Posted by admin on October 3rd, 2008 — Posted in Management Resources, Market
Negotiating a salary package is a very important aspect of any career. There is absolutely nothing wrong with negotiating a fatter salary package. The most important tool in the endeavor is effective communication. A lot of the haggling stops with what is said and communicated.
Today, the existence of so much of competition has made it necessary to take the onus upon your self and make the management aware of the need for pay increase, after considering your skills and application. You can flip your salary package for one that is fatter and more satisfying. However, before attempting negotiating a pay increase, you think about and practice the right dialogue and communication techniques that ensure success.
There are a number of online and offline resources that make available special tips that can help you with a salary negotiation. The rules to use when negotiating a salary package include: Stand confident all through the attempt. Do not show the slightest hesitation and communicate your intent without passivity. Sell your openness and willingness to handle more responsibility. Also showcase the strategies applied that enabled the organization to benefit. Speak confidently and rehearse the communication if possible, prior to venturing into the cabin. To prepare, spend time in front of a mirror or with a friend.
Maintain eye contact as you mention your certifications and additional qualifications that make your retainable. This will help the manager or HR executive to see the earnest attempt made and develop a bond. Your interest in bettering your prospects within the organization is most likely to be read in a positive light. When the senior member of the staff talks, listen.
You should look for signs that indicate either appreciation/readiness to upgrade you or water poured over a duck’s back. Keep a respectful distance and avoid becoming defensive in the face of a refusal. Look at what else could be done. You do have the option of walking away to some other organization that would not only pay your better, but also appreciate the effort made to upgrade.
This of course is the alternative. Practice verbal and nonverbal communication to close the best salary negotiation possible. It is also very important that prior to attempting a salary negotiation, you invest in an effort to prove yourself worthy of it. An increase in your salary package would mean an upgraded life style and access to better facilities.
Therefore, you should back your claim with the right moves. You could consider going ahead with your education and earning a degree or certification that puts you one up on competition.
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Posted by admin on July 3rd, 2008 — Posted in Management Resources
Mediocrity is all about doing business in a commonplace, unexceptional or unremarkable way. But, to be successful in today’s competitive business environment, business owners must be much more. Masterful business owners know that they must continually look for ways to innovate and expand their offerings, while delivering exceptional service to their current and potential clients. Not only must they be exceptional at what they do, but also must keep up with trends, customer needs, and the changing economic environment in order to stay competitive. So what makes the difference between a mediocre versus a masterful business owner?
1. Masters learn from other masters. Business owners who want to be more than average associate, partner and network with other highly successful and exceptional people. The best way to learn the ropes of success is to surround yourself with those who have already achieved it. Their knowledge and wisdom from years of experience, the mistakes they made, and the secrets they’ve learned, will reduce your learning curve and make your success much faster and easier.
2. Masters take risks. We’ve all heard the phrase “no risk, no return”. Masters take risks because they know there is a possibility of a great return. You never know where a simple phone call or conversation may lead. Partnering with someone for a small project might lead to something much larger from which everyone can benefit. Spending a sum of money, even when it’s tight, on a small advertising campaign, to attend a conference, or even to invest in the success of someone else, might pay large dividends later on.
3. Masters are not attached to outcomes. While masters take calculated risks, which can potentially benefit their business, they are well aware that the best-laid plans can go awry. Rather than folding up shop and wallowing in disappointment and despair, the masterful businessperson recognizes that everything can have either of two outcomes - it works, or it doesn’t. While the outcome is indeed important to their plan for success, they never associate results with their personal self-worth.
4. Masters are life-long learners. There is no place for complacency in the mind of a masterful businessperson. And, that applies to their education as well. Mediocre folks are content with just learning enough to get by. They’ll learn just enough to open shop or hang out their shingle. Masters, on the other hand, thrive on learning new things - and not just things that relate directly to their business. They not only understand business inside and out, they continually look for ways to increase their knowledge.
