No one wants to work for a boss who spends their management time being negative about staff, even if they're being negative about someone else. All staff like to feel as though they're important, and that they're doing a worthwhile job. Don't prefer one staff member over another; it only causes friction.

A Boss Who Listens Will Be Listened To

There's nothing more frustrating to staff than to feel that the boss never listens. Make sure you give people your full (not distracted) attention, and don't brush them off. Whether they have a good idea or only a passable one, at least give them the privilege of being heard.

Sometimes the Employee will Be Better Suited for a Different Job

My own boss has a good theory: he employs staff on the basis of their talent rather than their aptitude for a particular job. He lets them grow into their work, and lets the job evolve around them. This may mean shifting how the job was initially visualised, but it will be profitable in the long run.

Don't Insist that Employees Work Through their Breaks

Sometimes whether an employee gets their break at the right time or not makes all the difference to the rest of their day. Certainly there are jobs where flexibility on the part of staff is necessary, but even in such jobs, remember it's essential for staff to have time to themselves away from the job at regular intervals.

Keep in Touch With the Staff

Make sure staff are really sure where a project is going. Don't assume. It's better to have, or give, more feedback early in the piece than to have disasters through lack of communication later on. And never berate staff in front of others. It makes them feel like a pupil bawled out in front of the class.

Be Honest About Where Things are At

If staff hear rumours, have to listen to gossip, get misinformation, stresses will arise. Better to keep staff informed as much as possible rather than have them acting on the basis of hearsay. And always be honest to an employee's face.

Hard Work Deserves Rewards

One employer of a large breakfast cereal firm in New Zealand took all his Pacific Island employees home to their native island for a holiday as a reward for a good year's work. While that might seem extreme, there are plenty of other opportunities to give employees a treat, such as taking them out for a meal, or giving them tickets to a game.

Don't Stint on Technology

Employees should be able to expect up-to-date equipment in an office: laptops, notebooks, broadband and the like. They can work faster and more smoothly if they have the right equipment. Stinting on technology will not only make you seem miserly, if will produce poor performance on behalf of the staff.

Carrots aren't Just for Donkeys

Everybody likes to have a reward for achieving. Employee of the Month awards, small bonuses (and large) and other motivations might sometimes seem like bribes, but they work. People enjoy working towards something, and there's nothing better than having your face up on the notice board as best employee, or seeing an email go round the office saying you've just achieved the best stats for a quarter.

Praise Never Goes Amiss

While you should never demean people in front of others, you should frequently praise them in front of their fellow-employees. It doesn't have to be over-the-top, and it always should be genuine. Praise is one of the great encouragements employees can receive.

These ten points seem obvious and even well-known, but it's surprising how many employers forget them in the day-to-day running of a business.

The gain from stock options certainly did not hurt the Googlepreneurs and probably gave them the financial support to go on their own.

 

So, what do you offer your employees? What kind of insurance plan will work best for your company? Well, first, you need to know what kind of health insurance plans exist.[/p]

Indemnity or Fee-for Service

The first and most basic plan is sometimes referred to as an “indemnity” plan and sometimes is referred to as a “fee-for-service” plan. This is often the first plan most companies consider and was really the first type of health insurance plans offered to companies back when an employer first started offering health insurance coverage to employees.

With these plans the insurance company pays for a pre-determined portion of the employee medical bills. The employee pays a monthly fee, which is also known as a premium, which is normally deducted from their paychecks. Each employee will also have a deductible that they will need to satisfy, and the amount of that deductible can vary per plan. Once that deductible is reached, the employee and the health insurance plan pay the bills together. In some very generous plans, once that deductible is reached, the insurance plan will pay for the largest percentage of the amount.

These plans allow employees to use any doctor they want and will not limit them to a certain network of providers. Once an employee has visited a doctor sought medical care, they will have to fill out a medical claim form to ensure payment from the insurance company. Many of these plans also offer a kind of cap so that the employee will not have to pay over a certain amount of money for benefits per year.

These plans are often not as extensive in what they cover as some of the other options. For example, the basic plans often cover hospitals stays and services while in the hospital and maybe some doctor visits. The major medical options will pay for more and help toward recovering after long illnesses or serious injuries.

