Job Sculpting: The Art of Retaining your Best Employees

Job Sculpting: The Art of Retaining your Best Employees What is job sculpting? Job sculpting is the art of matching people to jobs that allow their deeply embedded life interests to be expressed. It is the art of forging a customized career path in order to increase the chance of retaining talented people. It is deeply embedded in life interests that are long-held, emotionally driven passions, intricately entwined with personality and thus born of unspecified mix of nature and nurture. Job sculpting techniques Ask employees to play an active role in job sculpting, perhaps by having them write about their views of career satisfaction an excellent starting point for a discussion. In some cases, sculpting can begin simply by adding a new responsibility. An Accountant who has a deeply embedded life interest in counseling and mentoring might be asked to plan and manage the orientation of new hires. A change in assignment provides another sculpting opportunity. A Marketer with an interest in quantitative analysis might be given new duties working with market research analysts. Managers should have a strong interest in the motivational psychology of their employees. In fact, they should openly express their willingness to help sculpt their employees ‘careers and to make the extra effort required to hold onto talented people. Even greater sculpting changes are sometimes required for example, when a manager can only meet a worker’s interests with a transfer to another department. In other cases, amicable separation is necessary, as when an Accounting firm has no job for an employee with a life interest in influence through language and ideas. Importance of job sculpting It keeps people engaged, and keeps them off from quitting. It is the art of forging a customized career path in order to increase the chance of retaining talented people. It creates happiness at work which often translates into commitment in employees’ areas of work. It creates good opportunities for advancement at work. Business core functions that represent the way deeply embedded life interests find expression in business Application of Technology: Whether or not they are actually working as or were trained to be engineers, people with the life interest application of technology are intrigued by the inner workings of things. They are curious about finding better ways to use technology to solve business problems. Quantitative Analysis: Some people aren’t just good at running the numbers, they excel at it. They see it as the best, and sometimes the only, way to figure out business solutions. Similarly, they see mathematical work as fun when others consider it drudgery, such as performing a cash-flow analysis, fore-casting the future performance of an investment instrument or figuring out the best debt/equity structure for a business. They might also enjoy building computer models in order to determine optimal production scheduling and to perform accounting procedures. Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking: For some people, nothing brings more enjoyment than thinking and talking about abstract ideas. People with this interest can be excited by building business models that explain competition within a given industry or by analyzing the competitive position of a business within a particular market. Our research also shows that people with this deeply embedded interest are often drawn to academic careers. Some end up there; many do not. Creative Production: Some people always enjoy the beginning of projects the most, when there are many unknowns and they can make something out of nothing. These individuals are frequently seen as imaginative, out of the box thinkers. They seem most engaged when they are brainstorming or inventing unconventional solutions. Indeed, they seem to thrive on newness. The reason creative production is one of their dominant deeply embedded life interest making something original, be it a product or a process. Counseling and Mentoring: For some people, nothing is more enjoyable than teaching in business, that usually translates into coaching or mentoring. These individuals are driven by the deeply embedded life interest of counseling and mentoring, allowing them to guide employees, peers, and even clients to better performance. People with a high interest in counseling and mentoring are also often drawn to organizations, such as museums, schools, and hospitals, that provide products or services they perceive to hold a high social value. People like to counsel and mentor for many reasons. Some derive satisfaction when other people succeed; others love the feeling of being needed. Regardless, these people are drawn to work where they can help others grow and improve. Managing People and Relationships: Longing to counsel and mentor people is one thng; wanting to manage them is another thing entirely. Individuals with this deeply embedded life interest enjoy dealing with people on a day to day basis. They derive a lot of satisfaction from workplace relationships, but they focus much more on outcomes than do people in the counseling and mentoring category. In other words, they’re less interested in seeing people grow than in working with and through them to accomplish the goals of the business, whether it is building a product or making a sale. That is why people with this life interest often find happiness in line management positions or in sales careers. Enterprise Control: Enterprise-control people are easy to spot in organizations. They seem happiest when running projects or teams, they enjoy “owning” a transaction such as a trade or a sale. These individuals also tend to ask for as much responsibility as possible in any work situation. Pure interest in enterprise control can be seen as an interest in deal making or in strategy a person with this life interest wants to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), not the Chief Operations Officer (COO). Investment bankers, for example, don’t run ongoing operations but often demonstrate a very strong interest in enterprise control. Influence Through Language and Ideas: Some people love ideas for their own sake, but others love expressing them for the sheer enjoyment that comes from storytelling, negotiating, or persuading. Such are people with the deeply embedded life interest of in-fluence...

