One of the best ways to keep your company up to date is creating a small business culture that's focused on learning. When your staff continues to learn, they'll stay up on the latest skills and developments in their profession and industry and keep their minds sharp. Sharper employees means greater innovations and fewer mistakes, all important for keeping your company at the forefront of what you do!

Want to create a culture in your small business where staff stay as eager to learn as they were in Kindergarten? Here are 3 things you can do:

When your business or venture remains on the relatively small or new side, it often makes great sense to hire your first employees as part-time. The US government defines a part-time worker as an employee who works under 30 hours per week. If you have tasks that need to be done but don't take a full work week to complete, a part-time employee will get the job done without costing as much as a full-time hire.

When working with part-time employees, here are ways to make sure they receive fair employee compensation:

Many business owners are finding out that allowing workers to telecommute is one of the best business decisions they can make. The reason is simple: We all want happier staff.

Happier workers are more productive and more appreciative of their jobs. They work harder and stay with companies longer.

Managers and business owners alike are finding that allowing workers to telecommute full-time or even part-time is an easy way to increase employee satisfaction across the board and improve small business culture throughout their organization.

According to Global Workplace Analytics, about half of the US workforce has a job that could easily allow for partial telecommuting and 20 to 25% of workers are currently telecommuting part-time. Of course, 80 to 90% of workers want more telecommute options and would like to work 2 to 3 days or more per week from home.

When you're a new company or a small business, it's tempting to want to try to cut costs by not offering certain employee compensation. Since small businesses with under 50 employees aren't required to offer their employees health coverage, many simply forgo the additional expense. In reality, though, it can save you money in the long run to provide employee health insurance.

Here are three reasons why providing health insurance can save you in the long run: 

Every company wants to hire the best talent possible for what they are willing to pay. And when it comes to employee compensation, it must not only attract talent but also retain talent. Attracting and hiring top talent is ineffective unless you can are able to keep them around.

For this reason, whether your HR is in-house or outsourced, an effective benefits package is essential to retention. In addition, preparing customized benefits packages demonstrates the value the company places on the individual employee.