The Business Books That Rocked My Year (in a Good Way)
December 28, 2011
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
I’ve done a lot of reading this year. I’m a bit of a business bookworm. When others are deep in novels, I’m scouring the (virtual) bookshelves for what’s new in business books.
This year, in preparation for the BOOKED for Lunch webinar series where I interview top business book authors, I had the divine pleasure of reading and enjoying what I deem some of this year’s BEST books for business.
Here are the 10 books we featured this year. They’re not in order of preference. I recommend you add them all to your library.
Launch: How to quickly propel your business beyond the competition – Michael Stelzner
“Any business can defy gravity, especially in this uncertain economy,” says Michael Stelzner about his new book, Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. Launch contains a proven roadmap for any business, large or small, seeking to launch an effective growth strategy with content marketing. You can instantly download the first chapter (no registration required) at www.elevationprinciple.com.
— The ABN’s advisory board is reading this over the holidays so that we can use the great information strategically in the new year
Enchantment: Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions – Guy Kawasaki
Enchantment is Guy’s tenth book. In it, he explains how to influence what people will do while maintaining the highest standards of ethics. The book explains when and why enchantment is necessary and then the pillars of enchantment: likability, trustworthiness and a great cause. The topics are launching, overcoming resistance, making enchantment endure and using technology. There are even special chapters dedicated to enchanting your employees and your boss.
– Guy was such a charm to work with. Funny and easy going. He presented a second webinar with us ‘How to enchant with social media” which you’ll also find in our store.
Content Rules – Ann Handley and CC Chapman
Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other publishing platforms are giving everyone a “voice,” including organisations and their customers. So how do you create the bold stories, videos and blog posts that cultivate fans, arouse passion for your products or services and ignite your business? How do you attract the right audience? How do you create content that converts? What is the best way the most popular tools to get the greatest results?
– If you publish tweets, Facebook updates, a blog, a newsletter – anything, really then content can be your friend or enemy. No business today can get away with shoddy content and this book walks you through what you need to know.
Suzi Dafnis and Ann Handley
The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and more Social — Jay Baer and Amber Naslund
This book isn’t about how to “do” social media. Instead, The NOW Revolution outlines how you must retool your organisation to make real-time business work for you rather than against you. Read about seven shifts that will help you make your company faster, smarter, and more social:
- Engineer a New Bedrock
- Find Talent You Can Trust
- Organise your Armies
- Answer the New Telephone
- Emphasise Response-Ability
- Build a Fire Extinguisher
- Make a Calculator
The NOW Revolution is pushing you to adapt the way you do business, from the inside out. It impacts your organisation culturally, operationally and functionally. This book is your guide to making the changes you need and to harnessing the potential of this new communication era.
— Amber was so generous with her information and provided easy to implement tips. It’s so seldom we get women business authors that we were thrilled when she agreed to be interviewed.
Niche – James Harkin
Our cultural consumption is no longer controlled by the giants of the mainstream market. Many giants have become weak and defensive – hovering around the middle of the market and striking out wildly in search of new audiences. In Niche, James Harkin explains that no size fits all and that anyone who tries to be all things to everyone ends up as nothing to anyone.
James argues that innovation and profitability are quietly moving from the middle of the market to a series of tightly defined but globally scattered niches, bound together by the reach of the net.
— James joined us from the UK (it was about 6am local time) and we had a lot of fun on this interview.
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies — Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li
Corporate executives struggle to harness the power of social technologies. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube are where customers discuss products and companies, write their own news and find their own deals, but how do you integrate these activities into your broader marketing efforts? It’s an unstoppable groundswell that affects every industry yet it’s still utterly foreign to most companies running things now.
— Josh knows this area SO well. We were delighted to have him tell us how the book was more relevant now than when the original edition was published a couple of years ago.
Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything
In Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything, Chris Brogan guides you through using Google+ for promotion, customer service, community building, referrals, collaboration and a whole lot more. You won’t just master innovative new tools like Circles and Hangouts; You’ll use them to generate more customers and more cash!