5. Masters have a vision. Having a clear vision of your business purpose and mission can be critical to your business success. A vision, designed exclusively by you, provides a roadmap to help you move yourself from where you are today to where you wish to be tomorrow. When you don’t have a clear vision about why you are in business and what purpose you are serving, it’s easy to go in the wrong direction. Craft a written vision of your business. It will help you stay focused and on track.
6. Masters are dedicated and committed. Anyone who has achieved the status of master knows that dedication and commitment is key to their success. In fact, it is these very qualities that led to them becoming a master. Dedication and commitment are all about being strongly aligned with your goals and not allowing anything to deter you from the outcomes you seek.
7. Masters have a long-term perspective. Masters understand process and that it is never ending. Rather than focus on short-term results, masters possess a long-term perspective, which allows them to work from a larger vision. By having a larger vision, the world of opportunity is expanded, making for more possibility. A broader view keeps the master focused on the big goal, but at the same time, she gladly accomplishes and enjoys the small achievements along the way.
8. Masters have momentum. Masters, for the most part, possess high degrees of energy. They surround themselves with inspirational environments and uplifting people, involving themselves with exciting projects. As a rule, they look for opportunities to work together to create more than they could on their own.
9. Masters have a positive perspective. Masters understand the power of thoughts and how what they think will influence the outcomes they enjoy. Coming from a “glass half-full” perspective, the master doesn’t allow negativity, criticism, or other unproductive attitudes to enter into their environment. Certainly there are times when they might feel off track, but they know that won’t be long-lived because they aren’t willing to waste one moment thinking, saying or doing the wrong things.
10. Masters have a plan. Masters don’t leave their success to chance. Instead, they create a plan of action to create a successful business or to accomplish a particular task. They design a strategy and create goals to support it. To make it more manageable, they will even plan individual action steps. Master’s know that the road to success is a smooth ride once they’ve done the upfront work of creating a plan.
© Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith
Alicia Smith is a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping coaches to Make Money Now. This article is derived from just one of the 90 lessons contained in her e-course, 90-Day Marketing Marathon. To learn more about that course and her other products and services, please visit the following sites. (You also can email her at alicia@aliciasmith.com.)
www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com
www.discninja.com
www.InternetAssessments.com
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Posted by admin on June 15th, 2008 — Posted in Management Resources
This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a company that needed to attract new employees and discovered how a competitive wage and benefits package was integral to this process. The Compensation and Benefits competency focuses in detail on how your employees feel regarding their compensation and benefits packages. The questions included in this competency will help your organization determine whether your employees feel they are fairly paid for the work they perform when compared to a similar job at a different company. This competency also queries their feelings regarding the adequacy and quality of their benefits package. A fair and attractive compensation package is critical for hiring and retaining quality employees. A high satisfaction level in this competency requires that your compensation structure and benefits package be fair, balanced, and understood by your present employees.
This short story, The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package, is part of AlphaMeasure’s compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how one company discovered the importance of evaluating its wage and benefits package and adjusting it to stay competitive and attract new employees.
Anonymous Submission
The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package
My business partner and I recently took control of a small company that provides products and services to a very specific and narrow market segment. One of our first tasks was to fill a number of open positions in various departments. Most of the employees were long term, but we learned that the open positions had been filled and vacated several times over the past year.
We wondered why it was so difficult to attract and retain qualified people with the specialized skills we needed. In a discussion with some friends, an executive for a manufacturing firm asked if the compensation and benefits package had been evaluated lately. He told us that if it’s been a long time, low salaries and/or benefits might be the obstacle we needed to remove.
In fact, it was. In our first weeks at the company, we launched an employee satisfaction survey that showed us how many employees felt that they were not being paid competitive wages when compared to people doing similar jobs at other companies. Further analysis of the results convinced us that we needed to reevaluate and adjust the salary and benefits structure in order to attract and retain the caliber of skilled employee needed to operate the company profitably.
First, we gathered detailed information from a number of Internet databases on salary structures. Then we compared our structure and saw that we were on the lowest fringe of the salary range.
