Posted by admin on January 12th, 2010 — Posted in Doing Business, Hall Of Software, Management Info
There is more involved in turning a profit than just the income - you need to be bringing in money cost-effectively. Performance appraisal software, while often neglected, is a great benefit to corporations hoping to do this. Armed with the knowledge of the specific strengths of your employees are, you can customize your procedures to optimize their effectiveness and as a result make the most of the company as a whole. Learning about and making this information ready for use is often where it can get challenging, however. Looking at one part of this - staff evaluation - determining their progress and being able to track it is a huge task. You first put employee performance management techniques in place so that you can appraise the work done by each worker. If you’re employing conventional approaches, the next move is the manual assessment of the vast amount of raw information you will have obtained simply to follow future development and define goals.
Using performance appraisal software, you simply examine the different analyses to pinpoint the ideal objectives and subsequently chart the employee’s progress. Thus you eliminate a significant demand on your time and probably also receive more accurate information. It is also possible, of course, just to use the software to record raw data like performance review forms and to make your own analysis.
And improving the efficiency of your workers is only one thing you can do using performance appraisal software. It can also be valuable to study suppliers and clients to be better able to pace your purchasing and conserve money. You’ll have a clear record that will highlight which suppliers provide higher grade products, for the best prices and also reveal those with bad loss records or poor delivery times.
Clients have their own metrics of efficiency, and just as with suppliers and internal questions it’s possible to benefit your bank balance. Then, you can tailor your ordering and move products around to boost your profits while minimizing expenses. Not only that but a greater understanding of your market will permit easier planning of your advertising. Watching both your market and your sources is simple with performance management software. With regular talent assessment and employee reviews this software application can streamline staff performance management significantly. To summarize, the potential of this system is endless and depends entirely on your own creativity and ability to use the information provided!
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Posted by admin on November 25th, 2009 — Posted in Doing Business, Management Info, Marketers Center
Here’s a very deep secret hardly any web pros are prepared to share or actually say without a fee. Part of the reasons to their success is that they were among the first to start it all. If you’ll remember hearing,’first come, first serve’ it is the same way on the web.
People usually remember who was first, not 2nd. As an example, who was the first to sell books online? Amazon ; who was second? Who was the first to start mass production cars? Ford ; who was second? Which company was the first to start the fast-food chain restaurant? McDonalds ; who was second? Who was first to build an airplane? The Wright bros ; who was second?
Did you at any point spot the crickets when I asked for the second provider?
We all have a tendency to remember who was first but rarely do we remember too much further than that. Whomever enters the market first sometimes makes the largest impression. Almost all of our Internet pros are stinking rich because they were first to present their products. Is that fair? Well, from their standpoint, naturally it is. But from ours, it isn’t very fascinating.
Now you are thinking that you have got to be first at something to become rich but you do not know what to be first at ; so, you believe it’s impossible. Take it straightforward, my friend. There are techniques around it. Let me ask you a question. Who owns money?
Did you try pronouncing Bill Gates? Did you try exclaiming Donald Trump? Did you even try announcing George Bush? It isn’t important WHO you claim to own money, you are wrong. Nobody owns cash. Bill Gates has money, Donald Trump has money, George Bush has money and YOU have money but nobody will ever own it.
Though money is synthetic it is very similar to nature. No one owns it. No one owns the weather we feel, no one owns the water we drink, no one owns the air we breathe and so on .
‘Oh, but folk own land!’
Do we really?
My point is this, money belongs to no one so don’t think you can’t become as wealthy as any other guru you know of. And notice that I never once said being first mechanically makes you rich. That isn’t always the case and that’s the reason why I say the first will make the largest impression.
If wealth was made for only people who were first in line, then there would be no such thing as a line. They might benefit before us but it does not mean we cannot benefit anything.
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Original article was written by Kevin Lam from www.TexasSEO.com - Texas SEO is a Dallas-based web marketing and consulting firm specializing in SEO & SEM, PPC, copywriting, web designing and more.
