One of your best employees just came in with some exciting news – she’s pregnant and it’s her first! Everyone congratulates her and during the excitement, you begin to realize that this is going to affect your business in a profound way. Panic begins to set in as you think about all the help you’re losing – at least for the short term. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be so nerve-racking. You can create a reliable plan of action to deal with this momentous occasion. How Small Businesses can Prepare for Employee Paternity Leave, Too Of course, the same could be true for a new father. Your right-hand guy will be out for an extended period of time. Although this is a wonderful occasion, it leaves you feeling quite anxious. After all, this is one of your go-to people and definitely among your top performers. So, where do small firms commonly go wrong when it comes to managing maternity? ‘Some delay unnecessarily, rather than starting to plan and act as soon as they’re told about the pregnancy,’ Cecily Lalloo, an HR expert, replies. ‘This can mean you end up recruiting the wrong person, meaning you’ll have to repeat the process, which wastes time and money.’ —The Guardian Small Business While he’s away with his wife and new baby, all of his work will still have to get done somehow. Even more worrisome, is how you’ll fill that gap, regardless of the amount of time. It’s enough to make anyone feel quite unsettled because this type of news generally comes out of the blue and you’re unprepared for it. However, if you follow the suggestions below, you’ll be able to get through it as smoothly as possible. How Small Businesses can Prepare for Employee Maternity Leave When you’re faced with a maternity leave situation or any type of parental leave, you’ll obviously need a plan to follow. Here are some steps that you can take when this type of situation arises: Create or review your maternity leave policy. If you already have a maternity leave policy, then great, simply review it to ensure that it is up to date and that it will work for your business in its current state of affairs. But, if you don’t have a maternity leave policy, you can create one and customize it to fit your needs. Speak with the mom-to-be one-on-one. The next thing you need to do is to speak with your employee about her plans. Don’t be afraid to ask specific questions, or inquire about her plans to return or leave her position. It’s far better to know than guess, leading to unnecessary confusion and worry. Have her document all her projects and tasks. Regardless if she’s coming back to her position or you need to hire someone else, you’ll need to know exactly what projects and tasks she’s currently working on. Either way, you’ll need somebody to come alongside her in order to be familiarized with her responsibilities so that person can assume her role. Assign one or more backups. If you don’t have someone already on your team who can take over, consider spreading her work among a few people. However, if this isn’t feasible, you should consider bringing in a temporary person. Create or review your transition plan. Lastly, you’ll need to develop a transition plan for her return if she is coming back. This will allow her to ease back into the swing of things without being overwhelmed. What other suggestions do you have for preparing for an employee’s maternity leave? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your perspective. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Do businesses actually have a credit score? The short answer is — yes. And, these measures of financial responsibility are calculated much in the same way individual credit worthiness is determined. Although it’s not something that’s widely discussed or known about in the consumer world, businesses do have credit histories, and therefore detailed reports which give them scores. Read on to learn the basics about business credit scores and what you need to know. How Business Credit Scores are Calculated As mentioned above, a business credit score is measured very similar to the way individual scores are calculated. Meaning, the length of credit history, types of credit used, payment history, debts owed, and other factors. Unsurprisingly, the better a business handles its financials, the better score it earns. Businesses of all sizes may need credit. A carpenter with no employees may want to borrow money to buy equipment. A marketing professional with a few employees may be ready to purchase furniture and computers for a new office. A salon owner with subcontractors but no employees may want to buy, rather than rent, commercial property. Any type of business could benefit from a business credit card. —US News and World Report Of course, there are some differences, one of the most minor being the scores themselves. While individual credit scores range from a low of 300 to a high of 850, business scores range from 0 to 100, with 100 being the highest. Additionally, business credit scoring services use different models in order to determine the creditworthiness of companies. Also, instead of there being three main credit reporting bureaus for individuals, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, there are two principal business credit scoring entities: Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. How to Improve a Business’ Credit Score Since business credit scores rely on many of the same elements as individual consumers, nearly the same factors are used to assign a credit worthiness score. So, in order to maintain or improve a business’s credit score, companies must do the following: Keep debts manageable. Opening too many accounts and taking on large amounts of debt will only increase your financial risk. This not only hurts your business’s credit worthiness, it also puts a lot of strain on you as the owner. This is why it’s best to keep your credit accounts to a minimum and pay off as much debt as possible. Utilize different types of credit. Credit mix is also a consideration, meaning businesses having different types of credit accounts. While it’s advantageous to have various types of credit, it is equally advantageous to keep these to a minimum so you’re able to pay what’s owed in a timely manner. For instance, you might finance or lease vehicles through your business, have a business credit card, and maintain vendor credit accounts. All of these will go into determining your business’s creditworthiness. Be vigilant with your personal credit. One misnomer that entrepreneurs have about business credit is that it’s somehow separate from their personal credit and/or financial responsibilities. However, this is completely false. Business credit accounts almost always require an individual or personal guarantee. This of course means that if the business defaults on a line of credit, you are personally responsible for that particular debt. Moreover, business credit is partially scored on your personal credit, so it’s best to maintain a good personal score for the benefit of your company’s creditworthiness. What other suggestions do you have about maintaining a business’ credit score? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.