IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies & family owned businesses.  The following blog has been provided by Vivek Mukherjee of Inspired Expartriots (https://inspiredexpatriates.net/):

Designing a Paid Time Off Package for Your First Employees

When your small business becomes a successful venture, you will have the chance to grow into new opportunities. This might mean expanding your operations by hiring employees to help with increased demand for your services. Running a company that hires employees comes with a slew of new challenges, however. Workers expect benefits beyond the expected fair wage, and a reasonable paid time off (PTO) policy is chief among them, according to Zenbusiness. Prepare for your company’s growth by learning what PTO means from a business owner’s perspective and how to design a fair and appealing PTO program for your first employees.

PTO Overview

Developing a robust benefits package is important for the long-term growth and reputation of your company. Your business will flourish under the presence of talented employees who feel valued and cared for in their workplace. A generous paid time off policy will show that you respect your employees’ need for a healthy work-life balance, so paid personal days and extra paid vacation time will be well-received. The quality of your PTO policy and overall benefits package will directly correlate with your ability to hire and retain top-notch employees.

Common Pitfalls

In the early stages of planning a PTO benefits package, it’s vital to be aware of some negative outcomes that should be guarded against. The policy should be fair and reasonable, as an unfair policy will lead to problematic dissatisfaction among employees. At the same time, the policy should be airtight against possible cheating or violations. The exact wording is extremely important as lawsuits may arise in the event that employees feel wronged by their benefits package. Having the knowledge to protect against these unwanted circumstances will prepare you to draft your PTO policy in earnest.

Basic Considerations

There are many considerations that should be outlined in your PTO plan for everyone’s benefit. Common questions that can be answered ahead of time include:

• How far in advance should employees schedule their PTO requests?
• Do you offer PTO to contractors or part-time employees?
• Do you pay out unused PTO or vacation time when an employee leaves the company?

You may decide to work with a business consultant to help ensure that your PTO program includes all the expected provisions while still protecting the company from unwanted outcomes. Professional consultants can be found and compared through online job platforms, with costs that may range from $28 to $98 per hour depending on experience and skill level.

Presenting the PTO Document

When you onboard a new employee, you will inevitably present your finalized PTO document to be signed with the employee’s signature. For the sake of transparency and professionalism, this document should be neat and well-formatted. In the event that you must send your document to remote employees as a PDF file, you may find it difficult to send it through email or other online channels if the file is particularly large or contains many images.

Using the right PDF compressor tool will reduce the file size and make it easier to send while still maintaining the quality of images and other contents of the file.

Statistics have shown that only half of all employees are very satisfied with their benefits packages. This demonstrates the importance of putting care and effort into formulating a PTO benefits policy for your growing company. Following the appropriate steps to draft a satisfactory PTO package will boost the upward trajectory of your business as more employees are brought into the fold.

IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family owned businesses.  IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.