The key word here is effective.  Building an effective, high-performing team requires more than simply throwing a group of outstanding individuals into a room and telling them they can’t come out until they have a solution. And maintaining an effective team requires planning, communication and decision-making. Assess individual strengths and weaknesses, build support, establish the conditions for effectiveness, agree on your goals—and you’re on the road to building a championship team. But lead with your emotions, shy away from hard decisions, have faith that the process will “work itself out,” populate your team with your personal favorites—and don’t be surprised if your outstanding individuals fail to harness their collective talent. We see it in sports all the time.  And it happens in business just as often.

And, you too can build and manage a high-performing team by avoiding these seven team-building blunders:

1.  Failure to build support for the team with the right people at the right levels

Building Buy In – an investment you can’t afford NOT to make

We’ve seen many cases in which an employee is assigned to a team even though his or her regular manager doesn’t know the team’s goals or the time commitment required of the employee. This can be confusing to managers who aren’t on the team but whose direct reports may be. It can create an antagonistic atmosphere in which managers undermine a team’s efforts!

To avoid this blunder:

Ensure that information flows in both directions between the team members and their managers.

Keep in mind that participating on a cross-functional team can take time and focus away from the team members’ day-to-day jobs. This can lead to the perception among managers that they are losing control of their people.

Most teams need time, budget, tools and support to be successful. If the infrastructure is not available, productivity can be affected. If you need to secure resources needed by the team, you can help remove barriers by promoting the team’s interests with key stakeholders. Let them know how the team’s success will reflect on the whole organization. Align each manager’s expectations with the strategic importance of the team’s mission.

2.  Failure to establish conditions for team effectiveness

When building a team – skills & experience matter, but so do fit, chemistry & motives.

We’ve seen teams made up of members who don’t know where the team is going or what their individual roles are. How can a team achieve anything when its members don’t know what’s going on?

Of course, you’ll need to select and organize the right people. But that’s not all. Skills and experience matter, but so do fit, chemistry and motives. That’s why, when selecting a team, we advise using the same due diligence you use when you hire a new employee:

Look at performance reviews and check references, not only from managers but from co-workers as well. Understand why applicants want to be part of the team, as well as how being on the team will help them realize their longer-term goals.

We highly recommend that you review psychographic assessments in order to understand team members’ core behaviors and learning styles—and how these behaviors and styles fit with their roles, other team members and yourself.

Look for the right skill sets and the right behaviors. Expertise might not be enough to qualify someone for the team. For example, say your top-performing salesperson is a lone wolf who doesn’t play by the rules and won’t socialize with his peers. Despite his extensive product knowledge, he might not be a good fit. In such a case, you may want to bypass that individual. But you may also want to interview him in order to gain an even better understanding of the product.

Remember:

A high-performing team has a mandate—one that every member should know.  After explaining the mandate, give the team an opportunity to process this information. They should feel free to ask for clarity.

These discussions can help shape the mandate. Don’t mistake this for a democratic process, but it certainly should be participatory.

3.   Failure to establish a meaningful performance goal

If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?

We’ve seen cross-functional teams with members who refuse to acknowledge any point of view other than the one they see from their traditional silos. As you may know, that’s a recipe for disaster. After all, the whole is only better than the sum of the parts if everything’s moving in the right direction! To ensure team effectiveness, you’ll need to clarify the deliverables that are linked to outcomes of team activities. Again, don’t just lecture about it; discuss it with the team.

As you bring together people with unique capabilities and experiences, they’re likely to have different perspectives. Without establishing interdependencies, you may find that the whole is actually smaller than the parts when team members are fixed on their own tasks. This can negatively impact delivery sequence, timing and quality control.

Therefore, revisit team goals frequently to:

• Keep them meaningful. It can be tempting for team members to concentrate only on their individual tasks and challenges.
• Keep people’s heads out of the sand and aware of what matters to the team as a whole. This drives performance toward the desired outcome, and enables adjustment of goals, timing or resources needed for success.

4.  The absence of a decision-making process

It is important to create an environment that allows team members to voice their opinions in an open & honest manner.

If a team leader doesn’t spend enough time framing problems, the team will lack direction. This means soliciting the perspective of individual members and stepping through the team’s interdependent activities to identify potential challenges and solutions.

Again, you don’t need to establish a truly democratic process. But you do need every team member to participate. You will need to make difficult decisions at times. You will also be called upon to break ties and settle differences between team members while at the same time keeping everyone motivated and on board. The most important thing you can do is to create an environment that allows team members to voice their opinions in an open and honest manner. Get all sides of the story, and then weigh these arguments to make a decision that is in the best interest of the team.

To do this in a fair and consistent manner, you should establish data and metrics to help you make decisions more objectively, and share those metrics with the team.

This will help to diffuse emotions. And it will serve as a testing platform to explore disparate ideas and make informed decisions.

5. Failure to establish appropriate norms

A certain amount of conflict is healthy.

Executives aren’t necessarily content experts. Your team could have a C-suite sponsor who isn’t a subject-matter authority. Leaders need honest feedback. The communication channels must be wide open. Members shouldn’t view you as a senior executive, but as a facilitator. Spell that out. Describe your role in team terms.  As the leader, your job is to focus and motivate—and at times to make tough decisions. Let everyone know you don’t have all the answers and that you’ll look to the team’s collective expertise.

A certain amount of conflict is healthy. It demonstrates that people care about the project. Tolerating dissent allows people to be honest, and it puts the team’s interests above the interests of individual members.   To find the right balance:

• Encourage collaboration and educated risk-taking. 
• Set the right tone and the right reward structure that prompts everyone to  contribute.
• Let people know that there may be some degree of ambiguity and that testing different approaches and taking smart risks is necessary for achieving the best result. This means that the answer will not always be clear and that not all efforts will result in immediate success.

Most importantly, you should use failure as an opportunity to dig deeper toward a solution.

6. Weak communication channels

There’s no substitute for understanding the innate behaviors of your team members.

We recommend assessing team members in order to understand their individual communication styles. You’ll want to make space for different kinds of conversations and participatory approaches.  Without an objective assessment of how individual team members communicate, collaborate, learn and solve problems, how can you facilitate the best possible communications?

There’s no substitute for understanding the innate behaviors of your team members. This knowledge will provide you with a better understanding of their individual styles. It is also important to understand how this impacts communication among team members, and it enables you to anticipate sources of conflict or other challenges. This is especially true when dealing with remote or virtual team members.

• Encourage active listening and ensure influence based on task-relevant knowledge rather than on status or personal dominance.
• Apply your skills as a leader and facilitator to moderate the group and ensure that people have adequate opportunities to contribute.

This goes back to establishing norms and rules of engagement, and enforcing these rules when necessary. When you form a team, you might not know everyone on it. You’ll want to get to know each member. A formal assessment of skills and strengths is an effective, time-tested method.

7. Insensitivity to diversity

Diverse viewpoints can lead a team to better problem-solving.

In addition to helping leadership understand individual work styles, assessments also help team members appreciate the impact that their own styles have on others. Diverse viewpoints can lead a team to better problem-solving and superior solutions  in the same way that diverse cultures can lead an organization to a deeper understanding of complex global issues.

In our practice, we help leaders develop strategies for embracing diversity. It can be difficult to initiate diversity discussions, especially among members of multicultural teams. But it’s necessary  for leaders to talk with members about how diversity can affect participation.

Diversity touches on issues beyond race and gender:

• You may have team members for whom English is a second language. You’ll need to ensure they have opportunities to make their points.
• You may have members in far-flung time zones. Most of us are less effective at two o’clock in the morning than at two o’clock in the afternoon. That’s why some teams have platforms for asynchronous communication—so that members can participate in a time-zone friendly manner.

Establish norms and enforce the rules. For example, discrimination on the basis of race, gender, lifestyle, national origin or religion must be dealt with immediately and decisively.

Summary

We believe that “wholes” don’t become better than the sum of their parts by accident. Creating a team that exceeds the capabilities of its individual members requires commitment, planning and time.

When a team comes together, the positive effects ripple throughout the organization:

Managers who aren’t on the team may have to sacrifice their best people to it. They should know what the team is about and how its efforts will benefit the entire organization.

Co-workers may be asked to shoulder additional responsibilities while their peers serve on the team. This can lead to resentments. That’s why even non-members need to understand the team’s mission and how it will ultimately affect them.

People from different levels of the organization may feel confused by a new reporting structure or chain of command.  Never assume they’ll figure it out for themselves. That can stifle dissent and cripple the robust debate that is sometimes necessary for a breakthrough.

Comprised of talented individuals from all levels, a diversity of viewpoints, a range of expertise and a balance of personalities, high-performance teams are well-integrated into their organizations.  Members know their own responsibilities, but they also understand the team’s goals, its decision-making processes and its rules of operation.

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The post Avoiding the 7 Big Team-Building Blunders appeared first on EffortlessHR Blog.

I, of course, went through all the benefits and features of EffortlessHR (which I can also recite for you if you don’t know what they are), but it made me stop and think – what is it that the busy CEO/Owner of a company is looking for in any program or service?  How do you get their attention and make them want to learn more?

Let’s face it – there are a lot of products and services out there and more are available every day.  So, how do we make ourselves stand out or above all the others?  Is it timing?  Is it luck?  Is it marketing?  It probably is a bit of each of these three issues.  But, I think there are some other pieces to the answer.

Solution – does my/your product provide a solution?  According to the dictionary, a solution is the act of solving a problem or answering a question.  I look at EffortlessHR and I believe that we do provide a solution.  The problem may be too many spreadsheets, or personnel files disorganized or incorrectly filed.  A question might be about what the laws or regulations are in a state regarding any number of subjects that impact a business and the employees of that business.  So, if a busy CEO needed a solution to those problems, I think we could provide a Solution.

Integration – does my/your product or service integrate with the workings of the busy CEO and his or her company?  The definition of Integration is the act or process of making whole or entire; the process of fitting into a community.  EffortlessHR is a standalone HR program that can fit a growing company’s HR needs.  You can have a solution, but if it doesn’t fit the company values and infrastructure, integration may not happen.

Ease of Use – is my/your product or service easy to implement and use?  This step is defined as the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal.  EffortlessHR provides a basic platform that is easy to implement (within 30 minutes you can be up and running) and easy to navigate (Quick Starts and clean, clear functionality).  Many products or services have so many moving parts and sections that the user gets tired of trying to use it effectively.  Remember the “some assembly required”?  Your Solution, in order to effectively integrate, must be Easy to Use.

Timely – is my/your product or service timely?  Timely means that this is an opportune time to use it or has appeared at the right time and place.  EffortlessHR is a timely product because there are over 6,000,000 small businesses in the USA that are looking for help in dealing with HR issues, employment laws and regulations, and the multitude of issues facing employers.   Maybe you are looking at an audit by the Wage and Hour Division for how you have categorized your employees or about overtime pay so you are looking for answers.  If all is going smoothly, you are not looking for my product, but at the timeliness of a different product or service.

There probably are other answers.  I am sure my Mentor asked the question to get me to think of those other answers – I will send him this and see what he says.

In the meantime, I feel pretty good that I have come up with 4 things a busy CEO may look for in a product or service.  Now, I have to make sure EffortlessHR can provide a Solution, that is Integrated in a Easy to Use methodology and is Timely to the client’s needs.

Let me know, as a busy CEO, what gets your attention.

The post What Gets Your Attention …? appeared first on EffortlessHR Blog.

We all like a good scary movie every now and then, but nothing is scarier than hiring someone who appears to be perfect for the job, and then finding out quickly that he or she is a nightmare. Every day we see organizations use scary hiring practices!

Why should you be spooked out by scary hiring practices? Consider what these can do to a company:

Scary hires drive up turnover.
There are all sorts of causes for high turnover, but one big culprit is stress. In fact, 40 percent of all job turnover is due to stress. Guess what causes stress? It happens most when the person does not fit their job, their manager, or the organization’s culture.

Scary hires drag down productivity.
Everyone suffers when workers have to cover for a co-worker that can’t or won’t do their job properly. The competent workers become distracted and disillusioned and the incompetent workers cause havoc by making mistakes, falling behind and draining managers who don’t trust them to produce.

Scary hires cost hard dollars.
Replacing the average employee will run you about 25% of their annual salary. Consider the costs of recruiting, interviewing, travel and onboarding. These are all replacement costs, as well as lost time on the job, either when it was vacant or when someone had to let other tasks go to train the new employee.

Scary hires cause collateral damage.
What about other costs? Organizations spend billions on workers compensation claims. As experts note, vastly more money goes to existing claims than to preventing the problems in the first place. What if someone in your organization was in charge of making sure all equipment fit the job and the workers, that everything was working correctly, and that all workers knew how to use the equipment efficiently and safely? These all sound like easy fixes, but someone in your company has to keep his eye on the detail.

So what can an organization do to prevent scary hiring? The best organizations have a solid hiring process in place and they follow that process with every candidate. They use behavioral and skill assessments to provide consistent, objective information on the candidate and reports to help managers better interview and select the right person.

10 Scary Hiring Practices to Avoid

1. Recruiting people who are just like you

2. Picking the first candidate who walks in the door

3. Asking questions about marital status, number of children, religion, race

4. Failing to check references and other information on resume or application

5. Talking too much and failing to listen

6. Posing questions that require only yes/no answers

7. Hiring based on your comfort zone rather than candidate’s qualifications

8. Searching in too small of a pond

9. Delay in hiring after you find the best candidate

10. Offering a job based only on gut instincts

Remember, the fear of the unknown is something best enjoyed at the movies or on TV. In real life, you want to know what your organization faces. Don’t hire zombies, ghosts and ghouls! The workers you hire and develop today can minimize the uncertainties of tomorrow.

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(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ m sure that there are plenty of posts on this topic, but we have had first-hand experience for several years in dealing with comment spammers. Each of the plugins below are in use by the EffortlessHR Blog and they all work in uniquely different ways to stop bots and spammers dead in their tracks. Today we are going to share our winning combination, in order of importance:

G.A.S.P. (GrowMap Anti Spam Plugin)

This plugin also comes installed with CommentLuv Premium. It’s very simple in design and adds a checkbox to “Confirm you are NOT a spammer” to your comment form. It also performs some validation and limits the maximum number of links that can be present in comment text. It can also enforce that the user is on the page for a certain amount of time before leaving a comment.

It is extremely effective at preventing automated spam.

Stop Spammer Registrations Plugin

I know what you are thinking.. Registrations? This plugin could use a new name, but there is no arguing with how effective  it is, and contends with G.A.S.P. as being the best plugin. I just looked at my statistic screen for the plugin and saw this message — “Stop Spammers has stopped 66668 spammers since installation” — that should explain how great it is.

This plugin checks against StopForumSpam, Project Honeypot and BotScout to to prevent spammers from registering or making comments. The Stop Spammer Registrations plugin works by checking the IP address, email and user id of anyone who tries to register, login, or leave a comment. This effectively blocks spammers who try to register on blogs or leave spam. It checks a users credentials against up to three databases: Stop Forum Spam, Project Honeypot, and BotScout. Optionally checks against Akismet for Logins and Registrations.

Akismet

Akismet is what kicks in if/when a comment makes it past the other plugins, which does happen.

It performs further analysis on the comment information and visitor to determine if the post is legitimate.

There you have it, simple and easy. With this combination, we very rarely have to moderate or flag comments as spam. Almost all comments that make it through are legitimate and these plugins work in ways that result in very few false positives.

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In these challenging times when every dollar spent must be a wise investment, one of those decisions is where you should spend both  time and money  in terms of business development.  One thing is for sure, you will need to contribute in order to gain.  If you join a networking group thinking I’ll just attend and business will come my way, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.

You will get out of a professional organization what you put into it.  Have a plan when you attend the various events on who you want to meet.  If there is a directory or listing of the members, identify at least 5 new prospects you would like to meet that either can directly use your services or can be a conduit to these prospects.  Oftentimes, these include CPAs, attorneys, etc.  You will be far more effective with this targeted marketing approach.

Next, consider joining a committee.  This is where the time as well as the money comes in.  Determine how much time you have to donate to serving on a committee. Also, choose one that is a personal interest of yours, or one that your business will can benefit from.  It may also be one that has some members on it that you would like to get to know better. And one last thought, consider how much visibility you can see from participating.

There are three benefits you can see from being on a committee:

1. Have more one on one experiences with other members because it will be a smaller group.
2. You will be recognized for your contributions.
3. The members will readily see how you function in this environment and will ultimately recognize that you are someone they would like to do business with based on your contributions.

In selecting the organization(s) consider if the members are those who would need your product/services.  Your ROI (Return on Investment)  generally isn’t seen after just attending a couple of meetings (although it has certainly happened).  You need to make a commitment and after participating, you will then reap the rewards.

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New Blog Theme

After what seems like forever, the EffortlessHR blog has a new theme (Suffusion). For your enjoyment and to be forever archive, the blog looked like this before:

Old EffortlessHR Blog Theme

 CommentLuv Premium

If you don’t know what CommentLuv is, then you are in for a treat. To keep it short: each time you comment, you can choose to link directly to one of YOUR blog posts. This is great for SEO and really encourages discussion. Since we love spreading the love around, if you Tweet, Like on Facebook, or Google +1 the post, your link will also be dofollow (followed by search engines — a good thing). An example of CommentLuv Premium is below:

CommentLuv Premium

Live Chat

For those of you that don’t know. EffortlessHR provides online HR software that is tailored toward start-ups, small business, and likely — your business. Thanks to Plupper, we are now providing free chat on our sales site. It is meant for sales primarily, but we won’t turn away a good technical question or suggestion. And the best part is that the button already matches the site colors.

Live Chat Button

And more

We know. It’s been a while since blog posts have gone out on any type of regular schedule. We intend to change that and make this blog one of the best informational HR blogs on the web. If you have any suggestions for posts, content, or even if you want to be a guest blogger, just drop us a comment.

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Lola Kakes, CEO and Founder of EffortlessHR stated, “We are very excited about this Affinity Agreement with the Chamber and believe it will provide an additional tool for the busy business owner to better manage and grow their business.  It shows how active the Chamber is in providing additional resources for their members and we are proud to be affiliated with them in this endeavor.”

“Winging it with human resource policies and practices is a surefire way to end up in a courtroom,” says Chamber President & CEO Mike Varney.  “There are just too many laws to keep straight.  Staying in compliance is not an option. The Chamber’s partnership with EffortlessHR makes it possible for even the smallest company to have first rate HR resources like employee handbooks.  EffortlessHR offers all of the benefits of an HR manager for the price of an hour or two with an attorney.”

The Tucson Metro Chamber is a membership-based business advocacy and networking organization that represents more than 1,350 businesses, employing more than 105,000 employees in Tucson and Pima County. Small business makes up approximately 85 percent of Chamber membership, which mirrors the overall Tucson area business community.

EffortlessHR is an Internet based Human Resource program built specifically for small and mid-sized businesses who are looking for an easy to use and affordable way to set up and manage their employees.  EffortlessHR’s services are designed to help the busy small business owner better organize and communicate with their employees.  With the impressive number of new employment laws and regulations that businesses now must understand and follow, a professional compliance company like EffortlessHR is absolutely essential to provide guidance and corporate assistance 24-hours every day.

EffortlessHR Website:  http://www.effortlesshr.com

Tucson Metro Chamber Website:    http://www.tucsonchamber.org

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We understand that with these challenging times, business owners try to find as many ways as possible to control costs. Many are not aware that there are risks in making the wrong decision, even if it is out of “ignorance”. We all know that when it comes to the law, ignorance is no defense.

Employers look at the rising cost of health benefits, coupled with high taxes, and find it is tempting to think that perhaps you should convert your employees to non-exempt or independent contractors and cut some expenses.  Be aware, however, there are strict rules about what an exempt employee is and what a non-exempt employee is and what constitutes an independent contractor/employee.

How to Determine Exempt or Non-Exempt Status

Either in the hiring process or in reviewing your current employees, you need to determine the exempt or non-exempt status of the position. The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) provides the regulations that inform employers about wage and hours, and most specifically the FLSA regulates the status of employees and their availability to receive or not receive overtime pay. Exempt employees are exempt from the federal and state laws governing, among other things, overtime pay, minimum wages, and timekeeping. An employee is presumed to be non-exempt unless the employer can demonstrate that the employee’s job duties and pay meet certain legally defined standards. Such issues as number of hours worked, union membership, or job title do not resolve the determination of exempt/non-exempt status.

Improper classification of exempt and non-exempt employees is common and can be very significant and costly. For example, an employee who would be correctly classified as exempt, and therefore ineligible for overtime, may be erroneously classified as non-exempt and receive overtime pay unnecessarily. Conversely, improperly classifying employees as exempt, and therefore denying overtime pay, can result in significant penalties and fines.

Once you have established whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt, you can determine the method of pay – either hourly or salaried. You can then look at the design of your compensation program and determine where you are in the process and what you need to do next.

Note: Classifying your employees in the correct category – exempt or non-exempt – is an important step in the hiring and compliance process. Don’t declare an employee exempt if they are truly non-exempt. If they are entitled to overtime pay, you are responsible to pay them. A poorly or incorrectly paid employee is an unhappy employee and is much more likely to call the Wage and Hour Dept. of the Department of Labor.

Take the time to review and see if you have the right employee makeup in your company in terms of exempt and non-exempt and be sure you follow these rules when hiring.

Independent Contractor

Another thought is that if you need a worker only on a “sometimes” basis or a specific project, an independent contractor could work for you.  Again, there are rules, but this may be a solution that could work.  The determination is complex, but is essentially made by examining the right to control how, when, and where the person performs services. It is not based on how the person is paid, how often the person is paid, or whether the person works part-time or full-time. There are three basic areas which determine employment status:

• Behavioral control – who controls when the individual works – you or the person.
• Financial control – usually the individual has a contract for a specific project with timelines and payment schedules defined.
• Relationship of the parties – if you (the employer) provides the work space, the tools to do the job, the resources in your place of business, and established the hours to work, the individual is most likely an employee – not an independent contractor.  Look at what your relationship is with the person.

You can find more information on the DOL website and through a subscription to EffortlessHR, our internet based HRIS system. We would like you to make good choices and keep your company safe and efficient.

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What are competencies?  They could be a personal trait or an observable aspect of performance.  Competencies represent the behavioral, technical, and motivational requirements for successful performance in a given role or job.  A competency is usually defined as a grouping of related:

• Behaviors
• Activities
• Types of knowledge
• Technical skills, or
• Motivations

So, why are competencies important?  They can give us a better understanding of why an individual may or may not do as well on a project or why or why not objectives are not met.  They provide a basis for coaching the employee on how to improve performance.  The more an employer understands the personal strengths and motivation of their employees, the better “fit” there is in the job.  Identifying the needed competencies make recruiting easier and can help in coaching and training employees.

The hard skills and knowledge can be fairly easy to assess and identify and can be developed.  Attitude and personal characteristics are harder to identify or develop, but are equally important in demonstrating a needed competency in a position.  For example, functional requirements might be identified as the technical needs – the things that are specific to a particular job.  Behavioral are the soft skill requirements that make a person successful in their position.

If you think of your “star” employee, what competencies have they brought to the job that makes them more successful than another person in the same position?  What do they do differently that makes them special?  What competencies do they have that can be seen, heard, or documented by colleagues and clients?  Those are the competencies you might want to look for in other candidates or employees.

I believe there are five major competencies that are important in the workplace and include several sub-categories:

1.  Intellectual

• Analytical
• Creative
• Problem Solving
• Project Management
• Technical

2.  Interpersonal

• Customer Service
• Communication

i.     Oral

ii.     Written

•  Teamwork

3.  Leadership

• Visionary
• Change management
• Delegation
• Leading others
• Managing and/or developing others

4.  Organization

• Business Acumen
• Cost Consciousness
• Diversity
• Ethics
• Organizational Support
• Strategic Thinking

5.  Self-Management

• Judgment
• Motivation
• Planning/Organizing
• Professionalism
• Dependability
• Initiative
• Innovative

I am sure there are many more that you could list.  The bottom line is, if we have a better understanding of the competencies needed for a position or brought to us by an individual, we have a better chance of making the job successful and will help you identify the type of person you want on your team.  Finding that special person makes the work easier, more enjoyable, and less stressful.

Remember, we should hire for competencies and can train for skills.

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What do I mean by that?  Well, I believe if you want to succeed in business you must mix your ability to think clearly (common sense) with key ingredients (kitchen know-how) to build your success.  Let’s start with the kitchen know-how.

I was always told, and passed these words of wisdom on to my children, that if you could read a recipe you could cook a dinner.  That may sound a bit simplistic as I know there are some individuals who don’t want to read a recipe or follow directions.  These individuals will probably still be able to make dinner, but the dinner may not be as appetizing.

To keep it simple, there are four main ingredients in our recipe for success.  You may be able to add others, and that is fine.  I have been known to change the recipe – but I always stick with the key ingredients.

Key Ingredient #1 is respect. As a business owner or leader in your company, respect will most likely include understanding the timelines and needs of others.  You know what important outcome or results will take your organization further and will advance the purpose, people, and/or profit of the company.

You respect the problem solving of others and expect them to share their ideas with you.  This will encourage innovation and decision-making and help in the retention of key employees.  And, more than anything else, you gain respect by treating others as you wish to be treated.

Key Ingredient #2 is accountability. A successful leader who accepts the accountability of the position will recognize and accept the responsibility of shared leadership.  A strong leader avoids passing blame and will focus on what needs to be done.  Try to always give more than expected and follow through on all commitments.

Do your employees feel they are a part of your team?  You need to help them speak up and work through any obstacles in their path.  You never let an employee stumble – you are there to help them succeed.

Key Ingredient #3 is responsibilities. You have a financial responsibility to your stakeholders, your customers, your vendors, and your employees.  Except those responsibilities and exercise prudence in all matters.  Help others if they need assistance and answer questions honestly and timely.

Key Ingredient #4 is communication. With emails and webinars, and all other kinds of media available to us, communication is even more important as it can be as instantaneous as a live chat.  Set a personal goal of responding within 24 hours – and then stick to that goal.  Most of us respond quickly to request for information for others.  Let everyone you wish to communicate with know what to put in the subject line of your email, for example, so you can respond right away.  If it looks like junk, delete it – don’t waste your time on junk mail.

Communicate with other and if they need prompting to send you some information, do so with a friendly reminder.   Help others learn to communicate more openly and actively.  Sometimes you have to be persistent to get needed information.

If you mix all these ingredients together, and add a little spice or sugar, you will most likely come up with a tasty “treat” – a successful business.  All of these ingredients you have in your “kitchen”.  Start mixing it up and be successful!

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

But, if you think about it, they are no more or less than we are.  They are people struggling with the social, economical, and political issues of the day – just like we are.

Instead of asking if we are there yet, maybe we should be asking, “What can I do to help get us there?”  As a parent, if my child had asked that I would have thought, “Wow, this kid gets it!” and my response back may have been a calm, thanks, I need to concentrate on driving so if you would keep an eye out for this exit — and let me know when we are close, that would be a big help”.  How different the trip might have been – less stressful, less angst, and much easier on everyone.

If you apply this scenario to business, our employees are asking if we are there yet.  How much more productive it would be if they asked if they could help get us where we need to be.  There are some businesses that have that type of rapport with their employees as communication is good and the employees are willing and able to offer suggestions, support, ideas, and guidance.  Unfortunately, many businesses do not have open communication with their employees so the owners/management are trying to carry the load on their own.

What would happen if those businesses open up to their employees and said the road is terrible and there may be detours ahead.  Are you willing to help drive the business?  I need you to look for potholes and barriers – can you do that?  I don’t know when we will reach our destination but I’m in for the long haul if you are here with me.

What do you think your employees would say?

I believe they would roll up their sleeves and say, let’s get this show on the road!  We are all in this together.

Employees, just like us, want honesty and truthfulness.  They want open communication (and by that I am not saying you have to give away company secrets) and to be counted on in a crisis.  They don’t want to be kept in the dark or treated like children.

If we, as business owners start acting in this manner, maybe even our elected officials will also start to act in this frame of mind and be open and honest and listen to what we have to say.

I truly believe we are almost there – we just need to work on how we get there.

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Well, I think the storyline of the “Magnificent Seven” provides the business owner of today with some unique perspectives on how to build their business.  Each one of the 7 was the ultimate in what goes into running a business – at least in my mind’s eye.  Let’s look at them in greater detail.

1. Strength
2. Curiosity
3. Greed
4. Determination
5. Fear
6. Teamwork
7. Planning

Strength:  The movie was all about strength – the strength of the bandits as they intimidate the village; the strength of the seven as they faced a larger force; and even the strength of the village as they learned to take care of themselves.    Business owners must have strength too.  They often face larger forces (competition) and find they must exhibit strength in dealing with the day-to-day issues that take time, money and energy.  Business owners must provide the strength to their employees to be better trained and supported as they move through the day.

Curiosity:  The bandits were surprised and confused as to why the seven would defend a small village and the village was curious about the seven and why too they were there to help them.  As a business owner, curiosity is also important.  You must be willing to look at new products, new ideas, and question old functions if they are not working adequately.  Curiosity keeps the business viable and on the cutting edge.  It encourages growth and change.

Greed:  Of course the bandits in the movie were greedy – but so too were the gunfighters.  They originally agreed to defend the village because they thought there would be treasure to share.  As a business owner you must tap into the greed as you want to make a profit and to be able to support yourself and your employees.  Greed isn’t always bad – it is a part of the process and is necessary.  You just have to recognize that greed isn’t everything.

Determination:  The bandits were determined to chase the seven away, the seven were determined to save the village, and the village was determined to survive – so determination is a major ingredient.    It is also an important ingredient in a business.  You must have been determined to take that initial step in starting a business and determination is necessary to carry the business forward through good times and bad times.  Without determination, there probably wouldn’t be a business.

Fear:  The villagers were of course fearful, but in the end the bandits were fearful.  One of the gunfighters was fighting fear and in the end was able to conquer the fear (even at the cost of his life).  Is fear a part of the business culture?  Sure it is.  You are afraid you won’t make the big sale, or that the product you ordered won’t arrive in time or won’t be good enough.  Fear is a big part of the business scene – it is what you do with that fear that can make your business work.   I think a business needs to acknowledge the fear factor and always be conscious of the fact that there may be problems ahead – be prepared to address them.

Teamwork:  Teamwork was a major force of the “Magnificent Seven” – the seven gunfighters working as a team to thwart the bandits against overwhelming odds, and the villagers learning to work as a team to defend themselves.  Without teamwork, a business has a real hard time succeeding.  Management and employees must work together to satisfy the customer.  There are no silos in a business – everyone must work together to get the job done.

Planning:  The seven gunfighters were able to put together a plan to defend the village.  Without a plan or a map for defense, chaos would have prevailed and the bandits would have won.  Businesses must have a plan(s).  Plans could include marketing, training, strategy, financial, etc. but plans are a feature that must be in place for a business to succeed.

Bottom line is that the movie, “The Magnificent Seven”, was an all time favorite and when you hear the music you know immediately what the movie was about.  I would hope that when people see my company logo or hear my company name they too will bring to mind a great business with service and solutions for the business community.

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It could also bring up the parent’s checklist of making sure all the required shots and immunizations are in place, enrollment forms completed, paper and pencils purchased, new shoes bought, etc.

As a business owner it could mean one of two things and that is what I am going to go over.  What are those two things?

1. Back to school could mean looking at your current programs to see if you have policies in place for your employees regarding day care, dependent medical coverage, time off requirements, and communication between employees and their supervisor.
2. The second issue of back to school could be looking at your current tuition policy and how supporting your current employees in furthering their education by going back to school can enhance your business and help retain some key people.

So, let’s look at these two issues.

The first one is probably the issue most employers need to concentrate on to start.  The work/life balance is very important to the family worker who needs and wants the job, but also wants to make sure their children are in school.  If you can make sure you have good clearly stated policies and programs, your employee will be more relaxed and productive at work.  If they feel they have to hide what they are doing from you, they will not be as productive and your business may suffer.

This might be a good time to do an audit of your “back to school” policies and programs.  Do you know what types of programs your employees need?  Have you talked to your insurance broker to find out what types of insurance in available for a family and how to keep the cost down?  Do your policies reflect what you what them to regarding flex time or school visitation?  Some states have specific regulations that allow parents time off to attend school functions.  Does your state have such a rule?  Do you communicate openly with your employees to let them know you care and are flexible enough to work with them on this issue?

The second part of the issue is providing your own “back to school” for your employees.  It could be as simple as adding some specific training that managers might have asked for but you haven’t implemented.  Many employees want to increase their effectiveness on the job by taking classes.  Maybe you can talk to your local community college and see if you can develop a program that will offer your employees the education they are looking for at a reasonable price.  It may or may not be feasible but you won’t know until you ask.

Putting together a reimbursement policy will help define what you will offer and what the employee must do to participate.  You might start with required training classes or supervision classes and see what the response might be.  There are some great on-line courses and training programs.  The bottom line is, if your employees know you care enough to help them go back to school, they will probably stay with you for a long, long time.

Therefore, brush off the heat of the summer and get ready for the new school year.  The economy has been down, businesses have been slow, but you can turn up the pace by getting a jump start on going back to school.

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If you want to try out EffortlessHR for yourself, just head on over to EffortlessHR.com

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Your position may define you as a boss, which provides you with the authority to accomplish tasks and objectives.  This authority does not define you as a leader, however.  It simply makes you the boss.  Leaders can be defined as a person who influences others to accomplish the tasks and objectives.   A leader makes others want to achieve the tasks and goals they are given.

That isn’t to say that leaders don’t have tasks to perform.  It is just that when they do have tasks they often use the following three “C”s to keep projects running smoothly.  There may be others that are important, but we will just discuss these three for now.

• Communicate
• Coordinate
• Collaborate

Communicate

A “Boss” may have important information.   Having this information may also make them feel important.  How you use the information or what you do with it can make you a “Leader”    The challenge is the sharing of important information.  Other employees may not be eager to share information with someone they don’t know well or do not trust. 

Leaders must work hard at establishing good lines of communication.  Communication helps everyone agree on roles within the organization, the tasks to be accomplished, the time lines to get projects out the door, learning what the customer wants and describing that need to others, and listening to what is being said. 

Coordinate

A “Boss” may just give an employee an assignment and assume it will be accomplished.  A “Leader” will coordinate the completion or hand-off of a project/task with those who can best accomplish the goals.  They know their people and realize who works best in what area.  They don’t just hand an employee a task, they delegate the authority to the employee to get the job done.

Collaborate

A “Boss” may not want to roll up their sleeves and get the job done.  They may not want to get their hands dirty as they may believe the job is not theirs to do.  A “Leader” understands that collaboration requires working side-by-side to meet the goals and objectives of the organization.  Leaders use their collaborative skills to achieve significant accomplishments and they understand, appreciate, and leverage the differences in their people to produce the greatest solutions for complex challenges.

The three “C”s cannot be effectively used, however, unless you have built a solid foundation on TRUST.  The relationships that Leaders build form the foundation upon which a company flourishes.  Leaders understand that by knowing their employees, they know who they can count on to get the job done.  

There are trust builders and trust busters.  Look at the following list and see where you are in building your leadership.

Builders                                                                                          Busters

• Share needed information                                                     Sharing Confidential Information
• Loyal                                                                                               Giving information to outsiders
• Acceptance of others                                                               Withholding information
• Valuing others                                                                             Vague instructions
• Awareness of what is happening                                          Hidden agendas
• Openness                                                                                        Fear tactics
• Honesty                                                                                          Public criticism or embarrassment

And remember, the deepest foundation builder for developing leaders is good communication!

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]]> http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/how-to-be-an-effective-leader/feed/ 11 http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/succession-planning/ http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/succession-planning/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:18:40 +0000 Lola Kakes http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/?p=460 I was the VP of HR for a fairly large organization several years ago when the terrible unexpected happened.You always think, “This can’t be happening to us” only to find that it can and does happen. What is it that happened? The second in command, who had been brought in to run the company when [...]

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]]> I was the VP of HR for a fairly large organization several years ago when the terrible unexpected happened.You always think, “This can’t be happening to us” only to find that it can and does happen. What is it that happened?

The second in command, who had been brought in to run the company when the founder retired, was killed in a terrible car accident. No one was prepared for the aftermath of that tragedy – especially the owner of the company as he had to regroup and rethink his retirement plans. The rest of the company also had to regroup and come to grip with a terrible loss and uncertainty as to what would happen next.

Can organizations prepare for this type of loss? You can never be fully prepared for a tragic loss, however a succession plan will go a long way in minimizing the effect of loss. The loss in this case was an untimely death, but many organizations today face the risk of losing a seasoned executive through age, retirement, and even hiring away by a competitor. It is therefore important to consider the issue of succession NOW rather than later. This will help with staffing changes and minimal disruption to not only the internal business operations but even to the external marketplace.

There are some key steps an organization can take to set up an effective succession plan.

1. Make sure you have identified the skills and competencies you need in a particular position. This might include the ability to delegate responsibility, think strategically, ability to make decisions, etc. While some think of this step as time-consuming, it is an important first step.

2. Make sure the top management team is on board and directing the plan. A succession plan is only successful if it comes from the top. Remember, some managers may resist establishing a plan and need to brought on board. This may happen by making them an important part of the process.

3. Develop a pool of employees that you can identify that have the potential to grow. The challenge is to find, develop, and encourage these employees. They need to be continually trained and given opportunities to advance. You need to make sure they want the added responsibilities and if not, they should be removed from the pool being considered.

4. Understand and identify skill and knowledge gaps. Work to fill those gaps by determining needs to happen with an individual or individuals to move them into new positions. Help these employees prepare for higher level positions.

5. Encourage employees to be proactive and identify themselves as possible candidates. The individual is the final person to determine availability and capability. When in doubt, ask them.

Don’t be caught unprepared – it can be detrimental to the whole organization.Have a plan and be prepared to keep it current – just in case.

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]]> http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/succession-planning/feed/ 10 http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/understanding-employee-turnover/ http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/understanding-employee-turnover/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:59:40 +0000 Lola Kakes http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/?p=635 Many employers are facing turnover issues that they may not have had to deal with in the past. Some of the turnover is downsizing due to a tough economy. That type of turnover is not the common turnover that employers deal with consistently. It is usually a one time issue and hopefully will go away [...]

