Atricle Dump - Business

Seasonal vs Non-Seasonal Sales
There are two ways to successfully market a window painting business. One is through seasonal advertising and the other is through marketing during non season times. Both avenues have merit and can prove to be financially rewarding especially if the focus combines both.The easiest way to approach your business is to begin by focusing on the seasons. Retailers recognize the importance of taking advantage of the higher traffic produced by special occasions, and are willing to spend their marketing dollars to further expose themselves to potential customers. An entrepreneur owning a window painting business could do very well exposing their clients at this time. The major holiday season by far is Chr

n judgment or behavior.

3. Respect for Staff
 Listen and respond to staff suggestions; don’t just tell staff what to do.
 When developing new operational procedures give special weight to staff that will be heavily impacted by the change.

4. Staff Training and Development
 Invest in the development and training of staff.
 The development plan for each employee should consider what each staff person wants to achieve personally.

Employee Time Clocks - Enter The Modern World
For decades, businesses and factories monitored the working hours of their employees using time clocks. A particular favorite was the punch card system, where the employee had to insert their card into the time clock, so their hours could be stamped on the card. The payroll officer would then collect these cards each week and pay the employees accordingly.It's a simple system, but unfortunately it's also very easy to cheat. Joe Bloggs is a bit late today? That's okay, John Doe can pop his card in the time clock and nobody will know the difference. Most companies have severe penalties in place for employees found faking time clock information, particularly clocking on or off for other employees, but

In November I wrote an article entitled, “Is Staff Turnover Keeping you Poor…Costs and Affordable Solutions”. The article identified eight simple tips to reduce turnover and related expenses. The tips detailed:
1. Involving staff in turnover reduction planning
2. Evaluating your hiring process
3. Addressing communication issues
4. Recognition and praise
5. Staff training and development
6. Positive relations among staff
7. Starting the campaign with successful actions
8. Tracking actions

Business and human service leaders everywhere understand the importance of reducing turnover. Clearly, turnover is an expense as well as a threat to the maintenance of quality products and services. Can we manage this problem or is it just part of the cost of doing business? Unfortunately there is very little data to substantiate what works. But experience and employee surveys tell much about the roots of job dissatisfaction. Staff retention is related to two factors:

 Wages at market rate or above.
 Employers who treat their employees very well!

This article examines organizational operations in seven areas. In each area we will identify practices that speak to hiring and retaining qualified and dedicated staff. How many of these practices does your organization have in place?

1. Hiring Process
 A marketing oriented statement spelling out why a candidate would want to work for you.
 A hiring process that eliminates bottlenecks or proceeds so slow that candidates are lost.
 Clear descriptions of the requirements of your ideal candidate.
 Don’t “settle” by hiring someone who doesn’t really meet your needs, just to get the position filled.
 Look for candidates with flexibility; today’s job requirements may change.
 Encourage in-house referrals; you will get them if your employees like working for you.
 Have candidates observe the work environment…to see what is working and what isn’t.
 Give candidates the opportunity to interact with current staff and consumers of service.

2. Supervision
 Hold high performance standards with a low tolerance for inadequate performance; stress continuous improvement.
 Each employee should regularly receive at least one hour of private supervision.
 The results of supervisory conferences should be recapped while together. Any assignments and progress against goals and objectives should be identified and memorialized.
 Provide specialized training and development for supervisors.
 Ensure that supervisors carry out their role in a professional manner.

Supervisors should:
o Follow-up on commitments made to supervisees
o Give supervisees honest, constructive feedback about their performance.
o Ensure confidentiality of the supervisory relationship
o Take responsibility for their own errors in judgment or behavior.

4. Staff Training and Development
 Invest in the development and training of staff.
 The development plan for each employee should consider what each staff person wants to achieve personally.

The Future of the Chinese Air Freight Industry
China is the fastest growing aviation market in the world thanks to the expansion of its air freight and air passenger industries. With air freight growth volumes predicted to drop off this year, how will the country’s significance in the aviation market be affected?The growth of China’s air freight industry has led to a surge in the Asian cargo business over the last few years. This is reflected in the fact that air freight from Asia to Dallas Fort Worth airport (which is the leader in Asian cargo in the eastern and southern U.S) increased by 42% in 2004.However, it is expected that China’s air freight volume growth will ease off this year. This will happen as the market retu

blem or is it just part of the cost of doing business? Unfortunately there is very little data to substantiate what works. But experience and employee surveys tell much about the roots of job dissatisfaction. Staff retention is related to two factors:

 Wages at market rate or above.
 Employers who treat their employees very well!

4. Staff Training and Development
 Invest in the development and training of staff.
 The development plan for each employee should consider what each staff person wants to achieve personally.