Unable to manage large-scale increases all at once, we developed a plan to phase in the increases over a period of time, and broke each position down into ranges according to expertise and experience.
We offered a hiring bonus, and developed a competitive bonus plan based on performance, staggering the payments over several quarters to encourage employee retention.
Then we examined the fringe benefits portion of the package. We also added an optional long-term disability insurance plan, with employees paying a portion of the premium.
Our company achieved the desired results by making these changes. As it turned out, the timing was perfect - long time employees would have moved on if we had taken no action. Next time, we’ll be sure to make it a priority to reevaluate and adjust our compensation and benefits package on a regular basis.
© 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active.
Measure. Report. Improve your organization with AlphaMeasure employee surveys.
Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc.
AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention.
Launch your employee satisfaction survey with AlphaMeasure.
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Posted by admin on June 1st, 2008 — Posted in Management Resources
There are few bigger challenges for business owners and managers than waiting 30 to 60 days to get paid by their customers. Although large businesses can usually afford it, smaller businesses can’t afford the wait. As a matter of fact, waiting to get paid on their invoices can create cash flow problems that affect the owners ability to meet payroll or pay the company’s bills. This problem can be more frustrating if the business has a number of orders that it cannot fulfill because its cash is tied up in unpaid invoices.
How can invoice factoring help you?
Invoice factoring, also known as accounts receivable factoring, is a financial tool that allows small business owners to capitalize on the power of their slow paying invoices. It allows you to turn your invoices into immediate cash, enabling you to fund your business operations. Although it is not a well-known fact, invoices from strong credit worthy commercial clients are excellent collateral, especially for factoring companies. Although most banks won’t take invoices - factoring companies are more than willing to provide you with financing based on them. This makes it an ideal financing vehicle for small and mid size businesses, as well as knowledge-based companies and employee intensive firms.
How does invoice factoring work?
As opposed to most banks that lend you money against hard collateral, invoice factoring companies buy your invoices outright. The factoring company buys your invoices and provides you with funds immediately, while they wait to get paid by your customers. Factoring is best described with an example:
1. Let’s say that you sell services to Company A and Company B. As soon as you provide the services, you invoice them.
2. At the same time, you send copies of the invoices to the factoring company, who buys them and provides you with an advance payment for them.
3. The factoring company waits to get paid by your customers. Once paid, any remaining funds are remitted to your company.
The invoice factoring process can be repeated every time you invoice, providing you with a flexible line of financing that grows with your business.
How much will an invoice factor advance my business?
Factoring transactions are commonly done as a two-installment sale. The first installment is called the advance and is paid to you as soon as you submit the invoices. Advances can range anywhere from 60% on the low end up to 90% of the gross value of the invoices. The average advance is about 75%.
The remaining installment, called the rebate, is remitted to you once the invoice is paid. Factoring fees are deducted from the rebate.
The cost of invoice factoring
The cost of a factoring transaction is determined by three criteria. First, the credit worthiness of your customers. Second, the length of time that your invoices take to get paid. Lastly, the monthly factored volume.
Your cost, actually called a discount, can be as low as 1.5% or as high as 12% per transaction depending on how you fit the previous criteria.
How can I determine if invoice factoring will help me?
Generally speaking, invoice factoring will help you if you have a business that has reasonable profit margins or is growing quickly. Mid size companies with 20% or more profit margins or large companies with 15% profit margins can usually do well with accounts receivable factoring.
Commercial Capital LLC
We can provide you with a factoring, invoice factoring or accounts receivables factoring quote for free. Marco Terry, the president, can be reached at 866 730 1922.
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Posted by admin on May 31st, 2008 — Posted in Management Resources
All investors greatly desire and are motivated by a clear picture of a company’s exit strategy, or the timing and method through which they can “cash in” on their investment. This picture best comes into focus when the key valuation and liquidity drivers of the company are clearly delineated. An excellent method to accomplish this is through descriptions of comparable firms that have had successful liquidity events, either through acquisition, merger, of initial public offerings (IPOs).
