Posted by: Penny Miller
on Dec 01, 2009
Business is slow. Customer service stinks. This doesn't make sense, does it?
An acquaintance said to me, "You'd think as bad as everyone says their business is, they would make sure their customer service is great to get what business there is. Instead, I get lousy service almost everywhere I go."
I've noticed the same thing. I have been looking for an alternative place to have some training sessions in 2010. I called some places and discussed prices ranges. I asked to have a copy of their standard contract emailed or faxed to me so I could look it over, ask questions and be able to compare my options. I was promised the information by the next day. A week later, I don't have the information. So I am still on the hunt. I don't feel like doing a lot of follow up. I am trying to spend money at a business; therefore, the service I am getting in the courting phase is probably as good as it is going to get. How responsive are they going to be once I've signed on the dotted line?
I went to another business with the information to get a quote for some work. The salesperson gave me an estimate. When I returned less than a week later to conduct the transaction, the same clerk wanted four times the amount estimated. Needless to say, I didn't do it--plus I'm not very happy I wasted my time.
These are just two examples of the many I've encountered in the last two weeks. There is no excuse for this. I don't have money burning out the bottom of my pockets, but I do have money I will spend with some business. I know where I won't be spending it...
Posted by: Penny Miller
on Nov 13, 2009
We often treat employees as an expense category versus an investment. Anyone who knows me knows I fall firmly in the investment camp.
Organizations rightfully spend a lot of time reviewing financial reports and making decisions based upon what they see on those reports. A major expense item on those reports is payroll and other employee-related expenses. For most organizations, this is the single largest expense area. Because of this, employees are treated as expense items to be cut in order to ensure the "P" on the P&L statement is as the shareholders think it should be.
There is probably no way to get around that entirely. However, as is the case when an organization focuses myopically on the numbers in financial reports, some key facts may be overlooked. Our employees and the "human capital" they control are essential to the competitive advantage an organization has (or hopes to develop.)
Human capital is the current buzz word for the knowledge and skills an employee has and is tied to that employee--when he/she goes, that knowledge and skill tends to go too (although there are ways to minimize that loss.) Companies also exploit (or access) human capital through the employee--in other words, the employee determines just how much of the capital is used to benefit the employer.
To retain and get the most effective use of our employees' human capital requires some investment.
One of the columns I always read is by Peter Capelli with HR Executive Magazine. Yesterday's column http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=286209870 was about a car wash with truly exceptional HR practices and some of the results. We think of jobs at a car wash as being dead end and as this story shows, that is not necessarily the case.
Posted by: Penny Miller
on Nov 09, 2009
During the last couple of weeks I was fortunate to participate in the Texas Wide Open for Business workshops in Vernon, Wichita Falls and Decatur. At all of them, I was asked, "So the point you're making is we shouldn't hire employees."
Well, not really. When you need help, you need help. The requirements can be daunting to start with, but the basics are easy enough, once you figure them out. But there are really two basic reasons to hire help:
- There is too much work to do yourself. Once you're working in your business more than on your business, you need
help to continue bringing in more work.
- Other people can do some of the work better than you can. This is why I hire someone to do my bookkeeping. I hate the task, and I know someone who not only loves it, she's good at it.
There's a limit to how far our business can grow without employees. The trick is to know when the investment is worth the cost and planning which tasks we can best use the skills of those employees to do so we can leverage our time planning and monitoring the strategic goals of our organization.
So, don't be afraid to hire help when you need it. However, be sure you know what you're getting into and plan accordingly. Your Small Business Development Center and Workforce Solutions North Texas are good (and free) places to start. You may get to the point you need more help than they have the time and resources to provide, but get what you can from them.
Posted by: Penny Miller
on Nov 03, 2009
Many thanks to the MSU Small Business Development Center for sponsoring the Texas Wide Open for Business workshops in Vernon and Wichita Falls. There weren't a lot of people at either workshop, but those that attended got some very good information at a bargain basement price.
I was one of the presenters, speaking on the basic HR stuff every business needs to know about--you know, the fun stuff (workplace postings, safety, I-9s, wage and hour, workers compensation, etc.) Small business owners especially, have so much on their plates, they have a hard time staying in compliance.
I'm a small business owner myself and if my business wasn't human resources consulting/outsourcing, I don't know that I would be able to keep up with everything. I can't duplicate the entire 1-hour presentation here, but my main tip: what is required by law/regulation is not necessarily what common sense would tell you to do. I have a lot of business owners and managers tell me they do something a certain way (like paying employees) as common sense would dictate. Sorry to say, that doesn't mean they're doing it correctly. Wage and hour regulations are not as straightforward as one might expect and little mistakes can add up to big money.
For those employers who are looking for a free resource to help them stay on top of compliance and employment law/regulatory changes, sign up for a free newsletter from Venture HRO, LLC. You can register at the website at www.venturehro.com or send me an email--I'll take care of it for you.
Tomorrow I'm off to Decatur to share the good news with employers in that area.
Posted by: Penny Miller
on Oct 23, 2009
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering a resource seminar for small business 8:15 - 4:30 on October 27 in Vernon and on October 28 in Wichita Falls. This $225 seminar is FREE to small businesses due to monies from the state of Texas; you just need to RSVP to the SBDC at 397-4373. The seminar includes a light breakfast, lunch and Get Clients now book.
The schedule for Vernon:
AM: Vernon BDC
Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center
Rural Enterprise Accelerator Partnership
HR Sharp! (yours truly as the presenter)
PM: Vernon Chamber of Commerce
MSU SBDC
Government Procurement
Get Clients Now!
RSVP by noon on October 23 (today!)
The schedule for Wichita Falls:
AM: Manufacturing Assistance
Procurement Assistance
Downtown Proud
Rural Enterprise
MSU SBDC
Credit Card Savvy
Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce
PM: HR Sharp!
Get Clients Now!
RSVP by noon October 27.
