Articles
- The Plan's the Thing
Quite frequently, I talk with owners who admit that they don.t have a clear vision for their company. More often, the owner has a good vision for the future, but can.t pass the vision along to the rest of the group. …
without a clear sense of purpose and direction, shared by everyone, improvements will only be temporary.
- Stop making so many decisions!
I f you want to reduce the "drag" on your company, quit making so many decisions! Define levels of decision making significance and delegate decision making authority accordingly. With every pair of hands comes a free brain.
- Get creative to hire and retain top-notch staff
In a tight labor market, you need to be creative in your recruiting program. There are always plenty of good workers seeking better opportunities; you just need to find them … Vacant positions cost you money. On average,
it takes more than 10 weeks to fill a vacant position … Start now to recruit and qualify several people for each of your key positions.
- Build success with effective bonus plan
To keep perception in line with reality, you need a bonus plan that allows every employee to know in advance what measurable goals are expected of them, and what they will receive when they and the team meet or exceed those goals. … Plans should be "self-funded" by increasing
current or future profit beyond levels that could be expected without a bonus plan.
- Building blocks for business growth and success
Any company that has significant sales growth for four consecutive years is likely to suffer a severe downturn … Bigger isn.t always better, especially when you outgrow the business structures necessary for success, and even for survival … Without a few solid business structures in place, your problems will grow faster than the business, and that can destroy you.
- Avoiding the roadblocks to growth
You survived the startup of your business … Now you have the itch to grow the business to the next level … Separate growth from existing business. If at all possible, treat each business expansion, such as a new location or a new product line, as if it were a startup business.
- Are you in a hiring box?
Most companies have a tendancy to rely too much on skill and experience as criteria for recuriting … Granted, it's essential that a job applicant possess the basic skills and credentials required for the job … However, an over-reliance on the criteria of skill and experience frequently leads to difficulties in retaining qualified employees … In order to bring diversity to your workplace, change your emphasis from skill and experience to attitudes, behaviors and interests.
- The New Art of Hiring Smart
Have you ever hired someone who did not reach your expectations? "Chances are good that up to 66% of your company's hiring decisions will prove to be mistakes in the first twelve months", says management guru Peter Drucker. Several other studies show that the traditional hiring process will produce a good hiring decision about one-third of the time.
Reprinted from Strategies Magazine. To learn more about Strategies go to www.strategies.com - Assessments and US Department of Labor Guidelines
To promote the proper use of tests and assessments, the US DOL published "Testing and Assessment: An Employer's Guide to Good Practices". These are the 13 basic principles for using assessments in your business.
Reprinted from The Roar, A Quarterly Publication of the NEMEON Cooperative.
To learn more about the NEMEON Cooperative go to www.nemeon.com - Employers can effectively use assessments to measure job-relevant skills and capabilities of applicants and employees. These tools can help identify and select better employees and improve the quality of your organization's overall performance. To use these tools properly, the U.S. Department of Labor has established 13 important assessment principles and their applications, that Profile International assessments meet or exceed.
- Job Applicants Don't Always Tell The Whole Truth
Know who you're hiring and protect your business from expensive lawsuits.
Reprinted from The Roar, A Quarterly Publication of the NEMEON Cooperative
To learn more about the NEMEON Cooperative go to www.nemeon.com - How Successful Companies are Meeting the Customer Service Challenge Learn how to deliver world-class customer service!
- Breaking the 80/20 Rule
Read about how people who can't sell get hired and why people who can sell wind up trying to sell the wrong product or service in this article.
- Comparing 360 Systems - Tips to save you time, money, and frustration
Comparing 360 multi-rater feedback systems is not an easy task and discovering what's important is a learning experience. These four steps will save you time, money and frustration when deciding on a 360 system.
Reprinted from The Roar, A Quarterly Publication of the NEMEON Cooperative.
To learn more about the NEMEON Cooperative go to www.nemeon.com - Open-Book Management (OBM) and the Great Game of Business
are related management systems that overturn a hundred years of managerial thinking. These new management systems get every employee to think and act like a businessperson - to compete - and they produce astonishing results.
Open-Book Management, INC Magazine article
Full Article Here
"The ProfileXT helped me make a better hiring decision for the Yard Supervisor position. You have helped me insure that we hired the right person the first time. I highly recommend utilizing the services of Willow Creek Consultants and the Profile’s International assessment tools to anyone who wants to increase their profits and decrease their employee challenges."
Matt Martinkus
Owner
Western Materials, Inc.