Topics
Staffing and Management
Articles
Ten Ways To Be Better At Dealing With Difficult People
Dealing with difficult people is critical if you are to manage the rest of your team and business to the max. Yet sometimes, just one person can demand your attention, in one way or another, in a way more disproportionate amount than everyone else put together. And if you have two of them, well...
Associations
American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)
American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) represents more than 70,000 members from over 100 countries in the field of workplace learning and performance. The organization convenes special events and provides a myriad of products and services. The American Society for Training and Development, the world's leading professional association in the field of workplace learning and performance, offers both telephone and online information services and sponsors the annual International Conference and Exposition.
Phone: 703-683-8100
Web: http://www.astd.org
Employee Involvement Association (EIA)
The Employee Involvement Association (EIA) is an international organization serving professional managers and administrators by providing quality educational programs, publications and networking opportunities. The role of Employee Involvement is a keystone of organizational development through the empowerment of people using team-building and suggestion-gathering methods. The EIA is a non-profit service organization that is composed of members from finance, commerce, industry and government, dedicated to the worth, contributions and benefits of employee suggestion systems and other employee involvement processes.
Phone: 937-586-3724
Web: http://www.eianet.org
Employee Services Management Association
Employee Services Management Association, formerly the National Employee Services and Recreation Association, is a one-stop resource for how-to information, suppliers, and services for employee programs and an authority on the latest programs to recruit and retain top employees.
Phone: 630-559-0020
Web: www.esmassn.org
International Society for Performance Improvement
International Society for Performance Improvement is the leading international association dedicated to improving productivity and performance in the workplace. ISPI represents over 10,000 members from over 40 different countries and focuses on the use of Human Performance Technology in the workplace. A few of ISPI's services include an annual conference and expo and numerous self published books and periodicals
Phone: 301-587-8570
Web: http://www.ispi.org
Society for Human Resource Management
Society for Human Resource Management represents over 200,000 individuals making it the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. It publishes HRMagazine and white papers on testing that are available to all members.
Phone: 703-548-6999
Web: http://www.shrm.org
WorldatWork
WorldatWork is a global, not-for-profit association of more than 26,000 compensation, benefits and human resources professionals founded in 1955. It is dedicated to knowledge leadership in compensation, benefits, and total rewards disciplines associated with attracting, retaining and motivating employees. WorldatWork offers educational forums and an annual conference addressing the issues involved with motivating and compensating today's work force. It strives to provide audiences with an integrated source of high-quality and up-to-date knowledge, education and tools needed to effectively design and manage an organization’s compensation, benefits, and/or total rewards programs, and to understand how these programs influence and interact with other business systems and processes.
Phone: 877-951-9191
Web: http://www.worldatwork.org
Books
1001 Ways to Energize Employees
Weaving together case studies, examples, techniques, research highlights, and quotes from business leaders, this handbook offers suggestions for increasing employee involvement and enthusiasm.
Bob Nelson.
Workman Publishing Co.
213pp.
Cost: $8.76
401 Questions That Every Entrepreneur Should Ask
This book looks at the nitty-gritty of starting a business, in a Q&A format, and asks questions like "How will you stay on top of cash flow?" and "Do you have someone to take your place in case of an emergency?" Questions cover such issues as business organizational structure, locating your business, dealing with customers, risk management, time management, and use of technology.
James L. Silvester.
Career Press.
256.
Paperback.
Cost: $17.99
Change to Strange: Create a Great Organization by Building a Strange Workforce
Dr. Cable is a business professor at North Carolina University. His book focuses on how to build a diverse workforce of people from different walks of life and experiences, and looks at new ways of measuring their impact on business.
Daniel M. Cable.
Wharton School Publishing.
224 pages.
Hardcover.
Cost: $25.99
Four Elements of Successful Management
This book addresses basic management issues applicable to almost any organization and manager. It provides a simple approach summarized as "select, direct, evaluate, and reward," but is in no way short of details. It includes extensive information on every aspect of the process, including benefits of cash and noncash awards.
Marshall, Don R. .
Amacom.
206.
Hardcover .
Cost: $24.95
Good Company: Caring as Fiercely as You Compete
This book looks at how companies can profit from a commitment to a corporate culture characterized by collaboration, innovation, and joy at work.
