Building relationships is vital in business. When you are employed and have a boss it's even more critical, because you have an incentive to get the best from your boss - and the onus is on you. For bosses, try on this as a set of expectations your people have from you...

You are limited in how much control you can have in the employed world. Much is passed down to you and this can feel frustrating because you feel 'done to'; without any input in how your experience, day-by-day, goes for you. It can drive you crazy (and in fact is one of the biggest causes of absence and employee churn, by the way!)

So, it's time to take some control – here are a few ways that work well.

1. Make the Effort to Communicate By having an easy dialogue with your boss, you will make it easier all round, when tough talking needs to happen. In fact, if you have the relationship, none of the discussions need be tough at all. Light requests come when you've made the effort up front to get on well. This means appreciating every opportunity to talk - and about anything with your boss.

2. Appreciate Them It's a lonely world at the top. Sure, the tangible compensations look great! And that’s not all we need as human beings. Social animals that we are, we need to feel loved a little. So it’s time for YOU to take the lead in sharing the positives you've gotten from your boss; how they have helped you in your work, makes THEM feel good. And when it's you making them feel good, they will appreciate you - which strengthens the relationship more.

3. Share Successes Whilst we believe that praise is always best accepted (none of this, oh, 'it's nothing' – just go with it!), remember that a good boss will facilitate success and achievement, yet often step back from the glory (hmmm, well, some will!). If you are able to acknowledge their involvement and support, they will be able to be a stronger part of the team, want to do more for the greater good and learn to give praise back!

4. Encourage Team Building Being a good team player, helps a boss with a critical part of their role. Good bosses are only good because of the quality of the team they develop. Your working with and in the team, facilitating development and growth, makes it work for the benefit of the business or organisation - and that is a big plus for your boss.

5. Becoming a Solution Providing, Problem-Free Zone Your boss will be besieged with problems. Time to take a different tack! By having ideas of how to solve problems and sharing those with them, rather than being a constant whiner, will buck the trend, as well as showing an example to others. You enable an evolving 'problem-free' zone in the team, your ideas are an advert for what you can contribute above and beyond the norm - you will be 'noticed' positively.

6. Ask for Their Advice When you need some suggestions about how to move forward, you can still ask for help. 'I need your help' is a great way to get it! An emotional plea that buys them into YOU. It makes a difference to feel wanted. And your boss, just like you, needs to have that sense of being valued. So be prepared to bite the bullet and ask, constructively and positively and then follow through with action.

7. Listen When They Need You Sometimes your boss will get it wrong - and be horrified. At times like this, it works well to treat them as who they might not always appear to be - a regular human being. Helping them through difficulties forms a great bond. No need to be grovelling about it, just positively supportive and on their side. Maybe no-one else will (though you might be the model others follow).

8. Say No Sometimes – Sort Of! Time will come where your boss tests you out, wanting ‘rush-jobs’ done. Now this is usually down to poor 'boundary' setting, which is another article in itself. So you need to say ‘no’ when you can't. Even better is to say 'yes' and on your terms. A piece of work impinging on what's important to you, needs negotiation around the ‘when’. This is better solution as it helps develop understanding of what needs to happen for the crisis issue to take priority - and sets a marker for how you will handle such matters in future. And starts their ‘training’! You can start this right away.

9. Be Demanding About You (a bit!) Employees need to know how they are doing. It’s a bit of a challenging world out there and if no-one tells you how you are doing you need to find out. Sometimes a boss is really good at this. Usually they aren’t. their head is full of all sorts of tactical stuff they need to do – and they forget about their people. Often this is because no-one has ever modelled what good looks like and the real priorities in business. People. So by asking how they think you are doing – what they appreciate about you and what you might do differently, they will come along and get better at it with everyone!

10. Have Patience Behavioural change doesn’t happen all at once and it can go wrong! If you take your time – keep subtle and keep appreciative of them, without the coffee-machine slagging off they usually get, you will make gradual and steady progress. Managers need this – trust me – some of us have been on the receiving end, very gently, and it does work.

When you are playing with the fire of managing upwards, it a bit like a male scorpion trying to mate, with a big chance he’ll get eaten. Yet it is so vital!

© 2005-6 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.

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Do you think vision, mission and values have been done to death in your organisation? Why is this? Probably because they are stale – or the people at the top do not make them a key part of the day to day organisation and culture. Maybe your company has not really introduced them. I wonder what you are missing?

Do you, and everyone in your organisation, know where you want it to be in future? Where it is heading? How you are going to get there? What about those in your department or function? (The same principles can be applied down and through the organisation.) I believe that if there is no vision, there is no direction. If there is no direction there is no purpose. If there is no direction – why should people follow you? The role of the boss is to provide this vision, where you are going, and the mission, how you will get there.

Throughout the whole organisation, people need to know the vision, mission and values if they are to be fully engaged. A clear vision which is well-communicated will provide the overall direction and can be cascaded down through every department. People can relate to it, they know how they, and their job, fit with the vision. It needs to be supported with a good mission statement which can help to provide a basis for why people do what they do and also influences the structure of the organisation too. The final part, which I always consider as the foundation, is to make sure the organisation’s values are defined as they underpin much of the culture. In this article, I want to share some ideas and experiences which will enable you to pay attention to these key leadership activities and apply them in your organisation. When you have them, it is easier to develop your strategy and then your business plan. Vision and mission statements have sometimes slipped do being little more than trite sayings. This does not have to the case. Make them mean something, believe in them, keep them to the forefront of your minds and those of the people in your organisation and they will enhance your chances of success.

The vision is an image of an ideal, desirable future state of the organisation. It is what the organisation wants to be. It can be a dream and something which you aspire to well into the future. A good vision will give a sense of direction and yet be vague enough to encourage initiative and can remain relevant as market conditions vary. The vision needs to be shared and provides a point to work from as well as to. One of the most famous “vision statements” was made by J.F. Kennedy – “to put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth, before the decade (the 1960’s) is out.” It gave NASA the dream and the direction. Microsoft see themselves as “putting a computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software.” BA set out to be “the world’s favourite airline.”

The most compelling vision will operate at 3 levels – analytical, emotional and political. It appeals to the head, it captures the heart and it must be shared by the people.

"Effective visions are beacons and controls when all else is up for grabs." Tom Peters, Thriving on Chaos

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, they may act out their dreams with open eyes to make it possible." T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)

To create an effective vision statement, especially for an established organisation, requires you to make it a leap forward from where you are and to have a medium or long-term perspective. There is no “right” way to create your vision. It could be a couple of people sitting around over a drink (which may help the creativity and reduce inhibitions!) or a facilitated team session. Although they may be short (eg. Canon’s vision, to beat Xerox), they need to be easily communicated and owned by the top management. This does not mean that they are the result of casual thinking. Good visions will be the result of serious thought and checking through some key criteria. We have often found that when challenging organisations about their visions, they have not checked them sufficiently against these and just view them as a marketing statement. The vision has to be a lot more than this.