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]]> Many employers are facing turnover issues that they may not have had to deal with in the past. Some of the turnover is downsizing due to a tough economy. That type of turnover is not the common turnover that employers deal with consistently. It is usually a one time issue and hopefully will go away as the economy turns around.

The turnover I’m talking about is the “revolving door” of employees being hired, staying for a little while, and then leaving. This type of turnover can be symptomatic of a deeper, organizational problem. Some employers say, “So what. Turnover is inevitable and if the employee doesn’t want to stay, they should leave.” These employers don’t seem to understand how costly turnover is or care about the reasons for the turnover – which can also be costly.

Turnover affects your bottom line, whether you see it or not. Turnover is a silent but effective profit killer.

There are two areas of costs associated with turnover – Hard Costs and Soft Costs. Some of the hard costs that you can fairly easily identify are:

• Wages of employee that is leaving
• Cost of advertising
• Cost of benefits of departing employee

But there are also other hard costs associated with the departing employee:

• Employee’s supervisor/manager pay rate (they will most likely be covering for the departing employee)
• Administrative staff pay (they are spending time filling out paperwork, answering questions, completing the termination process)
• Coworker’s pay rate (they may be called on to work overtime to cover the departing employee or temporary workers may be contracted to cover the work)
• Interviewing (takes a lot of time to conduct a series of interviews and you need to pay the interviewer – no matter what staff member(s) are conducting the interview)
• Reference checking (either you do your own reference checking and pay your staff a wage or outsource and pay the outsourced company – there are fees involved)
• Drug testing (if applicable there are fees for drug testing)
• Orientation and on the job training (someone conducts the orientation, prints manuals and forms, answers questions, trains the new employee)

These are examples of hard costs associated with turnover. There are also soft costs, which may be more difficult to quantify but need to be addressed, including:

• Loss productivity of employee (usually the exiting employee performs at 50-75% of norm)
• Loss productivity of coworkers (time spent gossiping or taking on additional work load which may upset them)
• Loss productivity of supervisor/manager (having to spend time dealing with employees and answering questions)
• Productivity lost if position remains vacant (may increase overtime, temporary services, time spent filling in, supervisor/manager time spent on scheduling issues)
• Lost productivity during training (new employee requires support and direction, existing employees may be distracted, supervisor/manager spends time with new employee)

If you look at the true cost of turnover, you may be surprised at just how costly it is to your bottom line. If you haven’t hired smart and there is not a good match between the company and the employee, you will eventually be a statistic – a company with high turnover. The old adage really is true – employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers. Look at why the turnover is happening and hopefully you will be able to put a stop to the Hard and Soft costs of turnover.


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]]> http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/understanding-employee-turnover/feed/ 13 http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/moonlighting/ http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/moonlighting/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:21:25 +0000 Cathy Baniewicz http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/?p=222 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 7 million – 5.3% of the labor force held more than one job. People work at multiple jobs for a variety of reasons. In today’s economy, people are often compelled to work two jobs just to make ends meet. Others may “moonlight” to gain skills in another [...]

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]]> According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 7 million – 5.3% of the labor force held more than one job. People work at multiple jobs for a variety of reasons. In today’s economy, people are often compelled to work two jobs just to make ends meet. Others may “moonlight” to gain skills in another profession.

What guidelines can employers set regarding employees working at other jobs?

Employment lawyers and consultants disagree on whether a specific policy addressing moonlighting is needed. Those not advocating a policy believe that job performance and conflict of interest policies cover the bases. Others say that a distinct moonlighting policy clarifies what the employer expects in this regard.

If you choose not to have a separate moonlighting policy, be certain that you address other employment in your conflict of interest, confidentiality or non-compete policies.

If the employee who is moonlighting is frequently absent, late for work, or generally doing sub-standard work, address this as a performance problem.

Banning outside employment totally could cause morale problems. It could also limit your talen pool when you are recruiting.

Important Note! The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) says nothing about what employees may or may not do while on FMLA Leave. if you don’t want employees moonlighting while on FMLA, be sure to include this in your leave policy.


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]]> http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/moonlighting/feed/ 2 http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/effortlesshr-announces-free-trial-for-web-based-small-business-hris-hrms/ http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/effortlesshr-announces-free-trial-for-web-based-small-business-hris-hrms/#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 21:08:29 +0000 Aaron Queen http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/?p=668 That’s right! We are bringing back our very popular free trial for our EffortlessHR Online HR Software system. Just in case you read the blog, and have never visited our main site ( http://www.effortlesshr.com/ ) , We’ll list some of our exciting existing and new features below: Online Employee & Personnel Management Employee Portal New! [...]

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]]> That’s right!

We are bringing back our very popular free trial for our EffortlessHR Online HR Software system.

Just in case you read the blog, and have never visited our main site ( http://www.effortlesshr.com/ ) , We’ll list some of our exciting existing and new features below:

• Online Employee & Personnel Management
• Employee Portal
• New! Custom Reports
• HR Forms
• Labor Laws
• Labor Law Posters
• HR Guide
• Calendar & Reminders
• New! Powerful Import & Export Capabilities
• New! Multi-Layer Access Levels
• Online File Storage
• Company Property Tracking
• Benefits Management
• Company Data Management
• Labor Law Updates

Be sure to check out everything we offer, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Click here to visit EffortlessHR.com

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]]> http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/effortlesshr-announces-free-trial-for-web-based-small-business-hris-hrms/feed/ 4