Will You Add? - Business

Payroll Service, Changing Providers -Chapter One: Reasons to Change Providers
Why change your payroll provider? Service Stinks Cost too High Too many Errors No help with IRS Lost in the Shuffle Service Stinks. Payroll service is all about service. If you don’t perceive that your business receives good service then you probably aren’t getting good service. Payroll service providers know that their level of service has to be extremely high. Are you getting what you were promised? Too often salespeople promise what production can’t deliver. Are your problems addressed, and more importantly solved, immediately. If your account has been overdrafted and you don’t get your money back in two business days or less you are not getting good service.Cost too High. Are you paying more than you should? How do you tell? Get some quotes. There are a number of free quote services on line. Google "Payroll quotes" and go from there. Many times your payroll company will negotiate with you if you feel the price is too high, but not always. Remember also that the major payroll companies have a revenue maximization process. They will quote you a price to get your business. There used to be right on the Paychex contract a line called WIT for the salesperson to fill in. WIT stood for “Whatever it Takes”. The salesperson would give any concession to get the payroll business. Then the

sts quick corrective action, “when an employee’s choices become more problematic than the benefit added to the company, it is time to coach them up or out.” Preeti Kalra, an HR Manager at Dilithium Networks in India, encourages one-on-one sessions, “Have several one-on-one sessions with employee and talk about things that bother him/her, explain why things are the way they are and if the complaint is genuine fix it. If you religiously follow this practice you might be able to change employee's approach.”

Arrogance and Control

It’s extremely difficult to deal with employees or bosses which exhibit an attitude that they are somehow above the rules yet also desire to control those around them. When those situations arise, crap usually hits the fan quickly. To survive and grow from these sticky situations, Kathleen Erickson, Director of Sales & Business Development at Massively Parallel Technologies in the Denver area, suggests that there needs to be a culture of open communication that “when two people respect each other enough to say what's on their mind and work through the issues or clarify the misunderstandings...things go pretty well.”

Once the air is cleared, the relationship can grow and the organization can continue to thrive. “If we can humble ourselves enough to let creativity flow and appreciate the true talent and untapped potential in one another, amazing things can happen right before our very eyes. Everyday heroes are all around us...even in the workplace.” Erickson says.

Stubbornness

Simon Harriyott, Founder of Sussex Geek Dinners in the UK, points out that someone with a hard head is problematic to

How Much Attention Do You Pay to Your Clothing?
In its broadest acceptance, the term ‘clothing’ refers to coverings for the entire body. When speaking about clothing, we can also refer to coverings for the hands , feet or head. Almost all the people on this planet wear clothing. Other terms such as ‘dress’, ‘apparel’ or ‘garments’ may be used when referring to clothing.The reasons why people wear clothing are both functional and social. The human body needs protection against some weather or environment features, and clothing provides safety for people. There is also a social and cultural meaning associated to clothing.There are many other ways in which a person can decorate his/her body, such as cosmetics, makeup or perfume, but these do not constitute a form of clothing, but are more likely to contribute to the general message that a particular style of clothing transmits. Some other article, which are carried and not worn, such as purses or umbrellas, are not considered clothing, but rather fashion accessories. Out of the two genders, it is the women who resort mostly to accessories and decorations. Most of the cosmetics or makeup on the market are designed for women, but that doesn’t mean that men are entirely neglected. And as far as clothing is concerned, both men and women receive the same attention, more or less.The functional aspect of clothing refers to the protection of the human body against the dangers that surround us, such as strong sunli

It’s that time of year, when employee evaluations are due, where we evaluate the behaviors in employees that annoy us the most and try to figure out what to do about them. Below are ten behaviors that experts all over the world have identified as irritating, problematic, or counterproductive along with a proposed solution to the problem. The ten are in no particular order, but each one has its own set of circumstances which impact a company’s productivity or morale in some way.

Promotion and/or Pay Raise Seekers Who Haven't Earned Their Stripes

“If you want something different or better than the position you're currently in, then do the work, serve the role, earn the job and make it evident to everyone around you that you deserve it (without blowing your own horn every five minutes). The easiest promotions come when it's blatantly obvious that someone is already doing the job and capable of carrying it. The worst situations come when someone gets promoted to a job for which they aren't qualified. Everyone suffers in that scenario,” says Dick Hoffman, Owner of Hoffman Management Consultancy based in the Netherlands. “When someone pursues a title, promotion or raise so relentlessly that they make everyone around them miserable, then it's usually time to recommend that they exit the current situation and pursue another job.”

