Youhave a complicated challenge ahead of you when you hire your very first employee for your small business. One of the first things that workers will seek from you as an employer is a fair and robust benefits package. Employees want to feel important and cared for in their company, so generous benefits such as paid personal days and extra paid vacation will yield great results. Paid time off is valued by employees who desire a healthy work-life balance, but designing a generous yet legally safe PTO policy is like navigating an intricate labyrinth. The process can be simplified by breaking it down into easy steps; author Mike McRitchie presents those steps below.

1. Answer These Questions

You can begin outlining your PTO plan by answering some questions about what inclusions and exclusions to implement in the package. Business owners should keep in mind that PTO is an important and sensitive issue, so some unwanted outcomes can occur if extreme care isn’t taken. This can include employee dissatisfaction, which is a huge problem in its own right, or even a lawsuit. Some important considerations for the early stages of planning your PTO policy include:

• How far in advance should employees request PTO?
• Should employees be allowed to borrow from the PTO bank?
• Do we credit for paid holidays in the middle of an employee’s vacation?
• Will we incorporate unlimited PTO in the future?
• Do we pay out unused PTO time when an employee leaves the company?
• Should this benefits package be presented as a DIY contract?

2. Consult With a Business Professional

Unless you have a thorough education in business and years of experience drafting or administering contracts, it may be in your best interest to hire a business consultant to review your PTO policy. A skilled professional can help mitigate any gaps in your contract that may allow for employees to violate or cheat the policy. You can find available business consultants through online job platforms and compare them based on cost, delivery time, and customer reviews. Business owners can expect to pay a marketing consultant hourly rate of between $28 and $98 per hour for a business consultant’s services depending on their experience and skill level.

3. Structure the Document for Presentation

When your PTO policy includes all the necessary clauses and has been reviewed by a professional consultant, it will be nearly ready to present to new employees. If you expect a talented worker to sign your document and finalize their company onboarding, you must ensure that the contract is presentable, professional, and formatted to be read easily. You may choose to include many attractive images or charts to highlight key points in the policy. If you must send your benefits documents to remote employees as a PDF file, it may be difficult to send such a large file with numerous images over email. A PDF compressor tool can be used in these situations to reduce the file size without compromising the quality of images or other file elements.

Experts often tout the importance of writing an easy-to-follow business plan in running a company. This philosophy extends to all facets of entrepreneurship, including the process of designing an employee benefits package. The daunting challenge of drafting a PTO policy doesn’t seem so challenging when it’s reduced to just a few simple steps.