Dealing With Strained Coworker Relationships

            We’ve had to (or will have to) deal with others in the workplace who we simply don’t like. Most of the time, these people bring it on themselves by not doing their job, being negative, or treating others with rudeness and disrespect. Other times, there is a person whose personality just doesn’t mesh with yours or you simply can’t relate to each other. Thankfully, these difficult people are usually not the norm, but every now and then, you are bound to come across them. You certainly can’t afford to quit your job because of one person, and you still want to enjoy your job despite this situation. So what can you do? There are ways to make this situation more bearable for you and the other person.

First and foremost, don’t use counterproductive coping methods: rolling your eyes, sighing, walking away when they talk to you, etc. These are passive actions that will only make things worse. Steer clear of negative comments and don’t join in other people’s conversations about this person. While you don’t have to like them, you do have to respect them and this is not the way to show respect. Monitor your end of the conflict and make sure you don’t take your frustrations with this person out on other coworkers Keep in mind that sometimes, you have to interact with this person because you did not choose to work at the same company, you just happen to do so. If the problem is over one incident, do your best to resolve the issue before the resentment grows. Let the working environment stay neutral and don’t let on to your opinion of this person. Remember, if the person truly isn’t doing their job, the consequences will occur without any action on your part.

There are things you should do that can have a positive effect on this relationship. If this strained relationship is with someone who works for you, it may be because they are better suited for a different role in the company. Identifying this and making adjustments may solve the problem altogether. If you decide to try to work things out, do so in a situation where you will feel comfortable and don’t have to compete with them, such as a lunch outing. If you see them struggling with something that you could definitely help them fix, you should do so. You should also think about how you contribute to the problem. When you do need to interact with the person, make conversations short and to-the-point. You could even write down your thoughts or questions for them before you speak to them. If possible, find a mediator to talk to that person for you. If the person really becomes a problem, be assertive and go to your supervisor because at this point, chances are, you’re not the only one who sees an issue here. Finally, if the person was in good standing with you in the past and you are wondering how to patch things up, decide if the relationship is worth the effort or if you should just let it go.

Sometimes, dealing with co-worker relationships is not easy—just be respectful and try to make the best out of the situation. You can’t control them, but you can control you. Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Your New Business:Getting the Word Out

   So you’ve decided it’s time to branch out and start your own business. Great-congratulations! What could be more rewarding than working for yourself? Since your business is new, not many people know it exists yet. So how are you going to get the word out? How can you let potential customers know: “Hey! Here I am! I started a new company!” There are certain methods that will ensure the exposure of your business to a large audience.

 Print is still an essential part of advertising. One easy thing to do is take the best ad you’ve made so far, put it on a postcard, and send it to business prospects. Direct mail is an effective way to get attention. You can also submit a short press release to local newspapers. It’s also a good idea to submit articles summarizing your business to industry magazines, which are often in search of new valuable content. Have you seen those bulletin boards in grocery stores, churches, and community buildings? It doesn’t hurt to make a simple flyer and post it around town—people do read these and it will open up a bigger audience. If you can afford it, you can also create a vehicle decal or wrap. You could get custom made products such as pens and t-shirts. You never know who will be given one of these free items and believe it or not, it can lead to more business.

 Branching out in the community is much needed for a new business. If you know of another company that would benefit from working with you or could offer you support, try “buddy marketing” with them. Offer to advertise for them on your marketing materials if they will do the same for you. It increases your chances of being recognized and shows you work well with other businesses. Joining your local Chamber of Commerce will allow you to network among peers in your community. You can also offer a free class or presentation at a community center. When you answer your business phone, try making some kind of announcement about your company such as “serving nine varieties of homemade bread made fresh every day”. Related to that, you can also make cold calls if you feel comfortable doing so.  Get involved with charitable events in the community to show you’re a business that cares.

It’s very important to find your audience, because you can’t target and attract everyone, nor would you want to.  Things like cable commercials and YouTube videos are inexpensive ways to narrow your audience and target the right people. Attend trade shows with samples of your products or information about your services—these include local fairs and festivals.

For the customers you do already have, work really hard to provide excellent service so that they tell other people about you. You can also send out follow up surveys to gage how well you’re doing. Finally, the Internet is an essential and valuable marketing resource. It’s a good idea to create a company blog. You definitely want to create a website and get it done right by professional web developers (and that’s what eMarketing 4 Business is all about). Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

When to Talk Salary with Potential Employers

As a small business owner, the extensive hiring process begins with posting a job opening, then reading through several cover letters and resumes, setting up and going through interviews, and finally selecting the perfect candidate. This can be a lengthy and draining part of your job and throughout this time, the position’s salary is always on your mind. It’s likely to come up several times before the position is filled. So you may be wondering: When is the best time to reveal the salary? Should you list it in the job posting? Wait until the face-to-face interview? Or until a job offer is made? Should you have one set number or should you choose a range of hourly or yearly rates?  This all depends on your type of business and the position itself, but here is research had to say.

If you post the salary in the job posting, people may be willing to settle for a lower salary if they believe it is the right job for them. But some applicants won’t want to waste time applying for a job with too low pay. If it’s below what they’re looking for, they would want to leave when a better paying offer comes along, so why bother applying? On the other hand, people with less experience than you need will see a high salary rate and apply for the job anyway, just in case you will choose them. They may exaggerate their skill set and you could end up with someone who isn’t qualified. Some employers ask for salary requirements on the application to reduce the number of candidates by finding out the applicant’s expectations and experience. But asking for salary history may scare away applicants because they will feel you will offer them the lowest amount possible based on their previous positions. (There is a big difference between salary requirements and salary history). If you don’t post the salary this early on, it will give you more flexibility in the range of candidates. You will also avoid showing up in salary survey websites and being compared to your competitors.  When the salary isn’t revealed in the posting, some applicants have no problem sending a resume to that company, while others feel they don’t want to waste time filling out long applications and assessments if the salary turns out to be too low.

Also remember that if you post the salary in the job listing, the previous person who held that position may feel cheated if you post a higher salary for the same work they did. You may be upgrading this position to be more advanced, but they won’t know that, and when they find out about this, it could negatively affect your company.

Revealing the salary in the interview has advantages and disadvantages. It might be good to do t the experience level of the candidate is too high for the amount you can offer and you want to find out if they are willing to accept a lower amount.. You may decide you want to tell each candidate what the salary will be to gage their reactions, consider their negotiations, and further narrow down the pool of candidates. But you may also decide to let only the candidate you are sure you will hire know the salary so you can adjust it according to their skill set.

Waiting until a job offer has been made to reveal the salary is a risk that may or not be worth it. If the person chosen negotiates with you, you can decide to adjust the salary accordingly, and most applicants won’t do this until they have received a firm offer. However, keep in mind that just because their past salary was a certain amount doesn’t mean they are looking for a range anywhere near that-- especially true of recent college graduates. They invested a great deal of money in their education, so they should receive some of that investment back for their hard work. (They need to pay off that investment after all). You should also account for geographic areas and be open to a few different options.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide when and how to reveal salaries for open positions. But you should have insight into the topic to help you make better informed decisions. Make it happen!

Making Time to Learn New Software

Maybe you’ve hired a new employee who needs training on a software program, or maybe the company has the need to use a new program. In the midst of running a business, how do you take the time to learn new software yourself or teach it to others? While it needs to be done, you don’t want to take time away from the business at hand.

If you are teaching someone the software, review all its fundamentals to see how clear the instructions will be a new user. For example, some programs have tags that tell the user what will happen if they click on a certain element. A lot of programs provide prompting instructions as the user is using features of the software. If you can, use this and other methods to cut down on face-to-face training because that can take a lot of time and get interrupted. If you are creating separate training materials, you could put them into a PowerPoint presentation or use screenshots in your notes to match the visuals to what they will see when using the software. Remember that no matter how much is covered in training; there will be questions that will come up later, so keep that in mind. Creating short quizzes after different stages of the training will gage how much the person has learned and help them remember key points.

Rather than simply enabling someone to learn the nuts and bolts of a software program, emphasize how the software is a tool that helps the business reach their goals. Defining processes, procedures, and policies along with software training shows employees how their efforts contribute to the larger effort of the business. Start with the basics and add more in-depth training when they begin to feel confident. Also, the training doesn’t have to be completely separate from the job they will be doing—have them use the software for real, on the job tasks even if they need someone there to coach them.  They will be able to do the job you hired them to sooner, rather than being sidelined until their training is complete.

Think about who should do the training—if you choose a veteran employee who must train someone in addition to their workload, one of the two may suffer if you aren’t careful, so make sure their schedule can work with this extra job. Also remember that different people learn in different ways, through seeing, hearing, doing or a combination of those. Some people need to know how things work and why they are done that way in order to learn something. Formal training in isolated situations is enough to make the new employee bored, unenthusiastic, and annoyed, so be careful to integrate training into other tasks where they can talk to coworkers and take breaks. While you can’t hold their hand too much, do not just place a new employee in front of a computer with the software and tell them to just start using it. This will not work--even online training tools need to be accompanied by answers from real people. Use a blend of training methods to get the best results.

Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Choosing the Location for Your Business

                You’ve probably heard the expression sometime in your life-location, location, location. When is that more true than when choosing where to place your business? The choice of location for your business can make the difference between high sales and no sales. Taking the time to carefully choose the physical place for your business can make a huge difference.

Think about the people that live around the place your business will be. Are there a lot of young couples, retired people or middle-aged people with kids? Does your type of business depend on one of those groups more than the others or are you looking for a combination of all of them? Is the area heavily populated or more spread out? What are the income levels like in the neighborhood? If the products and services you offer are more of a luxury, you may want to think about placing yourself either downtown or in high income suburb. Sometimes, it’s favorable to match the location to the theme. For example, if you have a restaurant with fresh seafood, locating near a body of water or marina makes sense. It’s also a good idea to look at the crime rates in the neighborhood because you want your business to be safe from burglary and vandalism.

You need to know what kind of traffic the location will generate, if you will be easily accessible by car and on foot. It is better to be visible from major roads and highways.. Will your building have a parking lot or street parking? Is it on a bus route? Research has shown that the most successful businesses place themselves in the center of their customer base. If you are as close to your biggest competitor as possible, it will give you the chance to prove to customers that you are a step ahead.

The building itself, of course, has quite a few factors to consider. Is the lease negotiable? Will the size and layout of the building accommodate what you need to do? Are there any repairs to be made? Are the lighting, heating, and cooling systems up to the standards you need? Will there be a bathroom available for your customers? Finally, is the setup for communications such as the phone and internet workable for what you’ll be doing?

Some people may consider the best location for their business to be their home. If you have a mail based business, this could be a good option. If you do choose to stay in your home, be sure you can focus in your casual environment and be flexible around your family. This may mean starting early, taking a long break, and picking up again to work later in the night. Don’t hide the fact that your business is based from home because chances are if it’s working for you, it’s working for your customers. Whether you are choosing a location for your new business or moving your existing business to another location, take your time. Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC