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The current economy means that profit can most effectively be raised by an examination of overhead, not a increase of income. With this in mind, let’s turn to the benefits of that great secret of successful companies, employee performance management software.

While we all know that making the most out of your company requires knowing in what areas each and every one of your staff perform most strongly, and knowing how to customize your procedures to suit. Discovering and making this information ready to use is often where things become challenging, though. Just keeping track of employee appraisal and identifying progress in their performance rapidly becomes a significant amount of work. You first put employee appraisal techniques into action so that you can assess the work done by each member of staff. Should you be employing established approaches, your next move is the manual assessment of the vast amount of raw data you have obtained simply to be able to study further progress and set objectives. Utilizing performance management software you know that this analysis is taken care of and you need only look at the various metrics and factors to find what the right set of targets for this staff member would be. It also renders charting the staff member’s progress much easier. Generating as it does more precise information in less time, this is of course a major saving before putting these findings to use. There is the possibility to examine the raw data yourself and use the process just to organize and record everything. Performance management software doesn’t just work for staff. Both suppliers and clients can be studied using such programs, giving you still more performance management tools. For example, when looking at suppliers you can demonstrate their weaknesses such as poor delivery times, bad loss records, etc.

Turning our attention to clients and affiliates, you can determine who who is your best seller of any given product or service if there are payment issues, which client experiences the highest loss percentage, and more. You can then customize your orders and stock handling to boost your income while cutting spending. This information will allow you to identify your best target audience. With this demographic in mind advertising is free to become more effective and easier to plan.

Analyzing both market and sources is easy with performance management software. It also makes employee performance management quicker and more effective as well as helping you encourage staff by determining definitive targets dramatically. With all that taken into account, it’s clear that the potential benefits of this system are endless and will depend solely on your own creativity and ability to use what you learn…

Numerous companies believe that, when all of their employees have the necessary level of health and safety education, they are suitably equipped to cope with any situation. The truth of the matter is that, regardless of the industry you’re in, employees must have more than just the basics in safety regulations and risk assessment. Equipping staff, hiring good supervision and encouraging regular safety practise sessions are all important factors.

Each team needs a capable supervisor to observe the shop floor, but this person also needs to take a greater function. Your selection of supervisor is required to consider that health and safety training is crucial and have the ability to get everyone excited. On top of enforcing any relevant legislation, a supervisory role includes supervising employee performance levels as well. Of course it’s challenging to do all this at once. Good product knowledge is an essential in a supervisory role as well as an in depth familiarity with current legislation with regard to safety, risk assessment and CPR. Offering health and safety training isn’t adequate for your staff. Your employees must practise risk assessment and the recognition of hazards. They additionally need to gain a firm grasp of the required safeguards that they will need to take and also how best to manage if something unexpected happens. Your workers are only protected when their training and procedures have become routine. Good safety equipment is every bit as critical to the well-being of your employees as the instruction itself. If they don’t possess the proper apparatus or alternatively if workers discover that equipment is not functioning correctly in an emergency, then all the safety training they have completed is essentially of no benefit at all.

Frequent maintanence of your equipment is invaluable. When an item doesn’t come up to the applicable criteria, be certain to get it repaired ASAP and return it to the right location. Health and safety education is essential for the safety of your workers, but in addition they also need to have the right gear, frequent practise excercises, and an experienced supervisor who can get staff excited about working safely. Then adopting the safety regulations before long become established in your business culture and no longer something that staff have to make an effort to think about all the time.

Succeeding in business depends heavily on the effective management of people. You may succeed in developing these techniques. Having a innate affinity for communicating with people can be an advantage, but there are a lot of skills you can do to help the process. Relationship Building: Begin by memorizing the names of the employees. Talk to people; look individuals in the eye during a conversation. Show respect, in addition listen to the other person’s point of view, even if you disagree or have a different viewpoint. Listening to what others have to offer is one of the most critical human resources management skills in your arsenal. Show an interest in what they can contribute to the business. Exhibit integrity: Keeping your promises is crucial. If you can’t keep your word, the delicate bond of trust is damaged, and without trust people will not offer their best. Each time you say something or make a promise about something, do be sure that you can keep your promises or it would really be more sensible not to give your word at all. The truth is, when you can’t be depended on, you can be certain they will behave in a similar way.

Be open to feedback: Feedback must be a two way process. People management skills mean being receptive to all feedback. If you are willing to show approachability and receptiveness, you prove that you appreciate other people’s ideas, and they should appreciate your views. Bona Fide discourse in addition promotes fresh ways of thinking, new methods of fulfilling the mission of the company, and strengthens the company in general. If your team have a voice, the project will become important to every team member. Encourage communication: Good communication is central to dealing with employees effectively. Keeping an open door policy, listen closely to people, keep an open mind, and give team members an equal voice. Encourage team members not only to communicate with you, but also with each other. The exchange of ideas is crucial in the creative process, when the team members communicate well, it becomes easy to find any issues before they might present as problems, permitting corrective action to be put in place to prevent further problems.

