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Posts Tagged ‘management’

Time Management & Goal Setting Gear

While science is at its most advanced state nowadays, there remains to be a lot of things to juggle for a typical career-oriented individual. For most family-oriented persons, there is the burden of juggling work, career, family and other factors involved in one’s social life.

You can read more on Time Management & Goal Setting

The answer is Time Management & Goal Setting. Many highly successful persons are often asked what their secret to success is. And more often than not, they have the same response, and that is Goal Setting. However, although this is almost an expected response, many are still baffled at how Time Management really works.

Goal Setting is simply the proper allocation of time for certain tasks. First, the important tasks have to be arranged in a certain way where it is clustered into sectors and listed according to urgency and importance. For example, the important parts of your life are career, your daughter, your home, your art, and your family. You have to know which one to drop first whenever you need to do something.

After that, you will need help from some Productivity Tools designed to aid you in the correct process of prioritization AND remembering that order.

Quick-and-Easy Reminders

Goal Setting Tools & Time Management Techniques

There are a lot of persons who need lots of reminder when it comes to taking care of medium sized businesses. Often, they are too small that they are disregarded as unimportant. If you are one of them, buy some quick-and-easy teasers. What’s good about technology is you can probably put an alarm just about everywhere! Cellular phones nowadays have built-in organzing device of your choices, post-its are available in different sorts, and even the good old refrigerator door magnets have come in a lot of forms.

What is important is that the frequency of the reminding is now being increased. This is good for Time Management & Goal Setting because it keeps you aware of the things which you have to do especially if they’re urgent.

The organzing device of your choice + Watch Tandem

These are staples for just about every busybody from the college beadle to the corporate leader. The organizer is something that holds your appointments and it’s also a tiny little space for some writing. Busybodies usually have contact numbers of random people they meet, gifts for a not-so-relevant birthday party that he has to go to or some sudden brilliant ideas that come to mind. For these and more, you will need an organizer. It has to be a little agenda, just enough to fit in a small handbag, and should be made of durable material. You must bring your organzing device of your choice with you every day, in case you need to list something down as a reminder.

Moreover, the perfect complement to an organizer is a high-quality watch. You may have experienced running late for an appointment just because your watch didn’t work well.  What’s worse is that the person you’re meeting wouldn’t even believe you. This blunder can easily be avoided. Just get a high quality watch. Having a good sense of time is practically the first step in Productivity.

The Perfect mindset

It’s pressuring to know that you have a lot of things in your hand and it seems like you can’t even do anything about it. Don’t tip over.

Moreover, keep a be on your toes kind of manner of thinking as you maneuver your way into your busy life. Sure, there are times when you distance yourself from your organizing device of your choice. It is a painful reminder of the busy life they lead for some. It’s perfectly alright to feel some form of eternal urgency but take some time off once in a while. You must never neglect yourself in your list of tasks.

More on how to get more done

You are a new online business owner, and the last thing that you need is another decision. Unfortunately, I have one more thing for you to consider: What should be the size of your first website?

There exist two competing views on this issue and both have studies to support them. Of course, if we automatically knew which was the preferred size, there wouldn’t be a choice to make.

I should emphasize that this decision is not related to the size that you want the business to ultimately become. Businesses that run a number of tiny sites can grow as well as those that concentrate on one major “money site.” Neither should your decision be based upon some preconceived notion of your target market or your niche. Both small sites and large sites can succeed in any niche.

I should alert you that reading this article will not automatically give you the right answer to this particular question of size. Instead, what I hope to provide is a set of some things for you to consider so that whether you build a small website immediately or lay the groundwork for a mega-site, you’ll understand that decision’s impact upon key variables now and in the future.

Small websites should be concentrated on a narrow sub-niche built around a cohesive, limited set of relatively long-tail keywords. Sites that are designed to become quite large eventually will develop most of their content in the same focused way, but they will also begin search engine optimization on the shorter, very high competition keywords at the same time.

The two approaches call for different models of long term growth, although both may begin largely concentrating upon a relatively narrow slice of the market. Businesses that begin with a large site as the eventual goal, with fully develop one small sub-niche, then gradually add new sections dedicated to other sub-niches onto their original site. Those who initially built a small site, with intention of always leaving it small, will take a “duplication of success” approach, as they gradually add more an more individual sites to their virtual empire of tiny websites. So, as the big sites grow ever larger with more and more categories, departments or silos, the business with mini-sites might create twenty or fifty or a hundred individual “storefronts.”

