Business Services

Archive for September 13th, 2009

It’s according to why you filed bankruptcy. Sometimes those SBL’s will give U a 2nd chance, SOMETIMES.

I’m conducting a radio Interview for my class and its going to be with a marketing professor. Topics might include marketing strategy or research, internet marketing, consumer behavior, new product development and management, brand or sales management, business to business marketing, e-business marketing strategy, international marketing, etc.
The problem is, how do I derive a story of significance from any of these as my assignment requires? E. g. : has there been anything in the news surrounding these topics that could keep an audience intrigued and of which I could formulate some great questions?
Thank u so much!

The benefit of running an annual employee survey has for a long time been widely accepted but many organizations have been put off by the amount of effort that is required.Many organizations who have bit the bullet and conducted their own internal employee satisfaction surveys have often relied on word-processors to allow them to design and compile a survey, then gone through the effort of printing and distributing the survey and spent time chasing and collecting the completed surveys and then even more time transferring the survey response information into a meaningful management report.Fortunately with the introduction of the Internet and hosted survey websites like http://www.surveygalaxy.com/ what was once a time consuming, resource hungry, long winded and cumbersome process is now slick, quick and easy.This document provides a step by step guide to help implement a survey that will bring considerable benefits to any organization.Step 1 – Identifying The NeedThe reasons an organization would need a survey are as wide and they are long. Listed here are a few of the common reason why employee satisfaction surveys are conducted. Event DrivenIf your organization is about to embark, or is going through, a change management program employee surveys can assist in managing the change, measuring the effectiveness of the change, help to deliver a ‘message’ and gather valuable feedback throughout the change cycle.For organizations that are experiencing rapid growth employee surveys can monitor internal communications and management structures to ensure that employees are aware of their reporting and management responsibilities.Where an organization is suffering from poor moral brought on by either internal or external influences an employee survey can be used to identify the specific concerns of employees so those concerns can be properly addressed. Where there is an increase in turnover of staff employee surveys can help an organization identify the underlying cause of employee unrest and through their findings help find solutions. PeriodicallyAs part of a periodic assessment, surveys will help an organization review their personnel and monitor on an individual level job satisfaction, training and career development. Employee surveys also offer senior management the opportunity to look at the soft underbelly of their organization to confirm that their ‘top down’ view of the organization matches the reality and ‘bottom up’ perspective. With the help of employee surveys an organization can establish good employer/employee communication that will in turn bring both direct and indirect benefits. Step 2 – Management Buy-InManagement buy-in is always desirable for any initiative and many will argue that it is essential to ensure a successful employee survey, however, in some instances the findings of an employee survey can lead to kick-starting a management that has grown complacent and detached from their employees. Some organization may be fortunate in that the senior management recognize and drive the need for employee surveys, while in others the management may need to first be convinced of the direct and indirect benefits an employee survey will bring. The level of management commitment to an employee survey will have some bearing on the nature of the survey and to some extent will help determine what questions are to be asked and the manner they are asked. A management that is supportive of the initiative may require feedback on specific areas of the business or they may give the go ahead because they feel confident that the results will only confirm that the level of employee satisfaction throughout the organization is high. In nearly all cases it is good practice to at least try and get management to buy-in to the employee survey from the very start as they have a lot to gain and are in a position to effect any change that is later identified as being required. Step 3 – Designing The SurveyDesigning a good survey will take some time and effort but by following the basics of survey design and concentrating on the ‘need to know’ questions and removing the ‘nice to know’ a survey will rapidly take shape. Determining the exact questions that should be asked will be entirely dependent on the individual organization, its structure and the previously identified primary need and objectives of the employee survey. When considering what questions to ask consideration should be given to how the results are to be analyzed. For example there may be a desire to ask for individual comments but these types of answer formats can be very time consuming and cumbersome to analyze and should therefore be avoided or used sparingly. With online surveys it is generally better to do a few smaller surveys than one very long survey as the longer the survey the higher the drop out rate will be. Step 4 – Proof Reading And TestingGrammar, Spelling And ClarityBefore publishing the survey make a careful check for spelling and typing mistakes and incorrect grammar. If available it is always better to have someone who has not been involved in designing the survey to proof read the survey with clean eyes, if no one is available try to take a break before checking through the survey again. Say What You Mean And Mean What You SayWhen checking the survey you need to consider the survey from the viewpoint of the respondent, you may know what you mean by each question but will the questions be clear to the employee? Allow The Employee To Answer TruthfullyFor closed questions where the employee will be required to choose from a number of available responses have you allowed the employee to answer accurately? Make use of responses like ‘Don’t know’, ‘No comment’ or ‘Not Applicable’ where you have made the question mandatory but the employee may not be able to answer. Consider allowing the employee to include an ‘Other’ answer but also appreciate that ‘Other’ answers will add