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Posted by admin on November 3rd, 2009 — Posted in Management Info, Non-Assigned, The Healthy Way
It’s belief in many companies that, by giving each employee training in workplace safety, they are sufficiently equipped to cope with any situation. The reality is that, regardless of the industry you’re in, employees should have more than simply the basics in health & safety regulatory affairs. You need to supply your staff with sufficient supervision, the proper equipment, and regular practice. Your employees need an efficient supervisor to watch over staff performance, but this person also needs to play an even greater purpose on the floor. Any supervisor you choose needs to demonstrate enthusiasm and think that safety training is crucial. On top of ensuring compliance with health & safety legislation, a supervisory role includes maintaining employee performance as well. This isn’t a easy job. In depth industry knowledge is needed for a supervisory role not to mention an in depth comprehension of up-to-date legislation regarding safety, risk appraisal and emergency assistance techniques. It just is not enough to offer your staff health & safety instruction. They must gain practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of hazardous areas. Staff in addition need a solid comprehension of the steps necessary to remedy the situation and understanding what to do if the worst happens. Staff are only totally prepared when their training and procedures have become routine. Education is in fact useless without safety equipment. When staff find they don’t have equipment they need, or find out that supplies are not working properly when they really need them, then all the training there is to offer can not help them.
You must schedule frequent checks to ensure you possess all the necessary gear and also that it’s functioning correctly. If something isn’t in perfect order, get it mended or serviced as quickly as possible.
Proper health & safety instruction is critical to the health of your workers, but they must have the right supplies, frequent practise sessions, and a supervisor with infectious enthusiasm. When you put this advice into practice you will find health & safety legislation will become a part of everyone’s working habits instead of something for employees to remember all the time.
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Posted by admin on September 28th, 2009 — Posted in Design + Layout, Doing Business, Management Info
As London steps up its preparation for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games, Mayor Boris Johnson is out to woo US businesses to participate in various business activities associated with the games. For this purpose, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London recently made a trip to New York to meet with various businesses and groups there. London in the meantime is scaling up the work related to the games, with activity visible across the city. Support from American interests would go a long way in making the event a grand success.
A number of businesses are related to the setting up of the Olympics. Venue arrangement, logistics and catering are just a few of the activities that go into making such a huge event successful. London is undergoing a sea of change, with a focus on attracting businesses. Projects to build uninterrupted transport services, office space and thousands of new homes are underway around the city. A good brokerage service capable of managing the whole range of activities is badly needed and the task has been assigned to CompeteFor. All this has naturally been good for the commercial side of London, new businesses are showing more interest in real estate and office design and relocation specialist firms such as Claremont Group Interiors are showing marked increase in inquiries.
The Olympic Village/Park is undergoing construction in the East of London. The state of art sports and cultural centres are surrounded by residential housing with a total size of ten thousand homes, in addition to research facilities, office complexes and even an exclusive shopping centre. When completed, the complex will be the largest in Europe.
Boris Johnson is understandably eager to get the American businesses involved in the process. Apart from helping to make the Games a success, they will also occupy the office space currently under construction as part of the Games complex.
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Posted by admin on July 31st, 2009 — Posted in Management Info
Succeeding in the modern business world depends on the competent management of people. You may gain and develop these skills. It can be a plus to have a intuitive affinity for dealing with people, all the same you can do numerous things to simplify the process. Build relationships: Addressing staff by name is a start. Encourage conversation; make eye contact when you are speaking. Be respectful, also do pay attention to what the other person has to say, even if you do not agree or have another viewpoint. Paying attention to what others say is one of the most critical human resources management skills in your arsenal. Encourage any input from your team members. Keep your word: Keeping your word is really important. When a promise is broken, it will damage trust, and people will not give you their best efforts without trusting you. When you say something or make a promise about something, ensure that you can keep your promises or don’t bother giving your word at all. To be frank, if your people can’t depend on your promises, your team won’t be committed if you truly need them. Encourage feedback: Feedback should be a two way process. Keeping an open mind with regard to other people’s views is an important skill in managing people. Being accessible and receptive proves that your co-worker’s opinions count, and they will appreciate yours. Welcoming conversation also boosts evolution of new ways of thinking, innovative ways of achieving goals, and develops the team. By giving the employees a voice, the outcome becomes important to each employee.
Communication is important: Good communication is fundamental to managing employees with skill. Be approachable, listen attentively to other people’s views, keep an open mind, and allow each of your team to express themselves. Encourage team members not just to speak to you, but also with each other. The exchange of thoughts is imperative in the creative process, if the staff communicate openly, it becomes easy to discover any issues before they may become a problem, and corrections may be put in place before things get out of hand. This will require some work, all the same the rewards are worth it. Through building the bonds of a good team and demonstrating effective listening techniques, a successful business will be yours.
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Posted by admin on June 28th, 2009 — Posted in Doing Business, Management Info
Competent human resource management is crucial in achieving the best in your business success. You can acquire and develop these techniques. Having a innate skill for communicating with people may be a plus, however you can do many things to make the process simpler. Build relationships: Addressing staff by name should be a start. Talk to people; look people in the eye as you are talking. Show respect, also be attentive to what the other individual has to say, even if you do not agree or have a different point of view. The development of the ability to listen is one of the most important things you may do to improve your human resource management skills. Be sure to welcome any input from team members. Keep your promises: Don’t give promises you won’t keep. When you don’t deliver on what you promise, the delicate bond of trust is wrecked, and without trust your staff certainly won’t offer their best. Everytime you make a commitment or give a promise, do be sure that you can deliver or don’t bother giving your word at all. To be honest, when you can’t be counted on, your team will not be committed if you actually need them. Feedback is essential: It’s a two-way street. Keeping an open mind regarding other people’s views is very important in effective human resource management. Being accessible and open establishes that other’s thoughts count, and they should respect yours. Bona Fide discussion in addition furthers creative trouble-shooting, new methods of achieving goals, and improves the team dynamic. When your staff can express themselves, the outcome will become important to every team member. Communicating is the key: Good communication is fundamental to dealing with people with skill. Keeping an open door policy, use listening skills, remember to welcome staff to share ideas, and allow all your team to express themselves. Inspire team members not just to speak to you, but to speak to each other. The creative process depends a great deal on the open exchange of ideas, and in listening to each other, it is simple to find issues before they present as problems, allowing corrective action to be taken to prevent further problems.
Developing these skills can take some work, all the same the payoff is worthwhile. By encouraging a good team dynamic and by taking heed of your team’s opinions, you can accomplish a successful business.
Be sure to hop over to this great resource for onboarding software advice…
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Posted by admin on June 25th, 2008 — Posted in Management Info
Leadership is one of the biggest challenges managers face. How to be an effective leader, that effectively motivates staff to get their jobs done and with the quality of an owner.
One way to look at leadership is situational. In this model we tailor our behavior as leaders to the employee. For a new employee, the manager’s behavior is very directive. We’re in training mode; we give lots of information and direction. Our goal is to move an employee through several stages to a point where we are the coach and mentor, and the amount of time and direction needed from us is minimal. The employee is able to do the job well without our direction. But, we can’t just jump from directive to coach. There are a couple of additional transition stages. After directing, the manager is still telling the employee what to do, but the level of telling and direction has decreased. The employee is able to do the task with some direction and feedback, versus total direction and feedback.
The third stage is one in which the leader or manager’s role is one of support and motivation. The staff member is able to do the task with little intervention from the manager. The fourth stage is the goal, one in which the staff member is fully competent and empowered to do their job with the support and mentorship of the manager. In this stage the manager is the cheerleader, acknowledging accomplishments and the motivator.
Although, it would be easy to have linear maps of human behavior, this again is not the case. As the manager, you will have to move easily through the different phases and be able to step back if an employee needs more direction at some point. You also will move back to directing when a new task or job duty is assigned that the employee has never done before. At this point, a new training and mentorship cycle is started and the manager’s role is to provide the support needed to move successfully through each phase of developing competence to the final stage of empowered action, in which the employee is capable of doing high quality work.
This article is based upon Hershey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model, from their book: Management of organizational behavior: Utilizing Human Resources. (1982, Prentice-Hall, Inc.)
Written by: Donna Price, President and Founder of Compass Rose Consulting, LLC. Donna provides business coaching to small business owners, business leaders, and work teams. Her experience as a senior level manager for 18 years and extensive experience working with people to achieve their goals. Donna is the creator of the Business Builders Intensive, a comprehensive tele-series focused on building your business. Her innovative coaching and other programs are great opportunities for business owners seeking to improve their business results. Contact Donna at http://www.businessbuildersintensive.com; info@compassroseconsulting.com; 973-948-7673
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Posted by admin on June 10th, 2008 — Posted in Management Info
Moving from a branch manager role into an area manager position for the first time is certainly challenging. One moment they are managing a team of about 10 to 20 people, the next moment they are managing an area team of over 200 employees.
As a branch manager they were able to see their team every day but seeing people periodically and having to manage at a distance is certainly a shock for many newly appointed area managers. So what are the skills of area management and what training should be arranged early on, to ensure a newly appointed area manager becomes effective as quickly as possible?
Management by Objectives - is the critical skill of area management. Being able to set clear measurable objectives is a key requirement of the role as objectives cut across every aspect of area management. From day one, area managers will be given area objectives to achieve by the boss and they must be able to set improvement and development objectives for their managers from the beginning. Management by objectives is critical because it is the only performance and development tool that ‘works at a distance’. Area managers will never be fully successful without this critical skill.