Positive cash flow can be established sooner with the small site approach. Part of this is due to the larger site having to invest resources in chasing the higher level keywords, which the mini-site is likely to ignore. In the long run however, over the course of many months or even years, the mega-sites can become competitive for the high traffic keywords and might even become recognized as an authority in the broadly based market.

I’ll point to three practical ramifications of how you decide to approach this business decision.

One of these pertains to the amount that needs to be invested into the site itself in the beginning. When you plan to build a large site, the architecture of the whole site (as it will eventually become) must be in place. Thus, it is more expensive to begin such a site, even though you may start nearly as small as the mini-site business. Mini-sites are much less expensive to build than it is to build the foundation for a larger business site.

The ways in which you think about your keywords is another important difference. The keyword research for a smaller site will be undertaken to locate a limited number of closely related long term keywords. Special attention will be given to those keywords that are likely to convert immediately With the large site plan, you will conduct your research with two focal points: the lower competition but more targeted long-tails and the highest level, most competitive short tails (which are less likely to convert immediately, but the users of which might be nurtured into eventually becoming customers.

Issues pertaining to page rank is the third practical ramification of your large vs. small decision. Page rank is impacted by a number of variables in search engine algorithms (formulas), but one of those is the number of pages that a site has (assuming that the site has a search engine friendly linking structure). Consequently, it is easier for a large site to achieve a high page rank than for a small site, although you must remember that other variables are even more important in maximizing the total page rank.

I trust that I have given you some things to think about and apply to your unique business situation, even though I have not given you any clear cut final decision with respect to which alternative is best for you.

A quarter of a century ago, opening a retail store was a much simpler undertaking. People were regularly buying staple items they needed. stores were easy to run and business was good. Store owners often felt like they were shining examples of individuals living the American dream. The neighborhood kids understood that if they ever needed a job, they could look to one of the different neighborhood stores; candy store, drug store or local women’s shoes store business. Some of the shops have been operated by the same family for generations. However, in today’s economy most of these mom and pop enterprises are being forced to close their doors. They’re losing the struggle in keeping their businesses afloat.

See also:  comfortable shoes

Over the years, most of these retail neighborhood stores had survived competition from large department store chains. They were able to compete because they offered great customer service. That personalized service enabled them to maintain a constant flow of loyal customers. The neighborhood shoe store, for example, would let customers return a pair of shoes without a receipt, a gesture based on personal acquaintance with the customer and the assurance of a continuing relationship with him. Sometimes developing strong good customer service bonds were better for business than mere bargain sales and discounts. Customer service was one of the main tactics small retail outlets used to gain the advantage over large department stores.

Since the development of the internet, small retail stores find themselves striving to keep up not only with their local competitors, but also with a multitude of online stores. The impact of these cyber-stores may not have been clear at first, but gradually increasing numbers of shoppers have begun to make online purchases. There’s no more going to your neighborhood shoe store; people started buying shoes online. As online retail stores flourished, local vendors started to see a sharp decline. While this is convenient for customers, this is taking a toll on local neighborhood stores.

In today’s economy, small merchants face an even bigger challenge in order to stay in business. Also pressured by the declining economy, banks have tightened the reins by decreasing the lines of credit that merchants depend upon. This credit crunch has cause local merchants to turn to drastic measures. For instance; your local comfortable boots store owner has had to turn to using part of their retirement fund to purchase inventory or funding their marketing budget. They don’t have a large funding base to draw on. And, with banks lowering credit limits, they has even fewer funds to work with. The overall decline in business compels him to consider the strong possibility of a completely restructured life.

Anyone might be able to find additional stories within The Washington Post or by searching within Hotbot.       

25 years ago, opening a retail store was a much simpler undertaking. Consumers were regularly buying staple items they required. stores were easy to run and business was booming. Store owners often felt like they were shining examples of individuals living the American dream. The neighborhood kids understood that if they ever needed a job, they could look to one of the many neighborhood establishments: candy store, drug store or local women’s shoes store business. Some of the shops had been operated by the same family for generations. However, in today’s economy most of these mom and pop stores are closing their doors. They are struggling in keeping their businesses afloat.

See also:  comfortable men’s shoes

Historically, most of these retail neighborhood stores had survived competition from large department store chains. They managed to compete because they provided individual customer service. That personalized service enabled them to maintain a constant flow of loyal customers. For example; your neighborhood shoe store would allow a customer to return a pair of shoes without a receipt, a gesture based on personal acquaintance with the customer and the assurance of a continuing relationship with him. Firmly established customer service bonds were better for business than just offering a 10% off coupon. The ability to offer this type of personal customer service was one of the main tactics small retail outlets were able to use to gain leverage over and compete with large department stores.

Since the development of the internet, small retail stores have had to compete not only with their local competitors, but also with a multitude of online stores. The impact of these cyber-stores was slow at first, however, as more and more people begun to make online purchases. Instead of going to your local shoe store; people started buying shoes online. As internet retail stores started to see an increase in business, local vendors started to see a sharp decline. While this is convenient for customers, this is taking a toll on local neighborhood stores.

In today’s economy, retail merchants are now facing an even bigger challenge in order to stay in business. With the banks in their current state, they’ve in turn pressured local businesses, decreasing the lines of credit that merchants depend upon. This credit crunch has cause local merchants to turn to drastic measures. For instance; your local comfortable men’s shoes store owner may have to turn to using part of their retirement fund to purchase inventory or funding their marketing budget. They simply doesn’t have a large funding base to draw on. However, with banks lowering credit limits, they have fewer funds to work with. The overall decline in business they are looking at the strong possibility of having to restructure their lives.

You might be successful locating related resources by using The Washington Post or by using Cuil.       

The fact that you are reading this says that you, an influential leader – salesperson, business coach, entrepreneur, business owner, or leader – are likely NOT in the category of ‘no ownership,’ meaning you don’t take any responsibility for the outcomes of your choices. That leaves two choices: ‘Some responsibility’ or ‘total ownership.’

Most of us have been conditioned to only take “some ownership” over our consequences. Notice that whenever a divisive political, economic or social issue crops up, people are quick to place blame. But remember, blame is a low intelligence concept.

In the 1950′s, Earl Nightingale said, “To be successful, we must look at what everybody else is doing and consider doing the opposite.” Observe those who blame others. Look at people who blame the economy. Look at those who blame their product, their circumstances, their family, their background, their shortcomings, the weather, Britney Spears and everything else they can think up, for poor results.

Consider choosing to do the reverse. Consider becoming one of the few who really do choose to take total ownership over their results. You will be given the wealth that the many who only take “some ownership” will never find. Be willing to own ALL your consequences, good and bad. Great sales presenters sell by consciously designing their messages and when they don’t succeed, they convert objection and rejection into a great chance to redraft their message. They own the result.

Be willing to own ALL the results of your team, as a leader, great or awful. Great leaders look across the hall when things go well and say “you did it” and look inside when things go poorly and say “I’m responsible for it.” They own the result, especially when things don’t go well. Bottom line, as my great friend Hal Elrod (also a contributor to my book Cutting Edge Sales) taught me, to the degree that you take responsibility for everything in your life, you will be able to improve anything in your life.

Great influencers settle for nothing less than total responsibility.

Jon Berghoff

If not repaired it won’t take long for a building with one broken window to quickly turn in to a building with many broken windows. Resolving problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.

Good employers will be tuned in to what their employees’ problems are and, importantly, will deal with them early on. It is important to keep the initiative and a good tip is to give a little and often.

This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. Most employees prefer their management to take the initiative without being prompted and by doing so management can operate from a position of strength. Employees like strong, confident management and a proactive approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with those managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn could lead to further and less reasonable demands. It’s not big and it’s not clever.

The issue, then, is how to go about monitoring the morale of a company without a big budget and without much spare time?

The first port of call should be an online employee survey. Online surveys are quick, easy and low cost. Surveys can be written and deployed in seconds, using email, web links and social networks invitations can be sent out immediately and for free and the results are collated and displayed in real time.

The ideal delivery platform is the corporate intranet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the ability of online surveys to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged and collective and individual concerns highlighted.

By using the findings of a survey an organization can quickly identify problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good intelligence managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

A major advantage of regular surveys is that it allows a company to address small problems in a timely manner avoiding ‘the straw that broke the camels back’ syndrome where a relatively insignificant incident unleashes a torrent of pent up concerns.

When management show willingness to consult with the workforce it is appreciated by most employees, not viewed as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

Every now and then management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; enjoy.

We all have lots of appointments every day, hundreds of chores to do, dates to keep in mind. It is almost impossible to keep track of everything, to remember every telephone number you might need. It might not be a tragedy for some of us, but for others, it could be vital, and a missed appointment could turn out to have been essential for your future.

We don’t all have the luxury of a secretary, either, to keep us informed of every single thing we have to do that day. Yes, that would be very nice, but that also means you have to pay her. Not a lot of choices remain. You can either note all your appointments down in an agenda, like most people do, or try to remember everything.

That’s easier said than done, so an agenda might be a good solution. With use, however, paper tends to rip, writing begins to smudge, and other small, but vital details tend to be lost due to wear and tear. If you don’t want to spend weeks copying your entire agenda to a new one, every year, you might want to invest in something to make your life a whole lot easier.

A Personal Digital Assistant would be of great use, and one of the best is the HP iPAQ 111 . You’ll no longer have to remember everything, the HP PDA does it for you. From phone numbers, to appointments and other personal affairs, this little gadget can be a life saver.

You don’t have to be a tech-wiz to learn how to use it; in fact it is quite easy. Throw away your old notebook, say goodbye to the times you forgot about a date or a red-letter day. Your PDA will take care that you would never miss an important appointment, it will keep track of every point on your busy daily schedule, if you’re not too busy to charge it, from time to time.

The benefit of running an annual employee survey has for a long time been widely accepted but many organizations have been put off by the amount of effort that is required.

Many organizations who have bit the bullet and conducted their own internal employee satisfaction surveys have often relied on word-processors to allow them to design and compile a survey, then gone through the effort of printing and distributing the survey and spent time chasing and collecting the completed surveys and then even more time transferring the survey response information into a meaningful management report.

Fortunately with the introduction of the Internet and hosted survey websites what was once a time consuming, resource hungry, long winded and cumbersome process is now slick, quick and easy.

Document here is a step by step guide to help implement a survey that will bring considerable benefits to any organization.

Step 1 – Identifying The Need

There are many reasons an organization might benefit from a survey. The following are a few of the common reason why employee satisfaction surveys are conducted.

Event Driven

If your organization is about to embark, or is going through, a process reengineering program a series of employee surveys can assist in managing the change program, measure the effectiveness of the change, help to deliver a ‘message’ and gather valuable feedback throughout the change cycle.

For organizations that are experiencing rapid growth employee surveys can monitor internal communications and management structures to ensure that employees are aware of their reporting and management responsibilities.

If an organization is suffering from poor moral stemming from either internal or external influences an employee survey can be used to identify what the specific concerns of employees are so that those concerns can be properly addressed.

An employee survey can help an organization identify the underlying cause of employee unrest that may results in an increase of staff turnover and through the survey findings help find solutions.

Periodically

As part of a periodic assessment, surveys will help an organization review their personnel and monitor on an individual level job satisfaction, training and career development.

Employee surveys offer the senior management the opportunity to look at the soft underbelly of their organization and will help them confirm, or otherwise, that their ‘top down’ view of the organization matches the reality and the ‘bottom up’ perspective.

With the help of employee surveys an organization can establish good employer/employee communication that will in turn bring both direct and indirect benefits.

Step 2 – Management Support

Management buy-in is always desirable for any initiative and many will argue that it is essential to ensure a successful employee survey, however, in some instances the findings of an employee survey can lead to kick-starting a management that has grown complacent and detached from their employees.

Some senior management teams will recognize and drive the need for employee surveys, while other management teams may need to be convinced of the direct and indirect benefits an employee survey will bring.

The level of management commitment to an employee survey will have some bearing on the nature of the survey and to some extent will help determine what questions are to be asked and the manner they are asked.

A management that is supportive of the initiative may have specific areas of concern that they require feedback on or they may give the go ahead simply because they have no reason to think that the level of employee satisfaction throughout the organization is anything other than high.

In nearly all cases it is good practice to at least try and get management to buy-in to the employee survey from the very start as they have a lot to gain and are in a position to effect any change that is later identified as being required.

Step 3 – Designing The Survey

Good surveys will take some time and effort to write but providing the basic rules of survey design are followed and a concerted effort is made to include the ‘need to know’ questions and omit the ‘nice to know’ an effective survey will begin to take shape.

Deciding on what questions should be asked will be entirely dependent on the individual organization, its structure and the previously identified primary need and objectives of the employee survey.

When considering what questions to ask consideration should be given to how the results are to be analyzed. For example there may be a desire to ask for individual comments but these types of answer formats can be very time consuming and cumbersome to analyze and should therefore be avoided or used sparingly.

With online surveys it is generally better to do a few smaller surveys than one very long survey as the longer the survey the higher the drop out rate will be.

Step 4 – Checking And Testing

Spelling, Grammar and Clarity

Before publishing the survey make a careful check for spelling and typing mistakes and incorrect grammar. If available it is always better to have someone who has not been involved in designing the survey to proof read the survey with clean eyes, if no one is available try to take a break before checking through the survey again.

Say What You Mean And Mean What You Say

When checking the survey you need to consider the survey from the viewpoint of the respondent, you may know what you mean by each question but will the questions be clear to the employee?

Allow The Employee To Answer Truthfully

For closed questions where the employee will be required to choose from a number of available responses have you allowed the employee to answer accurately? Make good use of answer response options like ‘No Comment’, ‘Not Applicable’ or ‘Don’t know’ where you have made the question mandatory but the employee may not be able or wish to answer.

Consider allowing the employee to include an ‘Other’ answer but also appreciate that ‘Other’ answers will add to the complexity when analyzing the survey results.

Don’t Insist on a Response to Questions that may not have one

Check that for questions that have been made mandatory that you definitely do require an answer, for example open questions that ask for additional comments should be made optional unless you really do require the respondent to write a comment.

Check the Result Data can be Properly Analyzed

Check through the survey again but this time looking at how the results of the survey will be analyzed. Consider how you are likely to want to analyze the survey data, have you asked the right questions to be able to perform detailed analysis? For example if you want to be able to view the detailed response data from the perspective of the different departments, or maybe gender, check you have asked the employee to indicate their own department and/or gender.

Don’t Ask Anymore Questions Than You Need To

Consider all the questions in the survey and ensure that they are all ‘need to know’ questions.

Test the Link and Try Completing the Survey

Publish the survey and then send the survey’s link to a number of people who will be willing to test the survey. By completing the survey yourself you will get a feel for how the respondent will view the survey. From your own and the feedback of your colleagues stop and fine tune the survey as required.

Continue to repeat this process until you are happy with the survey.

Check The Data

Take time to view the online summary results of the test data and confirm that the data is being collected in a manner that can be properly analyzed and that will give meaningful results.

Step 5 – Promoting And Deploying The Survey

Where all or the majority of employees have access to the Internet or company intranet deploying the online survey is easy, either via email and/or by establishing a link to the survey from your own website or the Intranet.

If there are employees that do not have direct access to the Internet there may be a number of alternatives that can be used such as issuing the survey in printed form, providing access through a shared terminal or giving them an incentive to complete the survey at home.

Allowing Anonymous Responses?

You have a choice to allow all surveys to be completed anonymously. Allowing a survey to be anonymous may encourage employees to speak their minds enabling the survey to provide ‘a warts and all’ report, in turn giving management an opportunity to address underlying problems before they become serious.

However, allowing anonymous comments also allows employees to be more flippant and cavalier with their responses. Some organizations may only wish to take account of the views of those employees that are prepared to stand by their convictions and that will also allow the organization to follow up the specific concerns of individual employees.

Deciding to allow anonymous responses or not will mainly be down to the individual organization, the specific nature of the survey, the surrounding circumstances, the management style and the existing employer/employee relationship.

Step 6 – Monitoring The Survey

You are able to view in real-time the results online and the number of surveys that have been both started and completed.

If after a few days the number of completed surveys falls short of the expected target it is advisable to send periodic reminders to employees asking them to complete the survey.

Step 7 – Analyzing The Results

When it comes to analyzing the results data there are no hard and fast rules. Much depends on the individual survey, the questions asked and the number of responses.

The majority of surveys will benefit from the results being displayed as a chart as well as tabular form.

Providing the right questions have been asked when the survey data is first analyzed often a number of ‘headline’ results will immediately stand out that will provide you with an overview and an instant assessment of the general mood of the organization.

In areas where the results indicate areas of concern a more detailed analysis may be advisable. For example if employees were asked if they felt the organization provided equal opportunities to both genders and 25% gave a negative response it would be useful to know the gender split of the organization and also to look at what the gender split was of the 25% that answered negatively. Was the negative view shared by employees of both genders, consistent throughout the organization, or was it restricted to a particular gender and/or a particular department?

Reports can display the result data in tabular and/or graphical form allowing those who are interested in the results to view the raw data.

As a complement to the first, another method is to study the results and provide an analysis of the data and offer an opinion as to what the meaning is behind the results, what circumstances may have contributed to the results being as they are and in cases where the results have exposed negativity, propose initiatives that could address and resolve the problems . Such analysis if done by a single individual is likely to be very personal, if done by a committee it is still likely to be objective and therefore open to interpretation.

Step 8 – Further Action

The most important step is more likely to be the last. An employee survey will either confirm that the perfect organization exists or it will highlight areas that are less than perfect by identifying individual and common concerns.

It may be that further more detailed surveys are required that target specific areas. For example the results of a survey may reveal that employees working in a particular department are unhappy, but the reasons for their dissatisfaction may not be clear. A highly focused follow-up survey may help reveal the root causes.

When employee surveys are periodically run an organization that has taken steps to address issues will see their efforts reflected in subsequent survey responses. Almost all organizations have some problems and it helps an organization’s moral to see that a channel is available that will allow problems to be highlighted, addressed and resolved.

Summary

It is hoped that these guidelines will help an organization conduct successful employee satisfaction surveys, they are however, only a guide.

Each organization is different in style and structure and that will directly influence the tone and nature of the survey and will also dictate what the primary and secondary reasons are for conducting a survey.

By utilizing existing technology and conducting surveys online you are now able to monitor the heart beat of an organization, quickly, easily and, by using websites like www.surveygalaxy.com, at a very reasonable cost.

If a building’s broken window is not repaired promptly it doesn’t take long for many of the building’s other windows to be broken. Problems that are fixed when they are small will stop them from developing into larger problems.

When considering the level of employee satisfaction the same is true. Dissatisfaction spreads like wildfire and in a surprisingly short period of time you’ve got morale problems of the kind that are notoriously hard to fix.

Good employers will be tuned in to what their employees’ problems are and, importantly, will deal with them early on. It is important to keep the initiative and a good tip is to give a little and often.

This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. Most employees prefer their management to take the initiative without being prompted and by doing so management can operate from a position of strength. Staff like strong, confident management and this approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with those managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn leads to further and less reasonable demands. It is neither big nor clever.

How then can a company monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

The first port of call should be an online employee survey. They’re quick, easy to use, and a low cost solution. Surveys can be created in minutes and deployed in seconds, with the results compiled in real time; and by using email and websites they cost nothing to disseminate.

A corporate internet is the ideal delivery mechanism.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the ability of online surveys to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged and collective and individual concerns highlighted.

Companies can use survey results to expose problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target exposed concerns. With good information managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

By conducting regular surveys a company is able to address small problems before they grow into much bigger problems that are then more difficult to address.

It should not be forgotten that most employees appreciate being consulted and asking their opinion is not seen as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.

Every now and then management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; enjoy.

If a building’s broken window is not repaired promptly it doesn’t take long for many of the building’s other windows to be broken. Problems that are fixed when they are small will stop them from developing into larger problems.

The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction can spread rapidly throughout an organization and before you know it you can have morale problems that can be hard to resolve.

To ensure that your employees are happy you need to understand what their problems and concerns are and it is important to deal with them early on. It is important to keep the initiative and a good tip is to give a little and often.

This turns out be just a vicious circle. Fixing problems when they are small is also when they are at their cheapest to fix. Taking the initiative without being prompted allows the manager team to operate from a position of strength, which most employees would also prefer. Staff like strong, confident management and this approach generates respect not least because someone has taken the time to understand some of the employees’ issues.

Compare that with those managers who are out of touch. If they are late in addressing problems they are always on the defensive, having to concede to demands they run the risk of losing credibility which in turn can lead to having to agree to less reasonable demands. It’s not big and it’s not clever.

How then can an organisation monitor the morale of the employees without a big budget and an abundance of spare time?

would appear to offer the perfect solution. They’re quick, easy to use, and a low cost solution. Instead of weeks and months surveys can now be designed and published in hours and minutes, by harnessing the power of the internet invitations can be sent out instantly and free of charge using email, links on websites and postings on social networks; the results are collated in real-time and can be automatically displayed as charts.

The ideal delivery platform is the corporate intranet.

By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.

With the ability of an online survey to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged, concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.

A company can use survey results to expose problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific concerns. With good information managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.

By conducting regular surveys companies are able to address small problems before they grow into much bigger problems that are then more difficult to address.

The majority of employees appreciate being consulted, asking their opinion is not a sign of weak management but an indicator of good decision making.

It’s unusual to find a solution to management problems that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank but here one is.