to the complexity when analyzing the survey results. Don’t Require A Response To Questions That May Not Have OneCheck that for any questions that you have made mandatory you do require an answer, for example open questions such as asking for additional comments should not be mandatory unless you definitely require the respondent to write a comment. Check You Will Be Able To Analyze The DataCheck through the survey again but this time looking at how the results of the survey will be analyzed. Consider how you are likely to want to analyze the survey data, have you asked the right questions to be able to perform detailed analysis? For example if you wanted to view the detailed response data from the perspective of the different genders, or maybe departments, check you have asked the employee to indicate their own gender and/or department. Don’t Ask Anymore Questions Than You Need ToConsider all the questions in the survey and look for questions that are not ‘need to know’. Test The Link And Try Completing The SurveyPublish the survey and then send the survey’s link to a number of people who will be willing to test the survey. By completing the survey yourself you will get a feel for how the respondent will view the survey. From your own and others feedback stop and make adjustments to the survey as required. Repeat this process until you are happy with the survey. Check The DataTake time to view the online summary results of the test data and confirm that the data is being collected in a manner that can be properly analyzed and that will give meaningful results. Step 5 – Promoting And Deploying The SurveyWhere all or the majority of employees have access to the internet or company intranet deploying the online survey is as easy that ABC, either via email or by establishing a link to the survey from your own website or Intranet.Where there are some or many employees that do not have direct access to the internet there are a number of alternatives that can be used from issuing the survey in printed form, providing a shared terminal or giving them an incentive to complete the survey at home. Anonymous Responses?There is a choice to allow all surveys to be completed anonymously. Allowing a survey to be anonymous may encourage employees to speak their minds enabling the survey to provide ‘a warts and all’ report, in turn giving management an opportunity to address underlying problems before they become serious. However, allowing anonymous comments also allows employees to be more cavalier and flippant with their responses. Some organizations would therefore only want to consider comments where employees are prepared to stand by their convictions and that will also provide an opportunity to follow up the specific concerns of individual employees. The decision to allow anonymous responses or not will, among other factors, be down to the individual organization, the specific nature of the survey, the surrounding circumstances, the management style and the existing employer/employee relationship. Step 6 – Monitoring The SurveyWhile the survey is in progress you will be able to view the summary results online and also monitor in real-time the number of surveys that have been both started and completed. If after a few days the number of completed surveys falls short of the expected target it is advisable to send periodic reminders to employees asking them to complete the survey. Step 7 – Analyzing The ResultsThere are no hard and fast rules for analyzing the data. Much depends on the individual survey, the questions asked and the number of responses. Most surveys will benefit from many of the results being displayed in graphical as well as tabular form. When first analyzing survey data often a number of ‘headline’ results will immediately stand out that will provide you with a general overview and, providing the right questions have been asked, give you an instant assessment of the mood throughout the organization as a whole. Where the results give areas of concern a more detailed analysis may be advisable. For example if employees were asked if they felt the organization provided equal opportunities to both genders and 25% gave a negative response it would be useful to know the gender split of the organization and also to look at what the gender split was of the 25% that answered negatively. Was the negative view shared by employees of both genders, evenly spread throughout the organization, or of a particular gender from a particular department? There is a method of reporting that presents the result data in tabular and/or graphical form allowing those who are interested in the results to view the raw data. Often used as a compliment to the first, another method is to interpret the results and provide an analysis of the data and offer a view as to what the meaning is behind the results, what circumstances may have contributed to the results being as they are and, where the results indicate a negative, what initiatives could be taken. Such analysis if done by a single individual is likely to be very personal, if done by a committee it is still likely to be objective and therefore open to interpretation. Step 8 – Further ActionProbably the most important step is the last. An employee survey will either confirm that the perfect organization exists or it will highlight areas that are less than perfect by identifying individual and common concerns. It may be that further more detailed surveys are required that target specific areas. For example the survey may reveal that employees working in a particular department are collectively unhappy, but the reasons for their dissatisfaction may not be clear. A smaller, specifically targeted follow-up survey may help reveal the root causes. When employee surveys are periodically run an organization that has taken steps to address issues will see their efforts reflected in subsequent survey responses. Almost all organizations have some problems and it helps an organization’s moral to see that a channel is available that will allow problems to be highlighted, addressed and resolved. Summary These guidelines are intended to help an organization conduct successful employee satisfaction surveys, they are however, only a guide. Each organization is different in style and structure and the organizations ‘personality’ will go someway to influencing the tone and nature of the survey and organizations will have many different circumstances and primary reasons for conducting a survey. By utilizing existing technology and conducting surveys online you are now able to monitor the heart beat of an organization, quickly, easily and, by using websites like Survey Galaxy, at minimal cost.

