An Ounce of Prevention- Human Resources Management and Legal Realities
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Henry deBracton

Medical costs soar when a health issue is diagnosed and must be treated. Unfortunately, often those costs could have been avoided or at least minimized with an active prevention plan. The same is rule holds true for companies when dealing with human resource or legal issues. Businesses have choices; they can learn how to do it right and then do it or they can pay later for their mistakes. When you deal with laws and regulations, ignorance of the law is not a defense. It is critical for the long-term health of your business to understand

The following classes are designed specifically for the challenges Small Business Owners face. As Small Business Owners there are factors in our business we can control and others we cannot. We can control our internal policies when dealing with employees, payroll, & etc. to make sure we are doing it right. We can take steps to ensure our business is following federal, state & city laws and regulations. We can legally shield our company with the written contracts, trademark & copyright protections and create the appropriate legal structure for our particular business model. Getting these processes in place take knowledge, research, time and money. Sometimes in the rush to start the business, a limited amount of funds, or just keeping the business running every day, these items get put on the back burner or fall off the stove entirely. However, it is these things that can destroy the most profitable business. Business attorneys can be expensive to consult; however, lawsuits are much more costly. The fines, penalties and other costs associated with not following certain laws and regulations can literally force a company to shut its doors. Those costs do not take into account the damage bad publicity can do to any business, large or small.

Finding the Right People And Keeping Them

Got Employees? What You Need to Know about Human Resources

Are you using the "HOPE" system to avoid lawsuits? (We "hope" we're doing it right.) If so, this class is for YOU.

Hiring and managing employees is an integral part of growing your business. In order to get the work done, it is critical to find the right people. Also managing your work force properly can help you avoid a mind field littered with misunderstandings, lawsuits, loss of production and all of the other costly Human Resource mistakes often made by the Small Business Owner

Understanding the difference between employee and sub-contractor can literally save you thousands of dollars and countless hours of frustration.

Mistakes in this part of business can literally shut down a business. The law does not recognize "ignorance of the law" as a viable excuse for behavior.

This class serves as an overview of the things a Small Business Owner must know and consider when hiring and managing employees.

Program Objectives:
* Before You Hire-What You Need to Know
* Determine When You Can Hire
* Difference between sub-contractor and employee
* Employee Handbook or Not?
* Drug Screening
* Understanding Workplace Harassment
* Employment Eligibility Verification
* Do's and Don’ts of Disciplinary Action and Discharge
* Documentation, Documentation, Documentation

Training Session Time
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Training Class Cost
$139.00 for Full Day of Training

Facilitator:
Nancy Barnett, President ERMA Institute™, SPHR

Training Dates
Check out the ERMA Training Calendar for Upcoming Dates

Hiring the RIGHT People or the WRONG People-Your Move

The focus of this training session is to show the Small Business Owner how to build an effective interview/hiring system that helps them find the right people for their business. Every business owner has experienced the difficulties of the hiring process and realizes the importance of a making a good decision. Making a mistake at this level is costly and ERMA Institute™ is committed to helping the business owner identify ways to avoid them

Because a Small Business Owner is almost always stressed for time; hiring processes are often overlooked or rushed through. Some of the unintended consequences of a BAD HIRE may be:
* Loss of valued customers
* Morale loss among current employees
* Wasted training hours
* Production loss

Having a solid interview/hiring plan can save the company thousands of dollars.

Hiring the RIGHT People or the WRONG People-YOUR Choice

Program Objectives:
1. Understand the importance of a job description and what needs to be in it.
2. Know the difference between legal and illegal interview questions.
3. Learn how to create an interview tailored to desired outcome.
4. Create a multi-level interview process that will test all aspects of the job requirements.

Training Session Time
9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

Training Class Cost
$99.00

Facilitator:
Nancy Barnett, President ERMA Institute™, SPHR

Training Dates
Check out the ERMA Training Calendar for Upcoming Dates

Protecting the Core of Your Business-Setting Up Your Business For the Long-Term

If a business is not set-up up correctly in the beginning, fixing it later may be impossible, but it will surely be more expensive. This seminar is set-up to build the awareness of the Small Business Owner in planning not only their company structure, but setting up long-term financial goals for themselves and their family. As business owners we invest long hours, money and other resources to make our chosen business successful.

How would you answer the following questions?

1. Is your company organized (sole proprietorship, LLC, S-Corporation) in the manner that will best serve your company goals?

2. Have you protected your business legally?

3. Do you a succession plan in place?

4. Do you have an exit strategy?

5. Do you have a retirement strategy in place or just plan to work until you die?

6. If your business has ebbs and flows, do you have a financial strategy in place to manage those changes?

7. If you have partners or run a family business, do you have buy-sell agreements in place to cover death, illness, divorce, partner disagreement?

8. Does your financial management system take advantage of all tax advantages and support your business plan?

Those questions and many others will be addressed by 4 professionals in this seminar. The professionals will be a business attorney, a CPA, a financial consultant, and an estate planning attorney. Learn what you need to know to protect your business, your future and your family. These professionals will discuss various strategies available and then you will have the information you need to set up your own plan to meet your own unique needs.

Program Objectives:
1. Look at Your Business through the Eyes of a Business Attorney
2. Hear From a Financial Consultant about Simple Strategies to Build for Retirement
3. Speak with an Estate Planning Attorney and learn how to protect your business and your family.
4. Pick the Brain of a CPA on setting up your financials. Rarely does a small business owner get the opportunity to listen and question experts in these areas of strategic planning at this small cost.

Training Session Time
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Training Class Cost
$149.00 for Full Day of Training

Training Dates
Check out the ERMA Training Calendar for Upcoming Dates

Would YOU Work for YOU?

The Fine Art of Managing People Finding the right person to work for you is important. Keeping that great person is even more important. Employee turnover is an expensive business cost, especially if it is something you can reduce. Managing your workforce effectively can save you thousands of dollars a year.

Bringing out the best in your people brings out the best in your business. Many business owners suffer from a common disease "No one can do it as well as I can." Often they use themselves as the report card to grade others.

As a business owner, your time is limited. Do you have a work force that you trust to take care of the business if you are not there? If not, WHY? Do you find yourself using the word “babysitting” when referring to managing your employees? Do you spend your time mentoring your best performers to even better performance? Or is your time being spent dealing with an employee’s chronic absenteeism, repeated errors, over-all performance? Where would your time be better spent? If you business were viewed from the outside, would it be judged to have high or low employee morale? Are your employees truly engaged in the business and its continued success? How would employees view you as a manager?

Program Objectives:
1. Determine your current management style.
2. Learn the SIX key elements of successful management.
3. Delegation-What it IS and What it IS NOT.
4. Difference between EFFICIENT and EFFECTIVE Management.

Training Session Time
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Training Class Cost
$139.00 for Full Day of Training

Facilitator:
Nancy Barnett, President ERMA Institute™, SPHR

Training Dates
Check out the ERMA Training Calendar for Upcoming Dates

NOTE: ERMA Institute offers individual HUMAN RESOURCES CONSULTATIONS at an additional cost.

Learn what you need to know from the experts. Once you know what needs to be done, you can develop a plan to protect your business and YOU.