Posts Tagged Risk Management

The ideal business

Mar 22

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Leadership | No Comments

Sounds like a great title huh, you probably thought, oh is it one that makes great $$ (yeah) and does it have incredible profits (well YEAH!) and does it mean I have to hardly run it… and don’t have to have many skills???? umm probably not.

What I’m thinking of here is the structural side of the business idea, rather than the sort of business it might be. So no it’s not the far out super freaky pizza business that serves east west Tex-Mex surprises with a Thai influence.

Imagine a business, where you have made things tick over nicely the staff are stable (and happy), your customers like what you provide and the way forward looks good. Income and profitability tick over nicely and you wonder about the bigger picture now you have more time to, you replaced yourself multiple times with great people and can sit back and “enjoy the view”. Now it’s time to look that bit further, or perhaps differently to cause your business to do more of what you want it to.

You know when to put on new staff, knowing when the rest of the team are pushing the limits, and you can handle the ‘lag time’ until they are ‘up to speed’ in the role. You have great measurement tools in place to know what’s working and what’s not. You know what the profit margin is and where it goes to.

What next? Is this it, is this the holy grail of your business goal/s? Are your challenges at an end? Do you simply sell it off and retire (early?) or do you go for the thrill of the chase… the adrenaline injecting process of doing more, and creating anew to push yourself that bit further.

Let’s go for the latter… Lets explore how you can replicate the process to explore success in business and do more, be more have more. After all we live in a world of abundance and by the sound of things if you have read this far you have probably said to yourself yes I do all these things and I am in that lovely lofty position to be able to do more.

You have created an ‘organism’ which grows, it’s more than just sustainable and you can stand back and enjoy the benefits of it’s growth. Now take out a pen and pad and jot down the mechanics of the business, what makes it tick, what makes it profitable? What sets it apart from your competition to the point where you don’t have to even be there anymore to enjoy it.

Take that list and ask, Can I develop a formula from our current successes to be able to reproduce that in other businesses… short answer will probably be yes.

I suggest at this stage you take a look at the list in a way which deals with the essence of the success and not just trying to think about other businesses you might like to try out or test. Look at the structure, how information flows, the team and culture, the values and beliefs, all the things which can cause the internal structures to remain steadfast and provide the right sort of support for growth.

Now you know what makes your current business tick and the building blocks for ANY new business, it’s up to you to act on the information.

If you create a new business or five, hold this thought in your mind… “in war success has never come to those who fought on more than three fronts” (go on prove me wrong…) it’s said this was Hitlers downfall in the end. So how will you as a business owner develop more businesses without this happening.

Firstly you will be mindful of it, secondly you will probably recognise that each business will not be run by you, you simply provide the ‘right structure and resources’ then step back and advise on ways to tweak the enterprise to generate greater success.

Go on, give it a go, if things go well through great planning you will end up with a site of businesses making good profits you will be able to share around with others, therefore creating more positive abundance in the world.

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, creativity, hr leadership, ideal business, innovation, lateral thinking, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, steve gray

Helping staff to get what they want

Jan 24

Posted by Steve Gray in Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

When it comes to dealing with staffing issues it seems as though there are always going to be those who want to help themselves and then there’s the rest.

What to do when you are staring down the barrel of staffing challenges and this is just one of your starting points?

In a previous article I looked at What Staff Want. It gives some interesting insights, but how do you figure out how to deliver the things they want or need and get to that point effectively.

Let’s go for the easy option, Brainstorm…

If you already know what they want and or need to do their job effectively, then facilitating a session with them will assist them to at least understand you want to assist them, and give you an idea of if they want to be assisted.

The real aim is to use the “Collective Intelligence” to get information happening and ideas explored.

You could start out with the list of what people want, then jot down some ideas in advance of things you believe might match to the job, tasks, attitudes and beliefs. Then you have a chance of connecting with them when the discussion starts and they are scrambling to find ideas. You would probably use your information to enhance their thinking processes if they get stuck, you might add in a pointer relating to an obvious task to spur them on.

Brainstorming can be easy – Set some guidelines and go from there.

All ideas are good ideas – We can focus on the good ideas later
Feel free to share – Let people freely add in and occasionally encourage the stragglers to also put in. Invite them to help make things better
Our aim – To explore ideas on improving this business unit – “We have challenges what will improve things?”
Work to a time frame so they don’t just lounge about for ages, aim to get ideas on to paper fast.
Pose some questions to be answered – Perhaps this is the initial brainstorming, getting the issues out as THEY see them, then getting them to provide ideas to answer them
Write fast, and prod for more ideas – Actively explore concepts as they arise
Consider a mind map – Do an internet search on the basics of this, it can be a very visual way of getting the thought processes working.
Collate the main ideas and share them once they are typed up – This can then lead to a plan of action or an attitude shift to some degree.

A brainstorming session should be positive and free flowing. The team should not feel like they are working under duress to come up with ideas. Hopefully after doing this session you will be able to find some excellent starting points to work from. Chances are the team had all the ideas and answers and you were able to positively, openly and honestly listen to them work through the challenges.

Now notice how all of this leads to you being the coach… working with people to get the best from them, without having to hit them over the head and force them to do things. Trust me it’s better that way. Want to be a better workplace coach, try this…

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, coaching, communication, People!, Planning, Risk Management, steve gray, training

What staff want

Jan 17

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

As a follow on from the series dealing with staffing issues this article explores what staff want, when you know that and provide it, then you will find it easier to keep them happy. Believe me it’s important.

Keeping people happy is one part of the whole business matrix… customers or staff, the common denominator is that they are all people.

To keep one person happy you might find their definition is built on getting a reasonable amount of work done in a standard working day, churning through mountains of meaningless paperwork. Meanwhile the next person is kept happy by having variety and not just being stuck in an office.

So what are the core things they want and how can you provide these for them?

Here’s my list.

A sense of belonging – Being valued by others, even in minor ways can help to build and maintain their workplace sense of esteem
A sense of achievement – Some will want to work their way up the corporate ladder, set goals and achieve them
Contributing and adding value – Beyond their basic agreement, work targets etc, they feel as though they have contributed to the whole business machine
A sense of purpose – It’s not a meaningless job, it has a role to play and they can clearly sense that
Organisational integrity – It’s about security, if they know the organisation has integrity they then have a foundation they can believe in and stand by. No integrity, the foundation can give way at anytime this leads to insecurity and can be a reason for staff turnover
Control – For some this can mean the security that comes from having some measure of control over their situation, it might be minor. For others they want the chance to take control of a department, or a division depending on their level of drive or motivation
They like be challenged – In ways which suit them, not you. For some it will be big challenges for others it will be meeting a small quota. It comes down to brain stimulus
They have a suitable work environment – Where it can be controlled, think about it you spend 8 or so hours a day in the business, do you want to spend 8 hours in a hovel or 8 hours in paradise… The choice is a no brainer right? So what’s your environment like? Sure paradise is a BIG step but making it better might only take a few tweaks and a small amount of cash. For those out on the road for instance in a company vehicle, is it clean neat and tidy, new, old, in good repair or a rust bucket. Oh and the Lunch room, a place to relax and unwind, or a stinking cesspool of yuck… (broken chairs etc.)
They have the right tools – Newish computer – Quiet keyboard – Suitable work chair – Effective other tools

Are there others? Probably, it’s up to you to find out. But armed with this as your starting point you can soon see the sorts of core things staff want. Go and chat with your staff and find out what their wants are.

Now you know what staff what, here’s an article on how you might explore this further.

