Have you ever thought that it would be wonderful if you could just pay to make all your stress go away? Getting rid of all your stress may be too good to be true, but achieving a drastic reduction in the stress of managing employee problems can be a reality.
A professional employer organization (PEO) can serve as a Human Resources department for small to mid-size companies. Consider this example:
You've just seen the numbers and first-quarter sales are down. You'd been inching along an upward recovery curve for the past two quarters and were looking for a 3% increase. You got your 3%, but it was in the wrong direction. It had a minus sign in front! Do you blame it on sales? Or do you have an HR department that can get involved with the solution?
The HR response:
What is the weak link in the sales chain, the lead, the pitch, or the close? Look at process.
Was there a shift in customer needs? Look at communication.
Has the sales team changed? Look at training.
Is our product falling short? Look at product development.
What feedback is the sales team getting from customers? Look at communication.
Is the sales team keeping up with business evolution and changes in competition? Look at retraining.
HR determines that the chief reason for the drop in sales is that you are taking longer to fill and ship orders than your competition. But HR isn't done yet.
The step-two HR response:
What are the weak points and snags in the current shipping process?
Can we find a better freight company or strike a better deal with our current one?
Can we streamline the paperwork and still keep our accuracy?
In this case, the gut reaction to blame sales would have been wrong. It was an administrative problem with a complex cause involving both communication and process. By having a PEO take the Human Resources approach to analyzing business problems, corrections could be made sooner and another business quarter wasn't wasted trying to fix sales when a time lag in shipping was the main problem.
Showing posts with label HR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HR. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Five Fertilizers for Talent Management
Now that you have hired the best seeds and seedlings in the form of talented personnel, reaping bumper-crop results will depend on many factors. Although you cannot control the storms, or even fully predict the weather in a changing economy, you do have power over the ways you cultivate and fertilize your talent.
Apples + Oranges = Fruit Salad
Many companies regard Development Planning as oranges and Performance Management as apples. Development planning occurs during executive sessions, but employees are graded on their performance in a lonely office. As a consequence, employees often don't have a clear picture of a company's true needs, while the planners have only a fuzzy image of the training activities they need to address. The first round of fertilizer is applied to making the commitment to connect these two areas. They need to grow alongside each other.
The Wisdom of "Know Thyself"
This ancient Greek philosophy can be put to good use in employee self-assessments. Employees are often tougher on themselves than they are on others. Implementing regular self-assessments has three immediate benefits: 1. It gives your employee a voice, 2. It gives managers a fresh perspective, and, 3. It lays the groundwork for useful communication to proceed. They make a good starter fertilizer for growing your talent.
Wisdom in Counsel of Others
Sometimes this goes by the trendy name of "360° Reviews," but whether you call it that or fall back on the old maxim that "Two heads are better than one," there is much to be gained by seeking the counsel of others. Collecting feedback from a variety of sources—customers, peers, subordinates and others, will allow a balanced picture to emerge for your talent management. Establishing a climate of evenhandedness leads to more fruitful talent management results.
Life Beyond the Carrot
Letting your employee see the "beyond" part is crucial in good talent management. Employees are usually given short-term and short-focused goals—the carrot. Giving them a view of the larger-context, higher level, goals lets them see how their work contributes to overall company success. That boosts morale and can become a self-perpetuating stimulus. It also allows creative employees to "bend to the sun" and produce some great ideas; a company's most creative talent often has difficulty with the team-player attitude because they view the world a little differently.
Reward
The old "Wanted" posters offered rewards dead or alive. In business, alive is better, but the lure of reward still stimulates achievement. Most often, rewards come in the form of pay-for-performance bonuses. Being entrusted with a perk like flex-time, having the prestige of a personal parking space, or receiving a simple "lunch is on me" invitation can also be incentives. The important quality that makes rewards work is that your employees perceive them as fair, consistent, and attainable with a little extra effort, lest you inadvertently generate fertilizer burn-out.
Effective talent management must go beyond writing reports and stuffing them into dusty personnel files; it must encourage people and stimulate growth.
Apples + Oranges = Fruit Salad
Many companies regard Development Planning as oranges and Performance Management as apples. Development planning occurs during executive sessions, but employees are graded on their performance in a lonely office. As a consequence, employees often don't have a clear picture of a company's true needs, while the planners have only a fuzzy image of the training activities they need to address. The first round of fertilizer is applied to making the commitment to connect these two areas. They need to grow alongside each other.
The Wisdom of "Know Thyself"
This ancient Greek philosophy can be put to good use in employee self-assessments. Employees are often tougher on themselves than they are on others. Implementing regular self-assessments has three immediate benefits: 1. It gives your employee a voice, 2. It gives managers a fresh perspective, and, 3. It lays the groundwork for useful communication to proceed. They make a good starter fertilizer for growing your talent.
Wisdom in Counsel of Others
Sometimes this goes by the trendy name of "360° Reviews," but whether you call it that or fall back on the old maxim that "Two heads are better than one," there is much to be gained by seeking the counsel of others. Collecting feedback from a variety of sources—customers, peers, subordinates and others, will allow a balanced picture to emerge for your talent management. Establishing a climate of evenhandedness leads to more fruitful talent management results.
Life Beyond the Carrot
Letting your employee see the "beyond" part is crucial in good talent management. Employees are usually given short-term and short-focused goals—the carrot. Giving them a view of the larger-context, higher level, goals lets them see how their work contributes to overall company success. That boosts morale and can become a self-perpetuating stimulus. It also allows creative employees to "bend to the sun" and produce some great ideas; a company's most creative talent often has difficulty with the team-player attitude because they view the world a little differently.
Reward
The old "Wanted" posters offered rewards dead or alive. In business, alive is better, but the lure of reward still stimulates achievement. Most often, rewards come in the form of pay-for-performance bonuses. Being entrusted with a perk like flex-time, having the prestige of a personal parking space, or receiving a simple "lunch is on me" invitation can also be incentives. The important quality that makes rewards work is that your employees perceive them as fair, consistent, and attainable with a little extra effort, lest you inadvertently generate fertilizer burn-out.
Effective talent management must go beyond writing reports and stuffing them into dusty personnel files; it must encourage people and stimulate growth.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Employee Happiness
A wise employer will grow happiness under his employees' feet, and it will bear fruit in productivity, loyalty, and possibly health care savings. Investing in happiness has the potential for a huge pay-off, and the up-front costs are usually small.
One of the best ways to give your office a sunnier disposition is to literally let the sun shine in. Natural lighting offers a spectrum of benefits ranging from reducing stress, to increasing alertness, to relieving eyestrain and headaches. If this isn't possible, the next best solution might be as simple as changing the old light bulb to one that copies nature more closely than standard fluorescent tube lighting.
Once you have sufficient lighting, adding live plants will help grow a happier environment. As a bonus, they clear the air too. A NASA study produced a list of the top fifteen houseplants for improving air quality. The top two are heartleaf and elephant leaf philodendrons, and all are easily available in flower shops and nurseries.
Dirt and grime are depressing, but there is a cleaning solution for that. A clean office is a happier office. That philosophy extends to the bathroom areas as well. It is also important to keep up with small maintenance jobs so drawers pull easily, hinges swing freely, and knobs don't come off in your hand.
People are happier when they know that they are being heard. Listening to your employees and then responding with thoughtful feedback can do wonders to boost morale. Being heard makes employees feel more secure, and good communication reduces tensions in the workplace. You can get your best answers for what makes an employee happy from your employees themselves.
One of the best ways to give your office a sunnier disposition is to literally let the sun shine in. Natural lighting offers a spectrum of benefits ranging from reducing stress, to increasing alertness, to relieving eyestrain and headaches. If this isn't possible, the next best solution might be as simple as changing the old light bulb to one that copies nature more closely than standard fluorescent tube lighting.
Once you have sufficient lighting, adding live plants will help grow a happier environment. As a bonus, they clear the air too. A NASA study produced a list of the top fifteen houseplants for improving air quality. The top two are heartleaf and elephant leaf philodendrons, and all are easily available in flower shops and nurseries.
Dirt and grime are depressing, but there is a cleaning solution for that. A clean office is a happier office. That philosophy extends to the bathroom areas as well. It is also important to keep up with small maintenance jobs so drawers pull easily, hinges swing freely, and knobs don't come off in your hand.
People are happier when they know that they are being heard. Listening to your employees and then responding with thoughtful feedback can do wonders to boost morale. Being heard makes employees feel more secure, and good communication reduces tensions in the workplace. You can get your best answers for what makes an employee happy from your employees themselves.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Time Management
It seems to be a universal truth that people are always running short on time. During the French Revolution, their government tried to fix this by making a calendar of ten-day weeks. How much more work could you get done if you had only three weekends per month? Their new clock also divided days into ten hours of a hundred minutes each. Working a four-hour shift then would be like working for more than 9½ of our standard hours. Unsurprisingly, their revolutionary calendar was abandoned within 13 years.
If today's businessmen and women need extra time, the only way to get more is by recovering what is currently being wasted. The Communication Briefings Newsletter has identified the five biggest time wasters in business. Do any of these pertain to you?
1. Poor prioritizing. If this is a tough area for you, make daily lists of what needs to be done and by when. Don't forget to schedule some cushion time to allow for unforeseeable accidents and opportunities.
2. Fear of delegating. Thinking that it is easier to do a routine task yourself is being short-sighted. Taking the time to properly train an employee now will pay off in big time savings in the future.
3. Not saying "No." You can't do it all. If you have trouble knowing when to say no, revisit your lists of priorities. If a request will take time away from achieving your priority list, you should probably say, "Sorry, I can't."
4. Being tethered to the phone. Clients like the personal touch of reaching a real person. Can some calls be delegated to others? Record a nice intro for your voicemail and use it when you need to work without interruptions.
5. Procrastination. If you procrastinate, you are human, but it's also human to focus on what we don't like. Focusing on the end result instead helps considerably in overcoming procrastination. If the task seems overwhelming, do it one step at a time.
If you have done all this and are still coming up short, consider buying extra administrative time by contracting with a PEO.
If today's businessmen and women need extra time, the only way to get more is by recovering what is currently being wasted. The Communication Briefings Newsletter has identified the five biggest time wasters in business. Do any of these pertain to you?
1. Poor prioritizing. If this is a tough area for you, make daily lists of what needs to be done and by when. Don't forget to schedule some cushion time to allow for unforeseeable accidents and opportunities.
2. Fear of delegating. Thinking that it is easier to do a routine task yourself is being short-sighted. Taking the time to properly train an employee now will pay off in big time savings in the future.
3. Not saying "No." You can't do it all. If you have trouble knowing when to say no, revisit your lists of priorities. If a request will take time away from achieving your priority list, you should probably say, "Sorry, I can't."
4. Being tethered to the phone. Clients like the personal touch of reaching a real person. Can some calls be delegated to others? Record a nice intro for your voicemail and use it when you need to work without interruptions.
5. Procrastination. If you procrastinate, you are human, but it's also human to focus on what we don't like. Focusing on the end result instead helps considerably in overcoming procrastination. If the task seems overwhelming, do it one step at a time.
If you have done all this and are still coming up short, consider buying extra administrative time by contracting with a PEO.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Could You Benefit by Using a PEO?
To fully answer that question, you'll first need to know exactly what a PEO is and what it does. The PEO acronym stands for Professional Employer Organization. It serves as a Human Resources department for small and mid-size businesses, but it won't do your staffing for you. It goes beyond being a payroll service by assuming many of the liabilities for government compliance. PEOs can make it possible for small and mid-size businesses to offer retirement and medical benefits similar to the big corporations.
Many growing businesses start considering the benefits of a PEO when they realize that they need relief from all the administrative details of keeping the company going. Using a PEO to help with administrative functions is a lot like being able to purchase efficiency for the nuts and bolts of your company because the HR functions are outsourced.
One benefit of using a PEO is that you don't have to worry about keeping up with changing government rules. You pay the PEO to do that, and because they serve other businesses as well, it is more efficient than having to reinvent your own wheel. This can extend to work-related laws, unemployment claims, safety procedures, and even anti-drug use policies.
Another benefit of using a PEO is that they offer comprehensive payroll services. Beyond the basic bookkeeping and issuing of checks, they can also cover such things as payroll taxes and paperwork, garnishments, W2 and 1099 filing, and verification of an employee's work status.
A full-service PEO can offer your business additional services as needed. They can assist with pre-employment background checks, drug testing, applicant reviews, termination assistance, help in preparing job descriptions and employee performance appraisals, and needs analysis. An all-inclusive contract with a PEO will include access to training and other business resources and support.
The benefits offered by a PEO are clear. It frees that average company to become more productive in the use of time and resources. The companiy's primary focus can be centered on producing goods, delivering services and generating income. For a small business owner or the management team of a mid-size business, this means that the HR paperwork and compliance issues are far less of a distraction and you can get down to work.
Many growing businesses start considering the benefits of a PEO when they realize that they need relief from all the administrative details of keeping the company going. Using a PEO to help with administrative functions is a lot like being able to purchase efficiency for the nuts and bolts of your company because the HR functions are outsourced.
One benefit of using a PEO is that you don't have to worry about keeping up with changing government rules. You pay the PEO to do that, and because they serve other businesses as well, it is more efficient than having to reinvent your own wheel. This can extend to work-related laws, unemployment claims, safety procedures, and even anti-drug use policies.
Another benefit of using a PEO is that they offer comprehensive payroll services. Beyond the basic bookkeeping and issuing of checks, they can also cover such things as payroll taxes and paperwork, garnishments, W2 and 1099 filing, and verification of an employee's work status.
A full-service PEO can offer your business additional services as needed. They can assist with pre-employment background checks, drug testing, applicant reviews, termination assistance, help in preparing job descriptions and employee performance appraisals, and needs analysis. An all-inclusive contract with a PEO will include access to training and other business resources and support.
The benefits offered by a PEO are clear. It frees that average company to become more productive in the use of time and resources. The companiy's primary focus can be centered on producing goods, delivering services and generating income. For a small business owner or the management team of a mid-size business, this means that the HR paperwork and compliance issues are far less of a distraction and you can get down to work.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Six Advantages of Hiring Now
In an economy that's so unpredictable that even Nostradamus might consider scuttling into retirement, there are still several indications that now is the time for a small business owner to hire new employees.
Rhonda Abrams, small business columnist for USA Today, takes the point of view that to experience meaningful growth, you'll have to hire. Surprisingly, at least at first thought, she writes, "more than half of the Fortune 500 companies actually started in a recession or depression." When that statement is analyzed more closely, some of the logic becomes more apparent.
• Competition is weaker. As other struggling businesses start dropping out and cutting back, their loss can be your advantage if you can seize the opportunities that open up in the wake of less competition.
• Customers are looking for less expensive alternatives. Many folks who were locked in to buying brand names from the big guys a few years ago are looking for cost-effective substitutes. If small businesses can supply that, they have a built-in edge that was spawned as a direct result of the recession.