Hal F. Rosenbluth and Diane McFerrin Peters.
Perseus Books.
205 pp.
Hardcover.
How to Design & Implement a Results-Oriented Variable Pay System
Here's a detailed process for implementing profit sharing, gain-sharing, and goal sharing. You'll get a step-by-step approach that includes organizing the design team, establishing baselines and measurement tools, and determining the frequency and methods of payout. Chapters cover: multi-tiered and small-group systems, selecting and evaluating measures, assigning values to gains or goals, establishing baselines, and sharing the gains. You'll find more implementation details than in many business books.
John G. Belcher, Jr..
American Management Association.
248pp.
Hardcover.
Cost: $55.00
How to Motivate People: The Team Strategy for Success
How to Motivate People explains the principles of successful motivation through author, Tarkenton's, P.R.I.C.E (Pinpointing, Recording, Invovlement, Consequences, Evaluation) program. This book shows you how to identify motivational stumbling blacks, track performance levels, inspire participation in setting goals and achieving objectives, plus much more.
Fran Tarkenton, Tad Tuleja.
Harpercollins.
243pp.
Hardcover.
How to Recognize and Reward Employees
One of the keys to growing a small busines is finding and keeping good employees. This book is a basic guide to rewarding and recognizing employees and includes material on setting goals, identifying positive behaviors, intrinsic rewards, and a range of recognition and reward strategies.
Donna Deeprose.
Amacom.
132.
Paperback.
Cost: $13.95
Managing Through Incentives: How to Develop a More Collaborative, Productive, and Profitable Organization
Shows managers how to apply proven motivators to help any size firm energize the work force, increase its profits, and meet the challenges of today's competitive global economy. Presents the pros and cons of incentives as well as why and how they work and discusses in detail incentives for executives and workers and those used for marketing to consumers.
Richard B. McKenzie and Dwight R. Lee.
Oxford University Press.
352pp.
Hardcover.
Cost: $45.00
Managing to Have Fun
Takes a lighter approach to management that includes using toys, games, and contests to motivate employees.The keystone of this approach for businesses interested in team building for increased profitability is "fun in the workplace."
Matt Weinstein.
Fireside.
219pp.
Paperback.
Cost: $10.78
Motivating Employees
This book reveals how Southwest Airlines, Walt Disney Co., Ben & Jerry's, and other companies have turned themselves into "motivating organizations" that inspire employees to do excellent work.
Anne Bruce and James S. Pepitone.
McGraw-Hill.
160pp.
Cost: $14.95
Motivation of Personnel
Various authors give you the lowdown on many motivational issues. Contains good summaries of both Maslow and Herzberg.
Edited by, Dale A. Timpe.
Facts on File.
369 pp.
Hardcover.
No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs
This hard-hitting guide boils it all down to 10 time management techniques worth using. Crital concepts like understanding time is money, delegating, maintaining focused self-discipline, and punctuality make this required reading for every entrepreneur.
Dan Kennedy .
Entrepreneur Press.
180 pages.
Paperback.
Cost: $9.95
Retaining Your Employees
Described as a "crisp, fifty-minute" book, this concise, step-by-step approach to employee motivation. The authors focus on using "respect, recognition, and rewards" to achieve positive organizational results. In a concise, quickly readable format, they address the benefits to keeping employees and keeping them happy; creating a fun, enriching and "hard-to-leave" workfplace; understanding the impact of feeling valued at work, and tapping to employee desires for personal and professional growth.
Wingfield, Barb, and Berry, Janice .
Thomson Course Technology .
96.
Softcover .
Cost: $13.95
The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth
This review of the small business landscape argues that there are seven "rules" of growth for entrepreneurs and small businesses: 1) Establishing and maintaining a strong sense of purpose, 2) Understanding the marketplace, 3) Creating a growth plan that is realistic and specific, 4)Developing customer-driven processes with a focus on acquisition and retention, 5) Leveraging technology wherever possible, 6)Recruiting and retaining top performers, and 7) Monitoring trends to anticipate market changes.
Steven S. Little.
John Wiley & Sons.
236.
Paperback.
Cost: $18.95
The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law
This guide looks at the many legal issues associated with entrepreneurship and small business ownership. It reviews such issues as selecting and working with an attorney, incorporation and business structure, raising money, human resources, intellectual property, e-commerce sales, and going public or selling your business.