Tags: business mechanics, business success, communication, employee recruitment, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, steve gray

Dealing with challenging staff 2

Jan 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Risk Management | No Comments

Leading on from the other post on this topic. You want to deal with the staff member who is causing some grief (or could be about to) how do you go about intervening to find out what you need to know. The big thing is to get them onside so they will want to chat to you about the issue with ease, the last thing you want is for them to later on suggest they were under some form of duress, caused by you in the questioning phase!

The aim is to have a staff member who is relaxed about you chatting with them, so you can keep them onside and willing to discuss issues rather than some adversarial situation they can get annoyed about.

Here are a few points to consider;

You are aiming to make an assessment not a judgement – There is a difference, assessing the situation means researching and working the facts, judging may well mean you could start off on an accusatory footing. Aim to get solid facts first.
Avoid cornering or accusing them – They may deny anything, then you will be in a harder place trying to get information as they withdraw and may start to lay blame or justify their position – Think about if you would like to be cornered and how you might respond
Keep things open and honest – You want them to feel as though they can readily and easily relate the information you want with no pressure, lies or any form of creative avoidance
Ask “Is it okay if we have a chat about work…” – This way you will have a good chance of getting their permission to chat about the issue/s. Avoid asking “So how’s work going” this can set them up to say “Ok… why” and then be on the defensive
Try the research method – “I’m chatting to a range of staff about things to do with the business, ideas for improvements, how people are going, that sort of thing. Can I do some research with you?” – This can give you permission to ask questions about the business and related info
Spend some time with them – This may not be suitable in every situation, but perhaps you can spend some time with them “on the road”, meet them on site, or perhaps sit with them for a while in their workspace (maybe chatting about a specific task to begin with.)
Make it happen fast – Once you have suggested you want to catch up, make sure you avoid dragging things on, this can cause unnecessary worry all round.
Take good notes – Leaving this part until later can be a trail fraught with danger, collect facts, not hearsay and allegations. Feel free to read back the details and see if they agree with what you jotted down. Consider asking them if they want a copy.

Now that you have set up the chance to have a chat, what will you say? Well it’s going to depend a bit on the angle you take I guess, personally I favour the research method.

Give them the chance to say nothing! – Somewhere in the opening questions if you can throw this in it can be very useful, “Feel free not to say anything if you wish, it’s up to you” this takes the pressure off straight away and allows them the option to avoid things, chances are they will actually switch on internally and answer practically any question you pose to them.
Begin with some easy things – “if they have a new vehicle, “So how’s the new vehicle going, one of the other guys is not sure about his…” or “This last six months has been really busy/quiet how has that been for you?”
Look for lead ins – They answer one question and it leads on to another that fits well to you finding out more, or causing them to open up more.
Stack questions – Putting together a bunch of questions in one hit can cause the person to start talking and not stop for a long while – basically you set their brain firing on a range of questions and they just start to respond. It could start like this…”We have been busy this past month don’t you think, It has been for me, and then the summer kicked in and we had those orders come from the retailers, do you think the upgrade to the computer helped with at or was it just me that thought it struggled, anyway… That’s not what I wanted to ask really… any how, what’s been happening in your area?” – With practice you can stack questions with ease and sit back for a while and get more than just yes’s or no’s to your key question/s
Work from their viewpoint – How do you see things… how do things feel for you… what do you believe is happening… Do things sound ok from your end? This works from an old American Indian saying of “Walk for a while in the other person’s Moccassions” this can then allow you to get their perspective and may lead you into more of the right questions and or give you some empathy for their viewpoint. It may also give you the real reason they are doing what they do, rather than some smoke screen cover up.
Small talk can be useful but… – For some people using small talk to lead in to a conversation is normal, easy and very useful, for others however it can be a slippery slide to disaster, with the other person smelling a rat very fast, putting them on the defensive. Know your people, so you can craft your approach to fit to their needs and situation, use small talk for those that do and avoid it for those that don’t use it.
What’s your biggest challenge and why? – Sit and listen carefully after you ask this one, and ask it only when you are sure you have a measure of trust with them. If they ask for clarification about the question “Personal or professional challenges?” then you are getting closer to the real question, it can get more specific after that as well and perhaps you can use that to your advantage to clarify more questions with details.
Feed it back to them – Sometimes you can read info back to people to clarify what was said, any points they disagree with you can modify to suit. This is the best time to clarify things while things are still fresh in both parties heads.
Ask them for answers – “Our chat has identified a bunch of things, if you could solve these challenges, what would you do?” Then sit and listen carefully, you may get some great answers to some big issues, but let them have the chance to respond. Often people will start out by saying “I don’t know…” Then launch into “Well what I would do is…” then take great notes as they unload.

Now you have some solid starting points for your intervention, hopefully you will get some great information to work with, their views, their reasons why or why not and the chance to provide some answers, hopefully all of which was done with minimal hassle and discomfort. Your next step will probably be to act on your findings, that could raise a whole bunch of other issues for us to explore another time.

Has all of this caught your interest? Well it should and to really get a handle on things consider this, what do your staff really want? find out in the next article, what staff want.

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, communication, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, People!, Risk Management, steve gray

How team training can fail

Nov 28

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

As much as I love training people, I have to say most team based training seems to be an out and out fail. Here’s why…

Team exercises – Most people hate the ‘team building’ exercises, then they get into it and like it and then realise there was low ongoing value, but they had a break from work, they just tell the boss it was ok.
We are a team already – if there are challenges, forcing us to do something about it might just annoy us further. Perhaps HR should have hired decent new team members in the first place! It’s their fault. – Sometimes the way to change things is easier than having people out on a team building exercise, perhaps a series of chats from their ‘coach’ or team leader (same thing) is enough to find an elegant solution or raise awareness of issues.
Take me away – Taking me away for the weekend to a conference, seminar might seem nice and a big commitment from the company to show it cares, but if it’s my family time, forget it, I will probably just resent it for the first part of the event if not all of the event – Doing it in work time may look like I am getting out of work, but Most will figure that the work does not go away and it might just create more stress.
Spend the training $$ – I put down we need to do some team building exercises, because usually they are fun, and hey you’re the one allocating the training $$ and if we don’t spend it we lose it. If they are going to do training they want to have a good time and hey, if push comes to shove they might be able to justify it.
What team issues? – What else in the organisation might be causing the supposed ‘team issue’? Could it be a lack of Leadership, direction, adherence to Co guidelines etc… – There is an old saying that says “Resistance builds first, followed by resentment and finally retaliation” when things start to go astray start asking what’s causing people to become resistant to things in the first place? Then work on that, well before resentment leads to retaliation!
As a team leader, someone from ‘above’ says we need to do this, why wasn’t I consulted… – see resistance, resentment, and retaliation!
Does it pay? - A program scheduled over a number of sessions takes people out of a productive work environment and the $$ invested better come back in increased productivity fast. Chances are the $$ return will take a while no matter what the program time frame, even then there are no guarantees, so any benefit may fade over time, just in time for the next team building exercise!
Programs that create tight knit teams seem to adversely effect the productivity, what gives with that! – Simply put if people get on really well together they start to care on a deep level, before long they are a closely connected group, they worry together, laugh together, share lots of things together, how on earth do they find time to work!

Please understand I see training as a vital part of successful business operations, just that it needs to be relevant, useful and valued in general. If it annoys people and they can’t appreciate the value readily, you might do better to direct the training $$ into other areas.

Tags: buisness training fail, business, business mechanics, business success, communication, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, People!, Risk Management, steve gray, team building, team fail, training

Who are you listening to?

