You Bever Know Who You're Serving
You Never Know Who You’re Serving when customers turn irate.I think of myself as a reasonable person. It takes a lot to upset me, but upset I am.A number of years ago, I bought a new television set. I had seen a flyer from Lechmere’s that had TV’s on sale. I called, got through the voice mail menu and asked the salesperson who answered, if the particular model advertised was available.No, it wasn’t but another, equally as good was at only $20 more.I went to the store and examined a number of TV’s. A knowledgeable, helpful salesman approached and patiently answered my questions. Finally, I made my choice and paid for it. I asked if they would hold it for me while I did some further shopping and was told that of course they would.I was pleased with myself, with the store and with the purchase I’d made.When I picked up the TV, it was so big, the young man who brought it out to the car had to take it out of the box to get it into my car.My son brought it into the house for me and started to set it up whe

Resurrecting the Perfect Resume, Part One
Is your resume dead?  Don’t be so quick to say, “No way!”  Of the hundreds of resumes I’ve seen written by job seekers of all backgrounds and educational levels, easily 95% qualify to be labelled as dead-but-not-yet-buried.  A dead resume lacks a clear structure or chronology, does not present or quantify achievements, fails to offer a “big picture” of what you would bring to the employer and is impersonal rather than expressive.  Worse yet, a dead resume fails to win you the response you’re hoping for from the employer:  an invitation for a job interview.  To win more job interviews and dramatically increase the quality of opportunities your resume can help you attract, strip your resume down to bare bones and resurrect it using the same techniques professional resume writers use to reposition job seekers whose own job search campaigns have failed to yield the results they need. Problem #1:   Resume Lacks Structure     You cannot create a resume without first creating a structure for it.  Resumes are comp

Put Some Stuffing in the Staff Suggestion Box
Here’s how to get your staff suggestion box overflowing with fabulous new ideas.First, move the program on-line with digital instructions, submissions and replies.Next, create a quick and easy contest every month. Set short timelines for submission of ideas, offer attractive rewards, and use new criteria for winners every month.Here are just a few examples:‘This month the prize is four tickets to the movies. Three sets of four tickets will be given away. Criterion for the month is “cost savings”. How can we reduce expenses while keeping our morale and effectiveness high? Get cost-conscious and submit your best ideas to greatidea@staffsuggestions by July 30. Ideas may be submitted by individuals or by groups. Winners will be announced by e-mail on August 4.’‘The prize this month is a one-day external training program on the topic of your choice. Four winners will be chosen. Awards this month are for “quick-wins”. What can be done in the company right now to make an immediate improvement? Send in your ideas by e-mail by August 30. Winners will

The Employee Time Clock
Many of us still remember those punch clocks that our parents used to punch in and out of work, these machines were planned to keep an eye on the time employees spent and hopefully worked at the work place.For many years, companies have relied on employee time clocks to accurately record how many hours are worked by each employee every week. Even though clocks have changed, these companies need to have some type of system that they can use to create payroll and ensure employees are getting paid for each hour worked. Employees these days use cards that they swipe along a slot, which reads their name and records the time they clocked in. Employees must also clock out each day the same way.After the pay week is over, the central computer system tallies every employee’s hours and prints them out on a spreadsheet. This makes the payroll process efficient and rids much human error. The employee time clock is something that has been tied to the factory and to productiveness, it is very surprising to learn that a lot of workers during the years have tried to find creat

The Importance of Background Checks
Most businesses deal with sensitive information at some level. This may range from handling social security numbers, credit card information, drivers license information and other types of personal information. In order to assure clients and customers that their information is being handled properly, it is the duty of the business owner to take the necessary step in getting a thorough background check on all employees. Personal and professional references are still a good method, however, they should not be relied upon solely. It should be obvious that prospective employees will give names of those who will give a good reference; background checks pick up where references stop – they will give you accurate and in-depth information regarding the candidate.Background checks are available to cover a wide variety of areas. Drivers license, character references, personal acquaintances, education records, criminal records, court records, credit records and much more. It is also important to note that much of this is public information. In addition, employers should understan

Eliminating Business Debt
Whether you’re a large, limited company falling behind on your bills, or the sole trader of a small business that hasn’t paid themselves in months, there is one common ground which they both share, business debt is dragging you down and needs to be eliminated.Every business faces financial difficulties at one point or another, no matter their size. Ignoring such difficulties and pretending they don’t exist is not going to make the situation better. A strong strategy at the beginning stages of troubling times is the absolute best plan of action.There are many options available to help you to get out of debt, differing with the extent of the difficulties. Limited companies may repay their bills via a CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement). This is a formal agreement between the distraught company and its creditors allowing the creditors to be repaid an agreed upon amount over an agreed upon period of time. A meeting is to be held with all involved parties, and all proposals must be agreed upon by at least 75% of involved creditors. Another option for a larger com