Many small business paying for health insurance coverage for their employees have seen an increase in their premiums year after year, and they expect 2016 will not be any different. And although paying for health insurance coverage for their employees is an expense that keeps increasing, the alternative is not something they are considering doing. To retain or attract top workers for their companies, the incentives they offer are as important as the salaries they promise.
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Should your small business outsource IT?
Depends on how small a business it is.
To outsource or not to outsource, that is the question many small businesses struggle with.
For certain support tasks, like payroll, outsourcing is universally considered the small business protein shake: without it there’s no way to compete with the big guys. But for other business functions, outsourcing is more like the candy bar: it’s tasty at first, but in the end, there’s little real benefit.
IT was once considered a no-brainer for small business to outsource. After all, good IT is expensive and hard to find. Why further stress a fragile revenue stream with another salary?
But in more recent years, IT evolved from a purely supportive department to an integrated revenue driver. For companies who rely on their IT for innovation, outsourcing IT is not a no-brainer; it’s unthinkable.
So what is right for small business: outsourced IT or an internal department? Let’s examine what they need to consider.
Small business health costs: Up this year and next?
The vast majority of small businesses are paying more for health insurance for their employees under the health care law, and many expect their costs to keep going up next year, according to a survey by the advocacy group National Small Business Association.
Ninety percent of the 810 owners surveyed said their costs are up in 2015 over last year, and 84 percent expect to pay more in 2016.
The number of companies that offer health benefits to their employees fell 5 percent to 65 percent this year from 2014, the survey found. The largest decline came in companies with 10 to 20 staffers; 73 percent are offering benefits versus 86 percent last year.
But nearly half the owners provide health insurance to more than 80 percent of their workers. Almost all the owners — 94 percent — believe offering health insurance is important to recruit or retain top workers.
Local entrepreneurs report growth, job gains
COLUMBUS — The Columbus chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s annual EO Global Entrepreneur Indicator shows overall growth and opportunity in central Ohio.
The indicator is intended to reflect top Columbus entrepreneurs’ economic experience during the past six months and their outlook for the coming six months.
Seventy-five percent of those involved in the Columbus survey say employment rose in the past six months; the numbers were 70 percent in Cleveland, 56.8 percent in Cincinnati and 58.3 percent globally.
However, only 60.7 percent of those surveyed locally expect an increase in hiring over the coming six months. That’s in contrast to 80 percent in Cleveland, 67.6 percent in Cincinnati and 62.8 percent globally.
Those surveyed in Columbus reported strong profit and revenue numbers both in the past six months and in their outlook for the coming months, besting the percentages of the other Ohio cities’ entrepreneurs in most cases.
