Archery retailers are not alone when it comes to finding themselves short of the one thing they need to thrive and grow: workers. Approximately 5 million workers have left the United States workforce since 2020. INDEED, the global job matching and hiring platform, recently reported that, today, there are 10.5 million open jobs in the United States and only 5.7 million unemployed Americans to fill those vacancies.

Finding qualified workers remains a challenge for every business. Archery retailers are being forced to offer higher pay and more benefits to increase their staff and take advantage of the much-anticipated improving economy. Unfortunately, they are competing locally with a slew of big businesses across the country that have been hiking wages and offering enticing bonuses.

The Options

Many employers have turned to independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes, hired family members, weathered the ever-changing labor laws and more, so much more to combat their hiring shortfalls. But, how to coax those badly needed workers off the sidelines remains a problem.  

Consider just a few of the strategies in play as businesses search for workers — and keep current workers from quitting. One example is offering a reward to those employees who bring another job candidate onboard.

These recruiting bonuses, also known as employee referral programs, foster a sense of trust in existing employees to refer good people that they will work well with. Of course, in order for these bonuses to be most effective, there should be some requirements to determine the success of the referred worker before the bonus is actually paid. Many of these successful programs often include requirements such as working a set length of time, meeting certain standards, sustaining growth over a certain period, and more.  

So-called “signing bonuses,” just like those we’re familiar with in professional sports, are becoming more and more common even with smaller businesses.  A signing bonus is money a business gives an applicant who has accepted their job offer.  

Depending on the local labor market, an archery retailer may have to offer a signing bonus to attract employees and convince them to accept a job. Obviously, that bonus shouldn’t be paid all up front.

There are two common options. The first and easiest is to pay the signing bonus in installments such as a third on signing, a third after 6 months, and the balance at the end of the year. The second option is a forgivable loan where the employee gets the entire bonus up front but signs a promisor note that can be forgiven in stages.

The Battle of Minimum Wage

A number of experts have said that low wages, specifically the minimum wage, make hiring difficult. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders has a simple solution to the problem of hiring low-wage workers: Raise wages and pay decent benefits.

Fortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, survey after survey seems to show that it is not money alone that attracts new workers and keeps existing employees on the job. It is the benefits.

Benefits to Attract and Retain Workers

No archery retailer can be an employer of choice without a benefits package. Employees are looking for a sense of security and, in many cases, even retirement packages (a 401(k) is the most common). Helping employees maintain their health and build a stable retirement shows job applicants — and existing workers — that a company values them.

Also currently treasured by job seekers — and employees — are flexibility and the opportunity to balance work with other life responsibilities, interests and issues. Job training, educational assistance, and employer-provided vehicles used for business are among the popular,  and often necessary, working-condition fringe benefits offered by many small businesses.

Job Training and Educational Assistance

Seeking workers “outside-the-box” often means job training, and many employers are finding ways to use a job seeker’s previous job experience to place them in new careers. There are also job training and educational cost assistance programs used for attracting job applicants — and welcomed by existing workers.  

On-the-job training provided by an employer is a tax-free hiring incentive as well as an invaluable “perk” for current employees. Educational assistance and tuition reimbursement are also welcome fringe benefits.

A retailer with a formal, written educational assistance plan isn’t required to immediately fund the plan, only reimburse an employee’s educational expenses — up to $5,250 per employee, per year and tax-free. Educational assistance doesn’t just include tuition assistance, but can also cover payments for books, equipment and other expenses related to continuing education.

What Do They Want?

There are many ways to attract and retain workers. Ensuring the business’s pay scale is competitive and includes fringe benefits, such as help with health insurance, flexible hours, occasional parties, help with child care, etc., can help attract and retain employees. Although clearly not a one size fits all, the archery retailer must tailor the solution to its particular situation. The first step may be finding what the employees want.

With workers quitting and saying they won’t return to their former industry, and others saying they won’t work for any amount of money, employers need to approach this challenge with creativity and open ears. Many experts believe the future of the workplace — any workplace —  involves “personalized employment,” providing targeted incentives and greater flexibility to attract workers.

Along with adequate compensation and tax-free fringe benefits, are often sought after “perks” such as:

• Flexible working hours and, if possible, location
• Career growth opportunities and options for continuing education and training
• An increased focus on quality of life, including adequate holiday time and, in some cases, help with childcare logistics
• Good working conditions
• Sensitivity to mental and physical health concerns, including burnout, exhaustion and increased risk of exposure to diseases such a COVID or one of its variants.

Obviously, employers cannot meet every need or anticipate each unique situation. What they can do is focus on results.

Affordable Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits are often defined as property and/or services whose benefit to employees frequently outweighs the cost to the employer.  Although some fringe benefits are included in an employees’ taxable wages, many benefits aren’t taxable wages and, yet, remain deductible by the employer.

Fortunately, thanks to our unique tax laws, every archery retailer can afford to offer fringe benefits to their workers, and may even be able to benefit themselves. That's right, our tax laws merely prevent employers from discriminating in favor of owners, key employees or other highly-compensated individuals when setting up any benefits plan that is to be tax deductible by the business and tax-free to the recipient.

