The Fever Lever Center

Success in the modern business environment depends to a great extent on effective people management skills. People management may be acquired and studied. Having a spontaneous skill for communicating with people and building relationships can be an advantage, but there are some skills you can do to facilitate the process.

Relationship Development: Addressing employees by name will be a beginning. Encourage conversation; look employees in the eye as you’re speaking. Have a respectful attitude, also listen to the other person’s opinion, even if you do not agree or have a different viewpoint. Developing listening skills is among the greatest things you may do to better your human resource management skills. Be sure to exhibit interest in what people can contribute to the team.

Live up to promises: Keeping your promises is very important. If you can’t keep your promises, the fragile bond of trust is wrecked, and nobody will give you their best efforts without trusting you. When you make a statement or give your word on something, make sure you can follow through or don’t bother giving your word at all. You’ll discover, if you can’t be counted upon, you can be certain they will act in the same manner.

Welcome feedback: It’s a two way street. People management skills mean being receptive to all feedback. Being approachable and receptive shows that you appreciate other’s feedback, and they should listen to yours. Supporting open conversation in addition encourages fresh ways of thinking, ways of achieving goals, and improves the team dynamic. By allowing the staff an input, every employee invests in the outcome of the project. Communication is essential: Managing individuals boils down to one concept — communication. Be accessible, use listening skills, keep an open mind, and allow each of your staff to express themselves. Employees must be inspired to speak with each other as well as with you. The exchange of ideas is critical in the creative process, and by listening to each other, it’s easy to discover problems quickly, and corrective measures can be put in place before things get out of hand. Some time will be needed, yet the payoff is worth it. By encouraging a good team dynamic and taking on board what your employees have to offer, a successful business can be yours.

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It’s thought in more than a few companies that, by supplying employees with training in health and safety, they are adequately prepared to deal with any situation. In reality however, training in health and safety regulatory affairs simply is not adequate. You need to supply your employees with a great supervisor, the appropriate equipment, and last but not least regular practice. Each team must have an effective supervisor to watch over employee performance, but this person must also take an even greater purpose in the company. A supervisor really must be genuinely enthusiastic and additionally consider training essential. In addition to following all of the rules and regulations, the supervisor also should make sure that every employee performs to the best of their abilty. This isn’t a easy job. A good standard business knowledge is an essential for a supervisory role not to mention a high standard of understanding of up-to-date legislation regarding safety, risk assessment and first aid. Offering basic training in health and safety isn’t enough for your employees. They need to have practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of problem areas. Employees also require insights into the steps necessary to remedy the situation and also knowing what to do if disaster strikes. Not until these procedures become a habit are staff totally protected. Safety equipment is equally as vital to the your employees’ well-being as the education itself. If they discover they are missing apparatus that is needed, or learn that they’re not functioning properly when they really need them, even the most advanced instruction can’t help them.

It is vital to perform detailed checks regularly to make sure that you possess all of the required gear and also that all the supplies are in good working order. If you find something is in poor working order, make certain that it’s repaired as promptly as possible and returned to the appropriate place.

Your staff need to get proper health & safety training, but they need the proper apparatus, frequent practise sessions, and a supervisor with contagious enthusiasm. Only then will observing health and safety legislation will soon become a normal part of working life not something for employees to think about constantly.

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Given the current economic state, reducing costs and getting the best from your assets is the surest way to boost profits. A simple and often overlooked asset when doing so is performance appraisal software.

Armed with the knowledge of what the specific strengths of each and every one of your employees are, it’s possible to customize your routines to maximize their effectiveness and thereby make the most of the company as a whole. Identifying and tracking this data can be where things can become challenging. To look at just one aspect of this — employee performance, for instance — defining their progress and being able to track it is a significant task. The first step is to bring employee appraisal systems into play. Once this is done you can track the work of each worker. Analyzing all of this information comes next. After all, before it’s ready to use determining goals and checking future development you have to know what the data translates to in practice.

Utilizing performance appraisal software you know that this analysis is taken care of and you only need to look at the different analyses to determine what an appropriate targets for this staff member would be. It also makes keeping track of the staff member’s progress much less effort. This removes the need to spend time on analysis and may even be more precise. If you wish to it’s possible instead to perform your own analysis, simply employing the software to produce and update a record to use as a basis.

