Feed for content matching tag 'critical_success_factors'

It's People, Stupid

SmBizConsult — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:37:37 GMT

If the answer is, "It's People, Stupid," what's the question?

What is the one most important Critical Success Factor for an organization to achieve success?

Much has been written about business management from
Management to Strategy; most focused on creating or adding value. Technology is seen, all too often, as a
panacea; put technology in place, outsource your people and value will
increase. Operations has become a study
in efficiency and automation. Marketing
is a numbers-heuristic. Accounting is
about precision while Finance is about maximizing shareholder value. And so on.
Each professes to ‘have the answer,' but what is the question?

Early in my career (early 1970's) my mentor said, multiple
times, "regardless of what the client tells you, it's always a people
problem." Thirty-four years of
consulting interventions later, I finally believe him. To wit:

If the
machinery in the plant was constantly down for maintenance, he said it was
the people responsible who were the problem, not the equipment;
If
profits were declining, he would say it wasn't the market;
it was the people of the organization and in Sales and Marketing who
didn't read the market
correctly, or at all; or
If the
newest technological whiz-bang wasn't meeting its expectation; it was the
people who over promised results, under installed, or didn't train
adequately.

You get it don't you?
If only the people had done their jobs ... but, for some reason, they
didn't. This was in the early 1970's,
but it holds true today. *+Yet, one
defining difference between that era and today is that, at least then,
employees were valued, not a commodity to be re-engineered, right-sized,
laid-off, fired or outsourced.+ *

How did we get to the place where we think the answer is _something
or anything else than this_? My
contention is that it's driven by our need to find a ‘quick solution,' an
expediency of sorts or to sweep it under the rug. We, as managers, don't like problems of any
sort. But people problems are more
puzzling and distressing. "Make this people thingy go away; they're too hard to
figure out and to manage. Give me a
solution, ‘cause I have another problem to fix (or another windmill to joust)."

But, management du'jour doesn't cut it anymore. The latest fad or business book doesn't do
it. Ropes courses won't fix your
problems, nor will fish markets. People, armed with knowledge and encouraged
to meet or exceed expectations, treated with respect will do it for you.

Two fundamental precepts:

Your
people are the only asset you have; and
Treat
them as you would like to be treated.

A simple formula for success, to be sure, but difficult to
pull-off. Just a thought, though. And, maybe one worth some additional reading.

If you think it's a bunch of B/S, go back to your Blackberry
or laptop, treat your people without respect, downsize them or outsource them,
and, then, see what you've got.

But if you feel that perhaps the two fundamental precepts above ‘resonate' with
you, let's collective explore how to proceed.

If your question, then, is:

How do
I raise shareholder value?
How do
I increase sales and margins?
How do
I increase market share?
How do
I keep up with changing technology?
How do
I _____________________________________ (fill-in-the-blank based on your
current needs or experiences).

The answer is, "it's people, stupid."

The formula then is: *People,
armed with knowledge and encouraged to meet or exceed expectations, treated
with respect will do it for you*.

Comments are welcome.

Managing Applicants/ Investigation Services

Investigator1 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:29:51 GMT

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Any personnel management issues unique to online services?

coffeebean — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:54:07 GMT

Hello!

I am looking for resources on creating an online tutoring business. This would be an extension of my current in-home tutoring business, which uses contractors.

Are there any do's and don'ts of an online tutoring business (from a personnel perspective)?

Are there programs to manage and schedule "online employees"?

Can you recommend software to track minutes worked by a tutor?

Do you have any warnings about typical mistakes made by online service companies (any industry)?

Thank you for any direction you can offer!

HR Issue Concerning a Contract

coleman63 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:36:26 GMT

My bounus pay was based on if the company as a whole made profits over an X amount for the month, everyone including, would make a bounus. My bounus was tiered so the more they made the more my bounus would have been.

When I asked what the companies magic number to meet in order to get to the first tier, they told me that was none of my business. So, I didn't know what numbers had to be met so I didn't get any bounus the whole time. I was even told by one of the three owners they had met bounus levels and made money several of those months.

After I started asking for the monthly numbers and wanting to know about what number had to be met, I was fired.

Any Advise!

Creative, non-monetary ways to incentivise your employees?

KPIfix — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:21:37 GMT

What are some creative, non-monetary ways to incentivise your employees?

In these cash-strapped times, we're looking for ideas to reward employees for hitting their targets, or meeting their goals.

Ideas please...

Question on whether to hire or to form a partnership

Anadllc — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:31:29 GMT

Hello,

I am new and love this site! I have this business idea for about 3 years now. It is an online business. My background is sales and marketing but I need a lot of things done on the computer side. That is the thing that has held me back. I am a firm believer in doing what you do best, and hire out for what you don't. I got to know someone that knows a lot about computers, that I hit it off with. I approached her with my idea and she is very interested. I told her that it will be a lot of work and she is alright with that. We were going to do a 50/50 partnership to save on costs to hire out. Now I am questioning whether this is a good idea. She is accepting a full time postition with a large company and says she can do both. I do have a bit of a problem with this, because I will be working my *** off doing everything BUT the computer side. What if things don't get done in a timely manner on her side that holds us up? It is difficult to back down now, but here are some options that I can think of and would be interested in knowing if you have any ideas or thoughts. BTW I don't have a problem with a split because this is not about just building a website...

First, a partnership agreement would be written up with an exit strategy already in place and agreed on while we are on friendly terms. I will use my attorney so that it is a fair contract, but will protect me.

1) set up a 51%/49% partnership split so I will have more say.

2) Set up a pay scale where I will pay her for her work, and as the company grows, provide some way for her to work full time with a % (but less) of the business.

Thanks for your help and looking forward to what you have to say!

Management 101- Knowledge is Power

MorgenGroup — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:11:33 GMT

So you have a good management team. Your staff is efficient and you have low turnover. What more could you want? In today's uncertain economy you need a GREAT management team who empowers their staff by providing them the necessary tools to become successful employees. The tools... Knowledge. Provide your employees with the knowledge needed to make your company Grow and most of all, profitable. By doing so, you'll not only gain loyalty with your employees but you'll be providing them with the necessary tools to become tomorrow's leaders.

Part of a manager's responsibility is to create learning capabilities throughout their organization, on every level - in all areas. You, as an operator need to understand the value of knowledge as an important resource, similar to cash or raw materials. Knowledge management involves cultivating a learning culture. Where organizational members systematically gather knowledge and share it with others within the organization, in order to achieve better performance. For instance, at your next management meeting, conduct an open discussion and document best practices your team has developed, unusual problems they have dealt with, and other work related information. Then, allow your management team to share this information with your staff. Provide them with the information needed to make effective decisions necessary for the company to achieve its goals as an organization but most importantly, allow your employees to provide feedback. Listen to what they have to say! By listening to your staff you not only gather useful insight to complement these lessons but in turn, learn what your customers are saying about you! Let's face it, who's on the front line directly dealing with your customers? Your employees!

"You're successful because of the team you lead"

Hope this proves useful.

Robert Ray

The Morgen Group, LLC

http://www.themorgengroup.com/

Commision based only sub-contacted employees

MADMAN — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:54:06 GMT

Is a sub contracted employee commissioned based only for sales better than an actual employee?
and if so what are the liablitys for a sub contracted sale person. What are the benifiets of them being sub contracted? any help with sub-contracted commission based employees would be great.

Local Universities Included in Your Human Resources?

jamalmalik — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:48:16 GMT

How about harnessing the talents of students at your local Universities as part of your HR program in order to conquer your company's needs, in exchange for scholarship monies?

How would one go about conducting a scholarship competition; say for example $3,000 to the programming major who submits the best computer program solution for a database project a company is facing?

...Or tapping into the young minds of the new era of online marketing majors by offering a scholarship for the best essay on strategies one should use to be developing and marketing their business online in the world today.

Have you done this before or do you know how to properly coordinate with Universities to get it going?

Jamal

Managing Volunteers.

sirebral — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:32:56 GMT

I could use a little guidance on how to manage a group of volunteers. A magazine was recently dropped into community hands and I am with the group of people who have picked it up and are working on it now. The group, however, has divisions and inequal contributions, and members who work in an underhanded manner.

For example: One member had left out several contributors when handing out credit. Since the contributors had handed their work over to my department I responded defending them and the individual declares me inhumane. After the incident other members of the group have tried to push me out, but the web page is on my registered domain and now I recently registered the Trademark and Trade Name.

My hope lies within a few members of the group. I know a few would like to eventually make money with the magazine, and one other member has a vision with the magazine and web site that I would love to Venture.

Now that you know my situation I would like to ask. How do I deftly administor my ownership of the magazine and remove the problem members?

Clear & Empowering Communication

CareerCoach — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:24:16 GMT

We all have had those moments - you know, those times in a conversation when the blank look slides across their face and we know that they didn't get our point - or when what comes back to us as a result bears no resemblance to what we asked for.

What would it be like to be able to communicate effectively? What is it that has us be powerful in our communication sometimes, and yet at others fail miserably in sharing our ideas?

We've found that there are four things that are usually missing when a communication fails:

Clarity in the message

Being conscious of the other person's situation(s)

Listening for what will make a difference in moving the conversation forward

Using the Rule of Three

Clarity in the Message:

This is probably the most easily added component of an effective communication, yet it is often the first thing we drop out. Do you plan what you are going to say? Do you practice it? Do you have someone listen to you as you say it so that you can get feedback on the effectiveness of the communication? Each of these practices will have your communication be as clear as possible.

Practices: Write it out! Go ahead and script out your message - determine who you are talking to, what they need to know to move forward, and your intention in communicating. Practicing knowing what you intend to accomplish in the communication.

Being Conscious:

Many times we begin speaking without taking into consideration what is going on in the other persons life. At that moment, for us to be effective in our communication, we need them to be focused on us, rather than on whether the babysitter showed up, their reports are on time, or how mean their mother in law was at dinner last night. Take a moment at the beginning of your communication to be sure you have the full, undivided attention of the person or people you want to communicate to.

Practices: Begin your communication with a question - for example, " Is there anything you need to say or do before we get started ? " or simply " Can I have your undivided attention for 5minutes?"

Listening:

It is amazing how powerful Listening can be! When you are committed to powerful and effective communication, it is vital that you listen for what will move the conversation forward. Listen carefully to what others say, then ask yourself, how can I answer that in a way that moves us forward to my intended result?

Using the Rule of Three

Ask any marketing person, any business school graduate, any master of communication, and they will tell you that it takes three communications for a message to have a chance of being delivered. Therefore the "old" Rule of Three is:

Tell them what you are going to tell them

Tell them what you want them to know

Tell them what you told them.

You have the opportunity in every communication to leave the other person (or people) empowered to action. And that's the topic for our next article!

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