Constance E. Bagley and Craig E. Dauchy.
Thomson South-Western West.
730.
Paperback.
Cost: $47.95
The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First
This book examines why much of the current conventional wisdom is wrong and asks us to re-think the way managers link people with organizational performance. Pfeffer builds a powerful business case for managing people effectively--not just because it makes for good corporate policy, but because it results in outstanding performance and profits.
Jeffrey Pfeffer.
Harvard Business School Press.
345 pp.
Hardcover.
Cost: $18.87
The Managing Diversity Survival Guide
This book includes checklists and worksheets designed to help managers interview, coach, and communicate with employees in a diverse workplace.
Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe.
Irwin Professional Publishing; Bk&Dsk edition.
23 pp.
Paperback.
Cost: $27.97
What Made jack welch JACK WELCH: How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders
Though the title suggests a focus on the famous General Electric CEO's many accomplishments and leadership skills, this management guide draws on the experiences of many other leaders, including Rudy Giuliani and Gen. Tommy Franks, as well as leaders in corporations like Florida Power and Light or Hearst.
Stephen H. Baum (Author), Dave Conti (Author) .
Crown Business .
288 pages .
Hardcover.
Cost: $24.95
What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business
The premise of this book is that it has asked successful entrepreneurs: "If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?" It emphasises the need to research markets and business opportunities carefully before commiting to a new business. It also covers such issues as creating a business plan, financing, management, marketing, and others. Checklists on locating a business and on necessary recordkeeping are also included.
Jan Norman.
Dearborn Trade Publishing.
222.
Paperback.
Cost: $18.95
Events
ASTD International Conference & Exposition
The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) annual conference and expo covers a wide range of training topics in concurrent sessions, and many sessions are directly or indirectly related to sales or customer service training. There are also pre- and post-conference workshops and a large exposition.
Producer: American Society for Training and Development
Location: San Diego,
CA,
USA
Phone: 703-683-8100
Website: http://www.astd.org
Professional Society for Sales & Marketing Training Annual Conference
The theme of this year's conference is Fusion Learning: Integrated Solutions for Sales Excellence. This conference is an opportunity to learn the latest strategies and tactics from training industry professionals. The conference is also geared towards creating and building business relationships, and offers optional planned networking activities.
Producer: Professional Society for Sales & Marketing Training
Venue: Fairview Park Marriott
Location: Falls Church,
VA,
USA
Phone: 800-219-0096
Website: http://www.smt.org
The Performance Conference
Acknowledged as the most comprehensive program for performance Management innovators to improve strategy execution, enhance measures and metrics, and learn "best in class" practices.
Producer: American Strategic Management Institute
Venue: Crown Plaza Chicago Metro
Location: Chicago,
IL,
USA
Phone: 858-874-6876
Website: www.asmiweb.com
World at Work Total Awards Conference & Exhibition
Three days of sessions that address many issues related to incentives and reward practices. The conference attracts over 2,000 compensation, benefits, work-life and human resources professionals from all over the world, and is a great networking opportunity. An entire track of programs is devoted to rewards and recognition. Geared towards attracting, motivating, and retaining a workforce.
Producer: World at Work
Location: Philadelphia,
PA,
USA
Phone: 480-922-2020
Website: http://www.worldatwork.org/
Publications
Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneur Magazine covers the whole range of issues that might be encountered by an entrepreneur or small business owner. A typical issue might include articles on networking, starting an e-business, financing your business, identifying insurance needs, hiring strategies, technology, and more. Its website also offers a variety of small business checklists to download.
Web: www.entrepreneur.com
HRMagazine
Published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) HRMagazine focuses on issues, products, and trends of interest to human resource professionals.
Phone: 703-548-3440
Web: http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine
Inc.
Inc. magazine bills itself as "the daily resource for entrepreneurs." It offers articles on marketing, financing, business growth, technology, business development, and frequent case studies of successful entrepreneurs. The Inc.com website also offers a variety of other downloadable resources.
Web: www.inc.com
Success Magazine
Success magazine is a business service magazine offering articles addressing the personal and business needs of small and medium-size business owners, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. It offers success stories, advice, and step-by-step guides to such things as online marketing, setting up a new office, and taking advantage of small business tax breaks.