I’m sure I don’t need to say, it’s not employee performance alone that can benefit from advice from performance appraisal software. It can also be valuable to study clients and suppliers to be better able to pace your ordering and conserve money. Knowing the suppliers that stock the higher grade or best priced products can reduce costs significantly. Turning our attention to affiliates, clients, and retailers, you can pin down who sells the most of each product if there are payment issues, which one has the highest loss percentage, and the solutions to other questions. Then, you can adapt your orders and move products around to boost your income while reducing outgoing money. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that? As well as all this, it’ll be less trouble to plan marketing campaigns because you’ll have a deeper insight into your ideal demographic. Performance appraisal software lets you watch your sources so you can save money and watch your market to tailor your plans and increase your profit margin. It renders staff performance management a breeze and much more effective as well as helping encourage staff members by giving them clearly defined targets dramatically. What can be achieved using this software is quite incredible…

Make sure to inspect this reliable source for employee assessment hints!

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Success in the modern business environment depends heavily on efficient people management skills. These skills can be improved and learned. Having a intuitive affinity for dealing with people can be a plus, but you can do numerous things that will make the procedure simpler. Relationship Development: Addressing staff by name will be a beginning. Engage in conversation; get eye contact during a conversation. Have a respectful attitude, also listen to everything the other individual has to say, irrespective of whether you are in agreement with them. Acquiring the ability to listen is one of the best things you may do to improve your talent management skills. Encourage any comments from your team members. Live up to your word: Keeping your promises is fundamental. When you don’t keep your promises, the delicate bond of trust is violated, and if they do not trust you employees will not offer their best. Each time you say something or make a promise, you are squandering your time and effort if you don’t act with integrity. The truth is, when you can’t be depended upon, you can be certain they will behave in a similar manner.

Feedback is important: Feedback should be a two-way process. Having an open mind with regard to other’s views is very important in managing individuals. Being accessible and open shows that you want to hear your co-worker’s views, your opinions will be valued in the same way. Promoting open conversation also opens doors to fresh ways of thinking, ways of fulfilling goals, and develops the team dynamic. By allowing the staff to express their thoughts, every team member takes an interest in the results of the project.

Promote all sorts of communication: Communication is the key to managing people effectively. Be approachable, practice listening skills, remember to welcome staff to share ideas, and permit each of your team to express themselves. The team should be inspired to talk to one another not only with you. The exchange of thoughts is important in the creative process, and through listening to each other, you can spot any issues at an early stage, and corrective measures may be put in place before things get out of hand. This will require some work, but the payoffs far outbalance the work. By inspiring a good team dynamic and demonstrating effective listening techniques, a successful business will be accomplished.

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Last night we had a get together in the basement of our church. There is a large area right out side of the kitchen that doesn’t have carpet. Then there is a large area that does have carpet right down the hall. We were all in the kitchen cleaning up when we heard some yelling. We looked down the hall and saw that the bathroom sink was left on and had flooded the entire carpet area. We quickly called the orange county janitorial cleaning service to help clean up the job. Luckily they were available to come right then. That was a very close call.

Mildew is one of those things that you don’t to keep around. It’s one of the hidden poisons in the house today. It can even be deadly if enough of it is let into the body. We discovered some mildew that we had growing around the bathroom area and decided to call in some professionals. We called the orange county janitorial cleaning service to see what they could do. They came out and assured us that they could easily handle this situation. We let them at the job, with their professional gear and waited around till it was complete. Within a half days work they were done, and our bathroom was safe again.

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In my previous article entitled: Measuring TQM Success published on [June 03, 2006 08:50:17 am], I wrote about Baldrige Values and Concepts as well as the Baldrige Assessment Approach. In this issue, I will provide an insight on common assessment findings in Baldrige Criteria Category 2 - Strategic Planning from several companies being assessed by a group of trained and experienced assessors. It is provided in the form of case studies which include Criteria summary as described in year 2001 Baldrige Criteria (source: http://www.nist.gov/quality), assessment findings in terms of Strengths and Area for Improvements.

There are seven categories in the Baldrige Criteria. In this article, I will deal with the bold category listed below:-

Leadership | Strategic Planning | Customer and Market Focus | Information and Analysis | Human Resource Focus | Process Management | Business Results

Criteria Summary Category 2 - Strategic Planning

The Strategic Planning Category examines how your organization develops strategic objectives and action plans. Also examined are how your chosen strategic objectives and action plans are deployed and how progress is measured.

