This week’s news stories and how they impact your business.

This week, the latest jobs and wages data; Personnel Today published new research from WorkNest which showed only 16 percent of employers feel confident that their employment contracts and handbooks reflect everyday working practices; and Goldman Sachs reverses its AI policy, restricting access to advanced AI coding tools after allowing their bankers and traders to experiment with the technology.

Episode HERE

Pennsylvania could see new laws around minimum wage, employee protections, and recreational cannabis.

(This column originally appeared in the Inquirer)

The midterm elections are over, and Pennsylvania Democrats have achieved a “trifecta” — control over the state House and Senate, as well as the governor’s office.

For Pennsylvania businesses, some significant changes could be coming in the next year. Here are a few things to watch.

Minimum wage

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has said he plans to increase the state’s minimum wage, which is currently at $7.25 per hour. The higher hourly amount hasn’t been disclosed, but Shapiro in the past has pushed for $15.

Restaurant and retail businesses would likely be most affected by this change. But all businesses must consider that an increase in the state’s hourly minimum wage will increase overall compensation expenses as it will re-set wage scales and put upward pressure on wages.

It’s likely that any wage increase will be phased in so the initial impact can be absorbed. But businesses will need to budget for higher wages and should consider calculating payroll under several possible wage floors, including associated payroll taxes and adjustments for employees already earning slightly above those rates.

Paid family and medical leave

Although Shapiro’s minimum wage comments have received most of the media’s attention, other Democratic bills pending in the state legislature were previously unable to move past the Republican-controlled Senate to reach the governor’s desk for signing. These bills are likely to get a fresh look.

There’s the Paid Family and Medical Leave Bill (HB 200), which was introduced in 2025 and would require employers to provide eligible workers with up to 12 weeks of partial wage replacement for family and medical leave.

Under the current proposal, companies with 50 or more employees would bear the full cost of this measure, while those with less than 50 workers may be eligible for grants to help offset this expense. The bill had bipartisan support and passed the House in 2026 but is stalled in the Senate while alternative funding options are considered.

If this bill becomes law, most employers will have to change their paid time-off benefits, prepare to financially accommodate employees seeking longer leave for family or medical reasons, and consider alternative staffing while employees are absent.

Equal pay

An expansion of the state’s current equal-pay law, HB 630, which passed the House by a narrow margin in 2025 takes aim at equal pay protections.

The bill expands equal pay protections based on gender to include race and ethnicity. It applies a “comparable work” standard, meaning employees must receive equal pay for performing jobs that require comparable levels of skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions, even if the job titles or exact tasks are not identical. It also protects employees’ rights to discuss their compensation by legally barring employers from stopping, punishing, or retaliating against workers who talk about their pay, and limits an employer’s reliance on an applicant’s prior wage history.

If passed, the bill would require more scrutiny by employers over their hiring and salary-setting practices, as well as the kinds of interview questions they use. More documentation supporting an employee’s compensation will likely be needed as well as explanations when an employee is not receiving comparable pay.

Cannabis legalization

Currently 24 states allow the recreational use of cannabis. Pennsylvania allows its use for medical purposes only.

But if HB 1200 passes, recreational use of cannabis would be legalized for adults and a system of state-operated retail stores (similar to the state’s current liquor store system) would be introduced.

The bill could have mixed results. Existing medical-marijuana dispensaries would see more competition from state-operated stores, but a larger market. Entrepreneurs looking to grow, process, distribute, or potentially sell cannabis products could have more opportunities.

Public transit

Shapiro has talked about finding more money for SEPTA and other public transit systems. This may come in the form of new legislation, or it could come from a reallocation of sales tax revenues, according to one bill (HB 1364), which passed the House in 2025 and has idled in the Senate since then. The same bill includes investments for roads and bridges.

Reallocating state sales tax revenues could negatively affect existing projects and funding programs. However, the money could be used for new construction and maintenance projects, which could mean more jobs and opportunities for firms doing business with the state.

Also, a more expanded, reliable and less expensive public transit system could help employers with recruitment and make it easier for their existing workers to get to their jobs on time, while also potentially reducing traffic burdens.

