Here are this week’s links to a few good stories that we found and selected because we feel they might add valuable insights and perspectives for small to medium size businesses.

  •  Our friends at Exabyzness directed us to an interesting article on keeping employees happy.  According to a 2012 survey conducted by Career Builder, the majority of workers (70%) said that higher wages is the best way to increase employee retention.  John Hollon of TLNT – The Business of HR shared his thoughts on the subject in What Motivates Employees to Stay? It’s Mostly About the Pay.  Flexible work schedules (59%) are also favored by the majority surveyed.
  • Paul Shread, writing for TIME Business & Money offers another perspective in What the Best Companies Offer Their Employees.  Flexibility tops the list of those companies that were singled out as the “Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” program, which is conducted annually by the National Association for Business Resources. To learn more, you may want to check out the 101 Best and Brightest.
  • Lastly, Emily Maltby writing for the Wall Street Journal speaks to concerns some business owners have when the cross the 50 employee threshold as the Affordable Health Care Act takes hold in her article A Health Scare for Small Businesses. In Massachusetts, the health care mandate affects companies with 21 or more employees.  To address these issues and a host of others, partnering with a PEO might be a great and timely solution.  We like to think that the accredited regionally headquartered would be best.