2.1 Strategy Development

Describe how your organization establishes its strategic objectives, including enhancing its competitive position and overall performance.

2.2 Strategy Deployment

Describe how your organization converts its strategic objectives into action plans. Summarize your organization’s action plans and related key performance measures/indicators. Project your organization’s future performance on these key performance measures/indicators.

Common Strengths

1. A systematic Strategic Planning Process is in placed. It is used since 1998 and has gone through several rounds of improvement based on feedback from the management teams
2. A planning horizon is tabled for the entire Strategic Planning Process. Each activity before the Strategic Planning workshop date is completed promptly. Data collection and analysis is systematic and quantitative
3. Strategic Deployment are planned using a systematic Tree Diagram to articulate key actions, target and datelines. Periodical reviews of these key actions are in the companies key meeting schedule

Common Area for Improvement

1. Although there is regular review on status of key actions, there is no recovery plan to further improve those key actions not able to meet the set target
2. Although there are improvement teams within the companies, none of the improvement projects has direct impact to the key actions in the Strategic Plan
3. There is no cross departmental alignment on key action plans and target to achieve company level key performance indicators (KPI)

In summary, the above are only sample of common assessment findings. Normally, a full assessment report is given to company being assessed. The report would include details and scoring. It is a value-added feedback for senior leaders to use as an input to Strategic Planning. My next article will share assessment case study on Market and Customer Focus, Category 3.

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Disclaimer:
All rights reserved. This article is written by the author based on his practical application experience. All definitions and interpretation of terminology are his point of view and has it has no intention to conflict with experts in similar topic. The author holds no responsibility for the use of this article in any way.

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Free to reprint or re-publish:
All rights reserved. You are free to reprint or re-publish this article as long as you include my resource box at the end of this article. And ensure that the URL in the resource box remained intact and it is linked to the author’s website.

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Who among us doesn’t wish they had MORE TIME to do the things
they enjoy? Yet every day there seems to be a mountain of things
to do. Whether it’s a tower of bills to pay or a closet bulging
with clothes, here are 8 easy ways to create more space and free
up more free time!

1. Buying a file box and a pack of multi colored folders is a
great start to setting up a regular organized schedule. Create
folders for monthly bills, bank statements, medical bills,
miscellaneous items and so forth.

2. If you don’t have time to file something at a particular
moment, create a “To Be Filed” folder and place it in the front
of your file box. Then, when you have a spare moment (even just
15 minutes a day, or while talking on the phone!) sort through
the front folder and put each document in the folder where it
belongs.

3. For items that you may need again, such as warranties or
instruction manuals, consider purchasing a three-ring binder with a set of clear plastic covers. These covers let you easily slide papers down into them, and you can quickly flip through the binder to find the one you need when you need it!

4. If you have children, setting up a weekly “Chore Chart” system
can be an easy way to keep them organized and help them learn the
value of hard-earned money (or good behavior) at the same time.
Divide up the chores, color coding different areas for different
chores and assigning the value to them (such as $X for mowing the
lawn). This method helps keep kids on track and teaches them
responsibility at the same time. Plus, if an allowance or reward
is involved, they can see exactly how much work is necessary to
reach that goal. Great for building motivation!

5. If you always find yourself running behind when paying bills,
assign yourself a certain day of the week to take care of them.
On the outside of the envelope, write a date at least a week
before the bill’s actually due date to remind you to send it in
on time (and you’ll actually be ahead of schedule this way!)

6. For seasonal clothes, holiday items or sports gear,
see-through plastic crates can be a godsend. They’re easy to
stow in an inconspicuous place (under the bed or in the top of
your closet) and are easy to get to when the time comes.
Printing out a sheet of paper with the name of each boxes
contents makes finding them even easier!

7. Purchase a couple of dry erase boards and markers. Keep one
on one side of your refrigerator as a grocery list (since 9 times
out of 10, you’ll be in the kitchen anyway when you realize
you’re out of something), place the other dry erase board on the
other side of the refrigerator for important announcements. Even
better if you can purchase one that serves as a tack board on one
side. This makes it easy to pin up important notes and keep
track of appointments.