— We held this event just before the book was due to launch. Google+ hadn’t yet launched pages for businesses. Chris gave us a your of the new social network and we taught him a little about Australian music.
Predictable Success — Les McKeown
If you own, manage or work for any kind of organisation, you have one goal above all else – success. And not just occasional, elusive or temporary success.
You’re looking for:
- Success that you understand and can control
- Success you can maintain indefinitely
- Success you can replicate
- Success you can scale
- Success that isn’t dependent on you alone
In short, you’re looking for Predictable Success.
— Les’ Scottish humour went down a treat with the Australian audience. The book was recommended to us by member Alycia Edgar. It really made me think about the stage of business we are in and what to do to stay at the peak part of Les’s Predictable Success model.
We First : How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World – Simon Mainwaring
Is technology teaching us to be more human? Could the future of profit actually be purpose? A social media expert with global experience with many of the world’s biggest brands, including Nike, Toyota and Motorola, Simon Mainwaring offers a visionary new practice in which brands leverage social media to earn consumer goodwill, loyalty and profit, while creating a third pillar of sustainable social change through conscious contributions from customer purchases.
— I met Simon in the US earlier this year. A fellow Aussie living in the US he’s nailed the fact that those that will win in the future of business are those that make a contribution to more than their customers and shareholders. We can all learn from the messages in this book.
A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crowdsourcing — Aliza Sherman
If two heads are better than one, then imagine how great 200 or 2,000 or 20,000 could be for helping you get something done. That’s the potential power of crowdsourcing – tapping into the global talent pool and using an “open source” approach to bringing in more people to participate together to reach a common goal. the book looks at all the tools you’ll need to begin crowdsourcing, how to define your goals and target different crowds, how to design the best project or campaign to share, how to organise and analyse the input you receive from the crowd to get results and how to apply the crowd’s output directly to your business
— Aliza is known as a web pioneer and social media innovator. We’ve caught up in the US the last two years and she’s very committed to supporting women to understand and make use of technology. I applaud her efforts.
Aliza Sherman (left) and Suzi Dafnis
If I’m honest, more times than not I crammed the reading into the days before the interview reading or rereading to prepare sensible questions.
The winner in the equation was me. I’ve been the recipient of the best business education money can buy.
I trust those that listened in to the webinars also felt like they’d received a gift of education from these talented and generous authors. And, that the authors themselves derived a sense of satisfaction from having their book featured to our national community of inspiring businesswomen.
I hope you’ll take my recommendation and get a hold of these books. I also recommend you take a listen to the webinar recordings.
9,200+ people registered for the BOOKED for Lunch series during 2011. We’ll kick off the 2012 season of BOOKED for Lunch webinars in February, so join our eMail list to be notified of the next great business book we’ll be profiling.
What books rocked your year?
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY SUZI DAFNIS
- How to Use Social Media for Business Research
- How to get Everything Done Before Christmas
- How Guy Kawasaki Enchanted Me
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Suzi Dafnis – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkSuzi Dafnis is the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s Community Director and Chairperson of the Advisory Board. Suzi has been involved with the network since 1995. In 1998, she took over the network from its founder and has since managed and grown the network. She remains its media spokesperson and a champion of women in business. She is also the editor of the ABN’s newsletters, author of the herBusiness blog and presents the In Her Shoes video series and herBusiness podcast.
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The Technology Path for Women
December 27, 2011
Nikki Steadman, CEO of Loci Solutions, specialises in helping businesses find effective and practical solutions to their property management accounting and reporting systems.
Loci Solutions grew out of the desire to enhance the customer experience and system utilisation of current and potential clients in the property industry, primarily in the areas of property management and finance.
In this interview we discuss:
- How establishing a niche business has meant big wins for Nikki’s business
- Why the technology industry is a great career path for women
- How to get corporate doors to open up to your small business
- Nikki’s business success tips
Enjoy this interview with Nikki Steadman
Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website
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About the In Her Shoes seriesIn Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
Do you make these 5 Online Customer Service Mistakes?
December 23, 2011
By Vivienne Kane, Minuteman Press Prahran
Recently, I ordered a book from a well known online book retailer and experienced a significant delay in delivery.
Navigating their online customer service facility to find out what was happening was extremely frustrating and made me more irritated by being sent an automated customer satisfaction survey before the problem had been resolved.
It’s easy to think customer service is all about when clients walk into your premises or pick up the phone. But in many businesses these days, most, if not all, interaction happens online.
If you want your customers to be happy in cyberspace, don’t fall into these traps:
- Not responding to emails in a timely fashion. For some time-sensitive businesses, this might be within a couple of hours, for others next day. Try to put yourself in the mind of the customer – don’t leave them wondering if their message has even been received. And if you don’t have the solution to their problem immediately, at least let them know you are working on it.
- Keeping your contact details really well hidden on your website. If you’re happy for customers to call, make the phone number easy to see. Similarly with enquiry email – have a direct link on your home page. You might also consider a Live Chat facility – this could be a real asset for service based businesses in particular.
- No website FAQ/information section. If you’re getting the same queries over and over again from prospects and customers, give them the information before they have to ask. Develop a straightforward FAQ section, or a free eBook, to solve the common frustrations before they arise.
- Product and service details on your website are difficult to find. Navigation around your site should be easy and clear –finding the appropriate product with all details shouldn’t require trawling all over your site.
- Your shopping cart is poorly designed and difficult to use. There is a huge range of online purchase software now available. Make sure you choose one that’s suitable for your product or service, clear and easy to use, and which gives email acknowledgement of purchase. And have a method for the customer to contact you quickly if they have a problem.
Top of my priority list for 2012 is to fix the shopping cart on our CalendarPrint website – it’s frustrating some of our customers and why would we want to do that?
What’s on your list?
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY VIVIENNE KANE
- Why You Should Guarantee Your Service – and Brag About It
- Are you making champagne promises – and delivering beer?
- Are You Creating Cranky Customers?
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Vivienne Kane - Minuteman Press PrahranAs the owner and operations manager of Minuteman Press Prahran, a franchise print supplier, Vivienne works with small business customers every day. She runs the business, and their online specialty division CalendarPrint, with her husband Nicholas and their talented staff. With a customer base which often has little experience in buying print, Minuteman Prahran’s point of difference is making the process as painless as possible. Vivienne is a strong advocate of clear and reliable communication as a key tool in winning and keeping customers. She started her professional life as a Speech Pathologist, and enjoyed a variety of roles in administration and community groups before establishing Minuteman Press in 2000. She has three Gen-Y adult children, is an almost an empty nester, loves travel and is a member of two book clubs.
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Entrepreneurs’ Roundtables February 2012 – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
December 22, 2011
Facilitated Session for Growth Members
These events are open to Growth Members Only. Learn more about Growth Membership.
Australian Businesswomen’s Network Growth Members are invited to attend the next quarterly Entrepreneurs’ Roundtable. This facilitated session is an opportunity for women to address and discuss business issues and to focus the direction of their business development.
The Entrepreneurs’ Roundtables are facilitated to bring to light key issues to be brainstormed and are forums for business brainstorming, collaboration and shared experiences.
We believe that nobody understands the issues faced by business owners more than others that ‘walk in their shoes.’ Meeting content focuses on strategic input into the member businesses and varies depending upon their interests and needs between Roundtables. You’ll have the opportunity to bring up ‘burning’ issues to be discussed.
The Roundtables provide a confidential, non-competitive environment. Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis and places are limited.
Want to Attend the Roundtables? Not a Growth Member?
Learn more and sign up for Growth Membership.
What current Growth Members have to say…
Watch some of the ABN’s Growth Members talk about the benefits they have received from Growth Membership in this testimonials video, recorded at our May 2011 session in Sydney.
Event Details:
Entrepreneurs’ Roundtables – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne
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| PRICE: | There is no cost to attend. Bookings are essential. Limited places.
(*Growth members: login to register for this event.) |
These events are open to Growth Members Only. Learn more about Growth Membership.
To register, contact our office on 1300 720 120 or check your inbox for an e-invitation.
We look forward to having you attend and to your sharing in the giving and receiving of inspiration, knowledge and the sharing of experiences.
About Your Facilitator:
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Suzi Dafnis - Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkThese sessions will be facilitated by Suzi Dafnis, Community Director of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
Masterclass: More Effective Website Copywriting
December 22, 2011
By Belinda Weaver, Copywrite Matters
The ABN Masterclasses are small-group sessions that focus on specific member issues and offer practical advice in a hands-on way. I was honoured to present the very first Masterclass in December 2011, focusing on how to use copywriting to improve the performance of business websites.
If you couldn’t log into the live Masterclass or you haven’t watched the recording, here are the best tips on making your website copywriting more effective and engaging.
Copywriting Health Check Stage 1: Your credibility
When someone lands at your website, they get an instant impression about how reputable your business is. The look and feel of your website plays a big part in that critical first impression, but the types of pages you have also communicate a lot about your credibility.
To create the right impression, your website should have:
- Pages about your products or services
- An About page introducing yourself and/or your business
- Pages that show you’ve worked with other clients (like testimonials or case studies pages)
- A reasonably detailed contact page
All of these pages work together to tell me that you are a real and credible business.
Copywriting Health Check Stage 2: Every page essentials
Every page needs: to back up your value proportion
I call this your simple truth and it is the real benefit you offer your customers (when you get past the marketing speak and industry jargon). To work out your simple truth, imagine describing your business to someone you’ve never met. In response to your fantastically detailed explanation they say, “so what?” You dig a bit deeper. They say, “so what?” When you continue this imaginary conversation, you will eventually get to the simple truth behind what you offer the world.
Every page needs: to answer “what’s in it for me?”
This is the question your website visitors are asking from the moment they arrive on your website. Rather than simply describing what your business does, remember to link your services back to the reasons your website visitor is looking for a solution. How are you making their life better?
Every page needs: a headline
Your headline is the attention grabber for your page. As prime real estate, it’s useful to focus on the key benefit you offer and your main keywords. Imagine if your visitor read nothing else on the page, what is the most important thing they need to know? Another great tip is to make your page headline specific. If your headline would make sense in any other industry, there is an opportunity to make it more specific to your business.
Every page needs: a call to action
A call to action simply instructs your website visitor to perform an action. While you might think it’s obvious that you want people to email you for more information, register for your event or download your free report – a specific call to action will improve your response rate. Make your call to action clearly visible and actionable.
Copywriting Health Check Stage 3: Language and Readability
Once you know your key marketing messages and the benefits your target audience will care about, you can look at the way you communicate those messages. How well your audience understands your message is the key to action and fancy, formal language can sometimes do you more harm than good.
Here are some tips on making your copywriting easy to read and understand:
- Imagine speaking directly to a single person and write like you speak
- Keep your paragraphs relatively short and focused on one idea
- Vary the lengths of your sentences to create a changing rhythm
- Use whitespace to some breathing room around your copy
- Break up long sections of copy with subheadings and lists
Remember, always keep your simple truth in mind and make sure your website copywriting answers the question: what’s in it for me? Oh, and don’t forget those headlines and call to actions!
You can download the live Masterclass now and see my Copywriting Health Check applied to three member sites (along with more tips for effective website copywriting).
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Belinda Weaver – Copywrite MattersBelinda is a professional marketing copywriter who confidently walks the line between writing effective copy and creating an engaging brand personality. You don’t have to choose between them! The words you use really do make a difference and offline or online, you will get more clicks, calls and sales with the right words. It’s that simple. Belinda also empowers business owners to write great copy and the Copywrite Matters Facebook & Twitter pages have FREE weekly tips on copywriting and marketing. She loves to chat about SEO, websites, good business and all things marketing. Say hi and join the conversation!
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How to Use Social Media for Business Research
December 21, 2011
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
Whether you want to keep up with what’s happening in your industry or collect feedback from your customers, social media makes it easy to conduct business research.
Facebook now has an “Ask a Question” function, which makes it easy to survey your audience. If you’d like to send out a more complex survey, there are several websites where you can create a free survey, such as surveymonkey.com.
You can then place a link to that survey in your social networks – on Twitter, Facebook and LInkedIn, as well as Google+.
Easy research tips for:
- Twitter: Ask a poll question that just requires a simple reply. For a more complex survey, include a link to your survey on Twitter.
- Facebook: Use the Ask A Question function for polls. Link to a longer survey (set up in another program).
- Google+: Same as above for Facebook
- LinkedIn: Use the ANSWERS section of LinkedIn to asks your question. There is room to ask a complex question and LinkedIn users pride themselves on answer questions and being perceived as thought leaders and experts. You can also award the best answer as winner, adding clout to that user’s profile.
In early 2010, we were looking to name a new webinar series in which we’d feature best-selling business book authors. This series, now known as BOOKED for Lunch, was named when, after running a survey on Facebook members suggested names which we then put to a poll. BOOKED for Lunch came out on top and we thank member Linda Fairbairn for the suggestion of what is now a very popular series of webinars.
What sort of research can you do on Social Media?
Pretty much anything. As long as you don’t mind it being public.
I find that community members are happy to contribute if asked questions the answers from which they will also benefit. e.g., Ask them how you can improve your products and services or what new products/services they’d like to see?
So, go ahead and ask:
- Which logo do they like best?
- What’s a great name for a new product?
- What can you do to help them?
- What’s their opinion on an issue or topic relevant to your industry or business?
Be sure to thank and reply to all that respond!
Keep it simple
Keep your research simple. Social media moves so quickly and is often scanned rather than read. So, keep your questions simple and to the point. If you get a lot of interest, but need more depth in answers, you can always approach those who have shown interest and ask for more participation.
Do it well
And, if you want expert advice in structuring your survey questions then I recommend you contact Kate Tribe of Tribe Research who advises the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.
Researching competitor activity
Some business research doesn’t require active participation on your part. If you want to know what your competitors are doing, join their social media groups and watch as a passive spectator.
Start listening, and reap the rewards
Research is really all about listening. What are people saying about my brand? Are my customers satisfied? What are my competitors saying? What are the latest trends in the industry? Social media is an invaluable tool for listening.
Social Media is a great way to get quick feedback. So, go ahead and try it.
Had some success with research and social media? Comment and let us know.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY SUZI DAFNIS
- How to get Everything Done Before Christmas
- How Guy Kawasaki Enchanted Me
- Make Telephone Interviews Work: Tips for Preparing and Conducting Virtual Interviews
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Suzi Dafnis – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkSuzi Dafnis is the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s Community Director and Chairperson of the Advisory Board. Suzi has been involved with the network since 1995. In 1998, she took over the network from its founder and has since managed and grown the network. She remains its media spokesperson and a champion of women in business. She is also the editor of the ABN’s newsletters, author of the herBusiness blog and presents the In Her Shoes video series and herBusiness podcast.
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How to get Everything Done Before Christmas
December 20, 2011
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
It seems that the clock has been put on high-speed and time before Christmas is moving at double speed. I know my list of things to do ‘before Christmas’ seems to be on the increase and, frankly, causing me some stress.
So, I decided to break it down and get a handle on it. And to get EVERYTHING done. Yep. Everything.
Here are my steps for getting everything done before Christmas. And, it involves making a list and checking it twice…
1. Make a List
In David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, he recommends we write down EVERYTHING that needs to be done so that to-dos are not floating around in our head. I can’t tell you how many items are on MY list, but it goes for pages and pages.
