The Thriving Small Business

SMART Goals – 5 Questions To Ask When Writing Goals

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We all know of successful organizations and often wonder how they do it.

It may be a competitor, vendor you do business with or the health care facility down the street.

The success of these organizations can be attributed to one thing. They know where they headed and have a detailed plan for how to get there. Read the Full Article →

5 Tips For Retaining Your Best Employees

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There are not many things more frustrating for a business owner or manager than to hire a new employee, train them, develop them and then have them leave the organization for another job.

The time it takes to recruit, hire and train an employee – along with the associated costs – result in a very real burden for employers. Read the Full Article →

6 Tips For Creating An Effective Succession Plan

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Succession planning helps organizations prepare for a transition in leadership and puts structures in place to develop skills and competencies in employees.

It is estimated that 52% of small to medium sized organizations do not have a succession plan in place to replace senior leadership.

I’m always amazed at how many organizations fail to put the necessary time and thought into planning for the inevitable need to replace vital employees. Read the Full Article →

7 Keys To An Effective Compensation Strategy

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Organizations use a compensation strategy to define how it views and manages employee pay and benefits.

The strategy serves as a guide and should be outlined in a written document that clearly articulates the organization’s approach to managing employee compensation.

An effective compensation strategy motivates current employees and is used as a tool to attract new ones. Read the Full Article →

4 Tips For Reducing Absenteeism in the Workplace

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I had a question from a reader who asked, “Do you see the causes of workplace absenteeism as a management problem or a personal problem?” Second, “what do you think is the most effective way of reducing employee absenteeism in the workplace?”

Excessive absenteeism can be caused by any number of things – personal problems, employee performance issues, lack of clear expectations or a dysfunctional work environment. Read the Full Article →

7 Advantages of Offering Paid Time Off

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Many organizations provide paid time off benefits for their employees.

Getting a paid for not working is a great benefit.

Just ask anyone who works in the trades, like a carpenter, cement finisher, brick layer, etc. who only get paid when they work!

Paid time off benefits can be packaged in any number of ways. Read the Full Article →

How to Transition an Employee to Supervisor

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Many organizations use succession planning as a means to develop and promote employees from within.

This strategy should be included in the organizations business objectives.

Succession planning benefits both the employer and the employee.

The employer saves recruitment costs and the time associated with developing a new employee.

The employee is given the opportunity for advancement and professional growth. Read the Full Article →

6 Tips to Help Employees Manage Their Time

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Managing time at work is a challenge for everyone.

We all go to work with good intentions. However, we can all be easily distracted and pulled into things that don’t necessarily contribute to meeting objectives.

Employees can learn to manage their time with training and practice.

However, even the best time managers struggle with those inevitable time thieves. Read the Full Article →

5 Stages of Team Development

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Team development is a structured process of taking a group of people (employees, students, volunteers, committee members, etc.), teaching them to appreciate the differences each brings to the table and learning to work toward a shared goal.

Work groups become a cohesive team when they learn to appreciate differences.

This cohesion helps the group to meet goal objectives in an efficient way. Read the Full Article →

10 Ways to Protect Your Organization from Employee Fraud

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Employee fraud costs businesses billions of dollars every year.

According to a 2008 report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), 994 billion dollars is lost every year to employee fraud.

This equates to businesses losing a staggering 2.7 billion dollars every day!

ACFE defines occupational fraud as:  “the use of one’s occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of the organization’s resources or assets.”

“Fraud is now so common that its occurrence is no longer remarkable, only its scale. Read the Full Article →

7 Keys to a High Performance Team

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Team success is crucial for organizations that use groups of people (teams) to accomplish business goals.

There are many dynamics when working with groups of people.

This is because we are all different, and when you get more than one person in a room, you have the potential for conflict. Read the Full Article →

3 Reasons You Need to Manage Employee Performance

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Having a strategy for business growth is imperative to success.

And, creating SMART business goals are the best way to achieve those objectives.

However, goals and objectives are only as effective as the people who have responsibility for completing them.

Managing employee performance is how work gets done and goals are accomplished.  Read the Full Article →