LGBTQ protections

More protections for LGBTQ workers have long been a priority for many Democratic legislators. The trifecta may be an opportunity to see the Fairness Act (HB 300) actually become law.

The act is sponsored by Philadelphia-based Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and would explicitly address sexual orientation and gender identity in the state’s employment, housing and public accommodation protections. Its passage will ensure that employers have policies to address any potential discrimination against these groups.

Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Commission already interprets and enforces sex-discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity and explicitly addresses these categories. The Fairness Act would put express protections into statutory language. Employers should not wait for this law to be passed to adopt nondiscrimination policies. The act, which originally passed the House in 2023, was reintroduced in 2025 and remains up for a vote.

A new Pennsylvania legislature will convene Jan. 5 and, in my opinion, it won’t be long before the above changes become reality. It’s important now for business owners to work closely with their advisers — labor attorneys, payroll companies, HR consultants — to ensure that they’re prepared and in compliance.

The next two years will be all about 2028.

(This column originally appeared in The Washington Times)

OPINION:

Another divided government.

We have been to this rodeo before, most recently under Presidents Bush, Obama, Biden and Trump. There will be a stalemate for the next two years, with any major piece of legislation — healthcare, immigration, etc. — requiring a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override a presidential veto.

It is also very likely that the Democrats will once again get caught up in investigating the president and all those connected to him.

Here is what businesses can expect.

Tariffs

Tariffs have complicated pricing, costs and business relationships for many of my clients. President Trump will not back away from them, and he will take litigation to the Supreme Court, as he has done before. This time, however, things are a little bit different.

Not only are Democrats broadly opposed to his tariff policies but a fair number of Republicans are too. Mr. Trump has already said he will be “Mr. Veto.” Can the Democrats convince a substantial bloc of Republicans to stand up against tariffs? It will not be easy, but this has the highest likelihood of producing a veto override.

Inflation

The Iran war is contributing to higher gas and petroleum prices, raising the costs of commutes and many products and raw materials purchased by businesses across industries. Congress can stop additional war funding, and if it does, the president’s options will be limited. It is reasonable to expect a slowdown and more stability in the energy markets because of this.

However, businesses can expect continued exposure to volatility in fuel, freight and raw materials.

What about other factors contributing to inflation? Inflation remains elevated for many reasons, not least of which is the excess of money chasing too few goods and services, an enormous federal deficit and a central bank that is forced to “print” more money rather than getting help through spending reductions and tax increases. The latter two will not happen in the next two years or even beyond.

This means that businesses can expect inflation to remain elevated for the next two years, probably in the 3% to 4% range.

Interest rates

With inflation elevated and the economy relatively strong, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to reduce interest rates anytime soon. Today’s prime rate is 7%. According to long-term tracking of daily historical figures, the overall cumulative average of the U.S. prime rate — excluding a few major short-term fluctuations — is 6.85%, and the long-term median is 6.25%.

So things are really not that far from the norm. Neither Congress nor the White House will affect this rate over the next two years, which means that, as a businessperson, you can expect interest rates to remain where they are. Evaluate borrowing and investment decisions using today’s financing costs rather than assuming substantial rate cuts.

Taxes

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 made many big tax benefits — such as depreciation and estate taxes — permanent. What is “permanent,” exactly? Taxes will return to the forefront of the political arena as the country grapples with deficits, high government debt and funding for social and retirement programs.

They will certainly be an issue in the 2028 elections, and the changes could be widespread depending on the results then, but not now. As a businessperson, you can expect little to change in one of your most significant expenses over the next two years.

Immigration

Legislation enacted in June provided immigration enforcement funding available through fiscal year 2029. A Democratic majority cannot simply erase that money by withholding annual appropriations. However, that funding will come under significant scrutiny, which could give businesses time to help employees or contractors with uncertain status remain in the country and in their employment.

Small-business legislation

The 119th Congress has passed several bills that have helped businesses, including bills that provide a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, value privately owned companies, reauthorize innovation grants and expand tax deadlines for enterprises in disaster areas.

