The British summertime is a difficult beast to pin down; some years it’s hotter than an oven and others it doesn’t stop raining and we don’t see the sun at all, and this can make it difficult to predict how best to keep the office’s temperature constant. Do we turn the heating on or do we leave the windows open? What if it’s very hot, making it preferable to have the windows open, but it’s pouring with rain outside, making it likely that equipment will be damaged? Air conditioning can often prove to be the perfect solution, regardless of the weather or time of year.

Though it’s often assumed that air conditioning is just to keep buildings cool when it’s hot, it can prove to be a valuable resource all year round as its primary goal is to keep the room it’s installed in at a constant temperature. With the unpredictable nature of the British weather, it can be the perfect solution to keeping your staff working comfortably rather than sitting around complaining of the cold and wearing coats in the office or having one hand holding a miniature fan with the other working on the computer.

Keeping your office and thus your employees at a constant and comfortable temperature is one of the best ways to keep productivity up and your staff happy. The changeable nature of the British weather can make it difficult to achieve this with traditional methods such as central heating radiators or opening windows, and though talking about the weather is one of the great British pastimes, exposing your workers to this while they’re in the workplace is all but guaranteed to increase your staff turnover.

There are a range of air conditioning units available on the market, meaning that it is almost certain that you will be able to find a model suitable for your workplace. There are some issues with leasing and building owners that can prevent the installation of certain models, such as ones which require the installation of ducting in the building, or taking a section out of the wall to install a ventilation system, but there are plenty of alternatives to this, such as the popular ‘cassette’ style of air conditioner which is placed into the ceiling voids, or even floor-based solutions, which are the least intrusive option, meaning that even the fussiest building owner will not complain about their installation in your office.

Often available for less than you may be expecting, the productivity increase which your workforce may well demonstrate once the temperature in the office is regulated can often make an air conditioning unit pay for itself in a very short space of time.

Anna Stenning is an office manager with many years of experience dealing with the battle between office staff and the British weather. Find out more about air conditioning at http://www.pureairconditioning.co.uk/

[tags]Air conditioning[/tags]

As the economy is forcing more and more companies to downsize, employees are working harder and doing more with less than ever before. Because of this, it has become even more important for companies to recognize the significance of corporate team building in order to maximize productivity and make sure employees stay happy with their jobs.

Why Personality Assessments Matter In Teambuilding

Many people don’t think of personality assessment as it relates to corporate team building, but it’s actually incredibly important. A team, whether it’s the entire company or just a small group of employees, works better if everyone plays up to their strengths. Team members can improve the way they relate to each other if they’re aware of each other’s personality strengths and weaknesses.

Employers can actually help the teambuilding experience if they conduct a simple personality assessment. While there are many different assessments available, the most commonly used are the Myers Briggs and the DISC assessments. After using one of these personality assessments, employers can create teams that are sure to work well together because they’ll understand how employees of different personalities develop new skills, manage their time, problem solve and make decisions.

One Popular Assessment Method - Myers Briggs

The Myers Briggs personality assessment is probably the most popular way of determining personality type. The test uses over 40 different questions and the employee’s answers determine where he or she falls within four different sub-groups.

The four sub-groups determine whether someone has an extroverted or introverted attitude, if they are sensing and thinking or intuitive and feeling and lastly if they’re judging or perceiving. While some of the terms, like judging, have a negative connotation, that doesn’t mean that people who fall within that preference are more judgemental - it just means that they process information in a different way than someone who falls within the perceiving section.

Each person falls somewhere between the coordinating pairs and it’s important to realize that there isn’t one ideal personality. Employers who use the Myers Briggs personality test for teambuilding purposes will find it useful to play to personality strengths and many find personalities just as important as workplace knowledge when teambuilding.

Another Assessment To Maximize Productivity - DISC Assessment

Another useful team building tool is the DISC assessment. This is typically easier to administer than the Myers Briggs test because the results use a simple, four letter acronym: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientious. Each letter is rated as a high or low and the test lets employers know which employees are naturally comfortable being leaders, which are the most patient and comfortable with change and which ones need structure and rules vs. independence.

Corporate team building should take advantage of these personalty assessments because oftentimes, personalities are just as important as job knowledge. Many employers may find it better to reassign employees according to personality rather than job skills because it is easier to retrain than change natural personalities.

