Engaging With Your Employees - Jeff Plakans - Leadership in Action- Episode # 46

Today’s guest is someone who is going to be an integral part of this podcast. He’s the MarComm Chair for EO Boston. He has deep industry knowledge of all things payroll and is an expert in running very successful service bureaus. Jeff Plakans is the Founder and President of Commonwealth Payroll & HR. Jeff joins host Mark Stiles to discuss some misconceptions about entrepreneurship, why employee retention should be a main focus for businesses, and how the covid pandemic shifted the world of payroll and hr.      Takeaways: People assume entrepreneurs go into business knowing everything they need to. In reality, many find themselves faced with challenges they have never encountered before.   While many people use the phrase “fake it til you make it”, open communication and honesty are a much better strategy when dealing with new problems.  Many entrepreneurs find direction for their company from the product or service they want to offer. As a business grows, leaders must also focus on the needs and aspirations of their employees Companies need to put in a strong effort to retain their employees. There are 2 open positions for every unemployed person and the world of hiring is more competitive than before. Covid caused many employees to reconsider the culture and habits built around work. Many employees have revisited the time they would spend commuting and time away from family.  With remote work becoming more common, tax situations became much more complicated. If you have employees in 10 different states, you have 10 different sets of tax rules you need to follow.  When implementing or upgrading hr systems, it’s essential to consider how your use of technology will be perceived by potential employees      Links:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/commpayhr  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffplakans/  Website: https://www.commpayhr.com/      Quote of the Show “Culture comes from the employees and what they make of their days in the office, and their relationships, both to the organization and to each other.” - Jeff Plakans Ways to Tune In: Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action YouTube - https://youtu.be/XYuotaBw6Cc