Nov 24

Posted by Steve Gray in People! | 1 Comment

In business you will get a wide range of input and information from all manner of sources. Your general staff, your supervisors, middle management, consultants, accountant, salespeople, your partners (biz and life), your self , oh and the customers…

So who are you listening to specifically?

I guess it depends on what is being said and who is saying it. If a general staff member is saying there is an OHS issue then you will probably be listening intently, but if it’s another issue which could waiver in direction how would you listen, intently, vaguely or other. If it had a positive impact on your bottom line you might listen closely, but if it looked like the opposite you might discard it, but what if it was the sort of thing which could have a long term positive effect but it was not obvious at the time.

If it is the latter then you might ll9isten intently if the person telling you is somehow influential and you take action at everything they say. however if the person isn’t influential a great idea might go by the wayside fast.

Then the trick comes down to your self evaluation of what’s being discussed, may I suggest you listen to everything as if it’s being told to you by a person who’s view you respect (or you are influenced by) and evaluate it from that view (do your due diligence).

You might be surprised at the information you get and the value of it if you do listen carefully as if everything matters. Chances are it will matter, it’s just a question of when.

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, communication, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, listen, listening, People!, Risk Management

Make it Work

Nov 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 3 Comments

How do you go about making a succession plan, and setting things up so you and your business can have a rosy future? Let’s try a few things and see what we can come up with.

Firstly a business that works.

Great products
Great service
Good profit margins
Great systems – policies – procedures – plans – vision
Great team
An entrepreneurial spirit – some risks – great rewards

Now say to yourself, “What do I want at the end of it all?”

A retirement income

An enjoyable, sustainable and profitable company to work in forever (some people don’t want to retire)

So how much is the retirement income going to be and when?

Will it maintain your current lifestyle needs?
Will it offer you the chance to live a greater lifestyle than you currently do?
Will it provide you with the chance to do more things in the wider community
Will I semi retire early…

All great questions but now what.

Think about your income levels, where they have been and where they are headed, when you reach a std retirement age of 65, what will the income be?
Then think about it being able to build further as time goes on, if you are retired for 30 years what would your final ‘wage’ be.

So how will you do it?

By now you may have realised the level of income you want, and now you have to ensure your business can create the level of turnover to pay for your ‘vision of the future’.

I think it’s time to get cracking on making your business more profitable and seeing how it will run without you, because some day in the future your asset will either fade or thrive. Take action now!

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, People!, Planning, Risk Management, succession plan

You want what by when…

Nov 1

Posted by Steve Gray in People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

This is not a chat about time management… not this time, more a chat about what do you want your future to be

You’re in business, not just a job but business. That means you work, take risks, plan, implement and reap rewards (yes rewards) if you get things right.

I have heard many people say many different things about what they want from business.

I’m the boss.
I call the shots
I can’t be sacked
I get paid more than the other guys

Follow that with…

I am creating an asset I can sell and retire on the proceeds
I have an asset my kids can take over
I have an asset where I will install a manager to do all the things I currently do and I will live off a % of the profits and occasionally consult back to the business when I want to.
I have multiple assets run by others and I get a part of the income from each and I seek out more ways to make $$ from each

The last one is the one I like the most, it’s the one that makes the most sense to me, it’s a risk to reward ratio. I get rewarded for the risks I take and can create more businesses so that if one is not doing well, another one is. (Good diversification can do that.)

Here’s the challenge however, most people don’t seem to think like that in fact they often only think in the terms of the first set of points. What that amounts to is Just Over Broke. Rarely getting ahead and when they do it seems to disappear FAST.

Sure there is the argument of live now, because you don’t know how long you will live. But being that it’s an unmeasurable ‘thing’ I would prefer see a longer term plan (or vision) than some short sighted live now and “oh no we’re broke honey, but we had a great time…”

All this is loosely called succession planning and making sure you set up your business to be all it can be so you can reap positive rewards now and in the future is vital.

Tags: business, business success, Planning, Risk Management, succession planning

Rushing headlong to “who knows where”.

Oct 3

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Growth, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 3 Comments

Lately I have had a few reminders of what I am about to chat about. It’s a bit unnerving when people ask “When are you planning to retire?” and I answer with “I’ll never retire, I like work too much!” that covers the fact I probably won’t be able to retire financially. But I guess it makes light of a serious subject and one I have to try hard not to think about too much.

Like a lot of people I didn’t worry much about retirement, putting cash away and anyway I keep hearing stories of people losing money overnight on the stock market and their portfolio value plummets again…

The reminder for this post, listening to people in business chatter away about how things have gone, what they will do when the time comes to retire, how they might sell their asset and in one case a lady who had sold her business, watched it fade fast into obscurity so she bought it back and is building it up again.

So what will you do, sell the business, put a Manager in to run it, expand it, resize it etc? All with the aim of having a nest egg to retire on.

If you do sell, will what you have the cash ‘invested’ in provide for your needs in retirement? How much will you need?

If you build up the business and put in a Manager how will that work out? Will the amount you need to take out hurt the business? Will it be run as you set it up or better? Will things fall in a heap and you need to rescue it… will you want to rescue it!

Lots of great questions in need of great answers. Hopefully your Accountant can set you straight, or at worst your own figures will project a rosy future for you. Lets face it, in the current economic situation there is little to smile about when the notion of retirement looms large in our thoughts. Unless of course you have an asset which keeps on giving.

Tags: business mechanics, business success, creativity, Planning, retire, retirement, Risk Management, women in business, you money

Business culture – Some more points

Jul 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People! | 3 Comments

Your team fits to the culture of the organisation, some because they have to (mortgages and other commitments), some because they want to (they love the job no matter what their commitments are).

Your aim as a business person should be to make the workplace culture brilliant so the team WANT to be there and readily go the extra mile because it’s the right thing to do, not because things are a have to…

It’s a lot about creating an environment where people get things to feel right, where they get a ‘sense’ that things are good. Let’s start with that.

Your team has a sense of…

Belonging – In the work you do and the team you are part of, if you belong you will feel a greater sense of esteem, people like to be with people they like and if they readily fit because they were chosen not just for their skills and abilities but also for their team fit then all the better.
Connectedness – To the people they work with, to the culture of the organisation, to the customers and the overall service and product the organisation provides. It can also take in the broader community with support for groups who do broader works in the community to assist others (Good corporate citizenship).
Achievement – A sense of achievement can be a great boost to all. In your organisation what gets measured and how do the staff know ‘where they are at’ in the scheme of things, are they meeting quotas? Are they being valued for input? Do they feel like they are part of a team who wants to achieve more… All of these are vital and it’s up to you to see that the team can have a sense of achievement. Stuck for ways to measure this? Just ask the team you will soon get a bunch of ideas for things to measure.
Contribution and value adding – Do you or your organisation value the contributions of your team? Do the team readily put ideas forward for your consideration? What do you have in place to get the ideas going in your workplace… a suggestion box might seem like a great start but really you might have to ‘kick start’ a few idea development sessions to brainstorm options… but don’t let it stop there!
Purpose – What is the purpose of your organisation? Those mission and vision statements along with value statements and the like can be a great bonus to people fitting to the purpose of your organisation – It’s probably a great interview question to ask “What do you know about our organisational purpose?”
Being valued by others – Do others value the people in the team, their contribution, their personality fit, their communication style? If not why not and what can be done to alter that?
Organisational integrity – The structural integrity of the organisation is a big factor to people feeling secure and stable in the business. If the business is stable then the team will feel it too and before you know it they will ‘go deeper’ and look at other internal organisational issues (often subconsciously) from the processes to cause things to flow in the organisation to the robustness of systems and hierarchies and connections. It’s a big area to explore… Just like you should not build a business on a poor physical foundation so to the psychological and philosophical foundations they have to work with.
Leadership – No lead, no direction, from the people to the plans and strategies they have in place to achieve more and create even greater security for all in the team.
Safety – Last but certainly not least. If the above points add to a sense of safety that’s great, but the physical side of safety is VITAL and will assist the above points to come together, esp these days with a greater focus on softer issues, such as workplace bullying and its prevention.
Security – The organisation provides a profitable income for itself and the team are aware they are part of a sustainable and solid organisation which is able to ‘improvise, adapt and overcome’ various challenges it may face along the way. Physical security is clearly an issue as well so the team can feel comfortable in the knowledge harm is either eliminated or minimised.

Did you think that business culture was not important? Hope fully now you realise how it’s EVERYTHING in your organisation, without it you may as well throw money out the window, it’s quicker than watching a business fail a long slow death simply because your team had a sense of things not going quite how they should…

Tags: business, business culture, business success, communication, culture, HR, hr leadership, lateral thinking, Leadership, People!, Risk Management, training, your business culture

Three Persuasive Business Points

Jan 29

Posted by Steve Gray in Leadership, Planning, Starting out in business | 2 Comments

Here are three points I think you will find make a persuasive business argument, take one of these factors out and you will be out of business fast. Let me know what you think in the comments…

1. Have something to sell.

2. Sell it.

3. Make a profit.

To do so you need to market the offerings, have a process to sell with, manage the money.

To do that you need to have a handle on the HR, finances, marketing, overheads and it then starts to get more in depth from there. However you probably should be thinking in the terms of the basic 3 things to do, then see what’s happening from there.

May I suggest, you make a BIG poster or three with those key points on it.

Then consider breaking things down from there, so at any given moment you can know how each area is going, which one to tweak next and set a plan for the next one.

On your breakdown you will probably have a list of finer points relating to each area, then you can ask yourself, “which smaller area works well and which needs adjusting?”

Lets face it, business is not easy, in fact very challenging at times! But if these simple steps can make it easier for you then that’s got to be a good thing.

Oh wait I forgot! there’s a fourth point, oh silly me… Notice how you are looking at the business as the owner (from the perspective I have written it), note also how you are looking at the business, as a whole. Therefore you are taking a leaders view, a coaches view if you like.

Therefore you can be the coach and suggest strategies, work with your people to develop tactics, involve them in the game, many of them will know their parts in the process and know you have a chance to direct things that bit further. Go on be the leader, check out the strategies and concepts you need to put in place, then bring it all together like a great symphony, all orchestrated and conducted by you the business leader.

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, hr leadership, Planning, Risk Management

5 Reasons to purchase a comprehensive car insurance policy

Jan 7

Posted by Guest Poster in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Operations Dept | 3 Comments

It can be a confusing and daunting task to select the right car insurance policy for your personal or business vehicle, however this article will outline the top 5 reasons why you should invest in a comprehensive car insurance policy.

Reason #1: Insurance providers who offer comprehensive car insurance policies often include Roadside Assist as part of the insurance policy. Roadside assistance is an often overlooked feature of insurance policies as many customers do not see the value of this benefit as they have not previously had the misfortune of finding themselves stranded after their vehicle has stopped running. The quality and coverage area of the roadside assistance included in the insurance policy will vary from provider to provider, so it is vital to check that you are covered in areas which you frequently travel, and if there are any additional costs incurred under certain circumstances – such as if a tow or on-site repairs are required.

Reason #2: Another unique feature of comprehensive car insurance policies are the inclusion of a loan car for when your car has been stolen or taken in for repairs. Having access to a loan car from your insurance provider is a valuable addition to your policy as it minimises the impact of car trouble to your lifestyle and work commitments, allowing you to continue on with your planned activities without disruption or the inconvenience of arranging alternative transport.

Reason #3: Car contents cover is a new benefit included in more modern comprehensive car insurance policies. This benefit allows you to claim for personal belongings lost when you car has been stolen, or damaged in a car accident. No longer will you also need to replace your iPod and other valuables that were inside your car when it was stolen.

Reason #4: Caravans and Trailers are additionally covered under many comprehensive car insurance policies. These are especially valuable when undertaking long family vacations or business trips where you are also taking along your caravan or trailer filled with your valuable possessions.

Reason #5: A hidden and expensive extra cost of budget insurance policies is the lack of cover for lost or stolen car keys. A re-keying or re-coding of your car keys can cost as much as $250 as keys often have electronic signatures which need to be replicated by an authorised dealer. Comprehensive car insurance policies will often allow you to include key replacements in your monthly policy, therefore in the event of lost keys you won’t be required to pay an excess fee.

When considering the added value that comprehensive car insurance includes, depending on how you use your personal or business vehicle, it may be the smart and economic decision to invest in comprehensive cover. Always be sure to thoroughly read the product disclosure statement (PDS) provides by your provider, and ask your insurance agency to clarify any points that you are unsure about.

Allianz operates throughout Australia and New Zealand and through its subsidiaries offers a range of insurance and risk management products and services. The company provides some form of insurance cover for more than half of Australia’s top 50 BRW-listing companies, and employs approximately 3,300 staff. An avid supporter of environmental friendly initiatives, Allianz has a target to reduce emissions by 20% by 2012 and Is a member of the Australian Government’s Greenhouse Challenge Plus program.

Tags: business, business success, Planning, Risk Management

Choosing the right franchise for you

Jan 7

Posted by Guest Poster in Finance, Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Operations Dept | No Comments

Franchise opportunities abound, but choosing the right franchise requires careful thought and considered research.

Combing through franchise businesses for sale notices should be less daunting if you implement a well thought-out research strategy. Using online research, industry publications, news clippings and other methods is a great starting point.

When identifying franchise opportunities, consider what will complement your lifestyle, business goals and your skill set. Some aspects to consider are outlined below.

Brand strength? Behind every successful business is a strong brand, bolstered by an enviable reputation. Read widely about how the franchise brand is perceived by the industry, customers and business partners. Part of what you’re buying is the company’s brand equity. What do you estimate the brand’s equity to be?

Finding out about financial health How open and transparent is the organisation about its financial health? A company’s balance sheet can provide valuable insights about how well placed the franchise business is to harness future growth.

Expenses today and in the future Before you buy a franchise, you’ll need to know what set-up costs are involved. There could also be ongoing costs, such as marketing or advertising levies.

Strategic marketing, PR and advertising expertise? Dig deeper into the company’s marketing strategy. What level of investment and support is offered nationally and locally? What marketing and branding expertise does the company offer? How well resourced is the organisation to fund public relations programs?

Systems for success? Systems are essential ingredients in any successful franchise network. How efficient are the franchise’s systems and processes – do they help or hinder your ability to operate the business?

Investigate the level of support on the ground Do they have a dedicated operational and field support team to assist you? Investigate the ratio of franchisees to field support infrastructure.

Consider the commercial environment Determine the competitive dynamics that are likely to impact the brand. Do they have a well-defined understanding of their competitors, future opportunities, trends and issues?

Create a shortlist of franchise business opportunities? Once you’ve created your wish list, shortlist your most suitable franchise opportunities. Map out what works for you and what doesn’t, including the business must-haves e.g. IT and marketing support, costs (one-off and ongoing) and other forms of critical infrastructure.

Talk to franchise owners at the coalface Franchise owners are valuable resources. They can often provide you with the ‘inside story’ about a potential franchise business opportunity.

Lesley D’Arcy – As a franchise recruitment manager at Mortgage Choice, Lesley D’Arcy is responsible for recruiting franchisees to greenfield (new) opportunities as well as selling established franchise businesses. Her career in franchise recruitment spans over 15 years where she has worked with many major franchise brands. Lesley has a wealth of experience in recruitment of franchisees and builds on this experience by unearthing and developing the latest and most innovative ways to help franchisors build their networks. This experience has given her the skills to become an expert in the field of franchise recruitment, excelling in lead generation, screening, qualifying and selling to prospective franchisees.

Tags: business, business success, business women, Planning, Risk Management, small business marketing

What’s next, the fourth instalment

Dec 6

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Planning | No Comments

In this final part of the new recruit guidelines I wanted to focus on the probation period guidelines. it’s a very important part of the whole process but one which is often dismally left out of the process. Here is what I said in the initial article in this series.

Probation period guidelines – Start and in three months we will assess how you have gone. Assess what and how? Is anyone in your organisation clearly responsible for figuring out what and how to assess, are they qualified to do so to some regulatory standard?

Many organisations have a three month probation period while others have six months and others none at all. If you want to build in cooling off period where either party can part ways, it is wise to ensure you and they fully understand the process and the criteria they will be assessed on.

These days there are plenty of people with workplace assessment qualifications who should be able to map out the criteria for measurement and the ways to assess the recruit against those criteria.

Depending on the role will depend on the specifics of operational effectiveness they will have to attain, the skills they will have to demonstrate and the level of cultural fit they will attain.

At a minimum level the OHS standards will be addressed and I would like to think a solid appreciation of the values and beliefs of the organisation as well as practical job skills and abilities would be very wise.

The aim being to ensure the person being assessed has clear criteria to work to, as well as a full appreciation of how they will be assessed and the evidence or types of evidence which will be sued to do all this.

May I suggest a clearly set out set of criteria in a bunch of areas, OHS, job skills, Cultural fit, Communication skills, Technical skills (IT etc). and then build the assessable parts within each section. Perhaps they will have to show an understanding of the terminology or intention of the parts of each section as well as demonstrate with clear evidence they have achieved that level of skill.

Whatever the end product make sure it is clear to all parties and people assessing the person have the ability to do it based on great evidence and clear guidelines for all.

Now you have a new recruit with correct training, who has met the criteria for assessment, feels welcome in the organisation and is settling in to the role with ease and a degree of comfort. You on the other hand have the peace of mind in knowing you did all you could to make the process as easy as possible to ensure the new recruit is a brilliant fit and are assured of their ongoing success… Let’s hope so!

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, business women, communication, creativity, employee recruitment, hr leadership, innovation, lateral thinking, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, training, workplace safety

What’s next, the third instalment

Dec 5

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Planning | 1 Comment

Last time we looked at the training area in the new recruits process, now lets check out the expectations put on them, and how to deal with that, in the initial article I said…

High Expectations – The HR dept say this person is a great fit for the organisation on SO MANY levels, yet no one in the dept they are going into knows anything about them except some here-say rumor… Truth is the person is a bit average in the start up phase and people in the dept are “non plussed” with the new recruit, some people just need time to shine and figure out where everything is and how things happen. How were the skills the person had in a previous position “Mapped” across to this new role. What if they had used a much older piece of software in the past and the version or type you have is VERY different to what they are used to…

Your new recruit starts and the place is a buzz with excitement, people want to meet them, people want to avoid them, people need to help them or not. It’s all about people and the fit to the organisation, yet on so many levels there are issues with how things come together and the expectations some in the team may have about the new recruit.

In the initial phase the new person might struggle to get up to speed, despite reassurances from many in the organisation, yet the person may well be highly trained and have a resume bristling with qualifications. In the initial phase then it should be vital to ensure they have the support they need without prejudice or hassle, this way they can grow into the role at their pace. For some that will be fast and for others painfully slow perhaps, you role is to make sure it happens in the best way possible.

Others in your team will need to know about the new person and why they were chosen so they can make fair assessments and not base a person on day one performance and here-say from others in the team, rumours are rarely objective.

You will have talked to the team about how they have certain skills and how these can be traced across or mapped, to suit their new role. You will assure them this person meets a range of positive criteria and proved at interview they should be well and truly capable of fitting in, and doing an effective job in the new role.

You will also outline any training or other support they need to allow them to make the best of the probation period and explore the role and the organisation fully.

Now every one knows about the new recruit a welcome party will ensure they are able to fit in and be supported in positive and solid ways by all the team.

In our next part in this series lets look at the guidelines for their probation period and ensuring they are clearly assessed to meet the criteria.

Tags: Burning Business Bridges, business, business mechanics, business success, communication, creativity, employee recruitment, hr leadership, innovation, lateral thinking, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, training, workplace safety

What’s next, the second instalment

Dec 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Planning | No Comments

This is the second part of the four part series on dealing with new recruits, this time we focus on training. Here’s what I said in the initial article.

Lousy training – Tough, though I know your training people are possibly doing what they can, given tough challenges or are just not that suited to training new employees, they might have a stronger focus on I.T. or a some Leadership program, they can be spread thin. After all did anyone tell the Training area to prepare something for the new recruit?

When it comes to training some are of the opinion “If you picked a new recruit, pick one already trained…” nice thought but there are things your organisation will do differently to others so they might need to know how your team look after OHS issues, and about the versions of software you use. as well as looking at the values and beliefs in the organisation.

I can only hope your organisation has a great training program in place for all sorts of things and not a lousy one as I hinted at in the opening section. So that being the case your training team will have this area all handled for you when you let them know the new recruit is about to start.

The training team won’t tell you “Oh the OHS (or other) training doesn’t run for another 3 weeks.” They will have a positive stop gap measure like an online training option, or at the very least a handout on OHS expectations and guidelines to give the recruit early in the process (before they start perhaps.)
The training team will have put together something for the new recruit on the values and beliefs of the organisation, knowing full well the value of a great cultural fit and how this can happen using foundation organisational philosophies.
The training team will have mapped out a schedule of what training is happening and what the recruit needs to do to ensure their training needs are met and especially in the area of the induction program and it’s time frame. They will be well and truly focussed on the recruits success in the organisation and not just for the recruitment phase either.

The new recruit, even by this early stage, will be suitably impressed with how things are going, they feel included and are valued in the organisation and are trained to succeed.

In the next phase your Leadership and communication skills come to the fore as you make sure all the team know about the recruit and a bit about how they will fit in. Join me then as weexplore the expectations of the new recruit.

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, business women, creativity, employee recruitment, hr leadership, innovation, lateral thinking, Leadership, People!, Planning, recruitment, Risk Management, training, women in business, workplace safety

What next, the first instalment

Dec 3

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Planning | No Comments

Following on from my previous article outlining four areas to work on when employing a new recruit. Today lets focus on the Induction Program.

Previously I said…

Induction program – How do people learn about the nitty gritty’s in your organisation, the policies, procedures, OHS, who’s who and what about the culture of the organisation? Has anyone looked at the existing “program.” for a while? Is it relevant, suitable, useful…

So the recruit has been offered a position, you set the start date, it’s 3 – 4 weeks away due to their other commitments, all is well. You set the wheels in motion to get things sorted, a spot in an office, supervisor is informed, HR are organising their part and so on… but when was the last time it was looked at and how effective is all that? and why does it have to take so long to seemingly get them started?

Here are some thoughts on what might be a more ideal way to go.

Send them info on the organisation the minute they say yes – Things like an operations manual, who they will be working with and the structure of that area – an outline of how the probation period will be assessed – an outline of the OHS guidelines for the organisation – a company video – a signup form for HR legal requirements like superannuation etc.
Their workspace – Is it suitable, is it sorted, do they have all they need to do the job, does it meet OHS standards.
Their supervisor – Who is it and what do they need to know about the new recruit, will they need some training or coaching on how to work with a new team member?
The HR teams role – What do HR do to make the recruit fit in? Do they control all of these points? Do they look after all the details or… Find out sooner rather than later.
Team mates – They will probably know within an instant of a new person being recruited, such is the power of the grapevine. But what do they really know about the person, how will they respond, how do they act, what part do they play in welcoming the new person. the list could go on.
Buddy system – Some like a buddy system approach others don’t, but if the new recruit has a buddy make sure the buddy knows the expectations and is allocated time to assist the recruit with all that’s necessary.

There, now you have wrestled a few things into place you induction program is starting to take shape. Here’s hoping the new person loves the approach the organisation is taking and wants to stay and be a vital part of your team.

Next time lets go a step further in the process so the recruits journey is a smooth one.

Tags: business, business success, creativity, employee recruitment, HR, hr leadership, innovation, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, steve gray, training, workplace safety

Congratulations on the job, what next…

Dec 2

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 4 Comments

You have selected an employee for a new position in your organisation. Congratulations! All good yeah.. now sit back and watch as it all turns to mud…

Sorry I think in that last line I was being a little bit cynical… Clearly things won’t turn to mud in all organisations, but in quite a few I think it will and here’s why.

- Poor induction program.

- Lousy training.

- High expectations.

- Tricky probation period guidelines.

Yet these things can clearly be overcome. Firstly however you have to objectively measure the four things which could fail.

Induction program – How do people learn about the nitty gritty’s in your organisation, the policies, procedures, OHS, who’s who and what about the culture of the organisation? Has anyone looked at the existing “program.” for a while? Is it relevant, suitable, useful…
Lousy training – Tough, though I know your training people are possibly doing what they can, given tough challenges or are just not that suited to training new employees, they might have a stronger focus on I.T. or a some Leadership program, they can be spread thin. After all did anyone tell the Training area to prepare something for the new recruit?
High Expectations – The HR dept say this person is a great fit for the organisation on SO MANY levels, yet no one in the dept they are going into knows anything about them except some here-say rumor… Truth is the person is a bit average in the start up phase and people in the dept are “non plussed” with the new recruit, some people just need time to shine and figure out where everything is and how things happen. How were the skills the person had in a previous position “Mapped” across to this new role. What if they had used a much older piece of software in the past and the version or type you have is VERY different to what they are used to…
Probation period guidelines – Start and in three months we will assess how you have gone. Assess what and how? Is anyone in your organisation clearly responsible for figuring out what and how to assess, are they qualified to do so to some regulatory standard?

All of these aspects can be challenging to negotiate, and like many people in businesses, they realise they need the new staff member too late and before long everyone is too busy to address any of the above.

Time to take stock and get ready for the new recruit. Now I have created a bunch of points to ponder, in the next few articles lets take each one and develop it further.

Tags: business, business grump, business mechanics, business success, creativity, employee recruitment, hr leadership, innovation, lateral thinking, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, training, workplace safety

Business Basics

Oct 8

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Finance, Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Operations Dept | 4 Comments

I love chatting about business, and love to see people put an idea or three into action and get results, but unfortunately far too many people go to get started and so blindly follow the idea their heart runs off with the head and they fail. I don’t want them to fail but they do, the business owner does not want it to fail but it does… Fail, fail , fail… its not a good look!

Therefore, any chance I get I like to mention the basics of business in the hope to make a difference, I like to harp on about the basics and let people know…

Idea – Research – Action – Spend $$ – Make $$ – Have some left over – Invest – Repeat. (or close to that.)

Still people get it wrong, some end up with an image like this…

Idea – Action – Spend $$ – Make SOME $$ – Spend more $$ – End up broke. (Or some similar pattern to that.)

What’s the point of having a great idea and seeing it crash and burn? None, it hurts and can easily hurt others, so stop doing it. The challenge is however people don’t see the “crash and burn phase” they see a rose coloured world of $$ and happy customers.

Consider this, you want to learn to fly, you have the idea, you have the cash to buy a plane, you know full well you can’t fly the sucker until you have been trained and pass the test.

So why the heck do people jump into business (of any size) without the right training… Because they can, and you know what, you can sign up to get business registration on line, get a bank account and so forth and be in business in no time flat. Problem is no training, probably some skills, possibly and few helping hands to get started. and the rest seems to be “fly by the seat of your pants” and hope for the best.

Do some basic research BEFORE getting started and make sure you KNOW what you are in for PLEASE. too many failures in business seems such a waste of resources folks.

Tags: business success, Planning, Risk Management, starting in marketing

Does your business have a heart problem?

Sep 10

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Operations Dept | 2 Comments

I live and work in Geelong. I have for 15 years or so. In that time, we have pretty much been in drought conditions, and under water restrictions.

This year, month, week, that’s pretty much changed. The word is, we are fast moving towards breaking the drought. With just “average” rainfall mind you. Fantastic! However, it’s caused a bit of chaos this week. You see, Geelong is a city divided by the Moorabool River. It runs roughly West to East, and dissects the North from South.

Of course, there are multiple points at which to cross the river, but one (apparently) vital one. It’s called the Breakwater Rd & Breakwater bridge. As the name suggests, it’s a breakwater, and it floods every time the Moorabool River reaches a certain level. It a pressure release valve so that the river doesn’t flood as badly as it might.

It’s a two way, one lane intersection. It’s tiny. It’s insignificant. It doesn’t appear to be that busy in the scheme of things. I take it everyday in my 5 minute trip to the office.

When it floods, it throws the City of Geelong into Traffic chaos! This week has seen a lot of Geelong employees late for work. My daily 5 minute drive has turned into 45-60 minutes!

My City has a heart problem. Like our Hearts, the city depends on all it’s arteries to follow un-hindered – block one, and you have a heart problem.

It made me think about my business (while i was stuck in traffic ) Sometimes, we have arterial blockages in our businesses. It might be that the phone messages stall at reception and don’t quickly get sent to the sales guy, it might be the order release message from the accounts dept stalls and doesn’t get communicated to the despatch area, so an order sits on the back dock two days longer than it should.

An arterial blockage in our business is simply a part of the system that gets blocked up, slows the rest down, and sometimes even stops the system dead – grid lock!

The first step to clearing such a blockage is to identify it. Sit back, take a breath, and objectively look at your business and how an order goes through your system, even place an anonymous order and see how your system looks to an outsider. Once identified, you can take steps to alleviate the pressure and work out ways to prevent future issues.

In my business for example, the artwork process can be one of those areas that can bog down and block the system. It might be the client is slow to send us appropriate files, or our email breaks down, or a contract artist does not do the job fast enough – there are any number of ways that part of my business can (and has) block and stop orders from proceeding. I don’t like it, but knowing it is an area for a higher potential for screw ups, I pay more attention to it to avoid said screw ups.

