Archive for Human Capital
Four Steps to Providing Feedback
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It is important to have a system that you can rely upon to provide feedback to your employees. Not only do they need feedback from you, but they actually want it, also. The fact is, most people really do want to succeed at their job, and they do want to please their employers.
Regular and consistent feedback is a great way to ensure that you are giving your people what they need in order to succeed. And, it gives you a great and timely opportunity to recognize accomplishments. An entrepreneur can instill trust and confidence in others, which can be helpful – if not essential later.
A simple system of providing feedback can consist of as little as Four Steps:
- Write a Report. Give a written account that describes what the employee has accomplished, and how the accomplishment compare with the targets that have been set.
- Analyze Shortcomings. In the event that there are shortcomings, point them out while focusing on why they occurred. By focusing on why they occurred instead of who fell short, you can keep this analysis positive and encouraging.
- Invite Questions. Encourage the employee to provide their own feedback of the job, including how well they felt they were supervised, and whether he or she would like to take on similar assignments in the future.
- Identify Training Needs. It is possible that your analysis will show that the real shortcoming has been in the area of training. So, determine what type of training is necessary, and schedule it.
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The Five Factors of Customer Loyalty One of the important trends in the realm of customer relations has been the transition away from focusing on Customer Satisfaction, and instead focusing on Customer Loyalty. As a performance standard, "customer satisfaction" is a rather low bar. We should have higher goals in business than to just meet our...... -
It's Only a 5% Discount! Here is a worthwhile piece of advice from Sierra Management Solutions on the potentially devastating impact of discounting on your company's bottom line: Problem: The CFO was worried. For the past six months the company's margins had been dropping and now they were at the point where something had to......
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11 Steps to Giving Employee Negative Feedback
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Every successful entrepreneur eventually has the experience of giving what is perceived to be negative feedback to an employee, manager, vendor, or partner. Providing this kind of feedback is essential to leadership, and it is the most direct way to provide direct reports with information on how they are performing. This type of communication is best handled face-to-face – and NEVER by email.
While some of these communications happen at regularly-scheduled intervals, such as at semi-annual or annual reviews, frequently it becomes necessary to provide this kind of feedback on shorter notice at the time underperformance is detected. It is common for some personality-types to put off these conversations, which only delays the inevitable.
Others find it easier to deal with in very brief but pointed meetings in the attempt to avoid confrontation. This usually results in confusion by an employee who is looking for a more detailed explanation, or who feels that his/her side of the story has not been told. Yet other personalities become so frustrated with the performance issue that the focus is heavily weighted on shortcomings without offering advice, direction or suggestions on how to improve, or on what type of training needs exist. Read More→
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We Believe in Entrepreneurism Zogby Interactive conducted an interesting poll of Americans to see where the nation is placing its faith in a better future. "Who will lead us to a better future?" Here are the results: 63% - Small business and entrepreneurs 52% - Science and technology leaders 38% - Family and friends...... - Dealing with medical expenses Escalating medical costs leave even insured families left to cover increasing out-of-pocket costs. While there are a number of strategies for small businesses and self-employed individuals to deduct the cost of health insurance coverage, the tax code also provides some relief allowing taxpayers to deduct medical costs. Anyone who has......
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It’s Only a 5% Discount!
Posted by: | CommentsHere is a worthwhile piece of advice from Sierra Management Solutions on the potentially devastating impact of discounting on your company’s bottom line:
Problem: The CFO was worried. For the past six months the company’s margins had been dropping and now they were at the point where something had to be done. Finance had researched the situation thoroughly and the finger was pointing directly at sales.
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Business lessons from snow camping with Boy Scouts This weekend I spent Friday and Saturday in the company of 11 young men and 4 adult leaders on an overnight snow camping expedition in the mountains. This involves digging a cave in the middle of a snowfield, and spending the night in it. For us, the temperature dropped to...... -
When "You've got it all wrong" is the best advice /caption] Much has been written in business about the value of playing to your strengths. On my bookshelf alone, I've got a half dozen business titles that preach the concept. As an entrepreneur, there is much to be learned from this video from the BBC show "Britain's Got Talent", where......
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Employees underestimate employer medical insurance costs
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to a report issued by CCH, very few employees realize the magnitude of the expense incurred by employers who pay medical insurance benefits, even though it is generally a well-publicized fact that medical insurance costs are skyrocketing. A 2004 study by MetLife on Employee Benefits Trends showed that 28% of full-time employees believe that their employer spends less than $1,000 per year, per employee on health care benefits. Almost half of the employees – 49% – believes their company spends less than $2,000. Only 27% of employees correctly estimated that their employer spends at least $4,000 per year, per full-time employee on health benefits.
This demonstrates a real opportunity to communicate regularly and effectively regarding company insurance and benefit costs. Annual employee reviews are excellent opportunities to show employees the actual numbers. And, by always including the costs of medical insurance into any discussion of compensation, employees will learn to recognize the real-dollar value of these benefits.
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11 Ways to Protect Yourself in Business Business is riskier than ever these days. The economy is a mess, credit markets are tight, taxes are high - and likely to go higher, the courts are clogged with frivolous lawsuits, and attorneys seem to rule the world. What can you and I do about it? Fortunately, we......
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Two thirds of U.S. workers rate bosses highly, but 25% claim they can do the job better
Posted by: | CommentsFrom CommerceClearinghouse:
“Although nearly two-thirds (69 percent) of U.S. workers rate their supervisors as excellent or good, over a quarter (27 percent) believe that they can perform their bosses’ jobs better than their bosses. Workers aged 18-29 and those earning less than $20,000 annually were more likely to make that claim than their counterparts in higher age and income brackets, according to a national Hudson survey on managerial performance. Also, nearly a third of male workers say they could outperform their bosses, compared to a fifth of female workers. Nearly a third (31 percent) of U.S. workers work for supervisors who are about their same age, with one out of every six workers (16 percent) reporting to someone younger. Workers give almost identical performance ratings for both male and female bosses. Seventy-one percent of male employees rate their male bosses as good or excellent in comparison to 68 percent who rate their female bosses the same. Similarly, 69 percent of women employees rate their male bosses as excellent or good while 71 percent rate female bosses the same way. The Hudson supervisor survey is based on a national poll of 1,246 U.S. workers and was compiled by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm.”
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- Business lessons from snow camping with Boy Scouts This weekend I spent Friday and Saturday in the company of 11 young men and 4 adult leaders on an overnight snow camping expedition in the mountains. This involves digging a cave in the middle of a snowfield, and spending the night in it. For us, the temperature dropped to......
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