When you have a clear vision, you can check that everything in the firm is geared towards delivering this. “To be our industry’s supplier of choice, giving great value.” This could be a sample of a vision statement, without debating where it is flawed! (It could be shortened.) It does also mean that you have to ensure your front-line service from receptionists etc is top-notch as well as your administration, purchasing and finance departments. It is not only the front-line people in the organisations who have to deliver against this!

To show how you are going to make the vision a reality, you need to have a mission statement which fundamentally tells how you will work to deliver it. How will we build the dream? A good way to create a mission statement is to involve a team to brainstorm ideas – and then leave the final drafting to only one or two to do. There are many models for creating mission statements and as many views about how long they should be and what they contain. We prefer them to be clear and to the point. A simple approach is to answer three questions, keeping the vision in mind and also think of it from a client’s perspective:

What do we do?

How do we do it?

For whom do we do it?

What do we do? This question should not be answered in terms of what is actually delivered to customers. Think about the real and/or psychological needs that are fulfilled when customers buy your services. Customers make purchase decisions for many reasons, including economical, logistical, and emotional factors.

How do we do it? This question captures the more technical elements of the business. Your answer should encompass the physical product or service and how it is sold and delivered to customers, and it should fit with the need that the customer fulfils with the purchase. If you are defining the first question as “peace of mind”, “business improvement”, “professional support”, “freedom from worry” or whatever – think about whether the way you currently operate and deal with customers and whether it delivers what you offer.

For whom do we do it? The answer to this question is also vital, as it will help you focus your marketing efforts. Remember, not everyone is a potential customer, as customers will almost always have both demographic and geographic limitations.

Brainstorm these questions and develop lists of the ideas which are generated. Then consolidate the common themes and hand them to your “scribes”. Their task is to create a simple statement about what you do: “Our mission is providing our existing and new customers with expert, timely advice, support and great client service. We will do this through the expertise and enthusiasm of our people.” This could arguably be shortened but it still needs to contain the what, how and who for elements.

The final part is to ensure that you have the right foundations to build upon – your corporate values. Values are statements that guide how the organisation will behave in pursuit of its vision. In the corporate world, many organisations have developed their own values lists – and these can be found in reception areas, on office walls, websites and in company literature. This, in itself, is a good start. However, they have to become a lot more than just words on paper or screens. They need to become the underpinning “way of being” within the organisation. Rather than a list of words, which tend to be generalisations and highly subjective, they need to be clearly described in behavioural terms.

To make them mean something, to be the foundations for the firm make sure that the following steps are followed:

    * Identify the areas in which to “set” them
    * Define the specific behaviours that will apply for each value
    * Set standards related to these behaviours
    * “Walk the talk” as the management team – become the role-models
    * Publicise them widely
    * Revisit and refine regularly
    * Provide feedback on how well they are being followed

Having done the work on creating the vision, mission and values the next critical task for you as leaders is to ensure that these become part of the fabric of the organisation. They have to be communicated, clearly, effectively and relentlessly and made to seem compelling from the top down. Posters, screensavers, mouse-mats, notepads are just some of the tools. Make them a point of discussion at meetings to ensure they are still being pursued. The behaviours for the values need to be part of the performance review or appraisal process. Ensure that everything is aligned towards the mission and vision. People will be very quick to spot any aspects which vary from, or contradict, them. To lead to your vision (and success) set the what, share the how and then monitor the activity and behaviour. You can now start on developing a clear strategy for your organisation!

Graham Yemm is a partner in Solutions 4 Training Ltd and has worked with many organisations, helping them to define their vision, mission and values and developing their strategy and processes in line with these. He can be contacted at [email protected] or +44 1483 480656.

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As a trucking company owner, you know that the transportation industry is very profitable. And, it’s safe to say that the industry will grow steadily for the years to come. If only because people are buying more things and someone needs to haul the stuff around. There has never been a better time to own a trucking company.

There are three keys to growing your trucking company successfully.

First, find truck loads of cargo and freight

The key to winning in the trucking game is to find clients with truck loads of freight that need to be hauled. There are a few ways to do this. Many owners rely on the internet and go to freight boards or load boards to try and get loads. This is a good strategy because there are a number of reputable boards that can certainly keep your business humming for a long time. Another advantage of truck boards is that they help you reduce your infamous deadhead trips – trips where you are returning home without hauling anything.

Second, work with reputable clients and freight brokers

Although load boards are great, you also want to work with established freight brokers reputable freight broker will help you get loads so that your trucks are always running. They will also help with the proper paperwork and documentation, and lastly, they will ensure that you get paid.

However, not all freight brokers or clients are created equal. Be sure to check them out before doing business with them. You can do this by asking them for references or by checking their commercial credit.

Lastly, get the right financing

Waiting up to 60 days to get paid for your freight bills can put your trucking business in neutral very quickly. Your best option is to finance your freight bills using factoring. Freight bill factoring provides you with money for your slow paying freight bills, giving you the funds to pay for fuel, drivers and repairs.

Putting it all together

Making it big with a trucking company is not hard – you just have to be smart. Be sure to get the right clients and the proper financing, and watch your business grow.

Commercial Capital LLC

Moving truck loads and freight loads of cargo? Freight bill factoring can help finance your growth. Call Marco Terry at (866) 730 1922 for a free quote.

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t's not my job. For managers, hearing those four words is like hearing fingernails scratching against a chalkboard.

Why do employees say this? Why do they use this ready-made defense to get out of doing work?

Managers, on the other hand, have created a quick response to defend against these alleged malingerers. They always seem to remind them of the phrase found in nearly all job descriptions. You know the line: "other duties as directed.

"This line is the hammer that ensures that employees will do whatever the manager wants them to do. Talk about positive employee relations.

How did employers get into this mess and why do employees continuously drop this line? The fact is, employers taught employees to say it. That's right, they taught them.

When employers force employees into the box we call a job description, they teach employees that that's all they should do.Do your job, don't do anything else and you won't get into trouble - and they wonder why employees use the "not my job" line. So what's the solution? How do you change this behavior?

Job descriptions often create boundaries that undermine collaborative work relationships. They do not allow for any flexibility. They define an employee function and outline specifically what an employee must do.

In doing this, it prevents an employee from helping other colleagues with their work whenever it is necessary. There can be no teamwork when the description defines the role of the individual - not the team.

Descriptions are task-focused. They do not describe how the role fits into or contributes to the success of the entire organization. The incumbent can operate in a vacuum without concern for what is happening around him - how she affects customers, co-workers or the organization.

