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Click here and go to this terrific webpage for health & safety instructions.

Many managers think that, by providing staff with basic instruction in safety in the working environment, they have all the experience needed to prevent an emergency. The truth is that, regardless of the industry you’re in, employees must have more than the basics in health & safety legislation. You must provide your employees with an enthusiastic supervisor, not to mention equip them properly and give them the opportunity to practice. Each team needs a capable supervisor to watch the shop floor, yet this individual also needs to perform another purpose on the floor. Whomever you choose as the supervisor requires good people skills and see health & safety training as great.

On top of ensuring conformity with health & safety regulations, a supervisory role also often includes checking up on staff performance. This isn’t a simple job. Good business knowledge is an essential in a supervisory job not to mention an in-depth experience with the safety regulations, the identification of problem areas, and CPR. It simply is not adequate to provide your employees with health & safety training. To successfully discover a hazard they need practise. Employees need to understand how to eradicate hazards as well as understanding what to do if anything unforeseen happens. Employees are only completely prepared when everything has become routine. Proper safety apparatus is every bit as essential to the safety of your employees as any training. Without the proper apparatus or alternatively should they see that supplies are not working correctly only after an emergency has happened, then all the education available won’t help them.

Regular maintanence of your apparatus is fundamental. If anything will not meet the applicable legislation, be certain to have it repaired quickly and put it back in the appropriate place.

Your staff have to receive the right health & safety training, but in addition they also must have the correct gear, scheduled practise drills, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. When you implement these steps you should find health & safety legislation will soon become part of everyone’s working habits not something challenging that staff have to try to remember constantly.

It’s felt in more than a few companies that, if all of their employees have enough health & safety instruction, they are suitably equipped to manage any situation. The truth is however, employees require far more than a basic education in health & safety legislation. You must supply your employees with an enthusiastic supervisor, the right equipment, and regular practice.

Each team needs a capable supervisor to observe the work area, but this individual must also fulfill a still greater purpose. The supervisor you pick out must understand the necessity of health & safety education and be able to share their enthusiasm. As well as insuring conformity with health & safety regulations, a supervisor’s job also includes overseeing employee performance levels. This is a difficult job. The supervisor must possess an in-depth understanding of the industry best practice and the product in addition to a high level of knowledge of safety regulations, risk assessment, and emergency assistance techniques. Just supplying health & safety training isn’t enough for your employees. Your staff have to have practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of problem areas. Employees need to know the best way of dealing with hazards and also how to cope if anything unexpected happens. Not until these processes have developed into a habit are employees completely protected. Proper safety equipment is every bit as vital to the well-being of your staff as the training itself. If they don’t have equipment that is necessary, or even find out that they’re damaged in a crisis, the education they have already taken will have been in vain. It is crucial to examine each item on a regular basis to verify that all the essential apparatus is there and also that all the supplies are being properly looked after. When anything doesn’t come up to the pertinent legislation, be sure to have it fixed ASAP and put it back in the appropriate location.

The right health & safety education is essential for the safety of your workers, however they require the right gear, regular practise sessions, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. If you put these ideas into practice you should find all the safety regulations before long become a natural part of life in the workplace and no longer an inconvenience for staff to remember.

In today’s high-speed business world, there is no time to squander on ineffective procedure or extra tasks that drain time and energy. Yet a large amount of valuable time falls through the cracks while verifying potential new hire information. Now there is a system accessible that can take a typically time consuming task and turn it into an expedient and accurate process. Employment Verification used to take weeks or months depending on contact info provided and means of communication available to human resources. Improvements in technology have allowed for this system to be simplified resulting in the process taking less time and the new hire information to be verified expeditiously. So, how simple, accurate and secure could this new process be? Very simple, accurate and secure. In fact, the following is an overview of this process and how it can help streamline your current new hire employment verification procedure.

Phone inquiries for employment verification usually begins with a call to the Human Resources department of a previous employer. You then have to wait for the representative to look up and recover the information regarding the likely employee. Then, depending on the state in which you are based, asking and answering employment questions allowed by law. Considering the possibility of multiple employment records that need verification per each new hire, this could snowball into hours of wasted time. The idea of paying a highly compensated employee to perform crude tasks such as this is not efficient or economical. It is highly recommended that this procedure be outsourced to a company that specializes in employment verifications.

Any business can go online and employ other links that can help to find other companies who perform different kind of background checks for a fee. Additionally, these links will allow you to choose by the particular location of your company. Many companies such as schools and school bus transportation will find links for many of the thorough background checks that are needed in order to protect our children from harm. As the Human Resource representative has many particular jobs to perform, it is wise to dedicate their time to more serious matters than employee verifications of work history. This will eradicate the need to store private employee histories in an precarious file cabinet.

Competent people management techniques are critical in achieving the best in your business success. People management can be improved and studied. Having a natural skill for dealing with people and forging relationships is an advantage, but you can do some things that will help the process. Build relationships: Remembering staff by name should be a great beginning. Engage in conversation; get eye contact as you’re talking. Show respect, in addition be attentive to the other person’s point of view, even if you disagree or have another opinion. Acquiring the ability to listen is one of the most important things you may do to develop your people management skills. Encourage any contributions from your co-workers.

Show integrity: Do not make promises you will not fulfill. When your word is not kept, it can ruin trust, and if they don’t trust you employees will not offer their best. When you make a commitment or make a promise about something, you are wasting your time and effort unless you keep your promises. The truth is, when your people can’t depend on your word, they will not be there when you really need them. Feedback is important: It’s a two-way street. People management skills mean keeping an open mind to all feedback. Being approachable and open demonstrates that your co-worker’s ideas are important to you, and they should listen to your opinions. Open discussion in addition encourages fresh ways of thinking, ways of fulfilling the mission of the team, and develops the bonds of an excellent team. If your team can express themselves, the project and its results will become important to each team member. Communication is essential: Managing your team comes down to the same thing - communication. Be accessible, utilize good listening techniques, retain an open mind, and permit team members a chance to express their opinions. Staff must be inspired to speak to one another as well as with you. The sharing of thoughts is important in the creative process, if the employees communicate openly, it’s easy to spot problems at an early stage, and corrections can be implemented before things get out of hand.

This can require some effort, nevertheless the rewards are worth it. By building the bonds of a good team and demonstrating effective listening techniques, a flourishing business can be yours.

Many of us go into business with unbounded enthusiasm, fervent passion and great ideas only to have ‘people issues’ confront us sometime, somewhere down the track, assertions of unfair dismissal being one.

These ‘people issues’ always seem to raise their ugly heads when we least need the accompanying grief. After all we are in business for lifestyle and enjoying the journey and this wasn’t part of the deal.

Being regarded as the softer skill’s employee relations is usually placed on the back burner and considered a waste of effort and certainly not an investment and almost like well ‘throwing money down the dunny’.

Thud!!! We are often bought back down to reality when we are required to roll up our sleeves and enter the fray of employee relations when something goes wrong and often when the issues have progressed to the critical and emotional stage where it is harder to resolve.

In my day to day practice I regularly counter business owners who tell me that ‘it will never happen to me’, ‘you don’t know my people’ only to receive a call several months later asking if I could assist them.

Mr. / Ms. NOT ME is a frequent visitor to business today, as employees become more street savvy and ‘take the boss on’.

For starters we can get our employment practices in order and ensure that we are investing in the success of our business….people.

Products, Services - great, but people represent who you are and what you stand for and have an amazing capacity to make or break your business or cost you considerable time and money down the track.

START HOW YOU INTEND TO FINISH - SOLID FOUNDATIONS!

There is a parable about a person who built their house upon rock and the rain and storms came but the house stood. Another built their house upon sand and the rain and the storms came and the house fell to ruins.