Web: www.successmagazine.com
Training
Training magazine covers productivity in American organizations with a focus on the role that training departments and programs play in achieving competitiveness and profitability. Articles cover presentation techniques, computer-based interactive learning, and leadership.
Phone: 800-255-2824
Web: http://www.trainingmag.com
Training & Development
T&D magazine is published by the American Society of Training & Development (ASTD) and covers the field of workplace learning and performance improvement. Topics range from training in specific skills to strategies for corporate change. Some articles focus on topics related to sales and customer service training.
Phone: 703-683-8100
Web: http://www.astd.org/astd/Publications/TD_Magazine/
Workforce Management
This publication focuses on human resources, staffing, and staff management issues, as well as legal and regulatory issues affecting workforce management.
Phone: 949-255-5340
Web: http://www.workforce.com/
Videos
Why Is Everyone Smiling? by Paul Spiegelman
Why is everyone smiling? That's the question Author and CEO, Paul Spiegelman, claims is most commonly asked when customers and clients visit his company, Beryl. He believes the reason behind the company's success is its special culture. Spiegelman joins us today to explain what it takes to keep everyone in your organization smiling.
Web Sites
10 Management Lessons from Ryan Allis
Over the past five years, as iContact and Virante have grown, I've learned a lot about managing people. A business amounts to little without the people behind it. The two most important things I look for when hiring are initiative and work ethic.
10 Mistakes Managers Make During Job Interviews
Hiring is one of the hardest parts of managing a team. A lot is riding on the initial meeting, and if you're nervous or ill-prepared—or both—it can make you do strange things. The following mistakes are all too common, but they're easy to avoid with some advance preparation.
100 Sites Entrepreneurs Should Visit
These days, it seems that almost everyone has a blog, so it's often hard to separate what's really worth reading from what isn't. Luckily, we've done the work for you and narrowed it down to 100 highly informative sites. Take a look at what they have to say and see how they can help you grow your business.
23 Ways to Delegate to Others
It's the challenge that just about all entrepreneurs stumble over - knowing when and how to hand over some of their responsibilities to someone else so that they can focus on the most important stuff.
7 Ways to Smash the Glass Ceiling
"Go big or stay home," says Faryl Robin Morse, founder of Farylrobin Footwear. "If I had listened to the naysayers, I would never have gotten off the ground. Five years later, I'm running a multimillion-dollar company."
Are You a Management Imposter?
Do you feel as if you are pulling the wool over the eyes of your workmates, hiding your incompetence? You are not alone. There is even a name for it: Imposter Syndrome.
Avoiding a Succession Crisis
The rapid changes at Merrill Lynch and now Citigroup highlight the problem many firms face as they consider succession. What we are seeing should be surprising and disturbing to us all: At investment banks of great importance, the board of directors has decided to change the leadership of the firm, yet there is great uncertainty as to who the successor should be, and how the process of finding a successor should be managed. There is something very wrong with this picture.
Big changes coming to hiring
One of the biggest workplace changes that will take place in the next few years is the way people are hired. So how do you get ready for the changes?
Biz Info Library
The Biz Info Library, launched during EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, is an online collection of articles featuring practical, results-focused information on a variety of business topics. Along with some of the top publishers on small business and entrepreneurial success, content providers include world-renowned authors and leading business experts. The online collection is a collaborative effort of The James J. Hill Reference Library, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Edward Lowe Foundation and is free to all users.
Business Growth Strategy - Give Your Staff Their Just Rewards
Stand-out employees are not a dime a dozen, and woe to the employer who forgets this. When you've hired people who work smart, aren't shy about stepping up with new ideas, are team players and regularly do their best to make your business a winner, never forget to give them some sunshine.
Business insight: Layoffs are wrong way to solve poor planning
Ken Siegel, president of The Impact Group Inc., a Los Angeles-based group of psychologists who consult for managers, says supervisors can overreact to economic or market downturns. Many layoffs have a financial impact only during the quarter of the job losses, and most positions are filled within a year.
Central Perks
Women use unique benefits to show employee appreciation.
Compensating Salespeople
Finding the balance between salary and commission may be your ticket to loyal, motivated sales employees.
