active-cpa.com
|
|
|
