About Rieva Lesonsky
Authored 14 articles.
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Ask These Questions to Gauge an Employee’s Management Potential
Features, January 10, 2017
Promoting from within is a smart strategy for a small business owner. It rewards loyalty and motivates new employees by showing them a path to growth exists within your business. But how do you know when employees are ready for supervisory or managerial roles? We’ve all heard stories (or seen them ourselves) of employees who excel at their jobs—until they’re promoted to management, where they flounder and fail. Here are 11 things to ask yourself about any employee you’re considering promoting into a supervisory or management position.
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Are Your Employees Getting Enough Sleep? (And if Not, Why Do You Care?)
Features, April 13, 2015
It’s no secret to any harried entrepreneur that getting too little sleep has plenty of ill effects. But did you ever stop to think about the effect lack of sleep might be having on your employees. And, by extension, how that could be affecting your business?
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Should You Ever Make a Counter Offer to an Employee?
Features, July 11, 2014
It’s no secret that competition for experienced employees is heating up. Despite the economy’s ups and downs, the news continues to be filled with reports that businesses seeking to hire can’t find qualified workers. So if you have qualified workers on board, how far should you go to retain them? When a key employee gets a job offer, should you consider making a counter offer?
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5 Ways to Boost Your Retail Sales This Summer
Features, June 18, 2014
For many retailers, summer isn’t exactly the high season. But that doesn’t mean it has to be a bust. With summer about to go into full swing, have you thought about how you’ll boost business for your retail store this season?
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Are You Hiring for the Right Traits?
Features, June 06, 2014
There’s lots of talk lately about the talent shortage – how employers, especially small ones, can’t find workers with the skills and experience they are seeking. But maybe the problem is that small business owners are putting too much emphasis on the wrong things.
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How to Use Twitter for Customer Service
Features, May 30, 2014
In order to provide the best possible customer service, smart small business owners learn from the big companies’ best practices. One tactic more and more big corporations are using is providing customer service on Twitter.
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How to Keep Your Family Business All in the Family
Features, May 19, 2014
Is your small business family-owned? Family business owners are feeling optimistic about the short term, but pessimistic about the long-term outlook for their companies, says a recent survey by The Alternative Board. The good news? If your family business is on the wrong track, there are some simple steps you can take to right it before it’s too late.
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How Do You Feel About Raising the Minimum Wage?
Features, April 11, 2014
President Obama’s efforts to encourage Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 have received a lot of press. The Small Business Majority polled (PDF) small business owners to see how they feel about this controversial issue and found that—well, actually, they found that there’s a lot less controversy than the news media might lead you to expect.
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The $7,000 a Month Intern: How Can Your Company Compete?
Features, April 08, 2014
Spring is here and summer’s not far behind—which means businesses that use interns are starting to think about their summer needs. Qualified interns can be tough to find, and now the competition is getting even stiffer.
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The Benefits of Giving Your Staff a Raise
Features, February 28, 2014
Are you trying to keep your key employees happy by offering them perks like work-at-home days, cross-training and flexible hours? That’s great and I encourage you to keep offering those extras, but a new study shows that they may not be enough to retain workers.
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Do Men and Women Have Different Small Business Outlooks?
Features, November 18, 2013
How are men and women entrepreneurs feeling about their businesses’ prospects for the coming year? The 5th in a series of studies by Hiscox Small Business, the DNA of an Entrepreneur (PDF), found that while both men and women small business owners are optimistic about their futures, there are some important differences in how they run their businesses.
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How Do Your Employee Benefits Stack Up?
Features, August 12, 2013
Are you worried about retaining your key employees as the economy heats up? Or do you need to attract new workers to help with growing demand for your product or service, or to expand your business? In either case, employee benefits are an important factor in whether employees choose to join your company, stay with your business for the long haul or jump ship. How do you know if your employee benefits measure up?
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No Ifs, Ands or Butts: Get Your Employees Fit!
Features, July 29, 2013
Are your employees sitting at their desks all day? If so, chances are they’re not maximizing their productivity—and they could be racking up your health insurance costs. If you’re looking to build a healthier workforce (one that won’t have as many accidents and illnesses, and saves you money on health insurance and workers’ comp), consider ways to make yourself and your team more active at work.
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Are Tough Times Inspiring Better Leaders and Increasing Engagement?
Features, July 15, 2013
Are your employees engaged in their jobs? A Gallup poll measured the growth of employee engagement and which of 12 different occupations tend to boast the highest engagement.