Christine O’Kelly is an author for Team Building USA, a company that provides employers with corporate team building instruction guaranteeing a 150% return on the investment. The company’s professional corporate trainers travel around the United States, offering valuable teambuilding experience for some of the country’s most well-known companies.

[tags]Maximizing Team Building Using Personality Assessment Techniques[/tags]

Remaining positive in the workplace is the easiest way to improve employee morale and foster effective corporate team building. Easy ways to boot out the negativity and fill the workplace with positivity are by firing problem employees, taking everyone out of the office for a professional teambuilding session and accentuating the positive in reviews throughout the year. You may be surprised at the change in your workplace and employees with these three simple steps.

Fire Problem Employees

It may seem like an overly simple solution to workplace morale issues, but the first step any good boss should do is to fire problem employees. Problem employees might be people who slack on their workload, rely on others to complete projects, constantly complete projects incorrectly or even those who are just a negative force in the workplace. These problem employees create a lot of resentment for good employees and can cause everyone to lose respect for the problem employee’s manager.

When you do let someone go, make sure it’s the right person. Letting go of a long-time, productive employee will cause employee morale to tank and everyone will be wondering if they’re next, which is not the way to improve teambuilding.

Consider A Corporate Team Building Session

Nothing rejuvenates employees like a morning out of the office with a professional teambuilding session. These special meetings are typically run by someone with a dynamic personality who knows how to create a positive work environment. Employees will be able to de-stress with a morning out of the office and come back to work with new ideas and respect for each other.

Many employers find it beneficial to close the entire office down for one of these special teambuilding sessions. If you’re unable to do so, consider running two sessions and splitting employees into a morning and afternoon group. You may lose a little of the effectiveness by splitting employees, but it’s a good compromise if your business can’t shut down for a few hours.

Accentuate The Positive

Anyone who’s taken a corporate team building class knows that employees respond better to criticism when it’s preceded by something positive. Good bosses know that when they’re conducting employee reviews, two positive things should be mentioned for every one negative. This helps the employee because they’re not overwhelmed with negativity and they’re able to focus on changing what can be improved.

Also, focus on the positive even when it isn’t review time. Did you recently catch an employee doing a new task for the first time? Compliment him or her on it! Make boss/employee interactions a positive experience and employees won’t dread review season. It’s also a simple way to build morale and productivity.

It’s likely you’ll see an immediate change with each of these steps, but don’t stress if it takes you a while to implement everything. Start with whichever step is easiest to do immediately and go from there - you’ll be glad you did!

Christine O’Kelly is an author for Team Building USA, a company that provides employers with corporate team building instruction guaranteeing a 150% return on the investment. The company’s professional corporate trainers travel around the United States, providing valuable teambuilding experience for some of the country’s most well-known companies.

[tags]Team building,Teambuilding,Corporate team building[/tags]

Would you like to understand how employees can be understood, motivated and managed so that you can effectively coach, motivate and retain top talent? This article will provide you with information that can help you learn how to increase productivity and maximize your small business. Whether you’re an owner, an executive or a manager, the following information will be beneficial to you.

Mid-size business solutions for improving employee performance provide a world-class system for developing, measuring and aligning individual goals with the strategic priorities of your organization.
In today’s economy, it’s critical to get the most productivity from every employee.

Companies must be certain that every employee performs to the best of their ability and delivers significant value to the organization. The most effective way for managers to increase productivity is through coaching.

Mid-size business solutions for improving employee performance will help you tailor your coaching approach to meet the needs of every employee. Our employee performance solution gives you insight into the core characteristics of individual employees and then uses that information to assess their fit with their job, manager and team. This fit analysis identifies an employee’s strengths and also looks for areas that may present challenges to the employee (i.e. difficulty performing in their job, possible conflict with a manager or team member).

Improving employee performance is one of the most valuable activities you can do for your business. Mid-size business solutions for improving employee performance provide actionable coaching advice for individual employees.

A performance indicator measures behavioral tendencies in these five critical job related competencies:
- Productivity
- Quality of Work
- Initiative
- Teamwork
- Problem Solving

Mid-size business solutions for improving employee performance will help your organization build relationships between employees and their managers, improve work performance and increase job satisfaction.

Unfortunately, many companies don’t understand how to motivate their employees. They are under constant pressure to increase productivity, profitability and revenue growth and it often overshadows the importance of how an unengaged workforce can negatively affect performance.