Consistent coaching can make your salespeople winners
This article's concept is so simple and has so much common sense attached to it.
But, unfortunately, most people or managers of a sales organization will say, "Hey, Hal is dead-on here, and I know it will work, so I will start to do this when I have a little more time."
Coworking: How To Work Solo, But Not Alone
After months of searching for alternatives, Jones found Office Nomad, a shared workplace in Seattle that sells itself as "individuality without isolation." The studio plugs into a new and flourishing philosophy called "coworking."
Creativity is in the Detail, and Everywhere...
Companies need to allow employees to liberate their inherent creativity, rather than squash it as most do. Tapping one's inner creativity within a destination-driven society requires the courage to slow down and reflect inwards.
Delegating Upward
Good delegation is an art. It keeps work flowing efficiently and helps employees learn new skills and advance in their professions. Poor delegation reduces motivation and often makes people feel exploited. No delegation at all will lead to bottlenecks and prevents organizational growth.
Does Your Company Have An Attitude Problem?
You know the type: coworkers who never have anything positive to say, whether at the weekly staff meeting or in the cafeteria line. They can suck the energy from a brainstorming session with a few choice comments. Their bad mood frequently puts others in one too. Their negativity can contaminate even good news.
Don't Be Afraid to Delegate
It's a tautology, of course. If you insist on doing everything yourself, your business will never grow beyond what you can personally handle.
Employers wonder how to handle Generation Y
My column two weeks ago on the MU Entrepreneurship Camp generated a lot of interest, particularly the section regarding the characteristics of the younger members of our workforce - Generation Y, or, as some would say it, Generation Why?
Engage in Conflict Now
You won't need boxing gloves, but you'll want to jump into conversations about conflict as soon as you can.
For Better or Worse
Look no further for a business partner. You may already have a perfect match--your spouse.
Generation Y by the Numbers
Hiring managers say millennials are asking more from their workplaces and employers than any previous generation: They want better pay and perks, more flexibility in their schedules, and more support from managers. But do these anecdotal reports really represent a whole generation?
Getting More from Your Employees
If you think your workers are motivated without consequences, think again. Being a good leader means providing checks and balances.
Harnessing Your Team's Creativity
Everyone has a creative spark, but many factors can inhibit its ignition. Part of a manager's role is to see the spark in his/her people, encourage its ignition, and then champion its success.
Hidden Gems: The 100 .edu sites every Entrepreneur Should Read
Whether you're an ivy-leaguer or a high school dropout, chances are you still have quite a bit to learn from others. Why not learn from the people who do learning best? Check out these .edu blogs and other informative sites for strategies, theory, and concrete resources for building and growing your business.
Hire Your Spouse and Save
Employing a spouse, or a child, can be a great way to save on health benefits and taxes. Here's what you need to know.
How Managers' Everyday Decisions Create-or Destroy-Your Company's Strategy
Top leaders' formal strategies determine how business gets done in your firm-right? Wrong, say authors Joseph Bower and Clark Gilbert: It's other managers' decisions about where to commit resources that really drive strategy. Sometimes these choices support corporate plans. Other times, they don't.
How Managers' Everyday Decisions Create-or Destroy-Your Company's Strategy
Top leaders' formal strategies determine how business gets done in your firm-right? Wrong, say authors Joseph Bower and Clark Gilbert: It's other managers' decisions about where to commit resources that really drive strategy. Sometimes these choices support corporate plans. Other times, they don't.
How to Attract, Hire and Retain Millennials
Key characteristics that need to be understood in order to attract, hire and retain this group of very productive, task oriented, multitasking, and technically astute green horns.
How to Build and Manage Great Teams
It's a scenario every top manager knows well: The organization needs to move quickly toward a new, mission-critical objective, and it's up to him or her to draft and manage the right team of go-getters to lead the effort.
How to Conduct a Job Interview
Got a key position to fill? Hiring good employees is the foundation of any successful business. But selecting the right ones is hard work, and the interview process is often the most important step in the process. Here's how to figure out if the candidate sitting across from you is likely to become your next Employee of the Month.