So, what's the solution? Frankly, the solution can be found by stepping back and looking at the big picture. Ask yourself, "What am I in business to do? What is my objective? What is our mission?" When employees understand, when everyone understands the mission and where they fit within the organization, then the job description box begins to break down.

Let's look at how this works: In a nursing home, the role of the nurse and that of the food-service aide are clear. Nurses provide patient care, dispense medication and take blood pressures, among other tasks. Food-service aides provide meals and clean up. It is clear and it is delineated in the job description.

There is order. But what happens if food service gets backed up? Should the patient be forced to stare at dirty dishes until food service catches up? Can't the nurse help out? No. Why? Because it is not her job.

Take the same scenario, but from a different perspective. Here, everyone understands the mission of the organization: to provide the residents with the best quality care possible.

In this situation, everyone's job is to ensure that the mission is met, that the residents get the best care. Job descriptions describe what employees generally do - but their true mission is to ensure that every resident receives the best care.

So when food service gets backed up, everyone, whether a nurse or an administrator, can pick up trays, because that ensures that Mrs. Jones is getting good care. And that is their job.

In this scenario, employees do not operate in a box. They work as part of a collaborative effort - as part of a team to ensure that the mission is met. And everyone comes out a winner - the employee, whose job has more meaning; the manager, who is responsible for the unit; and the resident (the customer) who receives the good, quality care.

When everyone understands and embraces the big picture, when managers let employees function out of the box, good things happen. People realize it is their job and gladly go about doing it.

But what about those confining job descriptions? Should they be destroyed? No. Job descriptions provide a real benefit by clarifying employee expectations. But they must be written so that they do not limit flexibility. They must encourage teamwork and collaboration. They cannot keep employees from jumping in to help.

Why not drop the "other duties as directed" hammer and adopt a line found in most Southwest Airlines job descriptions: "and whatever you need to do to enhance the overall operation"? When employers encourage employees to go beyond the job description and adopt a collaborative role, employees respond positively - and that is their job.

Rick Dacri is an organizational development consultant, coach, and featured speaker at regional and national conferences. Since 1995 his firm, Dacri & Associates, LLC has focused on improving the performance of individuals and organizations. Rick can be reached at 1-800-892-9828, [email protected] or http://www.dacri.com.

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Every management authority on the circuit says that loyal customers and their repeat purchases are the cornerstone of your long-term successful business. The reason is obvious: it is less costly to get your existing customers to buy more than it is to find new ones. The lower cost of sale leads gives you higher operating margins, which you can then invest in other business building activities, and so it goes.

Since I'm bringing this up at all, you've got to ask yourself, "Is this old saw true?"

For incremental growth up to around 20 percent per year, the answer is yes. It's true.

Spend your energy selling more to your top customers and you'll do just fine. And 20 percent year after year is definitely nothing to sneeze at.

But what about faster growth? Massive growth, mega growth, breakthrough growth? What if you've just got to take over your market, fast?

To get revenue increases of 50 percent, 100 percent, or more, that expert wisdom is just plain wrong. To get quantum growth in your business you're going to need more people buying your products and services - and lots of them.

Product development mastermind Doug Hall conducted research using the Scan Database, which contains over 9400 products with Universal Product Codes. Hall's statistical model shows that new customers are 2.8 times more important to rapid revenue growth than repeat purchasers.

It's not hard to understand when you consider this question: How much money can each customer or customer spend with your company? Can they double their spending? Maybe. If that's true, you might squeeze that 100 percent growth from your loyal base.

But is that reasonable to expect? Perhaps for one year. But repeatedly? That's just not likely, and companies that focus all their attention on retention are eventually going to see revenue growth stall or decline.

But can you double your customer base?

Yes, you can. And you can do it repeatedly. It doesn't matter whether you call them customers or clients, the equation is the same: it's easier to geometrically grow the customer base than the money each customer spends.

Of course, the strongest companies do both. They increase the spending of each loyal customer, and aggressively court new ones. But because they think it's more cost-efficient, too many entrepreneurs focus on developing repeat business and limit their new customer activity. Don't get caught in that trap; while you're creating loyalty, your competitors will expand around you and with their riches, drive you right out of the market.

Developing new customers is not easy, but here are few steps to get you on the road and keep you there.

1. Continually focus on getting new customers. Develop automatic referral processes like Quantum's Envelope Referral System. Schedule low cost or free informational seminars. Build strategic partnerships. Create affiliate marketing programs. Use direct marketing techniques: mail, email, telephone, and so on.

2. Remember that your goal is total customer growth. This means that while you're adding new customers, be sure not to lose the ones you already have. And that means those customers are not dormant - a customer who's not spending isn't much of a customer at all. Any solid customer growth plan also includes a re-sell, up-sell and cross-sell program in addition to the customer acquisition plan.

3. Redefine your Unique Client Value position to include the "next niche over." When you've exhausted the customers in your specific niche (defined by your Core Marketing Message and your Unique Client Value) it may be time to move into another market space. The easiest niche to segue into is one that shares characteristics with your current market. That's why we call this the "next niche over." Sometimes all it takes is a small tweak to your product offer or the way you package it. Sometimes, you only have to alter the marketing message and collateral.

4. Dramatize the Differences. At some point you must take customers from your competitors; that means you can't have a me-too offering. You've got to be better, you've got to be different, you've got offer something they don't have. Unless your competitors really stink their customers won't become your without a compelling reason. And just because your mousetrap is better they won't come running, you have to let them know, communicating your commanding value clearly and often.

5. Create segmented offerings to make the differences more pronounced. Just as you use "silver, gold, platinum" pricing to segment your own customer base, do the same to distinguish yourself from your competitors. If you need a low-end offer, remove the frills, strip down the packaging, if possible make the product "virtual," digital, or downloadable. On the high-end, make your product super-premium. Bump up the quality of your materials. Add personalization. Add intimacy and service elements that competition will be afraid to offer.

Follow these five steps and you will be on the road to quantum growth. Remember - that as you're driving new customers to your door you must make sure to build loyalty at the same time. In another article we'll talk about ways to do just that.

(c) Copyright Paul Lemberg. All rights reserved

About The Author
Paul Lemberg is the president of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs rapidly create More Profits and More Life(tm). To get your copy of our free special report with detailed steps on how to grow your business at least 40% faster, even when you aren’t sure what to do next, go to http://www.paullemberg.com.

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Winners are ALWAYS looking for ways to grow their business. They trust their company, trust their customers to come through for them, and realize that a financial crunch offers advantages that aren't available during better economic times.

1. Get More For Your Advertising Bucks

When the economy makes a turn for the worse, it just makes sense that your advertising will give less of a return than during and economic boon. Sure there’s a lot less money being spent, but you don’t have to have to watch your profit margin plummet!

