Blog
Practical advice from our team on the HR and IT challenges that small business owners face every day.
Strategic HR: Moving Beyond the Basics to Grow Your Business
September 22, 2026
Most small business owners think of HR as the administrative stuff. Payroll runs, benefits enrollment, making sure the I-9s are filled out. And yes, all of that matters. But if that’s where your HR stops, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Strategic HR is what happens when your people practices start working for your business instead of just keeping you out of trouble. It’s the difference between reacting to problems and building something that helps your company grow.
HR in Healthcare: What Small Practices Need to Know
September 17, 2026
If you run a small medical practice, dental office, urgent care, or home health agency, you already know that HR in healthcare is different from HR in other industries. Your compliance obligations are more complex. Your staffing challenges are more acute. And the cost of getting things wrong affects patient care, not just the bottom line. We’ve worked with enough healthcare clients to know where the pain points are. Here’s what matters most.
How to Handle Employee Relations Issues Before They Become Problems
September 15, 2026
Here’s something I tell every business owner I work with: by the time you hear about an employee relations issue, it’s usually been brewing for weeks. Sometimes months. The complaint you get on a Tuesday didn’t start on Tuesday. It started the first time something happened and nobody addressed it. The good news is that most employee relations issues are preventable. Not all of them, but most. And the ones that aren’t preventable are at least manageable, if you have the right approach.
Performance Improvement Plans: How to Write One That Actually Works
September 11, 2026
Nobody likes writing a Performance Improvement Plan. The manager dreads the conversation. The employee dreads receiving it. And if I’m being honest, most PIPs I’ve seen aren’t set up to actually improve anything. They’re set up to create a paper trail for termination. That’s a waste of everyone’s time. A good PIP should genuinely give someone the chance to turn things around. And if they can’t, it should protect you legally because you gave them a fair, documented opportunity.
Building HR Policies That Actually Work for Your Small Business
September 8, 2026
Here’s what we see all the time. A business owner realizes they need an employee handbook, so they download a template from the internet, change the company name at the top, and call it done. Six months later, they’ve got an employee situation and the handbook either doesn’t cover it or says something that actually makes the problem worse. HR policies aren’t just paperwork. They’re the rules of engagement for your company, and when they’re done right, they protect you and your employees. When they’re done wrong, or when they don’t exist at all, you’re exposed.
New Hire Onboarding Checklist
March 26, 2024
Once you’ve hired a new employee, your next step is to onboard them into your organization. Getting new hires acclimated to your company and understanding what’s expected of them will help avoid misunderstandings about how things work, and avoid potentially costly mistakes. When new employees feel welcomed and included at their organization, they tend to perform better, be more productive, and feel happier in their role. And that’s a win-win for everyone involved. Because onboarding should be an organized process, having a checklist ready can save you from missing anything important in those hectic first days, weeks, and months.
How To Build A Positive Work Culture
January 19, 2023
We all set our standards when evaluating new job prospects, including competitive pay, essential employee perks, and aspects of a work-life balance. When considering new employment, many people take into account a less common but very important factor called workplace culture. In addition, according to a recent survey, if the company culture needs to be a better fit for them, over one-third of workers pass on their ideal job. Similarly, more than 90% of managers say that a candidate’s organizational fit is as significant as their qualifications and expertise.
8 Proven Ways to Recruit Talent After the Great Resignation
December 15, 2022
Most are familiar with the Great Resignation, the resignation boom consisting of record numbers of people leaving their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many factors that led people to quit including familial obligations, job insecurity, feeling burned out by innovation, not being recognized for their performance, and poor responses to COVID-19. The impact of the Great Resignation caused companies, regardless of size, to have to adopt innovative ways to attract talent. We’ve highlighted 8 ways your small business can recruit top talent to your teams.
HR Compliance Best Practices for Small Businesses in 2022
October 28, 2022
Small businesses must follow several labor and employment laws to stay compliant. From interview questions down to how paychecks are sent, pretty much every HR-related activity is controlled by one law or the other. According to the most recent US Census data, nearly 414,000 new businesses are created each year. Sadly, many small business owners do not dedicate enough time thinking about compliance the same way they make plans for growth. Truth is: the bigger your brand gets, the more important it is for you to be on the right side of the law. You are expected to promote a sustainable and ethical work environment, and at the heart of it all is compliance. So, if you’re an entrepreneur who has less than 50 employees and no HR manager, this post is for you.
Remote Team Building Ideas
September 6, 2022
Team Building Ideas for Remote Teams Half of the workforce works from home, which can make remote team building challenging. Maintaining employee engagement in virtual environments requires intentional effort around communication, connection, and collaboration. What is Remote Team Building? Traditional office settings naturally foster workplace relationships through daily interactions. However, remote work requires intentional strategies to replicate these organic connections. Team building needs to be more intentional in virtual settings to achieve the same results.
Hiring 1099 Contractors
July 20, 2022
What Is An Independent Contractor? An independent contractor is an individual or a business that is hired by a company for a specific task. They should be running their own operations and are free to work without control of their clients outside of the agreed-upon contract, and aren’t an integral part of their client’s business operations. Benefits of Hiring 1099 Contractors There are a number of reasons a company might want to hire an independent contractor:
LGBTQIA+ Inclusion at Work
June 22, 2022
June is pride month and the perfect time to talk about inclusion in the workplace. In the spirit of celebration, great strides have been made to make work a more inclusive place for everyone with anti-discriminatory policies, offering LGBTQIA+-related benefits, and increasing representation. Now for the hard truth: we’re still falling short creating inclusion at work. Many LGBTQIA+ employees are not feeling included. In fact, work is the “second most common place” where they experience discrimination. A study by Boston Consulting Group and NYC’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center found that “40% of LGBTQIA+ employees are closeted at work and 75% have reported negative day-to-day interactions” resulting from their identity.
Requiring the COVID-19 Vaccine: What Employers Need to Know
April 7, 2021
It is hard to believe it was less than a year ago we were discussing the announcement of the COVID-19 vaccine and everyone over the age of 16 being eligible. Vaccine mandates have been issued by many employers and state/local governments. The federal government issued a requirement for all companies with over 100 employees to have their employees be vaccinated or produce a weekly negative test. Numerous employers including CVS, Humana, United Airlines and Walmart have issued mandates ahead of the federal requirement.
Increase Profitability with Employee Engagement
August 13, 2020
Why Employee Engagement is Important From your very first hire, it is crucial to begin thinking about employee engagement. We all know employees are vital to our business, but engaged employees can have a significant impact on the growth and profitability of the company. What is Employee Engagement? Working with different business leaders, I have learned there are a lot of misconceptions out there on what employee engagement is. Let’s chat about what it isn’t!
Benefits of an HR Consultant
August 3, 2020
6 Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Engage an HR Consultant There are a plethora of reasons why a small company can benefit from having a Human Resource Consultant on their team. However, there are six crucial reasons. Most small companies are working with limited budgets and may not be able to afford a dedicated HR resource or can only afford a more junior resource. By hiring an HR Consultant, a small company can get someone with more experience. This includes working with a variety of companies both in size and industry providing best business practices.
COVID-19 Return To Office Plans
July 15, 2020
COVID-19 has disrupted personal and professional lives in ways that we have never seen. Many businesses are grappling with the decision on if and when they should have employees return to an office. Factors to Consider For Returning to Office There are many factors that should be considered when making the return to office decision. It can have far-reaching impacts on both the business and the bottom line, as well as your employees, health, and engagement. Some things to look at when assessing IF you should have your teams return to the office include:
