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Archive for category: Human Resources

Carl Hadden Appointed Regional Director of Florida SBDC at USF

Blog, Human Resources, SBDC News
Carl Hadden

Carl Hadden Regional Director of Florida SBDC at USF

TAMPA, Fl. – The Muma College of Business at University of South Florida announced Carl Hadden, MBA, CME, as the new regional director of the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida.

“We are excited to welcome Carl in the role as Regional Director of the Florida SBDC at USF,” GJ de Vreede, PhD, Associate Dean at Muma College of Business, said. “He has been an excellent interim regional director and we look forward to his continued leadership at the helm of the largest SBDC in the state!”

Hadden has served as the interim regional director since July 2021, when Eileen Rodriguez announced her retirement after 24 years of service to the Network. Hadden was initially hired as a business consultant for the Florida SBDC at USF in December 2013, and prior to his interim regional director role, served as an associate director at the Center.

His background includes many years of business leadership in areas such as marketing, workforce development at CareerSource Polk, sales, insurance, and training, as well as service in the United States Marine Corps.

He most recently earned an MBA and a graduate certificate in entrepreneurship from University of South Florida in May 2018. He is also an SMEI Certified Marketing Executive (CME), TTI DISC Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst and TTI DISC Certified Professional Driving Forces Analyst certified, and a Certified LivePlan Expert Adviser.

“Throughout my career I have sought work that matters and found that with the Florida SBDC at USF,” Hadden said. “The impact the Florida SBDC at USF has on the business community reverberates throughout our region. Business owners are the lifeblood of our communities. They provide essential products and services; they employ our friends and neighbors; they sponsor our youth sports teams; they are high school boosters; and so much more.”

As regional director, Hadden is charged with leading the 10-county region that spans most of the west central Florida area and offers confidential no-cost consulting, training, market research and information for some 5,000 businesses annually. He will be responsible for all Florida SBDC at USF services, its $3 million in grants and funding efforts, and leading the 29-member team.

The Florida SBDC at USF provided more than 24,000 hours of consulting and helped businesses access more than $60 million in business capital last year. The SBDC administers several emergency assistance programs related to hurricanes, floods and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

About the Florida SBDC Network: 

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy. Since 2011, Florida SBDCs have provided 624,331 hours of professional business consulting to 58,975 client businesses, resulting in 281,831 jobs impacted; $36.7 billion in sales generated; $2.7 billion in government contracts acquired; $1.6 billion in capital accessed; and 4,520 new businesses started. A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida, and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.

https://sbdctampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Carl-Hadden_Headshot.jpg 2048 2048 admin /wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Locked-Host-Logos-Horizontal-USF-Small-e1635274663378.png admin2022-06-14 17:07:472022-06-17 19:17:19Carl Hadden Appointed Regional Director of Florida SBDC at USF

Employee Retention Becomes Top Priority for Businesses

Blog, Featured News, Human Resources, SBDC News

Employee Retention Becomes Top Priority for Businesses

by Jenee Skipper, SHRM-CP | March 28, 2022

While recruiting the best talent has been a priority for most organizations; one often overlooked task has been retention efforts, at least until now.  Since 2021, workforce shortages are of growing concern for most organizations and a recent report by Paige McAllister of Affinity HR Group revealed that, “recruitment and retention has been a top priority since the “Great Resignation.” More than three percent of the United States workforce voluntarily left their jobs.”

While many variables may account for workforce shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly exasperated the issue.

But wait, you don’t have to fret. There are many things an organization can do to remain competitive in today’s business climate.  Get ahead of the issues by ensuring the following things are in place:

  • A competitive compensation model
  • A robust training program that will allow the upskilling of your current workforce
  • Get back to the basics with “old-fashioned” communication to reestablish people skills

We are keenly aware that compensation is an important part of the hiring and retention process and getting it right on the front end offers extreme benefits.

Organizational benefits can be found through a decreased attrition rate, a decrease in mass exits for those seeking higher pay, and a decrease in your organizations’ overall recruiting cost.

To attract the right candidates, having a competitive compensation plan to include benefits, bonuses and or commission will not only drive increased performance but overall value.  Valued employees often display higher morale and a greater sense of loyalty and in most instances, add to your bottom-line in terms of profitability and a continuum of services.

To remain competitive in an increasingly tight labor market, employers must have more than a great onboarding process.  Committing to the learning and development of your staff is one simple solution.

