After some discussion he decided the best thing to do was to reach out to his accountant to get professional advice. John asked, What can I do to reduce my tax burden, I am already at the limit. His accountant's reply?....

1. Taico® :: 67 Patterson Village Ct., Bldg F :: Patterson, NY 12563 :: 845-228-GIFT (4438) :: fax: 845-228-5136 :: info@taico.com
© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.
Employers. Jump over your obstacles and increase performance!
My friend, John A, called me about all the new taxes affecting his music company. He was a bit anxious about his
ability to continue operating in the black while retaining his talented employees.
After some discussion he decided the best thing to do was to reach out to his
accountant to get professional advice. John asked, What can I do to reduce my
tax burden, I am already at the limit. His accountant's reply?
"Well John you're doing everything right and by the book. Seems to me you're
just going to have to make more money.", then hung up the phone.
Businesses today, across the country, face the very same problems.
Regulation, not enough growth capital, health care costs, energy costs, more
taxes, complexity of taxes, uncertainty about the economy's future. Sure, if you
have the time, the money and the mentality to lobby legislators all day long for
relief, more power to you.
Frankly I haven't found one business owner, large or small, who enjoys such luxuries. Irrespective of the obstacles
being imposed on you by regulation and economic uncertainties, facing these gremlins squarely will help you survive
and excel. Here we look at the most pressing obstacles you face and ways to jump over them.
Once exclusively an HR issue but now ending up more and more on the desks of chief executives are the
performance and morale killers like internal power struggles, negativity, backstabbing and scandal within the ranks.
Enlightened leaders will always look at themselves first. They will ask, how is my leadership style and my day to day
attitude impacting employee behavior? By making the right personal changes, you won't need to bring in a behavior
cop or be one yourself. A more positive workplace starts with top down awareness. One example can be seen within
the hospital industry. When personnel are more satisfied, patients and the community benefit.
Nicholas Lavroff PHD industrial pyschologist and a member of the Patterson, New York-based Taico® Incentive
Services' advisory committee notes: "Of course, "engagement" can be almost as challenging to appropriately define
as "happiness. Engagement may be a better term."
A Modern Medicine article called Happy Staff=Happy Patients further illustrates this point.
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2. Taico® :: 67 Patterson Village Ct., Bldg F :: Patterson, NY 12563 :: 845-228-GIFT (4438) :: fax: 845-228-5136 :: info@taico.com
© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.
As your organization's leader, your workforce will largely reflect your day to day attitude. Building a culture of
performance and appreciation will bring you benefits. Consider an employee recognition and rewards program to help
create that.
Best selling author and clinical psychologist Dr. Noelle Nelson puts it this way. "Imagine having an immediate,
compelling way to power up your relationships in business, at work, at home and in love. A way to maximize your
personal and professional success and happiness." That's what appreciation can do for you and others in your
organization when you use it as the dynamic force.
Of course there will always be an employee with a poor attitude. They are rude to customers, other employees and to
you. They don't follow instructions and do what they want.
Confronting such an individual is difficult but must be done and done promptly.
Much can be learned during the interview process.
Save yourself unnecessary grief by conveying to employees early on what is expected of them. Mention the behavior
you want in the job description.
Tell employees to greet customers with a warm friendly hello.
Make "attitude" a performance criteria, a part of the performance appraisal process and something rewardable.
Ranked number one on the list of business concerns is the cost of health insurance for employees. There is a
plethora of approaches to reduce this cost. Some companies reduce costs by reducing employee coverage. Some
small businesses ask employees to contribute more to the plan expecting to reduce health insurance costs.
Unfortunately this could likely prove unpopular with workers. If you take this path, talk with employees to get a
consensus from them of they want covered.
Understanding behavior dynamics and what motivates the practice of wellness will prove a profitable investment.
Research on this subject is plentiful. Studies by NWNL, Mercer HR Consulting and others found that job-related
stress and burnout is significant, particularly in organizations that substantially cut employee benefits, change
ownership, require frequent overtime or let go of popular workers. Job stress can cause frequent health problems and
push employees to being less productive. Truth is, you can promote a culture of wellness. This will go a long way
toward improving performance in other areas.
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© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.
One new consideration is how to manage Obamacare, a 2000+ page piece of legislation. According to the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, small businesses with 50 or more employees are mandated to buy health
insurance for their employees or pay a fine, or tax according to Justice Roberts. There are however, tax credits for
certain eligible small businesses. The question becomes, will more small business owners cut full time employees and
look to hire advisers and consultants to get them through this?
Then there's the issue, as reported by Wall Street Journal and others, why are certain larger companies exempt?
Whatever is the case, improving employee wellness and reducing your health care costs is doable when you know
how to get everybody on board.
Rated number two is economic uncertainty and regulatory government actions. A sure candidate for raising anxiety
among consumers, investors, and business owners alike.
Depending who you listen to, we suffer from a deep and damaging economic downturn that is deeper and more
damaging than the 1930s. The turnaround date is a question mark.
A little research will reveal, however, how companies of all types survived and even prospered during the great
depression. They focused on innovation, service and their most valuable asset, their employees. The use of
recognition and reward programs have come into prominence since yesterday due to results. They work!
The point here is, irrespective of economic and regulatory circumstances, learning how to collaborate with your
employees will give you a huge advantage over others who are not.
Don't wait for an economic turnaround to capitalize on employee engagement, recognition and reward. Things you
can do now.
Sales improvement based on good practices and product knowledge.
Communicate and promote a clear, compelling direction that employees can enthusiastically get behind.
Encourage employees to submit ideas on how your company can grow and be profitable. All ideas are good.
Recognize and reward healthy behavior. Start a simple wellness initiative. This can be done very inexpensively.
Consider a Peer to Peer recognition program.
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4. Taico® :: 67 Patterson Village Ct., Bldg F :: Patterson, NY 12563 :: 845-228-GIFT (4438) :: fax: 845-228-5136 :: info@taico.com
© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.
Employers can significantly influence, if not control, how motivated and satisfied their employees are.
Instruct your senior leaders to demonstrate the desired values and behavior you expect from them. Build a one voice,
one heart, one mind place to work. Be a leader and a real human being.
Create a mechanism where your executive team reports to you regularly. This will be a wonderful opportunity to clarify
goals and present new ideas.
Mark D. Hirshfeld of GoldenRod Consulting concludes: "An engaged
workforce can act as insulation, a buffer if you will, from the effects of the economic
turndown,”
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