Benjamins Yarn

There’s more to making money than income alone - you need to be bringing in money cost effectively. A simple and often omitted aid to doing so is business performance management software.

It is common knowledge that an efficient business adapts its workflow to the strengths of each employee to get the best out of them. Discovering and making this knowledge ready for use tends to be where things become tough.

Determining and keeping track of progress through employee evaluation alone can be a huge task. You first put employee appraisal techniques in place so that you can assess work carried out by each staff member. If you’re employing conventional approaches, your next move is the manual assessment of the vast amount of raw information you have gathered simply to follow future advancement and define objectives. When using performance management software you know that this assessment is done for you and you only need to look at the different analyses and factors to determine what an appropriate set of targets for this employee would be. It also renders charting the employee’s progress much easier. With more accurate information for less time invested, this can be a cost saving measure before putting these findings to use. It’s of course possible just to use the system to record raw data like performance reviews and to make your own assessment. performance appraisal software doesn’t just work for staff. It can also be worth studying clients and suppliers to better reduce costs by precision ordering. For example, when looking at suppliers you can more easily see their weaknesses such as poor delivery times, high damage rates, and so forth.

When it comes to your retailers the software can help there, too, telling you just who your best seller is, any loss percentage and any similar fallout, and serving as a reminder of outstanding payments. Then, you can adjust your orders and stock handling to boost your profits while reducing spending. Not only that but the better understanding of your market will permit more efficient advertising.

Performance management software allows you to keep track of your sources to save money and scrutinze your market to tailor your plans and develop your profit margin. It renders employee performance management a breeze and far more effective as well as helping you encourage employees by setting unambiguous goals extremely. There may be no upper limit with performance management software backing you up.

Given the current economy, minimising outgoings and getting the best from what you have is the most effective method of boost profits. One of the best ways of doing this involves the use of business performance management software.

Business optimization needs an awareness of the specialties and weaknesses of its staff; where do they do their best work? How can you adjust your system to take advantage of their strengths and hide their weaknesses? There can be no more important question. While this knowledge is highly useful, it isn’t easy to get hold of.

Looking at just one aspect of this — employee performance– determining progress and keeping track of it is a huge task. The first step is to bring employee appraisal systems into play. Once this is done you can assess the work of each staff member. If you’re employing traditional approaches, the next move is to manually assess all the raw data points you will have obtained simply to be able to follow further progress and define goals. Using performance management software you can be confident that this preliminary work is taken care of and you only need to scrutinize the different metrics to know what the right set of targets for this member of staff would be. It also makes keeping track of the member of staff’s development much less effort. With more accurate information in less time, this is a major saving on its own. It’s of course also possible simply to use the software to record raw information like performance review forms and to make your own analysis. Performance management software doesn’t just work for staff. Both suppliers and clients can be studied using such software, giving you more performance management tools. Identifying which suppliers offer the higher grade or lowest priced products can reduce costs greatly.

When it comes to clients - retailers, affiliates, or similar - the software can help there, too, telling you exactly who your best seller is, their loss percentage and any similar negatives, and acting as a reminder of any payment issues. This information is useful in minimizing expenses and boosting profits. Who wouldn’t take advantage of that? As well as all this, marketing campaigns become much easier to plan because you’ll have a deeper insight into your ideal demographic. Performance management software can watch your suppliers to save money and watch the market to customize your plans and develop your profits. In addition it streamlines the process of managing employee performance and aids you in setting realistic targets for your staff significantly. How much you can achieve seems almost unlimited when using performance management software…

It’s thought in a significant number of businesses that, since each employee has the necessary level of health & safety instruction, they are sufficiently equipped to manage any situation. The reality is that, irrespective your industry, an education in health & safety legislation and risk asessment simply is not enough. Equipping your employees, selecting good supervision and coordinating regular safety practise sessions are fundamental to the safety of staff. Someone in a supervisory capacity has a larger function to play than simply general management. Any supervisor you choose is required to realise that health & safety instruction is fundamental and be able to encourage others to share their excitement. On top of following rules and regulations, the supervisor as well must make certain that each employee performs to the highest standard. This is no simple undertaking. It means that the supervisor needs to have comprehensive understanding of both the business and the product as well as a very high standard of comprehension of current legislation with regard to safety, risk appraisal and first aid. It’s just not sufficient to provide your employees with health & safety education. To positively spot a hazard they require to put their newly accquired knowledge to the test. They in addition need to gain a solid comprehension of the steps necessary to remedy the situation and knowing what to do if the worst happens. Your staff are only properly protected when their training and procedures have become automatic.

