When you went into business, you probably had the thought that you’d be able to sell it someday. But before you put up the signs and start to count your returns, you need to begin with a plan. Businesses are primarily sold when the owner is looking to retire, wants to fund another venture, or sees the “writing on the wall,” as it were, and chooses to get out early. Whatever your reason, it’s best to start planning early.

First, you’ll need to evaluate the business to determine its value. This includes all assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, systems, and procedures, among others. This evaluation will help a potential buyer understand both the tangible and intangible value of the business as an ongoing business concern. This crucial first step enables you to set a price for sale based on current market value.

It’s a challenge to prepare a business for sale on your own since there are many fiscal and legal considerations. Your best bet is to work with a business brokerage firm. The firm will conduct the initial evaluation of the business and assist in having an independent third-party valuation completed. Legal safeguards need to be established as your exit plan moves forward. Some things to consider and prepare when selling a business include:

• The future of the company. Do you want a specific buyer who will maintain the brand identity?
• Legal dissolution documents. They need to be provided to government agencies (such as the IRS) to close down taxes levied on the company.
• Canceling registrations, licenses, and permits.
• Clearing all pending payments to employees, vendors, and lenders.

Just like when you started your business, you’ll need support in closing or selling it. Human Capital Strategies can help. Contact us to get the process rolling and know that your investment will get the return it deserves.

A PEO, or Professional Employer Organization, supports businesses’ HR and administrative tasks such as payroll, insurance, taxes, reporting, and all-around human resources management. In this age of outsourcing, a PEO does those things small business owners and office managers don’t like to do, don’t know how to do, and, often times, don’t even know they are supposed to do.”

Hiring one in-house HR person can cost $35,000 a year—at minimum, plus tax and benefits—and you still have to deal with people going on vacation or being sick. The more employees a company has, the more HR professionals are needed, slowly bumping up that salary cost. A PEO, however, costs significantly less because it can provide a one-stop shop or simply a la carte options. This frees your staff to focus on their core business rather than human resources. Even recruiting and training staff can be managed by a PEO.

Sometimes, fear can stagnate a business’ growth. But that doesn’t need to be the case! Even risk management falls under the auspices of a PEO. Diseases, disasters, and other challenges can all be managed on an outsourced basis, relieving much of that litigation fear. Workers’ compensation and insurance are routed through the PEO as opposed to being handled inside the business.

Convinced yet? What about an increase in your profit margin? That’s what you can expect when fewer resources are devoted to the adminstrative tasks in your business. You can’t go without them and you need professional support, but you don’t want the headache. That’s why Human Capital Strategies truly is “the next best thing to no employees.” Contact us to learn more about how a PEO can help improve your bottom line.

The standard definition of employee engagement is the level of motivation and personal development an employee makes during his or her work tenure with a company or organization. But does the responsibility of engaging fall to the company or employee? Truthfully, it’s both. To ensure employee engagement, companies need to create an environment where employees are satisfied and are whole-heartedly committed to the goals of the company. On the flip side, employees need to be open to making that commitment.

According to some statistics, only 26% of all employees in the US are actively engaged, while 19% of the rest are actively disengaged, leading to an annual loss of $300 billion nationwide. Obviously, disengagement not only hurts morale, it can curtail productivity and profit! But what’s a company to do?

Some popular strategies to jumpstart employee engagement include:

• Effective communication techniques between leaders and employees.
• Performance management and regular performance tracking.
• Providing a clear and distinct career progression plan and achievement milestones.
• Maintaining proper work culture, giving kudos to employees, and quickly acknowledging complaints or suggestions, if they can make the company better.
• Engaging employees directly in the decision-making process.
• Rewarding employees for their individual performance or teamwork.
• Focusing on getting employees to appropriate roles in the company to provide the best use of talents and skills.

It isn’t easy, but focusing on employee engagement is a vital component of a successful company. By getting everyone focused on a common goal and ensuring buy-in, those who are not engaged will gradually leave the environment and a positive cultural shift will occur.

At Human Capital Strategies, we realize the value of time in your company and for your employees. We have, therefore, created a new way for you to maximize that time with a comprehensive training system we have dubbed HCS University, a competence-based education system. Launched from our monthly HCS C.A.R.E.S. (Creating a Rewarding Educational System) program, HCS University follows a similar path of focusing on the real value of learning.

HCS University provides program-specific coursework dispensed in short bursts to ensure effectiveness of teaching and retention of material. This competence-based curriculum enables participants to take one or all of the nine offered courses based on three categories: operational, interpersonal, and inspirational. The brainchild of Scott Sandberg, Human Capital Strategies’ manager of training and development, the courses are designed to empower team members and create a strong sense of employee engagement.

Since employees spend a majority of their time in the workplace, HCS University is designed to provide tools to integrate a strong home-life balance; the courses train the whole person, not just the one who shows up at the office 8 am to 5 pm. Through this competence-based approach, students are taught to evaluate their own learning and create unique adjustments to maximize the effectiveness of each course.

Why competence-based instruction? It is one of the most practical ways of learning for professionals who want to excel in their careers. It builds upon periodic assessments, thereby reducing dependency upon passive mode of learning.

Learn more about HCS University, Human Capital Strategies’ newest contribution to its clients and the community. We think you’ll find great value for your team.

Employee disengagement is a direct result of a pervasive lack of motivation or interest. This, in turn, results in poor productivity, decreased dedication toward work, and a lack of loyalty for the company as a whole. Disengaged employees are more likely to miss deadlines, and their attitude can put the customer relationship in jeopardy. In short, disengaged employees can be a source of real concern for companies.

Employee disengagement is directly related to company culture and employee attitude. While the company is certainly responsible for not providing motivation and support, employees who don’t actively participate are equally as guilty. And engagement is not equal! While one employee may be 100% committed, his coworker may just “phone it in” day after day, waiting for the five o’clock whistle. Studies report that 12% of employees are actively disengaged, translating to an annual cost of $350 billion. To put it in perspective, each disengaged employee costs the employer more than $5,000 in salary and about $10,000 in annual profits.

Money is not the only cost of disengagement on the job. As company performance levels decrease, teams sell at 20% lower costs than more engaged teams. If you think a profitable company is immune, think again; they tend to have 50% more disengaged employees than their less profitable counterparts.

A lack of loyalty eventually leads to employees leaving—either on their own or through termination. In 2011 alone, 13% of employees have left their positions (and we’re only halfway in!). Again, employers are left to pick up the bill, spending time and money to fill the voids.

Training, such as that provided through HCS C.A.R.E.S. and HCS University, can aid employers and employees in upping their success rates moving forward. Let us know how we can help you reduce employee disengagement!