Studies have shown that employees who get regular opportunities to learn, develop, and advance are more likely to stay with a company. In fact, Bob Nelson, author of 1,001 Ways to Engage Employees, reports that learning and development are among the top factors in employee engagement.

Taking it one step further; meaningful training that leads to upward mobility and the upskilling of employees not only benefits the individual, but it will also demonstrate an organizations’ commitment to employee development by strengthening both personal growth and professional growth.

Training is a specific event that teaches new information or skills and is most often provided to new and/or promoted employees.

However, ongoing employee development is the continuous effort to strengthen the overall work performance.  There are many ways to accomplish this with little financial burden to an organization.  Peer-to peer-mentoring, coaching, cross training, web-based training sessions, and train the trainer workshops are just a few training exercises to internally strengthen your workforce.

While the need to explore creative work arrangements have grown excessively, organizations can add tremendous value to retention efforts by establishing modified work schedules, male maternity leave and non-traditional shifts, to name a few, which may support a more balanced work and family life.

Another key to learning is understanding what’s important to your employees by expanding your organizations diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The greatest return on your investment (ROI) is the investment into your staff.  Not only does it build morale, it will also build loyalty and the confidence that you are as equally concerned about their personal growth and development as you are your bottom line.  While you are enhancing your retention efforts, be sure to retain your intellectual property, which is knowledge.  Ask yourself, how much knowledge is lost when we lose an employee?

Employee engagement is one of the most effective tools in organizational improvement. Mitigating retention efforts by engaging your staff can be key to a successful process. Getting back to the basics with “old-fashioned” communication that will help your organization establish or reestablish people skills is paramount.  Gathering valuable input is not only cost effective, but also transformative thinking.

Two examples which come to mind are employee surveys which lead to actionable outcomes and exit interviews that spark change.  While artificial intelligence (AI) and automation has replaced many job functions, they can never replace the internal customer service experience that an employee’s engagement and team building experience can provide.  Just as mentoring and being coachable are not assessable through processes but more so by human interaction and feedback.

Employees are talking. The question becomes are organizations listening? If you want to know what employees are thinking, ask. The answers may provide dividends for years to come.

https://sbdctampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/employee-retention-business.jpg 750 1420 sbdclarry /wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Locked-Host-Logos-Horizontal-USF-Small-e1635274663378.png sbdclarry2022-03-30 21:27:032022-03-31 18:05:37Employee Retention Becomes Top Priority for Businesses

Budgeting Your Small Business for Success

Blog, Featured News, Human Resources

Budgeting Your Small Business for Success
by Corey McCaster | February 19, 2020

It is easy for a business owner to get caught up in the day-to-day minutiae of owning a business. Between bills, staffing issues and creating effective marketing strategies to appeal to the masses, some may find themselves living each business day just trying to make it to the next.

In order to become successful, one of the most important — but often overlooked — tasks for a business owner is to invest the time in creating an annual budget. Running a business without a budget is almost like driving a car without a steering wheel. It is the most effective way for a business to stay on track. Oftentimes the business owner views creating an annual budget as an arduous task and can rarely see the value until they implement it.

Clear Assessment

Creating a structured budget allows the owner to get a clear view of expenses, cash needs and expected income, allowing them to regularly monitor performance, improve profits and increase return on investments. This allows the owner to get a clear understanding of how much time and resources are needed for sales, marketing, outreach, etc.

Disregarding Personal Income

Often, business owners do not budget their own salary. This gives a false sense of profits at the end of the year. For example, the company is projected to have sales of $100,000. However, the owner didn’t put in the budget the $50,000 they needed for personal expenses throughout the year. Including the owner’s salary in the annual budget allows for a realistic picture of what to expect.

Unplanned Expenses

There are many expenses and situations that can pop up throughout the year that could send a business into a tailspin. Creating an annual budget allows the business owner to be proactive instead of reactive when these situations inevitably occur. Being reactive could cause a cash flow nightmare because they don’t have a clear understanding of what their true needs are for the future.

Profit Picture

Without a clear annual budget, it could be hard for the unprepared business owner to know what to do at the end of the year if they see a profit. Actually, without a comprehensive budget, the business owner may not even notice that the business has even made a profit. Creating an effective annual budget includes creating a budget of what to do with the profits. Though it may be easy to pocket the profits, investing in things like employee retention and enhancements in technology or structure will allow the company to grow and increase profits in the years to come.

Building Comradery

Depending on the size of the company, the process could be a bit overwhelming. Allowing the employees to contribute not only helps with the burden, but it also gives employees a sense of value. Allow the various department heads to create a budget for their department, then come together and show them how each department is essential to the bigger picture. This allows everyone to operate on the same page and develop a mutual respect for each other’s contributions to the company.

There are many positives to creating an annual budget. It is ideal to start planning in the beginning of the last quarter of the fiscal year so you can take into consideration earnings, hard costs and unexpected costs. Items that should be included in your budget are:

  • Financial performance and forecasts
  • Key objectives & business goals
  • Key performance indicators
  • Potential industry changes (including market, clients and competition)
  • Staffing changes
  • Personal investment and salary

Success is dependent on planning for the future. When the inevitable crisis or unexpected burst of success approaches, having a plan of action set in place will allow you to be better prepared to conquer any situation.

Author

Corey McCaster

Corey J. McCaster

Consultants, McCaster, Pinellas

Florida SBDC at USF, Pinellas County
Specialty: Business Planning, Financial Analysis, Marketing and Sales, Loan Packaging, Strategic Planning

Corey McCaster brings more than 20 years of experience to the Tampa Bay small business community. McCaster specializes in small business accounting and finance, quality improvement and strategic business planning. His experience while “in the trenches” managing his own small businesses, and serving in Tallahassee at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, allows him to deliver a unique perspective and a wealth of knowledge to clients. McCaster is charged with helping small to medium sized existing businesses find new market opportunities, hidden profits and innovative ways to create sustainable growth, which includes hiring the right employees. His background in workforce development assists him in guiding business owners in attracting and retaining top talent. McCaster is a University of South Florida business school graduate and holds certifications in both project management and workforce development.

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https://sbdctampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/budgeting-your-small-business-scaled-1.jpg 1354 2560 admin /wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Locked-Host-Logos-Horizontal-USF-Small-e1635274663378.png admin2020-02-18 22:11:392022-01-08 03:07:27Budgeting Your Small Business for Success

Unsung Causes of Employee Turnover

Blog, Featured News, Human Resources

by Corey McCaster | October 9, 2019 In the current marketplace, business owners are struggling to find good, valuable and loyal employees. When they do find one, they may find it hard to retain them and may not realize why. In this climate, it takes more than wages and benefits to incentivize employees to stay. […]

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Building Your Dream Team

Blog, Featured News, Human Resources

by Carl Hadden | October 8, 2019 When a business owner first opens shop, there is one thing he or she must remember – starting and operating a small business is a team sport. One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is attempting to do everything on their own. You can’t do […]

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6 Ways to Find the Right Employee

Blog, Featured News, Human Resources, SBDC News

by Kyle King | August 13, 2019 When a business owner opens up shop, there are several costs that he or she must consider when building their budget. They soon realize that employees are one of the costliest investments they must make. Employee turn-over costs businesses billions of dollars annually. According to the Society for […]

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Is your new hire a W-2 Employee or 1099 Contractor?

Blog, Business Essentials, Featured News, Human Resources

by Corey McCaster | May 21, 2019 Many small business owners may find themselves faced with the dilemma of determining if a new hire is considered a W-2 employee or a 1099 independent contractor. Unfortunately, they often make the wrong decision. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) nearly 3.4 million employees are classified as […]

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Things to Consider When Hiring Your First Employee

Blog, Featured News, Growing Your Business, Human Resources, SBDC News

by Pat Gordon | March 30, 2018 You’ve been through all the initial challenges of opening your own business. You created a business plan, calculated your costs and pricing strategy, and opened a business bank account. You decided on a business name, researched your target markets, created a website and developed your social media strategy. […]

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Six Steps to Curing Employee Churn

Blog, Growing Your Business, Human Resources, Marketing

“I can’t find the right people to hire and even if I do, they don’t last more than a year or two!” the client groaned sitting across from my desk. “We pay the going rate but things have changed. Employees just aren’t loyal anymore!”

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Two Tools for Reducing Employee Turnover

Featured News, Human Resources

We have already identified the effects of employee engagement and the impact of employee turnover on business success.  I have seen this first hand within my own business and at many organizations around the globe. The U.S. economy is gaining steam and revenue is growing. While that is great, there are risks and one of […]

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The Florida SBDC at the University of South Florida is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide partnership program nationally accredited by the Association of America’s SBDCs and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida, and other private and public partners, with the University of West Florida serving as the network’s lead host institution. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals.

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