Think about it... advertisers are feeling the recession just as much as you are, and are more desperate for clients. It’s the perfect atmosphere to negotiate your way to lower costs - even if you are already getting a good price. Every advertising penny you can save, is that much more profit you’ll earn on the products.

Have you thought about getting free publicity? Local newspapers are always looking for something of local interest. Make the news! Publicity is free, but a wonderful way to get your business in front of potential clients.

Do your advertisements really need to be as big as they are? We tend to think the big is better, but the facts are that short ads with 11 words or less often generate higher response than large ads. Give it a try, and trim some costs right off your advertising bill.

2. Take Advantage Of Big Ticket Sales

Not all of your customers suffer during recession. Remember that there are always people who are thriving financially, so don’t be afraid to make big ticket sales offers. Additionally, when money is tight, people who place a lot of stock in your product will value it even more.

Think about ways to create products similar to yours, but with much higher prices. Internet marketers often create members only sites and sell their products at much higher prices. Hey, they’ll obviously make fewer sales, but the people who really value the product will buy. Each sale will net an immensely higher profit. Think about it like this... even though the sales are fewer, the actual profit may be even greater than when it was sold at a lower price.

3. Maximize The Customers You Have

Your customers already know that you have great products and provide satisfactory service. They trust you to come through for them. Think about it... it’s much easier to make sales to someone you already have a relationship with.

Use every opportunity to increase your sales volume within the customer audience you already have. Do you have a product that goes with the one they are purchasing? Offer it to them at the register. It’s a proven and effective method for increasing sales. You may be shocked at the additional sales you can generate from those who are already buying from you.

Copyright 2006 Cutts Group, llc

About The Author
Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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MOLLY, THE ASSISTANT, Molly treasurer at XYZ Corp. in Miami, opened an e-mail from a former colleague who no longer worked for the organization. The e-mail read: "Hi Molly, there should be a refund of $716 on my old corporate Visa card from the IP Conference. I paid for, but did not attend, the conference and did not turn in the charge to XYZ for reimbursement. Can you have Visa issue a refund check to me? Thanks very much for your help."

The e-mail was from Jerry, a former XYZ executive who had been Molly's boss at one time. The message seemed innocuous enough. Jerry had legitimately charged a business conference to his corporate credit card, but he had canceled his registration because he left the company. Therefore, he was due a refund.

It would have been very easy for Molly to trust her former boss and get him the refund. Instead, because something didn't seem quite right, she chose to check on whether XYZ had already reimbursed Jerry for the conference.

To make this determination, Molly accessed Jerry's corporate credit card records online and retrieved his expense reports from the accounts payable file room. The expense reports confirmed that Jerry had not expensed the conference fee, but when Molly looked at his credit card statement, she saw a couple of odd items.

First, the most recent statement indicated that the former XYZ executive had made four payments to his credit card in one month. Second, the statement was two pages long, and Molly knew that Jerry rarely traveled for business. She scanned the charges and noted that most of them were from local vendors. In addition, none of the items looked like business charges. The charges included dinners at local restaurants, department and grocery store charges, and airline tickets for Jerry and his wife that Molly knew were for their recent vacation.

Out of curiosity, Molly queried the company's checks online to see if any of the payments made on Jerry's Visa account matched the dollar amounts of checks written by XYZ. Sure enough, she found that all four payments made to Jerry's credit card that month equaled amounts on checks that the company had written to Visa. Molly increased the scope of her search and observed that every payment posted to Jerry's corporate credit card over the previous 12 months was from a check written by the company. She also noticed that of the $88,000 in charges on Jerry's card over that time frame, none was for business expenses.

Molly printed copies of all of the checks and noted that, although Visa was listed as the payee on all of them, Jerry's corporate credit card account number was handwritten on each check. Molly approached the director of internal auditing as well as Jerry's former manager and requested an investigation into the matter.

While working for XYZ, Jerry was in charge of making sure that the organization paid delinquent balances on the corporate credit cards of people who had left the company. XYZ had an arrangement with the credit card company that it would guarantee payment for certain employees if those employees did not pay the balances on their accounts. Once a month, Jerry would provide accounts payable with a list of delinquent accounts on guaranteed cards, and accounts payable would cut the check to the credit card company.

However, on the bottom of every check request in Jerry's last year of employment, he had written, "Please deliver the check to me." Typically, accounts payable would mail the check directly to the credit card company, but because accounts payable knew that Jerry maintained a relationship with the credit card company, they adhered to his request and delivered the checks to him. When Jerry received a check, he would write his own account number on the check, and the bank would apply the payment to Jerry's credit card.

Jerry did not need to make sure that the delinquent credit card owners listed on his spreadsheet paid their balances, because he had fabricated the delinquency list that he provided to accounts payable. In many cases, the employees with the so-called delinquent balances had left the organization long before, and they had paid their balances in full before departing.

So, where were the control breakdowns? First, Jerry had sole authority over the credit card function. He managed the corporate credit cards, reviewed the delinquent accounts, had access to the employee statements, and dealt with the bank's account managers. No one reviewed his work. As soon as accounts payable walked the checks down to his office, he had all he needed to perpetrate the fraud.

The second breakdown was that the accounts payable clerk walked the checks over to Jerry. Although not necessarily right, it is understandable that accounts payable would not have the time to audit Jerry's delinquency list. After all, accounts payable was processing more than 1,000 checks per week with a staff of six. However, it was unacceptable for the clerk to deliver the check directly to Jerry. The check should have gone from accounts payable to the vendor. The vendor invoice--or delinquency data in this case--should have contained all of the pertinent information to allow accounts payable to appropriately route the check.

XYZ decided to report Jerry to law enforcement. Although $88,000 is not a significant amount of money for a $1 billion company, and the legal fees and other costs might be high, the company wanted to demonstrate to its employees that it would not tolerate fraud and would hold perpetrators accountable. Decisive and timely action such as this is critical to maintaining a sound control environment.

Not everyone is as diligent as Molly. The lesson she applied is an important one to teach operations personnel: Take the time to check anything that doesn't seem right. Because she spent a few minutes performing due diligence, Molly uncovered an $88,000 fraud.

Several symptoms may have flagged the fraud. If internal auditing had been testing the employee credit card charges, simply identifying the top 25 corporate card users and reviewing their charges would have flagged Jerry. Travel reimbursements of $88,000 in one year covers a lot of travel. Testing the accounts of the people with the most posted credits would have similarly flagged Jerry. Also, Jerry averaged three payments a month on his credit card over the course of a year, an unusual pattern that, if identified, should have been investigated.

Testing the top 25 corporate credit card users and searching for unusual patterns are the staples of any audit program that contains tests designed to uncover fraud.