• Labor costs are lower. In some cases, they are substantially lower. Potential hires that might have turned up their nose at a lowered pay rate a couple of years ago are often happy to accept that wage in today's business climate.
• A recession produces a growing talent pool. With more people are looking for work, you have a wider selection of candidates for the job and this fact leads to two reasons to hire now.
1. With more talent available, you can select an employee that more precisely meets your current need instead of settling for hiring someone that is 'close, but trainable.' You will be able to realize some savings in training costs almost immediately.
2. You can afford to be pickier and choose an employee that best meets your own business philosophy. This will render greater benefits over time because better compatibility results in a less stressful and more efficient workplace.
• You will be better prepared to take advantage of a future growth spurt. Even if you can't justify hiring a full-time employee now, hiring part-time or contracting out some of your work will position you in a good place when the recovery cycle does come.
One final thought from Ms. Abrams: "Creating a good job is one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do."
Rhonda Abrams, small business columnist for USA Today, takes the point of view that to experience meaningful growth, you'll have to hire. Surprisingly, at least at first thought, she writes, "more than half of the Fortune 500 companies actually started in a recession or depression." When that statement is analyzed more closely, some of the logic becomes more apparent.
• Competition is weaker. As other struggling businesses start dropping out and cutting back, their loss can be your advantage if you can seize the opportunities that open up in the wake of less competition.
• Customers are looking for less expensive alternatives. Many folks who were locked in to buying brand names from the big guys a few years ago are looking for cost-effective substitutes. If small businesses can supply that, they have a built-in edge that was spawned as a direct result of the recession.
• Labor costs are lower. In some cases, they are substantially lower. Potential hires that might have turned up their nose at a lowered pay rate a couple of years ago are often happy to accept that wage in today's business climate.
• A recession produces a growing talent pool. With more people are looking for work, you have a wider selection of candidates for the job and this fact leads to two reasons to hire now.
1. With more talent available, you can select an employee that more precisely meets your current need instead of settling for hiring someone that is 'close, but trainable.' You will be able to realize some savings in training costs almost immediately.
2. You can afford to be pickier and choose an employee that best meets your own business philosophy. This will render greater benefits over time because better compatibility results in a less stressful and more efficient workplace.
• You will be better prepared to take advantage of a future growth spurt. Even if you can't justify hiring a full-time employee now, hiring part-time or contracting out some of your work will position you in a good place when the recovery cycle does come.
One final thought from Ms. Abrams: "Creating a good job is one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do."
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Is your Résumé Action-Ready?
A résumé ought to be a living document, not a dusty one. If you have done something noteworthy in your job in the past three months, it is time to update your résumé—and if you haven't done something noteworthy in your job in the past three months, it is time to look for more challenging work, in which case it is also time to update your résumé.
According to research done for Robert Half International, 45% of workers haven't updated in the past year and 20% haven't updated in more than two years. If a new job opportunity did pop up, they would not be able to respond quickly.
Résumé Tune-Up
Spell-Check!
A revved up résumé ought to hold an employer spellbound, not leave him dumbfounded by the spelling. Poor spelling makes an employer skiddish skittish about how conscious conscientious you really are.
Use Bullet Points to Hit the Target.
• key words geared to profession
• action verbs, active voice
• quantify accomplishments, show numbers
• skills and strengths
Customization Specials
Now that most résumés are stored as word processor documents or portable document files rather than professionally printed on vellum, your main résumé file can be easily customized and framed so that it emphasizes the skills and training that apply to the job at hand. Keep master lists of things that you have done, and then pick out the four or five that best suit the specific job that you are applying for.
Go Social
Social networking is probably the oldest job-hunting skill around, but incorporating it in a résumé is relatively new. Use it, but with discretion. John Hill, Michigan State University’s director of alumni career services says, "LinkedIn is like the corporate office. Twitter is like the water cooler, and Facebook is like the bar."
According to research done for Robert Half International, 45% of workers haven't updated in the past year and 20% haven't updated in more than two years. If a new job opportunity did pop up, they would not be able to respond quickly.
Résumé Tune-Up
Spell-Check!
A revved up résumé ought to hold an employer spellbound, not leave him dumbfounded by the spelling. Poor spelling makes an employer skiddish skittish about how conscious conscientious you really are.
Use Bullet Points to Hit the Target.
• key words geared to profession
• action verbs, active voice
• quantify accomplishments, show numbers
• skills and strengths
Customization Specials
Now that most résumés are stored as word processor documents or portable document files rather than professionally printed on vellum, your main résumé file can be easily customized and framed so that it emphasizes the skills and training that apply to the job at hand. Keep master lists of things that you have done, and then pick out the four or five that best suit the specific job that you are applying for.
Go Social
Social networking is probably the oldest job-hunting skill around, but incorporating it in a résumé is relatively new. Use it, but with discretion. John Hill, Michigan State University’s director of alumni career services says, "LinkedIn is like the corporate office. Twitter is like the water cooler, and Facebook is like the bar."
