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Is e-learning really as effective as face-to-face training?

Focus.com — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:50:29 GMT

Vendors hawk the benefits of e-learning: cost-effectiveness, essential for training a global workforce, multimedia and so on. Are they on-target? Regardless, e-learning is becoming an essential part of corporate life. Any tips?

A Good Resume or A Good Blog?

iyazam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:06:16 GMT

I have been getting many questions lately from individuals looking for a job and are seeking advice as to what should they focus on when looking for a job or what can they do to impress an employer.

Its interesting to see the two types of job seekers:

1) The resume job seeker

2) The blogger job seeker

The resume job seeker is someone who hopes to get a job based on a good looking resume and of course past experience.

The blogger job seeker is someone who will share his or her knowledge in order to pre-sell themselves to a potential employer.

Lets hear it - whats better in today's economy: a good resume or a good blog?

Will Minimum Wage Increase Help Millions of Low-Incomer?

karenH — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:48:10 GMT

Beginning Friday (July 24, 2009), millions of lowest wage-earners will be getting a bump-up in pay, while many already-struggle employers will have to face the burden of increased payroll costs.

Between 3 million and 5 million people will be affected by the minimum wage rise from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour, says Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

However, this 70 cents increase will not apply to tipped employees, like bartenders and waitresses. They will get the same minimum wage that they got 18 years ago -- just $2.13 an hour.

Will this minimum wage increase really help millions of low-income workers?

Team Building

caffeinated — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:16:16 GMT

Do you participate in a fantasy league, knockout pools or brackets at work? Could you use this as a team building exercise to get employees excited around the same thing and also to blow off some steam? As long as it doesnt detract from people being productive, I dont have any issues with it. What do you think?

-caffeinated

Self employed contractor - is this considered stealing?

happybooker — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:29:11 GMT

We are a small firm and I have always made it a practice to hire independent contractors for our commission only sales positions. They seem to be the most motivated and have the most drive over the course of our sales cycle.

Like most startups, I began this business in my basement and it quickly grew. My first salesperson was brought on when I was overloaded by myself. We will call her "Salesperson A". I knew Salesperson A and had transacted business with her for a couple of years prior to bringing her onboard. Since I did know her and her work ethic, I made the basic mistake of not insisting on having her sign an NCND - a no compete non disclosure document. Frankly, I was too busy enjoying our company growth and though she would be fine. I now consider this a costly rookie mistake.

Salesperson A has always been paid and treated like an independent contractor. We are small enough that she is considered like family.
Fast forward 8 years later and Salesperson A has become our biggest salesperson and the one we rely on for the bulk of our revenue and growth.

During the past year our revenue has declined 59% - much of which I attributed to the economy and our product line. However, it has come to my attention this week that Salesperson A is using our client database and our email system to start booking with customers silently through her own "company". She is using our past client accounts, our email system and our database and then turning around and booking accounts on her own. This diverting of revenue has been a silent and potentially fatal killer and I did not take notice until recently. I did find one of her contracts - completely cloned from ours - word for word - with only the company name and bank account information changed to her. Needless to say this is very sad and I am wondering what I did to cause Salesperson A to do this. She has been like a partner to me and many people thought we were married as we have worked together for so long.

My question is - Salesperson A has a number of leads in the pipeline and through our system that could close any day now. Do I confront her immediately and let her go, or wait to let her go after these leads play out? Also, since she is an independent contractor, does she have any legal right to take our clients and bookings away?

The fact is when I let her go, this will cause a stir in our industry and no doubt is a major shake up to our small firm. So any educated and experienced thoughts on how to handle this will greatly be appreciated. Thank you for your help as I am perplexed!

Hiring a Company Director as an Indepent Contractor

hickory — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:43:25 GMT

A partner and I recently started a small corporation together. We are just getting off the ground, and don't expect to be making enough money to actually have any employees anytime soon. Nonetheless, we would like to hire one of the company's officers as an individual contractor for a one time job. Is this possible? Would we need to draw up a contract to avoid any issues in tax or worker's comp issues? Any similar experiences? We're a California C corporation if it makes any difference.

Seems to be putting off references

massagefever — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:40:10 GMT

I am looking to bring an independent contractor into my business. I met her and had a decent feeling about her but I am not getting references from her like I asked. I asked about a week and a half ago. I know she checked her email about it, so I am wondering, did I dodge a bullet? I do not want anyone in my practice that will ruin my reputation.

Any Legal Issues for Layingoff an Employee?

smallbuziness — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:50:09 GMT

Due to the recent budget cuts, I'm forced to layoff one of my two employees. They are both excellent workers and I don't want to let anyone go, but I can't afford to keep them both. The one employee has been with me for 5 months. She signed a one year contract to work for me. We talked about having her work for me on a contract basis. This way I only pay her for the work she does and she is able to stay and work for me, which is what she wants. I gave her the contract to sign and have asked for it several times over the course of two weeks. I gave her a deadline of signing the contract. The deadline has passed and she has not signed it. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I know I will have to lay her off soon because I have no money left to pay her. Are there any legal issues that I am against if I do lay her off? What do I need to do before, during and after laying her off? I'm in the process of getting a small business loan to keep her, but if it doesn't go through I want to be prepared and be able to pull the trigger.

Thank you.

The Gift of Choice

iventures — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:14:17 GMT

Have you ever searched everywhere for that gift that you wanted to fit perfectly with the mood of the person receiving it? You agonize to find the gift and just as you're about to wrap the gift, you remember something else and change your mind about what you bought? Or, you actually got the person what you thought they wanted and gave them the gift only to learn later that they would have liked something else you never would have even thought of giving...?

Great Gift Giving

Giving a gift is all about the giver making the right choice for the receiver and the receiver agreeing that the giver made the right choice. GiftofChoice is your way of making gift giving as easy as receiving... - easy, exciting and enjoyable.

An Easier Way

To ensure that the person receiving your gift is excited, offer them a selection of gifts to choose from.

Get excited choosing the gifts for the receiver. He/she will be excited selecting the gift they like best. You won't know what gift they selected, but you know when they recieved the gift.

Employee appreciation

ibdowner — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:40:23 GMT

Do employees really enjoy going away for employees appreciation weekends? Is it fair to ask them to go away without their wives and girlfriends? Are day trips better?