Efficient human resource management is crucial in attaining the best in your business success. With a little effort you can succeed in developing these techniques. It can be a plus to have a natural affinity for dealing with people, but there are a lot of things you can learn that will make this procedure simple.

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Build relationships: Remembering individuals by name is a beginning. Engage in conversation; look co-workers in the eye as you’re speaking. Have a respectful attitude, and be sure to pay attention to the other person’s point of view, even if you do not agree or have a different viewpoint. Developing listening skills is one of the most effective things you may do to improve your human resource management skills. Exhibit an interest in what everyone can contribute to the team.

Show integrity: Keeping your word is very important. If you can’t keep your promises, the delicate bond of trust is fractured, and people will not give you their best without trusting you. Everytime you make a statement or make a promise about something, do be sure you can deliver or it would be better not to give your word at all. The truth is, if your people can’t depend on you, your team can’t be trusted on to be there when it’s really important.

Encourage any comments: Feedback should be a interactive process. People management skills mean keeping an open mind to all feedback. If you are prepared to prove approachability and receptiveness, you show that other’s thoughts are important to you, your thoughts will be valued in return. Supporting open discourse in addition opens doors to fresh ways of thinking, innovative methods of accomplishing goals, and develops the team dynamic. When your employees have a voice, the success of the business becomes important to every employee. Encourage communication: Communication is central to managing people with skill. Keeping an open door policy, listen attentively to people, be open-minded, and allow team members a chance to speak. The team must be inspired to talk to each other as well as with you. The creative process depends a great deal on the open exchange of ideas, and through listening to one another, you can discover any issues swiftly, allowing corrective action to be put in place early to prevent any further problems.

A little time and effort will be required, even so the rewards are worthwhile. Through building the bonds of a good team and by listening to your team’s opinions, you can easily accomplish the best in business success.

People management skills are very important in reaching the best in your business success. You can learn and develop these skills. It may be an advantage to have a natural affinity for people, all the same there are numerous skills you can learn to facilitate the process.

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Developing relationships: Addressing co-workers by name will be a beginning. Talk to employees; look employees in the eye during a conversation. Develop a respectful attitude, and listen to the other person’s point of view, irrespective of whether you agree with them. Acquiring the ability to listen is among the greatest things you can do to improve your human resource management skills. Be sure to exhibit interest in what everyone can offer the team. Live up to your word: Do not give promises you can not keep. If your word is not kept, it will destroy trust, and if they don’t trust you employees will not give you their best. Everytime you make a commitment or give your word on something, you are squandering your time and effort unless you act with integrity. You will discover, when your people can’t depend on your word, you can be assured they will act in a similar way.

Feedback is essential: Feedback should be a two-way process. Talent management skills mean keeping an open mind to all feedback. If you are able to show that you are accessible and open, you prove that your co-worker’s thoughts count, and they should value yours. Promoting discourse in addition opens doors to innovative ideas, new methods of accomplishing goals, and improves the company dynamic. By giving the team some input, each team member invests in the project’s outcome.

Communication is important: Dealing with people boils down to the same thing — communication. Be approachable, listen intently to your co-workers, retain an open mind, and permit all your employees an equal voice. The team must be encouraged to speak to one another as well as with you. The sharing of thoughts is critical in the creative process, and if the team members communicate openly, you can root out any problems early, permitting corrective measures to be put in place to prevent any further problems. Developing these techniques can take some time, still the rewards far outweigh the work. Through inspiring a good team dynamic and taking heed of what your team has to offer, a flourishing business will be achieved.

Many companies believe that, if every member of staff has adequate health & safety training, they are well prepared to cope with an incident. The truth is though, a basic education in health & safety regulatory affairs simply isn’t enough. You must supply your employees with a competent supervisor, the appropriate equipment, and last but not least regular practice. Each team needs an efficient supervisor to oversee employee performance, yet this individual also needs to play an even greater function on the floor. Any supervisor you pick out is required to realise the importance of health & safety education and be able to get other employees feeling enthusiastic about it. As well as insuring conformity with health & safety regulations, the supervisor must furthermore make certain that employees perform all their tasks to the best of their abilty. This is not a simple task. In depth business knowledge is a requirement for a supervisory position not to mention an in-depth understanding of current legislation with regard to safety, risk assessment and CPR. Simply having basic training in health & safety is not sufficient for your employees. To successfully find a hazardous area they must get to put their knowledge to the test. They also must have insights into the necessary precautions that they will need to put in place and how best to manage if the worst happens. Your employees are only completely protected when everything they have been taught has become automatic.