Falling Asleep on the Job

Sometimes employees simply don’t get the proper rest, but it’s unacceptable to nod off during the work day or meetings. Companies aren’t paying their employees to take a siesta on their dime. This is not only a hindrance to the company itself, but it genuinely upsets other employees. A Research Associate in the San Francisco area recounts a recent sleeping on the job incident where the outcome will always have two behavior altering options: “If sleeping on the job became a frequent problem with the employee, I would cite safety issues (which are applicable, as we work in an engineering/laboratory environment) and give the employee the option of a) getting immediate help (and I would have to see documented proof that he/she was actually getting some help) or b) face termination.”

Pardon the pun, but it’s hard to sleep on this one—quick and decisive action is required to save face and improve productivity. A general consensus seems to suggest that the best solution for your company is an immediate termination if you catch someone frequently sleeping on the job or during meetings. It’s not the company’s responsibility to cater to employees which don’t get the proper rest.

Teaming Up in an Attempt at Getting a Co-Worker Fired

This makes our list for the simple reason that executives and managers should be entrusted to ensure that the right people are “on the bus.” No amount of employee revolt against one employee will benefit anyone therefore it is best to keep the lines of communication open between all parties. If a riff is sensed among the constituency, hash it out to the best of the team’s abilities as a team. If a mutiny is inevitable, attempt to satisfy everyone’s concerns by attempting to restructure the team in such a way that promotes functionality above personality differences. If push comes to shove, someone may need to be terminated as a last resort to permit the business to move forward.

Not Understanding the Business

Ram Charan, a popular business author and former CEO of Honeywell, mentions in his book What the CEO Wants You to Know, “when you come right down to it, business is very simple. There are universal laws of business that apply whether you sell fruit from a stand or are running a Fortune 500 company.”

If you’re an employee, take the time to truly understand how your employer makes money. If you’re a business executive, invest some of your time to explain how your company makes money so that everyone has the basic fundamentals down. This is the least you can do to improve your likelihood of long term success.

Being a Know-it-All

No one enjoys being subjected to criticism or one-upsmanship from co-workers especially if that person isn’t the boss. There are no employees at any company, including the CEO, that know every answer to every conceivable problem. That’s why there are people in various roles within the company. If there is a “know-it-all” among the group, the best solution is to confront that person and hash out the differences as a group. Be careful not to make it appear as if you’re ganging up on the guilty party though. If the person provides a valuable set of skills to the organization, your goal isn’t to eliminate the employee—it is to discourage the behavior while continuing to capitalize on their unique strengths. Conversely, if the person is no longer providing tangible benefits to the organization, perhaps it’s time to encourage the problem child to seek employment elsewhere.

Eating at Your Desk

Nothing short of instituting a “please eat in designated areas only” policy will correct this problem. Businesses should consider implementing this policy if for no other reason than to protect company assets such as the computer, keyboard, monitor, desk, chair, and phone at each person’s work area. Grease can penetrate those objects and wear them down over time not to mention the unsightly grime and residue build up. If you have carpet in your office, it’s doubtful you desire to replace it frequently because of repeated mishaps. While most people are careful not to spill things, accidents are bound to happen so why not take the steps to limit them to areas better equipped to sustain them?

Dave Gullo, Owner of Snowboards-for-sale.com based in California, puts a humorous spin on this, stating “the sounds of mastication are annoying. Worst case is an employee who is eating KFC and working at the same time touching your monitor leaving rainbow marks.” Indeed!

Always Playing the Victim

If bad things are supposedly always happening to someone around you or even to you, it’s time to confront the guilty party. Complaining all the time without presenting viable solutions aggravates everyone in little time. Life isn’t always a picnic for anyone, but a consistent negative outlook is demoralizing to say the least. “Victim behavior is disruptive because victims create drama, they are constitutionally incapable of taking responsibility for the choices they make which means they are intractable and incurable. Prevention is highly recommended through careful screening,” says Jane Plank, Sr. Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Equity Consultants in Richfield, Ohio.

Plank suggests quick corrective action, “when an employee’s choices become more problematic than the benefit added to the company, it is time to coach them up or out.” Preeti Kalra, an HR Manager at Dilithium Networks in India, encourages one-on-one sessions, “Have several one-on-one sessions with employee and talk about things that bother him/her, explain why things are the way they are and if the complaint is genuine fix it. If you religiously follow this practice you might be able to change employee's approach.”