I use a few methods for capturing to-dos (I’m not organised enough to just use one) including notebooks, online applications, voice memos, emails to myself. It’s not pretty! But, I still manage to get a lot done and to stay on top of things, most of the time.
Today though, I am creating a NEW list of ONLY the things that will get done before 25 December – the things that are most important. And this pre-Christmas list is a subset of the bigger list – but doable.
If you’d like to do the same, I’ve attached a simple form for you to compete and stick up near your desk!
TIP: In order to achieve everything, make a succinct list of the top 3-5 things that the completion of which will move you closer to your goals if it were done by 25 December.
2. Check it Twice
Review the list and, if necessary, reduce the number of items. I find at times, as I’m making lists, one thing leads to another and 3-5 priorities becomes an overwhelming number of items.
So, exercise restraint. Check your list (at least twice) and pull off everything that is NOT top priority.
I KNOW you have more than 3-5 important things to do, but don’t set yourself up for failure. Most things are NOT going to be finished by Christmas and the new year is just a few days away so you can tackle the longer list of items then.
The point of this process is for you to have a win. So, don’t list ANYTHING on the pre-Christmas list that you know you have no chance of accomplishing. It’s better to tick check things off and get them complete and THEN, if you still have time, add another item from your POST-CHRISTMAS list and have a go at completing that too.
TIP: Choose items that you would feel excited about achieving. Remember – just 3-5 big items, for now.
3. Schedule time to take action
I tend to over commit. You? One of the reasons I’ve chosen only 3-5 items is because I want to achieve these while managing my day to day work. It’s not as though I’m sitting idle – so I want to be sure these ‘big rocks’ can fit into my schedule.
If your items need focused time, time out of the office, or away form your inbox and Facebook account then schedule that time.
Beyond scheduling… I know that you now what to do, so I’ll keep it short.
4. Take Action
Easier said than done, I know. Do something. Do something every day. It’s 20 December. So, say you have 5 items and about four days to get them done, that’s 1.25 items a day. Start today and you’ll be on your way. (I know, I could have posted this last week and given you more time… But hey. This was the first chance I could get THIS done. (Smile.) )
5. Celebrate
Reward yourself for every item you check off. It doesn’t have to be a big reward. Time alone in a coffee shop with my iPad is one of the greatest rewards I rarely give myself. So, find what will have you feel good.
I’d love to hear what you’re setting out to do and what you achieve. So, drop me a line or add a comment below.
And, good luck.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY SUZI DAFNIS
- How Guy Kawasaki Enchanted Me
- Make Telephone Interviews Work: Tips for Preparing and Conducting Virtual Interviews
- Boardroom to Bedroom – Three cornerstones for success
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Suzi Dafnis – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkSuzi Dafnis is the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s Community Director and Chairperson of the Advisory Board. Suzi has been involved with the network since 1995. In 1998, she took over the network from its founder and has since managed and grown the network. She remains its media spokesperson and a champion of women in business. She is also the editor of the ABN’s newsletters, author of the herBusiness blog and presents the In Her Shoes video series and herBusiness podcast.
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New Year. New Career?
December 19, 2011
By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment
With the Festive Season festivities well and truly in full swing, and staff gearing up to take their annual leave, or prepare for your shut down period, now is the time to start thinking about and planning for any staffing and people changes for 2012!
I know the last thing many people want to do at this time of year is plan ahead and think about work tasks for 2012, but being prepared and organised can really set you up for a successful start to the new year.
A new year can be a hot time for resignations, transfers and staffing changes in any organisation. Many employees who have become disengaged in their workplace, roles and careers during the year find themselves taking stock of what really matters and what they really want to achieve in the year ahead over the Christmas/New Year period.
As they sit with family and friends and start discussing New Year’s resolutions, and the achievements of the year just gone, it dawns on many people that they are unhappy in some aspect of their lives…
The quickest fix seems to be to get a new job!
They return from their Christmas leave and one of three things will generally happen:
- They stay put, waiting for a ‘sign’, some motivation, inspiration or for something to change. These people generally remain disengaged from their responsibilities and do just what’s needed to get through the day, flying under the radar.
- They promptly hand in their resignation on their first day back and commence job hunting.
- They start searching for that great new role, giving little if any focus and commitment to their current workplace until they inevitably resign.
None of these are ideal situations for a business of any size to face at the beginning of the calendar year, but what, if anything, can you do to avoid these times and minimise the impact they have on the operations and profitability of the organisation?
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Look for the signs of staff who have began to disengage from their roles or the organisation.
Use this time to start to open up conversations with the team about taking the time to relax over the break, and set goals as a team now for some of the things you want to do in the new year. The signs you might be looking for generally involve a shift in behaviour and some classics include taking more than the usual amount of sick leave; leaving work right on time every day, when they used to be the sort of person to work back whenever needed; not putting their hands up for those special projects they previously have been dead keen to be involved in; withdrawing from groups within the workplace; taking long lunches and in general being a different person in the office.
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Don’t wait until after the New Year to start re-engaging these employees.
By having regular reviews and appraisal systems in place, you will more easily be able to identify and manage these employees. Also coordinate more casual and off-the-record catch ups with staff to encourage open communication.
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Keep employees engaged in the vision through regular team and company meetings.
Share goals and visions with them and allow the opportunity to provide ideas as to how they can contribute to the success and achievement of company goals.
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Reward staff who are doing a great job!
It doesn’t have to be grand or expensive, nor does a big fuss have to be made – a small gesture goes a long way.
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Know what motivates your people.
When you understand this, you have the best possible chance of keeping them engaged and committed.
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Plan a day for very early in the new year for planning, team engagement and morale building.
And let the team know about it now. Having something fun and interactive planned gives them something to look forward to, and may get the excited about coming back to work, rather than dreading it!
At the end of the day, staff will always leave organisations, and in some cases, there is nothing you can do to prevent this, but you can ensure you manage the process to minimise the impact it has on the rest of the team.
If you have open and honest communication channels with your staff and they feel they can come to you with honest feedback, you will be in the drivers seat when these situations arise. If they come to you indicating they are seeking alternate work, and there is nothing more you can do to keep them should you want to, give them your blessings, help them to find something new and start the replacement process yourself internally straight away.
The longer an unhappy employee stays with you, then more detriment it will have on your team and ultimately your business. Don’t try and delay the inevitable, nip it in the bud and move on.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY KRISTY-LEE JOHNSTON:
- Thinking Outside the Box: How to Prosper in a Candidate-Short Market
- Desperate Times and Desperate Measures
- The Value of Association
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Kristy-Lee Johnston – Footprint RecruitmentKristy-Lee Johnston is the Director of Footprint Recruitment, a Central Coast based Recruitment and HR agency which is run by locals, for locals.
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How ‘Small & Targeted’ Beats a Big Show
December 18, 2011
Flavia Abbate is the CEO of Bolster Trading, manufacturers and distributors of a range of exercise tools and educational resources for allied health professionals and end users, including the BodyBolster.
In this In Her Shoes interview, Flavia discusses:
- the impact of her previous careers on her current focus
- her strategy for taking an Australian product and making it international
- promotion and strategy tips for launching a new product
- how to use marketing in the digital age
- business tips for other entrepreneurs
Enjoy this interview with Flavia Abbate!
Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website now.
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About the In Her Shoes seriesIn Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
Staying Inspired After 20 Years
December 17, 2011
Gillian Corban is Managing Director of Corban & Blair, a design firm specialising in stationery and lifestyle related products. Since its establishment in 1988 Corban & Blair has seen local and international success with retail lines and cleverly-translated marketing concepts.
In this interview Gillian tells us:
- how she stays creative, passionate and relevant after 20+ years in business
- the way she continues to innovate and stay inspired
- how she’s avoided the impact of the recent move to buying from overseas competitors
…and she shares her business tips.
Enjoy this interview with Gillian Corban.
Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website.
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About the In Her Shoes seriesIn Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