It is helpful to show other companies in your market, or similar companies in other markets, who have successfully exited, and how and why these companies were successful. For instance, were they successful since they acquired a large customer base? Or were they successful since they accomplished fast growth or high profit margins? It is also important to tie their success to their exit price. Was the exit price based on earnings or the number of customers the firm had at the time? The business plan should tie these metrics (e.g., exit price of $X per customer) to the business to determine its future price.
The most common exit strategies in business plans are IPOs or acquisitions. While the method of exit is not always crucial, the investor often wants to see the decision to better understand the management team’s motivation and commitment to building long-term value. If acquisition is the selected exit path, then the business plan should detail potential companies that might want to acquire the firm in the future and why. Likewise, if an IPO is expected in the future, the business plan should document the financial metrics of the company that make it ripe for this type of exit.
In most cases, investors only make money when the business reaches a successful exit event. As such, it is critical that business plans explain the expected exit, detail why this exit was chosen and validate a realistic exit price.
As President of Growthink Business Plans, Dave Lavinsky has helped the company become one of the premier business plan development firms. Since its inception, Growthink has developed over 200 business plans. Growthink clients have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share.
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Posted by admin on May 20th, 2008 — Posted in Management Resources
One of the most important things a manager can do to set healthy boundaries in the office is to define a dress code. It’s more critical today than ever before. Young men today show up for job interviews wearing shorts and muscle shirts. Others look like they just crawled out of bed wearing baggy jeans pulled down to reveal their boxer shorts, baseball cap turned sideways and three-day stubble. Young women show up wearing mini skirts as if they just came from a nightclub. Others wear low-rise jeans, flip flops, and spaghetti strap tops with their bellies hanging out.
Managers ask me where it will stop. It will stop where you make it stop. Your values differ from those of other generations, and you must decide what’s appropriate. Organizations struggle with this nationwide. Churches have relaxed dress codes to allow people to wear jeans and shorts. Most four-star restaurants no longer require coats and ties for men. While churches and restaurants are loosening their dress codes, other establishments are tightening theirs. A Burger King in Kentucky makes their employees remove all facial piercings when they clock in. Prohibiting facial piercings is a black and white proposition, but dress code becomes a murkier issue when trying to specify wardrobe do’s and don’ts. Defining “business casual” for women is a nightmare. Fiserv Solutions in Jacksonville, Florida, offered the best solution I’ve seen. They went through dozens of magazines and clipped out pictures of women’s fashion styles. They then pasted the photos on poster boards which they displayed in their break room. One board is labeled “No” and the other is labeled “Yes”.
The key to making a dress code work is to keep it updated. Both private and government sectors are forced to constantly update their policies to keep up with social and technical trends. TheMarine Corps updated its uniform regulations in 1996 to prohibit tattoos on the neck and head. The Army updated its policies in 2002 to authorize the wearing of pagers and cell phones for official Army business. The Air Force updated its policy on body piercing in 2003 to prohibit “body mutilation” such as split tongues. The Navy updated its policy on pagers in 2004 to allow sailors to wear personal digital assistants and cell phones for official Navy business. The new policy also allows female sailors to wear pants for official duty or even formal events.
All branches of the military now have policies which require members to remove objectionable tattoos at their own expense. Failure to do so may result in punishment up to involuntary separation. The Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Florida, loosened its dress code in 2000 to allow moustaches. They loosened it again in 2003 to allow women to wear hoop earrings as long as they are no larger than a dime. They allow only one
ring per ear, which must be worn at the bottom of the ear. Post earrings are allowed as long as they are no larger than a quarter. Women may wear open-toe and open-heel shoes, but hosiery is required. Men are allowed to wear braids in their hair as long as they are above the collar. Men are not allowed to wear Oxford style shirts.