Other bills approved by the House Committee on Small Business would provide more funding and better resources for small businesses, and they are likely to pass this Congress. I would not worry about the future of such legislation; supporting small businesses is one thing on which both sides agree.

Local

The Republicans’ poor showing at the national level in the midterms Tuesday has also trickled down locally. That means, potentially, more local regulations on the workplace, hiring, overtime, minimum wage and health and safety. Businesses will need to pay attention to all these over the next two years.

My advice here is to get an update from your local lawyer, accountant or payroll service regarding the potential changes.

The next two years in Washington will be all about 2028. Both parties will be positioning themselves for that election. If you run a business, you should be doing the same.

Choosing a healthcare plan can be extremely complicated, but it’s necessary to attract and retain good workers.

(This column originally appeared in The Guardian)

Again, healthcare costs are going up. According to a recent study from Mercer, total health benefit cost per employee in 2027 is expected to rise 8.2% — after employers’ planned cost-reduction measures (without action, employers told Mercer their existing plans would rise about 11%). This would be the highest increase since 2003.

And, again, we see the same reaction from employers. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that even as healthcare costs have gone up, the share of these costs coming out employees’ paychecks has “shot up” even faster.

Healthcare costs always rise. Naturally, employers are concerned about their bottom line. But is the right approach to pass these cost increases to employees? Or perhaps this is just a little shortsighted, if not lazy. Particularly when many employers — specifically smaller companies, of which 44% don’t provide any health benefits at all — have options instead of just making their people pay more.

For example, offering an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) plan is a potential answer. Under this type of plan an employer doesn’t need to purchase group health insurance. Instead, a reimbursement is made to employees for when they get their own healthcare coverage.

An HRA isn’t for everyone. But it’s a good answer, particularly for small business owners. And it’s why ICHRA adoption grew between 73% and 128% among employers with fewer than 100 employees.

Another way to cut costs is by leaning into health savings accounts, or HSAs. If a company already has a high-deductible group insurance plan, it’s usually very easy to attach an HSA plan to it. Setting up an HSA plan incurs a nominal cost but with it employees can contribute their own pre-tax dollars to these accounts and then use the savings to pay for healthcare expenses including deductibles, copays, prescription drugs, many OTC medicines, and dental and vision expenses that may not be covered under the insurance policy.

An HSA enables employees to reduce their taxable income which in turn helps them save money on their healthcare. Workers like these plans because there’s no required distribution and the money grows tax free. Plus, if they change jobs they can take their savings with them. It’s an easy, inexpensive benefit to provide that cuts costs.

Once only a consideration for the biggest of companies, a growing number of smaller employers are now also choosing to self-insure. Some of my clients have signed up for level funded plans, with which they reimburse their employees for healthcare expenses up to a certain amount and then purchase stop-loss coverage to cover larger claims.

When a company self-insures, they start paying more attention to the out-of-pocket expenses their employees are paying. Because of this, a growing number of companies are negotiating rates with local urgent care centers, healthcare providers and pharmacies, and requiring their employees to use them to best control their costs. Amazon and other online pharmaceutical providers are now offering aggressive discounts on products under corporate plans.

For many of us, choosing a healthcare plan is more complicated than designing a bridge. It’s like you need a PhD in healthcare to understand all the ins, outs, deductions, credits, co-pays, networks and nuances, and you need an MBA to properly estimate your costs to decide on what plan is right for your family. Paying a consultant to work directly with employees to help them choose the right plan (or maybe go to the health exchanges or Medicare for older employees) not only helps them make smarter, more cost-effective decisions but also helps you cut back on a company’s healthcare contributions.

Any or all of these strategies can play a big part in controlling healthcare costs, both at the corporate and employee level. So why don’t more companies do this? Because it takes time, effort, resources. It’s a lot of work. Rather than doing this, most employers just pass the cost to their employees and move on.