Some effort will be needed, even so the payoff is worth it. Through encouraging a good team dynamic and demonstrating good listening techniques, you can easily have the best in business success.

Numerous human resource managers believe that, when every member of staff has decent health & safety training, they are well prepared for a catastrophe. The reality is that, irrespective of the industry you’re in, employees require more than simply a basic education in health & safety legislation. Equipping your workers, selecting an enthusiastic supervisior and encouraging regular drills are all important factors.

Make sure you inspect our really inspiring web site for risk assessments tips.

Every team must have a great supervisor to observe the work area, but this individual also needs to perform another function in the business. Whomever you select as the supervisor is required to realise the necessity of health & safety education and be able to share their enthusiasm about it.

On top of observing all of the rules and regulations, the job of a supervisor also almost always includes supervising employee efficiency. This is not a easy job. The supervisor needs to have comprehensive knowledge of both the industry and the product as well as an in depth knowledge of safety legislation, the identification of risks, and first aid. Offering health & safety training isn’t enough for your staff. To effectively discover a problem area they need practise. Employees have to understand how to eradicate hazards and how to act when something goes wrong. Your employees are only really prepared when their training and procedures have become routine.

Education is not sufficient without safety equipment. When employees find they are lacking the gear that is needed, or notice that gear is broken when they actually need them, the education they have completed will have been essentially useless. It is vital to perform thorough checks frequently to ensure that all the required apparatus is where it should be as well as checking that it is all being properly cared for. When an item does not meet the relevant legislation, make sure that it is sorted out ASAP and return it to the right location. Your workers have to receive appropriate health and safety instruction, but they need good quality apparatus, scheduled practises, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. Then abiding by health & safety legislation will become established in the culture of your business rather than an inconvenience everyone has to attempt to remember.

Barclays Plc Manchester intends to combine staff from many of its business locations and bring them all together in a new office. For this, it has made one of its biggest investments in Manchester by leasing a 36,000 sq ft property at 3 Hardman Street.

The office relocation will be shifting 300 people from its commercial banking operations in Manchester. Around 270 people in sales and operations departments, who are currently located in Mosley Street, Salford Quays and Marsden Street will shift to this new office, thus merging the two commercial banking teams.

Michael Hartig, who is currently the commercial director of the company as well as the head of Barclays Commercial Bank in Manchester, is slated to head the new office as soon as it becomes operational, which is supposed to happen by the end of this year.

Barclaycard, the credit arm of Barclays, had intended to move to the 3 Hardman Street office at the end of 2005 itself but the move was put off then.

Currently the building is about to undergo the process of a complete office fit-out involving the mechanical and electrical design of the office, renovation and architecture; all of which the interior contractors are expected to start by August and will be over before the year ends.

Gasoline costs are rising and this causes business cash holdings are squeezed to the limit worse than previously. As the nations economic output sputters and new cash remains rare, prudent directories acknowledge unnecessary costs have to be slashed. Business people throughout the nation must make more than a couple important decisions to shrink costs. One of the obvious option to reduce business costs is to make slashes in frivolous travel allocations, and the secret is online conferencing.

Web conference calls grant business people to communicate with coworkers wirelessly in a meeting in a far away metropolis, in another time zone or most definitely in a distant shore. Your every day online conferencing utilize state of the art networking technology. Since that they are delivered over the net, they only better utilize sunk business overhead. By going to web video conferencing, is it possible to conduct a far off presentation from literally any place that has an Internet connection. Its not just easy as a computer and an Internet connection, it can save travel costs five digits or more in a year.

Break throughs in networking technology make online conferencing so easy for participants to exchange presentations and information simultaneously. Internet conference members can see and hear as though they were really there, despite the fact that halfway around the planet. The look and sound of the video, audio, and presentation can be crystal clear given the top in digital encoding.

Obviously just about any business can cut costs by making use of online conference calling rather than spending thousands sending an executive on a costly trip. A business doesnt have to throw away money on hotels, meals or even transportation. Big savings that cannot be dismissed. Any cost savings is more flexibility for your business. Its commonly known that many organizations are opting for web conferencing calls to reduce money on unnecessary company journeys.

There never seem to be enough hours in the day to read all you need to read much less all that you want to read. When is comes to managing, consulting and coaching, there are several that top the list from my perspective. I categorize these as “must read” for anyone in the business of managing, consulting or coaching. They include:

Harvard Business Review
All of the business magazines, this one is essential for anyone in management, consulting or coaching. Read ever issue cover to cover.
Visit:
http://www.hbr.org/

“Good to Great” by Jim Collins
One of the well researched, well written and truly applicable books that applies to management, consulting and coaching.
See your on-line bookseller and visit:
http://www.jimcollins.com/

Anything by Peter F. Drucker
Peter Drucker’s work is, for the most part, timeless. Do not limit yourself to reading only his later books and other writings.
See your on-line bookseller and visit:
http://www.peter-drucker.com/

Anything by Tom Peters
Sometimes Tom Peter’s comments seem “off the wall” but he remains a true visionary and is always insightful and exciting.
See your on-line bookseller and visit:
www.tompeters.com

Wall Street Journal
Well balanced, well written and always up to date with the latest on all aspects of business and finance (the language of business).
The Wall Street Journal

Anything by Scott Adams
You have to be able to laugh at yourself and often Mr. Adams’ hits home whether he takes aim at HR policies, systems and processes or practice (or lack) of management.
See your on-line bookseller and visit:
http://www.dilbert.com/

George Franks is the founder and CEO of Franks Consulting Group. He has over twenty five years of management and executive experience with global corporations. Franks Consutling Group, based in Bethesda, Maryland, specializes and management consulting and leadership coaching (individual and group). He is a member of the International Coach Federation and the Institute of Management Consultants. See our web site http://www.franksconsultinggroup.com
or our blog http://consultingandcoaching.blogspot.com.

Are poor presentations costing you business?

The ability to deliver a presentation to potential investors or clients is an essential skill for any budding entrepreneur, sales professional or consultant.

Whether it’s a ‘15-second elevator pitch’ or a more extensive presentation, winning over and persuading audiences is vital in today’s competitive capital raising and sales environment.

Learning the art of making powerful and persuasive presentations in any business situation and you will win more work.

My premise is every start-up entrepreneur, seasoned business operator or consultant can win more business by being a better presenter.

Here are the Seven Deadly Sins of Business Presentations and How to Avoid Them.

1. Not Having a Clear Goal.

It is essential to know what the objective or end outcome of your presentation is. Is it to raise funds, educate and inform, build relationships, to sell or build credibility?

2. No Structure.

This is an absolute must for any presenter - at the very least have a beginning, middle and end. You may be the best presenter in the world with outstanding delivery skills but poor structure will lead to a poor presentation.

3. Not Connecting with Your Audience.

Building empathy and rapport with your audience is critical. Connect with them on three levels - head, heart and hip-pocket.

4. A Poor Beginning.

First impressions always matter. If you have to raise $8 million in 8 minutes, make every word count. I learnt this tip from attending Patricia Fripp’s speaking school recently and I think its brilliant. For business presentations she says avoid using ‘Thanks, its great to be here’ as your opener. She rightly points out you’ve just wasted 10 seconds. At a million dollars a minute that equates to nearly $167,000!

5. Too Much Content.

The cardinal sin of all business and technical presenters. In my media career, I estimate I have attended more than 300 conferences, events and seminars. That’s 1500 hours worth of presentations I’ve had to sit through and the most common mistake I’ve seen is presenters rush and overload the audience with too much content. Remember, presentations rely on the spoken word and the visual - use the written word and a handout to provide more detail.

6. The Presenter’s ‘I’s’ Are Too Close Together.

We all like to talk about ourselves. As a radio manager, I spent hours listening to and providing feedback to broadcasters. Those that really connected with their audience talked with them rather than at them. I observed they used the word ‘you’ a lot more than the word ‘I’. This led to the saying that with some presenters their ‘I’s’ were too close together! Here’s another great tip I learnt from Fripp. Record your presentation and have it transcribed. Every time you see the word ‘I’, cross it out and replace it with ‘you’. She calls this working on your ‘I-You Ratio’.

7. Poor Closer.
Again it is beginning and the end that is the most important part of any presentation. With your closer - what is the key message or action you want the audience to take away with them as they walk out the door? In business presentations the closer is often the ‘call to action’. When I heard Bill Clinton speak at a Fundraising event for sick children, his closer was ‘I want you to help’. Simple, direct and effective.

Here’s another tip I learnt from Fripp. If you want to take questions, take them before your closer, because ending on question time is a poor and weak way to end a presentation. Worse still, you are unlikely to be able to control the last question. Take questions for a set period before the end, wrap that section up and then end with a strong closer. I’ve already tried this on several audiences and it works a treat!

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.
You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com

Students of my presentation training often tell me one of the “pearls of wisdom” they value most is learning how to distinguish between a performance and communication orientation.

