Monthly Archives: June 2018

30 Jun

Is an Interim Manager Good for Your Business

Interim Managers are commonly used when a business is between leaders; when one has left and you are waiting on another.  Sometimes they are used when a Key Manager is absent, and the role cannot be left as a shared responsibility among different parties.  More often than not an Interim Manager performs much like an external consultant, they are highly experienced individuals who can help your company efficiently solve problems.

If those are the usual and customary times Interim Managers are used, what does that mean to your business?  What are the details regarding those key uses?

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23 Jun

Your Marketing Budget Should be Focused

Let’s be honest; you cannot operate a successful business without marketing.  For most, marketing is advertising.  You spend money on advertising or, you hopefully are skilled enough to find other ways of marketing that are free.  Regardless, knowing where to advertise is a function of your marketing.  Without this important knowledge, your marketing dollars (advertising) are disappearing down a black hole.

Commonly what I see is a business buys an ad in some media where the business operates.  They are impressed by the reach that media has, they believe this will get their message in front of enough people and sales will come from that.  It might work for them, most often it will not.  It will not for the same reason it might, the media itself.  Is it the right media for your business, the right marketing venue if you will.  Advertising is expensive; you want to put your dollars where they have the greatest chance for a return.

How Do You Do That?

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16 Jun

Start, Stop. Start, Stop. Start, Stop…

 

Many of us have seen the cycle of Start, Stop.  We start an initiative, and it loses momentum then stops.  Later, we do this again.  Still later, again.  Over time our employees lose any enthusiasm or interest in what they are doing.  Ultimately this Start, Stop cycle causes disengagement of our workforce which leads to employee turnover.

Why does this happen?  Why do we start things and never finish?  More importantly, what can we do to change the behaviors of Start, Stop?  While there are many different reasons for this, a few are:

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09 Jun

Do You Strategic Plan?

 

The question is really that simple.  Do you strategic plan?  Do you plan for the future of your business, how it will grow and equally if not more importantly, how will it prosper?   A Strategic Plan is simply a roadmap for your business to follow over the next several years, in general around 2-3, what your goals are, and how the business will achieve those goals.  The Strategic Plan is simply the way you will coordinate and execute the different parts of your business to achieve your goals.

If you don’t have a Strategic Plan your business is not only at risk of failure, but it is even at risk of not being close to as successful as it could be.  To put it another way, not having a Strategic Plan is just like walking around in the wilderness without a map.  You might find your way out, but the odds are great that you’ll simply wander around.

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02 Jun

Having a Good Candidate Experience Will Help Your Business Recruiting Efforts

 

Here in Wisconsin, the unemployment rate for the entire state is an astounding 2.9%.  Locally it is about 2.4%.   Competition for new employees is fierce.  How you treat your candidates during the entire recruiting process is a key component of establishing a brand that effectively attracts and gains good employees.  The candidate experience as it is often referred to is a great way to position your business as a premier employer.

What is Candidate Experience?  While it can be defined many ways the most common is the entire interaction both applicants and candidates have during the recruiting process.  It involves everything the applicant and candidate do during the recruiting process.

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