Another area with potential for blockages is delivery. I rely on third parties often for delivery. I have clients all around Australia and even a few Internationals. Therefore, I am often reliant on third parties like manufacturers and couriers. If the guy on the back dock at the pens factory is having a bad day, my urgent delivery might not go out, just as the courier driver might have a flat tyre or only pick up 2 of 3 boxes. Even a foggy night made us miss one deadline when the plane holding one box was grounded.

I can’t completely avoid potential blockages, but if i know exactly what they are, I can put safe guards and pressure valves in place to reduce the risk.

So, does your business have a heart problem? It’s one of those questions just like your own health – it might not be comfortable to self analyse if you are at risk, but well worth the effort.

Tags: business, innovation, lateral thinking, Planning, Risk Management, risk reduction

Top Tips for Probation Periods at Work

Aug 6

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People! | 5 Comments

Many organisations offer a probation period for new staff and it seems 3 months is often the norm, so what might some of the challenges be, and how would you overcome them? I hope to answer these questions for you, BEFORE you get into a potential minefield with an employee or potential new recruit.

Know…

What you want them to do… It’s one thing to get a new person and say “probation period”, and watch them “try to do their best”, but what do you expect them to know and be able to do in that time? Make a great list of the tasks, values and beliefs they should know as starting points of creating a solid plan of action for training the employee. Ask other in your organisation to have input so it can be a great outline using collective intelligence, not just your ideas.
When you want them to do it by...Then make a loose plan of action showing start and end dates for the probation period. When they start let them know the dates and diarise these for your reference.
What level or standard you require… It’s okay to say the person has learnt something and they are competent, but for a long term employee you probably want more than just the ability to do a task, but you probably want them to be able to do it to a set level consistently, therefore you are now looking for proficiency rather than just the basic ability to do something. Sure measure the fact they have been shown “how to do a task” and they can do it, but go the step further and have them record how often they have done something. At the end of the probation period you should be able to see key areas done x number of times and then you can ask about standards of performance.
They have a reliable Buddy... This is a person they can relate to and a go to for information, in fact it might be a few people they can call on for info. Train the buddy in how to listen, ask questions, and assess performance against set criteria. Make sure they don’t judge the person because they ask too many “dumb questions”.
You have a clear disputes process... It’s one thing to have a plan of action, dates for things to happen by, but what if there is a dispute? please have a clear process to handle this with, otherwise you may find a minor step into a minefield has instantly become a hop skip and a jump into one!
There should be no time extensions… Okay if they have to be away (due to a death in the family or some such event…) the end date might alter, but the time frame should remain solid, three months is three months. If you believe they are not able to come up to the set standard set for the tasks set, then a clear line needs to be drawn about the minimum level they need to attain in that time frame. It can get frustrating for the employee to hear “We are extending the probation period.” at the end of the time it’s the end, wither in or out, if it’s not clear it’s the employers fault, not the employee.
To get results YOU have to take action… You have to set the dates, create the checklist, do the research, train the person… Not them, so set great guidelines and then you can expect great results to follow.

I hope all these points are of value and give you great starting points to work from. Let us know int he comments how you go!

Tags: business, business success, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, People!, Risk Management, training

7 Mistakes new businesses make with IT

Jul 23

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, IT Dept, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

Any new business likes to get off to a fast cheap start, but it important to keep an eye on the prize and be wary of cutting too many corners that will end up costing time, money and possibly loss of data and even your businesses ability to adapt to a changing business landscape.

So here are the top seven IT mistakes I have seen new businesses make:

POP email

POP email accounts are those email accounts that you get when you sign up with an ISP. Often you get a few free email accounts that you can associate with your company domain. The problem with POP accounts is that they don’t get backed up and leave you with a false sense of security. Ultimately much of your businesses value lies in the contacts that you have, as much as the conversations you’ve had. POP accounts only store the conversations, and in many cases even those are cleared from the server by your email application. So now all of your data is sitting on the one vulnerable hard disk in your computer and unless you know what you are doing, this does not get backed up.

Shop around. For less than $US15 per month you can get a hosted 5GB Exchange mailbox that stores all contacts, calendar and email. It gets backed up each night and it can be made to synchronise contacts and appointments as well as email with your mobile PDA. If you have multiple employees you can share contacts and calendars and email. This can takes office productivity to a whole new level. Outside the office, on the work site, having access to your email, contacts and calendar is fast becoming as important and as expected these days as having a mobile phone was five years ago. From the work site you can place a booking with a client into the Calendar on your PDA and within minutes staff back in your office can see that booking by looking into your calendar on the server. And Vice-Versa, how good is that. No more checking with the office then calling the client back to confirm, not to mention the to and fro reduced if the booking did not suit.

Of course if you lose or break the mobile phone al of the contacts and appointments that are synchronised to the server are not lost. Just get a new phone and set up again and all the contacts and appointments will be synchronised back onto the phone.

OK, setting this up may require some help from an IT consultant but when you factor in the productivity gains and the reduced risk of data loss in the event of failure the gains are worth it for most businesses.

2. Peer to Peer networking

There is a plethora of fantastic cheap devices on the market these days that let you store copious amounts of data on a networked hard disk. If you like you can also share the hard disk of your own computer so that your co-workers can store all of the data in a single location.

But please don’t forget that you need to back that data up and, just as importantly, you need to be able to restore from that backup should the data be accidentally overwritten, corrupted or you just have a good old fashioned disk crash. Most IT professionals don’t like keeping all of the eggs in one basket. So we devise ways of making systems redundant. A ‘real’ server solution will have redundant hard disks, so that should one fail, your data does not go with it, resulting in days of downtime while the system is pieced together from that backup that you regularly do.

Too many small businesses still store scary amounts of critical data on a single hard disk inside a regular workstation (usually the oldest one in the office).

3. Free software

Free software sounds great. And it can be. I am not against it in itself, but with most software it is not the license that will end up costing you the most money, that will actually be a small part of the cost. You need to consider the longer term costs of implementation and running your systems utilising that software. For a small basic single user application that may be fine. But for something that will be implemented across your business to become what we call ‘mission-critical’ you need to consider the longer term implications. How easily can I get outside help to support this system should those who know it move on (key-man risk)? Can I recruit people who know how to use this system, or will I need to train them up? Will updates for the software be available when I come to upgrade the platform on which it runs?

These are some of the questions you need to ask before taking on what may appear to be a cheap solution.

4. Mates Rates advice

It is hard to pass up free advice. However free advice rarely translates into good support. At least not the kind of support you can depend on from a strategic point of view. Your mates may be available after hours and on weekends but if they are holding down a full time job they may not be as accessible as you need them to be. There are also often strategic and technical differences between how IT is setup and run in a small business environment compared to that of larger organisations. There are specific product bundles available from vendors such as Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Symantec and many others that facilitate excellent solutions for small business when implemented correctly. However while these bundles may appear to be a collection of products that many IT experts may be familiar with, they often include some additional bells and whistles that allow you to get real leverage with your IT investment. I have seen many implementations Microsoft’s Small Business Server where a so-called expert was unfamiliar with the use of Remote Web Workplace and so had not known to implement this for the business. Yet Remote Web Workplace is one of the core offerings of small business server and one that many administrators of large organisations would give their eye-teeth for. It allows small business workers to connect to any workstation within the office and run all of their applications from a remote location.

So how could this have been over-looked? Remote Web Workplace is not a feature available on ‘big’ business systems, so if your friends work in big business, they may not know about it, or many other things.

Another important function I have seen ‘knowledgeable’ mates overlook is the ability of Microsoft’s Small Business Server to enable BlackBerry type functionality with regular iPhone, Nokia and Windows PDAs. Perhaps the mate thought they would need to buy a BlackBerry server to do all of this, perhaps because the company they work for has one.

