Recipe for Success

 Business Planning, Management  2 Responses »
May 072012
 
Recipe for Success

Watching the news every night and the news talk shows on Sunday, you might be confused as to where we (as a country) are now and where we are going.  I’m not a politician or an economic expert, by any means, but I do use common sense and bit of “kitchen” know-how to plan for the future. What do I mean by that?  Well, I believe if you want to succeed in business you must mix your ability to think clearly (common sense) with key ingredients (kitchen know-how) to build your success.  Let’s start with the kitchen know-how. I was always told, and passed these words of wisdom on to my children, that if you could read a recipe you [...]

Are We There Yet?

 Lead Articles  5 Responses »
Mar 122012
 
Are We There Yet?

How often as parents we have heard those words – and how often have we said, “Stop asking!  We’ll be there when we get there!” It seems like we have reverted to childhood as businesses and citizens we are still asking, “Are we there yet?”  And, all too often the response is the same as we told our children – we’ll be there when we get there.  All this is telling us is that those in charge may not know where we are or how to get to where we need to be.  We don’t like to think of parents, or business owners, or leaders of being “lost” or unsure.  We want them to be our all knowing, all capable [...]

Magnificent Seven

 Lead Articles  2 Responses »
Feb 282012
 
Magnificent Seven

One of my favorite movies was the “Magnificent Seven”, an American Western film which was directed by John Sturges.   It is a story is about a group of seven American gunmen who have been hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding bandits.  Every time I hear that wonderful music, I can picture Yul Brynner riding across the screen to help the under-privileged Mexican village.   You might be asking why that old movie classic would be a topic for a Human Resource blog. Well, I think the storyline of the “Magnificent Seven” provides the business owner of today with some unique perspectives on how to build their business.  Each one of the 7 was [...]

Back To School – Already?!

 Business Planning, Employee Policies, Lead Articles  3 Responses »
Aug 012011
 
Back To School – Already?!

When you think of the phrase, “back to school” it can bring up several images – it could bring up memories of when you were a youngster, enjoying the summer and all of a sudden faced with the reality that school would be starting up again very shortly. It could also bring up the parent’s checklist of making sure all the required shots and immunizations are in place, enrollment forms completed, paper and pencils purchased, new shoes bought, etc. As a business owner it could mean one of two things and that is what I am going to go over.  What are those two things? Back to school could mean looking at your current programs to see if you have [...]

How to be an effective leader

 Management  11 Responses »
Dec 142010
 
How to be an effective leader

Before we begin to discuss being a leader, we probably should define what a leader is.  This is important because there can be a distinction between being a “boss” and being a “leader”.  Your position may define you as a boss, which provides you with the authority to accomplish tasks and objectives.  This authority does not define you as a leader, however.  It simply makes you the boss.  Leaders can be defined as a person who influences others to accomplish the tasks and objectives.   A leader makes others want to achieve the tasks and goals they are given. That isn’t to say that leaders don’t have tasks to perform.  It is just that when they do have tasks they often [...]

Do We Need Succession Planning?

 Business Planning, Lead Articles  10 Responses »
Jul 292010
 
Do We Need Succession Planning?

I was the VP of HR for a fairly large organization several years ago when the terrible unexpected happened.You always think, “This can’t be happening to us” only to find that it can and does happen. What is it that happened? The second in command, who had been brought in to run the company when the founder retired, was killed in a terrible car accident. No one was prepared for the aftermath of that tragedy – especially the owner of the company as he had to regroup and rethink his retirement plans. The rest of the company also had to regroup and come to grip with a terrible loss and uncertainty as to what would happen next. Can organizations prepare [...]

Understanding Employee Turnover

 Employee Hiring, Employee Issues, Employee Policies  13 Responses »
Jul 282010
 

Many employers are facing turnover issues that they may not have had to deal with in the past. Some of the turnover is downsizing due to a tough economy. That type of turnover is not the common turnover that employers deal with consistently. It is usually a one time issue and hopefully will go away as the economy turns around. The turnover I’m talking about is the “revolving door” of employees being hired, staying for a little while, and then leaving. This type of turnover can be symptomatic of a deeper, organizational problem. Some employers say, “So what. Turnover is inevitable and if the employee doesn’t want to stay, they should leave.” These employers don’t seem to understand how costly [...]

Moonlighting

 Employee Policies  2 Responses »
Jul 012010
 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 7 million – 5.3% of the labor force held more than one job. People work at multiple jobs for a variety of reasons. In today’s economy, people are often compelled to work two jobs just to make ends meet. Others may “moonlight” to gain skills in another profession. What guidelines can employers set regarding employees working at other jobs? Employment lawyers and consultants disagree on whether a specific policy addressing moonlighting is needed. Those not advocating a policy believe that job performance and conflict of interest policies cover the bases. Others say that a distinct moonlighting policy clarifies what the employer expects in this regard. If you choose not to have a [...]

EffortlessHR Announces Free Trial for Web-based Small Business HRIS / HRMS Software

 Lead Articles, Management  4 Responses »
May 282010
 

That’s right! We are bringing back our very popular free trial for our EffortlessHR Online HR Software system. Just in case you read the blog, and have never visited our main site ( http://www.effortlesshr.com/ ) , We’ll list some of our exciting existing and new features below: Online Employee & Personnel Management Employee Portal New! Custom Reports HR Forms Labor Laws Labor Law Posters HR Guide Calendar & Reminders New! Powerful Import & Export Capabilities New! Multi-Layer Access Levels Online File Storage Company Property Tracking Benefits Management Company Data Management Labor Law Updates Be sure to check out everything we offer, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Click here to visit EffortlessHR.com

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