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

Simon Harriyott, Founder of Sussex Geek Dinners in the UK, points out that someone with a hard head is problematic to h

Quality Control Aspects Of Garment Exports
IntroductionFor every industry or business, to get increased sales and better name amongst consumers and fellow companies it is important to maintain a level of quality. Especially for the businesses engaged in export business has to sustain a high level of quality to ensure better business globally. Generally quality control standards for export are set strictly, as this business is also holds the prestige of the country, whose company is doing the export. Export houses earn foreign exchange for the country, so it becomes mandatory to have good quality control of their products. In the garment industry quality control is practiced right from the initial stage of sourcing raw materials to the stage of final finished garment. For textile and apparel industry product quality is calculated in terms of quality and standard of fibres, yarns, fabric construction, colour fastness, surface designs and the final finished garment products. However quality expectations for export are related to the type of customer segments and the retail outlets.There are a number of factors on which quality fitness of garment industry is based such as - performance, reliability, durability, visual and perceived quality of the garment. Quality needs to be defined in terms of a particular frame¬work of cost. The national regulatory quality certification and international quality programmes like ISO 9000 series lay down the broad quality par

employees. A Research Associate in the San Francisco area recounts a recent sleeping on the job incident where the outcome will always have two behavior altering options: “If sleeping on the job became a frequent problem with the employee, I would cite safety issues (which are applicable, as we work in an engineering/laboratory environment) and give the employee the option of a) getting immediate help (and I would have to see documented proof that he/she was actually getting some help) or b) face termination.”

Teaming Up in an Attempt at Getting a Co-Worker Fired

Not Understanding the Business

Being a Know-it-All

Eating at Your Desk

Always Playing the Victim

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

Simon Harriyott, Founder of Sussex Geek Dinners in the UK, points out that someone with a hard head is problematic to

Running a Business is Like Gardening
Having had a busy week, I was only too happy to don my gardening clothes and get outside to do some planting, weeding and pruning last weekend. “It’s interesting”, I thought, “how business refers to a slight improvement as the green shoots of recovery”. I then began to think of other gardening analogies that could be applied to business. OK so now I’m being a bit sad and if I can’t just go outside and enjoy the air, maybe I should stay in more! But hang on, this can be a useful exercise. Think about it. If you “can’t see the wood for the trees” in your business but gardening is easier to relate to, then look at how you tackle your garden and how you could apply the same principles to your business.First of all you need a plan of what you’re going to grow and where (Your business plan – what are you going to do and who is your target market). Maybe that plant you put over in that shady corner is dying off so you may need to cut your losses and dig it up (that line of business is losing money). The border flowers would do a lot better if there weren’t all of those weeds (too many strands to the business) and every time you go to the shed to get your tools out there’s so much clutter you either can’t find what you’re looking for or it all falls out of the shed (desk clutter).Of course, once you’ve done your planting, you’ll need to be vigilant about the watering otherwise nothing will grow, and before you know where

Not Understanding the Business

Being a Know-it-All

Eating at Your Desk

Always Playing the Victim

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

Simon Harriyott, Founder of Sussex Geek Dinners in the UK, points out that someone with a hard head is problematic to

Brand Management: Customer vs. Employee
When it’s all said and done, all you’re truly left with at the end of the day is your company’s brand and what your brand stands for in the minds of both your customers and employees. But do you manage your company brand for the benefit of both constituencies: customers and employees?Most companies that I consult with focus their brand management efforts solely on the customer. But if you’re really serious about differentiating your brand from your competitors, then I suggest that you begin to manage and think about your brand from a dual, yet fully aligned point of view: customers and employees.Your brand, be it appliances, electronics, automobiles, clothing, etc. serves as a powerful magnet that attracts both customers and employees to your front door, while also serving as an anchor to hold them. The best companies manage their brands from both the customer and employee perspective. And why not, after all isn’t it your front-line store employees who are the face and personality of your brand to your customers?Your current brand management focus and responsibilities should encompass the two most important components of your business: your customers and store employees.Customer Perspective: Great brands connect with their customers on an emotional level vs. logical. It terms of emotion, what does it feel like viscerally to do business with you?Brand positioning starts with a frame of re

nated areas only” policy will correct this problem. Businesses should consider implementing this policy if for no other reason than to protect company assets such as the computer, keyboard, monitor, desk, chair, and phone at each person’s work area. Grease can penetrate those objects and wear them down over time not to mention the unsightly grime and residue build up. If you have carpet in your office, it’s doubtful you desire to replace it frequently because of repeated mishaps. While most people are careful not to spill things, accidents are bound to happen so why not take the steps to limit them to areas better equipped to sustain them?