What causes poor performance among your employees?
It could be a number of things! Each employee is an individual and the things that affect them negatively in the workplace are unique. They could be poorly matched to a job in which they don’t have the skills to be successful. It could be poor work ethic, extreme job dissatisfaction, substance abuse or difficulty with a poor manager. They may be guilty of employee theft or fraud. Whatever the factors may be, you must understand how to identify the root of employee behavior and how it relates to low productivity so that you can establish strategies for improving employee performance.

How can you improve employee performance?
Fortunately, employee productivity increases can be achieved by knowing more about your employees and what motivates them. As a manager, you must find ways to understand what drives each individual employee within the context of their respective roles in the workplace. Every employee has a different reason for working. Some employees may be motivated by things like performance-based bonuses, an opportunity for a promotion, personal satisfaction, flexible working conditions or additional paid time off. Others work to accomplish goals and feel as if they are contributing to something larger than themselves. Whatever their reason may be, employees must find some satisfaction in their work or they may become unhappy and unproductive.

Jim Sirbasku is co-founder and CEO of Profiles International, a leading provider of human resource management solutions and employment assessments for businesses worldwide. For more information about improving employee performance in mid-size businesses, visit our website.

[tags]improving employee performance mid-size businesses, improve performance[/tags]

Note: Whether you own a small business or a dental practice, motivating your employees is great practice management. Inspire your staff to reach high goals, and not only will they be more productive, but your customers or new dental patients or will be welcomed into a wonderful environment.

First of all, let me make clear that most staff meetings I have witnessed in practices over the last 18 years are NOT staff meetings but are nit-picking sessions of destructive, un-motivational, and unproductive nature.

Talking about what went wrong and pointing fingers at who is at fault does not do the job, no matter how much you want to say that you put an encouraging and positive spin on it.

There is no such thing as constructive criticism.

I do not say that one has to or can go through life without ever criticizing and without ever talking to your staff about what went wrong and how to fix it. I am only saying that we must have staff meetings on a regular schedule — very regularly and very frequently. And that those staff meetings must have as the main and only purpose to build the future of your practice by also building the future of your staff members.

In fact, your practice’s future is directly proportional on how you can enhance the future of every single staff member of yours.

This means that the main topic on staff meetings should be focused on goals which the practice is after.

We must dream and plan for what we can produce that is of value and benefit to another. For a typist that might be ‘letters typed’; for a doctor, people cured or kept healthy. For a fireman, it is ‘fires put out or prevented’. For some boy in school that might be a future goal of preventing pollution by building a pollution-free engine. For another person that might be the creation of a great song or a fashion design which makes their listeners or customers feel a certain way.

The famous Zig Ziglar says in one of his books: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

Oh yes - how true!

What “you want” is the wrong goal. What you can provide for others is what you need to write down.

I do not know Bill Gates personally, but I do not believe that Bill Gates’ goal has ever been to be the richest man in the world. I believe that his goals were to make life and business simpler, better, faster, and more profitable, as well as being able to do things we could not do before.

With such a sky-high goal which is so hugely helpful to so many people, one can not avoid then becoming stinky rich. It will happen and it is well deserved - but don’t make it your primary goal. Make your primary goal helping someone else to get what they want, and success is at your doorstep.

Anyhow, if one of you ever meets Bill Gates, ask him about his goals, and please let me know. I’d love to find out that I am right.

Make it exciting and fantastic. After all if it is not, you might simply have to make your targets better and larger.

Show your staff that it is possible to reach the goals of the practice and make sure that the staff members can see some benefits for them in the whole thing.

Now you probably are thinking that they will be thinking: money - you are right! They do and they deserve it, but they also need the satisfaction of having overcome some problems. They, the better ones, anyhow, will want to have something to show on their resume and for their own competence and certainty.

So, if you and your business excel, they will have something to show - they will be able to say, “I was part of it.”

There are plenty, absolutely plenty of those people who want to be part of growth out there. Keep in mind they are doing it for their own good - they want to learn, have a resume to show, make money and god only knows how many different objectives of their own they have in their mind. It’s Ok, it’s even what you need, because they will help you get where you want in order to reach their own goals. But you, my friend, must align them. They need your encouragement, your guidance, and your company as a jumping board for their future. Give it to them.

Announce all your business goals, be specific. Tell them how to do it, announce all small and large accomplishments of the group as well as those of individual staff members.

With a good statistical program which monitors the actual performance of each individual employee you will be able to sort the winners from the losers much, much better.

What do you do with the losers? That is a different story for a different subject, and I will train you on handling that subject. Actually most of the losers will leave all by themselves, nice and quiet - rarely any firing will be needed.

When talking about the goals of the practice you must however be precise.

Let’s grow, or let’s do one million, or let’s service the best in town, is NOT good enough.

You must attach very real numbers and target times and basic simple steps on how to achieve the goals.

There is a book by Jack Welsh, the Ex CEO of General Electric, who wrote an incredible book called “Winning”. The first 35 pages of this book are some of the most important words you can read on this subject and, subsequently, a cornerstone to continuous success. Or perhaps for starting success which then will continue. Buy it and read it! Now!

By the way, this exercise, which should be done minimally once a week, will not only motivate your staff but you as well.

After all there is an awful lot of truth in the saying that the pack runs only as fast as the leader.

The truth also is that the real guy who needs the most help to see that there is a future, which is worth living for, is you, the boss.

Showing your crew that good things can happen will inevitably also show it to you too.

Remember: It doesn’t matter whether you are engaged in full management of your dental or medical practice, or just wish to become a busier doctor with lots of good new dental or medical patients - as the boss, you can inspire and motivate your troops to reach goals higher than ever believed possible. Try it! It’s great practice management and will be as valuable as any new patient marketing that you will do.

Helmut Flasch is a marketing consultant who uses Un-advertising rather than the traditional advertising methods. Find out more information about his marketing strategy at Un-Advertising.

[tags]small business, practice management, dental practice, medical practice, new patient marketing,[/tags]

Healthcare is one of today’s hottest political topics. Across the country, journalists, legislators, hospital administrators, and voters are asking how we can improve the American healthcare system without sacrificing the quality of care. Some are calling for a nationalized healthcare system. Others claim that the American system is broken because doctors are paid according to how many procedures they carry out, rather than how well they care for each patient. And yet healthcare systems across the country have discovered an approach that makes hospitals more efficient and effective: tracking and boosting employee engagement. Our research has shown that hospitals with higher levels of employee engagement also enjoy higher levels of patient satisfaction, quality outcomes, and staff retention. This article will explain how two healthcare organizations improved operations by researching and boosting their employee engagement.

Sanford Health, a healthcare provider with over 10,000 employees across four states, knew that in order to be a leader in health care, they needed to increase productivity and cooperation among employees, while boosting the quality of care and the number of positive outcomes. They decided to take an Employee Engagement Management (EEM) approach to help meet and surpass their goals.

The first step Sanford Health took was conducting an organization-wide study to learn the existing drivers of employee engagement. The results of this employee survey revealed areas of focus to increase engagement. Once the survey results were compiled and analyzed, over 400 managers were granted access to an online EEM tool provided by PeopleMetrics. The tool allowed managers to analyze survey results and develop detailed Action Plans for their teams. Upper management could review and track managers’ Action Plans, determine areas of improvement, track progress, and share Action Plans across the organization. Thanks to actionable results and easy-to-use management tools, Sanford continues to boost employee engagement and improve patient outcomes.

Since 2002, Lifespan, has been improving operations using an EEM solution. Based in Providence, RI, Lifespan employs 11,800 employees and 2,700 physicians. To track engagement over time, Lifespan surveys all employees on a biennial basis. In the years in-between these system-wide surveys, pulse surveys are delivered to a statistically representative slice of Lifespan employees. Electronic focus groups are also conducted to gain in-depth insight into the key drivers of engagement. Finally, each Lifespan hospital’s human resources records on turnover, overtime, and work done was analyzed to evaluate whether EEM delivers positive business outcomes.

All of this data showed a system-wide driver for employee engagement: caring for employees. Each hospital also determined specific engagement drivers at its facility. These results were used to create site- and department-specific Action Plans to increase engagement.

The results of Lifespan’s EEM work were impressive. A pulse survey conducted a year in showed significant improvement in engagement scores. Additionally, more Lifespan employees felt that management was committed to acting on survey results. Furthermore, Lifespan was able to establish a correlation between employee engagement and patient satisfaction: ratings of care and likelihood to recommend the hospital improved. Lifespan’s excellence in its employee engagement practices was recognized at a national healthcare conference in 2006, where Lifespan was awarded a Best Practices award.