We need to recognise that we must build our business (house) upon rock and not sand, principles and not preferences, be responsible not blame and take the initiative and not have it imposed upon us by others.

1. INDUCTION

When the employee begins with you introduce them to the workplace environment, work colleagues and custom and practices of your business.

Have an Induction Checklist Form that contains key employee and employer responsibilities and rights and walk the employee through the responsibilities and rights prior to them commencing. Ask them questions, do they have any concerns, have they understood? If so ask them to sign the Induction Checklist confirming they will comply with the responsibilities and rights and have had the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification.

This process goes a long way towards minimising misunderstanding and at a later date if the employee becomes forgetful show them the induction sign-off.

2. ROLE DESCRIPTIONS

Role Descriptions simply set out the Role of the employee within your business and the Job details for their particular position. It must contain core skills and competencies required for the employee to discharge their duties competently.

Employees who fail to demonstrate these skills and competencies can be performance managed through guidance and training and in certain instances where appropriate, have their employment terminated. In this way you effectively manage your employees.

The area of Role descriptions is one that is severely lacking in most businesses today and is a major reason why many employees are successful in their claim for an unfair dismissal.

3. EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

The employment contract sets out the conditions of employment, rights and responsibilities of the parties and the boundaries in which you will conduct your relationship.

This becomes the legal and binding contract between you and your employees / contractors.

You should not put together an employment contract or have it altered by someone who is not trained in the nuances of Employment Law.

The employment contract should to be specific regarding a variety of employment policies and procedures.

Remember: What is out in the open and clear can be measured and not easily misunderstood.

Common Employment Contract Clauses should include; position type (permanent, casual), hours of work, overtime arrangements, applicable award, payroll, remuneration package, annual, sickness and long service leave if applicable, superannuation, code of conduct. grievance procedures, termination (voluntary and summary dismissal) procedures, discrimination and harassment policy, induction policy, performance management process, confidentiality, electronic e-mail and computer user policies including private usage. This list is not exclusive of other relevant industry policies but is provided as a general guide only.

4. EMPLOYEE HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY & PROCEDURES MANUAL

This Manual is critical for your business. It openly lays out accepted and approved business policies and procedures by which you govern your business. It should include your Business Mission, Vision, Procedures and Policies. Policies include employee benefits, leave, discrimination, harassment, retirement, personal safety, employee and employer responsibilities, workplace health & safety, grievances, termination, and other clauses outlaid in more detail and should conclude with an employer and employee sign-off clause.

The sign off process is important part of minimising your business risk in that it confirms the employee has had the opportunity to ask questions clarify concerns and signs that they will comply with these processes and procedures.

By now you should be getting the picture that nothing is left to chance and is progressively signed off so that there is a clear understanding for all parties to work within.

5. EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Biz Momentum recommends that all employees are performance appraised semi-annually.

This process is one which employers find the most difficult and is often left to a tick and flick system or a general chat.

In this day and age it is vital that you take time out and learn how to performance manage people. Employees who perform well deserve rewarding and employees who have diminished performance require performance counselling.

In the event of diminished performance being able to demonstrate that you have gone through due process and procedures will greatly minimise your risk of financial compensation on an unfair dismissal charge.

Remember: What’s measured gets done.

Your performance appraisal system should be designed to encourage open dialogue between you and your employee/s and to effectively ‘nip conflict in the bud’ before it potentially gets out of hand.

6. TRAINING

In an age of discontinuous change we need to take time out ourselves and keep abreast of changes in all areas of business. This is especially true of employee relation. Changes are occurring rapidly as the dynamics of the workplace change in response to environmental, financial, industry, government and other triggers

Subscribe to periodicals, develop peers relationships that are mutually beneficial and take time to be updated.

Remember: Ensure that you, the head wag the dog and not the tail.

7. CONCLUSION

By taking time to incrementally introduce sensible and practical employee policies and procedures you are able to minimise your people risk and ensure that they work with you and not against you.

Remember: Take the time or do the crime.

For more information visit www.biz-momentum.com

Philip Lye is the founder of Biz Momentum providng small to medium enterprises with strategic human resource management, workplace health and safety consultation and business management advice. Biz Momentum is based in Brisbane Australia and operates nationally.

Visit http://www.biz-momentum.com for other helpful articles. Drop by and say hello and email us your feedback.

HERE ARE SOME KEY CRITERIA TO CONSIDER:

WHAT IS YOUR OBJECTIVE?
Do you have specific difficult quality issues that must be resolved? Do you have a pressing need for general overall company operating improvements? Or, are you just looking for a means to force improvement into the organization?
Alternatives: Six Sigma is a powerful tool, specifically designed to resolve complex quality problems. It is NOT, however, designed to address overall operating performance issues. Lean Manufacturing, on the other hand, is an all-encompassing philosophy designed to address overall process improvement. It is a comprehensive philosophy and process with a cadre of underlying techniques.

SPEED OF RESULTS NEEDED?
How urgent is your requirement? Is this initiative a leisurely “nice to have” or is there a pressing need for quick, substantial results?
Alternatives: Six Sigma is a thorough, rigorous process. It entails a considerable amount of front-end training before any meaningful work can begin. Lean Manufacturing, when correctly applied, can begin generating large results almost immediately.

CAN WE DO BOTH?
Can we effectively transition to both Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma simultaneously?

Discussion: To transition to a Lean environment requires a huge commitment, and focus, from the top. Lean is, in most companies, initially a foreign philosophy. The transition typically requires a culture change and a substantial commitment. This is also true of a full blown Six Sigma implementation. Attempting to do both, simultaneously, will almost always result in neither philosophy being done very well. In addition, the underlying philosophies can cause some conflict if attempted simultaneously. An effective Lean transition has an element of “Just Do It” i.e. reduce the inventory and fix the problems that arise. Conversely, the classical Six Sigma implementation is rigid and rigorous.

WHICH TO DO FIRST?
If it doesn’t make sense to attempt to do both simultaneously, is there a reason why one should be done before another?
Alternatives: Lean is an overall operating philosophy that drives the waste out of the system. The Lean process will expose problems of all sorts. In the Lean “tool kit” are a host of techniques that are utilized to resolve the exposed problems. One such technique is Six Sigma. The Lean toolkit also contains other quality improvement techniques such as Sequential Inspection, Failsafe, Source Inspection, etc.

Bottom Line: If your process is already operating Lean, and you are now facing isolated difficult quality and/or process control issues, then a Six Sigma implementation would likely be appropriate and beneficial. If, however, your company is still operating in a traditional mode, doing Lean first will almost always generate much more meaningful and timely results.

SYNOPSIS

Six Sigma is a powerful tool when applied to appropriate quality and process control issues. It is NOT, however, an overall enterprise improvement methodology. The Lean Manufacturing transition process can be used to generate cash and overall global process improvements. Six Sigma methods should be then utilized, where appropriate, to resolve specific process quality / reliability issues.

Jack Harrison has been helping companies implement Lean Manufacturing for more than 18 years.

Jack and his team have helped companies remove more than $1 Billion in inventory and helped create industry leaders.

http://www.handsongroup.com
jbharrison@aol.com
407-299-5245

In challenging times, sometimes your boss’s behavior becomes erratic. She may overmanage or undermanage you and your work. She may lose sight of all the things you are working on. You may not be sure what your boss’s priorities are; they change daily.

The costs associated with this business malady are many including: missed deadlines and opportunities, working on unimportant tasks, avoidance, frustration, the appearance of incompetence, stress, and burnout.

What can you do? You have three options:

Option #1: Get in Front

Take time to understand your boss’s:

• Goals: What are his aspirations? How can you help him achieve them?

• Problems: What common problems prevent your boss from being more effective? Are any of your boss’s problems your strengths? Can you take responsibility for meetings, communication, planning, follow-up, etc?

• World: Describe the world from your boss’s perspective. Who are the players?

• Pressures: What pressures are placed on your boss? How might these pressures affect him? How might they affect priorities? How might they affect your job?

• Boss: What kind of a boss does your boss work for? How might this affect your boss?

Proactively approach your boss with a way you can help solve one of his or her problems.

Option #2: Get in Back

Recognize that your boss is in his position because of past successes and demonstrated competence.

Check your attitude. Are you supportive? Or do you complain?

Check your ego. Do you really have a difficult/incompetent boss? Or does your boss have difficult/incompetent employees?

Show support and encouragement.

Be specific in your positive reinforcement.

Always provide constructive feedback in person and in private.

Recognize that your relationship with your current boss is critical to your future success.

Option #3: Get Alongside

Understand and work with your boss’s style:

• Give the “doer” boss results and don’t waste time.

• Support the “speaker” boss’s intuition and need for recognition; provide assurance.

• Accommodate the “listener” boss’s need to talk things out before getting to business.

• Present the “thinker” boss with logic and detail.

Recognize that your relationship with your boss is a relationship of mutual dependence by two human beings with strengths and weaknesses. Get to know your boss’s and get to know yours.

If your boss comes to you with a crisis, remain calm and collect pertinent information: what is really wanted? By whom? By when? How will it be used?

Communicate what you are doing, especially information that may impact your boss (customer problems, project slippage, etc.) Your boss should NEVER be caught by surprise resulting from your failure to communicate.

When raising problems, come with alternative solutions and your recommendation already identified.

Always be honest and dependable.

Be the employee that you would want your employees to be. Model the behavior YOU would expect from YOUR employees.

Terence R. Traut is the president of Entelechy, Inc., a company that helps organizations unlock the potential of their people through customized training programs in the areas of sales, management, customer service, and training. Terence can be reached at 603-424-1237 or ttraut@unlockit.com. Check out Entelechy’s website at www.unlockit.com.

Terence R. Traut is the president of Entelechy, Inc., a company that helps organizations unlock the potential of their people through customized training programs in the areas of sales, management, customer service, and training. Terence can be reached at 603-424-1237 or ttraut@unlockit.com.

Has this ever happened to you? You go to speak to your boss, or
a colleague, a friend or even someone in your family and you
feel they’re not listening. How does that make you feel - not
very good I suspect.

When I bring this up in a team motivation seminar, some managers
start to feel a litle bit uncomfortable.

If you want to motivate and have a good relationship with the
people in your team, your customers, colleagues, friends and
family, then you need to be a good listener.

You need to look and sound like you’re listening. When face to
face you need to look interested, nod your head and keep good
eye contact. Over the phone you need to make the occasional -
“Uh-Huh - I see.”

I’ve seen managers, when faced with a problem from a team
member, start to do something else, like work on the computer.
I’ve also heard managers say - “It’s okay, I can do two things
at once, I can listen to you and work on the computer.”

Maybe you can, but the message your team member gets is - “My
problem isn’t that important, my manager just isn’t interested.”

When you’re spending time with people you need to give them your
full attention. You need to look them in the eye, concentrate on
them and make them feel that what they say is important and
deserves your attention.

As well as looking interested in your team member’s or your
customer’s problem, it’s a good idea to write it down. I’ve
fallen into the trap of thinking - “I’ll remember that when I
get back to the office and I’ll check on it.” However, one
person I was with said - “You wont do anything about what I’ve
said Alan because you wont remember it.” From that point on I
wrote things down. It’s also a good idea to paraphrase - to
repeat back what the person has said to ensure your
understanding and let them know you’ve been listening.

It may seem like a simple thing but it’s very important to use
names. You could say in response to a problem from a team member
- “I’ll speak to the accounts department about that.”

Its far better to say - “I’ll speak to the accounts department
about that Susan, thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
That’s a much better way for a motivating manager to act.

A person’s name is one of the warmest sounds they hear. It says
- “I recognise you as an individual.” However, don’t overdo it
as it may come across as patronising.

So just some food for thought - many people believe that to be a
good motivator you need to be a good speaker when in fact - you
need to be a great listener.

Did you know that at one time in this country that there were no fixed prices on anything. You would go into a store and find an item you needed then you would begin the process of negotiating the price. This might seem foreign to us today, but it use to be the rule. In a later article I’ll talk more about the history of price negotiation in this country, but today I want to give you some pointers about how to negotiate well.

To begin with you can negotiate the price on just about any item today. You would be surprised at just how many stores will gladly talk to you about a price reduction, but before we get to the techniques of negotiation,we need to remember some simple rules of negotiation.

First never negotiate the price of an item that you do not intend on buying. It is unfair to the seller and to other shoppers who are serious about a purchase. Secondly, be reasonable and not greedy. The seller needs to make a profit to stay in business so don’t make outrageous price reduction demands. He will be easier to work with if he believes that you are being fair and not just trying to cheat him. Thirdly, please be patient and courteous at all times. Remember that your goal is to get the best deal you can, so go slow enough that the seller believes that you really care about the item in question.

Now on to the techniques of negotiating. If you take my advice and go slow, this part will be much earier. Ask the seller about the item and let him tell you what he knows. Show genuine interest in the item and if you are not all that interested after he has told you about it, then thank him for his time and dismiss yourself. Most sellers will appreciate this approach more than an abrupt exit and also remember to always ask for some type of card so you can be sure of who you talked to should you want to see the item again. If after he has shown you the item and you are still interested, then clarify the asking price.

Occasionally the seller will allow for a modest discount with as simple a request as “Is that the lowest that you can go” on your part. If the seller offers a price reduction and it is suitable to you, then complete the transaction and leave. Should the seller need for someone else to approve a price reduction, then wait patiently for them to arrive.

Do not appear to be impatient or irritated. When the person arrives who can give you a price reduction, be sure to immediately thank them for taking their time to help you. Ask them about the item and remember they are not aware of what you have discussed with the other person. So do not assume they are aware of what you are requesting. Do not use complaints as the basis of your request and use the same approach as you did with the other person. If a price can be agreed to, then you leave happy and they have made a sale.

But let’s say that you are unable to get the reduction you desire, then thank them for their help and ask if the item may be available at a lower price in the future. This lets them know that you are interested in the item and not just trying to get something for nothing. Finally remember that not all attempts will be successful and you do not have to get a reduction on everything you buy. So pick your items carefully and be consistent. You’ll be surprised at just how many things can be purchased for a reduced price. I hope you the best of luck in the future as you use these simple rules.

P.S. I’ve used them and they do work, Steve.

Steve Havard is the owner of Havard Printing and is currently writing several books. Steve writes about a wide range of subjects from religion, to computers. He can be reached at havardprinting@hotmail.com or you can view his website at http://havardprinting.netfirms.com.

An appointment is simply a mutual agreement to meet with someone at a specific time.

You set appointments with doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, contractors and hair stylists, just to name a few. Usually, appointments that are set actually take place. Even when you do have to cancel an appointment, you usually re-schedule it and place the date and time on your calendar.

There’s one person, though, that you might frequently forget to set up an appointment with.

That person is YOU.

The reason that many of us can’t seem to find time to enjoy ourselves, read something of interest, exercise or watch a favorite television program is that we don’t schedule a definite date and time to do so. You are too important to put the things you love to do on the backburner.

Why not schedule an appointment with yourself and write it on your calendar. When the time comes, keep the appointment, just as you would any other.

You’ll find that you’ll be able to start doing the things you love to do because you’ll have a specific time slot on your calendar prepared to give you that time.

About The Author

Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now! http://www.getorganizednow.com

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