Hiring More Experienced Employees

Hiring More Experienced Employees

By Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA

 

Some estimates indicate that Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) currently account for as much as 46 percent of the Canadian workforce. In addition, according to Statistics Canada, it is likely that one out of every four people in the labour force will be 55 years or over by 2021 (see http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-010-x/2011008/part-partie3-eng.htm). 

 

With an aging population and looming skills shortage, your organization might be in a position to hire more experienced workers over the next few years. This article will cover some of the areas that you may wish to consider for your organization:

 

Flexibility

 

The needs of more experienced workers are not the same as those of a younger generation. For example, health and medical benefits, hours and time off may be more important for a more experienced worker. It’s important to be flexible and accommodate when it’s possible to do so – one uniform policy for all your employees might not be adequate.

 

Compensation

 

Experienced workers, with years of savings and perhaps a house paid off, may not need as high a compensation package as they were accustomed to in the past and may be willing to work for less than they previously earned. For that reason, you might be able to get someone with more experience with a competitive compensation plan.

 

Leadership

 

More experienced workers can bring leadership skills to your organization. Allow them to show their leadership but also communicate with them as to who makes the final decisions if it’s not them.

 

“We Used to Do it This Way”

 

Some experienced workers may refer to their previous experiences to come up with solutions, alternatives and recommendations. Respect this experience as it can help you in your organization and will give them comfort that you value their knowledge.

 

Threatened Younger Managers

 

There may be younger managers that can feel threatened in managing more experienced workers.  Provide training and communicate with younger managers as to the differences of an older generation of workers and how to manage them if necessary.

 

Reward Differently

 

While a younger employee might find a bonus rewarding, a more experienced worker may appreciate other types of recognition such as time off.  Be aware of these differences and ask them how they would like to be rewarded.

Stability

 

Experienced workers can provide stability to your organization. Younger employees may be more inclined to want to climb the corporate ladder and move to another organization to get new opportunities. A more experienced worker may appreciate the stability of working in one position with one organization “until they retire”.

 

Bias

 

Be aware of bias towards not hiring employees of a particular generation. Not only could this be a Human Rights issue, but you might not be doing what’s best for your organization overall.

 

Retraining

 

As technology continues to change the workplace each day, your organization might need to spend resources on providing training/retraining for more experienced workers. Be aware that not every generation grew up with all the technology and speed of the technological changes that are occurring today. 

 

Conclusion

The growth in the more experienced labour force is happening now. The first of the huge group of Baby Boomers is beginning to reach 65 years of age and many of them are not ready to retire for a variety of reasons. An organization that invests in more experienced workers can build a more balanced culture, improve retention and ultimately a stronger organization.

 

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Marc Belaiche is a CPA, CA and is President of TorontoJobs.ca, an Internet recruitment business and recruiting firm located in the Greater Toronto Area.  Marc is also the author of the book “Tales from the Recruiter”. Marc has been in the recruitment industry since 1995. TorontoJobs.ca allows companies to post their positions online, search a resume database to find candidates, provides full temporary and permanent recruitment and outplacement services. TorontoJobs.ca also allows candidates to search and apply to positions directly online and get career, interviewing and resume tips all at no charge. Marc is also President of TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca, an organization geared towards business owners (seewww.TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca) and has the annual Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference (see www.TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca/conference). You can reach Marc at marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca and check out TorontoJobs.ca at www.TorontoJobs.ca.

5 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Maximize Wealth and Minimize Taxes

 Here is a short checklist of tax planning and wealth management ideas all entrepreneurs should consider regardless of the life phase of their business: 

1.       Identify and implement income deferral opportunities.

Do you need all of the income your business currently generates to cover your expenses?  If not, have you incorporated your business? If you have incorporated your business, have you incorporated a separate corporation which is used solely for investing purposes?  Depending on your circumstances, with the correct corporate structure you may be able to defer a significant amount of income tax each year leaving you with more money to invest.

2.       Plan for the sale of your business.

Whether you want to sell you business in the next couple of years or 20 years from now, the sooner you start planning for it, the greater the opportunity you will have to reduce or eliminate the potential income taxes on a sale.  Did you know that each shareholder of an incorporated business can generate tax savings of almost $200,000 when a business is sold? If the share ownership of a business is ideally structured, one may be able to sell a business and pay little or even no income tax.

3.       Identify income splitting opportunities.

There are bona fide techniques accepted by the Canada Revenue Agency that provide the opportunity for individuals to split income.  Have you ever thought about loaning your spouse or child money to invest?  These prescribed rate loans can be set up with interest rates as low as 1% and they allow your spouse or child to earn investment income that otherwise would have been taxed in your hands.  Also, if you have a child who is attending university or college, you can pay him or her upwards of $50,000 from your business with little or no tax.