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Hiring Commissioned Salespeople? Don’t Use a Scientific Selection Process
I ran across an interesting post from a fellow blogger the other day. He plaintively described the dreadful failure rate of newly-hired commissioned salespeople. Over three-quarters of his new hires were tanking in the first three months. Obviously, he felt the need to reassess his interview technique.
He concluded that he'd been interviewing as if his company had the greater risk, and therefore he hedged his bets to reduce risk to the company—it had not worked. Trying a new paradigm, he structured the interview as though all the risk was on the candidate. It makes sense. When a commissioned salesperson flunks at his job, he doesn't get paid.
To put his revelation into practice, he began talking to the sales candidates like he would talk to a partner. His newly formatted interview included discussion of the company's development, industry trends, success and failure rates, and similar matters. He then evaluated the candidates' strengths and pitfalls as if looking for a partner.
What was the outcome? He called it "significantly more effective" than the scientific process they'd been using.
Equally interesting were the views in the comment section that followed. The consensus agreed that commissioned salesperson interviews are some of the toughest, and they added other insights as well.
The business partner approach works because most good salesmen don't like bosses. They want to be their own boss, so interviewing in a manner that brings out traits of self-sufficiency helps in the selection process. One commentator went so far as to suggest that the real sales manager of any good salesperson is their "significant other." He likes to have a portion of the hiring process include an interview with the family unit to get them on board.
Several posters lamented that all the great salesmen seem to already be out selling, but that excuse seems like the whine of the dateless college coed complaining that all the great guys are already married. Several comments said having clearly defined expectations helps, and that reality holds in continuing this analogy—the girl doesn't know what kind of man she wants, all she knows is that she wants a date. Is it little wonder that hiring commissioned salespeople with that attitude has results similar to dating services?
The original blogger was struggling to find his balance of art and science in the hiring process. It is a battle we all face.
He concluded that he'd been interviewing as if his company had the greater risk, and therefore he hedged his bets to reduce risk to the company—it had not worked. Trying a new paradigm, he structured the interview as though all the risk was on the candidate. It makes sense. When a commissioned salesperson flunks at his job, he doesn't get paid.
To put his revelation into practice, he began talking to the sales candidates like he would talk to a partner. His newly formatted interview included discussion of the company's development, industry trends, success and failure rates, and similar matters. He then evaluated the candidates' strengths and pitfalls as if looking for a partner.
What was the outcome? He called it "significantly more effective" than the scientific process they'd been using.
Equally interesting were the views in the comment section that followed. The consensus agreed that commissioned salesperson interviews are some of the toughest, and they added other insights as well.
The business partner approach works because most good salesmen don't like bosses. They want to be their own boss, so interviewing in a manner that brings out traits of self-sufficiency helps in the selection process. One commentator went so far as to suggest that the real sales manager of any good salesperson is their "significant other." He likes to have a portion of the hiring process include an interview with the family unit to get them on board.
Several posters lamented that all the great salesmen seem to already be out selling, but that excuse seems like the whine of the dateless college coed complaining that all the great guys are already married. Several comments said having clearly defined expectations helps, and that reality holds in continuing this analogy—the girl doesn't know what kind of man she wants, all she knows is that she wants a date. Is it little wonder that hiring commissioned salespeople with that attitude has results similar to dating services?
The original blogger was struggling to find his balance of art and science in the hiring process. It is a battle we all face.
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Importance of Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic methods of motivation, those that arise from the task itself, are finally getting some of the attention they deserve. In the past, business has relied heavily on external motivators such as a pay bonus, an extra pin on the uniform, or a parking place near the door to help motivate employees. There comes a point, especially in jobs that entail creativity, that an employee will start identifying with that great line from the musical Hello, Dolly! when Dolly Levi tells her would-be beau, "And on those cold winter nights, Horace, you can snuggle up to your cash register. It's a little lumpy, but it rings!" His wooing technique had failed to motivate her.
Dolly stated what every employee learns—that there is more to life, and to a job, than simply a paycheck. Distilled down, the wisdom of recognizing "more to life" has found three new motivational buzz words: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
Autonomy
Simply stated, this means that people want to have control over their work. Giving people a goal and then giving them the freedom to have some say-so over how they meet the goal can be a terrific motivator.
Mastery
Every normal person wants to be good at what they do. There is more enjoyment in doing something when you can do it well. By using this fundamental human trait as a basis for motivation, work becomes more interesting and productivity increases.
Purpose
Studies in behavioral sciences have shown that people don't mind being a little cog in a bigger machine as long as they know that their cog has significance. A good boss knows how to capitalize on the natural desire to be part of something that is larger than one's self by helping employees know that their work is meaningful.
Dolly stated what every employee learns—that there is more to life, and to a job, than simply a paycheck. Distilled down, the wisdom of recognizing "more to life" has found three new motivational buzz words: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
Autonomy
Simply stated, this means that people want to have control over their work. Giving people a goal and then giving them the freedom to have some say-so over how they meet the goal can be a terrific motivator.
