Those of us who are in a position of leadership know only too well the day to day challenges we face as we try to be the best we can be in our role as boss. Besides managing the day to day operations of our organization or respective departments, we are charged with that all important role of supervising, directing, and motivating our staff—our most valuable asset.

Some people are better at being boss than others. I think some are born with the gift of leadership, others continuously try to improve their leadership skills by reading trade journals, blogs, attending seminars, etc. as time permits; and then there are those that never learn.

Most of us probably fall somewhere in between these groups and will find ghostwriter, Jeff Haden’s article “5 Qualities of Remarkable Bosses” published in the March 5 issue of Inc.com very informative. According to Haden, “Remarkable bosses aren’t great on paper. Great bosses are remarkable based on their actions.”

Read the complete article.

If you are like most business owners today, you’ve had to make cuts, so you are short staffed and the staff you do have is working harder than ever. If your employees are having personal problems, you may not even know it until it begins to manifest itself in absenteeism, tardiness, and/or poor performance. Once that happens, you are forced to deal with it; and the outcomes may not be pleasant.

Unfortunately, the current economic environment exacerbates mental health issues, substance abuse issues, relationship issues, and financial issues, thus creating more havoc in the lives of the working population. Consequently, employees dealing with such issues can cost you, if they don’t have access to professional help.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are designed to provide no-cost support to employees who are experiencing difficulties in their personnel and/or work life. EAPs have professional counselors available to assist employees struggling with these issues. Should a counselor determine that an employee needs more intensive assistance, they will refer them on to specialists who can provide the needed help.

In her article posted on her blog Why Managers Need EAP, Kathy Greer, Founder and President of KGA, Inc. stresses that employees tend to bring their “whole selves” to work, which includes their personal problems. She adds that when the root of an employee’s poor performance stems from these issues, professional counseling may be needed to resolve the situation. An EAP provides these services.

According to a publication of the EASNA, “Research shows that employees who use EAPs often experience positive changes in their work performance, such as having fewer days late or absent; higher level of work productivity; and improved team relations.

Having an EAP in place allows the business owner/manager to concentrate on the business and not have to deal directly with an employee’s personal problems; and it offers the employees the benefit of free confidential access to professional counseling.

When an organization offers an EAP for their employees, usage of an EAP can be the result of self-referral or a referral from a supervisor depending on how much an employee’s problem affects their job performance. According to Julie Knudson, author of Treading Carefully on EAPs: Good Communication Helps Protect Clients From Exposure, published in the “Employee Benefit Advisor,” a recent study at a managed behavioral health care organization, published in the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health showed that only 14% of EAP users were influenced by their employer or supervisor to use EAP resources. “The remaining majority of participants contacted EAPs on their own volition.”

Kathy Greer of KGA recommends that when a business owner/manager observes signs that an employee might be having personal problems, they should contact his/her EAP before approaching the employee. That way the EAP can provide guidance on how best to handle the situation and how to go about referring the employee to the EAP. This way the owner/supervisor can help their employee without getting directly involved with their problems.

If you already have an EAP make certain that all your employees know that it exists and know how to access it on their own. Instruct your managers and supervisors to use your EAP as a resource when dealing with employee issues and check with your EAP to see if they provide additional resources.

If you don’t have an EAP, do yourself and your employees a favor and look into it.

Unlike Career Opportunities’ previous job fairs, which required setting up a booth at a facility, this job fair does not require a business representative to leave their office. Nor do they have to worry about staffing their booth or carrying in materials needed to set up their booth. Best of all, they will not have to worry about the effect of stormy weather on the job fair’s attendance.

Because it is virtual, job seekers can attend regardless of the weather. For seven days, they can send out resumes anytime night or day! This is especially valuable to those who have a job and may be looking for a change; or are graduating from college or a technical school and have little time to travel around to look for a job. The business representative can arrange to connect with candidates that interest them at a time mutually convenient. This makes it easier for everyone involved.

To participate, all a business has to do is register and create an account. An exhibit booth consists of the company’s logo, the company’s profile, which can be targeted to the talent they want to attract, and unlimited job listings.

During the job fair, businesses will be able to review resumes at their convenience, because this job fair is open 24 hours a day for seven consecutive days. Businesses will also be able to invite contact with candidates of interest.

For a minimal investment of time and money ($99) for a business to exhibit their booth, businesses will be able to reach hundreds of jobs seekers.

The Business Services staff at Career Opportunities is available to help businesses who need assistance creating their account, reviewing resumes or writing their company’s profile. For assistance contact Norinne at nczekanski@jteccorp.com or Charlie at cmarceline@jteccorp.com.

To sign up now visit Cape Cod Virtual Job Fairs.

Performance reviews can be a nightmare for bosses as well as employees. Eric Jackson, founder and managing member of Ironfire Capital LLC and contributor to Forbes magazine, recently published a piece in Forbes on the “Ten Biggest Mistakes Businesses Make in Performance Reviews.” If you struggle every year with developing fair and productive performance evaluations, you might want to take a minute to read this article to see if any of these mistakes sound familiar. Read Eric Jackson’s performance evaluation article.