HMO and POS

The HMO is also known as a Health Maintenance Organization and is the health care plan most often associated with the term “managed care.” These kinds of plans came into being when the costs of health care continued to rise to the point where employees could not pay for their medical care and then wait for reimbursement and it became often too expensive for insurance plans to pay out the huge medical reimbursements.

The HMO requires that the employee choose a preferred medical provider from a network that has been approved by the provider. This person then acts as a kind of “gate-keeper” who then monitors the employee or patient for every medical visit they need to make. Before an employee can seek a specialist, such as a knee specialist, they would need to visit their preferred care provider and get a referral that would then need to be submitted to and approved by the insurance plan.

The POS plan is an off-shoot of the HMO and also requires the use of a specified network of providers for maximum benefit. The switch here is that the employee can seek assistance outside of the network and still get some benefit, but they will have to pay the lion's share of the medical bills.

PPO

The PPO is known as a Preferred Provider Organization. This is also a network of providers that has been approved by the insurance provider, but the employee does not have to visit their preferred medical care provider in order to see a specialist. They will, however, have to pick a specialist from the network for the maximum benefit.

With the PPO there are no forms to fill out as there can be with the HMO and POS forms. There is some increased freedom of choice for the employee, but there is also an increased cost and the premium for a PPO is likely to be much larger than that of an HMO or POS.

Most PPOs also provide some coverage for medical assistance sought outside the network, but the amount the employee will have to pay is very high.

Once you decide what insurance plan you think fits your companies' needs, it's just a matter of contacting providers and deciding which costs fit into your budget.

Potential Problems

The potential problems of this method of production are two fold. Firstly, it can lead to a very dissatisfied workforce. Workers will become indifferent and casual performing the same mundane and repetitive tasks on a daily basis. These experts do not find the tasks challenging and therefore become unmotivated and restive. According to Herzberg's theory workers will also become dissatisfied with issues related to their environment such as company policies, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. Since the beginning of the year various groups of workers have clamoured for improved wage packages, better working conditions and healthier relations with management. However, even if these demands are met our workers need to be constantly motivated in order to create satisfaction. Motivators such as recognition, growth, development and advancement should be evident in the workplace. When environmental issues are addressed then these motivators will promote job satisfaction and encourage production.

The second potential problem usually affects the consumer/customer. Consumers are often left stranded when calls are made to particular organisations for them to be told that their requests cannot be processed because an employee is absent or unavailable. If an enquiry is made if someone else can assist, the usual encouragement is to call back when the worker might be available. A company's entire operation is quickly compromised because of the unavailability of one worker. The idea of cross training should be promoted and endorsed in the workplace. Workers should be encouraged, not only to be experts in their jobs, but to know at a minimum his colleague's job. If these steps are taken it could possibly improve the service that is given to the consumer/customer.

Employers must strive to empower workers in order to have a diverse enabled and motivated workforce.

Punctuality

If a job interview is scheduled for 9:30am, employers will expect candidates to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the job interview. Candidates should find out in advance where the exact location is and endeavor to do a practice drive to the location, not just at 8:00pm when traffic will be calmer, but around the time of the interview. The reason for this is so that delays caused by rush hour can be counted into the travel time. Candidates who arrive late for a job interview already have a strike against them. It is very unprofessional to be late. The employer will doubt your interest in the company and the job if you are not punctual. If for any reason there is a genuinely good reason why you cannot arrive on time, due to a traffic accident, then call ahead of time and ask whether the job interview can be re-scheduled for a more opportune time. The employer's time will not be wasted, and they will also appreciate this common courtesy.

Bad appearance

Unkempt hair, an unshaven face and clothes that have not been ironed will send out all the wrong messages to the employer. They will base a lot of their impression of a person's character and capability on their outward appearance. If they meet with an unprofessional, disheveled appearance, they will want to quickly move ahead to the next candidate. The same applies for people who have a lot of body piercings and tattoos. Whatever a person's tastes in this regard, they need to be kept to themselves and covered up during a job interview, not be put out on display.