Mastery
Every normal person wants to be good at what they do. There is more enjoyment in doing something when you can do it well. By using this fundamental human trait as a basis for motivation, work becomes more interesting and productivity increases.
Purpose
Studies in behavioral sciences have shown that people don't mind being a little cog in a bigger machine as long as they know that their cog has significance. A good boss knows how to capitalize on the natural desire to be part of something that is larger than one's self by helping employees know that their work is meaningful.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
How to Make People Feel Like a Million Bucks Without Spending Any
Last year Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor at Harvard Business School, wrote a column on gift giving ideas for cash-short, recession-weary workplaces. It was both innovative and practical, making the point that "gifts that don't require a commercial transaction can strengthen human bonds." It was refreshing to see someone from a high profile business school actually suggesting alternatives to the commercialization of the holidays.
But if low- or no-cost gifts can add energy to the workplace and lift morale one week out of the year, what's to say that it won't work the other fifty-one as well?
Building on Professor Kanter's premise that gifts that create a "connection of caring" will reinforce motivation, and by adding a few ideas of out own, we offer our list of "How to make people feel like a million bucks without spending any."
• Hold a Management Slave Day. The bosses can cook, serve and clean up after a meal or do other chores for their staff.
• Give a mini-vacation. Can you close up an hour early one day? Or start an hour later after a weekend?
• Be an Affirmation Elf. This is a take on the Secret Santa idea, except that instead of giving a gift, you give a compliment.
• Try a Time Share Chore Exchange. Almost every job comes with at least one yucky, routine chore, right? Let your employees switch a ten-minute chore of their choice with someone else. It breaks the routine and builds sympathetic camaraderie.
• Rule suspension. Remove the most frustrating and least necessary rules. Okay, that last sentence is a verbatim copy job from Professor Kanter's list, but it was just too cool to overlook.
• Post a note. Except that this time when we say "post," we mean post office, as in use snail mail and send a note home to the employee's family telling them how their parent/sibling/child makes a difference.
• Name Recognition. This is another idea borrowed from Professor Kanter—actually, she suggested a graffiti wall—but we think smart folks like our readers may want to spin that a little and add some audio recognition as well.
• Do kid stuff. Remember elementary school assemblies when they'd bring in a magician or sketch artist or a Punch 'n Judy puppet show? This idea may not be no-cost, but it can be cost-effective to take an hour break for a bit of entertainment.
But if low- or no-cost gifts can add energy to the workplace and lift morale one week out of the year, what's to say that it won't work the other fifty-one as well?
Building on Professor Kanter's premise that gifts that create a "connection of caring" will reinforce motivation, and by adding a few ideas of out own, we offer our list of "How to make people feel like a million bucks without spending any."
• Hold a Management Slave Day. The bosses can cook, serve and clean up after a meal or do other chores for their staff.
• Give a mini-vacation. Can you close up an hour early one day? Or start an hour later after a weekend?
• Be an Affirmation Elf. This is a take on the Secret Santa idea, except that instead of giving a gift, you give a compliment.
• Try a Time Share Chore Exchange. Almost every job comes with at least one yucky, routine chore, right? Let your employees switch a ten-minute chore of their choice with someone else. It breaks the routine and builds sympathetic camaraderie.
• Rule suspension. Remove the most frustrating and least necessary rules. Okay, that last sentence is a verbatim copy job from Professor Kanter's list, but it was just too cool to overlook.
• Post a note. Except that this time when we say "post," we mean post office, as in use snail mail and send a note home to the employee's family telling them how their parent/sibling/child makes a difference.
• Name Recognition. This is another idea borrowed from Professor Kanter—actually, she suggested a graffiti wall—but we think smart folks like our readers may want to spin that a little and add some audio recognition as well.
• Do kid stuff. Remember elementary school assemblies when they'd bring in a magician or sketch artist or a Punch 'n Judy puppet show? This idea may not be no-cost, but it can be cost-effective to take an hour break for a bit of entertainment.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Why Small Business Won't Be Hiring
At the end of last year, business economists and government prognosticators alike had a growing list of reasons that small businesses weren't hiring. Chief among the causes were the continuing credit crunch and bleak prospects for future sales.
Even the improving numbers for new orders that looked optimistic at the surface had shadows of pessimism showing around the edges—many of the new sales were not so much "new" as they were restocking of inventories that had been purposely lowered for end-of-year tax reasons.
The results of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 have been either disappointing or abysmal, depending upon who you talk to. By in large, small businesses, which are the creators of half of all non-government jobs, haven't experienced the rising numbers depicted on the colorful bar graphs at Recovery.gov.
As the new year opened, the State of the Union Address promised a $5,000 tax credit for every net new employee in 2010. The goal, according to federal officials, was "to encourage businesses that are on the fence about hiring to take the plunge." The problem is that there aren't that many small businessmen who are on the fence. Most are standing firmly behind it and only peeking through the knotholes, waiting to see how the Senate will vote on part of that promise later this month.
More recently, reports of trillion dollar deficits and chatter of coming tax increases have made small entrepreneurs even more cautious. Those who are familiar with history and are wary of its repeating itself know that government spending has never brought private sector recovery.
