Simple Things You Can Do to Better Appreciate Your Employees’ Efforts

 If you run your own business, it is inevitable you will have to work with other people. These people are largely your employees. Finding ways to appreciate your employees is a very smart management decision most times. That is because employees who feel appreciated are more engaged and consequently more productive. However, appreciating your employees is a very tricky business. That is because most times, each employee beats to a different drum but most employees appear to crave public recognition no doubt. Many employees would work harder if they have reasons to believe that their efforts were better appreciated.

That is exactly where good business managers come in. Good managers know that there is no better way to make their teams feel valued at work than to share their efforts with the whole world. That is, exploring ways to appreciate them publicly. These days, company websites and social media accounts are about the best places to share your team results. Here now are simple things you can do to get good results on that score.

You can work on your company’s “About” page to list as many performing employees as you can there.

You can encourage employees to provide the author byline for each article they write on your website.

You can share your employees’ stories on your website. 

You can include “featured” employees on your home page.

You can regularly thank and recognize employees in your social media streams. 

Somehow, if you can find practical ways to dedicate your time and resources to making your employees happy, you’ll easily turn them into your most loyal brand advocates. That no doubt is good for business, any business.

 

How Work Friendships Benefit Your Business

Our world is changing, so are human relationships particularly in the workplace. These days, nearly everyone wants to get along with other people to build beneficial relationships. If you run a business and you employ people, you too may want your employees to get along well with one another. Here is some good news for you. The Gallup Organization has found out that friendship among employees is highly beneficial to any business. In times past, it was thought that friendships between employees generally led to goofing off and petty gossiping at work thereby wasting precious time. Thanks to research, we now know that having close friends at work confers a variety of benefits not only on employees, but also on the companies they work for.

Since the benefits are both ways, smart employers now actively encourage work friendships among their employees. Below are some of the very glaring benefits companies and their employees derive from work friendships:

01. Employees who have best friends at work are more productive than others.

02. They enjoy more work satisfaction.

03. More women benefit greatly from the social interaction they get from work friendships.

04. Employees who feel a deep connection with their team members are more likely to take positive actions that benefit the business.

05. Employees who have a best friend at work are less likely to leave their jobs.

06. When employees have good friends at work, it positively affects company profitability, safety, inventory control and customer loyalty.

Can you see why smart business owners now actively encourage their employees to be good friends and to make good friends at work?

How to Secure the Physical Space of Your Small Business

Granted a lot of small businesses operate online these days, there are still many who traditionally operate in a physical space. Very sadly, thieves are on the prowl every hour of the day looking for businesses hit. As long as there are small businesses, there will always be people out there looking to rob, burglarize, and otherwise steal from them. It’s simply a risk that every business owner must take. The trick is to minimize risk and maximize awareness. Getting out ahead of potential thieves is the best remedy. We all know that robbery is a crime of opportunity. If somehow you are able to eliminate that opportunity, your business, your customers, and your peace of mind will be better off for it.

It does a lot of good if we take advice from people who are trained and empowered to deal with thieves. That is what the police do all around the world. The police know very well that if criminals are determined to steal from you, they’ll find a way to (try to) do it. To stop them, you can set up your business deliberately to discourage would-be thieves. That effort lies in the way you design the layout and equip the physical space where you do business. LAPD and many police departments, routinely advise every small business owner operating in a physical space to do the following among many other precautions they can also take.

ð    01. Provide security system information to employees only on a need-to-know basis. The sad truth is that employee theft and fraud is a major source of loss—amounting to tens of thousands of lost profits for businesses each year on average.

02. Keep minimal cash in the register at all times, and make bank deposits often and during business hours.

03. Most importantly: Cooperate with burglars if confronted. It’s not worth losing your life over.

04. Apply deadbolt locks or metal security crossbars to all outside entrances and inside security doors.

05. Install secure locks and burglar-resistant glass on windows.

06. Keep the cash register in plain view from the outside of your business, so it can be monitored by police as well as spotted by passersby and customers if a robbery occurs during business hours.

07. Install lighting on the inside and outside of your business, especially around doors, windows, and other entry points.

08. Install CCTVs correctly and be sure they are functional at all times.

09. Where practicable, you can link your small business premises with the local police department by way alarm system.

You Need a Pleasing Personality to Sell

“Everybody lives by selling something.” --- Robert Louis Stevenson

A pleasing personality is such an all-embracing quality that it practically touches on all characteristics that make you a human being. Specifically:

You must be able to dress decently and turn-out appropriately to fit any occasion. This does not necessarily mean you have to dress in an expensive manner but if you can afford to, why not? Some employers, particularly Banks pay their employees “dressing allowance” to enable them turn-out very well at all times to fit the corporate image of the company. Good dressing works almost like magic in the business world. When you go looking for employment, your appearance alone can disqualify you even before anyone bothers to ask you a question to find out what you know. This further underscores the importance of good dressing.

Your posture and body-carriage say a lot about your personality. You must be able to carry yourself well, look and act smartly to improve on your pleasing personality.

As a Salesperson, you must have some measure of showmanship to impress customers.

You must be able to “pose” for effects but be sure that it is not over dramatized. Good Salespersons must be good Show-persons.

You must have some poise and some air of self-confidence. These qualities help to build trust and also add to your personality.

You must be tactful and courteous in dealing with people. Weigh what you want to say thoroughly before saying it. Avoid loose and discourteous statements when presenting a case.

You must be a good listener but should be able to display real personal magnetism.

You should never talk-down on Customers.

 

7 Great Opportunities to Negotiate a Raise with Your Employer

Whether in business or social life, it is inevitable that everyone has to negotiate. However, to negotiate successfully, timing is very crucial to the outcome. What ordinarily you may have been able to get easily, if your timing is poor, you could lose it. In any employment, keen observation and a quick decision on when to act, most times makes the difference between success and failure. For this reason, one person may succeed to get something out of a boss while some other person may fail woefully in similar attempt. The key is timing. It is of utmost importance to know when to take the opportunity to negotiate with your employer either for a raise or for some other concessions. The following opportunities come in very handy if you want to successfully negotiate a raise with your employer.

01. When your employer is in a very good mood. All humans have mood changes from time to time. Some persons experience these changes more frequently than others depending on individual differences. If you are able to time your employer very well, you can always seize the opportunity to initiate the matter of a raise with her when she is in a very good mood. At such times, your chances of success could be very good.

02. When you have just completed a major project successfully. As an employee, any time you are able to deliver to expectations on your job, it makes your employer happy. Such times usually present a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise.

03. When company reports indicate that the company’s earnings are up. Most employers are always in upbeat moods when their company’s earnings are up. Such periods are usually good opportunities for smart employees to negotiate a raise.

04. When you have just acquired a new training or skill useful to the company. With a new skill or training in your kitty, your value to your company usually increases. That is a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise. A good employer will at such times accede to a raise if she wants to retain you. If not, she knows she could lose your services to rival employers. 

05. When you have just brought in a very good and profitable business for the company. Only very valuable employees bring good businesses to their companies. If you are able to do that, it will make your employer happy. Negotiating a raise with her at that moment could earn you a very sympathetic and favorable hearing.

06. When your employer’s confidence in you is at the highest. Many employers do have plenty of confidence in employees who always deliver on promise. Any time you are able to deliver successfully on some valuable projects that earn you the commendation of your employer, such times are okay to negotiate a raise.

07. When you have just made a significant amount of money for your company. The bottom-line in any business is to make money. Employees who are good at helping their companies to make money are very valuable employees. If you are able to make a significant amount of money for your company and your employer acknowledges it, the time is conducive to negotiate a raise.

Many employers know that no employee wants to earn a fixed salary in perpetuity. Employees who are capable of making themselves extremely valuable to their employment and are able to time their moves very well usually get raises from their employers if they ask. With keen observation and action taken when the time is ripe and proper, more often than not, you can always succeed to negotiate a raise with your employer. That is what many smart employees know which enables them to get a raise from their employers anytime they ask for it.