LESSONS LEARNED

* Employees should take the extra step. If employees are presented with a transaction that they do not completely understand, they should do what was going on so that it became clear to everyone that XYZ would not treat fraud lightly. what it takes to understand the transaction. Molly was one of the custodians of the organization's cash, so when someone asked for money from the company, even a trusted former boss, it was important for her to understand the nature of the transaction.

* Segregate duties. This is a concept that is drilled into the brains of internal auditors ad nauseam, but it is not necessarily communicated as often to operational management. The organization's head treasurer, to whom Jerry reported, was an ex-auditor and ex-controller, and therefore should have been aware of this control concept. However, during the course of business, when times are good and everyone is busy, it is easy to overlook the fundamentals. Jerry had too much control, and because accounts payable trusted him, the clerks did not adhere to their own processes and send the check directly to the third party.

* Act quickly and decisively. Jerry was a long-time employee of" XYZ, and he was well-liked in the organization. It would have been easy for the company to ask Jerry to pay the money back and call it even. How ever, management and the board called for a full investigation, led by the internal audit group that included outside consultants, legal counsel, and the district attorney. Management also decided to not keep it quiet; they let the finance and accounting organizations know what was going on so that it became clear to everyone that XYZ would not treat fraud lightly.

* Thieves can get greedy. In this case, Jerry had already left the company. His fraud might have gone undetected if he had not returned for one last $716!

About The Author
Scott Burke; President of iMAX Business Solutions in charge of sales, strategy, and execution and thus is responsible for managing all aspects of the company's marketing, communications, new accounts, and support. - http://www.cmscreditcards.com/

For more information click over to http://www.cmscreditcards.com/articles.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Burke

This subject is addressed time and time again. Some retailers have more Store Manager and Assistant Manager positions open than they have filled. Take a look at on-line job sites and you’ll see that even large, well known retailers are trying to fill positions that should be filled with candidates from within the company. In fact, if a solid internal promotion policy was in place – one that really worked - the majority of vacancies would be at entry level.

The concern is that this is not just an occasional problem for many retailers and other companies in the service industry. It is an on-going state of affairs. It has become a ‘mission critical’ item that goes unrecognized as such. C level individuals absolutely must become involved with this epidemic called excessive turnover.

The research is out there. We know it’s very expensive to attract and train high caliber employees. Why, then, do so many organizations treat excessive turnover as normal and acceptable? The answer, simply and unfortunately, is lack of awareness.

Often top management is unaware of the root causes of excessive turnover and, as a result, their questions to high level subordinates focus on the activities taking place to attract people to fill vacancies (job fairs, advertisements here, there and everywhere, possibly the use of a professional recruiter, word of mouth, etc.) and those activities are pushed very high on the priority action list. The question to subordinates should be “Why do we have excessive turnover?” and “What is being done to ensure that we keep the good people we already have?” Why not put ‘hiring and keeping good people’ high on the priority action list? And I mean high…right up there with sales and profit.

When you define ‘good people’ for your particular business it is highly likely it will include some form of performance or productivity criteria. You don’t want to attract and retain nice people, or sweet or happy or kind people. You want to attract and retain people who are ‘good’ based solely on your particular company’s definition of ‘good’. Someone else’s definition of ‘good’ just won’t cut it.

Why not set up a new department to delve into this area? With all due respect to Human Resources professionals everywhere - and I mean that sincerely - the HR department is not the place to start with this new endeavor. An ‘attitude survey’ alone won’t serve the purpose. An ‘open-door policy’ won’t serve the purpose. Exit interviews won’t serve the purpose. You must have objective, sales and customer service oriented individuals looking at operations and asking quality questions in order to figure out what kind of management employees are being subjected to in the organization. Top performers, or producers, usually know what they do and do not like; what inspires and motivates them to perform. Getting them to tell you what those things are is the difficult part.

The main cause of excessive turnover is inadequate management practices. Given the sophisticated society we live in excessive turnover should have been eradicated long ago. ET is bad for your business and bad for employees, as anyone interested in, or struggling with, this subject surely has figured out already.

But why are so few companies dealing with it in a productive manner? The reasons are many. 1) They haven’t actually seen the effect on the bottom line; which is not to say it isn’t there – it certainly is – but it may not have gotten enough attention to extract the actual dollar figure and attack it as a priority action item. 2) They believe it is an industry related malady and, therefore, believe there is not much they can do. 3) Top management is not asking the right questions. And the list of reasons goes on.

Managers and recruiters spend an inordinate amount of time and energy scurrying around in a never-ending flurry of activity to get new people on board. If we would only spend half as much time and effort focusing on keeping the ‘good’ people we already have we would be able to climb off of the hamster wheel and become far more productive.

It takes great managers to manage and develop people for maximum effectiveness.

Among other things, great managers are consistent; are credible; promote stability; communicate well and often:

Consistency – It is difficult to follow a leader who is inconsistent. They may be seen unpredictable and/or wishy-washy.

Credibility - It is impossible to respect a leader who has no credibility. They can be seen as untrustworthy and insincere.

Stability - It is uncomfortable to work for a leader who does not create stability in the workplace and may even appear to promote instability and insecurity.

Communication - It is difficult to follow a leader who cannot, or does not, communicate well. They are often misunderstood and believed to be lacking clarity of vision and/or direction.

ET can be abolished by following some innovative as well as some solid, tried and true management/people development practices. You need to know what those practices are and how to implement them successfully within your organization. Understanding what your good people need from you is the first, and crucial, step. Your great managers have to do the rest.

DMS Retail offers an insightful guide to people management as it relates to the eradication of ET. For further information gohttp://www.dmsretail.com.

Matt Parmaks is well known in management circles for his insights to people management issues. He is a believer of application of practical, common sense and value based concepts rather than theory to get most out of your human capital while giving the most back to them. You can reach him at [email protected]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Parmaks

This subject is addressed time and time again. Some retailers have more Store Manager and Assistant Manager positions open than they have filled. Take a look at on-line job sites and you’ll see that even large, well known retailers are trying to fill positions that should be filled with candidates from within the company. In fact, if a solid internal promotion policy was in place – one that really worked - the majority of vacancies would be at entry level.

The concern is that this is not just an occasional problem for many retailers and other companies in the service industry. It is an on-going state of affairs. It has become a ‘mission critical’ item that goes unrecognized as such. C level individuals absolutely must become involved with this epidemic called excessive turnover.

The research is out there. We know it’s very expensive to attract and train high caliber employees. Why, then, do so many organizations treat excessive turnover as normal and acceptable? The answer, simply and unfortunately, is lack of awareness.

Often top management is unaware of the root causes of excessive turnover and, as a result, their questions to high level subordinates focus on the activities taking place to attract people to fill vacancies (job fairs, advertisements here, there and everywhere, possibly the use of a professional recruiter, word of mouth, etc.) and those activities are pushed very high on the priority action list. The question to subordinates should be “Why do we have excessive turnover?” and “What is being done to ensure that we keep the good people we already have?” Why not put ‘hiring and keeping good people’ high on the priority action list? And I mean high…right up there with sales and profit.

When you define ‘good people’ for your particular business it is highly likely it will include some form of performance or productivity criteria. You don’t want to attract and retain nice people, or sweet or happy or kind people. You want to attract and retain people who are ‘good’ based solely on your particular company’s definition of ‘good’. Someone else’s definition of ‘good’ just won’t cut it.

Why not set up a new department to delve into this area? With all due respect to Human Resources professionals everywhere - and I mean that sincerely - the HR department is not the place to start with this new endeavor. An ‘attitude survey’ alone won’t serve the purpose. An ‘open-door policy’ won’t serve the purpose. Exit interviews won’t serve the purpose. You must have objective, sales and customer service oriented individuals looking at operations and asking quality questions in order to figure out what kind of management employees are being subjected to in the organization. Top performers, or producers, usually know what they do and do not like; what inspires and motivates them to perform. Getting them to tell you what those things are is the difficult part.

The main cause of excessive turnover is inadequate management practices. Given the sophisticated society we live in excessive turnover should have been eradicated long ago. ET is bad for your business and bad for employees, as anyone interested in, or struggling with, this subject surely has figured out already.

But why are so few companies dealing with it in a productive manner? The reasons are many. 1) They haven’t actually seen the effect on the bottom line; which is not to say it isn’t there – it certainly is – but it may not have gotten enough attention to extract the actual dollar figure and attack it as a priority action item. 2) They believe it is an industry related malady and, therefore, believe there is not much they can do. 3) Top management is not asking the right questions. And the list of reasons goes on.

Managers and recruiters spend an inordinate amount of time and energy scurrying around in a never-ending flurry of activity to get new people on board. If we would only spend half as much time and effort focusing on keeping the ‘good’ people we already have we would be able to climb off of the hamster wheel and become far more productive.

It takes great managers to manage and develop people for maximum effectiveness.

Among other things, great managers are consistent; are credible; promote stability; communicate well and often:

Consistency – It is difficult to follow a leader who is inconsistent. They may be seen unpredictable and/or wishy-washy.

Credibility - It is impossible to respect a leader who has no credibility. They can be seen as untrustworthy and insincere.

Stability - It is uncomfortable to work for a leader who does not create stability in the workplace and may even appear to promote instability and insecurity.

Communication - It is difficult to follow a leader who cannot, or does not, communicate well. They are often misunderstood and believed to be lacking clarity of vision and/or direction.

ET can be abolished by following some innovative as well as some solid, tried and true management/people development practices. You need to know what those practices are and how to implement them successfully within your organization. Understanding what your good people need from you is the first, and crucial, step. Your great managers have to do the rest.

DMS Retail offers an insightful guide to people management as it relates to the eradication of ET. For further information gohttp://www.dmsretail.com.

Matt Parmaks is well known in management circles for his insights to people management issues. He is a believer of application of practical, common sense and value based concepts rather than theory to get most out of your human capital while giving the most back to them. You can reach him at [email protected]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Parmaks

Destroy Your Performance Appraisals. That’s right, destroy them. Your employees don’t want them. Your managers hate to give them. And frankly, it is rare that they are written honestly anyway.

So why do them? Why do employers continue to inflict so much pain on themselves and their workforce? What are they trying to accomplish?

Employers often think they should do them in order to foster a workplace where employees are held accountable; where good performance is rewarded; and where employees are paid fairly. If these are the goals of performance appraisal, then why does study after study report that no one is happy with this system of evaluating performance? Why is there always tension in the air and acid in the stomach when it is performance appraisal time?

Let’s look at a few of the reasons appraisals exist and see if there may be a better way to achieve these admirable goals.

1. Appraisals correct bad performance—Using an annual or semi-annual meeting with your employee to correct problems that occur during the year is ineffective and unfair. Appraisals cannot correct past problems. If the behavior was done in the past, it cannot be changed because you cannot change what has already occurred. Problems must be addressed as they occur. Waiting for appraisal time to correct the problem is the equivalent to threatening a child with “wait until your father gets home!” Appraisals shouldn’t be a “gotcha” time. If you want to correct bad performance or behavior, then address it immediately either through coaching, counseling or discipline, but not through an appraisal.

2. Appraisals are used for wage increases—This is a problem for many reasons. First, money clouds the open dialogue between a manager and an employee. While managers are focusing on performance, employees are focusing on how much money this is going to mean in their pocket. Recognizing this as a problem, companies often separate the issues into two discussions held at different times. But this rarely works. Money and not performance remains the overriding issue.

Secondly, using appraisals as a way of differentiating between good and bad performance might have worked when merit budgets were 10% and 12%, but those days are long gone. With merit budgets often averaging 3%, does a 1%, 2%, or even a 3% differential between good and bad performers adequately send a message that recognizes and rewards good performance?

And finally, supervisors are often forced to be dishonest on the appraisals in order to ensure that the employee gets something or to avoid the inevitable confrontation associated with telling an employee that they merited no increase. There are better ways to recognize and reward employees.

3. Appraisals are tools to develop employees—Frankly, when done properly, appraisals can be a good development tool. However, with all the baggage associated with appraisals, there are better ways to develop your people. If employers focus on an employee and discuss his or her strengths, areas needing development, skills and skill gaps, and what is needed for career success and organizational growth, then a positive plan can be developed where both the employee and the employer comes out as winners. A discussion that begins with “Let’s talk about how we can put together a plan focused on growing you in the organization” will be reviewed more positively than “Let’s talk about your performance.”

So does this mean we should not do any type of appraisal? No. Ongoing, continuous discussions with your employees are critical to their success and the success of the organization. But the process must be continuous—daily, weekly, and nor just an annual event. It should focus on improving future performance. It must be honest and sincere. It must be developmental with a focus on growing the employee. It can include a discussion about goals and objectives. And yes, if you must, things can be written down. You will find that with this type of forward thinking focus, there will be less pain and less acid in the stomach.

Rick Dacri is an organizational development consultant, coach and featured speaker at regional and national conferences. Since 1995 his firm, Dacri & Associates has focused on improving the performance of individuals and organizations. Rick can be reached at 1-800-892-9828, [email protected], or http://www.dacri.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Dacri

Some employees cost your company far more than they contribute. So why keep them?

Do you retain employees long after they have worn out their welcome? If so, you are not alone. Many organizations underestimate the damage these employees can do to the organization. They wrongfully assume that these employees don’t have a direct impact on profitability, but is this really the case?

Impact on morale

Problem employees are highly skilled at hiding out. When problems occur they are the first to place blame on others. They are experts at deflecting criticism. They make conversations so uncomfortable that managers would rather work around them then deal with them.