I am about to write a business plan and need to find a standard format to follow.

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If you are in a small business then very often you may be requiring funds to meet various expenses. Keeping in view of growing needs of an upcoming business, the lenders have Small Business Finance for your specific requirements. However, before you apply for the loan, ensure that you are well prepared for borrowing funds in a beneficial way. You must first of all be precise on the purpose of the loan. This is essential as the lender will like to know about it along with all the details of your business.

You must take extensive financial history of your business to the lender. This should be done keeping the main aim of providing all the information which a lender may require for taking a timely decision on the loan. Go to the lender with a business plan that includes three years of financial statements. This will help the lender in assessing your repaying ability.

It is advisable that before approaching a lender for small business finance, you must check your credit rating. Take the copy of your credit report and ensure that it is free of any errors as any misrepresentation of your payment facts, may have wrong impression on the lender.

Then decide whether you need finance for long or shorter term. If you require greater funds then the lender will ask for collateral that consists of any residential or commercial property. Such a secured loan has the advantage of lower interest rate also. In case you need smaller finance for day to day running of the business, then the lenders should be asked for unsecured loans which come without collateral clause. Interest rate however will be higher and repayment duration shorter.

Business people with bad credit history should first make efforts to improve credit rating. But even if they have multiple problems like arrears, defaults, late payments, CCJs etc, still finding a lender is not difficult if your business has the capability to repay the loan in timely manner.

There are many online lenders in the field of small business finance. These lenders have competitive rate offers. Take their rate quotes for finding out a suitable deal for your business.

I am looking for an interactive FREE tool that I can use online to start writing my business plan and future client proposals. This tool will also need to provide resources and explanation of different parts of the business plan and customer proposals.

“If we lived in a perfect world, there wouldn’t be a need for managers.”
- Bryce’s Law

INTRODUCTION

I recently had a good friend experience a troubling termination
of an employee. This was for a national retail distribution
company where my friend serves as Sales Manager for one of the
company’s regional outlets. The problem centered on a young (thirty-ish)
salesman who was well trained but acted like a loose cannon,
e.g., policies and procedures weren’t always followed, and he was
caustic and abrasive with customers and suppliers alike. This
inevitably resulted in some serious customer relations problems
for the company. On more than one occasion, my friend was called
in to bail out the salesman. His conduct and attitudes were well
documented in his performance reviews and my friend went beyond
the call of duty to counsel the salesman. Regardless, the salesman
recently insulted a young female supplier by using the legendary
“f***” word on the telephone (along with several other choice
expletives). Not surprising, this traveled up and down the
management chain of command until it finally landed on the desk
of the Sales Manager who was told to fire the salesman. Dutifully,
my friend called him into his office, explained the situation,
and gave the salesman the option of allowing him to either resign
or be terminated. The salesman flew into a rage and called the
Sales Manager every name in the book and came close to exchanging
blows with him. It was very ugly.

I talked with my friend at length about the incident and told him
if he was guilty of anything, it was that he was too kind and
too often gave his people the benefit of a doubt. Whereas he always
hopes for the best from an employee, I generally expect the
worst and am pleasantly surprised when things work out. In
other words, they have to earn my respect; they cannot take it
for granted. This got me thinking about how we terminate
employees these days. In the old days, if you screwed up,
you were fired on the spot and shown the door. No questions
asked; it was a done deal. But in today’s litigious society,
managers have to be more careful or face a costly lawsuit.

I remember firing my first employee several years ago. Even
though I hadn’t hired the person, it was my duty to terminate
him. The night before the termination, I agonized over how
I would do it and what I would say. My stomach flipped-flopped
and I definitely did not look forward to doing it. Nonetheless,
the next day I called the employee into my office, explained
his services were no longer needed, and let him go. In
hindsight, I’m sure it was less than perfect, but I somehow
got through it (and had a stiff drink afterwards). Since then
I have had to terminate a fair share of people over the
years. I no longer get upset over it and have learned a
few things along the way. Perhaps the biggest lesson is
that firing employees isn’t for sissies. There are not many
things worse a manager can do than botching a firing. We laugh
at Donald Trump saying, “You’re fired,” on television, but that
is a rigged situation where contestants already understand
there is going to be only one survivor. In the real-world, a
termination affects a lot of people other than the employee
and yourself; it affects the employee’s co-workers, family
and, in the situation described above, customers and vendors. Firing
an individual requires great skill and, as far as I’m concerned
should be left to professionals.