Education is by all accounts not enough if you don’t purchase the required safety gear. When they are missing gear they need, or discover that gear is broken only after a crisis has occurred, even the most advanced instruction isn’t going to help them.

You need to check every item regularly to ensure that all the essential equipment is where it should be as well as checking that it’s all being properly cared for. If you find something is in poor order, have it mended or serviced as a matter of urgency. Proper health & safety education is important for the safety of your workers, but in addition they also need to have the right equipment, frequent practises, and a supervisor with the kind of enthusiasm that people find infectious. When you put this advice into practice you will find health & safety legislation will become a normal component of life in the workplace instead of an inconvenience for staff to remember.

While the economy is in its current state, saving money and optimizing your assets is the surest way to increase profitability. One of the simpler ways of doing this involves business performance management software. It’s well known that a smart business streamlines its procedures to the strengths of each employee to get the best out of them. The issue has always been in finding and tracking this knowledge. Determining and keeping track of development through employee evaluation alone can be a significant task. First, you implement employee appraisal reviews to evaluate and track work carried out by each member of staff. And if you’re using conventional approaches, you will need to assess all of this information manually just to set objectives, and track further advancement. Using performance appraisal software you’ll find that this preliminary work is taken care of and you only need to look at the different metrics to know what the right set of targets for this staff member would be. It also renders keeping track of the staff member’s advancement much less effort. In this way you ease a major time commitment and probably also receive more useful information. If you choose to you can instead make your own assessment, merely using the software to generate and update a record to work from. Performance management software can do more than help employees. Such software can also be used to keep an eye on your clients and suppliers. For example, when looking at suppliers you can pinpoint the weaknesses such as poor delivery times, high damage rates, etc.

To learn more, we suggest you go to this #1 website for performance reviews infos…

Clients can be analyzed, and just as with suppliers and internal questions this information can be used to benefit your bank balance. Then, you can tailor your ordering and stock handling to maximize your profits while minimizing outgoing money. Who couldn’t benefit from that? As well as all this, marketing campaigns become much more effective due to your deeper insight into your ideal demographic.

Watching both market and sources is simple with performance management software. In addition it streamlines the employee evaluation and helps set unambiguous targets for your employees greatly. All in all, what can be achieved with this software is astounding.

People management is important in reaching the best in your business success. With a little effort you may learn and improve these techniques. It may be an advantage to have a intuitive affinity for communicating with people, nevertheless you can do numerous things to simplify the process. Relationship Building: Remembering people by name should be a good beginning. Talk to employees; make eye contact during a conversation. Show respect, and be sure to do pay attention to the other person’s point of view, regardless of whether you are in agreement with them. Paying attention to what employees have to say is one of the best talent management skills you can develop. Show an interest in what people can give to the business organization. Live up to promises: Don’t give promises you will not fulfill. If you can’t deliver on what you promise, the fragile bond of trust is violated, and people will not offer you their best efforts without trusting you. Each time you give a commitment or make a promise, do be sure that you can deliver or it would be more sensible not to give your word at all. The truth is, when your people can’t depend on your word, you can be certain they will behave in a similar manner.

