:Forest Folk

Fork lift trucks are now present in any forward-looking factory, warehouse or depot facility. The labour saving powers of the fork lift are without equivalence. However, such large power and flexibility comes with a downside, they can be really dangerous if applied by haphazard and inexperienced operators. Thus it’s critical, in fact even a statutory prerequisite, that every last one your employees who may use one are given complete forklift safety training. A coaching course of study with forklifts will address all fields of forklift process including topics such as hazard awareness, correct payload proficiencies, speed, stability, correct placement, daily safety checks and outside hazards like other staff. Even drivers who consider themselves to be veteran may need to take refresher coaching to enable them to be covered by the latest safety statute law. Preserving a safe working area is the duty of every last business organisation owner and manager, without exceptionally high operating routines this can be unimaginable to attain. We have each got word of tragedy stories where a badly mastered forklift has left a trail of carnage and trauma (including deaths), make sure your workplace does not get added to this list by verifying all your forklift operators are decently schooled. Constantly verify that your safety training is supplied by authorised private instructors who are tracked by national criteria (with the proper insurance and qualifications) and that all courses of study are likewise sanctioned by the proper national organizations.

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There is more involved in making money than income alone - you need to be making money cost-effectively. Performance appraisal software, despite often being omitted, provides a significant asset for corporations who want to do this.

Business optimization needs an awareness of the abilities and weak areas of its staff; where do they do their best work? How can your system adjust to accentuate their strengths and hide their weaknesses? This is the crucial question. The chief trouble has traditionally been in identifying and collating this information. To look at just one facet of this — staff evaluation — defining their progress and keeping track of it is a significant task. You first put employee performance appraisal systems together in order to appraise the work done by each worker. The analysis of this information is next. After all, before you can put it to use setting goals and checking further advancement you have to know what the data means in practice.

Employing performance appraisal software you know that this appraisal is taken care of and you only need to examine the various metrics to know what an appropriate set of goals for this member of staff would be. It also makes keeping track of the member of staff’s advancement much easier. With more accurate information for a smaller investment of time, this can be a major saving before putting these findings to use. If you want to it’s possible instead to carry out your own assessment, simply using the software to generate and keep up a full record to work from. And making your employees more efficient is merely one of the advances you can make using performance management software. Both clients and suppliers can be analyzed using the appropriate software, giving you access to more performance management tools. It’s easy to check who provides higher grade products, at the lowest prices as well as reveal those with high rates of damage or slow delivery times.

When it comes to your retailers the software can help there showing you just who your best seller is, their loss percentage and similar troubles, and serving as a reminder of outstanding payments. Using this information you can customize your ordering and selling habits to boost income and cut costs. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that? This information will allow you to identify your best target audience. With this in mind advertising becomes more effective and quicker to plan. Watching both suppliers and market is smooth sailing with performance management software. In tandem with regular talent assessment and employee assessment such app will streamline employee performance management dramatically. It seems the sky honestly is the limit when leveraging performance management software.

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A modern job hunting campaign is by nature pretty complicated. While the internet has offered a variety of new channels, it also creates increased competition for choice jobs and potential challenges for job hunters.

Job hunting needs to be thought of as a highly personal, highly targeted marketing process where you are the product. Your resume is an advertisement. Your extended network is your source for job information.

So where does the internet fit in? At AA-Careers, we recently posted a job on a popular job board and got 600+ responses in a calendar week. For a single position. That’s increased competition.

Had a strong person called us before we posted the ad, they could have landed the position before running in to all that competition. How? By finding someone who knows someone at our office who became aware of the job prior to posting. Everyone was aware of the job for at least 13 days before it was posted. Who in your network might know of a job that’s coming available soon?

Be sure to check your cover letter and resume carefully! When we did an analysis of the 650 resumes, we found a large number of errors. 63% of the applicants were easily taken out with a fast triage process. How? The same way any hiring manager would. By eliminating resumes where the objective didn’t match our position description. By rejecting prospects whose cover letters gave us reasons not to employ them, like "I know I’m overqualified but I really need a job". By eliminating job hunters whose documents that didn’t open properly. And by rejecting candidates who didn’t trouble to spell check their cover letter and/or resume.

So the great news is that job sites give you a feel of who is hiring, and for what kinds of jobs. But once those jobs are posted, the competition is intense. You can still compete, if you have a well written resume, designed to appeal directly and clearly to the recruiter. And if you have practiced interviewing – so you don’t stumble at a critical point.

Another downside to be aware of is how quickly and easily you can be checked on on the internet. As we Googled several candidates, we ran into some MySpace comments that were in questionable taste. Nothing crazy, but enough to swing our thoughts about who to choose.

AA-Careers provides a encompassing set of services for Bay Area job seekers, providing our clients a personal career consultant, a managed job hunting campaign, modern tools like a personal website, video, highly targeted resume, and much more. Let us know if we can help you.

Be careful out there, and good hunting!

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Employment Verification is a extensive process where timeliness and accuracy are key. This process, along with the other daily tasks placed upon a HR Manager can create overtime hours and cause bottle necks in the hiring process. Taking confidentiality in perspective can also help a likely employer find a better solution to the verification process of all new hires that would not only be entirely confidential, but faster, easier, and more accurate as well. Now companies such as VeraTrack are now being used for outsourcing this process. Outsourcing Employment Verification has been known to be cost effective as well as relieve the strain placed upon the Human Resources department.

Human Resource departments spend much unneeded time on the phone verifying employee work histories. The slow and time consuming job of conducting Employment Verification is not effective for an in-house Human Resources department in a large corporation. However, there has recently been a new growth of an innovative service that a savvy company who hires a large number of individuals, can now use to outsource the burden of having to personally making calls that inevitably which waste invaluable hours that could instead be spent assisting the needs of their current employees as opposed to being used for verifying others for possible employment. At reasonable rates, there is no reason even the smallest company needs to do this menial task for themselves.

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Succeeding in business depends to a great extent on competent people management skills. With a little effort you can learn and improve these techniques. Having a spontaneous affinity for dealing with people and forming relationships is a plus, nevertheless there are some things you can learn that will make the process simple. Build relationships: Start by memorizing a person’s name. Encourage conversation; get eye contact as you’re talking. Have a respectful attitude, and listen to the other person’s point of view, even if you do not agree or have a different point of view. The development of listening skills is one of the best things you may do to improve your talent management skills. Exhibit an interest in what everyone can give to the team.

Live up to your word: Keeping your promises is fundamental. If you can’t deliver on what you promise, the fragile bond of trust is fractured, and individuals won’t give you their best without trust. Everytime you make a statement or give a promise, make sure that you can follow through or it would really be more sensible not to give your word at all. You’ll discover, when you can’t be depended on, you can be certain they will act in a similar way. Be open to any feedback: It’s a two way street. Maintaining an open mind regarding other people’s ideas is very important in effective human resource management. If you are able to show accessibility and receptiveness, you establish that you value other people’s feedback, and they should respect yours. Encouraging discourse also opens doors to fresh ideas, ways of achieving the mission of the business, and strengthens the bonds of an excellent team. By allowing the staff to express their ideas, every member takes an interest in the project’s outcome. Encourage all sorts of communication: Communication is central to dealing with staff effectively. Keeping an open door policy, listen attentively to other people, be open-minded, and permit team members a chance to speak. Employees must be encouraged to speak with one another as well as with you. The creative process depends to a great extent on the open exchange of opinions, and by communicating with one another, it is much easier to find any issues before they become problems, allowing corrective measures to be put in place to prevent further problems. Acquiring these skills may require some time, nevertheless the rewards are worthwhile. By encouraging a good team dynamic and demonstrating good listening techniques, you can achieve the best in business success.

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It’s thought in more than a few companies that, if every last employee has the necessary level of health & safety training, they are suitably equipped to deal with an emergency. The truth is that, regardless of the industry you’re in, an education in safety regulations and risk asessment simply isn’t enough. Equipping your workers, hiring an enthusiastic supervisior and organising regular practise are all essential factors. Your employees must have a professional supervisor to oversee staff performance, but this person also needs to fulfill a much larger role in the company. Whomever you select as the supervisor must be a skilled communicator, they should also believe that training is fundamental. As well as observing any relevant legislation, the person supervising as well should make sure that employees perform every task efficiently. This is a tricky job. A skilled supervisor is required to possess broad knowledge of both the business and the product as well as an extensive familiarity with safety legislation, the identification of hazards, and CPR. Offering basic training in health & safety is not enough for your staff. They must practise risk assessment and the recognition of hazardous areas. They also require a solid comprehension of the essential precautions that they’ll need to take and also how best to act if anything goes wrong. Only when these processes become second nature are employees totally protected. Proper safety apparatus is every bit as necessary to the your workers’ safety as any training. When they are lacking the items they need, or find out that they’re damaged when they really need them, then all the education available won’t help them.