Among the so-called "qualified fringe benefits” that are deductible by the archery retailer and not taxed to the worker are benefits such as health and dental insurance, medical expense reimbursements, education assistance, and day-care assistance.

Best of all, most tax-qualified benefits are deductible by employers and totally free of federal and state income taxes, as well as the employee’s Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Hiring From ‘Target’ Groups

Despite a tight labor market and the need for seasonal and/or year-round workers, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for employing workers from one of several “target” groups may help. There is even a special version of the credit for hiring certain disadvantaged youths to work during the summer.

The WOTC is a federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups who have traditionally faced significant barriers to employment. That means, qualified veterans, ex-felons, summer youth employees, long-term family assistance and long-term unemployment recipients, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients among others. 

Unless it is extended, the credit is available until Dec. 31, 2025. The amount of the credit ranges from $2,400 up to $9,600 depending on the targeted group and qualified wage paid to the new employee. Generally, the credit is 40% of qualified first-year wages for individuals who work 400+ hours in their first year of employment.

In addition, there is a special tax credit, a direct reduction of the operation’s tax bill rather than a deduction from the income that tax bill is based on, for hiring youths aged 16 or 17 who reside in an empowerment zone or enterprise community during the summer. This credit equals 40% for the first $3,000 of wages paid between May 1 and September 15, up to a maximum of $1,200 for each qualified worker.

Keeping It in the Family

Employing the children of the archery business’s owners could ease the worker shortage and, at the same time, save a sizable amount. The wages paid to any family member are, of course, deductible by the business. However, the children are entitled to claim a standard deduction of $15,000 for 2025, meaning that earning up to that amount, and if they have no other income, will not be subject to federal tax.

Of course, if the child is a dependent on his or her parent’s tax return, the standard deduction for dependents is limited to either $1,350 or the sum of $450 and the dependent’s earned income, whichever is greater. Obviously, it can’t exceed the regular standard deduction.

For the archery retailer, payments for the services of a child under the age of 18 aren’t subject to Social Security or Medicare taxes if, of course, the business is a sole proprietorship or a partnership in which each partner is a parent of the child.

Payments for the services of a child are subject to income tax withholding as well as Social Security, Medicare and FUTA (unemployment) taxes if they work for an incorporated business, even if it is controlled by a parent or a partnership.

No Tax on Overtime Pay

Overtime may no longer be a disincentive. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, individuals receiving overtime pay may not have to pay income taxes on those amounts. The Act has created a new tax deduction for overtime pay where workers making less than $150,000, can deduct as much as $12,500 for single filers and $25,000 for those filing jointly. Note: This deduction begins to phase out for single filers earning $150,000 or more, and for joint filers earning $300,000 or more and will expire in 2029.

The archery retailer, the employer, should remember that overtime is still considered as wages for FICA tax purposes, meaning the wages are still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax.  What’s more, workers can only deduct overtime that is reported on information returns, such as Forms W-2, 1099 and W-4Form W-2.

Employers are required to file information returns showing the total amount of qualified overtime compensation. However, since the IRS has yet to provide formal guidelines, for 2025, businesses may use a transition rule that allows them to approximate overtime amounts using a “reasonable method.” Starting in 2026, employers must report qualified overtime separately on Forms W-2 and Form 1099.

An Avoidable Cost

Lost in the publicity surrounding the crackdown on undocumented workers is what hiring them could cost an archery retailer. Every employer faces stiff penalties for hiring undocumented workers, including civil fines and potentially criminal prosecution. Avoiding or reducing the fines that can result from poor hiring practices isn’t that difficult. 

Every employer should verify the employment and identity of all workers hired using E-Verify, a Web-based system through which employers electronically confirm the employment eligibility of their employees. Both the archery retailer and the employee should complete the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS) “Employment Eligibility Verification” Form I-9. 

Should E-Verify not confirm an employee’s eligibility to work in America, an employer can terminate employment without facing civil or criminal penalties. And, while USCIS doesn’t ordinarily forgive unauthorized employment, there are exceptions.

The Bottom Line

It is a proven fact that it is cheaper, in general, to keep a worker than it is to hire a new one. Thus, for hourly workers and workers in positions in which working remotely isn’t an option, employers can focus on creating short-term incentives and improving the overall satisfaction of a given position.

Although there are many people without jobs, it continues to be difficult to fill many of the open jobs. Small businesses that rely on hourly and/or in-person employees face unique challenges because they often lack either the resources or the inability to meet worker demands. Fortunately, archery retailers have the advantage of being able to provide flexibility and personalization more quickly than larger employers.

In order to attract talented individuals to work for the business, as well as to retain qualified employees, employers in today’s job market must often offer increased wages, fringe benefits and other “perks.” With the help of professional guidance, the most successful options could well be the ones that cost the retail archery business the least.

Photos by John Hafner