The right safety equipment is equally as essential to the well being of your employees as the training itself. If they don’t have apparatus they need, or even discover that gear is damaged when they are needed, then all the education your staff have undergone will have been essentially of no benefit. Maintaining your equipment on a regular basis is fundamental. When an item does not meet the relevant criteria, be sure to get it fixed as soon as possible and return it to the right location.

Health & safety education is essential for the safety of your personnel, however they also require the correct apparatus, scheduled practises, and an educated supervisor who gets employees excited about working safely. When you implement these steps you will find health & safety legislation will soon become part of the staff’s working habits and no longer something challenging for employees to remember all the time.

A thriving business depends on good people management skills. People management may be developed and studied. Having a spontaneous skill for dealing with people and building relationships is an advantage, but there are a lot of skills you can do to make this process easier.

Relationship Development: Remembering co-workers by name can be a start. Speak to people; make eye contact during a conversation. Be respectful, and be attentive to the other person’s thoughts, even if you do not agree or have a different viewpoint. Paying attention to what employees have to say is one of the most crucial talent management skills you can learn. Be sure to welcome any contributions from your co-workers.

Show integrity: Keeping your word is crucial. When you don’t deliver on what you promise, the delicate bond of trust is violated, and if they don’t trust you employees will not perform at their best. Everytime you make a statement or make a promise, do be sure that you can deliver or don’t bother giving your word at all. To be frank, when you can’t be counted upon, your staff will not be there when it’s really important. Feedback is important: Feedback must be a two way process. People management skills mean being open to all feedback. If you can establish accessibility and receptiveness, you prove that you respect other’s views, your views will be valued in the same manner. Welcoming discussion also promotes creative problem solving, innovative methods of achieving the mission of the business, and improves the team dynamic. By allowing the staff an input, the project becomes important to each member.

Promote all sorts of communication: Dealing with your team comes down to the same concept - communication. Be approachable, practice listening techniques, retain an open mind, and permit each of your team members to express themselves. Employees must be encouraged to speak to one another as well as with you. The creative process depends to a great extent on the open exchange of opinions, if the team communicate well, it becomes much simpler to discover any issues before they may present a problem, allowing corrective action to be put in place to prevent further problems. Some time will be required, but the payoffs far outweigh the effort necessary. By encouraging a good team dynamic and taking heed of what your employees have to offer, a successful business will be achieved.

A significant amount of companies think that, when every last employee has adequate health & safety instruction, they are suitably equipped to manage an emergency. The reality is that, regardless your industry, employees must have much more than simply basic instruction in health & safety regulatory affairs. Equipping your workers, selecting a skilled supervisior and encouraging regular practise are all essential factors. A team supervisor has an even larger purpose to carry out than simply overseeing the work area. Your selection of supervisor must see the importance of health & safety training and be able to encourage other employees to share their excitement.

In addition to encouraging conformity with health & safety legislation, the employee supervising must also ensure that employees perform every task to the highest standard. Naturally it isn’t easy to do all this at once. The supervisor is expected to have a broad understanding of the industry best practice and production in addition to an in depth experience with safety legislation, the identification of hazards, and CPR. It just isn’t sufficient to offer your employees health & safety education. To successfully find a safety risk they require experience. Employees also need a solid of the necessary safeguards that they are required to put in place not to mention understanding what to do if disaster strikes. Employees are only completely prepared when everything has become automatic.

Good safety apparatus is every bit as critical to the your workers’ safety as any training. If they do not possess the right equipment or alternatively should workers find that items are not functioning properly in a crisis, even the most advanced instruction can not help them. It is vital to perform thorough checks frequently to ensure that all the essential apparatus is there and that everything is in a good state of repair. If you find your equipment is in less than perfect order, be sure to get it remedied as speedily as possible and put it back in the right location.

Your employees have to get proper health & safety training, however they also need to have good quality apparatus, scheduled practise excercises, and a knowledgeable supervisor who can get employees excited about being safe at work. Only then will adopting the various safety regulations become a normal part of working life not something for the workforce to remember all the time.

People management techniques are crucial for business success. With a little effort you can learn and improve these techniques. Having a spontaneous affinity for communicating with people may be a plus, but you can do some things that will make the procedure simpler.