Servicing your equipment on a regular basis is fundamental. When you have a problem with your supplies, make certain that it’s remedied speedily and put it back in the right place. Your workers need to get appropriate health & safety instruction, but they also need to have the right gear, frequent practises, and a supervisor with contagious enthusiasm. When you take this advice you should see that health & safety legislation will be a normal part of working life instead of an inconvenience everyone has to try to think about all the time.

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Success in business depends on competent people management skills. With a little effort you can succeed in learning these techniques. Having a innate skill for dealing with people and forging relationships can be a plus, but there are some things you can do that will make this procedure simpler.

Relationship Development: Remembering co-workers by name should be a beginning. Encourage conversation; get eye contact during a conversation. Do be respectful, and be attentive to what the other individual says, regardless of whether you agree with them. Paying attention to everything staff have to offer is one of the most important human resource management skills in your arsenal. Be sure to encourage any contributions from team members. Keep your word: Do not make promises you can not keep. When you don’t keep your promises, the delicate bond of trust is damaged, and without trust people won’t give you their best. Everytime you make a statement or make a promise, you are squandering your time and effort if you don’t act with integrity. To be honest, when your people can’t depend on you, they can’t be relied on to be there when they are most needed. Be open to any observations: Feedback must be a interactive process. Keeping an open mind with regard to other’s ideas is an important skill in effective people management. Being accessible and open establishes that you want to listen to other people’s opinions, your opinions will be valued in return. Encouraging discussion also promotes evolution of original ideas, ways of fulfilling goals, and strengthens the company dynamic. When your co-workers can express their ideas, the project and the results will become important to each employee.

Communicating is essential: Managing your team boils down to one thing - communication. Keeping an open door policy, listen closely to other people’s views, remember to welcome employees to share ideas, and encourage all your team members to express their opinions. Employees should be inspired to talk to one another as well as with you. The exchange of thoughts is critical in the creative process, if the team members communicate efficiently, it’s simple to recognize problems early, allowing corrective action to be put in place to prevent further problems. Acquiring these techniques will require some work, but the rewards far outweigh the effort involved. Through encouraging a good team dynamic and demonstrating good listening skills, a successful business will be yours.

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Meetings are out of control. They’ve been that way since my first job out of college when someone gave me a book called How to Make Meetings Work. When I could control it, I stuck to the following rules to ensure the meetings were effective.

Have a good reason for the meeting

Sounds obvious, but often overlooked especially where recurring meetings are concerned. Recurring meetings are taken for granted and no one bothers to revisit if there is a need to continue the meetings or to simply cancel a meeting when there is no need for it.

Franklin Roosevelt started many programs to help America recover from the depression. Some of those programs still existed many years after the fact when they’re no longer needed or fit the current economic environment. Some programs didn’t get cut until the 1980s through today.

Limit attendees

This good general management common sense. The more people you have, the longer it takes to come to a consensus on the action items, problems, and solutions.

For several years, I worked on a management team and it worked well as attendance was limited to specific managers. Then, two other groups joined our organization and we almost doubled our meeting participants. We fought to limit attendance for this specific meeting and lost. We didn’t accomplish as much as the smaller team and it took longer to get results.

I’ve seen managers and team leads attend every meeting there is known to the department even if one of their direct reports already attends. Delegate and trust. Let the direct report attend the meeting and report back. Use the freed up time for something else. It’s not a crime for a manager to attend less than 40 hours of meetings per week.

Imagine what would’ve happened to the Declaration of Independence had more than five people had sat on the committee? A committee of five drafted it with Thomas Jefferson doing most of the writing and presented to Continental Congress for approval.

Create an agenda and stick to it

Even if you have an impromptu meeting, quickly jot down the agenda so you can stay on track. It doesn’t have to be fancy or formal. Just list what you’re going to talk about and if possible, list how much time is available for each topic.

When a discussion gets lengthy, do what it takes to put an end to it otherwise the meeting runs over or the people who have the conference room reserved kick you out and your last agenda items get sacrificed. Typically lengthy discussions impact only some of the attendees. So agree to take the discussion offline (outside of the meeting). Make it an action item for them to meet and report the final decision.

