The Thriving Small Business

Tips For Conducting Focus Group Interviews

by 6 Comments

I was recently asked to provide the definition of a focus group, how to conduct a focus group interview and what is the purpose of focus group interviews.

Focus groups are forums used to gather qualitative data on the customer experience.

This  is a widely used marketing tool which helps organizations develop products and services that are influenced by participating customers.

Read the Full Article →

13 Tips For Improving Job Satisfaction

by 1 Comment

According to a Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 88% of US employees reported overall satisfaction with their current job in 2015.

This number is the highest level of satisfaction in 10 years. The purpose of the survey was to identify those factors that contribute to employee satisfaction in the workplace. Read the Full Article →

3 Ways to Use Data Analytics To Build Your Business

by Leave a Comment

In recent years, it’s becoming increasingly common for data to be used in every sector to assist business people in cutting costs, creating wares, managing inventory, innovating, streamlining processes, marketing to consumers and even disrupting whole industries.

While once the “magic” of data was limited to huge corporations because of the cost of getting and analyzing it. Read the Full Article →

Wage Garnishments: A Sensitive Legal Requirement

by Leave a Comment

Early in my career I worked in the payroll office of a large hospital. I was young and naive when I was first exposed to wage garnishments.

I was exposed to wage garnishments at this early age and was required to submit paperwork to have money withheld from an employee’s paycheck when the organization got notice of a garnishment demand. Read the Full Article →

Read This Before Donating to That Charity

by Leave a Comment

It seems that there is a natural disaster happening all the time. The most recent has been Hurricane Florence that hit the east coast pretty hard. Disaster victims rely on the help from all of us. However, if you want to help, make sure your charity donation goes to a credible organization. Read the Full Article →

Employee Referral Program – It May Be Worth Considering

by Leave a Comment

As a small business owner, recruiting talented employees is as important as acquiring loyal customers. This is where a successful employee referral program can help.

In fact, without a high performing team, it’s nearly impossible to run a successful business. Luckily, you can rely on your existing employees to recruit new staff members! Read the Full Article →

5 Tips To Eliminate The Gender Pay Gap

by Leave a Comment

When I entered the work force, decades ago 😊 people didn’t talk about their pay. We simply didn’t realize there was a gender pay gap.

In fact it was one of those unwritten rules that you knew you should not ask other people how much they were making – and compare it to yourself. Read the Full Article →

Business Growth Slowed? 3 Tips to Rev Things up Again

by Leave a Comment

When you launch a business, you typically see a lot of growth happen quickly.

This is because you’re starting from zero and are usually working hard to put yourself and your business out there, to generate interest in the brand and corresponding sales.

However, after a time, it’s common for this growth to slow down or sometimes stop altogether. Read the Full Article →

5 Ways To Improve The Internal Customer Experience

by Leave a Comment

The term customer is most commonly associated with consumers who purchases goods or services. However, Joseph Juran, the famous management consultant, taught that organizations have both external and internal customers.

The external customer is the person who purchases the goods or services, while the internal customer is defined as anyone within an organization, who at any time is dependent on anyone else within the organization. Read the Full Article →

Overcoming Procrastination at Work – 5 Tips to Fight Procrastination

by Leave a Comment

Most of us are guilty of procrastination at one time or another and need help overcoming procrastination at work.

Tasks that are not fun or tasks that drain us mentally or physically are easy to put off.

The problem with procrastination is its ability to keep us from achieving personal and professional objectives.

Read the Full Article →

Why are Firing Decisions so Difficult?

by Leave a Comment

We all make countless decisions every day. Some decisions can be made quickly and with ease, however others are difficult to make – particularly when it comes to firing employees.

Often, the mere difficulty of the decision can sometimes prolong the inevitable.

We often procrastinate because making decisions about employees can be very uncomfortable. Read the Full Article →

7 Steps to Ensure Your Employees Don’t Have A #MeToo Story

by Leave a Comment

This last year we have been inundated with allegations of inappropriate behavior at work.

Sadly, since April 2017, 219 celebrities, CEOs and politicians have been accused of sexual misconduct.

You read some of this stuff and you are amazed at what allegidly is going on.

A new reports claims that a shocking 38 percent of women said they experienced sexual harassment at the workplace. Read the Full Article →