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Relationship Development: Start by remembering the names of the staff. Encourage conversation; look individuals in the eye as you are talking. Be respectful, also be attentive to the other person’s point of view, even if you disagree or have another viewpoint. Paying attention to everything others say is one of the best human resource management skills in your arsenal. Be sure to exhibit an interest in what they can contribute to the team. Exhibit integrity: Keeping your word is really important. When you don’t keep your promises, the delicate bond of trust is broken, and if they don’t trust you your staff will not offer their best. When you say something or give your word on something, you are squandering your time if you don’t keep your promises. To be frank, if you can’t be depended upon, you can be assured they will act in the same fashion. Feedback is important: Feedback must be a two-way process. Human Resources management skills mean having an open mind to all feedback. Being accessible and receptive establishes that other’s ideas are important to you, your opinions will be appreciated in the same manner. Supporting conversation in addition encourages growth of creative troubleshooting, new methods of accomplishing the mission of the company, and develops the team. If your team can express themselves, each employee invests in the project’s outcome.

Communicating is essential: Good communication is central to managing individuals skilfully. Keeping an open door policy, listen intently to people, retain an open mind, and encourage each of your team members to express their views. The team should be inspired to talk to one another as well as with you. The exchange of ideas is necessary in the creative process, and in listening to each other, it is much easier to spot issues before they become a problem, and measures may be applied before things get out of hand.

This may take some effort, however the rewards are worthwhile. By inspiring a good team dynamic and listening to your team’s suggestions, a flourishing business will be yours.

I would like to comment on the “A Beautiful Mind” movie and the book, which was actually much better. I just finished reading another book on the similar side of John Nashs’ assertion of working together rather than competing against. That book was “Co-opetition.” By Adam M. Brandenburger (Havard guy)and Barry J. Nalebuff (Yale Dude). Many have been aware of such theory for quite a while and practice such occasionally for the betterment of an industry or through the art of diplomacy, sometimes through misdirection and other times as an experiment (nothing more, nothing less) especially when it really does not matter and it is not really core to our direction and market domination strategy for any given region. I would have to differ from the movie version in that if you tried to run your business in the fashion that Jim Nash discussed in theory you might do well for a while, but would eventually get hammered in the market place, whether or not you actually were able to sleep with a brunette when you wanted the blond with the big bust (go see the movie, you will understand that comment). In theory it sounded wonderful in the movie yet would not take you very far in the cut throat world of business, even though the regulators always want to level the playing field, more often then not they are manipulated agents for the competition as indicated by Adam Smith, Carl Marx and Rodney Dangerfield in “Back to School.” The fact is that even the referees of business, namely the regulating bodies who want to see the playing field leveled usually tip it in the favor of a politically powerful and well connected companies which fund the campaigns of the over see’ers (politicians). Once the regulatory bodies find they have been duped rather than bring it up with the politicians, they want to punish all the players in the industry and kick them out of the game, of course this hurts the fans (consumers) and then the game (industry) and then the referees and fans are not needed (read; “When Atlas Shrugged” By Ayn Rand).

Unless a perfect and fair playing field exists John Nash’s dream of a perfect system and economic structure cannot exist and that is pretty straight forward with the study of human psychology, Machiavelli, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the prisoners, dilemma or a multitude of truisms surrounding human nature. The world does not work that way, it is not a perfect world and therefore such theories are not worthy of attempt although obviously interesting from an academia standpoint or discussion at the geological societies random coffee house dialogues.

The win-lose scenario keeps forcing someone to lose, if we were to really see the true picture here we would find that what John Nash was saying is that you need to take into consideration giving someone else what they want so you can get what you want. I say Obviously John is right. Too bad regulators condemn the greatest contributors of mankind, while the competitors cheat, the playing field is not leveled and the true voter of the monetary unit of trade called a dollar cannot see thru the clutter and scatter of the advertising and behind the scenes truisms of a system which is not all it seems.

When looking at the true methodology of John Nash’s achievements it is fair to say that being able to put simple concepts into mathematical formulas will significantly help the future of computers capable of fuzzy logic calculate the answers to game theory, war efforts, strategic thinking and competition exposure in business. That will be one of the great achievements of his work, which will be in the future. However one who is at the helm of a business has other responsibilities such as the survival and profitability of the company and using John Nash’s strict modeling in an imperfect world is dangerous to the ongoing vitality of a once going concern. Be careful to prematurely adopt perfect systems in an imperfect world.

