How to support your employees through COVID-19

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Supporting your employees during chaotic times as an empathetic leader will improve your relationships within your business and boost personal confidence. Here are some ways you can support your employees mentally and financially during these uncertain times.

Be open with your employees
As businesses implode due to current economic circumstances, employees want transparency and closure over the state of the business and their employment. Thus, being open about your business’ finances and both your short-term and long-term growth initiatives when communicating with your employees will earn their trust and appreciation.

Being transparent over your employees’ job security is also a good idea, as unemployment is becoming a major concern for all Australians. Reassuring your employees and guaranteeing their safety will also boost productivity levels and business morale as a major source of anxiety is lifted off of their shoulders.

Take mental health seriously
You can support your employees’ mental health by encouraging a healthy work-life balance (especially if they are working from home) as well as offering tutorials, professional mentoring sessions and online webinars on mindfulness and effective stress management strategies. Be more lenient with your employees who are struggling with productivity due to mental fatigue and enforce healthy lifestyle habits.

Another way to protect your staff’s mental health is to give all your employees financial advice and education, even if they are not struggling financially at the moment. Let them know that you care for their livelihood and can support them with constructive guidance.

Take care of your staff’s physical health
Taking care of your employee’s physical health as well as their mental health will also relieve your employees’ stress levels and give them peace of mind when working with you. Allow your employees to work from home whenever possible and provide disinfectants like hand sanitiser and alcoholic wipes in your workspace to reinforce health precautions. Enforce social distancing procedures such as the 1.5m distance rule and strive to eliminate physical health risks related to your employees. It is vital that no employee comes to work if they are feeling sick.

How to start and grow your own business blog

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A website is no longer the only way to get your business more online visibility. Business blogs are now emerging as new and effective marketing channels in addition to main websites but rarely are they fully utilised as a connected business channel. Here are a few key steps to consider when building a successful business blog.

Use an existing blog builder:
There is no need to start from scratch when there are many low-cost and professional blog building tools available to you. These blog building platforms often have free trials and options for you to experiment with and can provide you with a variety of website templates to get you inspired.

Plan your content for your audience:
Before launching your blog, it is best to decide the type of content you want to create and who your target audience is. Whether your target audience is existing or potential clients, it is wise to plan out some categories of content you want to produce and a uniform writing style to apply across all your blog posts.

Blog frequently and consistently:
If you are just starting a new blog, it is important to attract as much traffic as you can to optimise your business’ online presence and thus, it is best to blog frequently. Publishing blog posts frequently and consistently will increase your chances of attracting new clients through search engine activity.

Open your blog to interaction/shareability:
Similar to using social media, one of the main purposes of having a blog is to improve communication between you and your clients. By minimising the gap between you and your customers, your business can perform market research more accurately and gain a better sense of your clients’ wants, any problems within the business and how you can better grow as a company. Make sure your blog includes interactive measures such as links to social media accounts and comment sections.

How to select a default fund for your business

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Business owners might be required to select a default fund for employees when they do not want to nominate their own superannuation funds. Funds should meet specific requirements that are stated as per super law, so it is important to select a complying fund. However, there are other factors that you may have to think about before selecting a default fund to make sure that you and your employees get the most out of it.

Pricing

Naturally, one of the main considerations while selecting a super fund should be pricing. Funds that have a lower fee may not cover extras, and this requires careful analysis to see what extras have been left out. Coverage for extras like being able to track down missing super is a key feature that employees will prefer your default fund has.

Employee preferences

Employees are likely to prefer funds that allow flexibility with their investment options, and have essential features like insurance policies covering death, total and permanent disability (TPD), and income protection. You may want to consider options that give your employees a comprehensive cover while keeping an eye out for any exclusions that might affect you.

Industry fund

Checking industry funds may help reveal awards that are particularly applicable to employees from your industry. It is a requirement that your default fund is a MySuper product. All listings under Industry SuperFunds are MySuper products, so this can simplify the process of finding an affordable super fund for your employees.

Fund management

Finally, consider taking a closer look at the fund’s insurance offerings. Past performance of the fund doesn’t guarantee high returns in the future. But it is important to be aware of the returns on the fund’s investments to compare how their options have performed against their return objectives. This can increase the chances that the selected super fund will be beneficial to you and your employees.

How to save money during the COVID-19 pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be not only a major health concern for the global population, but also a huge financial concern for businesses and individuals alike. In a time of economic uncertainty and risks of unemployment, here are a few ways you can save money during the coronavirus crisis.

Consider changing your savings account:
While Australian interest rates are at an all-time low, savings accounts which offer an interest rate of over the 1.8% inflation rate still exist. If your savings account is offering interest rates below the annual inflation rate, consider switching over to a bonus savings account, where bonus interest rates are offered to customers who satisfy the various requirements each month (e.g. making a deposit each month). Introductory savings accounts are another temporary and popular option, as they typically have much higher interest rates for the first few months before reverting to a lower rate after.

