Along with the year long contentious debate over the recently signed Health Care Reform bill, there have also been many misconceptions and falsehoods spread that the Health Care bill is bad for small business. Truth be told, as with most legislation, there is both some good and some not so good. The good is that this bill will do much to counter the skyrocketing costs of health Insurance while cutting a projected 138 billion dollars from the federal deficit between 2010 and 2019 and an additional 1.2 trillion over the second decade which could, in turn, reduce taxes and interest rates. Additionally, Starting with 2010 taxes, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees that pay at least 50% of the health care premiums for their employees qualify for a tax credit up to 35% of your premiums (50% after 2014 if you purchase insurance through an exchange). How much of a credit you'll get depends on the number of employees you have and their average wage. NOTE, This tax deduction is not available to sole proprietors, so you may want a different corporate legal form. The not so good is that there are no caps on health insurance premiums. This may cause insurance companies to hike rates significantly before they have competition in 2014. If a company has more than 50 employees, They will have to provide coverage, or pay a fine beginning in 2014.

With ubiquitous intranet connectivity, advanced telecommunication and networking technology, employer initiatives for work-life balance, shrinking travel budgets, and disaster preparedness planning, many professionals are logging in, signing on, pinging, tweeting, or connecting to networks from home offices, hotel rooms, telecommuting locations or handhelds.

I read a great article in the March 2010 Harvard Business Review. According to their research, twice as many Indian leaders as U.S. leaders think that human capital drives business success. Among the Indian firms they studied, 81% of the heads of HR reported that employee training and development was essential to building competitive organizational capabilities, whereas according to a survey by the American Society for Training and Development, only 4% of U.S. Chief Learning Officers head that view of their own operations. Their research demonstrates that they place an intentional focus on employee motivation by:

An employee will remember their first day of work at a new job. They will remember if their new manager and team were eagerly awaiting their arrival with warm smiles. They will remember if their workspace was ready with an internet connection and ready phone line and even more so a welcome package on their desk; not just with typical HR paperwork, but maybe a company logo t-shirt, set of pens or coffee mug. The first day will set the tone for their new job. And the level of effort put forth by the employer to welcome their newest hire over the months to follow could possibly determine the length of their stay and their level of productivity. The area’s top employers recognize the trends associated with new hire orientation and employee retention and are adopting robust assimilation programs. These programs are targeted toward:

According to Monster.com, reports show that 46% of recruiters surveyed in the Mid-Southeast stated more than half their openings are difficult to fill. The current economic environment has created additional challenges for employers and recruiters when searching for potential candidates and making hiring decisions.