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Hi!

Recently one of my clients was looking to hire a financial controller for her business. Out of all the people who applied, the most suitable person was John.

John had most of the attributes Jenny was looking for. Using our tip sheet Hiring the Right People as a guide, it was easy for her to narrow down her shortlist of applicants.

Unfortunately there was one negative aspect about John… his appearance. Although he was dressed in suitable business attire, he was extremely overweight. This bothered Jenny for two reasons. She thought someone in that situation would be more prone to illness and secondly, if he didn’t take care of himself personally, what would he be like looking after her business financials?

He had everything else in his favour except for this very important issue. You see, as a small business owner with limited resources, Jenny couldn’t take the risk as the odds were high that being as overweight as he was, he was bound to have health issues which would affect his productivity.

Do You Dress For Success?
Being an avid networker, I get to meet many people and am constantly astounded by the way the majority present themselves.

I met a ”coach’ who raved about how successful she was and what she does for her clients. This person was at least 10kgs overweight, her chest was exposed and her clothes were very inappropriate for a business environment. If you were looking for a coach, would you consider investing in her services? She obviously had her own issues to deal with. What she said didn’t match how she looked.

The accountant who called himself a ‘wealth strategist’…he had a beard, looked very unhealthy and was wearing a tweed jacket….what impression did he make? None. He appeared scruffy and obviously didn’t take care of himself. How could he take care of other people’s affairs?

In contrast to these people, the mortgage broker who was dressed extremely well in a tailored suit, who obviously took pride in her appearance and looked confident and competent. If you were interested in borrowing money would you consider utilising her services? Of course you would. She gave the impression that she knows what she’s doing. By the way, whether she is competent or not you’ll only find that out if you do business with her. However, if she cares about herself, chances are she cares about her clients and provides a good service.

Perception is Reality
Would you prefer to do business with someone who looks confident and credible? Whether we like it or not people will pass judgement on you within a few seconds of meeting you. They will make assumptions about you personally and your organisation.

We’ve all seen or know of people like this. Perhaps it’s you and you don’t even realise it!

Image in the Workplace
It’s a serious business. Image Coaches are being hired by organisations to teach their people how to present themselves in the best possible way. How are you and your people perceived by your clients, prospects and suppliers?

Your personal image can be either positive or negative. It can accelerate your success or hinder it.

How to Transform Your Image
If you seriously want to enhance the results in your life, consider seeing an image coach.

Some of the results achieved can be astounding. One of my clients, an accountant was considered a ‘pushover’ by her staff and business partner. Because of her quiet nature she wasn’t taken seriously. She also dressed in a way that reinforced her lack of confidence.

Since having coaching around her image… looking how to dress in a more flattering way with credibility and power, she is far more confident and has become more assertive and respected. It’s also made her look 10 years younger!

The image coach will show you how to present yourself in the best possible way. When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good you attract people to you like a magnet!

So if you want to attract the right type of people to you in business and in your personal life, then this is definitely one area you should invest in.

The Final Word
Looking successful is just as important as being successful. Whether we like it or not, people judge us in a number of ways. To be credible we have to look like we know what we’re talking about as well as having the skills and abilities to deliver.

Don’t forget… You are your most important asset and you are worth investing in.

Have a great week
Lorraine Pirihi

Lorraine Pirihi is Australia’s Personal Productivity Specialist and Leading Life Coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including “How to Survive and Thrive at Work!”
To subscribe to her free ezine visit http://www.office-organiser.com.au

The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every week, every month and every year is the one most commonly used by businesses. Its general availability and familiarity make it a natural selection.

However, the Julian calendar was certainly not devised with the peculiar needs of the apparel and sporting goods retailer in mind. The seasonal, holiday and special event nature of retailing makes the Julian calendar practically useless for accounting periods.

An accounting calendar that ingeniously relates to the business cycles of retailing is invaluable. Our business cycles are those periods of time between the start and end of a sales season. In general, our business cycles end in July and January.

An accounting period is nothing more than an artificial division of a business year, designed to give management information about a unit of time which is manageable. The period should be long enough so that an infrequent or unusual event will not distort the results. Yet it should not be so short that so much information is produced that it can not be properly absorbed and analyzed easily. If you can’t get information you need to analyze your business during the Spring season until August, what good is it? On the other hand, it doesn’t make sense to produce a daily report that takes all day to analyze and act upon. Therefore, the commonly agreed upon accounting period is a month.

