Leandra Nisbet has looked and looked, but can’t find a practical way to provide healthcare for her small business, with two full-time employees. “Until you get to 50 employees, 25 minimum, it’s just not feasible,” she said.
When one of her employees needed health insurance, Nisbet, owner of Stingray Advisory Group in Grand Rapids, got creative. “It’s important to me to compensate my team members well and look at living wages. Health care is a part of living. So, after a lot of research and not finding any viable options, I gave her a raise to cover the added living expense.”
Nisbet wants to make sure she attracts and keeps the best talent, one of the reasons she participated in a Good Jobs Cohort offered by Northern Initiatives and People First Economy. “It’s the right business decision. There’s a lot of competition for talent. Employees have so many other options,” she said. “Even if you’re not hiring, think about retention. You don’t want to lose the quality talent you’ve nurtured.”
The cohorts are arranged geographically or by business type, such as Upper Peninsula or Childcare. Nisbet was part of the West Michigan Good Jobs Cohort, receiving free social and environmental sustainability consulting services. Businesses in the cohort ranged from grocery stores to nightclubs and the entrepreneurs participated in “best practices” group meetings, worked on assignments, and received follow-up resources.
Whitney and Travis Washington don’t have any employees, but are already thinking about being quality employers.
“We want to move from independent contractors,” said Whitney, owner of Life Addicts Studio in Grand Rapids. “When we’re able to move to an employee model, we want to make it so people want to work here.”
They knew what they wanted to offer – job security, creative benefits, room for growth – but weren’t exactly sure how to get there.
Goals for the cohort participants varied extensively, from moving to a worker ownership model to employee wellness plans. Several cohort members don’t have employees on the payroll yet, but are working towards the day they do.
Whitney Washington knows her Life Addicts Studio is up against national chains and larger gyms when it comes to hiring trainers, so she has to get clever with what she can offer. She’s working on developing an employee handbook, a wellness plan, and working on benefits that satisfy both employee and employer. And she’s looking at the long-term health of her business, as well, and how to keep it sustainable both economically and environmentally.
Nisbet has noticed later generations are looking for more than a job; they think about the impact business has, how it gives back to its community, how sustainable it is. “These are big goals,” she said, “and the resources through the cohort encourage you to keep this top of mind.”
Nisbet’s biggest takeaways were in continued leadership growth and development, she said, and she’s making a point of intentionally carving out time to work on the skills for both herself and her team.
“We have a big focus on professional development. I’m continually improving how we show up for our clients and how I show up for my team,” she said.
