SmallBusinessNewz - employees

Watch Out for Resentful Former Employees

Chris Crum — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:55:06 -0500

Ernst & Young released the results from its 12th annual Global Information Security Survey, finding that reprisals from recently departed employees and a lack of adequate security budgets are becoming the sources for major concern among IT professionals.

The survey was conducted among nearly 2,000 senior executives in over 60 countries. It found that:

Social Media Translating to Business Productivity

Chris Crum — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:20:08 -0400

Today I wanted to share an interesting video from Nokia's Ideas Project website, where Adina levin, VP Products and co-founder of Socialtext talks about social media as it relates to productivity and directions the technologies need to go in to become more useful to business. Do you think social media can contribute to productivity? Comment here.

Employees Want to Be Motivated

Chris Crum — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:24:17 -0400

Randstad has released its 2009 World of Works survey, which indicates that employees are ready to step up and regain control of the destinies of the companies they work for (and of course themselves). Randstad says employees are ready to move past "survival mode".

Suggestion Boxes May Represent Great Source Of Ideas

Doug Caverly — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:47:06 -0400

One school of thought claims that, when it comes to suggestions, a fresh perspective is often best. From this stems the existence of consultants, "efficiency firms," and so on. Another idea is that familiarity results in knowledge, and to capitalize on this concept, an old-fashioned (or digital) suggestion box may be just the thing.

How Employers Are Controlling Morale

Chris Crum — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:01:42 -0400

HR firm TriNet released the results of an interesting survey looking at employee morale and what small businesses are doing to keep it high.

Is it staying high? Here is how respondents answered:

Are Your Customers Satisfied?

Abby Johnson — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:20:47 -0400

Customers are tough to please. In this economy however, businesses cannot afford to lose customers due to dissatisfaction. In other words, businesses must go the extra mile to make sure they are meeting their customer's needs.

AARP Starts Offering Small Business Services

Doug Caverly — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:34:06 -0400

Small business owners who could use some ideas concerning payroll services, group health insurance, and retirement planning may have a new friend in the AARP. The organization is testing a sort of educational/outreach program called "Small Business Services."

Businesses Saving Big Bucks With Twitter

Doug Caverly — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:27:48 -0400

Twitter's frequently been sold to small business owners as a nice "extra" - an easy way to extend their current advertising or recruiting efforts. It turns out, though, that Twitter might be able to carry a lot more weight than we thought.

NFIB Data Suggests Hiring Will Pick Up

Doug Caverly — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:29:03 -0400

Sadly, the Dow is down a bit at the moment. But it's not taking a 200-, 300-, or 400-point plunge, which is a nice change, and new data from the NFIB also acts as a sort of tentative pointer towards the idea that we've hit the recession's bottom.

Job Loss News Could Be Good For Employers

Doug Caverly — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:27:38 -0500

Some rather nasty unemployment data came out last week - stuff that made the comparisons between our current situation and the Great Depression look not entirely overblown, after all. But here's the good news: for small businesses that are trying to hire new hands, this means more folks than ever will be interested in the positions.

Transparency is Important Internally Too

Chris Crum — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Just as it is important to be transparent with the outside world and potential customers, the same goes for your business's internal affairs as well. Be transparent with your staff.

This is especially important in these economic times where job security is often uncertain and there is a good chance employees are already exploring other options, even if just as back up plans in the event that they actually do get laid off.

Ghost Writers Can Help Company's Blogs

Doug Caverly — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:04:09 -0500

Maybe you lack the talent; if so, it's okay - to each his own and all that. Or maybe it's just a matter of interest or time. But by no means is it easy for every small business owner to keep up a corporate blog, and in these situations, it's possible to hire a ghost writer instead of completely separating yourself from the job.

Why are Employers Hesitant to Take On New Employees?

Chris Crum — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:58:44 -0500

The UK-based Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has released data indicating that the smallest businesses are the best employers, but are put off from employing staff by the burden of increased regulation. According to the FSB:

NFIB Gives Office Holiday Party Advice

Doug Caverly — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:26:30 -0500

Holiday parties are the perfect opportunities for stressed individuals to blow off a little steam and be happy. Things can go wrong, though - imagine drunk driving arrests and sexual harassment lawsuits wiping out half the office - so the National Federation of Independent Business has a few tips on how to throw a safe get-together.

Coffee Shop And Library Workspace Tips

Doug Caverly — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:26:18 -0400

We've talked about how everyone can benefit when businesses allow their employees to work from home. There are times when it's nice and/or necessary to work from places other than home, however, and for those times when you're at a coffee shop or library, there are some behaviors that can make the situation better for everyone.

Wakeup Tip: Schedule Morning Appointments

Doug Caverly — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:16:33 -0400

Visit any college campus early in the morning, and you'll find yourself on what looks like the set of a horror movie: an almost-deserted area with just a few zombie-like individuals staggering around. To keep your business days from getting off to similar starts, it may be a good idea to schedule early appointments.

Staff Cuts Becoming Widespread

Doug Caverly — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:28:41 -0400

It may be true that no man is an island, but the economy's problems are forcing some small business owners to become peninsulas. Or, to speak more plainly: a great many companies are laying off employees.

Are Your Employees Really Qualified?

Chris Crum — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:19:25 -0400

I visited my favorite electronics store for citing as an example of what not to do with your sales staff, again the other day, and this time a whole new issue came up with regards to their employees. Incompetence.

Businesses Not Quick to Jump on Social Media Bandwagon

Chris Crum — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:03:46 -0400

For all of the positive points that have been made about social media marketing (we've even discussed it a lot here), many businesses are still resisting the urge to jump on the bandwagon.

Getting to the Core of Your Attitude

Abby Johnson — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:30:00 -0400

An attitude can change a business for the good or for the bad. You might think it's ridiculous to base an entire business on an attitude until you think how much your attitude affects each day of your life.

UK Businesses At Risk Of Missing Minimum Wage Hike

Doug Caverly — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:43:17 -0400

What you don't know can most definitely hurt you, and a new report concerning small business owners in the UK proves this point. It seems that a great many owners will face fines and prosecution if they fail to find out about and acknowledge a change in the minimum wage.

Using a "Secret Shopper"

Chris Crum — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:27:16 -0400

I had an interesting experience recently, in which I got to play the role of a "secret shopper". My wife's friend is the manager of a store (I won't say what store or what type of store in the interest of anonymity), and she asked us if we would go to the store and evaluate the employees working that particular shift.

Small Business Owners Work the Hardest!

Chris Crum — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:56:30 -0400

It appears that small business workers are not only the happiest, but small business owners are the hardest working, if there is any accuracy to a recent survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports.

Among statistics found by Rasumussen are:

Small Businesses Make Employees Happy

Doug Caverly — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:29:20 -0400

Most people have jobs so that they can live and retire in reasonable comfort. They look forward to weekends, not Monday mornings. Yet the UK-based Trades Union Congress has found that small businesses' employees are among the cheerful workers out there.

Retirement Rush May Pose Problem

Doug Caverly — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:52:29 -0400

There are several advantages to having a lot of employees who are roughly the same age. They may have similar interests, lifestyles, and ways of thinking that'll make for a more friendly and cohesive environment. Unfortunately, they might all retire at the same time, too.

Tiny Businesses Becoming More Common

Doug Caverly — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:29:08 -0400

This bit of news could be good or bad, and insofar as the businesses it concerns have a nonsensical name, it's also a little odd to present. But the number of nonemployer businesses (small businesses with just an owner or two) is on the rise and hit new highs in 2006.

Customer Relations Built to Last

Abby Johnson — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:30:00 -0400

Customer relations can be sticky. The business motto "the customer is always right" isn't always true. Even so, that motto must apply if you want to build a strong relationship with your customers.

5 Ways To Turn Off Customers (for Brick and Mortars)

Chris Crum — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:26:22 -0400

Here's a quick list of ways to keep customers away from your store, and probably dig your business's grave.

1. Bad Location

Where Does Social Media Responsibility Fall?

Shel Holtz — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:59:05 -0400

There has been no shortage lately of commentary about where social media responsibility will reside in organizations. The broad categories of opinion shake out like this:

Small Businesses Helps Economy Add 9,000 Jobs

David A. Utter — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:33:14 -0400

Nonfarm private employment took an unexpected move upwards from June to July in 2008, but the job situation in the US still merits concern.