BACKGROUND

There is a big difference between firing a person and letting a
person go. Whereas the latter could be the result of work stoppages,
the former is due to the performance of the individual. As such,
this article is primarily concerned with firing. From the outset
understand this, keeping a poor performer employed is a disservice
to the company, the co-workers, you (the boss), as well as the
individual. As mentioned in the beginning, a poor performer causes
co-workers and/or the boss to work overtime to cover for the
employee. Consider this though, it hurts the individual who is
either unskilled for the job or has risen above his level of
competency. This type of person has hit a “dead-end” in his
career and it is unfair to keep him in a position where you
know he will undoubtedly fail. Let him get on with his life in
another capacity where he might succeed.

Prior to any firing, a paper-trail is required to document the
person’s performance. An Employee Performance Evaluation (or
“Review”) should be conducted routinely, particularly in the
early stages of employment. Such a Review should highlight both
the person’s strengths and weaknesses giving the boss an opportunity
to offer advice to the employee on how to better himself. Very
important, have the employee read the Review carefully and
SIGN IT. Thereby, the employee can never say he was unaware of
any problems.

If the employee is struggling and you have to put him “on notice”
(either improve or face termination), this should be written
into the Review as well. More importantly, if you put a person
“on notice” be sure to follow the worker’s progress carefully,
not only to make sure he is improving, but to see if he is preparing
to bail out on you.

PREPARATIONS

Assuming you have adequately documented the employee’s performance
and you are convinced you have just cause to fire him, now it is
time to properly prepare yourself:

First, you may need to get permission from your superior or
someone in Human Resources to fire the person. Be prepared
to give a detailed reason for terminating the employee and
be able to substantiate your claim. This makes for a
convenient rehearsal for the firing.

Consider the person’s current work assignments and what affect
his firing will have on your department (co-workers, vendors,
customers, delivery dates, etc.). Even if a person is working
on something critical for the company, and it is absolutely
necessary to terminate him, do not let the employee hold
his job hostage. Even if you kept the person, there is
no telling whether his work would ever be completed to your
satisfaction. If he has to go, he has to go. Do not
procrastinate.

Determine an exit strategy. To minimize disrupting the
work of others, determine a proper time and date to terminate
the employee. More people are fired on late Friday afternoons
than any other time or day of the week. Why? Simple. It is
the end of the work-week and people are more interested in
going home than listening to someone being fired. By Monday,
the person will already be a memory.

Psychologists might suggest Monday mornings are a better
time for terminations as opposed to Fridays, simply because
the employee won’t have time to think about it over the
weekend and become despondent or irrational. As for me,
I am a Friday man as I don’t want this to weigh too heavily
on the staff.

In preparing for the employee’s exit, consider what corporate
paperwork is involved (see Human Resources), what keys, locks,
badges, computer passwords may need to be changed, and back up the
employee’s computer files. Under no circumstance should the
employee be allowed to touch his computer after being dismissed;
there is no need to invite sabotage.

Select a witness to attend the termination meeting (this should
be done in all cases regardless if you are expecting a hostile
firing or not). Even better, be prepared to record the
termination if possible in case it is needed in a court of law.

If necessary, have a box prepared for the employee to empty
his desk.

DO IT PROFESSIONALLY

Now the hard part; actually terminating the employee. Now you
have to prepare yourself psychologically. If you go into it
with any emotions (guilt, anger, sympathy), you are doomed to
fail. Always remember you are an emissary of the company, not
an individual with a vendetta. It is hard to be cold in situations
like this, but you have to be well organized and in the proper
state of mind to pull this off. Ideally, the objective should be
that the employee being terminated comes away from the dismissal
knowing he had been fired by a pro, not a clown.

Just prior to the dismissal, talk to your witness and let
him/her know what you are about to do and what will be expected
from the witness during the termination (which should be to simply
observe and not to speak during the firing).

