Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

I just started my small business - is PR something I should be thinking about now or put on hold?

It’s never too early to think about PR – your reputation and image is something that starts as soon as the business does. Your image and reputation will also need time to grow; there is no such thing as an overnight success. In most cases, the earlier you start the better because it’s very difficult to get attention from the media if you seem to have come out of nowhere. Cultivating those relationships and developing the bedrock of a PR plan in the early stages will greatly help you when you have significant news to share.

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Is it necessary to have an employee handbook even if I only have a few employees?

Many small companies do not have an employee handbook (and there is no legal requirement to have one), however having one in place can make life easier and save you money in the long run (two great incentives!). A small company that I know that did not have a hand book ended up paying significantly more than they needed to for employee benefits because they did not have clear policies and procedures in place. According to Tom Ehrenfeld, an employee handbook should be easy to read and do the following things:
· Communicate indispensable company policies and practices;
· Make explicit the mutual agreements between employees and employer without being an actual contract;
· State and express a company’s philosophy;
· Excite and motivate an employee about his or her job; and
· Convey a broader sense of the company mission.

Here are several of the items that a typical employee handbook will include:
· Mission Statement/Company Philosophy
· Work Environment
· Compensation & Benefits
· Employee Conduct
· Organization Chart
· Legal Requirements
· Staff Development
· Discipline and Termination
· Grievance Procedures
· Safety and Security procedures and policies
· Confidentiality Clause

Related Topics: Boardroom, Human Resources    No Comments