Speakers with a performance orientation view audiences as critics who are judging how they make their presentation. As a result, these presenters become over-focused on their wording and delivery. Presenters with a communication orientation focus on connecting and communicating with their audiences. They look at presentations as conversations, not performances, and enjoy one-to-one, friendly, personal connection with individuals in the audience.

Understanding the difference between hypervigilance and attunement can be as valuable to great communicators as shifting from a performance to a communications orientation.

When we are hypervigiliant, we are constantly looking for signals that we are not loved, appreciated, respected, cared about and helped enough. We are stressed, fearful and anxious, grounded in a flight-or-fight mentality.

Thirteen years ago, I was appointed general manager of a large public relations firm and charged with building the Atlanta office. Although I did my best to cover it up, I lived in constant fear I might fail.

Uneasy in my new role, I became hypervigiliant. Something as simple as an employee’s suggestion that we do something in a different way felt like a direct assault on my authority. I heard the employee’s suggestion as a criticism that I was not good enough.

Once I became more self-aware and comfortable with myself and my abilities, I began to operate from a place of attunement. I was more relaxed and receptive. My desire was to know, understand, communicate and connect. I was no longer threatened by suggestions. Instead, I welcomed them.

When we are attuned, we resonate with ourselves and other people. We seek connection over safety.

To find attunement, we must first be attuned to ourselves. We have to separate our feelings from those of other people. Becoming aware of our bodies helps us accomplish this.

To tune into your body, take a deep breath, release it fully and drop deep inside. Scan your body. Notice what you are physically feeling. Are you tense? Relaxed? If so where? Just notice, don’t judge.

Monitor emotions, thoughts, judgments, tension and calm. Ask yourself, “What am I feeling now?”

Psychotherapist Charlotte Kasl in her wonderful book If the Buddha Married offers these additional questions to help us be more attuned to ourselves and others:

What is going on with me?

Am I afraid? Am I angry? Am I hurting?

Am I calm? Am I open?

Am I really asking for what I want?

Did I agree to something that I don’t really want to do?

Are feelings of inadequacy or confidence underlying my words?

Am I being honest?

Is there a more skillful way to handle the situation?

When we think we know what another is feeling it can be valuable to ask if we are projecting our own feelings onto others. Is it us or them who are feeling angry, elated, hurt or content?

The journey toward connection challenges us to become more self-aware. By shifting from hypervigilance to attunement, we own our feelings, become more open and receptive and pave the way for authentic communication.

“The Career Engineer,” Randy Siegel, helps clients electrify their careers and transform their lives by becoming high voltage communicators. Power up and subscribe to “Stand in Your Power!” his complimentary monthly eNewsletter at http://www.powerhousecommunications.com

According to the Lamalle Report on Top Executives of the 1990s, one of the most important factors in determining financial success by those earning over $250,000 is being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude (46%). Apparently, successful people never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

Why does having a positive attitude matter so much? Research solidly indicates that expectations influence behavior meaning if you expect to succeed, it is likely that you will and if you expect to fail, you are more likely to be unsuccessful. Expectations create outcomes because we work toward the outcome we expect, even if it is failure. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t–you are right.”

Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of presenters who had a negative script running through their head before each presentation. Their self-talk sounded something like this, “I should have prepared more. I wanted to do so much more but I ran out of time. I’m not a very good presenter. I don’t think this is going to go very well. If I had a few more days, I could do much better.” And so on and so on.

This constant mental berating of oneself is very dangerous. Not only does it increase your anxiety about presenting, it helps shape the outcome of failure. We believe we won’t do well and so we manufacture that failure to confirm what we already know to be true.

How incredibly self-defeating is that?

The goal of your presentation preparation is to do EVERYTHING necessary to be prepared for your presentation and then change that negative self-talk into a more positive dialogue that increases self-esteem, reduces anxiety, and sets up the expectation of success. Before a presentation, you should be telling yourself, “I am ready. I’ve done everything I could to prepare. I know my stuff. I am going to do very well.” This will enable you to think positively about your presentation and carry that positive attitude into your actual presentation.

What amazes me is how much more difficult it is to be kind to ourselves and believe in our success than it is to demean and berate ourselves and expect to fail.

The things we say to ourselves undoubtedly influence our feelings and our attitudes. Instead of telling yourself that you aren’t ready or that you wanted to be more prepared, why not try adjusting your attitude to the positive side of life”I am ready and I am going to give a good presentation.” Then watch as your positive outlook creates a positive outcome!

For much more about this and other Presentation Secrets, check out the book “15 Presentation Secrets: How to WOW Even the Toughest Audience,” by Debbie Bailey available at trainer2go.com/ebooks.html.