Most pay raises are attached to a performance review -- so how do you get the best out of that performance review if you're the person conducting the appraisal? These are ten tips for how to approach a performance assessment so that both you and the employee on the receiving end feel good about the process.

How to hire someone

Hiring a new employee can be the most important single decision an entrepreneur makes. Here's a guide for the task.

HR outsourcing

What do you really need to know about HR companies? In the words of Will Robinson, a small business counselor for SCORE in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. "They will protect you legally, but not emotionally."

Hiring customer service staff

How do I find customer service folks who aren’t jerks to handle inquiries and complaints? Here's a starting point -- look for people who care about people.

Ten Interview Questions that Sound Like They Should Be Okay to Ask (But Aren't).

Do you want to get sued just because you said, "you have a great accent, where are you from" to a potential employee? Or because you asked a candidate in a wheelchair how they lost the use of their legs? The law provides equal opportunity protection for everyone, and prohibits discrimination in the workplace for people who fall into specific protected classes. When you're hiring and interviewing, you need to phrase your questions carefully.

10 steps to starting your own business

Running a business doesn't stop until the business stops. You can start a company faster and easier in the United States than almost anywhere in the world, but getting it right takes a plan. You'll need to consider whether you need a business loan, temporary or permanent staffing, whether you're going to use a public relations company to get word out about who you are, business insurances, data backup, where are your customers coming from? Will you need to contract with a lead generation service? And this is just the very tip of the iceberg.

Behavioral Interviewing - Using the Past to Predict the Future

People lie in interviews. It's a fact, get over it. Sometimes they're small lies, like stretching the truth of what their experience is. Sometimes it's a big lie, like why they left their old job. Either way, as an employer, you want to be able to predict how a new hire will fit into your company, and the past is the best way to figure that out.

Managing Turnover - The Hidden Cost Black Hole

When you hear the words "turnover" and "churn" do your thoughts turn to chilly fall evenings with fresh-baked apple-filled pastries and a big scoop of ice-cream? Or do the words give you a staffing headache? A lot of small-business owners make the mistake of not interviewing to hire once. They don't know it, but their hiring practises mean that they have to go through the hiring cycle a couple of times before they find someone that is the rght fit for the job, and will stick around.