But moving on isn’t a great idea. This type of laziness has its risks. At some point, the costs get too high and, considering that healthcare is always one of the most requested benefits, can have an impact on both attracting and retaining workers. The labor market is tight. Most of my clients continue to hunt for talented workers. The ones putting in the effort to offer these types of plans are more attractive to workers and position themselves not only to better control their costs but to grow.

This week’s business tech news features new AI agents for major business sectors.

(This column originally appeared in Forbes)

Let’s Recap:

• New AI Agents for construction firms
• New AI Agents for accounting
• New AI agents for property management
• New AI agents for healthcare firms
• New AI agents for marketing professionals

Construction ERP Provider CMiC Launches AI Agents That Can Create Jobs, Budgets and Invoices Using Natural Language

At its Connect 2026 conference CMiC — a Toronto-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provider for the construction industry — introduced NexusAI. The artificial intelligence platform is designed to help construction companies streamline project management, financial operations and administrative tasks. Users can create construction jobs, budgets and invoices through conversational requests. Teams can access project updates and alerts and can upload documents or enter natural-language instructions to initiate business processes. The company also highlighted improvements to payroll security and project visibility across the platform. CMiC’s chief product officer Steve Cangiano commented on the efficiency that NexusAI offers, “With these new AI-powered capabilities, job costing runs more efficiently and accurately, payroll data is better protected, and project teams have real-time visibility across every phase of work.” (Source: GlobeNewswire)

Why this is important for your small business:

Construction firms, historically understaffed, are very much in need of automation to streamline their back office and better cost jobs. They’re still waiting for robots to put up drywall or lay foundations, but those days aren’t here yet.

Collective Raises $100 Million to Automate Accounting, Bookkeeping, Payroll and Taxes for Solo Entrepreneurs

With the number of solopreneurs hitting record levels, fintech firm Collective which specializes in services for self-employed entrepreneurs and small businesses, has raised $100 million to expand its AI-powered financial management platform. The company plans to use the funding to further develop the technology. Key features include LLC formation to help entrepreneurs with important business and tax structures. An accounting and bookkeeping feature automates categorization of expenses, salary processing, and tax management. The platform also includes AI-powered customer service support that can resolve approximately 50 percent of support requests. Collective describes the platform as a “self-driving operating system for businesses of one” and estimates it has helped self-employed entrepreneurs collectively save approximately $350 million in taxes. The $100 million funding includes a $40 million Series B investment led by General Catalyst, QED Investors and Gradient Ventures, with participation from Intuit Ventures and other investors. (Source: Collective)

Why this is important for your small business:

There are a number of AI-powered bookkeeping and financial solutions maturing in the marketplace now and it’s not surprising, considering how so much of these tasks are mundane, repetitive and easily automated. I like the business formation capabilities of Collective. This type of app is right up the alley of startup entrepreneurs and freelancers, and considering there have been millions of these in the past few years it’s a market with many opportunities.

MRI Software Introduces AI Agents That Automate Rent Collections, Leasing and Property Maintenance

MRI Software — a Cleveland-based global provider of real estate management software — has expanded MRI Agora — an AI-powered platform with new features designed to automate leasing, property management and financial operations. The system provides 20 automated real estate workflows powered by nearly 250 AI agents to help commercial and residential property managers reduce administrative work, improve rent collection and respond to leasing and maintenance inquiries at any given time. Agora Intelligence and Agora Orchestrator are two core facets of the technology: Agora Intelligence analyzes leasing, financial and operational data to identify potential problems, such as overdue rent. Agora Orchestrator uses AI agents to automate workflows involving rent collection, leasing and financial management. According to the company, MRI Software serves more than six million users across more than 45,000 clients in over 170 countries. (Source: MRI Software)

Why this is important for your small business:

I have a number of clients that serve as landlords and property managers and it’s not surprising that AI can help them automate many of these processes. There is a lot of time being spent by these companies doing these tasks with humans, when AI can make these resources much more productive.

