Job Descriptions a Must!

Human resources (HR) has begun receiving recognition for being an integral component for organizational success. Businesses realize to stay competitive they need to ensure their employees are well-organized and effectively managed. HR provides some of the necessary tools enabling a company to achieve competence. A key tool in HR is a properly formatted job description. Job descriptions (JD’s) provide information critical for managing employees, for complying with a number of legal obligations, and allowing employees to understand their duties and responsibilities.

Often organizations lack formal JD’s. Some reasons may include believing they are unnecessary, or not knowing how to initiate the process. In order to develop a job description, it is critical to start by researching the position and gaining an understanding of the essential components required to perform the job. A properly structured JD includes the following elements:

Do You Act or React To Your Business?

If you are a reactive manager you can adjust your tactics when new situations, complications, and issues arise. However, being reactive means taking action only after the event has happened, while being proactive means being responsive before the event. Proactive and reactive are both valid responses, however when a person is in a reactive state they are forever defensive and anticipating.

A reactive strategy follows the old maxim, “if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it!” whereas the proactive strategy takes the line that “prevention is better than cure!” Both arguments have merit and both arguments have their followers and their detractors.

Succession Planning Is Crucial to Company Survival

If you run a successful business you may have wondered what you are going to do when the time comes for you to voluntarily or involuntarily retire – thus ensuring your business survives and flourishes. Succession planning is important if you want your business to continue after you are gone.

There are a few steps you can take to make the process easier:

Strengthening Business Relationships – What’s Your Likeability Factor?

In the business world you are required to interact with many different people from customers to employees through to business contacts. The relationships you form will directly affect your business’s success so it is crucial for you to form strong and effective business relationships.

Your employees are the cornerstone of your business and without them your business would not succeed. The best way to strengthen your relationship with your employees, and any other person you interact with, is to learn as much about them as possible and show genuine concern. The more you know about a person the better you can relate to them, and the stronger your relationship will become. They’ll notice and appreciate that you took the time to remember and care about them as individuals – you’re actually a human (people person) not just their boss.

Business Email Etiquette

Email is an important communication tool for today’s business, but sadly many employees lack basic email etiquette and this reflects poorly on the company. Employees who send unprofessional emails to clients, or worse still – personal emails from company accounts, can easily make your business look bad. It is important your employees know how to write a professional email and what types of emails should and should not be sent from company email accounts.

Email etiquette, sometimes referred to as netiquette in broad terms, is a complicated thing. It’s certainly not appropriate to ignore email, especially from individuals, but we all get busy at times and may be able to do no more than to acknowledge the receipt of emails and promise to write in more detail at a later point.