Management Development - Newly appointed area managers immediately become responsible for the development of the area management team. Up to the time they were appointed they will have had little experience of deliberate management development so the skills of training, coaching and mentoring need to be learnt and learnt quickly. Area managers not only need to be able to develop managers they need to be able to develop their branch manager’s skills in coaching, training and mentoring also, no easy task.
Performance Management - Newly appointed area managers have probably been appointed with little real experience of performance management. So when he/she has to deal with manager underperformance, they find it extremely difficult going. Newly appointed area managers need a thorough understanding and be skilled in the use of the performance management tools. They need comprehensive training in; performance appraisals, objective reviewing, performance improvement planning and disciplinary skills. Area managers also need thorough training in assertiveness as this is a skill that needs to be learnt. Very few organisations recognise this and give little or no training in these critical skill areas. There is another important reason why area managers need to be fully competent in performance management - they have to develop the performance management skills of their branch managers. Many branch managers fail to address performance issues today because their area managers have never shown them how to do it properly. This is because they themselves have never been developed in this critical skill area.
Influencing Behavour - Area managers need to be able to effectively address negative, business or team damaging behavior at branch manager level. There are many branches that statistically indicate good performance but could perform even better if the manager behaved more professionally. Newly appointed area managers will often have to address unproductive (lazy), unsupportive, unmotivated branch managers. They may also have to overcome resentment and other negative attitudes because the newly appointed area manager got the job and they didn’t. Many newly appointed area managers try to win over their managers by trying to be liked rather than respected.
This results in real problems when the area manager has to become more ‘formal’ at a later date. Getting too close or too familiar with branch managers is a mistake which many more seasoned area managers admit to making.
Self Development and Learning - Once a newly appointed area manager has been given their initial training everything will depend on their ability to learn and develop whilst doing the job. Many senior retail execs think that throwing newly appointed area managers in at the deep end will result in them either sinking or swimming (developing) but what often happens is non-self-developers tread water and become experts in doing so. Newly appointed area managers have to be set SMART self development objectives and held to account for the achievement of them. This is the only effective way of measuring a newly appointed area managers self development and self learning ability.
Area Managers are exceptionally important to every retail business. They influence many and are often the difference between profit or loss over a huge part of the business. This means they need to be given the right training and support from the very beginning of their appointment.
Anthony Dance is Programme Director of Outlook Retail’s area manager development Programme for newly appointed retail area managers. Details of which can be found on their website: http://www.outlookretail.com
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Posted by admin on June 2nd, 2008 — Posted in Management Info
It creates some negotiating room, and you might just get what you’re asking for.
Whether playing the role of buyer or seller in a sales transaction, asking for more than you expect to get is a classic opening position in negotiations.
In the audio book, “Sound Advice on Negotiating Skills,” author Roger Dawson says, “Henry Kissinger called this the key to success at the bargaining table.” It’s simple, notes Dawson, but there are many profound reasons for doing it.
“It creates some negotiating room that makes it easier to get what you really want,” says Dawson. “It creates a climate where the other person can have a win with you.” This climate can prevent negotiating deadlocks, especially when dealing with an egotistical negotiator, according to Dawson.
“When you’re selling, it raises the perceived value of your product or service,” says Dawson. However, some salespeople are so eager to reach agreement that they soften their opening negotiating position. “They hope that by doing this the client will appreciate how generous they’ve been,” says Dawson. “The danger in this is that the client may instead think, ‘If they’ve given us this much, we can get a lot more; let’s be tough negotiators.’”
The solution, says Dawson - a renowned speaker and author of the book, “Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople” - is to “ask for more than you expect to get, but imply some flexibility so that you can encourage them to negotiate with you.”
Roger Dawson offers negotiating skills advice each week in the free audio newsletter from What’s Working in Biz, http://www.whatsworking.biz/full_story.asp?ArtID=92
About The Author
Richard Cunningham is a principal of What’s Working in Biz, http://www.whatsworking.biz, a publisher of business audiobooks and online audio programs on marketing, sales, and small business strategies.
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Posted by admin on June 1st, 2008 — Posted in Management Info
Before you can start advising others how to get their act together, you need to ensure that you have got your act together. i.e. you need to walk the talk and set a good example. Now that you have a good idea of what supervisors need to do to be good supervisors, let us explore some basic qualities needed to make a person a positive, capable, responsible, diligent person, whether he/she is a supervisor or not.
“Being Proactive” is covered in this article; “Being Productive” will follow.
