When a company is looking to hire someone for a position, they typically post an ad and collect resumes.  Some may have additional stages before they start interviewing candidates to find the perfect fit for the company and job. You post in the ad what the requirements are, what type of work will need to be done, which type of person you are looking for, etc.  All of this is about you, your company and what you want.  But what about the other side of the ad, what about the person who is reading the ad? What is he/she looking for? We all know they are coming to work for money.  Some companies post what they are willing to pay, others ask you what is your salary expectations.  What really separates your business form the big corporate domains that seem to hire the best manpower around?  Well, it can be a few things and some of them are hard to beat especially if you are a small business and can’t afford to double “their offer”.

But you might be able to offer some of the stuff that they do,  and for a surprisingly small price!

The state of Arizona offers small businesses up to 25 employees a special credit for each employee that takes health insurance through the business.  An employee that is married and has children will credit the business $3,000.00 annually towards health insurance and $1,000.00 for a single employee. This can make a huge difference in what otherwise would have been out of reach for your business.  Now for an affordable price you can offer health insurance and compete with some of the richer bigger domain companies out there snatching employees up with offers that you couldn’t compete with before. Welcome to the game!

This process is simple to apply for and is offered to companies that have been in business for at least one year.  The credit is good for three years as long as 75% of the company signs up.  By the way, if someone decides not to take the insurance but is covered in some other way, maybe through their spouse or some other program they don’t count in the 100% and don’t affect your chances of getting the insurance credit.

So the next time you post an ad looking to hire, you can add: The right candidate will get $$$ and Health Insurance! How does that sound?

For more information go to http://www.azdor.gov/taxcredits/healthinsurancepremiums.aspx

Keeping your workers healthy is helping you keep them focused. More and more companies are investing in ways to keep their employees healthy, in return productivity is up and health insurance rates are down.  Some companies offer paybacks on gym memberships, some have yoga trainers do classes while you’re at work.

For smaller business these things might be harder to do so I came up with a small list of ideas and advice to help keep your employees focused.

Maintain meeting discipline.

Meeting should be scheduled in advance, topics should be announced prior to the meeting so participants can prepare. Start meetings on time and end them on time and keep meeting to a max of 45 minutes.

Renewal.

Encourage people to take a break at least on time a day, Stop working, take a walk or do some stretches. Get up and out of the office and renew your body’s energy.

Plane your day.

Do the most important things right when you get in to work, the first 60-90 minutes of the day can be the most productive. Put your phone on hold, try to work in a quite space, use sound reducing earphones and remove all of those things that grab your attention.

Email distraction.

Emails can be a huge distraction on its own. Choose to not check your email while you are working on something, I know this sounds weird but in the worth case is if it is that urgent the person who is looking for you will call you.

Think long term.

Set up regular times to think about the long term plan, being creative and strategically planning. Do this in a relaxed and comfortable place.

Vacations

Take real vacations, once that you can disconnect for work and things that trouble you on your daily bases. Do this regularly and you will see the changes in your health and work.

After hours.

Encourage your employees to do after hour’s activities, you can meet once a week to play ball, go once every few month to an outdoor activity like hiking or bike riding.  Even if this is organized instead of a work day, they are excellent for company moral, employee bonding and overall company productivity.

And most important advice to this whole article. When you’re at work, engage in it for defined periods of time, fully engage yourself.