Without  knowing more about your business (e.g., what you are selling on your ecommerce site), I am at a disadvantage to advise you precisely on whom you should hire to support your endeavors.... (more)

Years ago, this question was about how to control use of company phone systems and company time on personal phone calls. Sounds like eons ago, doesn’t it? However, the rules for managing... (more)

First of all, good job specifications are needed. You may have all the information in your head, but the real challenge is to clearly convey not only what the job is (its purpose and major... (more)

First of all, as an entrepreneur, you need to understand that just about no one will ever care about your business as much as you do. That does not mean that everyone else is unenthusiastic or... (more)

Normally, a freelancer is brought on board as a contractor under a professional services agreement. Essentially, you will be paying this individual to do specific work at a set rate per hour or per... (more)

Promote a new policy that states that employees are responsible for filing, copying and otherwise keeping track of their own pay slips. Say that if an employee requires replacement copies of pay... (more)

It is commendable that you are thinking ahead to be sure that individual contributors have the chance to advance on their respective career paths. Many companies fail to do that and discourage or... (more)

Let's start with the full-time employee. You only need to pay at his standard hourly rate on a holiday, unless working on that holiday will constitute him working more than 40 hours in that... (more)

There is no one source -- you really have to shop around. I recommend calling other small businesses. You could ask members of your local chamber of commerce for advice. Most often, people are... (more)

If you have more than 15 employees, you are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA Amendment Act. If this individual's malady is of a potentially long-term nature, she might qualify... (more)

Without any information on what kind of business you operate, I can only respond in the most general of terms. You should start by putting together a functional organization chart of the areas of... (more)

An employer has the right to change benefits whenever she pleases, unless the company has specific employment contracts in place with employees guaranteeing them specific benefits for a particular... (more)

No, it is not totally necessary to have an employee handbook. Many companies do not have one. Now, if you asked me if it is advisable to have one, my answer would be yes. A good employee... (more)

Based on your desire to be most kind, I am going to assume that you are terminating someone's employment because you have no other choice, likely for one of these reasons" 1. A lack of... (more)

My best advice is that you read Daniel Pink's book, "Drive." Pink has done extensive research into the area of motivation in the workplace. He says that there are three forms of... (more)

Do you remember Detective Columbo? He would scratch his head and say "I am confused, can you explain this to me?" Well, it seems to me that you need to use the Columbo technique.... (more)

You can certainly ask for them to sign an agreement to be available and dedicated to working exclusively for you for tax season, but whether they will abide by the agreement or not is another... (more)

It's illegal. The only exception to this would be if your HR manager discusses a medical situation that will affect your ability to do your job and the HR manager is explaining to your manager only... (more)

Based on the situation you are describing I'm assuming that your boss owns the company and that this is a privately held company with only a minimal number of employees. If I am correct, you are... (more)

Congrats on getting to the point in your business where you'd like to hire someone--and a double congrats for trying to make the process expedient yet thorough. I did some digging and spoke... (more)