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The state of the economy demands that it’s easiest to boost profits by examining costs, rather than by generating more income. One asset often overlooked, however, is superior business performance management software.

While we all know that getting the most out of your company necessitates knowing where your staff perform most strongly, and knowing how to tailor your procedures to match. Discovering and making this information ready to use is often where things can become challenging. To take just one aspect of this — employee performance, for instance — determining progress and being able to track it is a significant hassle. First of all, you use employee performance appraisal reviews to assess and track all work performed by each employee. If this was done with established methods, you will need to examine all of that data manually just to set objectives, and measure future advancement.

Using performance management software, you can just look at the different metrics to determine the ideal goals and subsequently follow the member of staff’s development. In this way you ease a significant demand on your time and probably also find yourself with more accurate information into the bargain. Of course, you can look at all of the data yourself and use the process only to collate and record everything. I’m sure I don’t need to say, it isn’t employee effieciency alone that you can improve by advice from performance management software. You can also use the software to examine your suppliers and clients. Identifying which suppliers offer the best quality and best priced products can be a great boon. Turning our attention to affiliates, clients, and retailers, it’s possible to determine who who is your best seller of any given product or service if there are payment issues, which one experiences the highest loss percentage, and the answers to other questions. Having this information means you can customize your system of orders and supplies to boost income and cut expenses. As well as all this, it’ll be less trouble to plan marketing campaigns because you’ll have a clear view of your ideal demographic. You can study your sources in order to minimize costs and keep up with your target market to maximize profit employing performance management software. In addition it smoothes out the employee performance review and aids you in setting clearly outlined targets for your workers significantly. It seems the sky really is the limit when using performance management software.

Success in business depends heavily on the competent management of staff. With a little effort you may succeed in developing these techniques. Having a innate skill for communicating with people and forging relationships is an advantage, however you can do numerous things to help the process.

Developing relationships: Remembering people by name is a beginning. Talk to staff; look employees in the eye during a conversation. Show respect, also listen to everything the other person has to say, irrespective of whether you are in agreement with them. Paying attention to everything employees say is one of the most important human resources management skills in your arsenal. Be sure to encourage any contributions from team members.

Live up to your word: Keeping your promises is crucial. When your word is not kept, it can destroy trust, and people won’t give you their best efforts if they do not trust you. When you say something or give a promise, make sure that you can keep your promises or don’t bother giving your word at all. You’ll discover, if your people can’t count on your word, you can be certain they will behave in a similar fashion. Feedback is essential: It’s a two-way street. Having an open mind regarding other’s opinions is very important in managing employees. Being approachable and receptive establishes that you respect other people’s opinions, and they should respect yours. Encouraging open conversation in addition opens doors to original ways of thinking, innovative ways of fulfilling the goals of the team, and develops the company dynamic. By allowing the team to voice their ideas, each member of staff takes ownership of the project’s outcome. Encourage communication: Good communication is fundamental to managing individuals with skill. Be approachable, use good listening techniques, remember to welcome employees to share ideas, and permit all your staff to express themselves. Encourage staff not just to speak with you, but also to speak to each other. The growth of a business depends to a great extent on the interchange of ideas, and through listening to one another, it becomes easy to find issues before they could become problems, allowing corrective measures to be implemented to prevent further problems. This may require time, even so the rewards are worthwhile. Through building the bonds of a good team and developing effective listening skills, a flourishing business will be yours.

It’s felt in a lot of companies that, by supplying staff with training in safety in the working environment, they are suitably equipped to deal with a catastrophe. In reality however, a basic education in health and safety regulatory affairs just is not enough. You need to supply your staff with a capable supervisor, the proper equipment, and last but not least regular practice. Every team must have a capable supervisor to keep an eye on the shop floor, yet this person also needs to perform a still greater role. Your selection of supervisor needs to be a skilled communicator, they should also believe that training is crucial. As well as insuring compliance with health and safety legislation, the role of a supervisor includes maintaining employee performance levels as well. Naturally it isn’t easy to do all this at once. Extensive industry knowledge is a requirement in a supervisory job as well as an in depth understanding of the safety regulations, the identification of risks, and emergency assistance techniques. Simply having basic training in health and safety is not adequate for your staff. To successfully spot a problem area they need to put their knowledge to the test. Employees also need insights into the necessary precautions that they must to take as well as how to manage if the worst happens. Only when these processes become routine are employees properly trained. Proper safety apparatus is equally as critical to the your workers’ safety as any training. Without the right equipment or should employees discover that items are not working properly in a crisis, the education your staff have undergone will have been essentially useless.

You have to plan regular inspections to ascertain if you have all the necessary gear and to ensure it’s functioning properly as well. If piece of equipment will not meet the relevant legislation, make sure it is fixed or serviced as a matter of urgency. Your employees need to receive the right health & safety education, however they also must have decent apparatus, the opportunity to practise, and an experienced supervisor who can get everyone charged up about being safe at work. Only then will abiding by health and safety legislation will be part of everyone’s working habits and no longer something everyone has to try to think about all the time.

Nowadays some businesses think that, if each and every employee has the necessary level of health and safety instruction, they are well prepared for a catastrophe. The truth of the matter is that, regardless your industry, an education in safety regulations and risk asessment just isn’t adequate. You need to supply your employees with a great supervisor, not to mention provide the right safety gear and give them the chance to practice.

Your staff need an effective supervisor to watch over staff performance, but this individual also needs to perform an even more important role on the floor. Whomever you choose as the supervisor needs to be a skilled communicator and additionally see health and safety training as crucial.

As well as enforcing all of the rules and regulations, the role of a supervisor also includes maintaining staff efficiency. Of course it isn’t easy to do all this at once. The supervisor is advised to possess an extensive understanding of the industry best practice and the product in addition to an in depth comprehension of current legislation regarding safety, risk assessment and CPR.

Simply having basic training in health and safety isn’t adequate for your employees. To successfully discover a hazard they require to put their newly accquired knowledge into practise. Staff must understand how to eradicate hazards not to mention how best to manage when the worst happens. Not until these processes have become second nature are staff completely protected.

Safety equipment is equally as important to the well-being of your staff as any training. If they don’t have the appropriate apparatus or alternatively should workers see that items are broken when they actually need them, all the training available will not help them. Maintaining your equipment on a regular basis is essential. If an item doesn’t come up to the applicable legislation, be sure to get it sorted out as soon as is feasible and returned to the proper location.

Proper health and safety education is important for the health of your personnel, but they require the proper apparatus, the chance to practise, and a knowledgeable supervisor who gets staff charged up about working safely. If you implement these steps you will find that all the safety regulations soon become established in the culture of your business and no longer something challenging everyone has to make an effort to think about constantly.

Nowadays many human resource managers think that, by providing staff with training in health & safety, they are suitably prepared for an incident. The truth is though, employees must have far more than simply the basics in safety regulations and risk assessment. Equipping your workers, selecting good supervision and supporting regular practise are all important factors.

An individual in a supervisory job has an even greater purpose to carry out than just general supervision. Your choice of supervisor must be a skilled communicator and also consider safety education great. In addition to following all of the rules and laws, the supervisor must furthermore check that employees perform every task well. This is a tough role. A competent supervisor is advised to possess excellent knowledge of both the industry and production not to mention a very high level of comprehension of safety legislation, the identification of hazards, and emergency assistance techniques. Just supplying health & safety training is not enough for your staff. Your employees must get practical experience of risk assessment and the identification of hazards. Employees must know the best way of dealing with hazards and knowing what to do if disaster strikes. Your workers are only protected when everything they have learned has become automatic. Good safety gear is equally as vital to the your workers’ well being as training. If they don’t have items they require, or determine that they’re not functioning properly when they are required, then all the education available will not help them. You need to check every item often to verify that all the required equipment is where it should be as well as checking that it’s all in a good state of repair. If you find something is in less than perfect condition, get it repaired or serviced as soon as you can.

Your workers must receive the right health & safety training, however they need the proper equipment, the opportunity to practise, and a supervisor with the sort of enthusiasm that is infectious. And then observing the various safety regulations become established in the culture of your business rather than an inconvenience everyone has to make an effort to remember constantly.

If you work from home, chances are you already know that you’re really pulling “double duty”. You probably work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner… and let’s not forget all the phone calls from family and friends expecting you to run errands or just “go out” for an afternoon of fun.

One of the hardest parts of running a home business is separating your work from your family and social life. Here are six proven ways to keep your home life running smoothly while keeping your business on track.

1. First, create a work schedule and stick with it. It may be tempting to answer personal calls during the day or take business calls after-hours, but doing this actually shows that you’re expendable - not dependable - and people will take for granted that you’ll “always be there” for any little things that come up. Even though family comes first, stay true to your business hours and resist the urge to chat with friends or pick up groceries during working hours.

2. Your friends may consider “working from home” an invitation to chat during the day or just go out for coffee or shopping for an afternoon. Make it clear that your business hours are just that - for business. Leave personal calls for after-hours, and you’ll find that your friends will gradually accept your schedule without feeling slighted.

