Featured post by Jay Deragon from LinkToYourWorld.com

Social Tools are changing the way business gets done.IBM, Toyota, even Wells-Fargo Bank, have invested serious money in Second Life and are using blogs to engage customers, people; many corporations are building their own social networks to serve employees and to create commerce amongst customers; major law firms encourage their employees to blog; wikis are often far more powerful and useful than standard resources and have replaced intranets in many instances as invaluable sources of information and communication throughout the enterprise. RSS Feeds, Instant Messaging, Video - all can deliver greater involvement and transparency.

Originators become real, human and influential, and for the new generation of techno-savvy professionals, the opportunities and applications are unbounded.

One of the key challenges for businesses is how they integrate these new technologies within the enterprise and figure out which best suit their needs and the needs of their customers. Another challenge is how to facilitate ecommerce into these social exchanges thus enabling participates to exchange products and services for economic gains.

Economic activity takes place within social relations. For businesses to reach buyers they need to reach people. More importantly businesses need to understand “how” to reach people.

The Dividing Factors between People and Businesses

Today people use the social web for a variety of reasons but the primary aim is relational. Relational in the sense that people connect to people to find affinities, to learn, to share and with the freedom of expression. All the activity that drives the social web today is not represented by a collective strategy of the people rather the activities are a process of discovery fueled by the intrigue of finding, knowing and conversing with people you’ve never met physically. The discovery process for people follows a common framework which includes:

1. What does one person have in common with another
2. What does one person know that another may want to know
3. Who does one person know that another may want to know
4. Where, in life, in location, in stature is one person compared to another
5. What possible opportunities could develop out of a relationship between one person and another

All five of these discoveries are facilitated through the information people present about themselves in profiles, in their past communications with others and in the subsequent conversational threads exchanged one to one to millions. From these “virtual conversations” people create an emotional and intellectual profile of others and it is from these profiles that people begin to form active relationship and engaging conversations between themselves and others of like profiles. These relationships are driven by emotional and intellectual profiles formed by virtual conversations. It is the emotional and intellectual profiles which create individual gauges of trust within the virtual world.

Business leaders are just now beginning to engage in the social web however much of what we see today demonstrates a disconnect in purpose and methodology. Businesses approach the social web with a common objective of gaining relationships and converting those relationships into economic gains. The strategic approach to the social web by business follows a common framework including:

1. How can we market ourselves effectively within the social web
2. What positioning can we gain from use of the social web
3. What products and services can we sell through the social web
4. What gains would we get from setting up our own social network
5. What is our competition doing and what do we need to do better

A business is driven by the need to produce revenue and subsequent profits for its stakeholders. Progress in management practices and technological advances have shaped the mindset of business leaders to focus on productivity, profitability. market share and capital; results. In one hand this progress has delivered the results and on the other hand it has deteriorated relationships with employees, customers and suppliers. The trust factors between people and corporations continue to decline. Corporate actions of the recent past have only reinforced the distrust factor.

As many business leaders rush into the social web intrigued by a new fertile ground for business opportunity the fundamental factors of success will be learning how to go back and connect with people.

Which comes first, the business or the people? What drives business success, the people or management methods? Just look at the differences in framework between why and how people approach the social web and why and how businesses approach the social web. Do you see the differences?

What say you?

Q: We have an employee that has been going through addiction treatment for the past two months. He is scheduled to come back to work on Monday. How do we put this employee back into his old role and reacquaint himself to the job?

-Susan, Florida

A: After any long absence from work, the employee will have to catch up to any changes the business has made. These changes could include policy, method, or structure. You will need to take a day or two to allow the employee to become familiar with any and all changes that have happened in the workplace. Once they are comfortable, you can allow them to go on with their daily tasks.

Q: I have an employee who is suffering from prescription drug addiction underneath my management. Their work becomes slow and it’s hard to motivate this particular employee to do better work. Do you have any suggestions?

-Mary, NY

A: It’s a tough position for any manager to be in, but you must sit down and communicate your frustration with this employee. However, you must visit your human resources department first. You will probably want them present in a meeting with this employee.

Go through the work history of the employee and let him know what you are proud of from the past. Then demonstrate how his work is not meeting your expectations and then ask him how to proceed.

There may be many reasons why this employee is being hampered by these prescription drugs and if it’s not work related, you want to make sure your human resources department is there so they can work out a treatment program or some other service to help your employee.

1. Prepare - When going into an interview, make sure you have throughly researched the company, and the position that you are applying for. There is nothing better in an interview than being able to speak well and intelligently in front of the hiring manager.

2. Dress Well - It’s never a bad thing to be over dressed for your position. A suit is always recommended.

3. Smile - Smiling shows enthusiam and let’s the hiring manager know that you are excited about the position. Hiring managers want people who are eager to work for the company.

4. Question - Make sure you have questions to ask the hiring manager. You should have enough knowledge from the research you already conducted to have 3-4 very detailed questions to ask.