When this occurs, assignments are given to others in the work group without explanation. Resentment builds as team members put in long hours to handle the extra workload. Dazed and confused, the star workers begin to search for signs of intelligent life on other planets since it’s obvious to them that management has left the ship.

Cost of turnover

Ever notice how one department seems to have higher turnover than another? If you answered “yes” then ask yourself why nothing is done to correct this situation. If your company doesn’t do anything to fix the situation, your employees will take the matter into their own hands. Employees are in a no win situation when saddled with one or two team mates who refuse to pull their own weight. Most bale out rather than wait for management to finally make a move.

Turnover can be measured in a number of ways but the end result is the same. Real dollars are being spent to replace and retrain employees. Add to this indirect costs like loss of client relationships; the decline of employee morale and chain reaction turnover and you can see how quickly costs add up.

Dissatisfied customers

Dissatisfied customers will move their business elsewhere and may never tell you why. But they will surely tell others of their situation. In today’s fast paced world, mediocrity is not an option. Problem employees must be dealt with in a timely manner or business will be seeping out the back door.

Sidebar:

Five ways to address problem employees:

When an employee performs poorly or makes a serious error it is tempting to replace them like an interchangeable part on an assembly line. Here are five things you should do before ordering up a replacement:

1. Determine if it’s a system problem or a training problem. Employers are quick to assume that problems are due to lack of training. But often problems exist due to systems problems. For example, no amount of customer service training can compensate for a poorly designed phone system. Make sure your systems are in working order before spending additional money on retraining problem employees.

2. Review the job expectations with the employee. It’s impossible for an employee to know what is expected of them if they are never told. Give employees direct feedback. Tell them what you expect and how performance will be measured.

3. Be consistent and follow through. If you tell an employee that they have 90 days to turn their performance around then don’t wait six months to evaluate their performance. Mark your calendar and follow up as necessary to provide guidance.

4. Hold managers accountable. Managers are compensated on results, which often do not take into account how well they manage and motivate staff members. If a manager is doing a poor job of managing performance then hold them accountable.

5. Determine if the problem employee is fixable. Sometimes it comes down to fit. You’ve got a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. When this occurs, it is usually obvious to both parties. Help guide the employee out of the organization by setting up an exit transition plan.

© 2005 Human Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.

Roberta Chinsky Matuson is the President of Human Resource Solutions (http://www.yourhrexperts.com) and has been helping companies align their people assets with their business goals. She is considered an expert in generational workforce issues. Roberta publishes a monthly newsletter “HR Matters” http://www.yourhrexperts.com/hrjoin.cgi which is jammed with resources, articles and tips to help companies navigate through sticky and complicated HR workforce issues. She can be reached at 413-582-1840 or [email protected].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roberta_Matuson

How many times when the subject of absenteeism comes up do we hear firstly that it is the fault of the workforce, and second that we know our staff are swinging the lead but we are secretly amused by the outrageous excuses they provide when they do turn up.

A problem that is costing industry in the UK £12.5 Billion annually surely deserves more respect.

How long before we stop treating the excuses we are given for absence and sickness with amusing condescension and start to appreciate the crippling costs that we are creating for our own industry?

When we accept responsibility for creating the conditions for our workforce that make them late or sick we will be halfway to discovering what we can do to reduce the impact of the problem on our ability to compete.

At work, part of the reason that we find the excuses of latecomers and absentees so amusing is because we believe that they have been invented to cover up the fact that the employee is late and that their lateness is their fault.

We laugh at their artifice believing that we can see through their most complicated invention as a result of our loftier perspective.

Can we see far enough through our employee's invention to realise that these amusing excuses are created because the organisation has created a working environment that is in some cases so stressful and abhorrent to the employee that they have to throw up in the car park before they come to work.

Their amusing excuse could be to cover the shame that an individual feels because they have to do this every morning before they are able to come to work.

Absence and sickness are in some cases unavoidable and in others are a function of the environment that the organisation creates in which the employees work.

The days are long past when we can treat our employees with a cavalier disregard for their welfare or individuality in the certain knowledge that if they get upset and leave it is their fault and we can always replace them.

Our share of the global market is shrinking at a startling rate.

If we continue to ignore the massive costs associated with decreasing retention and absenteeism then we will only accelerate the rate at which our market share is taken from us.

Wake up, start treating employees with the humanity and dignity they deserve.

When we learn how to do this we will be able to appreciate the massive difference in performance that occurs when people feel good about what they do.

If we don’t, the massive overhead that we create for our industry by our behaviour towards our employees will continue to cripple our efforts to compete in a shrinking global market.

Peter A Hunter
Author-Breaking the Mould
http://www.breakingthemould.co.uk

If you have ever experienced or learned something which you then knew was instinctively right - you will never have forgotten it. Peter Hunter learned something years ago which, regrettably, most of us have still yet to learn. When we do - once we have understood the simplicity of his book 'Breaking the Mould' - it will transform our lives forever! Vic Baxter – Business Workout.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Hunter

As a manager many years ago when faced with my first challenge of selecting an external consultant, I found myself all at sea. Fortunately for me, I intuitively hit two of the three selection targets. The project was to produce a communication video, so it was relatively easy to see and compare what each consultant had previously produced. I had a number of consultants to choose from, but finally chose the one that I felt most comfortable with and whose work impressed me most. The project was succesful and in the process, I learned a lot.

Since that time, I have had to employ a number of consultants, I have been a consultant myself for almost 20 years, and I have worked with many other consultancies both large and small. The following suggestions for selecting a consultant are based on my experience as a manager and in the consultancy field.

What are the three targets that one must hit to successfully select a consultant? (Note; I am using the term “consultant” to refer to either one person or a consultancy firm). Firstly and most obviously, the consultant must be able to actually do the work. Secondly, the consultant must be able to fit in with the people in your organisation and particularly those who will be working on this project. Finally, if the consultant is good, you should always improve your own knowledge as a result of the project.

1. Can the consultant do the work? Seems obvious, but there are some traps. For instance, I remember when starting out as a consultant in partnership with another (who was also new to the role), submitting a tender for a fairly large job and being selected in the final few for interview. Individually, we’d had some experience in the type of work, but not as a partnership, nor had we worked in the prospective client’s industry. We won the job. Why? The client saw in us some creativity and freshness that was not evident in our competitors. However, this was an unusual client. Normally, I would not suggest taking on a consultant (like us) who has not had the depth nor breadth of experience in the project. So, unless one of your criteria is “freshness”, in terms of selecting for experience here are some tips:

• What are your specifications? Be very clear on the outputs you will require in the project. These should always be measured in terms of quality, quantity, time and cost. Use these output criteria to compare consultants.

• Who has recommended this consultant? Check their references – ask for the contact of the last job they did. When checking references, use your above “output criteria” as a guide.

