How to Counsel Employees
No matter the culture or how long someone has worked for you. There will come a time when you need to “counsel” an employee. This could be due to performance, attitude, or a particular situation. Honestly, no one likes this part of being a manager. In our minds, all employees should be perfect at all time, […]
Why Engagement Matters
It seems to be everywhere and everyone is talking about it. It’s engagement. The question is: is it a fad? A passing fancy? The latest leadership trend that will be replaced in couple years by another one? After all we have seen many trends come and go. The answer is no it is not a […]
Your Impact On Your Team
I have had the pleasure over the last couple of weeks of speaking to a couple great leaders in small business. There was a common theme running through the various conversations: The impact the leader has on the team. This may seem obvious, as in “of course the leader has an impact”. And I […]
Talent Awareness
Talent Awareness is what I call it. Others call it Talent Management, I actually find it a little amusing, mostly because if you try to manage talent (your people) it doesn’t work. They need to be led to willingly follow your path. However, that is not what this is about. It’s about creating your awareness […]
How to determine Salaries
Small business owners find one of the hardest decisions to make is what to pay their people. Many struggle with the balance between paying a fair salary and what the business can afford. To give you some guidance, keep the following in mind. Market Position You are have taken the time to determine where to […]
5 Uses for a Job Description
You may be thinking about creating Job Descriptions or have some that may need updating. The thing is that every time you think about it – you find something else to do. It’s just not that exciting and you think – why bother, people look at it once then never again. What if that one […]
Do it Yourself
Part of the services I offer is to conduct an audit of the HR systems at a company. Typically this means I review the labor posters, employee files, handbook and policies and procedures. I know, doesn’t sound very exciting. So why am I sharing? I keep seeing the same mistakes and I want you […]
Handbooks – why they matter
I get a lot of questions about employee handbooks. Do we need them? What purpose do they serve? How many pages should it be? What do you put inside it? Will it cover all situations so we just have to look it up and know what to do? Do you need one? Short answer – […]
Are you giving it away?
It is something everyone wants. I have had business owners ask for it. Yet, they are the same ones who are consistently giving it away. It’s accountability. It’s true we all want people who make decisions, are responsible and accept the good/bad outcome as a result. Yet at the same time, without realizing it […]
Do you REALLY know them?
Great leaders know their people and what is happening in their lives. I said this in front of a group of business leaders as one of the “7 Leadership Habits for an Engaged Team”. A response I got, is from one person while others nod their head in agreement – “I don’t want to hear […]