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Small Business Success Index 5
| Index Score* | Grade | ||
| SBSI INDEX | 73 | C- |  |
| Capital Access | 67 | D+ |  |
| Marketing & Innovation | 65 | D | |
| Workforce | 76 | C |  |
| Customer Service | 88 | B+ |  |
| Computer Technology | 75 | C | |
| Compliance | 92 | A- |  |
| *Index score is calculated on a 1-100 scale. | |||
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Workforce Articles
Small Biz Resource Tip: JobPoacher
February 21st, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichSometimes the best employees for your small business are already working somewhere else. They may be looking to get out of their current job situation but don’t want their boss to know. Now you can find them (and they can find you) through the JobPoacher website. Job seekers can post their job skills and resume information without exposing their identities, and you can list your job openings (free) with a simple format that covers what you have to offer, where the job is located and what you’ll pay. That cuts down the search time and effort for both parties. JobPoacher also monitors the listings for any inappropriate postings.
Hot Trend for 2012: Online Hiring
February 21st, 2012 :: Karen AxeltonBy Karen Axelton
Hiring independent contractors online was one of the hottest management trends for 2011, according to Elance, an online employment platform. The 2011 Employment Review from Elance reports the number of businesses seeking to hire online workers doubled in 2011. Even though the traditional employment market was stagnant last year, online hiring grew at a record pace, increasing more than 100 percent compared to 2010. Online work thrived this year with 650,000 new jobs posted on Elance and earnings of Elance contractors reaching $156 million.
For 2012, this trend isn’t slowing down—in fact, Elance’s data shows online hiring will grow even more this year. In the next 12 months, 83 percent of small businesses Elance surveyed expect to hire as many as 50 percent of their workers as online contractors.
For 2011, the skills that were most in demand among online workers were software development (with rising demand for HTML5, mobile, WordPress, Facebook and Twitter), creative and marketing (with rising demand for graphic design, Internet marketing, content writing, marketing communications and telemarketing), administration (with rising demand for transcription, admin support, data entry, research and customer service) and consulting (with rising demand for product manufacturing, architectural design, financial analysis, legal and business strategy).
Technical skills will be hot commodities this year as well. For 2012, Elance says the 10 most promising online careers are:
1. Software Developer
2. Visual Designer
3. User Experience Designer
4. Digital Marketer
5. Technical Writer
6. Web Researcher
7. Data Analyst
8. Content Moderator
9. Accountant
10. Distributed Workforce Manager
Elance also predicts that 2012 will see an even greater move toward globalization, as companies hire professionals from all over the world thanks to technological advancements that make it easier and more secure to collaborate online and communicate 24/7.
One thing to be aware of if you’re using online “virtual” workers: It’s more important than ever to be in compliance with IRS laws regarding independent contractors. Be sure you know what rules apply to your workers, wherever in the world they are.
Image by Flickr user photologue_np (Creative Commons)
More Americans Willing to Move for New Jobs
February 3rd, 2012 :: Rieva LesonskyBy Rieva Lesonsky
Are you looking for new employees? Well, don’t feel your search is limited to those in your own backyard. I’m not talking about virtual employees or outsourcing, either: A new study by CareerBuilder of workers nationwide found nearly half (44 percent) of respondents would willing to relocate for a career opportunity. In fact, CareerBuilder says that off laid-off employees who found jobs in the past year, 20 percent relocated to do so.
At the same time, more employers are struggling to find skilled workers–and are willing to pay to import talent to their city. Thirty-two percent of employers in the survey said would be willing to pay to relocate new employees this year; 19 percent would pay a smaller first-year salary so they could give a relocating employee a signing bonus.
Which types of workers are most in demand? The top areas for which workers were most willing to pay to relocate employees all relate to technology or to revenue-generating jobs:
- Engineering – 30 percent of employers
- Information Technology – 23 percent
- Business Development – 21 percent
- Sales – 21 percent
- Financial – 16 percent
- Marketing – 13 percent
- Legal – 11 percent
If you’re looking for workers out of your area, you might want to check out CareerBuilder’s new site, CareerRelocate.com, which targets workers who are seeking employment outside of their area. Employers can post jobs and find candidates. Job candidates can search by keyword or category search to see where the most and fewest opportunities are for their skills; view jobs in different cities; compare salary averages and standard of living in different cities; and research homes, property values, mortgage quotes and moving and storage costs.
More than three-fourths of workers who relocated in the last year said they didn’t regret the decision. But if you’re planning to hire workers from outside your area, you should be aware of the top problems workers cited with relocating:
- Cost of living is higher – 26 percent
- More stress on the family unit – 24 percent
- Difficult to make new friends – 18 percent
- Feeling homesick – 16 percent
Knowing what issues your new employee is dealing with can help you be proactive in supporting them so they feel valued and welcome at your company.
Image by Flickr user Marxchivist (Creative Commons)
Small Biz Resource Tip: Jobvite
January 25th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichJob recruiting by social media is the latest trend, and social media tool Jobvite allows you to source and weed through referrals, social networks and the Web to find your perfect candidates. The Web-based structure also allows you to do things such as check and track referrals from your smartphone so you don’t miss out on a prime prospect. Search hundreds of sites for potential employees, post job openings on your company’s Facebook page, and make it easy to allow current employees to refer their friends and associates. Then check your personalized dashboard to see what recruiting methods are working the best for you.
Good Ecommerce Help Is Hard to Find
January 25th, 2012 :: Rieva LesonskyBy Rieva Lesonsky
Are you having trouble finding employees to run your ecommerce site? You’re not alone. While the nation faces widespread unemployment, qualified ecommerce employees are not among those looking for work, according to Forrester Research data reported by Internet Retailer.
The Forrester report Trends 2011: Staffing and Hiring For eBusiness found that a whopping 83 percent of e-commerce businesses lack adequate staff; just 17 percent say they have all the employees they need.
The situation is going to get worse before it gets better, Forrester cautions. With more companies getting involved in ecommerce, the demand for experienced ecommerce employees is only going to increase. “The supply problem is simply an issue of time,” the report notes. “E-business has not existed for long enough to produce many employees—especially good ones.”
What area is the most challenging? Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents said they have the most trouble hiring customer experience workers. Forrester theorizes that’s because these types of workers prefer to work for advertising/marketing agencies, where they can work with a wider range of clients and get more experience.
Another tough market exists for companies seeking business analysts; 53 percent of respondents said it’s hard to find this type of worker. A good business analyst has experience in both business and data collection, which can be difficult to find and costly to hire.
While developers and engineers are not as difficult to find, ironically, the most competition for these workers is in tech-centric regions such as the Silicon Valley. Smaller companies have difficulty competing against big companies like Google or Facebook with their perks, prestige and opportunities for advancement.
So how can you find qualified ecommerce workers? Forrester suggests three steps:
- Use outside recruiters with specific ecommerce recruiting expertise. Finding the right candidates from the beginning can save you time and headaches.
- Be ready to pay. The cost of ecommerce employees is not going down anytime soon, so don’t expect to get these workers cheaply. Glassdoor and PayScale are two sites Forrester suggests using to benchmark compensation in your region and industry.
- Mentor employees. Once you get some good ecommerce workers on your team, having them mentor younger workers can help build your “bench” so you don’t have to go outside the company to hire quite as often.
Image by Flickr user Daniel Broche (Creative Commons)
Small Biz Resource Tip: Knoodle
January 18th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichIf you need to create a training program for employees or customers that incorporates PowerPoint, videos, voice-overs, surveys and more, consider Knoodle. With Knoodle you can create customized presentations to engage your audience and interact as much or as little as you want. Consider doing your online training with Knoodle or even creating an HR presentation for new hires. Your Knoodle sales presentations will stand out, and you can also add a social element with chat boxes for anyone who might have a question or comment. Plus, real-time analytics let you know if your message is getting through.
6 Work Force Trends for 2012
January 12th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichBy Maria Valdez Haubrich
What changes can you expect for your work force this year? The Herman Group has issued its annual forecast, which predicts that 2012 will be much like 2011 due to prolonged economic challenges. Here’s a closer look at some of the key trends:
1. Recruiting will intensify among smaller employers. Herman Group believes that while many small and midsized companies will add staff, others will try to hold off until the 2012 election outcome is decided.
2. Bad news if you’re looking for skilled workers: Despite high unemployment (over 7.25 percent throughout 2012 in all parts of the country), it will be harder than ever to recruit experienced people. As a result, more communities will realize there is a critical need for work force development if they are to grow economically, and will work to provide the training candidates need to be successful.
3. Companies will use social networks not only in recruiting, marketing and public relations, but also in training and development, and even in succession planning. Bigger companies will increasingly use social media for internal communications.
4. A growing number of unemployed people will become consultants or personal coaches, and more executives will turn to coaching to fulfill their potential. Continuing a trend from the past few years, more companies will “rent” the talent they need instead of hiring.
