There has been a lot written on Best Buy’s Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) in articles and in the blogs. Everyone seems to have an opinion about this type of work environment and if it could work outside of Best Buy. One article specifically addresses the point of the adaptability of Best Buy’s culture in other companies. I found a couple of points of interest that I would like to share with you. “Best Buy’s culture is very young,” says Washington, D.C.-based flexibility consultant Paul Rupert of Rupert & Co., who has worked with clients ranging from Wal-Mart to Xerox. “They have a lot of significant managers who are still in… Read More
Continue ReadingFaith in the Workplace
CareerJournal offers another well written article covering a topic of interest to us – Managing by the (Good) Book Some Mix Business with Faith. As Christians, we have been in many discussions about faith in the workplace. We are strong supporters of it and do not believe that there needs to be this distinct difference between work life and spiritual life. In fact, it is impossible to separate faith from any aspect of life. I was not aware of this group: And C12 Group — a network of executives, like Mr. Dillon, who meet monthly to discuss management trends and the tricky intersections of religion and commerce — has grown… Read More
Continue ReadingGet the Stress Out
From CareerJournal – The Top 14 Reasons We’re Stressed Out Here are the complete results to the survey’s question, “Have you experienced the following in the past month?” Respondents could point to any of the following 14 options. Rising prices, 74% Too many things to do, 56% Trouble sleeping, 53% Concerns about money for emergencies, 53% Concerns about health in general, 43% Illness of a family member, 36% Not enough money for basic necessities, 36% Too much information to process at one time, 33% Being lonely, 29% Problems with your work, boss or fellow workers, 24% Problems with aging parents, 21% Frequent or excessive noise, 20% Problems with my children,… Read More
Continue ReadingSelling Power Daily Video
I received an email over the weekend from Selling Power inviting me to watch a new series they are launching. It is a daily video clip roughly 5 minutes in length with Gerhard Gschwandtner. Here are the selling points they used to hook me: You are invited to watch my new Selling Power Daily Report, a series of online videos. – Watch for less than five minutes a day – Enjoy insightful interviews with top thought leaders – Get bright ideas to implement every day – Learn new business solutions every day of the week – The reports are FREE for the month of October 2006 I went to check… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Managers Rate Themselves
From CareerJournal’s article Managers Rate Themselves High, But Employees Are Tough Critics: While 92% of managers say they are doing an “excellent” or “good” job managing employees, only 67% of workers agree. An additional 23% say their boss is doing a “fair” job, and 10% find their manager is doing a “poor” job, according to a survey of 1,854 U.S. workers by Rasmussen Reports LLC Ouch, that’s going to leave a mark. I did so well at statistics in college that I got to take it twice. However, I believe a 25% spread is what statisticians term “statistically significant.” A solution later in the article: Let workers play a part… Read More
Continue ReadingTop 10 Tips for Effective Goal Setting
CareerBuilder.com has an interesting management article regarding goal setting that I wanted to pass along. They have 10 quick steps in helping the goal setting process become more effective for managers. Their 10 steps are: Allow Your Employees to Own Their Goals Set Deadlines Make Sure the Goals are Measurable Have Your Employees Write Their Goals Down The Goal Post Schedule Regular Progress Meetings Limit the Number of Goals Base Goals on Company Values Provide Positive Feedback Make the Reward Worth It
Continue ReadingWhy Salespeople Leave
An interesting article ran in last week’s Selling Power Newsletter for Hiring & Recruiting titled “Why Do Salespeople Leave?” According to Compensation Resources, Inc. (CRI), obtained turnover statistics and trends from a broad range of industries and company sizes. The results indicate that both voluntary turnover and overall turnover have slightly increased in 2006 over 2004 when the last data were collected. The report identified an important shift in the motivators for leaving noted by employees. In 2004, the top reasons for moving on were better pay and better benefits. In 2006, the top reasons for leaving an employer is the desire for better opportunities and increased responsibilities. “More and… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Joys of Management
From Bob Rosner’s Working Wounded blog: Worst Employee “I once asked one of my people to stop reading a People Magazine at her desk and to get back to work. She began to cry and went on disability for two days.”
Continue ReadingDo You Deserve a Raise?
I just received an interesting email from Salary.com: Do you deserve more than a 3.7% raise? Your increasing skills are worth more than the standard 3.7% cost of living increase.Be prepared for your next salary review by purchasing a Personal Salary Subscription today. I received a 13.25% raise because of Salary.com information – Satisfied Salary.com Customer I have never encountered this approach, but I am intrigued by an employee showing up to a salary review with a detailed report. I don’t know how I would take that as a manager. Another part of the email mentioned: “Thanks for all your help. This is an amazing tool. It has helped me… Read More
Continue ReadingDecreased Employee Loyalty
Inc.com has an article from earlier this week discussing worker loyalty in regards to age. I don’t think there are any surprises here in that older workers are more loyal than younger workers. First off, I think this analogy is one of the best I have seen to describe Gen X and Y’s approach to employment: Kevin Marasco, vice president of marketing at Jacksonville, Fla.-based Vurv Technology, a provider of Web-based workforce-management systems, explained that younger employees manage their careers as they would an investment. Just as they want to buy and sell a stock at the right time, younger workers want to build career equity by joining and leaving… Read More
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