Media Savvy - Treat Them As You Would Your Best Customer
The ability to lead, persuade and influence are integral skills for effective managers. The capability of telling a story that inspires, motivates and informs is an essential part of this process. In an age of convergence in the media and increased scepticism over traditional communication methods, a new breed of managers and leaders is emerging that sees the media as an opportunity and not a threat. They use the media in a pro-active way to build their organisation's image, reputation and identity.Business Review Weekly's cover story "Future Leaders" editorial reported "new chief executives must have better presentation skills, for they will be required to perform in the electronic and printed media. Po

hat eliminates bottlenecks or proceeds so slow that candidates are lost.
 Clear descriptions of the requirements of your ideal candidate.
 Don’t “settle” by hiring someone who doesn’t really meet your needs, just to get the position filled.
 Look for candidates with flexibility; today’s job requirements may change.
 Encourage in-house referrals; you will get them if your employees like working for you.
 Have candidates observe the work environment…to see what is working and what isn’t.
 Give candidates the opportunity to interact with current staff and consumers of service.

4. Staff Training and Development
 Invest in the development and training of staff.
 The development plan for each employee should consider what each staff person wants to achieve personally.

Retail History
It is one of the biggest employers in the world. It eats up a large chunk of our money. It is the retail industry.Retailing is a massive, passive beast that pervades just about all our lives. Virtually all of us shop, sometimes as a pleasure and sometimes as a burdenous chore.But when and how did it all begin? The answer is probably to do with surpluses. As we got better at cultivating the land, some people found that even after feeding their families and animals and putting food into storage, there was some left over. Rather than waste this surplus, it was traded for other surpluses or perhaps tools or other objects.Those that had enough land and were particularly good at producing food f

uate performance; stress continuous improvement.
 Each employee should regularly receive at least one hour of private supervision.
 The results of supervisory conferences should be recapped while together. Any assignments and progress against goals and objectives should be identified and memorialized.
 Provide specialized training and development for supervisors.
 Ensure that supervisors carry out their role in a professional manner.

4. Staff Training and Development
 Invest in the development and training of staff.
 The development plan for each employee should consider what each staff person wants to achieve personally.

10 Steps to Getting the Most Out of Job Fairs
Many job seekers tend to overlook job fairs. They can be crowded, busy, competitive and confusing events. But they offer you the opportunity to contact many potential employers all within one place, and they can help you land a job. Here's what you need to do to get the most out of these events: 1. Do advance research. Your goal is to target the most promising employers at upcoming job fairs. To do that, you need to know who those employers are and what they offer. Usually, the promotional materials or advertisements for job fairs will list participating employers and the general types of jobs they have open. Get online and search for information about the companies you ar

n judgment or behavior.

4. Staff Training and Development
 Invest in the development and training of staff.
 The development plan for each employee should consider what each staff person wants to achieve personally.

5. Diversity
 Make sure your employees reflect the demographics of the community you serve.
 Recognize that diversity involves more than race, culture and gender factors.
 Use a professional measure to identify employee styles and temperaments.
 Celebrate diversity and use it to strengthen the organization.
 Help staff to understand that true cooperation and team work results when issues can be openly discussed and not seen as personal attacks.

6. Communication
 Regularly survey staff to find out what they are thinking about the organization…positive and negative.
 Follow-up on employee suggestions so that employees know their input is valued and used.
 Hold exit interviews with all departing employees and regularly review the data that comes from these interviews.
 Hold staying interviews to discover issues before turnover ramps up.
 Gather employee input anonymously through surveys, focus groups, suggestion boxes.
 Use technology to keep staff updated on organizational events and concerns.

7. Hardware and Equipment
 Is your facility clean, safe, attractive and well-maintained?
 Do all the toilets work properly?
 Do vehicles operate properly and safely?

What would your score look like? Review the seven areas with other concerned staff. Pick out the areas where your retention program can be strengthened. Set a few goals for the year.

The alternative to implementing a measurable and effective staff retention program is to roll along, accepting turnover as a (rising) cost of doing business. The “do-nothing” strategy results in:
 Employees leaving and taking their knowledge with them…maybe to a competitor.
 Diminished workforce competency and lower client satisfaction scores.
 Lower service levels and lost revenue.
 A drop in employee morale resulting overburdening remaining employees with additional duties.
 Increased costs for recruitment and training. Is there really a choice?

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.articledump.net/article/13799/articledump-What-Are-You-Doing-To-Reduce-Staff-Turnover.html">What Are You Doing To Reduce Staff Turnover?</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.articledump.net/article/13799/articledump-What-Are-You-Doing-To-Reduce-Staff-Turnover.html]What Are You Doing To Reduce Staff Turnover?[/url]

The single easiest way to increase sales is to look professional. People believe what they see. If you look the part, you get the part. You must be committed to keeping a positive image in the mind of every customer. What you may not realize is that a high public image may not cost as much as you are led to believe. In a small business, image is fifty percent (50%) of your business.

Without electricians, you would not be able to read this article on your computer in your home or apartment cooled by the air-conditioning system. Electricians are the people who install, connect, test, and maintain electrical systems for a large of purposes such as lighting, climate control, security, and communications. Most electricians tend to specialize either in construction or in maintenance work, even though an increasing number of electricians can do both.

Most of us have taken jobs without much thought about where they will lead to in the future. It was a source of money - income -at the time. If you're not careful, you can get stuck in such a job and never get out of the rut.

Tags

Links

Atricle Dump - What Are You Doing To Reduce Staff Turnover?

Related Articles: