Three out of four small business owners believe that the number of workers financially unprepared for retirement has hit “crisis levels” according to a survey released by Nationwide Financial last week. The company is one of the backers of the Save Act introduced in Congress earlier this year. They say that it may help to encourage retirement savings by reducing some of the most common barriers small businesses face when it comes to employer-established IRAs.

The survey made it clear that small business owners recognize the value of offering retirement plans but find them difficult to implement and afford. Among the major findings were:
Less than 20 percent of small businesses offer a 401(k) or other self-funded retirement plan and only 11 percent are likely to add one within the next two years.

When asked why they’re not offering a retirement plan, 69 percent said their business is too small and more than half said they cost too much.

Having a retirement plan helps to attract qualified employees according to 78 percent of those surveyed.

Almost half (46 percent) of small business owners were unaware or unsure that an employee self-funded retirement plan could be offered without having to match employee contributions.

Most business owners said they would prefer plans that allowed them to decide whether or not to match employee contributions and would welcome the ability to pool their resources with other businesses to lower administrative costs. These results are based on 501 online interviews conducted by Harris Interactive Inc. on behalf of Nationwide Financial, a diversified insurance and financial services organization.

The SAVE Act sponsored by Congressmen Ron Kind (D-WI) and David Reichert (R-WA) might help this situation. It would give small businesses more flexibility and incentives for offering employer-based retirement plans. Specifically, the legislation would create new Multiple Small Employer Plans (MSEPs) where businesses could pool their resources, reduce their expenses and simplify their administrative burdens compared to single employer plans. Additional provisions would also make it easy for businesses to transition to traditional 401(k) plans as their needs change.

However things work out, it is obvious that many Americans will not have enough money for retirement unless some reforms are made. Another survey by Wells Fargo just made headlines for finding that about twenty five percent of middle class Americans now think they will have to work until they are 80. Making it easier for small businesses to sponsor retirement plans for their workers could be part of the solution.

Smart metrics are essential to any successful business. Remember former New York City mayor Ed Koch who was famous for asking everybody “How am I doing?” You might want to be a little more selective, but you still need a way to measure the results you’re getting. This is a crash course on metrics.

Definition of Metrics: Metrics are measurements of any value. The critical questions are what do you need to measure and how can you measure it. No matter what your line of work, that’s likely to include time and costs, quality and customer satisfaction. In this economy, you need to make ongoing evaluations and improvements just to survive.

Different Kinds of Metrics: Just like your old college courses, metrics can be designed on a pass/fail basis or you can define an acceptable range and give yourself a grade accordingly. All metrics should be as simple as possible so employees will be more likely to use them and apply them accurately. They need to be informative in the sense of letting you know whether things are getting better or worse over time. You also want them to be reliable. Two different people measuring the same thing should get the same result. Most of all, they should be relevant to you and your customers. Pay attention to industry norms. They provide a good gauge of what matters and allow you to benchmark yourself against your competitors. Most companies will need to create multiple metrics for things like financial performance, productivity and customer satisfaction.

Striking a Balance: Without metrics you run the risk of failing to maintain acceptable quality standards. That could mean lost customers and winding up with a bunch of shoddy merchandise no one wants to buy. On the other hand, it’s sometimes dangerous to exceed customer expectations. Your products might wind up being so expensive that people will shop for lower-priced alternatives. In addition, one benefit sometimes comes at the expense of another. Your oven may be a culinary wonder but then people say it takes up too much kitchen space.

Where to Start: The needs and desires of your customers should provide your starting point. Focus on externals and outputs first. Then, you can worry about the internal processes that will enable you to fulfill those expectations and goals.

How To Use Metrics: The best metrics don’t matter unless you use them. There may be legal requirements for collecting and reporting some data like safety features. Other typical uses include external communications with your customers and other stakeholders to enhance your sales and image and internal communications with management and employees to improve performance and productivity.

Employee training is essential to empowering your staff to contribute to their fullest. Yet, it often gets cut out of the budget in bad years and treated haphazardly even when times are good. These are 7 ways to get better returns on employee training.

1. Conduct A Needs Analysis: Determine your goals in advance. Structure your training program so that it’s tied to measurable performance standards. Evaluate areas where your company is weak so you can focus on correcting deficiencies. Maybe you need to improve your capacity to manage your financial resources or guide staff members on developing higher level supervisory skills. Knowing what you need will reduce the danger of signing up for expensive courses that sound good but may not be of much practical benefit to you.

2. Provide a Sound Orientation: Hiring a new person is a big expense so increase their chances of success by giving them a thorough orientation. By explaining the company culture and procedures you help new hires to get integrated as effective team members. The time you spend clarifying expectations can help improve job satisfaction, employee retention and productivity.

3. Appreciate the Importance of Informal Training: Employees learn many of the most important lessons about their job from their co-workers. Foster a collaborative atmosphere that rewards people for sharing their knowledge. Company materials are also a valuable resource for helping people stay informed and up-to-date. Promote self-study materials and opportunities on a regular basis.

4. Know When to Use Formal Training: Formal training may be necessary for complex subjects that need to be mastered quickly or when you sense that employees are lacking in motivation. Check out offerings from training firms, consultants and your suppliers, as well as local government and university programs.

5. Make it interactive: People retain more information when they get engaged in a course. Incorporate videos and other media. Try role playing exercises or break out into small groups for discussion. Throw in some pop quizzes to reinforce learning and identify areas that may need to be reviewed.

6. Use Story Telling: Anecdotes are a reliable way to liven up any topic. Illustrate what you mean by good customer service by picking out some best examples from your company’s history or from other sources.

7. Evaluate Your Efforts: By establishing learning objectives at the outset, you can measure whether your employee education and training programs are giving you a good return on your investment. Plan to administer written tests upon the completion of formal in-house sessions. Ask for written reports when staff members attend out-of-house sessions too. Track the impact that these activities have on actual performance.