How To Hire Outside The Box
There's a reason many companies don't take risks when hiring new talent: Employees with traditional backgrounds and similar skill sets yield predictable results. Predictability is good on some level, but it can be limiting, too. A non-traditional hire with different perspectives can inject sorely needed energy and creativity into the mix.
How to Hire the Best (for the least expense)
These are the steps and resources I've found to Recruit the Best Talent...with the least expense required of your time or money. That's important to include both: your time and your money.
How to Manage Employees in Remote Locations
Thanks to technology and globalization, more and more business teams are working together across state lines and international borders. Many corporations employ "dispersed teams," where a manager in New York may communicate daily with colleagues in Boston, Los Angeles, and Singapore.
But even with an array of new Web-based collaboration tools at their disposal, most managers find handling remote teams extremely challenging.
How to Manage Gen X and Gen Y
Members of generation X and Y are beginning to dominate the workforce, but they are often misunderstood. David DiStefano, CEO of Richardson, explains what motivates these workers and how managers can get the most from them.
How to Manage Independent Contractors
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently assessed Federal Express with $319 million in penalties for failing to pay taxes and benefits for drivers whom they called "contractors" but treated like employees. The practice is tempting: According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost of hiring a contractor is as much as 30 percent lower than that of hiring an employee. But it's also illegal - and costly if you get audited.
How to Manage Independent Contractors
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost of hiring a contractor is as much as 30 percent lower than that of hiring an employee. But it's also illegal - and costly if you get audited.
How to Start a Mentorship Program
How do you hang onto your brightest young talent and prepare them to lead? Simple: Recruit your more experienced employees to help teach and guide them.
How to Write an Employee Handbook - It's More Than Rules
Employee handbooks have changed dramatically over the years, evolving from coma-inducing wheezes about pencil disbursement policies and parking spaces, to no-nonsense edicts on 21st century issues like blogging, Internet use statutes and sexual harassment.
Interviewing Tips for Bringing in the Best
Sometimes growth and development comes from afar in the form of one person's vision. Take the youngster Ryan Allis who shares his entrepreneurial secrets in a new book called Zero to One Million: How I Built My Company to $1 Million in Sales...and How You Can, Too.
Keeping Top Talent Happy
Employee retention doesn't happen by itself. It requires a proactive strategy from the business owner and management team.
Learning to Manage Millennials
JUGGLING THE ROLES of supervisor and social ringleader amongst his 15-member staff, Stephen Channon, of ad-sales firm Mongoose Atlantic in New York, is not your traditional "stuffed shirt" vice president. But, as the 37-year-old executive sees it, what better way to manage a group comprised entirely of twenty-somethings? For them, casual is key.
Leila's House of Corrections: Delegate Now
No manager can do it all, but some are afraid to let go. You hired your team for their strengths-now learn how to hand off projects and let your employees accomplish tasks on their own. They may even do it better than you.
Leila's House Of Corrections: Managing Strengths
Do you find yourself pointing out the things that your employees do wrong instead of focusing on what they're doing right? Find out how managing strengths instead of weaknesses can make you a more effective manager.
Leila's House of Corrections: Managing Strengths
Do you find yourself pointing out the things that your employees do wrong instead of focusing on what they're doing right? Find out how managing strengths instead of weaknesses can make you a more effective manager.
Magic Shop
Are your frontline employees going to save or kill your most important quarter? At Apple, nothing is left to chance.
Making Your Meetings Matter
In a perfect world, when you call a meeting, everyone shows up on time, comes prepared, is not distracted by their PDA or laptop, and stays alert and engaged. But it's not a perfect world. BNET talks to Bert Decker a communications expert, best selling author and entrepreneur, to find out how to make meetings more effective.
Management Leaders Turn Attention to Followers
Experts in leadership are plentiful, and Barbara Kellerman, a lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, counts herself as one of them. Now, though, Ms. Kellerman and some other management experts are turning their attention to the other extreme of the organization chart: what matters to followers.
Managing Millennials
They're smart, tech savvy, confident, and coming to a cubicle near you! Born between 1980 and 2000, Millennials are entering the workforce in the millions – 76 million to be exact! If you're a veteran, a baby boomer, or a Gen X manager, you'll need to know a thing or two about managing this talented and brash bunch.
Mapping Out a Smooth Transition
When Roy Leppo became a snowbird in the early 1960s, he didn't exactly retire. He would return from Arizona every six months and take back the reins of his Ohio farm-equipment business from his son Dick.
"My grandfather gave my father a hard time," says Glenn Leppo, president of Leppo Inc. "He made it very difficult for my father to manage the business."
Here are some of the lessons about succession planning that he and his family have learned along the way.
My Bad
To err is human--but for leaders, mistakes can be excruciating. CEOs have big footprints, so their missteps often hurt many beside themselves: employees, stockholders, society at large. And leaders sometimes buy into the widespread assumption that people in authority have better instincts and make smarter decisions than everybody else. Confessing mistakes, consequently, can be an emperor-disrobing experience for a CEO.
Out of the Bedroom and Into the Office
Sleep doesn't have to be the new sex, and workplace productivity really doesn't have to suffer because of tired employees. With napping devices like the EnergyPod, employees can now combat the post-lunch slump, and the post-work lull, by taking a comfortable nap... in the office.
Performance Based Pay
A well-structured incentive program can boost productivity and instill a sense of shared responsibility among employees.
Recognize the warning signs and build your business
It can happen to anyone in a leadership role. Entrepreneurs can fall into the trap. Small companies experiencing growth can get into trouble. A middle manager can make the same mistake. They all can ignore the warning signs that they need to hire help, delegate work, or add another layer of leadership.
Recruit Like the Pros
Resumes and interviews form the bedrock of a successful hire, but many companies supplement the standard question-and-answer format with creative techniques that allow potential star employees to shine. Here's how five companies have reinvented the interview process.
Recruiting Gen Y: Four Killer Tactics
A recent survey by Robert Half International says that nearly one out of every two business executives is concerned about the upcoming exodus of baby boomers from the workforce. Want to lose a little less sleep? Here's something you can do now: start recruiting the next big wave of workers, the millennial generation. They're hardworking and enthusiastic, but they won’t settle for just any job. Here's how McDonald's, Google, Harvard, and others hook today's best young talent.
Review Your Employee Benefits
The end of the year is a great time to review the menu of benefits you offer employees. It will help you determine the ones you want to keep, add, and even toss, in the coming year.
Secrets of Superstar Employers
Finding and keeping top-notch employees is a challenge for any business, but smaller-sized companies have the advantage of treating employees like family, offering innovative perks and maintaining a workplace where each employee feels he or she contributes to the bottom line.
Smart Questions: Health Care: How to Get a Better Deal
Another year, another hike in health care costs. Before you re-sign with your current insurer, here are some questions you can ask your broker or insurance carrier to make sure you're getting the right coverage at the right price.
StartupNation
The StartupNation website offers the practical information and resources -- including articles, blogs, podcasts, forums, seminars, and success stories -- that you might need to start your own business. It also includes checklists and a marketplace.
Stress-Free Firing
Letting an employee go is never a pleasant experience, but with the right approach it can be done with a clear conscience.
Ten Tools for Remote Teams
If you've got team members in multiple offices or working from home, you probably already use a fair amount of technology. But are you using the right tools for the right job? The best way to communicate depends on a lot of variables, including the urgency of a message, its complexity, and who you're talking to. It also depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the tool itself, so we've assessed ten popular workplace technologies to tell you what they do best and how to work around their challenges.
The 7 Interview Questions You Must Ask
There are no magic bullets when it comes to job interview questions, but the way you structure your queries is important: It's the interviewer's job to create a framework for the discussion and prevent it from running off the rails. Every company's needs are different, but a good basic strategy is to ground the interview in questions about past job performance. Then throw in some situational questions to evaluate practical decision making, and learn a little bit about how the job fits in with a candidate's biography.
The Case Against Vacation Policy
IT consulting firm Bluewolf lets employees take as much vacation as they want, whenever they want-as long as they meet their goals
The CEO's New Rules for Driving Strategic Change
Most of us have lived long enough corporate lives to recognize this scenario.
CEO announces sweeping strategy shift for company. Managers and employees buy in enthusiastically - everyone is on board! And the result is...
Nothing.
The CEO’s New Rules for Driving Strategic Change
Most of us have lived long enough corporate lives to recognize this scenario.
CEO announces sweeping strategy shift for company. Managers and employees buy in enthusiastically - everyone is on board! And the result is...