5. Relax - If you have confidence in yourself, and have prepared, relax a little bit. Over thinking or stressing too much in an interview is a turn-off. Remember, talk to the hiring manager in a relaxed voice and have fun.

Remember, it’s all a game. Play it well.

If you have ever been employed, chances are good that
you’ve had a background check run on you. Employers looking
for reliable, trustworthy individuals will often use these
reports to confirm that information given on a resume is
true and ensure that they are hiring persons of high
standards. But what is included in a background check? Do
you have control over who can access your report? How can
you find out what is on your record?

What is included in a background check? Specific details of
an individual’s past are revealed in a background check for
purposes of employment. Depending on the company providing
the background check, your report may include a range of
information, including: criminal records, litigation
records, driving and vehicle records, education records,
licensing records, military records, social security
number, property ownership, credit records, employment
history, worker’s compensation, medical records, sex
offenders list, and interpersonal interviews (with
neighbors and other character references). Some services
offer nothing more than the information given in a phone
book, while others employ private investigators that offer
the whole gamut of information. Most employers hire an
outside company to give them the type of information that
is pertinent to the job you are being considered for.

(more…)

There is no decision more important than who you hire for
your business.  The right people will make you money.  The
wrong people always cost you money.

When you think about it, there is only one reason to hire a
new employee; to improve your productivity and make you
more profitable.  Unfortunately, studies have shown only 16
percent of employees actually make us money.

This is why it is so important to “actively” recruit until
you have at least five qualified candidates, use all
available resources to narrow you choice down to at least
two finalists and hire the one with the best “Job Match.”
If you don’t, you’ll most likely end up with an unreliable,
unmotivated, unproductive “workplace survivor” that will
limit your business growth, or a “mis-hire” that can kill
your business.

(more…)

Copyright (c) 2006 The Powerful Promoter

Are you confused about whether you should hire a contractor
vs employee? If so, you’re not alone. Knowing when it’s
time to hire a contractor instead of an employee is one of
the most confusing aspects of employment for many
businesses. Below we have provided some tips to help you
sort through the confusion regarding independent contractor
vs. employee hiring.

One of the most critical aspects of understanding
contractor vs. employee hire is in understanding each are
classified. If you should incorrectly classify someone as
either one or the other, the IRS could hold you liable for
employment taxes as well as a penalty.

(more…)

Is the staff that is keeping your business where it is now,
the same staff that will take you where you want to be?

If you are not reaching your productivity, sales and
revenue goals, it is time to figure out exactly why.

What Have You Done to Grow Your Business this Year?

If you are like most business owners and managers, you have
tried just about everything; from new technology and
software, to modifying your marketing message and efforts,
to hiring teamwork consultants, to reorganization.

There are three things all of these techniques have in
common.  One, they cost you a lot of money.  Two, they eat
up a good amount of your time.  And three, they rarely (if
ever) work. To grow your business, it is imperative to
improve the productivity of your employees.  That is the
reason organizations spend their time, energy and revenues
on the products and services that are written about in
articles, advertised in the media and introduced at
seminars.

(more…)

Here’s a fact, almost three of four hires disappoint their
employers in the first year.  Over the years, many of these
business owners have referred to these people as “losers.”

Before we discuss how to Stop Hiring LOSERS, it’s important
to understand what a LOSER is.  To help define, here’s an
acronym I’ve created:

L  =  Lazy  (requires external motivation from your
managers)
O  =  Obtrusive (stands in the way of your peak performance
& profits)
S  =  Selfish (aren’t interested in your company’s goals,
but their own)
E  =  Error Prone (constantly make mistakes & just doesn’t
“get it”)
R  =  Rebel (can’t follow your organization’s rules,
spreads apathy & creates conflict)
S  =  Simply Shouldn’t have been hired in the first place

Now, do we really need an acronym for the word LOSERS?  Not
really.  We all know what they are and who they are.
They’re the ones that even though they were hired to
increase your productivity, profits and make you $$$,
they’ve ended up robbing you of your time, energy and
costing you $$$.

(more…)

Copyright © 2006 Red Ladder, Inc.

You’re at work. You’ve been assigned an exciting, highly visible project. You can’t wait to get started. You arrive at your first team meeting ready to rock and roll. You take one look around and you immediately hone in on several scowling faces.  Almost immediately, you are confronted and a conflict ensues.  Your excitement quickly diminishes as you realize you have your work cut out for you.

Sound familiar? Maybe not exactly this scenario but I guarantee almost anyone you talk to in the workplace has encountered one form of conflict or another.  You may experience this conflict one-on-one or in a team setting.  Not to worry.  Conflict in the workplace is not uncommon, and in fact, in some instances it is even worthwhile.  That’s right.  It can be worthwhile particularly if you can shift the conflict to make it work to your advantage.

Why does conflict occur?  Typically, conflicts arise when expectations are not met in some form, when one party perceives a threat to themselves in some way, or through simple miscommunication.

So, what can you do to manage conflict when it arises? Follow these simple steps.

(more…)