Five Big Causes of Employee Disengagement
Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their work. They do their best to contribute positively to their employer’s reputation and the achievement of company goals. They don’t make excuses, take excessive time away from the office, or often say, “That’s not my job.” Unfortunately, engaged employees are also fairly rare. According to a study conducted by Dale Carnegie Training, 71 percent of employees are not fully engaged. Employment experts consider the following the five biggest causes. 1. Loss of Job Security Since the Great Recession, many employees feel they no longer have job...
Read MoreThe High Costs of Employee Misclassification
You hire a graphic designer to work in your office on a short-term project and pay him as an independent contractor rather than a temporary employee. Your bookkeeper—whose workflow you also direct and control—asks to work from home, so you pay her as a freelancer. You’re now guilty of employee misclassification—whether you intended to break labor laws or not. Since the onset of the Great Recession, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have seen a surge in worker misclassification. With the rollout of the employer-sponsored insurance mandate under the...
Read MoreTips for Reducing Workers Compensation Claims
According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the frequency of workers compensation lost-time claims saw a 2 percent decline in accident year 2013 when compared to 2012. However, these claims still create a financial burden for employers. In fact, according to the National Academy of Social Insurance, workers comp insurance paid out $60.2 billion in total benefits in 2011—and total costs to employers reached $77.1 billion. While workers compensation insurance laws vary by state, most require business owners with employees to purchase coverage. Fortunately, there are actions...
Read MoreStarting a Blog for Your Business
According to HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company, nearly 40 percent of U.S. businesses have a blog for marketing purposes. If you’re not among them, it’s time to think about joining the ranks of business bloggers. Not only will it provide a vehicle for sharing engaging stories about your business, products and services, a well-maintained blog can also improve your search engine ranking and ultimately lead to more customers in the form of inbound leads. Consider the following steps to get started: 1. Identify your business blog goal and purpose. While your ultimate goal will be to...
Read MoreThree Ways to Clean up Your Email Subscriber List
Despite the rise of social media, email is still the marketing mainstay of many businesses—and the numbers show us why. According to the Radicati Group, a technology market research firm, worldwide email accounts will increase 27 percent between 2014 and 2018, from 4.1 billion to more than 5.2 billion. Additionally, the number of worldwide email users—both business and consumer—will increase 12 percent during the same period. Whatever your industry, chances are excellent that most of your customers are on email and willing to subscribe to communications from your company. Of course, any...
Read MoreThe Terrorism Risk Insurance Act Expiring
Will Your Workers Compensation Insurance Premiums Skyrocket if the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act Expires? Created by Congress after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that resulted in $40 billion in insured losses, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) is set to expire in December 2014. According to RAND researchers, the results could be devastating to businesses, significantly affecting the cost and availability of workers compensation coverage. What is the Purpose of the TRIA? After September 11, 2001, deemed by many the most expensive manmade catastrophe in insurance history, the...
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