Job seekers tend to concentrate more on the attire to be worn during interview. They forget those little things that is also being observed by employees. Tiny things that we often disregard of. There is nothing wrong on getting a nice tailored custom dress shirts, or getting a matched dress shirts and pants from your favorite store. It is just a part of your majority appearance. But remember it is just a part of it, there are still few parts that we tend to forget but also being noticed by employers.

It is great to see a guy in a smartly poised mens dress shirts topped with a neatly fitted tailored suit. But what about other aspects such as the hair, jewelry, perfume, tattoos, nails, earrings or piercings, purse or briefcase, wallet, portfolio, and breath mints? 

Keeping your hair nice, neat and well groomed is the only way to flaunt it. You do not need a special hair style for the interview. For men, it is better to trim beards and facial hair, as there are some organization or company that frown in dislike seeing a man with unshaven/ untrimmed beard and mustache.

Nails should also be clean and neatly trimmed. For women, wearing of nail polish is okay as long as the colors are not bright. Go instead for neutral and conservative colors and make sure that the polish is not chipping off.

Minimize your jewelry and go for those that flatter but not overpower. Such as stud earrings instead of chandelier earrings. Obey the “thirteen rule” of wearing jewelries. That means wear not more than thirteen accessory pieces such as earrings, watch, and buttons of the shirts or blouses where we often not think about.

Better have your tattoos and body piercing be removed or have it hidden. Do not let your employers see these, or else it might eliminate you as a candidate for interview.

Always bring with you your portfolio packed with all the documents that you may show during the process. Have a pen or a pencil and a notepad to jot down information. Leave your big briefcase and just carry a small purse or wallet with you. Also, do not forget to carry breath mints that may chewed before the interview starts.

Corporate awards are commonly given to top employees inside companies. If you would like to recognize workers within your company, it’s best to undoubtedly think about establishing an award ceremony to your business. This article will briefly focus on a couple of primary info about company awards today. Many companies have realized that employee satisfaction is often elevated when workers feel that the work they’re performing is being acknowledged by their superiors. Additionally, corporations and entire industries have witnessed will increase in productivity when employees are recognized for their efficiency whereas on the job.

Because of this, corporate awards are rising in popularity. Increasingly firms are beginning to realize that their staff are merely on the lookout for a small amount of recognition for the exhausting work they do every day. If you own a company though, you are doubtless involved concerning the expenses which can be associated to establishing an award ceremony. If you’re working with a budget, you should buy cheap trophies and awards in order to keep your costs down. There are additionally many trophies being produced as we speak which might be very expensive and effectively designed as well. You may buy customize trophies with the intention to lower the price of awards, or you maybuild a customized trophies so as to enhance the worth of an award in the eyes of your employees.

You can too buy awards that are made out of many various materials. Some awards in the marketplace at present are merely made out of plastic though. These awards are the most cost effective products on the market today. Since these awards are reasonably priced, many firms purchase these merchandise in an effort to recognize numerous employees within their organization.

Some firms are simply in search of a method to acknowledge their star workers though. If you want to only acknowledge your best employees, it’s best to look into some of the customized awards and different refined trophies which might be on the market today. Among the most expensive trophies on the market today are made out of crystal. Crystal awards are sometimes the perfect awards out there for firms that wish to recognize star employees, as a result of they’re usually the most fascinating awards accessible within the eyes of staff in general.

To make these expensive awards even more helpful in the eyes of employees, you can customize them with the name of the people you are rewarding. You can even add the brand of your company to those products with a view to make the award much more special as well. Also, these awards can be carved in quite a lot of different ways so as to characterize stars, sailboats, or practically some other sort of object in the world. Even organizations on a price range can reward their workers for the hard work they do for the organization on a daily basis. An awards ceremony can immediately improve employee satisfaction inside an organization, while also growing worker productivity
in the future as well.

Too often, organizations that need business strategy consulting are the same ones that would never think of hiring a third party to help them. Huge corporations use consultants to assist with a wide array of programs. But far too often, it is the smaller business that needs help the most and rejects help the most.

In 2008, US statistics showed that a little more than six-hundred thousand new business were started. Over five-hundred and ninety-five thousand closed their doors and more than forty-three thousand filed for bankruptcy protection. Approximately 70% of new employing businesses survive for two years, while only 50% are able to stay afloat for the first five years of operations. These startling, statistics speak for themselves.

But Meg was never daunted. As a single mother and a trained butcher, she had a dream! She wanted to retire early and travel for the rest of her life. And she was lucky! Meg found the niches that even the likes of the Starbucks’ marketing smarties hadn’t found. She invested her money and spirit into the entire process full throttle. Her business focused on filling the caffeinated gaps at concerts, sporting events and several large area hospitals.

For more than a decade she was successful enough to gross into the high six figure range every year. She spent her draw on a million dollar house, bought into vacation clubs and took exotic vacations every year with her family. After a dozen or so years, Meg was exhausted. Her goal starting out was to build up the business and sell it for a profit. Even though she had invested wisely in real estate, she never invested in a sound branding strategy. Her operational plan was non-existent and even after fifteen years she had no clue what her business was worth or what her annual revenue at any location was without researching it. Poor Meg!

Her dream fell apart! She tried desperately to sell the business but there were no offers. Nobody wanted what she had built up even though the entire package included great equipment, prime real estate and a central commissary setup that could easily be rented out. Meg was beside herself! Had her luck run out? Why hadn’t her hard work paid off in the end? Aging into her retirement years, she was really tired and emotionally and physically depleted. In fact, she was working harder than she ever had just to keep her investment afloat and pay her family bills.

Sadly, Meg never stopped to consider building a strategy to help her reach the original goal of being able to ‘work less’ and ‘retire early’. Even when presented with ‘no cost’ consulting opportunities from her brother’s new wife who had been consulting for Fortune 100 corporations for a quarter of a decade, Meg dug in her heels. She wanted to be in charge even if it meant ultimate failure. After all she thought she had a pulse on the market and continued to improvise accordingly.

No wonder nobody wanted to buy her business. When coffee wasn’t moving fast enough, she sold popcorn and kept the name of the coffee business as the trademark for her popcorn shop. When popcorn wasn’t bringing in enough revenue she sold hot dogs. All the while keeping the company name and branding as “Java Time”. When people got tired of hot dogs she sold Smoothies. And on it went! Meg’s operational tactics were based on her lack of education, experience and branding. The business suffered as did her dream.

Meg’s new sister-in-law could identify in minutes what Meg wouldn’t see in years. Any business strategy consulting professional would have seen the same thing. Unfortunately Meg never figured out the most important part of her business was how developing a strategy and sticking to it would help her retire early. Meg’s still working. Her brother and his wife have retired wealthy.

The country’s brightest female students are rejecting careers in the City as they see the Square Mile seen as unethical and rife with discrimination, a survey has shown.

Source: Recruitment and talent management: News from People Management 22 March 2010

Security Guards – How Security Guards Can Improve Your Business

Security is a crucial aspect of any business, and having your business sufficiently protected will provide many benefits. Conversely, an insufficiently protected business can suffer from a number of problems, from vandalism to full scale break ins. Security guards provide a cost-effective way to protect your business, and here we’ll go over a few of the advantages of having a security guard protect your business.

Business security serves several different purposes: firstly, it protects your business from a number of adverse effects, and secondly, it can help bring in more business. Security guards are one of a number of different aspects of security, and are one of the most important. Other security measures, such as automated alarm systems, gates, and fences, are much easier to bypass than an actual human being. Having a person on the premises to protect your business can prevent vandalism, keep anyone from trespassing, stop malicious intrusions such as burglaries, and report suspicious activities to the police.

Security guards can provide you with an increase to the number of customers you get. This works because when customers see security guards, they have an increased sense of safety. It also gives the impression that your business is more professional, able to protect its assets, and invested in keeping the business safe from negative influences. By providing your business with security, you will see not only a reduction in the number of potential incidents, as well as an increase to the number of customers that are willing to trust you with their patronage.

Business security is especially important in several types of businesses, such as those that sell jewelry, electronic equipment, or other small and expensive items. Having a security guard or even multiple security guards in the building during and outside after will help prevent shoplifting and burglaries, and in the event something is stolen you will be much more likely to recover the item. While most security guards are only authorized to perform a citizen’s arrest upon a suspect performing a crime (and even then the crime usually has to be a felony), their very presence will help deter crimes from taking place to begin with. They are also able to function as arms of law enforcement by contacting officers and filling reports. Having a security guard on your premises can even lower your insurance rates, due to the decreased risk of losses due to fire and crime.

San Jose Security Guard

San Francisco Security Guard

Bay Area Security Guard

Oakland Security Guard

          Managers are those groups of employees who are at the first level of line management.   As the rank and file employees answer directly to them, the managers have the greatest influence on how the employees behave and how positive their attitudes are toward the company they are working for.    The employees’ perception of the company and how important they perceive their own roles in the company are vital to the success of the business.

