from BDC.ca
In a Canadian labour market with shrinking resources, many young people today are in an enviable position when it comes to choosing an employer. They can afford to be highly selective and tend not to stay with companies for the long haul.
Meeting the demands of this new generation of employees is now at the top of the agenda for businesses. You'll have to motivate employees to stay loyal to your firm with more satisfying jobs, ongoing training and anything else that makes you stand out from your competitors.
Yet despite the popular belief that wooing employees is a costly venture for businesses, the reality is that employee motivation can involve little or no cost.
Make the job motivating
Pressed for time, few entrepreneurs prepare written job descriptions. However, experts agree that improvising is not a winning strategy. The more accurate and realistic you are about specifications and job requirements for the position, the more likely that your people will feel motivated to do a good job. It's important to:
-Get your employees involved in writing their job descriptions, so they feel they have genuine input
-Put the emphasis on active, engaging verbs such as "analyzes", "sets up" or "operates"
-Build in clear goals, so employees can see visible progress and results and how they can contribute to the big picture
-Ensure that the work is challenging enough for the employee: don't hire somebody with too many skills for the job
-Give your employees enough leeway to be independent and assume stretch assignments, which encourages personal and professional development
Compensate your employees based on their performance
Give employees feedback
Feedback allows your employees to evolve, improve their skills and do more for your company. And that's why it's important to assess your employees' performance regularly and fairly. For starters, make sure they understand why performance feedback is necessary. Frank discussions will help obtain the best possible results, it's important to show empathy and flexibility.
-Be open to suggestions that could improve the efficiency of your company's operations. Ensure that you:
-Be systematic about performance evaluation for every employee, no matter what level in your company
-Link the performance evaluation to your compensation program so employees take it seriously
-Give honest feedback often - both praise and constructive comments
First, review positive aspects; then, cover areas for improvement; help employees find and implement solutions
-Encourage your employees to evaluate themselves; this gives you an accurate picture of how they view their performance and it can also reveal where improvement is needed
-Establish realistic performance objectives for your employees and make sure they understand and agree
-Rely on simple, ongoing feedback techniques, such as:
-Personal congratulations for a job well-done
-Personal notes from managers to mark a good performance
-Recognizing employee performance and promotions in internal
newsletters
-Showing your team confidence, so that they feel motivated to give
more
Manage your top performers
Your star performers may be a little more demanding than your average performers. They tend to leave companies if they feel they're not getting enough attention. Factor these points in:
-Give your top performers some leeway. Avoid micromanaging and give them the room to do their best
-Get their input often. If you don't seek their ideas, they'll stop giving them to you
-Reward excellent performance with extra perks
-Point out where they need to improve; you want to encourage even your best performers to strive harder
-Praise top performers when they excel. Don't assume that they know they're doing a good job
Give employees innovative perks
In today's demanding business world, many employees are looking for perks beyond monetary compensation, stock options and profit-sharing.
-Consider options such as flexible hours
-Give employees "downtime" for work well done. Employees tend to want perks such as more time-off rather than more money
-Allow employees to work from home
Reinforce team spirit
Motivated employees, who all sing from the same song sheet, contribute their best. Keep these ideas in mind in order to reinforce team spirit.
-Encourage people to interact outside the office environment, i.e., dinners or sports events
-Put employees at ease by holding informal gatherings at your home
-Assign a buddy for new employees to help them during orientation
-Avoid creating hierarchy by assigning perks such as more office space and free parking
Ultimately, your employee motivation strategies can be built into a sound human resources plan. To help you develop that plan, you can contact me.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Living with a strong dollar
from www.BDC.CA
The rise of the Canadian dollar has had a serious impact on businesses exporting to the U.S. and international markets. Faced with reduced returns from U.S. sales, entrepreneurs may wonder how to protect themselves from the effects of further currency fluctuations.
In a nutshell, the way to reduce the risks involved with exporting is to be prepared for change. Success in exporting begins with developing a sound export plan, setting your prices wisely, improving overall productivity and taking advantage of various tools to manage exchange risk.
Have a solid export plan
No matter what the value of the dollar is, you should have a thorough exporting strategy in place to export profitably. Developing or updating your export plan can help you better understand your markets and your competition, and determine exactly what your goals are and how you will reach them.
Here are some questions that may help you deal with currency fluctuations:
1. Is there another market for your products? Exploring new markets where your product is more competitive can be a sound strategy to compensate for a volatile Canadian dollar.
2. Can you consolidate local markets? Are your products available nationally? You may want to consider all provinces in Canada.
3. Can you change or update your line of products to be more competitive in the export market? You may be able to add a product or to customize the sales and marketing of an existing product to appeal to a new market or demographic. Diversifying your products may help you gain more stability.
Price wisely
Your export plan can also help you price your products wisely. To protect yourself from current fluctuations, adopt a strategy that takes exchange rates into account. While your export prices must take into account the demands of the market, they should also be forward-looking. In general, export prices should be based on your cost of goods as well as costs related to tariffs, custom fees, value-added taxes, shipping and insurance. For these costs, you will also need to factor in variations in the value of the dollar.
Keep in mind that if you're pricing higher, this may be a disadvantage if you want to be competitive. However, a sound strategy to reduce operating costs can help keep your prices down. That's why maximizing your productivity is so important.
Improve your overall productivity
Working more efficiently translates into cutting costs or increasing your revenues, which can give you the competitive edge you need to gain a greater market share. This can include:
• Reviewing your production processes to see if each step helps create value for your clients and meets your goals
• Eliminating waste, including delays at customs, unnecessary transportation in your distribution process, defects and errors, etc.