Different generations in the workforce make dress code even more important. Generation X is highly independent and known for being non-conformist. They came of age when flannel and earthiness was trendy. They may show up with body parts fully covered, but with wet hair and no makeup. They believe the au natural look is wholesome. Generation Y, also known as the Millenials and Echo Boomers, values conformity, but their fashion trends can be so outrageous that many don’t know how to dress appropriately for work. Seminar attendees constantly ask me about young women with their “jelly bellies” hanging out for the world to see. This is a result of Generation Y being raised to include everyone and accept everything, so they let it all hang out - literally. They haven’t learned that they have to accommodate the employer, not the other way around. They’re accustomed to society, including over-indulgent parents, accommodating them. By defining a dress code, you’re bringing uniformity to as many as four generations who all have to adapt to the same standard long enough to earn a paycheck. This also sends the message that you’re the boss.
Glenn Shepard is an internationally recognized expert on management and leadership. This article is excerpted from his book How to Manage Problem Employees: A Step-by-Step Guide for Turning Difficult Employees into High Performers. Get his free mini-course “Moving from Management to Leadership” now at www.Free-Minicourses.com
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Posted by admin on May 7th, 2008 — Posted in Management Resources
George was seen as an up-and-coming leader in the organization. People the worked for him liked and respected him. And those in Senior Leadership saw his potential, so he was slated to attend the company’s leadership development workshop.
George was ecstatic! He loved the organization and wanted to move up and contribute as much as he could. He saw this opportunity as a positive step in that progression. Plus, he had some challenges in his job that he hoped he could learn how to deal with more successfully.
After he found out he was slated to attend, George didn’t hear much more about the training until about a week before it began. The email gave him all of the details and he was excited all over again. Excited, that is, until he looked at his calendar and saw how much he had to do.
Because the training meant so much to him, he was determined to be focused while he was there, so he worked hard to get his projects all caught up before he left for the workshop.
George loved the workshop! The facilitator was great, the content was helpful, and the food was even good! He was so motivated by the new ideas and the people he met. He gained in confidence as they practiced some of the things they learned. As a part of the program he built an action plan. He left the two days completely stoked about what he had learned and how he would be able to apply it.
After the Workshop
George awoke the next morning and reviewed his action plan. He was excited because he knew what he would do to be a better leader, starting today. Then, George got back to work. As he fired up his computer he checked his voice mail.
23 messages.
His heart sank a little. As he listened to the messages, taking notes when needed on his next steps, he opened up his email and found an even more depressing sight. 91 emails. A quick glance found that there was little fluff there - it wasn’t 20 serious emails and a bunch of reading or jokes, it was a solid 91 emails to read, work through, reply to and take action on.
After getting a cup of coffee, George went to say hello to his team. This took awhile because they had questions and things they wanted to talk to him about - which was only natural since he had been out-of-pocket for two days. By 9:15 he was back at his desk, ready to tackle all the messages - including the 7 new emails that had come in while he was out.
By 3:00 he had mostly forgotten about his action plan - he remembered it only when he saw it in his briefcase. He took it out and looked at it wistfully. He was still committed to working on those items, but they would have to wait, the next project meeting was all day tomorrow. . .
Reviewing the Situation
Perhaps the situation above sounds familiar to you. What is written up to the “After the Workshop” heading looks good situation: a willing learner, a well designed workshop, and a person leaving excited about his action plan. This story might be a bit too rosy - admittedly, not every one who attends training will be as excited and motivated as George, but in the end it doesn’t really matter - because a highly motivated person like George won’t get as much from this effort as he could or even wants to.
Why?
Because while most leadership development programs focus on developing a great training program, that is a small part of the overall likelihood of success. You see, training is an event, but learning (including leadership development) is a process.
We don’t learn important, complex life skills in brief instant. In an instant we can get an insight, an aha, and an inspiration. In an event we can get ideas, approaches, checklists and knowledge. But skills come to us over time - not in a one shot, one time training course (regardless of how well it is designed or how awesome the trainer is). Skills come with practice and application.
Leadership development is a process and as long as those efforts look like events, the return on those investments will never be high.
Much can be written about specific things that can be done to make the process more effective, but you can start without that list of ideas. Reread the story above. Connect it to your situation and then think of two things you can do to make your leadership development process (whether for yourself or your organization) be more successful.
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group(http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
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