Complaining attitude

A job interview is not the time to start complaining to the employer about previous colleagues or the manager. It is highly unprofessional, as well as inappropriate. It is simply not the time or the place to air past grievances. They are best left at home.

Failing to ask for the job

A very basic thing that many people fail to do at job interviews is to close properly. One thing employers want to see is a willingness to actually obtain the job. If a candidate sails through the job interview but then fails to actually ask for the job or at least hint that they want it, what has the candidate really achieved? It is puzzling why people forget to do this. It should be their objective to find out more. They can do this by coming out and saying they are keen to have the job and to ask when it would be a good time to call and find out if the job is theirs. Employers will be expecting to hear this. It will close the interview in the correct manner and allow the candidate to check back in and see if they were successful.

Answering their mobile phone

It is not unheard of for job candidates to go into a job interview and to allow themselves to be distracted by their phone. They should have their mobile phone switched off so that they can focus exclusively on the job interview. People who have their phone on and actually answer it if it rings are showing great disrespect to the employer. Their focus should not wander at such an important time.

Lying

Employers hate to be in a room with a job applicant who is lying to them to their face. They are easy to spot and can often be caught out. If they are lying at their job interview, the employer may wonder what else they have lied about and just decide that they are not worth the risk to the company.

Job candidates are not all so obvious in their annoying habits at their job interviews, but they must do all they can to avoid doing anything that will make employers look upon their job application. Many of the above suggestions are basic and avoiding them can help to make all the difference in whether the job applicant is successful or not.

To tell you the truth, no sane person will open an office for failure. But case studies of failed businesses abound everywhere in our communities and online. It is not that their business ideas were wrong or that there was no customer patronage. Everybody alike cannot just do business with the boss. The boss has many appellations-good or bad- attached to his office/position: Chairman, President, Founder, Boss, Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, just name it. But you will never see the word “Leader” amongst these.

In Hertzberg Theory of Needs, you will learn a successful leadership style that is okay for your business. This I have fully discussed in one of my articles: How to Lead the Leaders. Why is it that an employee will decide to remain with one-owner business receiving peanuts for years and not seek a big time job earning fat salary elsewhere? If your boss is a bully, punitive, unpredictable and temperamental all the time, how will you feel seeing him? Chances are that you will not have anything to do with him for long. Nobody is comfortable with the boss or bully.

Charismatic leaders have people surround them with ideas, enthusiasm, support, et cetera. Yes, your subordinates can and will contribute to your business growth and success even at their expense in an aura of friendliness. Have you noticed some employees who are more intelligent and smart than their bosses? These intelligent employees could as well set up an office and do better than their boss. But because of that loyalty and love which have transformed into “a bond” for their leader can make an employee to remain in a company for years. It doesn't matter whether you are working with your spouse, cousin or friends.

The experts will always see business as an art or as a science. Really, it is an issue of practical experience, sound judgment, foresight, creativity, innovation, persistence and belief systems that carry the day in any business venture. To be successful and profitable in business you must master the basics of business leadership and success. As a business owner who will have relationship with your subordinates, community, customers, creditors, government agencies, competitors, debtors, etc you need to hone a whole gamut of Management and Leadership skills to remain profitable.

You will never be a successful entrepreneur without people. I assure you, as you progress in your business you are going to accost the good, the bad and the ugly. Only being a charismatic leader will see you through the day. As it were, most of them will have a PhD (Pull him Down) syndrome conferred on them from birth. They will never see any positive side of any venture and as such they are never happy seeing you succeed. Your ability to carry majority of people along can be instrumental to your long term business success. Your personal and business resilience, charisma, unwavering positive mental attitude to lead people, go-getting trait and your likable character will be essential requirements to your business success and profitability. What is the essence of setting up a shop/office that has a boss? That is tantamount to a beautiful house without a solid foundation! Guess what? Sooner than later the business will collapse with “acute boss attrition.”

After all a Leader is a boss who leads by example and a Boss is a leader who leads by command. So be a Leader not a Boss in your business and the sky is certainly not going to be your limit.

To Your Success!