Once you’ve digested this list, you might want to then go on to review this checklist for evaluating your evaluation process. “Evaluation Evaluation” prepared by Mike Toth, chief legal officer of Manpower America, allows you to score yourself on the effectiveness of your performance evaluation process, especially when it comes to preventing lawsuits. This is definitely worth the read. Go to Mike Toth’s evaluation checklist.

In his article, “Cultivating Visibility,” published in the January, 2012 issue of Entrepreneur, Chris Brogan, President of Human Business Works and co-author of Trust Agents and Social Media 101 encourages businesses to make an editorial calendar part of their campaign to cultivate visibility. We are not talking about your traditional copy that was designed to blatantly promote your business in print ads or the electronic media; on the contrary, we are talking about a more subtle approach, that gives rise to your expertise in your industry, rather than the services or products you sell. The theory appears to be, if people respect your knowledge, they could very well become or remain your customers.

So once you have determined your goal, i.e. know what you want to achieve, and have prepared your editorial calendar—the wisdom you wish to impart—the next step is selecting the vehicles for delivering this information. This is the most challenging of all.

Surprisingly, Brogan still considers e-mail as a valuable tool for achieving visibility; that’s good news for those who have only recently become comfortable using e-mail to communicate with customers or prospects; but his remaining recommendations are, you guessed it, all part of the social media family. So like it or not, if you want to successfully market your business in 2012, you can’t avoid social media; it’s a must do. So dive in and start liking, tweeting, producing a video, podcasting, blogging, etc.; and by the way, have a Happy New Year!

Read the complete article.

This latest one by Ilya Pozin, founder of Ciplex, is a real treasure, because it focuses on “9 Things That Motivate Employees More Than Money.” Employers, who are dealing with low employee morale and/or who think that money is the only motivator, will be pleasantly surprised to learn that other options do exist. This is certainly worth taking the time to read.

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Project Manager A1016
Twenty years experience in both residential and commercial projects. Completed projects on time and within budget. Excellent management and communication skills.
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Receptionist/Customer Service/ A1017
Dedicated “professional” with over 5 years Customer Service experience. Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite. A creative and enthusiastic individual capable of working alone or in a team environment.
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Nursing Assistant C-1015
Caring and reliable Nursing Assistant with the ability to apply new concepts quickly. Recognized as a team player with a passion for helping others. Highly adaptable and able to meet or exceed patients expectations. Excellent clinical, customer service and communication skills.
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Experienced Manager C-1016
Highly experienced Manager with more than 15 years of experience in sales and startup operations. Successfully supervised up to 8 employees while delivering exceptional customer service. Proven ability to analyze, trouble shoot and solve problems independently or as part of a team. Utilized financial tools including cash flow and P&L analysis to optimize operations. Excellent communication skills with people of diverse backgrounds.
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Intelligence Analyst/Customer Service (D1023):
U.S. Navy Veteran with over 20 years of military intelligence analyst experience. Performed the following: collected classified data from satellite images, internet chatter, and military and spy reports. Candidate handled coding and decoding classified information, maintained Combat Information Center displays and operated an Identification Friend or Foe system on a ship. Veteran also has 3 years experience working in customer service.
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Security Specialist (D1024):
United States Army Purple Heart recipient with approximately 4 years of military experience. FID Licensed in Massachusetts. Excellent communication and observation skills. Ability to negotiate and establish order in hostile environment in a calming and responsive manner. Military presence with history of portraying leadership traits appropriate to the situation. Proficient in carrying out all assignments in compliance with established guidelines as provided.
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How many times a day do we receive an e-mail from a marketer looking to sell us something? And how many of those do we delete?

Anyone who is in the business of trying to market a product or service can benefit from some e-mail marketing tips published in this week’s issue of Inc.com. ,written by Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies.

In her article titled “7 Tips for Writing E-mails That Won’t Get Deleted,” Ms. Konrath gives some common sense tips such as keeping your message simple and knowing your market. In addition, she provides a list of “delete-inducing words” that every e-mail marketer should avoid. This is a good read for anyone sending out e-mail newsletters, sales letters, or other marketing material.

Read the complete article.

One of the most challenging tasks for a company is finding the right salesperson. Geoffrey James of Sales Source suggests the problem might be with the questions asked by the interviewer.

In his article “3 Dumbest Sales Job Interview Questions and What to Ask Instead,” published in this week’s issue at Inc.com, James not only lists the three dumbest questions, but he also explains why they fail to deliver the results you might expect. He then goes on to offer three alternate questions that focus more on the qualities/achievements that can help identify a potentially successful salesperson.

For anyone who has ever struggled to find the right salesperson, this is certainly worth taking the time to read.

Read the full article.