Smallbiz Brainiac

If I was the candidate and had a few interviews lined up, and one of them sent me a pre interview guide, I would look at that employer a lot more favorably. In part 1, on episode 107, we learned how to prepare for the interview and in part 2 on episode 108 we learned how…

Far too often employers just ignore unemployment insurance claims and don’t provide a response to the agent handling the case. Today I wanted to talk about managing unemployment insurance claims and how this often overlooked aspect of your business can cost you big time down the road if it is ignored. Keeping control of your labor…

Asking the right interview questions will dramatically improve the effectiveness and you’ll look like a pro! In the last episode we learned about the preparation phase of the interview and on this episode we’ll learn about coming up with the interview questions. One thing I forgot to mention on the last episode is you should call…

Prepare so you don’t screw up the interview and scare away a great employee. Practice makes perfect, right? So how are you supposed to become an expert interviewer? It’s not like you’re hiring someone every day, or week, or even month for that matter. It’s hard to become a professional interviewer when you don’t have the opportunity…

A new breed of state equal pay laws have been passed, and now Puerto Rico has joined the likes of California, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Labor Transformation & Flexibility Act: The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico passed a major labor law reform bill earlier this year called the Labor Transformation & Flexibility Act. There were…

Seven states do not allow for a tip credit. If you are in the restaurant or hospitality industries, or one of the many other service industries out there then you are well aware that a portion of your employees pay comes from tips, a.k.a., gratuities. Hopefully you are also aware that there is a provision…

Telemedicine services are changing the way healthcare is delivered…. and that’s a good thing! In episode 97, Kris Hansberger mentioned telemedicine as a way to improve your group health plan. She also shared a valuable tip on how to use telemedicine in concert with your supplemental accident policy to maximize your benefits. Let’s say you have…

Back to two shows a week every Tuesday and Thursday – by popular demand! I want to thank everyone who participated in the survey and provided their valuable opinion on the show. We had surprising results. The response was amazing! And the overwhelming majority of respondents prefer the old 7 to 10 minute format. So….. we’re going…

Politicians can’t simply pass new laws and create prosperity, higher wages or better benefits. Mandatory sick leave is sweeping the nation. Currently there is no federal law requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave for their employees….unless you work on government contracts. However, many States and Cities have passed laws requiring employers to provide…

We need your feedback!  We’d like you to take a quick survey. It will only take you a few minutes. Today’s episode is special. It’s just me today. There’s no Robert, and no panel expert. Instead, we want to tell you how you can win a $100 Amazon gift card and a copy of the amazing book Dotcom…

Falls from ladders make up 20% of loss-workday and fatal injuries. Falls from heights and on the same level the work is being performed on, are very common and one of the leading causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths. How familiar are you with fall protection standards? OSHA estimates that, on average, approximately 202,066 serious…

What happens if one of your employees is using someone else’s SSN to work for you? Attorney Ben Mason of the law firm Morley Mason is here to help us sort through this issue. Ben obtained his law degree from the University of Idaho. According to his wife, he became a lawyer because he likes arguing with…

The problem is time management. The Solution is brining higher energy to the time we have at work. Will your company achieve better results if you push your employees to work long hours? Or, could you outperform those results if they actually worked fewer hours? What message are you communicating to your employees through your own actions? Are you…

Benefits for small employers, what’s the right offering for your employees? Today’s expert panel member is Kris Hansberger, the Director of HR and Employee Benefits for Vensure Employer Services, Inc., a Chandler, AZ based Professional Employer Organization. Under her direction Vensure provides benefits administration and HR services to hundreds of clients and over 40,000 co-employees. She’s also responsible…

One of these terminations involved sex, drugs and rock & roll. In this episode we share examples of terminations we’ve conducted and the lessons we learned from them. For an unknown reason my audio goes alien on me at about 8 minutes into the show. I didn’t realize it until the editing process, and I…

Because terminations are hard, we often wait too long to let people go. The new year is a good time to consider what terminations may be necessary due to: Employee performance Expense reductions Streamline or consolidate responsibilities and duties. Budget constraints requiring you to reluctantly let good people go Holiday hangover – maybe you’ve been hanging on to someone…

This show is designed around the small business owner. It’s my goal to educate you about the many duties, responsibilities and obligations you have as an employer. I also want to provide you with answers to your questions, and solutions to your problems. So, if you have any employer related questions, all you have to do is…

I’ve decided to make some changes to the SmallBiz Brainiac show.  My last episode was on December 15th and I told you that I was going to take the next two weeks off to plan for 2017.   And that’s what I did. I also took my daughter and nieces to see the movie Sing.…

The Heritage Foundation’s 2016 Index of Economic Freedom has the U.S. at number #11 this year. We were #8 in 2010 and #5 in 2008 This will be the last episode of 2016. I’m going to take the next two weeks off to focus on preparing the show and my business for 2017. It’s been…

The new direction of the DOL is the opposite of where they’re headed today. Andrew Puzder has been nominated by Trump to be the new Secretary of Labor. This is a huge departure from the traditional bureaucrat who lacks private sector experience. Certainly he is a stark contrast to the current Secretary, Thomas Perez, a lawyer,…