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Every business owner knows they should have an exit strategy, because buying and/or selling a business can get pretty complicated, and they may be relying on a successful exit to retire or start their next venture. The thing is, keeping your business up and running, getting your work done AND ensuring you have a smooth, functioning exit strategy isn't easy. Usually business owners will develop their own organizational structure and internal office practices, and then hire employees to run them a specific way. This specific way is not usually the “right” way, but the way that the business owner has always done it and is afraid or overwhelmed by the thought of changing it.

It seems like we hear about it everywhere. Another mass shooting at a business that kills six employees, or an innocent healthcare aide being assaulted by the patient she was trying diligently to save.

The natural response to a recession is to stop spending on human resources (HR) entirely. However, such a unilateral decision only harms your chances of weathering a downturn in the economy. A better approach is to understand your spending limitations and use the resources you do have to obtain the greatest benefit for your company. The strategy for investing in HR during a recession should include hiring, training and retention.

Following a violent incident in the workplace, it can be difficult to get back to work. By taking the right actions after one of these incidents, employers can expedite the recovery process and minimize the effects of the incident. Below are some tips to help you get your company back on track. 

To ensure long-term success, companies need to become as efficient and productive as possible, while still retaining the integrity of the company values. Since every organization is comprised of its workers, it only stands to reason that the HR department is the backbone of success. It’s the HR department’s job to not only help bring on engaged staff, but to quickly resolve issues as they develop. That role includes making sure that the HR department is in compliance.

There are now five generations in the workforce. The top four (in terms of population numbers) are the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z. It’s worth noting right now that there are more Millennials than there ever were Baby Boomers. The Baby Boomers and Millennials also represent the widest differences in work styles.

Running a small business is no cake walk, even if you own a bakery. Even though you have fewer employees to manage, you will still experience large human resource issues that could put your operations at risk. One HR issue can damage your reputation, cause you to hire inexperienced workers, or hamper business productivity. Knowing the main HR issues that you may encounter will allow you to take the appropriate actions to re-mediate the problems.

There is something magical about hiring your first employee. Armed with the optimism of running a small- to medium-sized business (SMB), it is easy to get swept up in the romance of expansion while ignoring the hundreds of state and federal guidelines that govern hiring and onboarding a new employee. Still, ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the law; making HR compliance a necessary part of operations in an SMB. But where do you start to create a compliant organization? And more importantly, how do you maintain that compliance in the long run?

In March 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that unemployment remained at 4.1 percent for the fifth consecutive month. This percentage equates to a total of 6.7 million Americans over age 16 involuntarily out of work. The 4.1 percent unemployment rate is less than half of the 10 percent rate of October 2009. Fortunately for American workers, the number has steadily declined to its current rate over the past nine years.

A new Austin paid sick leave ordinance that was set to go into effect on October 1 of 2018 was blocked just two months prior when Austin business groups filed a lawsuit claiming that the ordinance went against the state constitution.