Steer irrelevant discussions back on track

Enforce the previous rule and stick to the agenda. As a compromise, table the discussion for after all of the agenda items are covered. Make the last agenda item a free for all so attendees aren’t tempted to break the rhythm of the meeting with something not on the agenda.

Let’s get those meetings back in control and reclaim the extra time for other work.

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl’s notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn’t wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.

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If you manage people for any length of time, it’s likely that, at some stage, you’ll need to let one or more people go.

It might be because they aren’t performing to your expectations; because you no longer need their role performed; or because they’ve breached the law or a company policy.

Whatever the circumstances, firing or retrenching someone is a confronting and often stressful task.

Here are some suggestions to make the process easier and less traumatic — for you as well as the person you need to dismiss.

Depending on why you need to let someone go — whether it’s due to poor performance, a role that’s no longer needed, or a legal or policy breach — here’s what I suggest you do…

1. Poor Performance

Firing or relocating someone because of poor performance is often the trickiest situation because (a) it may be unclear why your employee is underperforming, and (b) depending on the

relevant labor laws, it may be difficult for you to prove that he or she is underperforming and that you’re legally justified in firing him or her.

So, if you are dissatisfied with someone, the first step is to work out why he or she has performed so poorly. Specifically, is it because of:

- You
- The organization, or
- The poor performer?

Beginning with you… are you managing the person satisfactorily?

This is important because not only may it be unnecessary to fire your staff member (i.e. you might find that his or her performance picks up simply by changing the way you manage) but you could also avoid a “wrongful dismissal” claim being thrust on you. For tips on how to manage people check out my free report, How To Be An Outstanding Manager — The 8 Vital Keys To Managing People Effectively (see below).

Alternatively, if both you and your employee work for someone else… has that “someone else” — i.e. your organization — somehow failed to provide enough resources for your employee to do his or her job properly? Is it failing to give you the support you need to carry out your management responsibilities?

If so, you may need to ask for changes or more support from the “powers that be”. And remember, if the company is to blame… firing and replacing your employee will not improve matters.

Unless… it’s your staff member — and neither you nor your company are responsible for the poor performance.

Is the employee ill suited to the role? Does he or she lack key talents, skills or knowledge?

Are their personality clashes with you or other colleagues that are interfering with his or her work? Or are there personal issues that are affecting the employee’s attitude or performance at work?

Above all, is there anything you can do about any of this?

If not — and you’ve done all you can to help your employee improve — then the writing in on the wall. You cannot afford to keep people on who don’t pull their weight!

Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean you can’t fire someone in a fair and compassionate way.

In fact, you can make it easier by giving the employee plenty of notice — at least 1 month and up to 2 months if the job market is tight and you can afford it.

And if, during this time, you don’t want the employee to continue doing his or her old job, give him or her other work to do.

Lastly, let the individual apply for jobs and attend interviews. Even better (if you can afford it), pay for him or her to attend career change training, where he or she will learn how to prepare, or update, his or her resume and apply for new jobs.

2. The Role Is No Longer Needed

If you simply don’t have enough work to go around — or it’s clear that a particular employee’s role is no longer needed — you’ll have to “retrench” him or her.

In this case, it’s important to remember that the worker is not to blame for losing his or her job.

If you can, redeploy the employee in another role. But if that’s not feasible try to be extra considerate when letting him or her go by providing plenty of notice, letting him or her apply for jobs on your dime, and paying for career change training.

3. Legal / Corporate Policy Breach

Now we come to what may appear to be the easiest situation in which to sack someone — where the employee has breached the law or a corporate policy.

Well, it can still be tough, if not tougher!

First of all, if you think someone has done something wrong, make sure you have solid proof before making any accusations or commencing the dismissal process. And comply with all corporate
and legal requirements.

Secondly, be prepared to give the employee a fair hearing… and be prepared for what he or she has to say.

If there are extenuating circumstances, you might take these into account when deciding whether and how to sack the individual, depending on your professional, corporate and legal obligations.

For example, you might decide to put the employee on some kind of “probation.”

Be very careful about taking it easy on someone who has clearly lied, stolen or breached your trust, though. While it might seem only fair to help out a person you let go because of poor
performance, or because his or her role is no longer required… when it comes to a wrongdoer…

I reckon you should cut the “dead wood” out of your team or organization before the rot starts to spread!

So there you have some general tips for firing or letting someone go. Hopefully, if you do need to use these tips, you’ll find the task of dismissing someone much easier and less stressful.