Having a comparatively high interest rate isn’t the only reason to consider changing your savings accounts, as there are others which come with more helpful financial tools and features. For example, spending insight tools and bill payment reminders may help you plan out your savings during these trying times.

Look into a long-term term deposit:
Similar to a savings account, a term deposit is a relatively risk-free place to store any cash you may have. However, a term deposit is an option to consider if you are looking to cash away your savings for a long time, as customers may receive penalties if they take out money during a specified length of term. Term deposits are also low-maintenance and if you’re able to find one offering a high interest rate, it’d certainly be a safe place for you to store your savings during these uncertain times.

Review your credit cards:
Take advantage of your extra time and review your credit card debts and fees. Cancel any credit cards that you won’t be using in the current conditions (especially travel credit cards) and save those that you will need for a sustainable daily lifestyle, which also preferably have low interest rates. While cancelling credit cards, also consider using a balance transfer to transfer your debt from one credit card to another to simplify the process and keep things uniform. If you’re able to, taking care of any debt on your credit cards now would be more practical than accumulating interest and paying back at a later date.

Apply for assistance:
The Australian Federal Government has implemented many financial measures to help individuals with their financial struggles amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, welfare recipients can apply to receive an extra $550 per fortnight as well as a one-off $750 cash payment. The JobKeeper program which pays employees a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight is also available to working or individuals who have been stood down. To apply and find out more about the assistance schemes that you are eligible for, visit the Centrelink website and start your claim.

In addition to the Government, Australian banks are also being more understanding of individual circumstances and have relaxed their criteria in terms of mortgage payments (with six-month repayment deferrals), personal loan repayments and easier access to term deposits. Contact your bank if you are experiencing financial struggle as a result of COVID-19 and they may be able to help you.

How to respond to difficult employees

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Every now and then, you might come across an employee who is particularly difficult to handle. A difficult employee could be one who is incompetent, doesn’t follow instructions, behaves rudely in the office or some other behaviour alogether. However, as a business owner or manager, you must maintain professionalism when responding to such an employee.

The first thing you should do is try, once again, to listen to what your employee has to say. Once we have decided that an employee can be troublesome or difficult to handle, we might fail to make a genuine effort to listen to what they have to say. However, listening will allow you to understand how you might be able to improve the situation. You will be able to gain an understanding of the situation the employee may be in and figure out potential solutions.

Another key aspect is to document interactions with particularly difficult employees. This will be essential documentation if you decide that termination is the only way to go. Documenting incidents isn’t necessarily ‘negative’, it simply allows you to have proof of interactions that led to your professional decisions.

Set consequences if you find that the behaviour is still not changing. These consequences should be specific and set out clear expectations that the employee needs to meet. If the employee does not meet these expectations, then you need to act upon the consequences that you had stated.

Finally, don’t be afraid to fire a difficult employee. It is in no way an easy task, but if it does get to the point where termination is necessary, then don’t give yourself excuses not to do so.

How to reduce the tax you pay

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There are various potential ways you can reduce the tax you pay. You may be entitled to tax deductions, offsets or you may choose to opt for salary packaging. 

Tax deductions will reduce your taxable income amount. For example, potential tax deductions are work-related expenses, self-education expenses, charitable donations, the cost of managing your taxes. These deductions will reduce the amount of income on which tax is calculated.

Tax offsets apply after tax has been calculated, alternatively known as rebates. These will reduce the amount of tax payable. For example, some offsets you could claim are low/middle-income earners, taxpayers with an invalid relative, pensioners and senior Australians, the taxable portion of a superannuation income stream. 

Salary packaging allows you to ‘package’ your income into salary and benefits. There are many potential ways you can package your salary. For example, you could arrange to earn less salary in exchange for higher superannuation payments. By reducing your salary this way, you are reducing your taxable income. 

How to recruit the right employee for your business

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As unemployment rates rise and more individuals compete for the same job, businesses with open positions may find themselves flooded with job applications and potential candidates. With so many individuals applying for every open position, how can you find the right employee for you? Here are a few tips to help you with your recruitment selection process.

Keep your job advertisement detailed and concise

With so many job seekers in the market, it is important to filter out who you want to invest time into. To make sure you are only interviewing the best candidates and relevantly skilled individuals are applying for your job, ensure your advertisement lists all the essential requirements for the position.

For example, include your preferred education and qualification levels, required experience, knowledge and skills. It is also a good idea to prescreen potential candidates before inviting them for an interview to make sure you don’t waste time (both for you and the candidate) your selection process is uniform.