4.       Use an integrated approach to your finances with a single professional taking the reins. 

When your professional advisors (e.g. accountant, lawyer, investment advisor, insurance broker, banker, etc.) do not consult with each other, there are often negative consequences including tax inefficiencies, duplication of services and issues that are not addressed in a timely manner. 

Often your trusted accountant acts as the “cog” in your “wheel of wealth”.  An accountant can develop an overall financial plan that integrates all the financial aspects of your life and organizes all your advisors into a cohesive financial unit.  This professional can:

·         review your investment statements and discuss them with your investment advisor to ensure your investments are aligned with your objectives;

·         discuss various income tax minimization strategies with your investment advisor so that you are not paying any unnecessary taxes;

·         review your insurance policies and discuss your coverage with your broker to determine whether there may be duplication or areas of exposure;

·         consult with your lawyer to ensure that your wills are properly drafted to reflect your particular situation. 

This approach has been very refreshing for our wealth management clients.

5.       Ensure your interest is tax deductible.

Interest can be tax deductible or non-tax deductible.  The former will reduce your taxes, the latter will simply reduce your bank account.  There are ways to take non-deductible interest, such as interest on your mortgage, and convert it to deductible interest.  In order for interest to be deductible, the loan obtained must be used for an income earning purpose.  So, for example, if you hold investments personally and you also have a mortgage, consider selling the investments, using the funds to pay down your mortgage, re-obtaining the mortgage and using the money to re-acquire the investments.  By arranging the mortgage in this manner, the interest incurred on the mortgage will be deductible for income tax purposes.  You can also obtain a corporate loan and use the funds to pay back a shareholder loan or pay out retained earnings or capital.  The interest on these loans would be deductible for tax purposes.

While these concepts should be considered by the entrepreneur, each person’s circumstances and situation is unique and therefore should be discussed with your professional advisor before being implemented.

Aaron Schechter, CPA, CA, is a Taxation Partner with Cunningham LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants and can be reached at aaron@cunninghamca.com or: 416-496-1051x309.  www.cunninghamca.com

Are You In the Way of the Growth of Your Business?

Are You In the Way of the Growth of Your Business?

The Entrepreneurial Personality Can be the Culprit

Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D.

Many entrepreneurs and small business owners start out with a great idea that they build a business around. The focus is on making the business profitable or at the very least, keeping one’s head above water before personal financing runs out. During this period, there is often no clear distinction between the business and the person running it as the business needs all of their time, energy and attention to make sure it survives. It’s an exciting time as the entrepreneur gets to do what they love, the way they want to do it. They employ people who are as exited about their new venture as they are and who love the absence of restrictions found in larger, more established companies.

Unfortunately, what happens is that this way of running the business becomes a way of life for the entrepreneur long after the company is established. The work habits that made the company get to where it is no longer work but have become the cultural norm. The entrepreneur keeps doing what they love to do rather than taking a step back and seeing what the business and employees need or what the business might need to get it to the next stage. By nature, the entrepreneurial personality that doesn’t like the limitations put on them by professional business practices has to put them in their own company or run the risk of stopping their own growth and that of the business. This keeps things chaotic and static for longer than they should.

Usually entrepreneurs don’t realize that they are getting in the way of the growth of their business. They continue to do most things themselves, finding all kinds or reasons to not delegate tasks and authority to employees or to build the business systems they need. Instead, they become fatigued and stressed. They blame employees, money, the economy for their problems. Or they throw Band‐Aid solutions at systemic problems and demotivate their employees by not dealing with the real issues.

All organizations go through predictable stages of development and have changing needs throughout their lifecycle. Creating the circumstances for your business to grow requires the following:

RECOGNIZE THE NEEDS OF THE BUSINESS ARE DIFFERENT AT DIFFERENT STAGES

A business is a dynamic growing entity that has different needs at different times. Leading through the first stages is different that the professional type of leadership required as the business stabilizes. Become aware of the stage your business is at and lead based on what the business needs.

CREATE A COMPELLING, CLEAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Having a picture of where the business is going and what it will look like when you get there is critical to your success and building alignment of efforts with employees. Make sure employee efforts and behaviors are aligned with your vision and do something about it when they aren’t.

HAVE AN UPDATED BUSINESS PLAN AND STRATEGY

Don’t travel without a roadmap. You need a solid detailed plan to spell out how you are going to achieve your vision. Defining the strategy will help you with the steps that are required for you to get there. Leadership in start‐ups tend to be casual and reactive and needs to change once the business grows to the next stage. Discipline and consistency are critical to growing beyond the start‐up stage. Too often entrepreneurs just keep moving and forget to keep planning.

INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is not thinking about what the business needs to take it to the next level. They fail to include the development of the business infrastructure because they don’t want to become hierarchical or “traditional” in their approach. This can leave the business floundering at the same level instead of putting in the organizational scaffolding required for growth. You can’t do everything the same and grow at the same time.  Even modest success can overwhelm you unless you build the necessary systems, structures, and business disciplines to support your business’ growth. It takes more than raw talent to take your business to the next level.

INVEST IN YOURSELF

Entrepreneurs can forget about their own need for growth, instead focusing all of their attention on what the business and employees need. To become a professional leader, leading your business at the next stage, you need to build self‐awareness and challenge yourself to go from entrepreneur to a business leader, giving up the often chaotic, seat‐of‐the‐pants challenges of the start‐up business. Know when you are the obstacle that is getting in the way of the growth of your business. Understanding your fears and working to break through personal barriers by challenging self‐limiting beliefs and behaviours will help you achieve both personal and business success.

INVEST IN YOUR EMPLOYEES

Motivating, coaching and managing your staff is probably one of your toughest challenges as small business owners. Without your patience, persistence and “people skills”, your problems can multiply quickly. Morale, productivity, and employee confidence can easily be destroyed causing employees to leave and eroding the foundation of the business.
 

Anne Dranitsaris, PhD, is a principal consultant at Caliber Leadership Systems. She has worked with CEOs and senior leadership teams facilitating organizational and leadership growth with her  company’s unique approach to building authentic organizations and leaders. This includes helping them articulate their organizational identity and map their organizational ecosystems in order to build the systems, structure and processes required to garner alignment of behavior and performance and  achieve desired outcomes. She is a published and prolific writer on emotional intelligence, personality type and behaviour in organizations.

2014 TORONTO ENTREPRENEURS CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

2014 TORONTO ENTREPRENEURS CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

Were you there or know someone who was?  Over 1300 attendees were able to network, visit exhibitors and hear speakers present on topics such as marketing, mobile communications, HR and Finance.

Check out some pictures at:
http://tinyurl.com/kdplwob

Presented annually by TorontoJobs.ca, this is the premiere Entrepreneurs Conference in Toronto. 
Watch for more information about the upcoming Toronto Entrepreneurs Symposium this November.
For more information email marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca.

UPCOMING TORONTOJOBS.CA CAREER FAIRS IN THE GTA!

UPCOMING TORONTOJOBS.CA CAREER FAIRS IN THE GTA!

 

TorontoJobs.ca presents 4 Career Fairs in 2014.  We’ve expanded our reach based on demand.  Our upcoming events are:

 

North York - Thursday July 24th, 2014

Mississauga - Thursday September 18th, 2014

Scarborough - Thursday September 25th, 2014

Toronto - Friday October 10th, 2014

 

Enjoy face-to-face networking with some of the top Employers in the GTA and apply to 100’s of different job openings! 

 

Remember to bring lots of copies of your resume. 

 

Register now with no cost at:

http://tinyurl.com/mxjqcv4

 

For exhibitor information email marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca.

Don’t Delay Too Long To Fill Your Open Position

Don’t Delay Too Long To Fill Your Open Position

By Marc Belaiche, CPA, CA

 

Employers often believe that there’s always a better candidate available, that there are many people desperate seeking new positions or there’s an infinite number of job seekers available for work.

 

As a result, employers take a long time to fill open positions waiting for a “better” candidate, they don’t properly communicate to job seekers who have already been interviewed by the organization, or they repost the position continuously to solicit more applications leaving previously interviewed candidates in the dark as to the status of their applications.

 

While there may be a large supply of candidates available for certain positions, the pool of qualified candidates could also be limited for other positions.

 

You may think that you are helping your organization by waiting for that “perfect” candidate to fill the position, but this mindset could do more harm than good.  For example:

 

·         Your approach may be frustrating for recruiters who are working on the role (externally or internally) to the point that they will stop trying to present you with new candidates.

·         You may be increasing the workload and stress for existing employees who are doing the work of more than one person.

·         Candidates who interviewed well for the position may feel confused if they don’t hear back from you but see the position reposted.

·         You might be sending a negative message to potential applicants who weren’t brought in for an interview as to “Why is the position still open?” or “What’s wrong with the organization if they’re taking so long to hire?”

 

Following are some suggestions if you are running into difficulty filling a position:

 

·         Communicate with candidates who have interviewed for the role – let them know where they stand.  If they are lacking certain skills or experience, be honest and tell them you are continuing to interview candidates.

·         Keep existing employees in the division/department in the loop regarding the status of searches/interviews.

·         Give updates to recruiters or anyone sourcing for the position so that they are aware of your intentions.

·         Let stakeholders (e.g. recruiters, employees) know an approximate date as to when a hiring decision should be made.

·         Reconsider previously interviewed candidates – people won’t stay on the market looking forever; perhaps a previously interviewed candidate would be a good fit;

·         If the position is open for a long time without someone in the role, it may not need to be filled. Reallocating the work and revisiting the search at another time may be the best option.