Anna Johnson is the author of the How To Manage People System, which includes her controversial new book, How To Manage People (Even If You’re A Control Freak!) (ISBN 0-9775175-0-0). For invaluable advice on managing people, claim your copy of Anna’s FREE 12-page report, How To Be An Outstanding Manager — The 8 Vital Keys To Managing People Effectively.

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The foundation of any business transaction is the promise of fair deal. In complex organizational relationships, it is all too easy to lose sight of the existence and terms of this deal. On the surface, that employer/employee relationship, called a job, is a fair deal wherein the employer’s money is traded for the employee’s time and talent. The deeper reality, however, is that the employer is actually trading resources for a set of desirable results, which the employee is expected to deliver. The promise to faithfully deliver as agreed by both parties is the essence of accountability.

We recommend that organizations give voice to their accountability through a document called an Accountability Agreement. An Accountability Agreement clearly states the results that each member of an organization, from the most senior to the most junior, is expected to bring about [For specific examples of Accountability Agreements, please see our online tool at http://www.AlignOnline.com]. The following six principles form the foundation for negotiating and understanding accountability. Together they form a practical theory of accountability, the transforming effect it can have on an organization, and its essential role in creating significant business results.

I. Accountability is a Statement of Personal Promise

Accountability is both a promise and an obligation to deliver specific, defined results. Accountability, as we define it, does not apply in an abstract way to departments, work groups, or entire organizations. Accountability applies to individuals and their personal promise that these functions will deliver the agreed results. Accountability is first and foremost a personal commitment to the organization and to those the organization serves. It is more than just trying, doing your best, or behaving in certain ways. Accountability empowers individuals to push their circle of influence outwards in pursuit of results.

II. Accountability for Results Means Activities Aren’t Enough

Everyone in an organization, from the CEO to the janitor, has some piece of the business and a corresponding set of results which are theirs to achieve. Distinguishing results from activities requires a shift in traditional thinking built on an awareness of why we do what we do. For example, a typical supervisor’s job description includes activities such as “training,” “performance evaluations,” and “timely communication”. In contrast, a supervisor’s accountabilities should include a result such as “the success of all direct reports.” This concept addresses the common observation that everyone is busy but only some people are productive.

III. Accountability for Results Requires Room for Judgment and Decision Making

If you’re not allowed to use any judgment or discretion on the job, if you’re told to follow the rules no matter what, if no decision is up to you, then your boss can only hold you accountable for activities. You can be held accountable for doing what you’re told, but you can’t be held accountable for the outcome. Judgment and innovation can never be fully described in a job description. When employees are expected to be resourceful in the achievement of results, they are held accountable for capturing opportunities or ignoring them.

IV. Accountability is Neither Shared nor Conditional

Accountability Agreements are individual, unique, and personal strategies. No two people at the same level in an organization should have the exact same accountabilities. Separating each person’s accountabilities can be challenging, but valuable clarity results from the struggle to eliminate overlaps.

V. Accountability for the Organization as a Whole Belongs to Everyone

Every employee’s first accountability is for thinking about and acting on what is best for the organization, even if doing so means putting aside one’s individual, functional, or departmental priority. The most successful organizations expect and allow every person to be of practical assistance in realizing the organization’s goals.

VI. Accountability is Meaningless Without Consequences

In Accountability Agreements, consequences need to be negotiated. Negotiated consequences that are personally significant to the employee in question are an essential element of Accountability Agreements and are fundamental to forging a fair deal. This is a key step in forging an interdependent and mutually beneficial relationship with one’s employer.

Organizational accountability entirely subverts the tendency to make excuses and shift blame. When employees make clear and specific commitments for their own work, entire organizations become aligned and achieve specific measurable results.

Shaun Murphy, Ph.D. and Bruce Klatt, M.A. are senior partners in Murphy Klatt Consulting. This article has been adapted from a chapter of their book, Accountability: Getting a Grip on Results (2nd Ed.1997). Their other publications include Aligned Like a Laser (2004), The Encyclopedia of Leadership (2001), and The Ultimate Training Handbook (1999). They are internationally recognized experts in the field of Accountability Alignment, Organizational Effectiveness, and Project Development whose books have sold over 100,000 copies internationally.

For more information please go to http://www.murphyklatt.com or try their online Accountability Alignment tool at http://www.AlignOnline.com

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