3. Just because you have to set up a work schedule, doesn’t mean that you have to keep the same hours as everyone else. One of the benefits of working for yourself is setting your own hours to fit your most productive times. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, you’ll find that you’ll get much more done when you’re attuned to your body’s own natural rhythms. Some people work in the morning, take a break in the afternoon when the kids are home from school, and work again in the evening. Schedule your work time when you feel the most productive and you’ll find that things get done easier, faster and better than when you were dragging along during those same rigid work hours that everyone else has.

4. If getting after-hours business calls or work day personal calls is a problem, it helps to have a separate business phone line, or at least an answering machine or voice mail, to take the incoming calls. This also gives your business a more professional appearance to clients than if you and your family make and receive calls from the same phone line.

5. If at all possible, try to separate your “home office” from the rest of your home. If you don’t have the luxury of a separate room, a room partition or screen can be just as helpful. This also serves as a visual cue to family that you’re working and shouldn’t be bothered.

6. Dress and act professionally while working. Some people find it helpful to dress in casual business attire during their working hours. This reinforces that just because you’re working from home doesn’t make you any less of a professional. Answer the phone with your name, or business name, and keep your children off the phone during business hours. Also, spend money investing in the tools you need to do your job right. A cell phone, fax machine or even a budget computer can help turn your home office into a true workspace.

If you follow all of these tips and stick with them, chances are you’ll find a routine that not only makes you feel productive and active in your business, but also projects the message that you mean business - literally!

Article written by Edward Charkow. Ed recommends that you take a look at http://www.biz-help.info for more business advice.

1. Let people know what you expect. If people know what’s expected of them, that’s what they’ll do–if they don’t know what’s expected, they’ll do something else. Communicate clear and unambiguous performance expectations and hold people accountable for their achievement.

2. Be a systems thinker. Remind people of their interconnectedness and that something happening in one area affects all other areas. If people know how what they do impacts on others, they’ll try harder to do it well.

3. Keep people informed. Don’t assume that others can read your mind. If there’s something going on, let them in on it. Without information people invent it and the human tendency is to think the worst. A well-timed word can prevent a lot of worry.

4. Let people “own” their jobs. Remember your first car and how you felt about owning it and how hard you worked to keep it clean and in good running order? Well the same hold true for people’s jobs. If people feel ownership of their job, the harder they will try to take care of it and do it well.

5. Establish a feedback culture. Things go wrong probably no more than five or ten percent of the time yet we spend ninety percent of our time belabouring those few things. We probably only spend ten percent of our energy talking about the ninety percent of things that are done well. Spending more time providing feedback about the positive outcomes makes it easier to talk to people about those that are negative. Passing on a good word about someone or providing deserved praise or recognition doesn’t diminish you in any way. It doesn’t take any light from your candle to light someone else’s. Feedback truly is the breakfast of champions and people who feel like champions act like champions.

6. Share your power. Invariably when I ask people in my training sessions who has power in the room they point to me. To an extent that’s true. I do have power but only if the group gives it to me. When we’re given power, there is an expectation that we will use it responsibly. People who use power responsibly shun manipulation and intimidation and focus on what they can give to others rather than on what they can get. They share their power, giving others the opportunity to influence events and situations. And, like the biblical direction about “casting your bread upon the waters,” the return is a thousand fold. Those with whom the power is shared give it back in greater measure and the mutual ability to influence is enhanced. Simply put, power shared is power gained.

7. The coach, not the players get fired. When a sports team performs poorly, the coach is fired, not the players. And the players, not the general manager, fire the coach. How does all of this work? Quite simply, the coach fails to provide the conditions that motivate players to maximize their performance and, as a result, they play just hard enough to keep their jobs. “Spoiled athletes,” you might say. “The money they make should be enough to motivate them!” Which leads to eighth key:

8. Money only keeps them coming back. Take it away and they won’t come at all but more of it will do nothing to make them work or play harder.

9. Treat your people like volunteers. Have you ever noticed how hard volunteers’ work, how dedicated most of them are, how much time they give to their volunteer organizations? Why is that? Well mostly because others recognize and appreciate their skills. Often volunteers are given important jobs that carry large responsibility. Recognition and opportunity are what drive volunteers. Treat the people who work with you like volunteers and the results will amaze you.

10. And finally, remember that happens while you’re there doesn’t matter–it’s what happens when you’re not there that counts.

© Dr. Tom Olson 2004, all rights reserved Permission to reprint article granted as long as this signature remains intact.

