Management

Interns and Small Business Staffing

February 18, 2010

Many business owners ask about whether using an intern is cost effective.  The answer is yes, if you plan well.

Interns can provide unique knowledge for specific projects, and in return they learn how their skills can be applied in the business world.  For example, an intern with Final Cut Pro expertise can be the “tractor operator” as you sit with him to edit videos for display on flat screens at your business site or for your web site.  You can’t manage your business and also become an technical expert with video editing, so that need is met by having an intern experienced on the software work with you.  Interns should not be put in back rooms stocking shelves, or doing mundane work all day.  An intern is not “cheap labor,” rather she is person who is looking to you for mentorship.  Try to meet with the intern at least once a day to go over the project you have selected for her.  Maybe you need to prepare an outline for an upcoming meeting.  As you describe the presentation to the intern, you are formulating your outline, thereby accomplishing two things at the same time!

Interns can be paid or unpaid, but either way, my advice is to treat them the same as your regular employees.  That is, include them in staff and project meetings, give them the same perks, such as lunches on Fridays, and acknowledge their work as if they were part of your team.  Similarly, carefully interview and chose your interns just as you would if you were hiring a regular employee.  Interns should also be subject to the same job performance standards and the same disciplinary actions.  Just because you hired an intern does not mean you have to accept that they sit on Facebook all day, or conduct numerous personal phone calls.  To be clear upfront, prepare an “internship agreement” describing the project(s) and your expectations (and theirs) and have interns sign it.

For me, it is personally rewarding to work with motivated interns who are passionate about their career choice, and that’s why I feel strongly that the experience also will be rewarding for them.

Fraternizing with the Enemy: Tips From an Employee-side Attorney

January 20, 2010
Curt Surls, Employment Attorney

Curt Surls, Employment Attorney

by Curt Surls, Employment Attorney

I am an employment lawyer. I represent employees who have been discriminated against, harassed, improperly compensated or wrongfully terminated. As a small business owner, you would undoubtedly prefer to keep me and my colleagues at bay. This will be the first of a series of posts outlining common – and expensive — mistakes I have seen small employers make in my 20 plus years of practice.

Mistake Number One: Misclassifying non-exempt employees as exempt. Picture this: business is picking up again, and your hourly bookkeeper has been working 10 hours a day to keep up with the workload (paying bills, sending out invoices, etc.). You already know that unless an employee is exempt from wage and hour laws, you have to pay overtime (time and a half) after 8 hours in one day and 40 hours in one week. Your hourly bookkeeper is getting rather expensive, and – truth be told – he’s kind of slow and may just be milking it for the overtime. What if you put him on straight salary and gave him a lofty title like Supreme Executive Financial Control Officer (or “SEFCO”) with a gold-embossed business card? Problem solved, right?

Not so fast. In California, all employees are presumed to be nonexempt; that is to say, a sometimes confusing array of wage and hour laws apply, including overtime and meal break regulations. Therefore, the burden of establishing that an employee is exempt, such as your newly-exalted SEFCO, rests with you, the employer.

There are three exemptions under California law: Executive, Administrative and Professional. A salary and a really impressive title is not enough. Under both state law and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, all employees, including the SEFCO, must meet both the “salary” and “duties” tests to be considered exempt. Under the “salary” test, to be exempt, the employee must earn a wage of at least double the minimum wage (currently $8.00 per hour in California). Under the “duties” test, your employees must spend at least 50% of their time engaged in “exempt” duties (for example, supervising employees, managing the business, performing work requiring advanced training and/or otherwise exercising “independent discretion and judgment”). So, title and salary notwithstanding, the SEFCO is still doing routine bookkeeping tasks and is entitled to overtime.

The consequences of misclassification can be serious, including back wages and penalties. Even the big dogs get this wrong. Wachovia recently settled a class action for $39,000,000 brought by a group of stockbroker trainees improperly classified as exempt. So be very careful before you decide that an employee is exempt from California’s wage and hour laws.

For more information, contact the California Department of Industrial Relations’ website at www.dir.ca.gov. Next time, we’ll discuss whether you can hire that bookkeeper as an “independent contractor” and avoid paying him overtime and benefits.

T2 Participates in UCB Externship Program

January 11, 2010

Mina Park, UC Berkeley Externship, T2.com in San Francisco

Mina Park mentored with Helen Thompson for six hours through University of California, Berkeley, Career Center Externship Program for business majors. Mina said “90% of what you taught, I did not know.”  She added, “I now have a better understanding of how businesses are managed and run, how to file a business tax report, how to obtain a business license, and the costs involved in hiring and firing an employee. I plan on having my own business, and I thank Ms. Thompson for taking time away from her work to be my mentor. I also thank her for giving me the valuable information that I need to run and manage my business.”

What is the Most Important Management Skill for Small Business Managers?

December 19, 2009

management-training-san-francisco

When asked what the most important management skill for a small business manager was, Executive Director Gina Maciula’s answer was short and direct: communication. Not only do managers need to be aware of what they are saying, but how to listen as well.

Statistics reveal that a typical audience retains about 5% of what is said. That means that during a one-hour meeting, they might retain three minutes of what you said. Why is this?

  • Staff feels like meetings are a waste of time to begin with
  • Staff members dislike or have personal issues with the speaker
  • The speaker uses emotional arguments instead of facts
  • Audience has different political or cultural views
  • The speaker has poor or dull presentation skills

For example, a manager who begins a meeting with, “I think we should stop usability testing on the new website, what do you think?” has shut down communication with the team by providing their specific recommendations first.

One of our speakers, Gina Maciula, offers a few different communication seminars in San Francisco that covers how to give and receive feedback, called The Dynamic Management Team. This is a key management skill and a subset of listening.