6 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Business

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This post was written as a collaboration by the attorneys at Sodoma Law – with special thanks to John Woodman.

As we count down the days remaining before the clock strikes midnight and 2017 begins, it is the perfect time for business owners to finalize your 2017 plans. Here are six New Year’s resolutions/goals for your business to prepare for 2017:

1. Revisit Your Hiring Policies and Procedures.
Review your job application forms, as well as your interview questions and selection criteria. Applicable federal, state and local laws limit the questions that may be asked about an applicant’s race, gender, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, sexual identification, marital status, pregnancy, age, family plans or other personal issues. These topics should be strictly avoided. If not, an applicant may successfully file a discrimination claim against your company.

If your business requires background checks, you must look carefully at your state’s specific statute to determine the function, applicability, and compliance of the background check. You must also make sure to comply with your state law in obtaining consent, evaluating the information, and providing the applicant with a copy of the results. Some states ban all forms of background checks to prescreen applicants.

2. Update the Company Employment Handbook.
The beginning of a new year is a great time to roll out any new company policies and procedures. If you have items you have been meaning to put in place, this is an excellent time to review/update the company handbook and roll it out with the start of the New Year.

As your company changes, the federal and state statutes that apply to your company do as well. 2016 brought many changes to employment law that should be reflected in your company policies. If you use a generic handbook and/or fail to update it on at least a yearly basis, you will most likely regret your decision when you are defending against a lawsuit or an unemployment compensation hearing.

3. Provide Feedback to Employees.
Your employees are your company’s most valuable asset. Take some time to evaluate and discuss goals with your team members so that they know what to expect in the coming year. Performance appraisals are a good way to address potential problems, give employees the tools and information they need to succeed, and lay the groundwork for discipline and termination, if necessary.

4. Review your Debt Obligations
Having an intentional and proactive approach to your company has largely led your company to the successful position in which it sits. While many aspects, including misfortune or the downturn in the economy, can negatively impact the financial success of your company, so too can its financial obligations. In order to prevent a financial surprise such as a large balloon payment (which could cripple the business), it is imperative to understand the company’s debt obligations while working with the company’s attorney and banker.

5. Plan for Taxes
A bad interest rate or a surprising balloon payment can be crushing to a business. To that end, poor tax planning can be equally troubling for your company. Being strategic from the outset concerning the corporate election (S-Corp, C-Corp, or solo business owner) is the key to your success; evaluating your company’s depreciation schedule of its equipment and furniture can also save on payments to Uncle Sam. Moreover, intimately evaluating your Company’s mechanism to defer income and accelerate expenses for this taxable year is always a fruitful exercise.

6. Evaluate Best and Worst Practices for Possible Strategic Growth
With the close of each year comes self-reflection. All of us do it…”well this year I’m not going to eat sweets and going to go to the gym six days a week.” Some of these self-reflections or resolutions are realistic while others are not. Nonetheless, the exercise can be productive for self-growth. The same is true for your company. Evaluate the aspects of your company that worked well, the areas that need improvement. From there, identify the areas to be implemented in the upcoming year and consult with your key personnel or like-minded mentors. It’s amazing how self-reflection on not only the good but also the bad can propel a business into new heights.

These comments do not constitute legal advice. As every situation is unique, please contact your attorney to discuss how to properly prepare your business for the 2017.

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