Nothing.
Change doesn't take hold. An opportunity to pivot the direction of the organization is lost.
What went wrong?
The New Guy
The way you manage the first weeks with a new employee can boost someone's entire career. And if you're the new guy, there's no better time to make new relationships and start your career off in the right direction.
The Office: Do Not Disturb
I have met CEOs without vision. I have met CEOs without ethics. I have met CEOs without people skills, senses of humor, or a proper aversion to suspenders. But I have never met a CEO without an open-door policy. Live by the open-door policy, die by the open-door policy.
The Role of a Leader
Leaders are made, not born. Brian Tracy reveals how to lead your employees effectively.
The Top 25 Signs of a Dysfunctional Workplace
Throughout time, people everywhere have engaged in the great tradition of complaining about the workplace. But as a boss or an HR manager, how do you know when job complaints are general venting and when there is really something wrong?
Three New Designs for Optimizing Collaboration
Today's office environment needs to be as adaptable and collaborative as the people inside it. That means lowering cubicle walls to foster communication, delivering the "coffee shop" feel modern workers associate with productivity, and using materials that allow a workspace to be perpetually reconfigured. Here's how Microsoft and other large companies have reconfigured their offices for the way people work now.
Three Strategies for Managing Generation Y
We know what you're thinking: These millennial kids really need mentors, flextime, and the reassurances of Mom and Dad? Why not dissipate their demands with the swift crack of a whip?
Veteran leaders, however, will tell you that old-school management techniques only serve to drive young recruits elsewhere. Getting the most from millennial employees requires a new approach - and that means you may be the one who needs to change. Here's how three high-profile employers - Deloitte, Merrill Lynch, and the U.S. Army - have learned to handle the needs of a new generation.
Tips on Training Your Sales Team for Success
Motivation, encouragement, and positive feedback are just a few elements of a successful training program, and if you're in charge of rounding up a sales team for your business venture, it's important to use the right strategies no matter what the topic might be. People learn and absorb new information fairly rapidly, especially when they are comfortable and open to learning.If you're in charge of training a sales team, here are few tips to complete the program successfully.
To Heck With Superwoman
You may feel pressure to do everything at work and at home, but you'll be much happier if you delegate.
Volunteering as a Benefit
Learn how some companies are offering employee volunteer programs that are motivating and retaining current employees, and attracting new ones.
What Is a Millennial?
The generation of workers born roughly between 1977 and 1995, known as millennials or Generation Y, represents the biggest shift in the U.S. workforce since the baby boomers came of age. Eighty-million strong, they will soon account for the majority of American workers, especially as boomers start to retire. But it's not just their vast numbers that make millennials important to the labor market.
What Is Forced Ranking?
Forced ranking is a controversial workforce management tool that uses intense yearly evaluations to identify a company's best and worst performing employees, using person-to-person comparisons. In theory, each ranking will improve the quality of the workforce.
What To Avoid In A Job Interview
I thought this article was almost as funny as it is useful. It basically goes through and lists a bunch of things you shouldn't do in a job interview.
Most of them are obvious and I really can't believe that anyone would do half these things, but some of the points were just freakin' hilarous.
When Performance Reviews Underperform
If you let subordinates select their own performance criteria, most of the time they will make the wrong choice. Get the best out of your employees by creating effective, high-quality performance criteria documents -- here's how.
Workforce Millennials: A BNET Field Guide
The next generation of workers need not be a frightening species. Yes, they're different from boomers and Xers, but like most employees, they respond well to high expectations and accountability, consistent feedback, and a little understanding. We've mapped out five common millennial types you may encounter in the wilds of the workplace, along with care and feeding instructions to keep them happy (and productive) employees.
Whitepapers
Building Your Support Team
This article offers advice on putting together a "safety net" of individuals that an entrepreneur can trust to advise, teach, and assist. Best advice: Don't just "go with your gut"; talk out your ideas, challenges and opportunities, discuss these with a potential advisor, listen to what they have to say, and then go with your gut.
Staffing and Management
Many organizations fail to realize people play a critical role in organizational success. Great partners and employees do not come easily, and they don't stay easily. The people who can really make a difference for your organization generally have choices, if not at the stage of their lives when they meet you, then later.