8. If you’re just wondering where all the time goes, or how to
schedule your time more effectively, buy (and USE) an appointment
book with hour-long or half-hour long slots for each day of the
week. Schedule “to-do’s” within these time periods and stick to
them. Don’t fill up the whole day, though. As much as you might
think that this would make you more productive, it will actually
tire you out quicker, and, if something comes up, leave you
feeling like you have unfinished business to take care of!

And what do you do with all the time you’ve saved? How about
taking a break and doing something you enjoy? Yes, you really
can schedule “nothing” on your calendar. If you’ve followed
these organizational tips, chances are, you’ve earned it.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Clarke Kendrick has been involved in network marketing for years and there is
always a need for more time to accomplish your goals. This is a true
resource for planning your daily goals to meet your daily schedule.
Discover how this information will help you better manage your time
more efficiently! http://cjkmarketing.com/tm/indexr1.html

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“A leader is a dealer in hope.”

- Napoleon Bonaparte

“When you extinguish hope, you create desperation.”
- Abraham Lincoln

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”
- Proverbs 13:12

Leaders must create a climate of hope if they want the people they lead to stay motivated and energized. James Kouzes and Barry Posner put it this way in “The Leadership Challenge”: “The climb to the top is arduous and long. People become exhausted, frustrated, and disenchanted. They’re often tempted to give up. Leaders encourage the heart of their constituents to carry on.”

Recently, I heard of a study conducted by psychologists at Duke University. In this study, they put rats into containers with water that was too deep to stand in and far enough from the top to keep the rats from escaping. The rats had to either tread water or swim to survive. In my search to locate the source document, I found two different descriptions of the experimental set-up. At this point, I’m not sure whether this story is urban legend or real. Whatever the case, it makes a good point for illustration.

As the story goes, the researchers put one set of rats in the water and allowed them to swim until they drowned. This apparently took about 17 minutes. Then they put another set of rats in the water and removed them at about 15 minutes to rest. The second set of rats were then put back in the water and continued to swim for 36 hours. The researcher’s conclusion? When the rats had the hope of rescue, they fought for survival much longer.

It sometimes seems easier to threaten and push and prod people than to encourage, to create rewards, and to inspire hope. The natural order of things tends towards negativity. Creating a
positive, hopeful environment takes work and focus. The benefit is that people, like the rats in the story above, will hang on longer and work harder if they have hope in a bright tomorrow. Remove that hope and you have nothing but fear and intimidation to drive behavior.

Copyright 2005, Guy Harris

About the Author:

Guy Harris is the Chief Relationship Officer with Principle Driven Consulting. He helps entrepreneurs, business managers, and other organizational leaders build trust, reduce conflict, and improve team performance. Learn more at http://www.principledriven.com

Guy co-authored “The Behavior Bucks System TM” to help parents reduce stress and conflict with their children. Learn more about this book at http://www.behaviorbucks.com

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It is important that we set ourselves goals in life, these can be short term, over a longer period of one to five years and also lifetime goals. It is one thing setting yourself these targets, however it is another thing to actually achieve them. In this article I give advice and tips on how to successfully attain the goals you set. These goals when achieved can help to improve our lives and also helps us to become happier and more self fulfilled.

Write down your goals

I have always wanted to be a success and to have a happy life, I am sure this is the same for most people. In the early part of my life I was unable to achieve both of these aims. In my early to mid twenties I decided to attempt to learn about ways in which I could ensure that the future would be a lot better, than what the past had been. I started to read many books about these topics and also about people who I considered to be successful.

I soon realised the importance of setting goals and targets. I thought about what I wanted to be and which course I wanted my life to take. I wrote out three different lists of my aims for the future.

The first list included what I wanted to achieve within the next twelve months. The second list contained what I wanted to achieve within five years and the third list was my lifetime goals.

I feel it is important to write down these targets as it helps you to keep a kind of focus of what you are attempting to do.

Invest time and money to reach your goals

I now had a determination to succeed and was willing to work hard to achieve my goals. To achieve anything in life takes time and dedication. One of my aims was to reduce my levels of stress. To do this I had to learn the art of relaxation, I have always been very hard on myself and had spent most of my life worrying about things that may happen in the future. I decided to ease up on myself and to even have monthly treats to keep me and my body happy. I did this by attending reflexology sessions and for a short period I tried aromatherapy.