About The Author

Dr. Tom Olson is the author of Don’t Die With Your helmet On. Visit www.Dontdiewithyourhelmeton.com for more information about Dr. Tom, the book and his work.

onfo@dontdiewithyourhelmeton.com

One of the easiest ways to drive prospective clients and customers to your business is to become the expert in your field. The term Expert carries credibility and prestige that can open many doors for you, and, oddly enough, the term is relatively easy to acquire. This simple three step process can help you quickly and easily set yourself up as the expert in your field.

Step 1: Determine Your Niche

Instead of trying to be everything to everybody, narrow down your focus to the things that you are really, really good at. A friend of mine set himself up as an expert at leadership training for water treatment facilities. When he told me what he was doing, I asked, “Is there any money in that?” He smiled and said, “Every city’s got one, and I’m the only leadership expert in this field in the country.” He was frequently quoted in trade journals and asked to speak at their conventions. Find your niche, and you’ll eliminate your competition.

Step 2: Write about Your Area of Expertise

After you determine your niche, begin to write articles about your area of expertise. Every single day, tens of thousands of editors, web masters, and newsletter publishers are looking doggedly for unique and information-packed articles. If you can write articles that teach readers about your industry, you will find numerous places that will quickly publish your article.

I spent ten years as a trainer before someone, out of desperation, asked me to write an article for her trade journal. A few months later, another editor saw the article and asked if she could reprint it. Before long, I began to get inquiries from companies in that industry, and a snowball effect began to occur. The more business I did in the industry, the more of an expert I became. I followed with other articles, and within a short period of time, I became a recognized expert in an industry that I had never received any formal education in.

Write a few articles, and you can become a recognized expert in any field.

Step 3: Speak as Often as You Can

When your articles begin to get published, you’ll start to receive requests to speak more often.

95% of the population has some type of nervousness about public speaking. So when you stand up and say what you want to say, the way you want to say it, you are doing what 95% of the population wish they could do. When you speak about your industry, you set yourself up as the expert on that topic. You gain instant credibility.

If you get nervous when you speak in front of a group, attend a public speaking class. It will be the best investment of your life, because the more confident you present your ideas, the more competent you will appear in front of a group.

Follow these three simple steps and you will become the recognized expert in your specific niche.

Doug Staneart, doug@leadersinstitute.com, is CEO of The Leader’s Institute® (www.leadersinstitute.com). He is an expert at helping people overcoming the fear of public speaking, building confident and autonomous leaders, and improving employee morale. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-872-7830 x100.

Charles Petrie, from Stanford, released a short article entitled “The Problem of Coordination,” which highlights 4 categories in which businesses find it difficult to connect:

InteroperabilityAgent
Communication
Semantic Unification
Coordination

Though this article refers to a specific type of business, its principles are just as applicable to any business, especially when collaborating on a contract. Contract collaboration and management is difficult in any business, and the negotiations can go on for weeks, months, or even years. In seeking to manage contract deliberations, organization of personnel, documents, and software can make or break a clean operation.Using Petrie’s model, this article explores how the right contract management software is the solution to the problem of coordination.

Interoperability

Interoperability is defined by Petrie in the question “Can you read my data?” Search “contract management software” in Google, and in .44 seconds you will be introduced to millions of products indexed for your specific search-18,400,000 to be exact. The only problem is that they are not all compatible.The most commonly used business software is MS office software, which coordinates email with other applications targeted toward common business needs: spreadsheets, word processing, presentations, etc. The problem cited by Petrie and applied to contract management is that businesses which work together need to have the right contract management software, which will aid collaboration within these commonly used business applications. The solution is surprisingly simple.

Agent Communication

Again, some questions: “What is the protocol? How will you find me?” In contract management, generally a draft is drawn after much negotiation and deliberation. The man or woman who is “lucky” enough to draft the contract must draw from up to thousands of documents of drafts and notes. This draft will quickly multiply into an almost unmanageable number of drafts and documents.The old way to handle this document influx was either to file them in a drawer, paperclip them together, or pile them on your desk. This is virtually impossible to handle because it takes up so much space and is so difficult to organize. What most people don’t understand is that if you are saving these drafts electronically, you still have the same problems. It is almost impossible to manage all of the drafts, and you may overload your desktop.The other way protocol becomes a problem is that the editorial cycle is really not a cycle at all but a cyclone of drafts whirling back and forth in no particular order. The likelihood of always finding the most recent draft right away is about the same as reaching out into the cyclone for a specific thing and finding it in the first grab. In other words, you may send several drafts to several people before any of them send their collaborative efforts back. When they open and save your drafts to a drive, they are not only needlessly taking up too much space on the drive, but they have also just downloaded a pile of drafts that they now need to sift through in order to make their changes. Now, imagine what will happen to you when they send all of their drafts back-the cyclone image comes to mind again.How can the right contract management software solve this problem? The answer, again, is surprisingly simple. The right contract management software will have Digital Thread technology, which connects the who, what, when, where, and how of each draft, even creating a “family tree” of the drafts or a flow chart to help you to see exactly where you are in the protocol. No matter what order the drafts whirl by in, they will always be tracked, saving you time and storage space and protecting the integrity of the contract protocol.