When ready, invite the employee into a private room, preferably
away from the co-workers. Be cordial but avoid idle chit-chat as it
is not relevant at this point. Inform the person of the purpose
of the meeting and why he is being terminated. It is important
the person understand why they are being fired. Some people feel
this is unnecessary. I don’t for two reasons: First, if a person
starts litigation against you or the company, he cannot claim he
didn’t know the reason for the termination, and; Second, if the
person is ever going to improve in the future, he should understand
why he is being dismissed.

It is very important you remain in control of the meeting at
all times. Stick to the facts and do not waver. The employee will
react one of two ways: either surprised by the termination (didn’t
see it coming) or knew it was inevitable. The emotional
reaction to the termination may take many forms:

Regardless of the emotional reaction to the termination, stay in
control of the meeting. Do not show weakness by back-peddling or
allowing second chances. Remember, you reviewed the employee’s work
performance in the past and the employee should have already adjusted
his work habits. Providing an employee a second chance at this stage
only invites sabotage.

Do not prolong the termination either; keep it short and to the
point (do not give him time to think and react). Sympathy is
not necessary, nor is gloating. Also, it is not necessary to be
apologetic, after all, you have a valid business reason for terminating
the employee don’t you? Just keep things in a “matter of fact” tone
of voice. Again, you represent the company in this capacity;
maintain your composure.

If it is necessary for corporate papers to be signed as part of the
exit, have the employee sign them at this time. If the employee
refuses, have it so noted by the witness. Also explain to the
employee how he will receive his final paycheck.

In some situations, it is better to try and get the employee to
resign as opposed to being fired. If the person is fired, they
are automatically eligible for unemployment (which the company has
to ultimately pay). If the person resigns, collecting unemployment
is considerably more difficult to obtain (although the government
loves to give away your money anyway).

If the employee shows signs of being upset, allow them to regain
their composure before exiting the meeting. An emotionally distressed
person can have an adverse affect on the staff. It also allows
the employee to save face.

POSTMORTEM

Fired employees should clean out their desks of their personal
items as soon as possible. This should normally be supervised by
someone, preferably not the witness or the person who just fired
the employee. Further, when the employee is gone, make sure the desk
is cleaned out to your satisfaction; leave no traces.

Farewells are not necessary and should be discouraged. The less
contact the employee has with your staff, the less chance he has
of “infecting” your people. Some companies also find it
necessary to escort the person off company premises.

Following the termination, prepare a report reviewing the
termination which should be filed in the employee’s personnel
jacket. Keep it factual and to the point (include time, date
and the length of the meeting). If the employee made any threats,
this should be documented. The witness should also make a
similar, but separate, report. Both reports should be simple
and to the point and reflect what actually transpired during
the termination. Also, if the termination was recorded, it
should also be filed in the employee’s jacket.

Your staff will inevitably be wondering what happened. It
may be necessary to briefly discuss it at a staff meeting (do
not call a meeting just to discuss the termination). When
reviewing the termination with the staff, it is not necessary
for you to rationalize why the employee was terminated (if he
was a loser, they should be able to figure it out). Further, the
fired employee may have friends on the staff who might testify
against you in the future. Instead, keep it simple; that the
employee is gone and discuss who is going to pick up the
pieces. Do not belabor the firing. Its over. The only thing
you, as boss, should be concerned with at this point is problems
in staff morale as a result of the firing.

After the employee has left, be careful of requests for job
references for the employee. You can state the employee’s job
title and length of employment but little else. Do not discuss
why the employee was terminated or his job performance. If
you make disparaging remarks about the employee, he might learn
of them and initiate a lawsuit; In contrast, if you give a glowing
report on a former employee and he turns out to be a dud, the
employee’s new company may consider a lawsuit over false claims
and misrepresentation. Therefore, do not discuss the employee’s
performance. The only exception is if you are asked if the
former employee is eligible to be rehired (a simple Yes/No will
suffice).

CONCLUSION

We live in a strange time where managers are afraid to fire
employees in fear of possible litigation. Instead, there is a
great temptation to transfer or promote the misfit to another
department, thereby transferring your problems to someone
else. This is horribly irresponsible and does your company a
disservice by allowing the employee to screw-up elsewhere (and
badmouth you to boot). Do not prolong the agony. Get on with
it. As my old football coach used to say, “Have a little STUG”
(that’s “Guts” spelled backwards).

Firing a person is an important part of being a manager. It
goes with the territory. Do not procrastinate and never live in
fear of firing someone for if you do, you will become ineffective
as a manager. But if you are going to do it, do it right. Let
the employee know he was fired by a pro. If done properly, you
will win the respect of your superiors, your subordinates, as
well as the person you are letting go.

Firing employees isn’t for sissies.

all about marketing strategy