Additionally, many employers are already operating with employees who have accepted fewer hours just to keep their jobs. Should the economy begin a recovery, the first new hires will be in line behind the part-timers who are waiting to get their full time status back.
In the end, the varied reasons that small businesses are not hiring—the lack of credit, the sluggish sales, the threats of future tax increases, and the surplus of hours for existing employees—are all attached to the same root: uncertainty in the economy. For most small businessmen, the risks of expanding are still too great.
Even the improving numbers for new orders that looked optimistic at the surface had shadows of pessimism showing around the edges—many of the new sales were not so much "new" as they were restocking of inventories that had been purposely lowered for end-of-year tax reasons.
The results of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 have been either disappointing or abysmal, depending upon who you talk to. By in large, small businesses, which are the creators of half of all non-government jobs, haven't experienced the rising numbers depicted on the colorful bar graphs at Recovery.gov.
As the new year opened, the State of the Union Address promised a $5,000 tax credit for every net new employee in 2010. The goal, according to federal officials, was "to encourage businesses that are on the fence about hiring to take the plunge." The problem is that there aren't that many small businessmen who are on the fence. Most are standing firmly behind it and only peeking through the knotholes, waiting to see how the Senate will vote on part of that promise later this month.
More recently, reports of trillion dollar deficits and chatter of coming tax increases have made small entrepreneurs even more cautious. Those who are familiar with history and are wary of its repeating itself know that government spending has never brought private sector recovery.
Additionally, many employers are already operating with employees who have accepted fewer hours just to keep their jobs. Should the economy begin a recovery, the first new hires will be in line behind the part-timers who are waiting to get their full time status back.
In the end, the varied reasons that small businesses are not hiring—the lack of credit, the sluggish sales, the threats of future tax increases, and the surplus of hours for existing employees—are all attached to the same root: uncertainty in the economy. For most small businessmen, the risks of expanding are still too great.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Social Media: The New Word of Mouth
I recently came across another blog that spoofed a Human Resources robot, claiming that the HRbot would 'spider' all your tweets and social networking info each time you apply for a job. It may have been meant as satire, but there was a kernel of truth in it.
Major—and minor—businesses are posting their company profiles on social media and using them for recruiting new employees. During the hiring process, it is likely that any personal profiles that an applicant may have on the web will be searched. It is not so much that a potential employer is interested in the size of your mob in Mobsters, or how many potatoes you've harvested in Farmtown. It is more that these social networking sites can offer a window into the kind of community that you choose to belong to and provide a fuller picture of who they might be hiring.
The jury is still out on whether tweeting for work is the wave of the future or a passing fad. In the here and now, it is the new word of mouth. Most of the best jobs are filled on the basis of personal word-of-mouth recommendations. The thing to remember is that it works both ways.
With social media such as LinkedIn, which was set up for the purpose of business networking, members expect others to scrutinize their profile. But what about friend networks like MySpace and Facebook? If you are looking for a job, there is a fair chance that the person looking at your application will be looking for your social media profile.
If there really was a spider HRbot, would you get caught in its web?
Major—and minor—businesses are posting their company profiles on social media and using them for recruiting new employees. During the hiring process, it is likely that any personal profiles that an applicant may have on the web will be searched. It is not so much that a potential employer is interested in the size of your mob in Mobsters, or how many potatoes you've harvested in Farmtown. It is more that these social networking sites can offer a window into the kind of community that you choose to belong to and provide a fuller picture of who they might be hiring.
The jury is still out on whether tweeting for work is the wave of the future or a passing fad. In the here and now, it is the new word of mouth. Most of the best jobs are filled on the basis of personal word-of-mouth recommendations. The thing to remember is that it works both ways.
With social media such as LinkedIn, which was set up for the purpose of business networking, members expect others to scrutinize their profile. But what about friend networks like MySpace and Facebook? If you are looking for a job, there is a fair chance that the person looking at your application will be looking for your social media profile.
If there really was a spider HRbot, would you get caught in its web?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Neurodiversity in the Workforce
The twenty-first century has brought a groundswell of multi-cultural diversity to the workforce. For the most part, society has judged that to be a positive thing and employers often seek to achieve it, but what about neurodiversity? Are we equally willing to embrace these differences?
What Exactly is 'Neurodiversity' Anyway?
The term was first coined by Harvey Blume in 1998 for an article he wrote in The Atlantic about geeks and nerds. The neuro- part of the word refers to how the brain is wired. People with neurological conditions like hyperactivity, attention deficit, and high-functioning autism all have brains wired a little differently than what is typical. It has nothing to do with intelligence. It is about how they process the information their brain receives. Neruodiversity accepts atypical wiring of the brain as beneficial.
Many examples exist where someone whose brain is wired a little differently has succeeded in life—the absent minded professor, the hyper-active used car salesman, and those who have channeled attention deficits into lively jobs where they thrive as journalists, restaurateurs, or soldiers. Asperger's Syndrome can be an asset when working with the predictability and logic of computer technology.
The Wave of Things to Come?
Blume says that neurodiversity is "not only timely but quite possibly irresistible." Employers who take a fresh and objective view of the hiring process recognize that many people with tons of talent and intellect aren't very good at selling themselves during the job interview. These are people whose neurological wiring is a little different than the conformist team players and the socially adept in-crowd. They are the individuals who solve problems outside the boxes and see things that others may miss.
It is not always easy to integrate someone who thinks or acts a "little funny" into a stable and staid working environment. Change merely for the sake of change is a rash decision. Employers should still be mindful of hiring people with good and honorable character, but a neurologically diverse roster of employees can give a business more flexibility, open up new prospects, and accommodate a wider range of challenges than a cookie-cutter crew.
What Exactly is 'Neurodiversity' Anyway?
The term was first coined by Harvey Blume in 1998 for an article he wrote in The Atlantic about geeks and nerds. The neuro- part of the word refers to how the brain is wired. People with neurological conditions like hyperactivity, attention deficit, and high-functioning autism all have brains wired a little differently than what is typical. It has nothing to do with intelligence. It is about how they process the information their brain receives. Neruodiversity accepts atypical wiring of the brain as beneficial.
Many examples exist where someone whose brain is wired a little differently has succeeded in life—the absent minded professor, the hyper-active used car salesman, and those who have channeled attention deficits into lively jobs where they thrive as journalists, restaurateurs, or soldiers. Asperger's Syndrome can be an asset when working with the predictability and logic of computer technology.
The Wave of Things to Come?
Blume says that neurodiversity is "not only timely but quite possibly irresistible." Employers who take a fresh and objective view of the hiring process recognize that many people with tons of talent and intellect aren't very good at selling themselves during the job interview. These are people whose neurological wiring is a little different than the conformist team players and the socially adept in-crowd. They are the individuals who solve problems outside the boxes and see things that others may miss.
It is not always easy to integrate someone who thinks or acts a "little funny" into a stable and staid working environment. Change merely for the sake of change is a rash decision. Employers should still be mindful of hiring people with good and honorable character, but a neurologically diverse roster of employees can give a business more flexibility, open up new prospects, and accommodate a wider range of challenges than a cookie-cutter crew.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
How To Improve Your Payroll Accounting
You have a business to run. Do you really wish to spend your workday caught up in the minutiae of ever-changing payroll tax laws and forms that have numbers and letters for titles instead of real names? No.
You have a business to run. Is it really wise or affordable to disconnect from that aspect of your business and have your payroll completely outsourced? Maybe not.
Between these two extremes is the alternative of using a payroll service with flexible options. A payroll service will take the data on the hours your employees worked, their pay rates, and other payroll-related information and use your numbers to generate the paychecks, payroll reports, and payroll tax filings for you.
Having a good payroll accounting system helps keep both your employees and the government happy, and it can keep you from pulling your hair out. Employees get paid correctly and on time. The government gets its cut correctly, on time, and filed with the proper form. You get a service that helps shoulder the load and frees up more of your time.
Some payroll accounting services will handle just the payroll taxes and filings for you, while you remain hands-on and pay your employees. If you want your payroll service provider to pay your employees, they offer both paper paycheck and direct deposit options. A full-service payroll accounting provider can manage retirement accounts, workmen's compensation, and specialty services for employees who receive much of their income in the form of tips.
The payroll service may use software on your own computer, or you may select to enter data online. Either way, the data has to be entered only once for both paychecks and taxes. The outcomes always match since they both started with the same numbers.
Keeping your data secure is always a priority with a good payroll accounting service. They will also generate accurate, understandable reports that make it easy to see exactly what your labor costs are and to share this information with your accountant. Choosing to use a payroll service is often the simplest way to improve your payroll accounting.
You have a business to run. Is it really wise or affordable to disconnect from that aspect of your business and have your payroll completely outsourced? Maybe not.
Between these two extremes is the alternative of using a payroll service with flexible options. A payroll service will take the data on the hours your employees worked, their pay rates, and other payroll-related information and use your numbers to generate the paychecks, payroll reports, and payroll tax filings for you.
Having a good payroll accounting system helps keep both your employees and the government happy, and it can keep you from pulling your hair out. Employees get paid correctly and on time. The government gets its cut correctly, on time, and filed with the proper form. You get a service that helps shoulder the load and frees up more of your time.
Some payroll accounting services will handle just the payroll taxes and filings for you, while you remain hands-on and pay your employees. If you want your payroll service provider to pay your employees, they offer both paper paycheck and direct deposit options. A full-service payroll accounting provider can manage retirement accounts, workmen's compensation, and specialty services for employees who receive much of their income in the form of tips.
The payroll service may use software on your own computer, or you may select to enter data online. Either way, the data has to be entered only once for both paychecks and taxes. The outcomes always match since they both started with the same numbers.
Keeping your data secure is always a priority with a good payroll accounting service. They will also generate accurate, understandable reports that make it easy to see exactly what your labor costs are and to share this information with your accountant. Choosing to use a payroll service is often the simplest way to improve your payroll accounting.
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