Always Playing the Victim

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

Simon Harriyott, Founder of Sussex Geek Dinners in the UK, points out that someone with a hard head is problematic to

A Cluttered Ad Kills
Is your advertising crisp and clean? Is your advertising simple and to the point? Is your advertising sending the right message to your customer and compelling them to become involved with your company and come in to buy something? Is your advertising really top notched?Why do I ask these questions? Well simple really, you see most entrepreneurs will answer yes to these questions, however as you review their advertising especially their print advertising like brochures, yellow page ads and newspaper display ads they are so cluttered and confusing usually that the make no sense and turn customers off.A cluttered ad kills business; it does not help business. Your goal in advertising is to build brand awareness or compel the potential customer to buy something from you or hopefully both. But if you clutter all your advertising with irrelevant debris, then it will produce neither of your well-intended goals.Why waste your money on a cluttered ad? They do not work, perhaps it is a sign of ego and you can list all the great things you feel are important about your business, but that is an ad for you and it will not likely convey the correct communication to your customer. Ask yourself the questions above once more and be brutally honest with yourself? Consider this in 2006.

Arrogance and Control

Stubbornness

Simon Harriyott, Founder of Sussex Geek Dinners in the UK, points out that someone with a hard head is problematic to him, “coming to a discussion with a fixed decision in mind, and refusing to listen to or consider alternatives. It's much worse when they've reached the wrong conclusion. It's a hard one to fix, but sometimes gently asking questions will get them to think about their solution more deeply, and they may see flaws in their original decision.”

Said Hmaidan, Senior Information Officer at International Finance Corporation, The World Bank Group in the D.C. area, agrees, “As communication is the foundation of all conflict resolution and team building, people which such behavior tend to create a negative atmosphere and bad vibe among the team.” He suggests this potential solution: “there are several ways to remedy this but the most effective is by acknowledging the point the person made and create a new possible scenario placing the person into that scenario to attract his/her attention. When the person becomes attentive, then it is easier for him/her to see others point-of-view.”

Laziness

Ah, who could leave out the annoying employee that simply doesn’t want to work or refuses to apply themselves? David Benjamin, Direct Placement Recruiter at Variant Partners near Detroit, gets bothered by “the efforts and creativeness of lazy employees always making excuses of why the company or they can not be successful. They come up with the most creative ways to spend their time to demonstrate their point instead of using that time wisely to become a success.” In problematic situations such as this, it’s best to help the employee seek out employment elsewhere, perhaps another department within your organization, because it’s doubtful they will ever be happy in their current role.

What the Issues Have in Common

In all of these cases, most experts agree that open communication can alleviate a lot of problems. Some even suggest a more proactive and self centered approach such as the one Joao Trindade, International Manager at Wisse Financial in Trinidad, utilizes, “What I’ve always tried to do, was to understand that person’s motivation and try to change the way I worked with them, in order to take the best part this person had to give to the company (if the mountain doesn’t go to Moses…). I would say that after some time, people understand that are being treated differently and they will try to understand why. Sometimes, when they figure out why, they change by themselves, which I believe is the best method.”

Ray van den Bel, an Independent Consultant in the Netherlands, points out that sometimes people will just have to agree to disagree. “It depends on your own communication style which is most annoying because some styles do not interact with other styles. Expressive people and analytical people are thus often opposites.”

While there are no definitive sure fire fixes for annoying employee behavior, opening the lines of communication seems to be the most popular elixir many experts suggest. If you openly communicate with your employees, and there are still major problems, it may be time to go in a different direction in order for both parties to be happy and content.

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.atriclecheck.com/article/20524/atriclecheck-10-Annoying-Employee-Work-Behaviors-and-What-to-Do-About-Them.html">10 Annoying Employee Work Behaviors and What to Do About Them</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.atriclecheck.com/article/20524/atriclecheck-10-Annoying-Employee-Work-Behaviors-and-What-to-Do-About-Them.html]10 Annoying Employee Work Behaviors and What to Do About Them[/url]

Background checks can be used for a variety of purposes and are a good way to have confidence that someone with whom you are involved personally or professionally is disclosing all necessary information.

Good customer service is not rocket science. It is a blend of knowledge, proper phone etiquitte, and genuine interest in the customer you are servicing.

Grants are given daily in the US, to all deserving businesses and organizations. They in return, through their charitable deeds, benefit the vast community.

Tags

Links

Will You Add? - 10 Annoying Employee Work Behaviors and What to Do About Them

Related Articles: