Financial Bits and Bytes

How do family businesses prepare the next generation to take over? Early in my career, I worked at a publicly held gas pipeline company. Management identified newly hired “stars,” and they would be put on a fast track, spending each of the next 4 years switching from one department to another, allowing them to learn all about the company, from the view of each operating department, from marketing to HR, from business operations to accounting. Though they didn’t become experts in any of these areas, they learned the impact of each department on the company overall. If you are an

In many companies, people are concerned about the pecking order. Who has the most power, the most pay, the most responsibility? Over the years, I’ve become less concerned about those ratings. My interest is always in who has the most information. Because the old cliché is true – Information is Power. But for the context of this article, information is the source of decision-making. It is information that brings people together, that draws people to that office down the hall. Who is it that possesses the information that drives the company forward? Who is the person that has the power

One of the largest challenges companies face when choosing an employee benefits package — other than the astronomical cost– is deciding how much of that cost the company should bear. The Kaiser Family Foundation Health Benefits Survey 2018 shows employees pay 17% towards employee-only coverage versus 28% for family medical coverage. The cost for the company is $5,711 for employee-only coverage versus $14,069 for family coverage. When creating your company’s strategy, give careful thought to these questions: How important are benefits in your company? Your benefits package must be aligned with your company’s culture and values. If you are a

There are 2.9 million full time virtual workers in the U.S., a 61 percent increase since 2005. Plus, 44 percent of U.S. companies plan to increase their virtual workforce. As virtual teams grow, the issue of how to manage, communicate, broker issues, collaborate and integrate team members becomes increasingly difficult. Without a cohesive team, the result may be duplicated effort, or incomplete tasks. Recruit the right people – Not everyone can work independently in a virtual environment. If not, they will be frustrated, and you will be disappointed. Recognize conflict when it appears – There can be conflict in any

I was watching a movie the other day, and a company executive walked into the office, a large room with row upon row of desks, filled with women typing on typewriters. It was sometime in the 50’s. My, how things have changed. The advances in mobile technology have changed the way we live, but the changes in the way companies get things done is just as significant. The typical new age company no longer has assigned desks for employees, and cubicles are a thing of the past. The office is an open environment. People have flexible hours, and since working