Be open to feedback: Feedback must be a two way process. Having an open mind regarding other’s opinions is an important skill in effective people management. Being accessible and receptive establishes that you appreciate other people’s views, and they should value yours. Bona Fide discourse also furthers creative problem solving, new ways of fulfilling the mission of the company, and develops the team. By giving the staff some input, the project and the outcome will become important to each employee. Encourage all sorts of communication: Your people management skills boil down to the same concept - good communication. Be accessible, listen intently to people, be open-minded, and allow all your employees an equal voice. The team must be encouraged to communicate with one another not just with you. The growth of a business relies a great deal on the interchange of ideas, if the employees communicate well, you can spot problems at an early stage, and corrections may be put in place before matters get out of hand. Some time is required, but the dividends achieved far outweigh the effort required. By promoting a good team dynamic and by taking on board what your employees have to offer, you can easily have a successful business.

A successful business depends on competent people management skills. People management can be acquired and studied. Having a innate skill for dealing with people may be an advantage, but you can do numerous things that will make the procedure easy.

Relationship Development: Remembering employees by name should be a great start. Speak to people; look employees in the eye during a conversation. Show respect, also listen to everything the other individual has to say, irrespective of whether you agree or not. Listening to what others have to say is one of the most crucial talent management skills in your arsenal. Welcome any contributions from team members.

Live up to your word: Keeping your word is fundamental. If a promise is not kept, it will destroy trust, and no-one will offer you their best efforts without trusting you. When you make a statement or make a promise, make sure you can follow through or don’t bother giving your word at all. The truth is, when you can’t be counted upon, your employees will not be there when they are most needed. Feedback is essential: It’s a two way street. Human Resources management skills mean having an open mind to all feedback. If you can prove accessibility and receptiveness, you show that you appreciate other’s opinions, your ideas will be respected in the same manner. Frank discourse also promotes innovative ways of thinking, original ways of achieving goals, and strengthens the team dynamic. When team members can express their opinion, the success of the business will become important to each team member.

Communication is fundamental: Communication is fundamental to dealing with staff effectively. Be accessible, utilize good listening skills, be open minded, and encourage all your staff to express themselves. Inspire team members not only to communicate to you, but with each other. The exchange of thoughts is critical in the creative process, when the team members communicate efficiently, it is easy to spot any issues before they might become a problem, and measures can be implemented before things get out of hand.

Acquiring these techniques may take time, however the payoff is worthwhile. Through establishing the bonds of a good team and taking on board your team’s ideas, a successful business can be achieved.

I once was part of a group of management professors who often taught in executive development seminars. Other non-management professors in the school ran these. Occasionally these non-management professors would approach someone else in the management group to express their concerns about our teaching - they wouldn’t approach the person who had taught for them.

For example, if I had taught the session, the professor - let’s call him Larry - would approach my colleague Dick and tell him that he was concerned about my performance. After Dick tested his assumption that Larry hadn’t given me this feedback, Dick asked what led him not to talk directly with me. Larry almost always said that he didn’t want to upset me. Sometimes Larry or another professor would tell Dick that they wanted him to tell me their concerns, but not tell me that they had told him. Other times, they would request that Dick not tell me.

At this point Dick would ask, “What is your purpose in telling me if you don’t want Roger to know?” Dick did not agree to their conditions - he held them accountable for their views. More about this later.

Different story, same organization: When the school was looking for the equivalent of a new Dean, there were three final candidates, all internal to the school. The search committee told the faculty that they would accept letters evaluating the three candidates, but that they would only give weight to signed letters.

I was in a bind. I very much wanted one candidate to get the position, and was very concerned about another candidate getting it. I wanted to write a letter, but I was an untenured assistant professor. I had reason to believe that if I signed it and the candidate I had great concerns about got the position, my tenure might be in jeopardy.

I checked with my colleague Kurt, who was also a member of the search committee. He said to me, “Roger, you teach this stuff - you don’t have a choice.” He held me accountable for my views. More about this later.

Both of these stories focus on the Skilled Facilitator principle of joint accountability. Being accountable means you are responsible for addressing your problems with others directly with them rather than avoiding them or asking others to handle them for you.

Joint accountability also means that you share responsibility for a situation, including the consequences it creates. If you are working with others on a task, you are jointly accountable to each other for performing the task and the consequences of your joint actions. If things don’t work out as planned, rather than seek to blame others, you recognize that because you are part of a system, your actions contribute to either maintaining the system or changing it.

Chris Argyris’ research and our experience at Roger Schwarz & Associates tells me that though this kind of accountability feels risky, people get far better results when they consistently apply it.

In many organizations I work with, senior executives call for people to be accountable for the work they perform, but not for the relationships that create the work. This is particularly true about joint accountability between co-workers. When someone has a concern about a co-worker, rather than talk directly with the co-worker, they talk to others about the coworker. This approach often gets them results they find totally unacceptable - yet they continue to apply it!

That’s what was happening in my first story. My management faculty colleagues and I agreed that we would not allow colleagues to give feedback indirectly - we wanted more accountability.

We agreed that when Larry told Dick he didn’t want me to know, Dick would say that I needed to know, otherwise I couldn’t improve my performance, which was Larry’s interest. Dick would agree to coach Larry on how Larry could give me feedback and Dick would even agree to be present to help Larry give me the feedback. If Larry still said he didn’t want me to know, Dick would say that he couldn’t honor an agreement that would withhold important information about my performance. Dick would tell Larry that he (Dick) planned to give me Larry’s feedback and that I would likely come visit Larry to find out first hand what Larry’s concerns were about my performance. When Dick gave me the feedback, I went to Larry’s office and, with genuine curiosity, asked about his concerns with my performance. By working in this way, my management colleagues and I asked our other colleagues to be accountable to us directly and we were accountable to them.

And the second story? Kurt told me that if I was going to walk my talk, my only choice was to write a letter and sign it. I wrote the letter evaluating all three candidates using specific examples, and sharing my conclusions about their leadership ability based on the data I had. After emailing the letter to the search committee, I emailed a copy to all three candidates. I told them that, as my peers, I owed them the same feedback about their performance that I gave to the search committee. My only request was that if they had questions or concerns about what I wrote, that they talk with me directly.

Ten minutes after sending the email, the candidate who I was most concerned about knocked on my door and asked to talk. We had a difficult but productive conversation. He agreed with my data but came to different conclusions about his leadership ability. He thanked me for sharing the letter with him. We remained good colleagues as he became the equivalent of Associate Dean. And I got tenure.

How does your organization or the organizations you consult to handle this kind of accountability? How do you handle it yourself? Please join our free Mutual Learning Action Group (on our website) and post your thoughts so others can learn from you as well.

© 2005 Roger Schwarz

Roger Schwarz, Ph.D., is author of the international bestseller “The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers and Coaches” and co-author of the recent “Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook: Tips, Tools, and Tested Methods for Consultants, Facilitators, Managers, Trainers, and Coaches,” both available on Amazon.com and via other quality booksellers.

You can subscribe on our site to Fundamental Change, Roger Schwarz & Associates’ free, monthly ezine: http://www.schwarzassociates.com/fundamental_change.html In exchange for subscribing, you’ll receive a link to a free .pdf copy of “Holding Risky Conversations,” a chapter from our recently-published fieldbook.

We write Fundamental Change to help you create workplaces and communities that are simultaneously highly effective and that improve the quality of life.

Every month we:

* Address issues important to you as practitioners and leaders
* Share client examples and case studies
* Offer tips and tools for challenging situations
* Offer resources to help you become more effective.

How would you handle communication if your business or practice got into a crisis situation?

I was pleasantly surprised when my Internet service provider responded competently and quickly to a technical crisis. And, we can learn to communicate more effectively by studying its response.

The crisis occurred when hackers attacked its system at the same time that the company was upgrading its systems to meet increased customer demand. And while customers experienced no dramatic shutdowns, some customers faced delays and difficulty getting online.

In response, the company quickly sent out a newsletter containing a single article, an open letter from the president.

First, the president acknowledged there had been a problem. And, the company took responsibility for the problem. While it attributed at least some of the problems to malicious hackers, it nonetheless took responsibility for the system’s integrity.