Cordial Launches Platform That Lets Marketers Access Customer Data Directly Through ChatGPT, Claude and Microsoft Copilot

San Diego-based marketing tech company Cordial has launched a new headless customer data platform (CDP) to help businesses access and analyze customer information directly through AI assistants. The company which specializes in AI-powered customer engagement focuses on providing marketers with valuable insights as they manage and analyze data. Marketers can ask conversational questions to examine customer purchasing patterns, preferences and engagement histories. The AI identifies valuable customer groups based on purchasing behavior, preferences, and the likelihood of making future purchases. Businesses can combine Cordial’s customer information with data from Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Databricks and Snowflake. Retailers including Boot Barn and Torrid are already using the technology to analyze customer audiences and pinpoint marketing opportunities. (Source: Cordial)

Why this is important for your small business:

It’s the smart move. Software companies that enable their systems to be connected to the popular AI chatbot platforms are positioning themselves for the future where most of the work will be done out of those systems, but driven by their data.

Assort Health Expands AI Receptionists to Handle Patient Registration, Insurance Information and Payments

Assort Health — a San Francisco-based healthcare technology company specializing in AI-powered patient engagement — has expanded its Patient Journey Platform with new digital intake and payment capabilities to automate administrative tasks and simplify interactions between patients and healthcare providers. The enhancements extend Assort Health’s existing AI agents beyond appointment scheduling, referrals and patient outreach to include patient registration and payment collection. Features include automated patient intake via AI agents that fill out forms and retrieve data from health records; the agents can coordinate scheduling and referrals while storing information about patients’ medical needs; and follow up on incomplete registration forms, outstanding payments and unresolved referrals. The goal is to give healthcare professionals more time with patients rather than dealing with an overload of paperwork. (Source: Assort Health)

Why this is important for your small business:

AI is expanding among small businesses and one area that I see very much impacted is virtual receptionists, which are getting smarter and more reliable daily.

The media will dissect this in the months to come, but the most important thing is how does this impact your small business and mine?

This week I offer my analysis of what will happen with key legislation now that the Democrats are in control of Congress. For starters, there will be a stalemate now in Washington. The president already said that he will be Mr. Veto. So, what does this mean for business owners?

Listen HERE

Trump punished for confronting Iran.

(This column originally appeared in The Washington Times)

President Trump gave America one of the best economies in years, with spectacular job growth, especially in the manufacturing sector, and low unemployment.

He made us energy independent again, negotiated access to Venezuelan oil reserves and secured a priority agreement for critical minerals in Greenland, tackled government waste, closed the border and deported tens of thousands of criminal aliens, which helped bring crime rates to their lowest level in 100 years.

For the first time in 47 years, we had a president who confronted the clear and present danger of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Voters dealt his party a massive defeat.

Their anger was palpable. Despite the president’s best efforts to rally his supporters, not enough of them came out to vote.

Those who did vote, in record numbers, were so angry that they were impervious to reason. They wanted to punish the president’s party for gas prices, a war they felt had gone on far too long and what they saw as overreach by agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In their rage, they elected a group of radicals who want to raise your taxes, massively increase spending, socialize medicine, throw the borders wide open and enact a woke social agenda.

The next Senate will include socialists such as Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan Democrat, who refuses to say whether Israel has a right to exist, Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota Democrat, who speaks of ripping apart ICE, and James Talarico, Texas Democrat, who once said there are six genders and there should be a welcome mat on our southern border.

Hope lies in the fact that the Democratic Socialists of America members of Congress and their fellow-traveling colleagues will overplay their hand. Investigations meant to harass, attempted impeachments and radical legislation will remind the American people why the pendulum must swing back to sanity in 2028.

For instance, instead of shouts of “Medicare for All” on the campaign trail, the American people will have an opportunity to take a cold, hard look at a scheme that would destroy the best medical system in the world and replace it with one that has failed spectacularly everywhere it has been tried.

Immigrant caravans are heading for the border. Democrats will demand that they be allowed in, unvetted, and the American people will be forced to relive the horrors of the Biden years.

The 2028 elections will be an opportunity to correct the horrendous mistakes of 2026. Republicans will be aided by the Democrats’ rhetoric and antics of the next two years.

Want to attract and retain quality talent? Consider how you can sweeten your benefits package.

This week I talked with Bradd Chignoli of MetLife about how small and midsized companies can compete with larger organizations by offering a competitive benefits package without stretching the budget. He also shared his professional journey with MetLife — a leading global provider of employee benefits.

“What we’re seeing is when people are satisfied with their benefits, they’re using their benefits, they’re two times as likely to be holistically healthy. And we know when that happens, they’re more engaged in the workforce,” Chignoli said.

Full interview HERE

A growing number of credit unions and community banks are rolling out AI platforms to help them better manage their firms.

(This column originally appeared in Forbes)

For the past few years the world’s largest financial institutions have been making big investment in AI. But now, it’s the smaller players that are starting to make big bets. Community banks and credit unions are finding practical uses for artificial intelligence: processing loan applications, assessing credit risk and answering customers’ questions.. Here are some examples.

AI For Loan Processing And Operations

Earlier this year Greensboro, Georgia’s BankSouth announced that they would be implementing a platform developed by Fidelity National Information Systems (FIS) to serve as its central operating system, maintaining customer accounts and processing deposits, withdrawals, loans, transactions, interest, fees and other banking activity as well as offer advanced analytics and integrations to a number of financial services providers.

Harold Reynolds, BankSouth’s President and CEO said that FIS gives his bank “seamless connectivity to the fintech partners we need.” He believes that his institution’s data strategy and “commitment to data-driven banking” will set them apart.

A similar commitment was made earlier this year by Luana Savings Bank, which is headquartered in Luana Iowa, by investing in nCino, a cloud-based banking platform that helps banks and credit unions automate and manage processes such as lending, account opening, customer onboarding and risk management. Luana’s strategy is to use the nCino platform to “unify and transform its commercial and agricultural lending operations,” according to the bank’s CEO Shane Greenleaf. The bank is one of the largest agricultural lenders in Iowa and says employees had been entering loan data as many as four times per loan.

“We chose nCino because it was the only platform that truly enables end-to-end transformation and not isolated improvements,” Greenleaf said. “We are re-engineering how we originate, underwrite and manage loans, eliminating manual touchpoints and empowering our teams to focus on strategic client engagement instead of administrative tasks.”

CFG Bank, which is based in Baltimore, is doing something similar. They’ve invested in the Jack Henry Platform on Google Cloud. Similar to the other platforms above, Jack Henry is a cloud-native system that brings core banking processes (deposits, account transactions, etc.) and digital services into one environment. The system connects to the bank’s existing core or replaces it, migrating data from the old system, and configures workflows and integrations. Jack Henry & Associates say that approximately two-thirds of their customers are on a private cloud.

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida Locality Bank is using Parlay Finance AI to automate the intake, qualification, and pre-vetting of small-business loan applications. The platform uses AI and machine learning to analyze applicant information and generate loan summaries, integrating with the lender’s existing loan origination system. Parlay is designed to identify pain points and speed up the decision-making process, eliminating excessive paperwork and is helping Locality to more efficiently process its Small Business Administration loan portfolio.

“Too many banks are still pushing paper across desks and calling it progress,” said co-founder and COO Corey LeBlanc. “South Florida businesses don’t have time for that. With Parlay, we can move SBA loans with the same discipline we’ve always had, but at a speed that matches the market.”

AI For Credit Decisions

Making the right credit decisions is critical for any financial institution. That’s why Commonwealth Credit Union (CCU) has invested in Zest AI, an AI-powered technology that helps credit unions make faster, more accurate loan decisions. The Frankfort, Kentucky firm is leaning on Zest AI to help analyze its borrower data and predict credit risk as well as automate some of their loan decisions, identify creditworthy borrowers and reduce their lending risk.

According to Jaynel Christensen, CCU’s Chief Growth Officer, “Zest AI’s technology is helping us manage our risk, strategically continue to underwrite deeper, say yes to more members, and control our delinquencies and charge-offs.”