If each accounting period for one business year can be made to correspond to the same period next year, and the next, this provides an invaluable forecast tool for management. For instance, the month of December should have the same number of selling days each year, and it should have the same number of Mondays, Saturdays and Wednesdays. By shifting a few days here and there from one month to another, the result is a neat dovetailing of accounting months that stay the same from year to year. Now you have an accounting calendar that allows you to compare apples to apples, instead of oranges to apples; the 4-5-4 Accounting Calendar. The 1989 4-5-4 Accounting Calendar is shown.

The 4-5-4 Accounting Calendar is just what it says. Each quarter contains a 4-week month, a 5-week month and a 4-week month. Each month begins on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. Each month has the same number of selling days this year as it did last year and as it will next year. For example, March has 5 perfect weeks every year, 5 Saturdays, 5 Mondays, etc. For holidays that are a set day of the week, such as Thanksgiving, there will always be the identical selling days before and after the holiday, year after year. This makes it much easier for the retailer to compare this year’s sales to last year’s sales.

The 4-5-4 Calendar is especially suited for use in preparing sales forecasts and operating budgets. Also, since each month ends on a Saturday you will enjoy the convenience of taking physical inventory counts at week end and not having to either subtract or add sales which preceded or followed the physical count to arrive at a clean cut-off. The inventory counts should therefore be more accurate.

The 4-5-4 Accounting Calendar begins with the month of February, which is traditionally the beginning of the Spring merchandising season and which is the most common beginning of year for retailers.

Changing from the traditional Julian calendar to the 4-5-4 Accounting Calendar will make very few differences in the store’s procedures. About the only difference is to realize that for the first year, sales comparisons can be made only at the end of each 13-week quarter. The 4-5-4 Accounting Calendar is also recognized by the IRS for income tax reporting purposes. It is referred to by the IRS as the 52-53 Week Year. To adopt the 52-53 Week Year it is necessary to file a statement with the tax return for the first tax year for which the election is made. Your local accountant can take care of this for you.

In spite of the advantages of using the 4-5-4 Accounting Calendar, I regularly find retailers who do not use it; either because they are not familiar with it or think it will be too difficult to change to a new calendar. I strongly advocate it’s use by all retailers. Not only does the 4-5-4 calendar make it easier for the retailer to compare his performance to last year but it also makes it easier to make future plans based upon past history.

This article was written by Linda Carter, President of The Retail Management Advisors, a retail consulting firm whose mission is to help independent retailers survive and thrive. Linda can be reached at 1-877-206-1299 or l.carter@the-retail-advisor.com. Our web site is http://www.the-retail-advisor.com

You can reprint this article as long as the above information is included.

“I never seem to have any time for myself. What can I do?”

When my two year old followed me to the toilet today I had very similar thought to
yours. As busy parents we can often feel like there is no time for us and we are
forever running around after others. We can be great at looking after everyone else
and so often put ourselves at the bottom of the list.

Many of the mums I coach are surprised when I tell them it is time to start putting
themselves first. If you are running on half full this affects every area of your life -
your relationships, health or work - and without doubt how good you feel about
looking after your children.

I’m sure you will have noticed that when you’re happy your children are happy too
so for the next week make this a priority.

Write a list of all the things that you would like to do for yourself. What is the one
thing you have been putting off? These can be simple things from calling a friend
without being disturbed to booking a haircut, taking a bath or reading the magazine
you bought a month ago.

Choose at least one thing that you are going to over the next week and actually
write down when you are going to do it. Put down the date and the time when you
are going to make this happen. If you need someone to look after the children for a
few hours, call them now. Or at least firmly plan how you are going to ensure your
time is your own.

Enjoy this time that you have created for yourself and you will be amazed at the
results! Let me know how you get on.

Debbie Lewis is a specialist parent coach who regularly contributes on parenting
issues to national and regional media including Channel 5’s Trisha Goddard Show.

She has worked for over ten years with adults and children in a broad range of jobs
including nanny and parenting consultant.

Debbie is professionally trained in parenting skills, child development and
family assessment and a registered member of The Parenting and Education Support
Forum, The General Social Care Council, an NLP Practitioner and accredited life
coach.