Prioritise compatibility

Not only will your new employee have to be compatible (in terms of work ethics and career goals) with you as an employer, they also need to be compatible with other employees in your business. It is always a good idea to check whether the candidate has the social skills to get along with others in their team as well as any potential clients they may be interacting with.

Involving current employees in the interviewing process may also help in testing for compatibility. While you can always offer to train employees in effective communication, with so many fish in the sea, consider whether or not social skills training is worth your time when there could be more socially adept candidates.

Test the waters

In addition to having a probation period for any new employees, don’t be afraid to offer a position through an internship first. Not only does an internship allow employers to assess whether or not a new employee is capable for the job, it also allows the employee to assess whether or not the position or the business is right for them. Under the correct legal terms, internships may also be unpaid. However, in the event that your open position is a mid-senior level position, internships will not be effective as candidates will feel their skills and experience are undermined.

How to prevent bad debts from your clients

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Running a business is challenging enough, and having to deal with bad debts can add an unneeded layer of stress for you and your team. The easiest way to handle bad debts is to avoid them in the first place – here’s how.

Do a background check:
Before you enter into an agreement with a client or other businesses, make sure that you know who you’re dealing with and do some research. Make sure they are legitimate, still in operation and look for any bad reviews and feedback concerning other people’s experiences with them. Take into consideration whether they ask you for discounts or complain that your fees are too high. If you get the idea that the client may not pay, it might be safer to avoid the job instead.

Have clear payment terms:
Include payment terms in your client agreement or contract that clearly state payment dates penalties for late payments. Both parties should agree on these payment terms prior to entering into a contract. Conditions for late payments could include interest fees, fines, or the cessation of supplying your goods and services to them within a specified time period.

Ask for a deposit:
When you ask for a deposit and the client does not want to pay, it shows that they are probably not trustworthy and may not be willing to make a full payment. If the client does pay you a deposit or but does not make a final payment, then at the very least you will not have lost as much money as you would have without an initial payment.

Automate payments:
Setting up an automatic payment system for your clients eliminates the chances of them forgetting to pay or refusing to pay unless they actively cancel their payments. Automatic payments can work well if you have instalment fees or a subscription-based service that requires periodic payments.

Follow up quickly:
Making contact with clients soon after a missed payment will demonstrate your expectations to be paid in a timely manner. Often, this means that clients managing cash flow problems are more likely to prioritise payments to your business rather than their other creditors who have more relaxed payment systems.

How to prepare for a quick hire

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With usual recruitment cycles taking up to two months, business owners may panic when faced with the need for a quick replacement.

Fortunately, there are some ways to prepare for a speedy recruitment process:

Look internally
External hiring can be lengthy, between interviews, background checks and competency tests, an external hire can take months. Consider notifying and encouraging suitable internal employees of the available position before posting the job advertisement externally. Internal hiring reduces time spent as the employee’s information is already in the system and they are familiar with the company culture.

Formulate an action plan
An action plan can help ensure a stress-free emergency recruitment. Consider drafting and updating job descriptions all year round so they are immediately ready for use. Training documents, business processes and login details should all be stored in a central document which is easy to access.

It is also a good idea to collect resumes all year-round. Use your business’ website and LinkedIn page to inform potential candidates you are always accepting applications.

Screen candidates before interviewing
Don’t feel obligated to interview everyone – only interview candidates that stand out on paper. Interviewing is the most time-consuming part of recruitment, so be selective when deciding suitable candidates to reduce your recruitment time.

How to motivate and incentivise employees

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Each employee is motivated and incentivised by different things. While some employees are more motivated by money, others might feel motivated when their work is recognised. It is important to try to understand what will best work for an employee and reward them accordingly to ensure productivity. 

Providing an incentive will motivate certain employees to be more productive and produce quality work. There are various types of incentives that can be applied, such as bonuses or travel perks. These incentives give employees more to work for than their paycheck and act as motivation to put in extra effort in the work they complete. 

Recognition can also be a powerful motivator. Identifying that an employee has completed their work to a good standard and acknowledging their efforts will motivate them to continue producing good work. Employees will also appreciate their employers noticing their efforts and feel that their work is relevant and integral to the business. If you notice that an employee is doing particularly good work, public recognition can also be extremely effective. 

Employees who are self-motivated feel the same sense of accomplishment when they meet their own goals as other employees might feel when they meet company standards. For these people, company perks and incentives might not be as effective. Instead, discussing with these employees about their personal expectations and how they align with the business might be more effective. Therefore, these individuals would be working towards their own goals whilst achieving the business’ goals as well. 

Before implementing any of these strategies it is useful to talk to your employees and get to know them. Alternatively, it might help to establish a business culture and hire employees who will respond to similar incentives so that you can utilise these for each employee rather than have a different one for each individual.