CoVantage Credit Union is doing something similar with Scienaptic AI, an AI-powered credit-decisioning and underwriting platform that helps lenders approve more qualified borrowers while controlling credit risk and automating routine underwriting. Scienaptic analyzes loans using machine learning, automates underwriting decisions, activates fraud detection, and has integrations with major loan-origination and banking platforms such as MeridianLink, Origence, Symitar and Fiserv.

CoVantage reports up to a 22% increase in approvals and up to a 48% increase in automation thanks to Scienaptic.

AI For Fraud Detection And Compliance

Fraud is obviously a big concern in the financial services sector. Big banks can invest significant sums to catch and prevent fraud. But smaller firms in this industry also now have more affordable technology options to help them.

For example, Amerant Bank, a community bank based in Coral Gables, Florida, a few years ago rolled out an AI-powered identity and fraud prevention platform called Alloy that is helping to verify customers, automate account opening decisions and detect suspicious activity. The platform connects banks to more than 85 data source products to help with identity verification and transaction monitoring.

Amerant vice chairman and CEO, Jerry Plush agrees.

“With the addition of Alloy, we’ll be able to still meet regulatory requirements, while ensuring a faster and more seamless onboarding and underwriting process that will benefit both customers and Amerant team members,” he said.

Alloy’s co-founder and CEO Tommy Nicholas says that “The distinction won’t be who uses AI; it will be how — specifically how to anticipate attacks and identify risk the moment it enters the system.”

Dime Community Bank in Hauppauge, New York uses Quantifind Graphyte AI, an AI-powered sanctions screening and financial crime risk intelligence for payments. The bank relies on Quantifind to provide an accurate and real time risk assessment integrating internal data with unstructured public information and to strengthen its overall compliance.

Dime CTO Michael Fegan says that Quantifind’s AI-driven platform “equips us to protect our customers and communities while maintaining the highest standards of regulatory compliance.”

AI For Customer Interactions

Many companies are leaning into AI systems to help interact with customers and American Heritage Credit Union (HCU) is doing the same. The Philadelphia-based financial services firm has deployed the Gigi Virtual Associate. Gigi is a conversational AI agent designed to improve the customer service experience. When asked a question, Gigi uses artificial intelligence to analyze words in order to understand a request. Based upon that understanding, it will select the most appropriate response from a pre-defined set of answers written by HCU associates. HCU’s internal team reviews the conversations and refines responses to make sure Gigi is updated with new information and data regularly.

“When our members call our contact center, the front door is Gigi,” Adrian Rodriguez HCU’s SVP Data and Integration said. “It’s both voice and chat, and it’s basically to help our members if they need to do something that’s simple and straightforward. Whether it’s resetting passwords or checking a balance. We also use it now for our account opening and loan products.”

Finally, Clear Mountain Bank, with headquarters in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, has deployed an AI platform built by Alkami Technology, which is positioned between their core systems and their customers. They use it to coordinate digital banking, account opening and onboarding and AI-powered data analysis. The bank specifically says it wants to use that solution to analyze transaction data, identify customer needs and personalize engagement.

A growing number of AI-powered platforms are also providing workflow solutions. One example is the Penny AI Assistant, which is now used by Farmers State Bank (FSB) in Montana to handle multi-step workflows. The system connects to the bank’s scheduling tools, data, and messaging system to answer customer questions, enabling real-time, two-way text interactions. Penny can also retrieve data from FSB’s website and internal documents and forward questions or tasks to human employees when needed.

FSB’s Chief Retail Banking Officer Scott Falagan says that the platform is “helping us reimagine the banking experience, where customers can engage on their terms, receive immediate, accurate guidance, and still feel connected to the people who know them best.”

Smaller financial institutions have demonstrated that there are practical places to start with AI. The next question is what these investments deliver — shorter processing times, less administrative work and better service. Those are the results I’d want to see before calling any implementation a success. But the takeaway is that plenty of smaller banks and credit unions aren’t sitting around. They’re making targeted investments in AI solutions that are starting to provide realistic return-on-investment. And, from what I’m seeing, they’re just getting started.

Local employers shared how they compensate salespeople to incentivize great performance.