So why does employee engagement management improve patient outcomes at hospitals? Why does it improve hospital operations?

First, EEM works because healthcare is a people-based industry. Nurses, doctors, and other health professionals that serve together often feel bonded by life and death situations. If those workers feel supported and respected by their managers, they are more likely to feel enthusiastic about their work. Passionate, dedicated employees are more productive, period. Second, EEM improves retention. When healthcare employees feel jazzed about their workplace, they’re more likely to stay for the long haul. This allows them to better understand the procedures and requirements of their workplace. Basically, when healthcare employees are engaged, they are personally invested in their work. They find fulfillment in their work, and are more likely to stay in that environment.

Many people feel that they perform under their potential at work. If their job represents little more than a paycheck, why should they act otherwise? Everyday, employees decide (consciously or unconsciously) whether they will go above and beyond the basic expectations of their position. When they are engaged in their work, they have the motivation to strive for their very best. As Peter Lanser wrote in an article on healthcare workers’ engagement for HR Pulse, “Engagement is when your employees give it their all, not because you are paying or rewarding them to do so, but because it is who they are. Their own personal identity is caught up in the performance of their job, and their personal identity and their work role identity become one and the same.” Like workers in other industries, healthcare workers are more likely to produce excellent work when they are engaged with their work. Engaged healthcare workers provide more efficient, better patient care, making employee engagement management an excellent approach for improving patient outcomes, as we have seen.

Monica Nolan is an Account Manager for PeopleMetrics.
Improving healthcare customer satisfaction, like Lifespan did, is a valuable step toward increasing your company ROI.
At PeopleMetrics, that starts with understanding employee engagement and how your employees cultivate a positive customer experience.

[tags]employee engagement, patient engagement, patient satisfaction in hospitals, healthcare customer[/tags]

Some things don’t travel well; many British TV shows and celebrities don’t make the jump across the pond to America, and the same is true in reverse, but there are some things which transcend cultural and national barriers and office workers chatting around water coolers is one such phenomenon.

It seems to be worldwide; films and television shows from a myriad of different countries show staff chatting around their office water coolers and this can be one of the best ways for you as their manager to keep your finger on the pulse of the happenings in your office. In many ways, the water cooler has always been - and still is - the social network of the work environment; Facebook has nothing on this, and the water cooler can’t be blocked the way personal internet usage can.

The question many employers find themselves asking isn’t ‘can chatting by the water cooler be stopped?’ it’s ’should it be stopped?’ and the answer in most cases is No. Working in a totalitarian ‘No talking’ environment will often only serve to increase your staff turnover as no one is happy working in a situation like that, but by the same token, if your employees are spending a lot of their day congregating around the water coolers, it will be eating into their productivity, so in that situation the socialising must be managed.

It is quite interesting how the water cooler seems to be the nominal gathering point in offices the world over; perhaps it’s because it’s a communal area, away from desks and cubicles. People the world over are working longer hours than they have for many years and are also working harder due to the economic climate - employees want to be seen as invaluable in case the company they work for needs to downsize, and a quick chat in a communal area of the workplace can be an excellent way to blow off some steam before they get back to work.

Allowing your staff the opportunity to chat briefly in communal areas of the office is a great way to keep them relaxed and happy, which will often lead to hard working staff, but water cooler gossip can sometimes have a ‘dark side’ such as bullying or wild speculation about another employees private life, which can cause bad feeling in the work environment and can in turn lead to staff turnover, lowered company performance and even legal proceedings. Keeping an ear out for what is being said is the best way to either nip these things in the bud, but can also be an excellent way to highlight issues within the company which people at employee level are all feeling but aren’t brave enough to bring to management.

These issues are as endemic to office life the world over as chatting around water coolers seems to be, and if you as management can find the correct balance with how it affects the day to day working environment, it won’t affect your office in a negative way.