Most of us find it refreshing when a company steps up and does those two things. It communicates self-confidence and it communicates sincere concern for customers. All too often, organizations make poor excuses or point fingers at suppliers and customers; that just makes customers more dissatisfied.

Second, the company apologized. In the first sentence of the article, the president said he was sorry for disruptions that subscribers had experienced over the preceding two weeks.

By doing that he allowed his readers to get through the rest of the letter with less resistance. They weren’t mentally concocting rebuttals - they were reading what he had to say. That’s crucial any time you want to make an important point.

Third, after taking responsibility and apologizing, the president explained what the company was doing to fix the system.

His description of the fixes also took the right tack. He made no attempt to describe the technical nature of the fixes, nor did he try to impress us with how hard he and his people had worked. He simply explained that backup and warning systems were being put into place, and should prevent further outages from the same sources.

Fourth, he promised that the affected customers would get two weeks of free service, to compensate for their inconvenience.

That’s an excellent way to communicate a company’s sincerity. While the apology and acknowledgment would satisfy many customers, the offer of compensation underlined a genuine interest in customer satisfaction.

So, this effective communication strategy had four parts: first, it acknowledged the problem and took responsibility for it; second, it offered an apology; third, it explained what it was doing to fix the problem; and fourth, it offered compensation to those who had been affected.

Of course, simply communicating in a crisis situation won the company some recognition. And having communicated well made the initiative that much effective.

In summary, crisis situations make special communication demands on organizations. This company rose to the occasion by not only fixing the problem, but also by communicating effectively with the people who were affected.

Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at:
http://www.communication-newsletter.com

Understanding where you can spend time most effectively requires concentration in three areas:

1. Doing what you enjoy

2. Concentrating on your strengths

3. Understanding Job Excellence

Let’s start with doing what you enjoy. Your quality of life is in many ways dependant on how much (or little) you enjoy your job. While every job has aspects that you may not enjoy as much as others, overall your job satisfaction should be high. The higher your job enjoyment, the more effectively you will be in getting things done.

If you are working in a job that you don’t enjoy, you have two choices. The first is to minimize those things you don’t care for. This does not mean you no longer do them, but you look for the positive things about those individual components you don’t like. Over time you should be able to reduce the number of negatives and increase the positive aspects. This will automatically increase job enjoyment.

If you are certain you will never be able to enjoy your job, it’s time to consider option 2, changing jobs. This is a drastic measure and should not be done without careful thought. However studies continually show that people who do make a decision to change from jobs they don’t enjoy to jobs they like almost immediately experience a better life with less stress.

Second, concentrate on your strengths. It is important to recognize where both your strengths (talents) and weaknesses are. Some people successfully use a matrix commonly called SWOT.

The SWOT technique is a helpful matrix that helps you understand where your Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats are.

For your “STRENGTHS” list only what you believe your strengths are but also include what others think your strengths are. Include the available resources that you use to your advantage and those activities you do well.

“WEAKNESSES” are areas you and others around would identify as areas where you are not as strong. Things that take you away from productive activity may be considered a weakness if they interfere with your goal.

“OPPORTUNITIES” are areas where you see a trend changing that may affect your goal. Don’t forget to look at technology and changing demographics when working in this dimension.

“THREATS” are considered to be the specific obstacles that you currently face. Those obstacles can range from cash flow to technology. Look for anything that may detrimentally affect the way you do things now.

By analyzing the completed SWOT matrix you may be surprised as to the areas you can focus on to reach your business goals.

The third focus in setting your work priorities is to become an expert at your job. Being an expert is going beyond academics and entering into the real world of your business. Keeping up with trends, competitors, market and demographic changes are critical areas where you should strive
to be regarded as an expert.

In addition you need a plan to keep on top of your field. You must learn to make and keep good goals that are complementary with your company’s growth.

This requires that your goal and the goals of your department be in total sync. Set a meeting with your manager, make sure you both are in agreement and the goals you are setting are the same, or are a part of, the department goals. The department goals should be the same as the company goals.

Here are some good questions to get clear answers on that will help you set priorities:

– What is the purpose of this job?