          This is the exact reason why managers should have the right “ people skills ” to be able to effectively motivate the staff and deal with difficult problems.    The managers must serve as the guide of the staff  so every employee would have a someone to look up to and turn to  for coaching and support and for questions that they might have for their career development and work efficiency.    Thus, a manager must be a good leader and also a follower of company rules to serve as a model for his subordinates.

          The culture in the business and good staff management  are powerful forces that affect staff retention.    It is to be remembered that employees who feel good about themselves and are satisfied of their roles  and their contribution to the business are going to reflect this in the way they help push the company forward.    In much the same way that improper people management  can also force the workers to resign.    Thus, it is of utmost importance that managers have the knowledge on how to motivate, guide and oversee his staff.

          Since managers are in the frontlines dealing directly with the staff and faced with various issues,  for example, poor work ethics, various customer complaints, bad performance, low work productivity, etc., they must know exactly how to handle these problems, take appropriate action, and cope with stress at the end of the day.

          Statistics show that almost two out of three employees who do not show up for work is not physically ill.   Unscheduled absences are one of the major causes of low productivity.   This is most often due to lack of firm staff policies and want of  good staff discipline.  

          For most companies,  dealing with staff absenteeism is upon the frontline managers.   This is because it is the immediate supervisors or frontline managers who are most aware of the circumstances surrounding the absence of their subordinates.    Also, the managers are in the best position to be aware of the problem as soon as it starts and also in the position to very well identify its causes.   Therefore, their active involvement in the company’s absence policy and disciplinary procedures  is vital to the effectiveness and success of these policies.

           It is, however, unfortunate that most managers are not very well trained in managing absenteeism in the workplace.   They have been left on their own and without any means to carry out the often unpopular task of identifying, confronting and resolving frequent absence abuse.

          To ensure that supervisors and frontline managers are comfortable and competent in their role of managing absenteeism, they need to have the full support of senior management.    Everybody must be aware of the different objectives of the absence policy.    If there are misunderstandings between departments, the policy is bound to lose its effectiveness.

          To provide more consistency, supervisors should be trained in their responsibilities about managing absenteeism, advised how to conduct effective return-to-work interviews,  and educated in the imposition of disciplinary sanctions if the need arises.

          Managing absenteeism requires a firm company policy.    But, above everything else, it must have a “Plan B” is ever the problem persists.   It must ensure that the work is appropriately covered during the term of the employee’s absence.    A reliever should be assigned in order to cover the work so as not to hinder productivity.

          Importantly, critical actions must be taken to instill to the employees that absence abuse will not be tolerated and there are appropriate sanctions for these unjustified absences.  Some of the usual policies and absenteeism deterrents can be:

•  Having an absence policy in written form which provisions are made known to all the employees;
•  Confirming from the employee’s household when  the employee phones in sick for the day.  This will require a visit to the employee’s domicile.
•  Having a detailed record of absences which specifies the cause of the absence, medical record form the physician, days of absence, date of return and the like;
•  Identifying the diverse patterns of absences and the possible causes of these;
•  Conducting a thorough interview when the employee gets back; and
•  Imposing disciplinary sanctions if there is a need to do so.

Strategic thinking is a tool for moving your organization forward.  An important thing to consider when thinking strategically, is to look at your organization to identify the key players that either help get things done or influence things to not get done.  This includes those that your staff follows, respects, and listens to among their own ranks.    Are all of these key players on your side?  Is everyone moving in the same direction?  Is there someone in the background affecting the implementation of your new system?

The informal leaders, those who possess great influence over your staff even though they don’t hold formal leadership or management positions, appear in every organization.  Whether we are discussing a corporation, school, office, sports team, or church, these informal leaders are everywhere.  So why do many formal leaders choose to fight these unacknowledged opinion-makers rather than harness their influence to work in the best strategic interests of the organization? 

You probably already know who it is–the one employee who can persuade and influence your staff, department, or organization because of their knowledge, charisma, and/or strong personality.  It doesn’t matter what your decision is, the team will wait for this informal leader’s response before deciding whether they will support or oppose your direction.  If you think these informal leaders don’t exist within your organization, then you are either the only person working there or you need to take a closer look.

Several years ago, I had a client that owned a Fortune 500 collection agency.  The staff consisted of collectors, lead collectors, supervisors, and managers.  The supervisors and managers were fairly new to their roles and, although they were accomplished collectors, they didn’t know how to get the team from A to Z to reach monthly revenue goals.  Collectors were paid hourly and relied on their commissions to make the majority of their income; however, money is not always a sufficient motivator if the work environment does not satisfy employees’ needs. 

