7 Ideas for Job Flexibility During the Coronavirus Epidemic

The COVID-19 virus continues to spread rapidly, and it has brought many countries to a standstill. With rising concerns for health and well-being, many governments have placed restrictions on travel, public meetings, restaurants, schools, and daycare centers in order to lower the risk of infection among the most vulnerable members of our society.

What does this mean for business owners?

Continue reading “7 Ideas for Job Flexibility During the Coronavirus Epidemic”

How to Create the Perfect Workplace Environment

When you walk through a business for the first time… what is the first thing you notice?

Maybe the way it feels, looks, or smells? Is it the how the receptionist greeted and offered to help you?

Is it the attitude and friendliness of staff?

Is it the degree to which your needs were met before you even had to ask?

Successful business owners know how important first impressions are to a potential buyer. Little things can have a major impact on a customer’s decision to invest in your services or products.

It’s easy to overlook certain aspects of the workplace environment that could be turning people away. In this article, you will find out the 5 elements that can turn your business environment into one that increases both your profit margins and customer satisfaction.

Continue reading “How to Create the Perfect Workplace Environment”

What You Can Do to Boost Risk Intelligence After Losing Staff

If you own a business, you are responsible for every detail in your company: hiring, firing, and everything in between.

When a key employee hands you their resignation letter… what is your typical response?

Do you feel alarmed, frustrated, nervous, or angry?

Are you afraid of what could go wrong?

Without a clearly defined processes to deal with unexpected turnover in your company, you will be facing a lot of unknowns. Risk Intelligence is the ability to perceive what could happen before it happens.

If you feel blindsided by a sudden resignation, or shocked by events that forced you to fire key staff members, then it’s time to boost your level of risk intelligence.

Continue reading “What You Can Do to Boost Risk Intelligence After Losing Staff”

The Ultimate Strategic Planning Framework Tool: A Detailed Review

Your strategic plan doesn’t belong in a cabinet like a set of fine china. In my last post, I talked about the many benefits of using a Strategic Planning Framework:

  • a clear vision for the future
  • foresee vulnerabilities and dangers
  • identify areas of healthy growth
  • effectively get control of your company

This simple tool answers 3 important questions:

  1. Why are we doing this?
  2. What is required?
  3. How will we do it?

Within these questions are a variety of areas that should be included in your strategic planning process. Let’s look at each of them in more detail.

Continue reading “The Ultimate Strategic Planning Framework Tool: A Detailed Review”

“Employee For a Day”: How to Start

Are your staff afraid to share what is going wrong in your company? Do problems keep happening, and you don’t know why?

A great solution is to step into the roles of your staff and see the situation first-hand.

One fantastic technique is what I call “Employee For a Day.” It is a simple, hands-on activity where an executive leader leaves their role, and she or he sits in the seat of employees to see the organization from their point of view.

In my previous post, I describe what happened when I entered the day-to-day world of my staff. It humbled me, challenged me, and ultimately led to several changes in the organization.

There were a few drawbacks as well. Here are all the dirty details of how to get started.

Continue reading ““Employee For a Day”: How to Start”

What Happened When I Became an “Employee For a Day”

Do you ever go through an “a-ha moment” that suddenly makes you aware of a totally new perspective?

That happened to me a few years ago. Like many top-level leaders, I had slowly and imperceptibly developed “Corporate Ladder Bias” during my transition from employee to executive. This subconscious change occurs when our field of vision is consumed with all the problems and headaches at the management level. We become blind to the day-to-day frustrations of what I call the “Foundational Staff.” These are employees at the lowest levels of an organization, including:

  • Housekeeping
  • Direct Customer/Patient Care
  • Food Service (or Dietary)
  • Maintenance (or Physical Plant)
foundational staff, organizational roles, organizational chart, housekeeping, direct care, food service, maintenance
Grace LaConte’s 4 Types of Foundational Staff

Continue reading “What Happened When I Became an “Employee For a Day””