– How am I measured for success?

– What does exceptional performance look like?

– What are the specific priorities and deadlines?

– What resources are available?

– What is your budget?

– How does what you do relate to other people?

Carefully consider this time of year to get a fresh start on the fall and your sanity at the same time. After all, it may not be Time Management that is keeping you from accomplishing everything you think you need to do. It may be doing what you enjoy and concentrating on your strengths.

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© 2004 TrainingConnections.ORG
All Rights Reserved

John Robertson is a Professional Trainer with over 20 years experience in Mid to Sr. Level Management in several Fortune 500 companies. His real world experience will bring credibility to your meetings. TrainingConnections.ORG focuses on three major categories of Employee Performance Improvement; Leadership, Management and Sales Training. Contact us today for more information or check our web site: www.TrainingConnections.ORG.

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This newsletter may be shared with others in its entirety. However credit must be given to John Robertson and TrainingConnections.ORG and the following text must be included.

Super Preparation -
Keys to Getting a Great Start to Every Presentation

Novice and expert presenters alike have had the experience of feeling a little (or may be a lot) nervous before giving a talk. In working with hundreds of people to help them improve their presentation skills, one consistent theme has emerged: once people get started, assuming things go relatively well, they begin to relax, become more natural, less self conscious, and therefore more effective.

Since the opening of any presentation is critical to the message and the presenter’s credibility, and since this is often when presenters are most nervous and cautious, it makes sense to have strategies to make that opening the best it can be.

I call the strategy “Super Preparation”.

How to Do It

Here are the steps to Super Preparation:

1.Design a dynamite opening. This article isn’t focused on how to build the best possible opening, but that is where you need to start! Make sure your opening is clear, focused, attention getting and full of audience benefits. You want the people listening to become truly interested in what you have to say. When you have a great opening planned, your excitement and confidence will rise, already making you less apprehensive.

2.Practice the opening. You need to “own” the great opening you have developed. Practice the first 3-5 minutes of your talk thinking about everything: the words, vocal inflection, gestures, movements, pace and more. Know the flow of your words, find the best places to pause for emphasis. Your goal is to have the first few minutes so well prepared in your mind and heart that your nerves and apprehensions about getting started are greatly reduced. You won’t reach that goal without practice.

3.Visualize success! Spend some time thinking about how successful the opening will be. How engaged and interested your audience will be. How confident and relaxed you will be. Visualizing those things are a big step towards making them happen.

4.Rehearse. I know, I already told you to practice. These rehearsals are the final mental run-throughs that incorporate both the practice and the visualization. These rehearsals might be in your car, the shower, as you lay in bed, whenever!

5.End with a “make.” When shooting baskets after practice my basketball coach always said, “Don’t leave the court on a miss. Always finish with the result you want.” That is my advice to you on your mental rehearsals. Always finish with a rehearsal where the opening went great! This will solidify the result you want in your brain and add to your growing confidence and excitement.

6.Don’t memorize! All this talk about practice and rehearsal may lead you to think, “I just need to memorize my opening.” Nothing could be more wrong. When we memorize, we focus on the words. If we mess up the words we’ve lost it! Super Preparation is about preparing for a super result - and super results in presentations are always focused on the audience, not ourselves. Forget the memorization. Remember the audience. Focus on the message, your approach and your desired outcome.

Results

The results of utilizing Super Preparation include:

•Greater confidence
•Less apprehension or nerves at the start of your talk
•A much more credible first impression of you, your skills, and message by theaudience
•An opening that has great impact

Aren’t those reasons enough to try it?

The Rest

Will take care of itself. You will have set yourself up to succeed with greater confidence and energy, which allows you to build on the great opening, rather than trying to recover from a poor one.

Try the Super Preparation approach to your next presentation and prepare to persuade with greater effectiveness than you ever have before!

©2004, All Rights Reserved, Kevin Eikenberry. Kevin is the President of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps their Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. Go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/training/training.asp to learn more about customized training and workshops on Presentation Skills or contact Kevin at toll free 888.LEARNER.