5 . Backup-backup-backup and offsite-backups. Then test them.

It makes me cringe to see what some people consider a backup plan.

Too often I have heard people telling a reporter that loosing the house to a fire was bad enough but loosing the family albums and memories was devastating. The rate of business failure after a major IT disaster from which there was no backup is very high. I have seen figures like 80% in the two years following the disaster thrown around.

So I guess lesson one is make a backup of all of the family photos and take them to a location away from the home. And then repeat this regularly. And check that you can access the copies that you have made. Lesson two is to do the same for your business.

6. In-house software / DIY Systems

All too often I see people who believe that their systems and their way of doing things is so special that they must create their own software just to manage this. Accountants probably bare the brunt of this when the new business owner fronts up to them with a box full of receipts and an excel spreadsheet full of fancy macros that nobody except the business owner knows how to use. Or the very very special Access database for managing stock levels and generating very very special reports.

All businesses want to feel that they are unique. But encoding that uniqueness into a software application that can only be modified by one select person can turn out to be a serious strategic mistake when you try to sell the business or when that ‘key-man’ risk is realised because the person who knows the system can no longer maintain it.

Ask yourself how your business will make money. If developing this special piece of software and selling it is not on the list then don’t go there.

7. Lock in.

No deal in IT is so good that you should sign up for more than two years. The market and your business moves too fast for that. What is a great deal today can be serious drain on cash flow in as little as six months from now. So whether it be a mobile phone plan, an internet connection, a PABX system, a server hosting plan or an IT support plan, two years is just too long a commitment to make. If we think a deal is good today, you can be assured that a better deal is just around the corner and if you’ve locked in for a long time you will be regretting the lock in for at least half of that time.

And it is not just the money. Once you’ve locked into a plan you’re often locked into a technology. Then along comes the next best thing and your business is now not as dynamic as you thought it was.

Svend Petersen is the Managing Director of Excelan.

Excelan provides a personalised level of IT support and strategic consulting for small to medium sized organisations in and around the Sydney CBD.

Tags: business, business success, IT, IT Tools, lateral thinking, Risk Management, training

My Favourite Web tools Pt 2 – Goodsync

Jul 19

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Planning, Risk Management, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

Last week I told you about Roboform, the stress saving password encryption and saving program. This week i’m looking at Goodsync, Roboform’s first cousin.

As the name would suggest, Goodsync is a syncronisation program. It will syncronise Folders & files on a PC, Network, and the internet.

I use it on a daily basis to back up my most critical files. Everyday, I copy my accounting back up, my CRM data, my clients art files, copies of my quotes and invoices, our procedures manual, my Roboform data, and my quoting program data – a lot right? It is a lot, and frankly, if I was simply making a back up or copying all those files every day, it would take all day!

I also make multiple copies – I have the original files on my mail PC, I have a back copy on a “storage PC” on the work network, and I make a copy to my laptop (so that I have a mobile copy of the file in case of something like a fire at work). That’s how I use it, you could just as easily use a portable hard drive.

The beauty of Goodsync is; it only copies over files that have changed. This means it doesn’t get bogged down copying files that are already there in the back up destination, a big time saver.

First, Goodsync analyses the source files compared to the destination files, after the initial analysis, this takes only a few seconds.

Then Goodsync creates a list for you to check. There are default settings like always forcing the sync one way, or force the newest revision of the file to override the direction of the sync. You can either manually make the decision, or let Goodsync decide for you based on your preferences.

At the click of a button, it copies the right files to the right place super fast – the only limitation of speed is the speed of your connection. My hard wired network syncs faster than it does to my laptop through the wireless router for example. Still, it only take 3-5 minutes per day to back up all my critical files to two different locations.

Goodsync is super easy to use, A few minutes to set up the initial settings, and then once that is done the daily task takes only minutes. Take this link for a quick overview of how Goodsync works . There is also a MAC version of Goodsync, which I haven’t tried yet, but if it’s like anything Apple, it’ll be easy

I haven’t used the portable version, Goosync2go, but i have used the protable version of Roboform, so I have to assume the portable version is every bit as good as the PC version.

Of course, there is a free trial of Goodsync, it has full funcionality, just a few limits on the volume, so give it a go!

Bren

Tags: business, business success, innovation, IT Tools, Risk Management

Workplace Bullying Policy

Jun 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

Don’t turn off and stop reading because you are a small business, Don’t stop reading because you believe you have all the bases covered on this one, and just because your people in the HR department say there is no need for such a thing due to no cases of it at this point be wary of that.

Imagine you employ a bright eyed graduate or fresh faced school leaver brimming with interest and potential, then after a few weeks you see them with less of a smile, less of a pep in their step. For most people watching this person they might say, yep the realities of being in a job have kicked in, he he!

That can be the case, but what if they have found their supervisor or a co-worker has given then some grief, a few terse words, a few statements which have impacted on their esteem. This might seem like petty stuff but the impact of this sort of situation can get out of hand very quickly, the worker may feel powerless, in a bind, awkward, berated, useless and so on.

Your business has a duty of care, you have a duty of care and this needs to be stated up front that everyone in the organisation also has a duty of care. Therefore that being the case guidelines need to be in place to clearly out line what actions are taken in situations like this and to spell out some basics as to what might constitute bullying, harassment and other situations which might impact a persons esteem.

Okay so now a bunch of you are saying “Hey the hell do I have to care about a persons esteem? Heck I pay them to do a job, they should do it and put up with the situation, they should harden up, the world is a tough place…”

My view on that is how can you not care about a person you employ… If you are not into caring, avoid being in business. If you don’t care, your customers won’t either and then your staff will soon disappear. Yes it’s that basic, and you need to ensure you have the situation covered or you could be caught out VERY QUICKLY.

So do the right thing and have one ready to implement now, I suggest at the very least you do a search on google and see what comes up, grab one that suits and use it. for a rock solid start try the public service in your country and see what they have you can edit to make it your own. one I looked at recently had a 44 page doc you could download easily enough and it had various examples as well. http://www.apsc.gov.au/ethics/respect.pdf

To finish, imagine this, you are interviewing people for a job, on telling them about the organisation you are able to show them a copy of your bullying policy. It shows you care, it shows you will not tolerate people who don’t care, it shows you want to have happy people enjoying being part of the team, together everyone feels safe and in a organisation which values people, enough said…

Tags: bullying, HR, Leadership, Planning, Risk Management, workplace safety

New Forum Topics

Vacuum Robot Business
Any experience working with Ar...
How can i get started as a vir...
Does anyone have information o...
What are the responsbilities o...

Its all about business.

Posts Tagged Risk Management

The ideal business

Helping staff to get what they want

What staff want

Dealing with challenging staff 2

How team training can fail

Who are you listening to?

Make it Work

You want what by when…

Rushing headlong to “who knows where”.

Business culture – Some more points

Three Persuasive Business Points

5 Reasons to purchase a comprehensive car insurance policy

Choosing the right franchise for you

What’s next, the fourth instalment

What’s next, the third instalment

What’s next, the second instalment

What next, the first instalment

Congratulations on the job, what next…

Business Basics

Does your business have a heart problem?

Top Tips for Probation Periods at Work

7 Mistakes new businesses make with IT

My Favourite Web tools Pt 2 – Goodsync

Workplace Bullying Policy

New Forum Topics

Featured Links

Categories

Tag Cloud

Archives