• Outsourcing non-core aspects of your business to countries or firms that can do the work more efficiently and more cheaply. This can include having components manufactured abroad, or having an external firm handle logistics, customs, distribution, etc.
After you have analysed your opportunities, decide on a course of action. To keep your costs down, you can implement one project at a time. For example, if you're expanding to new markets and you need new equipment to remain competitive, you can begin by renting, and make plans to purchase upgraded equipment later.
Use exchange-risk management strategies
Foreign-exchange risk management tools (or hedging tools) can also help protect you from dollar fluctuations that can affect your earnings and value. Keep in mind, exchange contracts such as futures and options are complex products and you should talk to your banker and accountant about the most commonly used strategies for managing foreign-exchange risk. While there will always be some related costs to using hedging tools, these strategies can help you protect your profit margin. The following may help reduce your risks:
• Currency forward contracts allow you to lock a price at which your company is obligated to buy or sell a currency at your specified date. Forwards are non-transferable and not as flexible. You'll also need a line of credit for currency transactions. This will allow you to protect your revenues, profit margins or expenses at a fixed price.
• Currency futures contracts allow you to specify a price at which a given currency will be bought or sold at a future date. Your company can close out these contracts early if it's to your advantage; giving you more flexibility. You will also need to maintain a margin/cash deposit at all times to compensate for the credit risk.
• Currency options give you the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell currency at a specified exchange rate during a specific period of time. Regardless of whether or not you exercise the option, there is a cost.
If you are exporting to the U.S., you can also open a U.S. dollar account with your chartered bank, or establish a banking relationship with a U.S.-based bank. This may also make it easier for U.S. based firms to do business with you. There may, however, be tax implications, so it is best to review your options with your accountant or banker.
Get help from external consultants
Consultants who have an objective point of view are in a better position to help you assess the weaknesses and strengths of your export initiative.
Contact me if you are interested in additional informations.
The rise of the Canadian dollar has had a serious impact on businesses exporting to the U.S. and international markets. Faced with reduced returns from U.S. sales, entrepreneurs may wonder how to protect themselves from the effects of further currency fluctuations.
In a nutshell, the way to reduce the risks involved with exporting is to be prepared for change. Success in exporting begins with developing a sound export plan, setting your prices wisely, improving overall productivity and taking advantage of various tools to manage exchange risk.
Have a solid export plan
No matter what the value of the dollar is, you should have a thorough exporting strategy in place to export profitably. Developing or updating your export plan can help you better understand your markets and your competition, and determine exactly what your goals are and how you will reach them.
Here are some questions that may help you deal with currency fluctuations:
1. Is there another market for your products? Exploring new markets where your product is more competitive can be a sound strategy to compensate for a volatile Canadian dollar.
2. Can you consolidate local markets? Are your products available nationally? You may want to consider all provinces in Canada.
3. Can you change or update your line of products to be more competitive in the export market? You may be able to add a product or to customize the sales and marketing of an existing product to appeal to a new market or demographic. Diversifying your products may help you gain more stability.
Price wisely
Your export plan can also help you price your products wisely. To protect yourself from current fluctuations, adopt a strategy that takes exchange rates into account. While your export prices must take into account the demands of the market, they should also be forward-looking. In general, export prices should be based on your cost of goods as well as costs related to tariffs, custom fees, value-added taxes, shipping and insurance. For these costs, you will also need to factor in variations in the value of the dollar.
Keep in mind that if you're pricing higher, this may be a disadvantage if you want to be competitive. However, a sound strategy to reduce operating costs can help keep your prices down. That's why maximizing your productivity is so important.
Improve your overall productivity
Working more efficiently translates into cutting costs or increasing your revenues, which can give you the competitive edge you need to gain a greater market share. This can include:
• Reviewing your production processes to see if each step helps create value for your clients and meets your goals
• Eliminating waste, including delays at customs, unnecessary transportation in your distribution process, defects and errors, etc.
• Outsourcing non-core aspects of your business to countries or firms that can do the work more efficiently and more cheaply. This can include having components manufactured abroad, or having an external firm handle logistics, customs, distribution, etc.
After you have analysed your opportunities, decide on a course of action. To keep your costs down, you can implement one project at a time. For example, if you're expanding to new markets and you need new equipment to remain competitive, you can begin by renting, and make plans to purchase upgraded equipment later.
Use exchange-risk management strategies
Foreign-exchange risk management tools (or hedging tools) can also help protect you from dollar fluctuations that can affect your earnings and value. Keep in mind, exchange contracts such as futures and options are complex products and you should talk to your banker and accountant about the most commonly used strategies for managing foreign-exchange risk. While there will always be some related costs to using hedging tools, these strategies can help you protect your profit margin. The following may help reduce your risks:
• Currency forward contracts allow you to lock a price at which your company is obligated to buy or sell a currency at your specified date. Forwards are non-transferable and not as flexible. You'll also need a line of credit for currency transactions. This will allow you to protect your revenues, profit margins or expenses at a fixed price.
• Currency futures contracts allow you to specify a price at which a given currency will be bought or sold at a future date. Your company can close out these contracts early if it's to your advantage; giving you more flexibility. You will also need to maintain a margin/cash deposit at all times to compensate for the credit risk.
• Currency options give you the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell currency at a specified exchange rate during a specific period of time. Regardless of whether or not you exercise the option, there is a cost.
If you are exporting to the U.S., you can also open a U.S. dollar account with your chartered bank, or establish a banking relationship with a U.S.-based bank. This may also make it easier for U.S. based firms to do business with you. There may, however, be tax implications, so it is best to review your options with your accountant or banker.
Get help from external consultants
Consultants who have an objective point of view are in a better position to help you assess the weaknesses and strengths of your export initiative.
Contact me if you are interested in additional informations.
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