Anna Stenning is a business advisor with many years of experience helping managers run their offices to the best of their abilities. Find out more about water coolers at http://www.pure-watercoolers.co.uk/

[tags]Water coolers[/tags]

California Labor Code section 2922 provides: “An employment, having no specified term, may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other.”[1] Simple enough, right? Unless an there is an agreement that an employment relationship is going to exist for a specific period of time, the relationship is considered “at-will” and may be terminated by either the employee or employer, with or without cause, for any reason or no reason at all. Not so fast. What constitutes an agreement between an employer and employee? The answer is, many events may convert “at-will” employment relationships into “employment for a specified term” within the meaning of Section 2922.

Many employers incorrectly assume that their employment relationships are protected by provisions in employee handbooks. Unfortunately, even clearly worded disclaimers, specifically stating that all employment relationships within their company are “at-will” are often insufficient to avioid a finding that an employment contract exists. In fact, California courts have held that, notwithstanding such disclaimers, an employer’s past practices, policies, actions and communications may result in an assurance of continued employment that defeats the presumption of “at-will” employment.

Employers regularly rely on generic employee handbooks purchased from Internet sources or office supply stores. Still others believe their business is adequately protected by a handbook the employer prepared based on his or her experience over the years. A poorly drafted employee handbook may itself defeat the presumption and create an employment relationship that may be terminated only for cause.

Probationary or Introductory Period

Many employee handbooks describe a probationary or introductory period at the beginning of the employment relationship. This provision usually exists to, among other things, define when the employee is entitled to receive company sponsored benefits. Care must be taken to insure that the introductory period provision does not imply that the “at-will” relationship exists only during that period.

Disciplinary Procedures

Employee handbooks typically include descriptions of conduct and behavior that may subject an employee to discipline. These provisions often include disciplinary procedures that result in sanctions of increased severity upon repeated violations. If not well thought out and carefully prepared, an enumeration of offenses for which an employee may be disciplined, and disciplinary procedures, may well be read to imply that “at-will” employment does not exist. A poorly drafted description of disciplinary procedures can be intrepted as establishing conditions that must occur before employment may be terminated. Further, such provisions may be read as a promise that the employee relationship will not be terminated even upon an employee’s subsequent breaches of the minimum conduct standards set forth in the handbook.

The obvious question is, given the potential pitfalls, why do I need an employee handbook to begin with? There are many advantages to a well crafted employee handbook, drafted after careful consideration of your specific business and its unique needs and circumstances.

Standardize Application of Policy

The actions and communications of managers to employees have been found by courts to have created implied employment agreements. Employee handbooks provide employers the opportunity to establish policies relating to the actions and communications of their managers and supervisors and standardize the application of these policies to their employees.

Evaluation of Current Practices and Procedures

As noted above, an employer’s past practices and policies may create an implied promise of future employment. An employee handbook requires an employer to examine the existing practices of his or her company and modify them if necessary to comply with applicable state and federal laws.

Limit Litigation Exposure

Employee handbooks can not only protect the “at-will” nature of employment relationships, they can also limit an employer’s exposure in the event of litigation. Establishing a procedure for employees to follow in the event of workplace harassment, such as reporting and investigation procedures, can be beneficial in defending against employee claims of such a nature. A well drafted employee handbook containing procedures to for employees to follow in the event of workplace harassment, including a defined reporting and investigation procedure, make available the argument that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct the harassment and the complaining employee failed to take advantage of the preventative or corrective opportunities made available to him or her.

Just as industries and market conditions regularly change so does the law in the area of labor and employment on both the federal and state levels. Employers are well advised to remain current on these changes and adapt their operating policies and procedures to limit the exposure of their business investment. To this end, employee handbooks should be reviewed by legal counsel no less than annually.
________________________________________
[1] Section 2922 defines “employment for a specified term” as employment for a period greater than one month.

Dale J. Blea has been a practicing attorney in California since 1993. Mr. Blea’s primary areas of practice include business litigation and family law. He is a partner with Joseph M. Arnold in the firm of Arnold & Blea, LLP, which also serves clients in employment law, personal injury, estate planning and criminal matters. The URL for Arnold & Blea, LLP, is http://www.arnold-blea.com. The author may be contacted at dblea@arnold-blea.com.

[tags]employee handbooks, at-will employment, human resources[/tags]

It’s not often very hot in England, at least not compared to the temperatures we experience when we visit some other countries, but when summer comes, it has a tendency to knock us for six. Suddenly we’re hotter than we’ve ever been and we can’t concentrate on working because we’re so fixated on how warm it is in the office. Everyone from managing directors to the work experience boy in the mail room suffer if the office is too hot, or even too cold, so it makes sense to look into ways to regulate the temperature in the workplace and air conditioning is one of the best ways to do that.