Semantic Unification

“What do you mean by ______?” Semantics is a nightmare in contract management. The precision in wording is an important service to any business, and creating the right wording produces a solid contract. It also produces the most drafts. One word can be deliberated over for hours, days, or weeks. Drafts will go back and forth, and a quick and easy way to review changes as small as word choice in a document that could range from 10 to 1,000 pages long.Document Signature is a feature that is almost a necessity to keep up with semantic changes. It produces a window attached to any document you open that lets you know that changes were made and who made it. It’s that easy.

Coordination

“What do I do now?” This question probably cycles through every professional’s mind, no matter how briefly, at least a few times a day. In contract management, the question might be altered to “How do I go about implementing all of these changes?”This simple answer is probably the most surprising. You need the contract management software that will record changes and merge them for you. You are involved in so many drafts and changes that you can barely keep track of them, but with the right contract management software, all of the changes are tagged and tracked, almost like a DNA strand. The changes from various drafts can then be merged within seconds, giving you the ability to review the merge when it happens and use it to produce your final draft.In collaborating any project, whether a contract, a budget report, a presentation, or even a memo, these four problems of coordination always loom over professionals’ heads. Contract management software answers back to the rescue of every collaboration committee. Narrow the search using the answers provided in this article and you will find the right contract management software for your company and finally find the solution to the problem of coordination.

Joe Miller is specialist in online advertising. For more information on contract management software, please visit NextPage.com.

Presenteeism is alive and ‘not well’ in many businesses today. It will visit your business or may even be present as you read this article.

Presenteeism may be described as ‘attending the workplace with minor or serious illnesses’ when in fact your employee or you should be away recovering’!

It’s a fact of life that when we don’t feel good we don’t operate at our best!

Many of us have observed workers and co-workers who have come in for the day and seemed present at the job only to observe a decrease in productivity or an overrun of deadlines. Some of us would have experienced this ourselves.

Employees or managers attending your workplace with minor sicknesses such as asthma, irritable bowel, migraines, arthritis, stress, fatigue may cause your business serious risk such as legal claims, productivity loss, declining employee morale and a occupational health and safety problem.

With more seious illnesses such as surgery recovery the effect on your business may lead to serious consequences.

In our business culture of lean and mean, fewer people more work, many employees come to work ill just to protect their jobs. After all there are bills to pay, medical expenses, school fees and the list goes on.

With many businesses reliant on team structures the presure by an ill employee to ‘not let the team down’ is a very real pressure. You can train your team to recognise these factors and save your business considerable grief.

Presenteeism is a concern in our workplaces today as pressure continues on individuals, families and enterprises to remain competitive. Fear is a terrible negative motivator! In the end your business will suffer consequences.

By way of example; at a company I worked for in a senior management capacity we disturbed an executive who had his door closed for quite some time. A staff member of mine had a master key and required access to the executive’s office to get some material and on entering disturbed the executive who was sleeping under the desk on the floor. He was recovering from eye surgery and needed 5 days off on Doctors orders!

From our experience many workplaces do not have the human resource infrastructure or capacity to ensure that they comply with the myriad of regulations and complex legislation that is required to protect your business interests in today’s workplace. However, you are not alone and there are practical solutions for your business.

A few questions could be

1. Have I noticed present employees who are not performing because of illness?

2. Am I actively looking after their welfare?

3. Do I know what my obligations are?

4. Have I policies and procedures to circumvent organisational illnesses such as stress?

5. Do I understand the risk involved in allowing the person to remain at work?

From our experience most employers are not aware of their obligations, consequences and risks and ignorance of these issues is ‘no defence’ in the eyes of the law. There are practical solutions to minimise your risks and give your biz momentum. For more information see www.biz-momentum.com

Philip Lye started his career in banking and finance as postage clerk for a major bank. He moved through various industry sectors and achieved executive management roles in business as Chief Executive Officer.

He has worked in small business, national and global companies and has significant international experience. Previous to founding Biz Momentum, Philip managed two companies out of impending ruin while being able to retain and develop the current employees.

Philip is a Certified Professional Human Resources Consultant and a qualified Accountant. Contact Philip at http://www.biz-mmentum.com