14 Ways to De-Stress Employee Vacations

Employees truly deserve paid vacations. Theystruggle through stressful jobs most of the year,and productivity goes down if they don't get abreak. From a corporate perspective, investment ingood vacation programs reduces workplace stressabsenteeism, health care costs, and accidents.Many employees, however, come back from vacationwith the half-joking remark about having to returnto work to rest up. Far too many people findvacations just as stressful as the jobs they doevery day.Following are fourteen ways company managers cande-stress vacations, increase productivity, improvequality, boost profits, and get the most from thecorporate investment.1. Develop vacation savings plans so employeeswill be financially prepared for this big expense2. Provide continuous counseling for personalfinances, budgeting, and credit issues3. Double check for payroll errors to make sureemployees are not affected by discrepancies whilethey are on vacation4. Distribute job responsibilities to preventemployees' returning to overflowing in-boxes5. Announce job changes after vacations, notbefore6. Provide in-house workshops on vacationplanning7. Negotiate corporate discounts with travelagencies8. Show employees how to research travel planson internet9. On the last day... Read More

MANAGING CRISIS; when you?re too good at it

When you are acclaimed for excellence during times of crisis you may not feel so good in a non-crisis environment. You may not shine so bright, perform so well, be quite so acclaimed. If crisis is how you satisfy your personal need to be needed, to feel accomplished, to be respected, to be heard, to be noticed, blah blah blah, then you will naturally seek out, create, attract, be drawn into situations that will allow you to meet this need. Your environments and relationships will be filled to the brim with one crisis after another. Perhaps there's a better way to get your need met. Perhaps there's a way to feel needed and still exist in peaceful, cooperative, and synergistic environments. It's amazing to watch the content and features of a person's life break apart and rebuild with almost the same irreverent qualities. People change mates but the essence of the relationship is the same. People change jobs and the same complaints... Read More

Spirits in the Corporate Boardroom.......Oh, sure......

There is a growing movement in the spiritual and holistic fields to bring a more metaphysical and human potential approach to the business community. Holism has been intergrating into both the health and mental health professions for many years now. The men's , women's and environmental movements are a part of that holistic shift in awareness. However, business seems locked into an older/ outdated model of operation. I have been exploring, training and researching methods to help business take that 'leap of faith', and try new perspectives and approaches....but it's tough to break into their locked mind set. Even when things are not working out......they can't seem to shift gears. In the last fifteen years or so there have been many large corporate failures. However, then came the 9/11disasters which shook up the United States and impacted on the whole world. While the world must now face the real issue of terrorism, perhaps something positive can come out of the trauma.... Read More

Seeking Help

Where does the time go? Billable time. As a consultant, your practice may be doing reasonably well; you're charging $100-150 an hour. As an independent consultant, you're probably also doing everything from grinding the coffee to editing the umpteenth draft of your brochure.To understand where you spend your time, list and categorize all your activities into clerical, professional and other suitable groups. Calculate how many hours you're spending on each-daily, weekly, monthly, annually. Some you enjoy, some you're really good at, some are a pain in the neck The point is, no one is paying you to do them. The more time you spend on client work, the more you bill. The more you bill, the more money you have available to pay someone else to take care of the stuff you'd rather not do or should not be doing yourself.The time you spend on unbillable tasks makes you a very expensive clerical worker. Keeping the cash to yourself sounds good, until you... Read More

Delegate or Die!

You Can't Do It All - Learning To DelegateThere is not a single management skill more critical to your personal and professional success as an entrepreneur than learning to delegate. But delegating successfully is much more than simply handing out assignments. It is more an exercise in understanding and accepting our own strengths and limitations.In this fast paced world, we must choose what activities it makes sense for us to do ourselves, and what it makes sense to let go of. None of us can be an expert in everything - not because of any lack of intellectual ability, but more because we lack specific exposure or experience. We must learn to accept this fact and be OK with it.How do you fill the gaps in your expertise?Let's consider a real life example. My own areas of expertise lie in business and operational management, understanding people and coaching. This is my business. When I wanted to create a single web-page to market a... Read More

Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types

You probably know this already, but there are generally held to be four main personality types, which I call: Extrovert, Amiable, Analytical and Pragmatic . Let's take a moment to consider each of them in the workplace. Extrovert: someone who probably has a messy desk; who leaves projects 75% completed then gets distracted by new, 'more exciting' projects; someone who communicates their ideas with enthusiasm and charm; makes instant decisions; hates 'paperwork' and the 'dull routines' of life, such as filling in order forms, checking bank statements, etc.; is usually 'fashionably late' to meetings, events and parties (and they love entertaining clients!); always has interesting screen savers. Amiable: someone who is the 'peacemaker' in the office; is always striving for a 'win-win' in everything in life; someone who probably isn't terribly ambitious and striving, but is very happy to support and encourage others who are; someone who cannot say "No" very easily and so are probably on every committee going... Read More