5. Big companies, in particular, will continue to reduce staff to optimize productivity and profitability. However, smart companies will realize that reducing staff too much will hurt employee engagement, and will pull back before disengaged workers start to affect the bottom line.
6. An escalating regulatory environment in the U.S. means employers need good legal advice more than ever to avoid costly problems and errors. If you don’t already have legal help in place, now is the time to engage it.
What changes are you seeing in your work force? What challenges are you facing?
Image by Flickr user Daniel Ramirez (Creative Commons)
Employees Have Mixed Feelings About 2012 Outlook
January 5th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichBy Maria Valdez Haubrich
How are employees feeling about their employers these days? Well, it seems like the gap between the 99 percent and the 1 percent isn’t the only growing divide these days. The gap between highly engaged employees and those who are “checked out” (or disengaged) from their jobs is widening, according to The Randstad Employee Attachment Index.
The Index found that while overall, many employee attitudes held steady from last quarter’s Index, there’s a large divide with half of employees feeling very positive about their jobs and their workplace, but the other half extremely worried about losing their jobs. To hold onto their jobs, 24 percent are willing to take pay cuts or work longer hours.
Here’s the good news about employee attitudes:
78 percent feel inspired each day to do their best in their jobs.
69 percent enjoy going to work every day.
64 percent believe their efforts at work are recognized and valued.
Now, the bad:
19 percent feel it is likely they will lose their jobs.
Almost a quarter (24 percent) of workers say it is likely they will get a pay cut.
76 believe it is unlikely they will receive a promotion.
“With the continued ups and downs of the economy, U.S. workers report very mixed expectations for 2012,” said Joanie Ruge, senior vice president and chief employment analyst for the staffing firm, in announcing the survey. “Many [workers] are taking precautions such as cutting back on expenses and putting more towards savings just in case.”
While some employees are worried, others have high hopes. Almost half (46 percent) think the job market will improve in 2012. And when it does, 47 percent plan to explore other opportunities. The risk is especially strong with highly engaged workers, of whom 24 percent say they plan to seek a new job in the next 6 months.
“Companies … need to particularly focus on those workers who are most engaged and, thus, most valuable,” says Ruge. “Our research shows that 33 percent of the most highly engaged employees are likely to leave their companies if offered an enticing new job while 30 percent would seriously consider another job offer. This is a serious threat to employers as the economy recovers.”
What are you doing to make your best employees feel valued and keep them on your team?
Image by Flickr user Scott Anderson (Creative Commons)
Financial Execs Have Bleak Outlook for 2012
January 3rd, 2012 :: Karen AxeltonBy Karen Axelton
How’s the economic outlook for 2012? According to U.S. financial executives polled in the the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch CFO Outlook survey, not too good.
Just 38 percent of those surveyed in the annual poll said they expect the U.S. economy to expand in 2012, down from 56 percent in last year’s survey and 66 percent in 2009. The CFOs now give the economy a score of 44 out of 100, down from last year’s score of 47 and equal to the lowest score in the survey’s 14-year history.
What specific expectations do CFOs have?
- Some 56 percent expect revenues to grow in 2012, a decline from 64 percent last year.
- Forty-one percent anticipate growth in profit margins, down from 55 percent last year.
- Just 18 percent of CFOs expect to participate in a merger or acquisition in 2012, down from 26 percent a year ago.
What are their big concerns for 2012? Topping the list was the effectiveness of U.S. government leaders, cited as a concern by 70 percent of executives in the survey. Other major worries:
- The U.S. budget deficit: 63 percent
- Healthcare costs: 60 percent
- Unemployment: 58 percent
- Consumer confidence: 55 percent
When it comes to their own companies, the financial concern was healthcare costs, chosen by 56 percent of CFOs. Other top worries were energy costs and consumer confidence, both at 43 percent; cash flow at 42 percent; and revenue growth at 40 percent.
There is some good news in the survey. First, in spite of their pessimistic outlook, just 7 percent of respondents said they expect layoffs at their companies; 48 percent plan to maintain the same number of employees, and 46 percent said they expect to hire.
Another good sign: CFOs were more likely than last year to say lenders have expanded the amount of capital available to them. In addition, just 21 percent expect their cost of capital to increase, down from 27 percent last year.
How do these responses jibe with what you’re experiencing in your business?
Image by Flickr user Mykl Roventine (Creative Commons)