• Are you looking for someone to implement solutions to a problem you have identified, or are you looking for someone to help you identify and clarify the problem? Or both? Sometimes it can be useful to split the project into these two parts.

• In discussion with the prospective consultants, do they really give you the time to say what you want before jumping to conclsuons? If they appear to “have all the answers”, chances are they do not listen very well.

• Does their suggested solution appear to be specifically designed for you or is it a “one size fits all”? Be wary if it is not specifically designed to meet your project criteria.

• Do they explain the things they can’t do as well as those they can? This is always a good test of integrity, truefulness and reliability.

• Is their initial response to your request up to your quality standards, sufficiently detailed (but not overly so) to make a decision, and within your time expectations?

• Does the consultant have depth of expertise in the subject matter and breadth of expertise in its application?

• Ask the consultant what is unique about him or her? What makes them stand out from all the other consultants you might choose?

2. Secondly, will the consultant fit in with the people they will be working with? This is a critical implementation issue, as whilst they might be able to do the work, if they can’t work harmoniously with the people, the results will be less than optimal. For instance, we once worked on a major government project (total budget in excess of M$43) where the client continually kept us at arm’s length (for example, on a residential workshop, we were not encouraged to eat or mix socially with the client project leaders). We met the output requirements for the client, but had we been allowed to work more closely with the client, they would have received a lot more value added service. In this case, the client should have selected another consultant.

The following tips will help ensure you get the right client/consultant match.

• Is the consultant likely to be able to gain the respect and trust of your key stakeholders?

• Could you trust this person (people)?

• What is the process they will use? i.e, How will they work within the organisation? How will they be seen? Try to visualise the consultant working with you and the other people as they complete the project. Will it work? Is it likely to be a good partnership?

• Who specifically (from the consultancy) will be working on the project and what will be their role? For example, will the people you are interviewing be carrying out the work? Be wary of consultancies that have “front people” that win the jobs, then send in less experienced people to do the work.

• Ask the consultant to describe what a “good working relationship” looks like to them. Is the description the consultant gives you of a “good working relationship” likely to be, and to be seen to be, a partnership?

3. Thirdly, will you be able ot learn from this consultant? One of the reasons you hire a consultant is that you (or your organisation) does not have the depth nor breadth of experienece to successfully carry out the project. One of your aims should be to increase your own experience through this project. For example:

• Why did you decide to employ a consultant? What were the gaps you could not fill internally?

• What will you be likely to learn from this consultant?

• Will you increase your knowledge of both process management (how the consultant works) as well as content management (their area of expertise)?

• Will the consultant strengthen and support your role in the organisation?

Finally, if all of your criteria have been met and you cannot decide between two apprently equal consultants, consider setting them a small task or part of the project to complete as part of the selection process. For example, some years ago we were in competition with another large consultancy for a sizeable project with an initial budget in excess of M$1. The client could not decide between the two of us, so he asked us each to undertake a small project (for which he paid us both), which would ultimately become part of the larger project. When we each completed the small project, he had an excellent idea of both our capability and the manner in which we worked. After all, isn’t the final selection criterion is actually trying the consultant out?

Oh, yes. In case you’re wondering, we won the job!

Copyright © 2006 The National Learning Institute

Bob Selden has been a consultant since 1987. Prior to that he was a senior manager within an organisation where he was regularly required to employ consultants. As Managing Director of the National Learning Institute, he often sees both successful and less successful consultant/client relationships. He is happy to pass on free tips or advice – you may contact Bob via http://www.nationallearninginstitute.com/index.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Selden

Ask employees how supervisors and managers could improve the way they deliver performance reviews and you likely will get more responses then you can process. This is an area where most performance reviewers could improve. Let’s examine six common mistakes managers make when it comes to delivering performance reviews and how they can improve their delivery.

1. Being late-Timing is everything, particularly when it comes to reviews. Even positive reviews that are delivered late can have a negative impact on an employee’s morale.

Late reviews tell employees “I have more important things to do than provide you with feedback.” You don’t want to send that message to employees who are meeting expectations, and you certainly don’t want to send that message to your star performers. Re-adjust your plans and deliver reviews on time.

2. Using reviews to provide feedback for the first time-Picture this scenario: an employee is sitting at the edge of her chair waiting to receive what she believes will be a glowing review. Then, boom. Her manager cites five areas where her performance has been substandard. The employee sits in disbelief. After the first two comments, all she hears is “blah, blah, blah!”

This scenario happens everyday. Why? Too many supervisors and managers wait until review time to provide employees with any feedback. Tell employees how they are doing on a continuous basis so they know where they stand.

3. Winging it-Too many supervisors and managers fail to prepare properly for the performance review. They check some boxes on the form; write a few comments and send it off to the boss or human resources for final approval. Then it’s time for lunch.

Delivering a performance review requires more than filling out a performance appraisal form. Conducting a good review requires careful preparation. Decide what you are going to say, and how you are going to say it. Take your time when delivering the news, and put aside ample time to respond to the employee’s questions regarding your assessment.

4. Telling white lies-It’s not uncommon to sugar coat bad reviews. Some supervisors and managers believe they are doing employees a favor by sparing their feelings.

Employees can’t be expected to improve their performance if they have no idea they are failing. Be truthful. In the end, the employee will thank you.

5. Talking at the employee-Reviews are a great time to open dialogue between employees and their managers. It should not be a one-way conversation where managers are viewed as talking heads.

Train supervisors and managers on how to draw employees into the conversation. The ultimate goal is to provide feedback, and feedback should be a two-way communication.

6. Failing to plan for the future-Often times, supervisors and managers tell employees that they will meet again to discuss the employee’s career development and future with the company. Unfortunately, this time rarely happens.

Assuming the review is a favorable one, begin discussing future opportunities and career direction right then.

Side-bar

Tips for delivering performance reviews

Make the delivery of the performance review a more positive experience for employees.

· Give employees ample notice of the time and date you will be delivering their performance review so that they have time to prepare.

· Meet in a quiet place that is private. Remember to turn the ringer off of your phone so that you are not interrupted during your meeting.

· Tell the employee how the meeting will be run.

· Give the employee a written copy of the review.

· Allow the employee ample time to respond to the review.

With a little bit of practice and some training, your managers will exceed expectations when it comes to delivering performance reviews.

© 2006 Human Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.

Roberta Chinsky Matuson is the President of Human Resource Solutions (http://www.yourhrexperts.com) and has been helping companies align their people assets with their business goals. She is considered an expert in generational workforce issues. Roberta publishes a monthly newsletter “HR Matters” http://www.yourhrexperts.com/hrjoin.cgi which is jammed with resources, articles and tips to help companies navigate through sticky and complicated HR workforce issues. She can be reached at 413-582-1840 or [email protected].

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