One of the riddles that keeps business managers on their toes is the fact that there are state and federal regulations when it comes to various aspects of employee practices. And while most of these are built on good intentions, there are still things that need to be accepted and/or wiggled around during the course of operations.
Two of these specifically are regulations about minimum wage, and about overtime rules. So within those categories, there are techniques you have to use to maintain your professional bottom line. The categories below will each talk about how these topics are related.
Overtime Rules
Some of the latest news to affect business managers and business management is the news regarding overtime rules. Straight from the Obama administration, the way that certain employee hours are counted is now going to reflect changes that are going to affect availability, salary caps, and even the number of people that can effectively be put on staff in businesses of different sizes and types.
The Fight About Minimum Wage
And it’s hard to miss the fight over minimum wage going on right now all around the country. Definitions of a living wage are being thrown around with reference to urban vs. rural communities, and prices of commodities are going up, and people are complaining that certain jobs don’t deserve as much money as other jobs, but they’re still going to be on the same minimum scale – it’s a bit of a mess. And the bottom line is going to come down to small business management decisions of how many employees end up on staff.
Finding Your Balance
Ultimately, your job as the manager of a company is to find that right balance between how many employees you need to keep your clients happy, how much those employees get paid, how much overtime they can work, and how to balance all of your necessary incomes and expenditure rates in order to be able to improve your bottom line over time.
Creating Efficiency
And if you are hit with changes in regulations that do pinch your flexibility, one way to help yourself out is by learning business efficiency techniques that are fairly well laid out from a number of free resources. Some simple, physical reorganization may be all that you need to continue on with business as usual, even with external pressure.
Focusing On Smaller Markets
And if increases in minimum wage as well as changes in overtime rules really do force you to change your business model, a smart direction to go in is to focus on a smaller market. If you do it right, you can maintain your competitive bottom line and continue to make money, but in a more detailed manner with a smaller, more focused staff.