After assessing this organization, I was able to identify two informal leaders that did not work well together.  These two were creating mass chaos in the call center as a side effect of their interpersonal conflict.  Both employees were excellent collectors, consistently met their 

individual goals, and contributed significantly to their team’s goals, so they were valuable to the organization.  But their animosity was causing significant dissatisfaction and tension among their co-workers, who had effectively gravitated into two opposing groups. 

Having recognized the problem, upper management was able to implement a plan of action to create a synergy between the two informal leaders and further develop and mentor the formal leaders.  This resulted in a work environment with low turnover, higher employee satisfaction, and better trained managers.  In the end, this group exceeded the financial expectations established in their strategic goals.

Working capital falls under the heading of “operating capital” in business management theory.  It is a way to measure finances, namely those immediately available to a business.  Working capital is thus an indication of operation liquidity, as simply derived by subtracting the amount of current liabilities from the amount of current assets.  When current assets are less than current liabilities, a condition of working capital deficiency exists, also known as a working capital deficit.

It should be noted that your business can be chock full of assets and even be greatly profitable but still short on liquidity if those assets and all that profitability cannot for some reason be readily convertible to simple hard cash – and this is where positive working capital is important, for a company that can continue current operations with sufficient funds available to satisfy all upcoming debt and expenses.  Managing working capital is thus an important aspect of any business, involving inventories, accounting (both billable and payable), and cash flow.  Working capital is also important for the role it plays in any valuation of a company.

Oftentimes, banks are not the most suitable solutions for problematic situations concerning working capital.  Working capital alternatives include cash advance financing, merchant cash advances and commercial loans made out not by banks but by businesses that specialize in just such products for specific niche markets.  Particularly in these economically challenging times, banks have drastically reduced or even outright eliminated whole lines of credit.  One must “think outside the bank” these days, especially as a small business, even if not currently a struggling one.

This means, by implication, that working capital management might be improved.  Due to the effects of the financial meltdown that are still reverberating throughout the banking sector, working capital options now assume a much greater importance.  One possibility, under the right set of circumstances, can result in a reduction of credit card processing fees when obtaining merchant cash advances.  And because there are so many different factors involved in so many different possible policies, a further suggestion would be for the use of working capital experts.  Professional advice is generally welcome no matter what, but in these tough times it is often necessary.  Dealing with new funding sources and working capital solutions is time-consuming even if it weren’t so potentially confusing, but using finance experts to help evaluate the best options available today seems downright prudent, if not also wise.

More and more employers are pulling credit reports on potential employees. Why? For many reasons. If the employee will be handling money, the employer wants to know whether the potential employee might be tempted to
commit fraud, to embezzle, or be vulnerable to a bribe. In addition, employers might want to check whether the job candidate has a past due account with the employer; if you’re trying to work for Bank of America but are 90 days overdue on a Visa card you have with that company, the conflict of interest might lose you that job offer.

No one wants to lose a job prospect because of lousy credit. And yet–if you’re out of work and the bills are piling up, how can you manage to keep a decent credit score?

The first step in deciding to boost a credit score involves knowing what the current number is. Request a copy from one of the major reporting agencies, like Experian. Once you have the number, examine the credit report for any mistakes. Mistakes can mean the difference between a good and a bad score.

Then, take the following steps:

1. Pay every single bill on time. Of course this is obvious, but even one lapse in a 60 day bill can mean the difference between a few points.

2. Pay down any “maxed-out” credit cards. A boost to your number cannot happen when you have maxed-out cards. Credit scores are calculated in part based on the ratio between available credit and used credit. Get your cards down to 50-60% usage.

3. Call to explain your current work status. Negotiate lower payments. This will help you to retain a decent credit score.

4. Try getting someone with a high rating to cosign a credit card or loan with you. Once the loan is paid off, your rating will get a nice boost. Use the money to consolidate other debt, to improve your credit rating and your appearance to employers in your job search.

A person’s credit score has become so important in recent years in the United States. No longer used solely for getting house loans and car loans, the
credit score is now used to smaller credit cards, consumer accounts, and many employers even use this information as part of the job interviewing and hiring process! An increase in your credit score is key to your home, your car, and your work at this point in time.

By Ray Miller

This is the third article in a six part series which discusses the Qualities of Leadership. It builds on what was covered previously so if you haven’t read the previous articles, be forewarned.

In this article we will discuss in greater detail the next two of the qualities of leadership: Honesty and Integrity and Confidence and Courage

A Leader Demonstrates Honesty and Integrity

“Lying” may be too strong a term. Actually honesty – or the lack of it – in organizational terms is more subtle. It’s how willing a person is to dabble in the grey area. Did you ever hear someone justify a situation by saying – “I didn’t lie – you didn’t ask me.”

Obviously a blatant liar is going to have a hard time motivating and convincing others to respect them. But usually (not always) honesty in the organizational sense is more subtle. It means explaining openly how a mistake occurred and owning it if it’s your fault. It means telling someone that you think he/she doesn’t have the skill set for the position they’re interested in – but could develop them. It means telling your manager that the numbers regarding your productivity have slacked off, and what can be done to improve them. How many times are reports, numbers and opinions massaged and sanitized out of fear upper management will be displeased with reality? Honesty requires sharing information with those around you rather than hoarding it. Honesty is the foundation of one’s integrity. With integrity you build trust with those around you. Then personal agendas can be tossed aside for that of the team.

If someone is willing to dabble in the grey areas, to “creatively interpret data,” to carefully word status reports in vague, half-truths, to make empty promises to staff, he/she jeopardizes their honesty and integrity.

Honesty, integrity, and genuine respect promote one of the most crucial elements in a healthy work – equity. Everywhere in our lives we seek equity and fairness. Why does it seem certain laws apply to some but not others? How about taxes? How many times have you seen someone get the job for all the wrong reasons? Why is it when profits plunge, executives get a raise, while the worker bees get laid off? If history has taught us anything, it is part of human nature to resist inequity.

Here are a few Leadership Behaviors which demonstrate Honesty and Integrity.

1. A Leader openly admits mistakes and failures so they can be rectified.
2. A Leader does not claim credit for accomplishments that he/she was not directly involved in.
3. A Leader maintains the highest ethical standards when dealing with customers and suppliers or vendors.
4. A Leader will keep promises or at least offer an explanation why they can’t be kept (promises to co-workers, management, customers, etc.)
5. A Leader does not manipulate data or information for personal gain or protection.

A Leader has Confidence and Courage

Confidence is contagious. It’s also rare. Especially in large organizations where things become paralyzed in decision making because there are so many layers and levels of approval – it’s refreshing for someone to step out of bounds once in awhile.

A leader is the first to believe in his/her abilities. If they have doubts, those around them are sure to see it in their actions, in their words and in their demeanor. Having confidence and courage doesn’t mean an employee or manager has to swing in on a chandelier, sword drawn, and scarf waving in the wind. Sometimes it’s in what they don’t do. They can say “no” when unreasonable requests are made of them or their team. By trying to appease everyone a leader knows they can lose the confidence of others. They may not conform to “the way we’ve always done things.” In fact, a leader has to be secure enough in his/her convictions to advocate new directions even if the short-term response is rejection or ridicule

Leaders understand that failure represents opportunity – opportunity to learn and to take a step closer to the solution. Rather than roll over and play dead, leaders just try harder. Leaders also have to rely on their courage when there is no one else to turn to. When times get tough everyone can turn to the leader and vent. But who does the leader turn to? He or she turns to that flame inside them, that intrinsic drive to try no matter what. If he/she panics – followers will lose faith. In times of true challenge it is the leader’s confidence that inspires others.

Consider also the more overt signs of confidence. This may sound a bit primal but we respond to physical queues the same way animals do. A wolf, in the presence of the pack leader, will hunch its back, bow its head and avoid eye contact. At the most blatant level a servant wolf will lie on its back, fully exposed, as a sign that it is submissive and loyal to the pack leader (If you try that one with your boss, call us, we’d be curious to know the outcome). The point is how you carry yourself conveys a message to those around you. Whether you are confident in stature and voice, if you maintain eye contact, or even how you lean into or away from conversation sends important messages regarding your confidence. Leaders have the attitude “That which doesn’t kill me…only makes me stronger…” Believe it.

Here are a few Leadership Behaviors which demonstrate Confidence and Courage.

1. A leader speaks openly and honestly to co-workers, management, and customers even when the message is negative.
2. A leader helps others accomplish tasks rather than micromanage or interfere with their work.
3. A leader attempts new ventures that will improve the company/department performance even if those ventures are untried or unproven.
4. A leader places his/her personal reputation on the line for challenging deliverables because he/she believes they are attainable.
5. A leader maintains a calm, professional demeanor under times of stress and “crunch” times.
6. A leader speaks with a confident in tone. Avoids passive words and phrases such as “try” “maybe” “sort of” and is comfortable and convincing when speaking to groups.

If you have the time, why not move on to our next article “Qualities of Leadership: Influential and Decisive”.

Ray Miller is Managing Partner of The Training Bank,  a Training and Consulting firm specializing in Customer Focus, Service Improvement, Leadership and fully customized training solutions. He is also co-author of Management Training by the Book and That’s Customer Focus.