If you’ve been through some of my other presentations, you know that being cheap is an important way to succeed and even survive in business. So my advice on salaries may at first seem to totally fly in the face of this. I suggest you pay your people well! By doing so, your total employment... READ MORE
BUSINESSTOWN Compensation Packages & Performance Evaluations
How Much Should You Pay Your Employees?
Sloppiness in a Worker: Common but Correctable
Sloppiness is one of the most common workplace problems. Examples include missing errors when proofreading company information, mis-packing orders, entering shipping addresses incorrectly, and performing inaccurate accounting work. Sloppiness most quickly surfaces in clerical work, but it is also prevalent in the work of many professionals—although it is much more difficult to detect! For the... READ MORE
How to Conduct an Excellent Performance Review
Because performance reviews can be highly emotional, especially for the employee, it is best to approach a review with a specific agenda in mind. Plan in advance what you are going to say during each part of the review. Make sure you can successfully deliver the message you intend regardless of the employee’s response. Your... READ MORE
How to Choose the Right Incentive Plan
“The right incentive plan properly implemented can drive your business ahead like a rocket ship. But if expectations increase faster than actual payouts—watch out for trouble!” I tend to divide incentive plans into three silos: one for salespeople, one for the management team, and one for the rest of the company. Salespeople: Inbound and Outbound... READ MORE
How to Manage Difficult Employees
Employees who are difficult to manage can make your life absolutely miserable. They can be every bit as disruptive to the forward progress of your company as an employee who lacks the skills or initiative to do the job well. Unlike a fine wine, a difficult employee does not tend to get better as time... READ MORE
Sample Performance Review
Most performance reviews tend to go fairly smoothly, if conducted properly—and that means with compassion as well as objectivity. But some employees will become confrontational when their review is not as positive as they had expected. This can create a challenging situation for a manager. The following is a performance review dialogue centered on such... READ MORE
Common Benefits at Small Companies
Generally, smaller firms offer fewer fringe benefits than larger firms, and really small firms often don’t offer any fringe benefits at all. But if you are competing to attract and retain talented labor for your firm, you need to give fringe benefits some thought. In fact, I would strongly recommend you give it a lot... READ MORE