·         Hire someone on contract or a temporary basis to assess how they perform in the position.

·         Change the job description to accommodate a good candidate – reallocate work internally

·         Consider hiring someone and giving them a longer probationary period to properly assess how they do.

 

Conclusion

 

As the title of this article implies, don’t delay too long to fill a position.  Doing so can at times do more harm than good.  Many reports continue to indicate that Canada is in a labour skills shortage that will only get worse over the coming years.

 

 

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Marc Belaiche is a CPA, CA and is President of TorontoJobs.ca, an Internet recruitment business and recruiting firm located in the Greater Toronto Area.  Marc is also the author of the book “Tales from the Recruiter”. Marc has been in the recruitment industry since 1995. TorontoJobs.ca allows companies to post their positions online, search a resume database to find candidates, provides full temporary and permanent recruitment and outplacement services. TorontoJobs.ca also allows candidates to search and apply to positions directly online and get career, interviewing and resume tips all at no charge. Marc is also President of TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca, an organization geared towards business owners (seewww.TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca) and has the annual Toronto Entrepreneurs Conference (see www.TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca/conference). You can reach Marc at marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca and check out TorontoJobs.ca at www.TorontoJobs.ca.

The Risk of Not Having HR In Charge of HR (Even For Small Businesses)

The Risk of Not Having HR In Charge of HR (Even For Small Businesses)

By: Lisa Kay

President and Lead Consultant

Many small business owners believe that they can save money if their ‘people issues’ are handled by a senior manager or other (ie. finance) professional.  This is not uncommon, but yet quite a risk.  It is important to understand the potential liabilities and costs of not hiring an HR professional, before deciding whether this is the best course of action for you.

Organizations today are dealing with various HR issues, including (but not limited to) high rates of employee turnover, absenteeism, competency gaps, training and development, employee terminations, sexual harassment allegations, workplace violence, health and safety compliance issues, performance management and discipline, wrongful dismissal claims, succession planning, Human Rights violations and more.  If not managed professionally (and legally), each of these functions pose a costly threat to any company.

As Irving Burstiner wrote in The Small Business Handbook, "Hiring the right people—and training them well—can often mean the difference between scratching out the barest of livelihoods and steady business growth…. Personnel problems do not discriminate between small and big business. You find them in all businesses, regardless of size."

Even though they do not generally have the same volume of human resources requirements as larger organizations, they do face personnel issues that may have a significant impact on their business.   

There are many surprising statistics which highlight the importance and potential costs to a variety of HR issues.  It is interesting to note that:

• 53% of all job applications contain inaccurate information, and 34% of all application forms contain outright lies about experience, education, and ability to perform essential functions on the job.
• Employers have lost more than 79% of negligent hiring cases
• According to the Allied Workforce Mobility Survey (2012), companies lose 25% of all new employees within one year.
• A study on onboarding, “Getting On Board: A Model for Integrating and Engaging New Employees” found that 90% of employees decide whether they will stay at an organization within the first 6 months on the job. The study found that onboarding employees during their first year of employment increased retention rates by 25 percent.
• 30%-40% of supervisors’ and managers’ daily activities are devoted to dealing with conflicts in the workplace
• A complaint that escalates to a lawsuit can cost $50 000 to $100 000 and take three to five years to settle.
• “Presenteeism” is when employees with the intent to resign do not leave the organization.   These employees generally have lower commitment, be more dissatisfied with their jobs, reduce morale in the area in which they work and do not complete their share of the work (which causes workload problems for others in their department). 
• The rate of '”presenteesim” is estimated to be as much as three time higher than absenteeism. 
• Job stress is a key factor in health care costs.   According to the Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine, “health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers reporting high levels of stress." 
• About one-third of workers report high levels of stress. This can create a burden for employers in health care costs, periods of disability, absenteeism, job turnover and poor productivity.

Hiring a Human Resources professional and/or outsourcing your HR function on a contract or a part-time basis will provide your business with the guidance and expertise to help avoid liability, minimize risk and unnecessary costs.  At the same time, this will be an investment in your most valuable asset – your people, which ultimately can positively impact your bottom line through increased employee engagement and productivity, improved morale, better hiring decisions leading to higher retention.

For more information visit my website: www.peakperformancehr.com

Resources:

Irving Burstiner, The Small Business Handbook, Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, January 5, 1994

 Warren Shepel [online], Health & Wellness Research Database, 2005

Taylor, Robin, Workplace tiffs boosting demand for mediators. National Post Mar. 17/03

Duxbury & Higgins, Work-Life Conflict in Canada in the New Millenium: A status Report, 2003

Dana, Dan, [online] The Dana Measure of Financial Cost of Organizational Conflict, 2001

Corbitt Clark, Mary, [online], The Cost of Job Stress, mediate.com

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Stress At Work Booklet. Publication No. 99-101.