(This column originally appeared in the Inquirer)

The nation’s unemployment rate stands at about 4%. But it’s only 3.2% for workers in sales and related occupations.

That’s because even when business slows, many of my clients are reluctant to let good salespeople go. They’re counting on those employees to bring in new customers and keep existing ones.

But how should they pay them? For Philadelphia-area businesses, there’s no single formula. They might choose from several different approaches.

Base plus commission

One way is to keep compensation simple by paying salespeople a commission based on both new and existing customers.

This is how salespeople are paid at GLOBO Language Solutions in Wyncote, says senior vice president Jenny Esno. GLOBO helps organizations communicate with their employees, customers, partners, and suppliers across languages. The company uses thousands of linguists and employs about 15 salespeople.

“We compensate with above-average earnings through a built-in model that allows a senior account executive the opportunity to nurture and grow the accounts they serve,” Esno said. This structure is designed to retain high performers, she said.

New Jersey online retailer Adagio Teas pays their two salespeople a base salary and a percentage of sales.

“The plan aligns the company’s performance with salespeople’s compensation,” CEO Michael Cramer explained, adding that “high performers are rewarded with growing commissions.”

Anchor Pest Control in East Brunswick, N.J., also pays its salespeople a base salary plus commission. In addition, the company runs monthly sales contests, according to company president Carmen Reino.

“We’re a very competitive culture here,” he said, “so everything we do is based on competition.”

Project delivery

At First State Building & Design, a residential construction firm in Chadds Ford, a successful project delivery is just as important as making the sale, said general manager Micah Weeks.

“In construction, a sale doesn’t end when the contract is signed,” he said. “Poorly scoped or poorly priced work creates problems throughout design and production and ultimately affects the client experience.”

This is why, for him, it’s important to incentivize successful projects.

“Our approach keeps sales aligned with the overall success of the project, not just getting a contract signed,” he said. “That means selling work that’s properly scoped, appropriately priced, and positioned to deliver the quality and client experience we expect.”

Salary and bonuses

Mount Laurel-based Roosevelt Paper pays its 36 salespeople a salary plus monthly bonuses and incentives, CEO David Kosloff said. That makes the compensation split approximately 50% salary and 50% incentive pay. Newer salespeople receive a larger salary component.

“Our approach, starting over the last 10 years on the sales side, is a team concept with selling, where every account is shared between the inside and outside sales person,” said Kosloff, whose company has 350 total employees.

Although this approach is important, Kosloff wants to make sure he’s recognizing the best performers with a separate monthly bonus.

“Even though there’s a team concept with each account having two sales reps, there’s an individualized incentive,” he said.

Coaching and metrics

Several executives stressed that salespeople are not just motivated by compensation. Most want to be better at what they do. So a low-performing sales representative should not simply be terminated. Coaching could be a better solution.

At GLOBO Language, Esno says she works to distinguish those employees who need help developing skills from those who just lack motivation. She says that for lower-performing salespeople, the company evaluates whether performance issues stem from skill or motivation. Then it establishes a clear, time-bound improvement plan and provides hands-on coaching in the field. Reino is using AI to help train.

“We now have some AI programs so that for every call, a sales or customer service representative will get an email at the end of the day with feedback and suggestions for things they could have done better,” he said.

It’s important to make sure that reliable numbers are being used to best evaluate a salesperson’s results.

“In all cases, performance decisions are importantly guided by verifiable data,” Esno said. ”Because we rely on the success of our sales team, maintaining data integrity aligned with scorecard metrics is essential for measuring performance accurately.”

Anchor Pest Control’s Reino believes that clear performance expectations should extend beyond the sales department.

“Everyone has clear metrics from salespeople to customer service representatives, to management, to technicians and everyone knows what their numbers are supposed to be,” he said. “If they’re not meeting their numbers, we have an improvement program. We’ll put them through coaching.”

For business owners, the lesson is to decide what a successful sale looks like before deciding how to reward it. Build the compensation plan around that outcome, make the expectations clear, and give employees the coaching needed to meet them.