There are many different types of air conditioning unit, ranging from a floor-mounted unit to the premium models which require ducting throughout the building, meaning that it’s possible to find a way to regulate your office’s temperature whatever the size of your work force or whatever permissions you have to modify the building you work in.

Though installing a ducted air conditioning unit in a building which doesn’t already have the ducting is an expensive and time consuming process, not to mention the mess and upheaval such a task will cause, there are alternative solutions to mounting an air conditioner in the office that doesn’t necessarily need to take up floor space. The ‘cassette’ models are always popular and these are ceiling mounted as with the ducted models, but rather than requiring ducting to be placed throughout the building, they are simply placed in the ceiling void and distribute cool air from that position. There are also wall mounted options on the market.

Maintaining a constant temperature in your office is a good way to keep your staff comfortable and productive. Having an office which doesn’t seem to change with the seasons is a great way to keep staff in a productive routine as well as it doesn’t give them cause to complain, they can simply come into work and get on with the job.

Air conditioning units are often available for far less than you may expect and will often come with the range of models on the market, it should be possible to find a model to suit your office’s needs, whether you feel that a ducted model is necessary or a small floor mounted unit will be enough, it should be possible to find a way to keep your staff working at a comfortable temperature all year round.

Anna Stenning is a business manager with many years of experience getting the best out of her staff. Find out more about air conditioning at http://www.pureairconditioning.co.uk/

[tags]Air conditioning[/tags]

Could your employee hiring process use some improvement? Do you find that your hire employees and their employment is short-lived? This article will provide you with information that can help you with hiring employees so that you can cut costs and maximize productivity in your mid-size business. Whether you’re an owner, an executive or a manager, the following information will be beneficial to you.

Job fit solutions will help you hire great employees by understanding the core characteristics of your top performers.

There is no greater tragedy in business than hiring competent employees into jobs in which they are destined to fail. When this happens, their potential is wasted. Hiring solutions measure essential behavior characteristics an employer needs to make the most intelligent hiring and selection decisions.
Advanced online job fit technology helps company leaders predict job suitability and accurately helps match people with the work they do.

Today, successful businesses use employee hiring assessments during the interview process to learn more about job candidates. There are many kinds of employee assessments available, but the most successful hiring assessments use job fit as a tool to increase consistency and success in the hiring process.

Job fit solutions combine tested and reliable data derived from pre-employment screening assessments with a customized job analysis survey to create a benchmark that will match candidates to the job and your company. By including job fit as a key factor in your employee selection process, your hiring process will be significantly more effective.

How does job fit work?
Based on objective criteria, your management team selects top performers in a given position. The top performing employees are assessed on their mental ability, behavioral traits and occupational interest, which include the following 20 core characteristics:
- Learning index
- Verbal skill
- Verbal reasoning
- Numerical ability
- Numeric reasoning
- Energy level
- Assertiveness
- Sociability
- Manageability
- Attitude
- Decisiveness
- Accommodating
- Independence
- Objective judgment
- Enterprising
- Financial
- People service
- Creative
- Technical
- Mechanical

This data is used to create a unique job fit profile that lays the foundation for the skills and characteristics required by your company for selecting and hiring talented people.

With the job profile analysis, multiple managers have the ability to weigh their opinions and express views regarding a specific position. Once the 57-question analysis has been completed, managers’ responses are entered into the assessment center for processing. The result is a unique job fit profile.

In addition to providing information about a candidate’s personality type and behavioral characteristics, the job fit assessment will provide customized, tough interview questions that are prepared specifically for a particular candidate based on their assessment results. These Department of Labor approved, specific interview questions can be used in the second interview. This gives your managers a critical advantage in the hiring process.

Using employee assessments in your hiring and selection process will give you a competitive edge as you increase consistency and success in hiring talented employees. Matching people with the work they do creates a solid workforce that has the right people in the right positions.

Jim Sirbasku is co-founder and CEO of Profiles International, a leading provider of human resource management solutions and employment assessments for businesses worldwide. For more information about hiring employees for mid-size businesses for success, visit our website.

[tags]hiring employees mid-size businesses, employee hiring mid-size businesses[/tags]