Forget The Sandwich Technique

Do you remember being told to use the "sandwich" technique when you needed to reprimand someone? Let me give you an example:"Fred, I'm really pleased with how you've been progressing since you joined us and you're doing a great job. However you're not getting your reports in on time and we're missing deadlines. I'd like you to tighten up a bit on this. Anyway,thanks for all you've done so far and keep up the good work."Have you ever said something along these lines? You probably needed Fred to sort out his reporting but you didn't want to upset or demoralise him. The only problem is that Fred may not get the message. The importance of it may be seriously diluted.He may hear it as, "Fred, you're doing a brilliant job, you just need to sort out the reporting bit but it's not really that important."What happens then is, Fred continues to fail with his reports.The "sandwich" technique doesn't work, it lets you off... Read More

6 Simple Steps to Dealing with Difficult Managers

The challenge of managing difficult managers can be rather daunting, especially when you inherit them! If they are your own born and bred, then hopefully they would have evolved into great managers!Experience shows that difficult managers are difficult because they are angry and frustrated about something or somebody (even themselves - especially where they are, or have become, a square peg in a round hole of a job), so the steps to take are these:-Always a first is to build great relationships with your people. This involves protected one-to-one time, where they feel valued. Get to know them. 'Getting to know the name of their dog' has a good feel to it! Get them talking about anything and everything that is important to them - this deflects the 'difficult' bit and creates a common place for you to communicate. It also builds all those things like trust and valued-ness etc.Get really clear on standards for all of your managers and get them involved... Read More

Is Your Company in Need of Family Therapy?

How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is a group of people who have an ongoing relationship with one another. Companies have several things in common with families:1. Families have distinct ways of communicating and degrees of togetherness. For example:? Communication may be overt or covert.? Relationships tend to be enmeshed (too close; overly involved) or disengaged (not at all close; uninvolved).? Boundaries may be described as diffuse (extreme togetherness), rigid (extreme separateness), or clear (ideal and appropriate).2. There are unwritten rules which family members or employees must follow in order to survive and thrive in the system. For example, in an organization, the rules might be:? Never call the boss by her first name.? Always be at your desk by 8:00 A.M.? Never eat lunch with a person of lower status.? Don't place any personal items on your desk or credenza.3. Unresolved issues from the past have an effect on current functioning and communication patterns.For example: After an emotional event... Read More

How to Create a Positive Work Atmosphere

Positive versus Negative WorkplacesWe have all worked in places where we grew to dread getting up in the morning, and a few of us have had the pleasure of working for a boss who makes us feel like we can do anything. Let's take a look at the differences between a positive and a negative work environment.Signs of a Negative Work Environment? The boss is unfriendly.? The boss is critical.? There is high employee turnover.? There is low employee morale.? People watch the clock.? People don't get much performance feedback.Signs of a Positive Work Environment? The boss demonstrates interest in the employees.? The boss has an encouraging attitude.? Employees like working there.? There is evidence of company pride and loyalty.? People know where they stand with their supervisors.Thousands of books have been written on the subject of managing and motivating people, and as many training seminars are conducted on this subject around the world every day. And yet it's interesting that even with... Read More

---

Showing 1 - 10 of 1276 Articles
« Previous	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128	Next »

Managing Performance: Don?t Let Slackers Bring Down Your ?A? Players

As a manager, it is your job to ensure that the work gets done effectively. Coaching and discipline are unpleasant tasks. However, it must be a part of your everyday job duties. Here... Read More

Project Management - I Want It ALL

The knee-jerk response to prioritizing requirements is to mark everything as a must-have . "I need everything before the product becomes generally available. I want it ALL!" Give me a break.Granted, if a... Read More

Sharing the Reins: 10 Reasons To Sell Your Company To Your Employees

In 1987 I sold my business, South Mountain Company, to my employees (and myself). My sole proprietorship became an employee-owned cooperative corporation. It was a hinge point in the history of the company.... Read More

The New Five Truths of Employee Motivation

Motivation is a term that is so widely used, yet many managers know little about how it really works. But it doesn't have to be confusing-in fact, it's quite simple. Treat your employees... Read More

Succession Planning? ... Not on My Watch!

At first blush, it would appear there is no shortage of Succession Planning Advocates convinced in theory, the importance and benefits of corporate Succession Planning. In practice, however, real succession planning - or... Read More

The Truth?

The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple. Oscar Wilde The truth. So alluring. So promising. If we only knew the truth, everything else would just fall into place. Sadly,... Read More

Satisfied Employees, A Powerful Marketing Strategy

Even in today's still uncertain economic times, there are companies who are doing extraordinarily well. Why is it that some companies are thriving while others are barely making it? You can always blame... Read More

Preventative Maintenance of Company Delivery Vehicles

If you have company delivery vehicles at your small or medium sized business you should have a preventative maintenance schedule and procedures for employees who are drivers of these vehicles. When discussing preventative... Read More

An Original Perspective on Waging Conflict as a Way to Promote and Restore Self-dignity

Conflict is a fact of life for all of us, but too many painful consequences are generated by avoiding or managing it in the wrong way. When we deal with everybody else day... Read More

How Your Feelings and Those of Your Employees Can Make The Difference

How we feel is really more important than what we know. This is because how we feel plays a bigger role in our behavior than knowing what we should or should not do.... Read More

Don?t Get Down ? Manage Up!

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him." - Aldous HuxleyEver have one of those supervisors that just didn't quite get it?Perhaps... Read More

Basic Management Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little costManager in... Read More

Time Management Tip: Stop Micro-Managing Employees

If I was a fly on the wall what would I hear your employees say? Would it something like this? "They won't allow me to make even the simplest decisions." "The red tape... Read More

Saying One Thing, Doing Another...

This week I was asked to speak at an internal conference for a bank. The subject was how to build a great customer experience. However, the reality was somewhat different to the title.... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Coworker and Caretaker

This article relates to the Coworkers competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a coworker whose performance consistently facilitated effective cooperation, collaboration, and communication between the employees within... Read More

Assessing Managers for International Competence

How do you select staff for international assignments? It's an important question because, no matter how effective and successful your employees may be at home, they cannot be guaranteed the same performance in... Read More

Measure for Measure

Can you imagine playing hockey without a goal? Basketball without hoops and nets? Football without a goal line? Golfing without holes or greens?There may be leagues where it doesn't matter whether anyone is... Read More

Managing Meetings

Plan/prepare - lack of purpose causes aimless meetings. Know why you're there - what the meeting is for.Unnecessary meetings waste time, and regular meetings, e.g. weekly, become habitual/traditional, regardless of need. Only have... Read More

Why Businesses Fail - And What You Can Do About It!

Have you unintentionally set your business up for failure?No one sets out to fail! Most business owners read all the statistics (maybe more than once) before they open their doors. Many know the... Read More

Money, Motivation, Success and Who?

It was 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I was setting up to do the opening keynote for the conference. For some reason--I have no idea why--the sound man thought his ten year... Read More

Performance Appraisal - Ten Stupid Things Managers Do To Screw It Up

Performance appraisals aren't fun. But a lot of the time they are agonizing because managers do really dumb things, ending up destroying a process that is important to everyone (or should be). Appraisals... Read More

Communication: Managements Responsibility

I've just watched, again, an episode in the Back to the Floor television series, which aired on the BBC (United Kingdom) and PBS (United States). Once more, communication turned out to be a... Read More

Top 5 Services Your Company?s Accounting Department Should Outsource

Accounting is one area which every company has to maintain but mostly not part of their core business. It is also one of the areas that keep changing every year and the company... Read More

Turbo Charge Your Career With The Most Powerful Leadership Tool Of All: The Leadership Talk Part 3

To develop and deliver a great Leadership Talk, you must understand that every Talk has three important parts. (1) Audience Needs. (2) Strong Belief. (3) Action.(1) Audience needs: The first step in putting... Read More

Business Knowledge Management

In the last few years a lot has been written about Business Process Management, and about technologies supporting it such as BPMS, SOAP and Web Services. Most of these theories, tools and techniques... Read More

To Outsource or Not to Outsource

In these days of restricted head count and tight budgets, the question of whether to outsource or hire in-house staff is more critical than ever. The technical publications function, however vital, is undergoing... Read More

Leadership in Troubled Times

Leadership in Troubled Times The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive. - Joe Batten Leading an organization can be challenging, even when... Read More

Cultural Awareness - an HR Perspective

The use of cultural awareness training has increased rapidly in the majority of global companies over the last decade.My experience working in global companies in which effective cross-cultural functioning was critical, involved the... Read More

Saying ?No? Gracefully to Customers and Colleagues

Envision the scenario: You've just been asked at the last minute by Chris, the organizer of your local networking group, to replace the scheduled speaker at next month's meeting. You already have too... Read More