I also made my home more of a comfort zone by buying some nice scented candles and some new furniture. These minor changes had a huge impact as it made the house more relaxing and I always work better in this type of environment.

One of my goals was to lose weight. To help me in this quest I purchased a rowing machine and decided to wake up half an hour earlier in the morning to use it. I would sit and row at various times of the day which I would try to stick to. Always in the morning and always before bed, wherever possible of course. I would also use the machine at times when I was becoming a little stressed or a bit lethargic. This really helped me as after I had rowed for around twenty minutes, I would feel really uplifted and full of confidence. I would also feel a sense of pride that I had battled against the negative side of brain and was sure that I would soon gain the benefit of a reduced weight.

Avoid negative people

There are people out there who try to bring me down. They attempt to do this by off the cuff comments they make or just by the way they seem to look down on me. They look at me as If I am worthless and some kind of loser. These type of people have caused me many sleepless nights and have had a negative affect on my self-confidence.

Quite simply the answer to this problem is to stay away from them, this is not always easy however. These people used to make me feel angry but I now feel sorry for them. I am happy despite what they may think and I have even learned to not care about their opinion of me.

There are two types of person in life, negative and positive. I now steer clear of negative people as that is what I used to be and I do not want to go back there. They try to get me back into their clan by the comments they make and try to convince me that all is not well.

Negative people tend to have negative lives where as positive people tend to have positive lives. I want to be, as already stated, happy and successful therefore I need to continue to think in a positive way.

The above advice is how I now live my life. At times I feel down like everybody does and this of course is when I use the rowing machine. I have now lost my excess weight and am very happy. I hope this article helps you to.

Stephen Hill helps to promote a number of websites including:

free poker help

anti aging advice

stuttering information

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Consultants who offer executive assistant or computer services on a virtual basis must know their value and be prepared to gauge their billable rate to meet the circumstances.

At some point everyone encounters potential clients who expect professional work at rates that are less than appropriate. For example, a posting advertises an opportunity that matches your highly polished skill set. After making contact with the client you find they don’t want to pay a reasonable fee for the services they expect.

While these types of engagements might help to build a newcomer’s portfolio or pay some bills when money is tight, a successful virtual service provider knows their value and refuses to be exploited. Make sure clients understands your training, background and areas of expertise. Then, set expectations for services by pricing in accordance with your qualifications and skills.

Be prepared to be flexible, yet firm in your compensation requirements.

• Determine your base rate in advance of client discussions. Scratch it out on paper or create a spreadsheet. Take into account the fixed overhead and variable costs to legally operate your business

• Determine your flex-rates for times you might be willing to work for slightly less or feel the need to demand more pay.

• Calculate the value added for meeting tight time constraints, the demanding nature of the client or the complexity of the project

• Take the time to project costs not otherwise considered in your base rate (long distance, printing, etc.)

A pre-determined rate scale helps you respond calmly and logically to stressful situations, so you can advert potential disasters.

Last year I turned down what seemed on paper to be an ideal “personal assistant” opportunity. The ad described duties such as checking email and preparing responses on the client’s behalf. Work assignments would be completed by phone and fax for a client who did not want to use a computer.

The job matched my skill set, but I chose to pass because:

1. The offered rate was 50% less than the low end of my base rate range.

2. The client expected me to own and pay for the operation of a fax machine, but was unwilling to pay for its purchase or operation.

3. The client expected a commitment to work for him part-time, even though hours were going to be determined by him each week

4. The client’s refusal to even consider using a computer was destined to create confusion and conflict over what I prepared on his behalf

Regrettably, I realized this potential client was a fussy, technology laggard who wanted a very experienced, highly reliable personal assistant who was agreeable to an entry level rate.

Know when to “pass” on a client so you can continue to market to more viable prospects. Try to negotiate a better rate with clients by matching their expectations with your level of service. Keep an eye out for performance bonuses or other types of perks to balance out discounted rates for good clients.

Elisa Shostak is the founder of Compass Rose Strategic Consulting LLC, an advisory service and secondary research firm based in Seattle, Washington.

This is the first in a series of articles about negotiating with clients and managing a management consulting practice.

Elisa can be contacted through her website: http://www.compassrosellc.com or blog http://www.compassrosestrategic.com

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