Proactive Defined
Proactive means that as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives, and are not led around blindly by others. Our behavior is largely a function of our own decisions, rather than our conditions. We have the initiative and the drive to assume full responsibility for our own lives, and make things happen that should happen.
Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, (p.81-3) defines being Proactive/Reactive in terms of Circles of Concern. We all have concerns.
Proactive people deal almost exclusively with the area within which they have influence and can do something about. Their positive energy increases their Circle of Influence.
Reactive people are concerned about everything and have little influence on anything. Their negative energy shrinks their Circle of Influence over time. As Covey puts it, “They focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern. They focus on the weaknesses of other people, the problems in the environment, and circumstances over which they have no control. Their focus results in blaming and accusing attitudes, reactive language, and increased feelings of victimization.”
Responsibility
Look at the word responsibility: responseability: the ability to choose our response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, bad luck, other people (e.g. the boss, the wife, the children), etc. They accept their circumstances and their ability to respond to it (i.e. its their responsibility). Is there any surprise that proactive people are also good leaders?
Reactive people, on the other hand, blame every thing but themselves for their circumstances. Eleanor Roosevelt said “No one can hurt you without your consent.” Mahatma Gandhi, the founder of modern day India, put it another way: “They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them.” For this reason Nelson Mandela is one of the great people of our time. For 27 years he remained in prison. He retained his self-respect throughout his sentence and in time became respected even by the most brutal prison warden. When he finally left prison an old man he remained positive, strong and upbeat and never once blamed those that put him in prison. If he had been bitter for 27 years, imagine what a miserable old man he would have become.
Self-Image
Basic to being proactive and, by inference, a good leader, is having a good self-image. That means, for example, feeling good about yourself, respecting yourself and your accomplishments, as well as recognizing your mistakes (we all make them) as opportunities for learning and improvement.
Having a good self-image is not easy if, over the years, your parents, your teachers and your bosses have told you how useless you were. But developing your self-image can be done even in difficult circumstances.
Using positive thinking, proactive language and behavior as outlined below will definitely help you.
Learning Activity
Write down a few things positive statements about yourself. Read them, memorize them and repeat them at least three times a day.
Find a quiet place, shut your eyes and, in your mind, visualize yourself acting in a positive, proactive manner at work or home. Do this for fifteen minutes once a day.
When you feel down, depressed, dejected, angry, take a few moments to think of (visualize) something or some place that is pleasant and calm. Then say to yourself some positive affirmations, such as “I have a lot to be thankful for.” “I am a good person.” “I know I can do this job well.” Soon, you will be feeling positive and upbeat. Positive thinking does indeed work!
If you look good, you will feel good. Make an effort to be well-groomed and dress smartly (that does not necessarily mean a 3-piece suit). You need to look the part of being a good, positive leader.
Proactive Language
The choice of words, phrases, sentences, questions, statements, etc. that people use to communicate with others or with themselvestheir “language” may be reactive or proactive. Many people who are not as effective or productive as they have the potential to be use, either unconsciously or consciously, language that is reactive. You, as a supervisor, must consider very seriously your choice of daily language.
Learning Activity
Here is a little activity for you. Below are two lined columns, which you can replicate on another piece of paper, A and B. For each line, first write an example of reactive language in Column A; then turn it into a proactive example in Column B. One example has been given to get you started.
A: Reactive B: Proactive
My wife didn’t get my breakfast | I will make my own breakfast
Here are some examples, first of reactive languageto be avoidedand then of proactive language:
Reactive Language Proactive Language
It’s not my fault. What can I do to improve the situation?
I can’t help it; I’m just like that. How can I learn to change my behaviour?
They won’t let me do …. I will convince them, with logic and examples, that this is the correct course to take.
I don’t have time to do …. How can I schedule my time to do the job?
She makes my life impossible. What can I do to improve our relationship?
My crew is driving me crazy. How can we work together as a team?
He is really on my case. What can I do to resolve the problem?
If only I won the Lottery, I could buy that house. I will plan and write goals to work towards so that I can buy a house.
I am not going to get involved. What can I do to help out? orI can’t help here, but I can refer you to someone who can.
I am not very capable. There are many things that I am good at. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I am working to capitalize on my strengths and improve.
What a mess! Let’s work together to clean it up.
Michael Brooke, Ph.D is a retired university administrator from victoria British columbia. He is also an adult educator, corporate trainer and recruiter and a published author. More recently he has become involved in various ebusiness activites and his web site can be found at http://www.ehomebiz.org
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