Effective Brand Building Strategies to Attract Customers

Effective Brand Building Strategies to Attract Customers What is a brand? Brand is a name, term, design, symbol, feature that identifies one seller’s good or distinct from those of other sellers’. What is Branding? Its is a set of marketing and communication methods that helps to distinguish company or product/services from competitors, aiming to create a lasting impression in the minds of customers. What is Brand Management? It is the analysis and planning on how that brand is perceived in the market. Developing a good relationship with the target market is an essential for brand management. What is Brand altitude? This refers to the buyers’ overall evaluation of a brand with respect to its perceived ability to meet currently relevant motivation. What is Brand Awareness? This is the extent to which customers can identify a brand under various conditions. Role of Branding in a Business Branding improves recognition; A major component of a brand is a logo. A good and professional logo design should be simple enough to be memorable and at the same time powerful enough to give the desired impression of your business. Branding creates trust; A professional appearance builds credibility and trust, this is because people are more likely to purchase from a business that appears polished and legitimate. Branding supports advertising; Advertising being   another component of a brand, the group targeted for advertising and the medium chosen builds a brand. Branding builds financial value; The greater a company’s devotion to builds its brand value, the better the financial return. This is because a strong brand usually guarantees future business. Branding inspires employees; Many employees need more than just work, they need something to work towards. When employees understand your mission and reason for being, they are more likely to feel the same pride and work in the same direction to achieve the goals you have set. Branding generates new customers; Branding enables a company to get referral business. A positive word of mouth is only possible in a situation where a company has delivered a memorable experience with your customer. Attractive Branding Strategies (Brand Building) Define your brand; This step is critical as it ultimately determines what your company’s brand truly stands for. Also, the brand values are determined. The values should show that the firm is contributing to environmentally, social and well being of customers. Differentiate and position your brand; to differentiate the company’s brand, so that it can attract attention and at the same time stands out from competitors. Also, to differentiate your brand the company have to create a unique advantage in the minds of consumers not merely getting attention by brand building colors or logos or other superficial elements. Build and expose your brand; to build a brand, you have to keep on reinforcing your brand’s values and skills by taking up new roles and assignments that will give your company more exposure. Also, the company/firm can use promotional channels, blogs forums and social media to expose the company’s brand. Personalize your brand; if a company want its brand to be successful, then the company have to personalize its brand. It’s a way of giving a company an identity, so as to allow the consumers to see and experience the personality of the company brand. Review your brand; since a company brand is not static, it needs to go through a range of motions in its lifetime. Depending on strategies, the company brand will either grow in strength or remain dormant. Hence this calls for enhancing the value of the company brand or re-establishing it. Key Areas and Considerations in Branding Brand name selection; A good name can add greatly to the product/service success. Finding an appropriate brand name for a product/service begins with a careful review of the product/service and its benefits, target market, and proposed marketing strategies. The brand name should have the following characteristics; It should suggest something about the product/service benefits and qualities. It should be easy to pronounce and remember. The brand name should be distinctive. The name should translate easily into foreign languages. Some names may not be desirable when translated in to other languages. It should be capable of registration and legal protection. Brand sponsorship; Brand sponsorship options includes; Manufacturer’s brand; The product/service bears the name of the manufacturer e.g coca-cola, Mercedes Benz. Private brand; A brand created and owned by a reseller of product/service, for example where supermarkets repack and brand sugar, rice, flour. Licensing; the manufacturer licenses others to use their labels. Co-branding; the use of brand name of two or more different companies on the same product/service. Brand management; Brand management is aimed to achieve the following objectives; Brand focus for sustenance and growth. Competitive culture among sales and marketing team of a company. To build market share and consumer brand loyalty. As a profit centre. About the Author Thank you for reading this article. The author, James Ndambiri is an avid Business Advisor and Consultant: A Tax Surgeon, Proficient Accountant, Skilled Auditor, a Guru in Financial and Investment management, Expert in Business Strategy Formulation, Business Transformation Wizard, Family Business Advisor, Lecturer, Business Coach and a Family Man. James is the Founder, Team Leader, CEO & Managing Partner of MNC Consulting Group. MNC Consulting Group is your most trusted and respected professional business consulting firm recognised by our clients for delivering excellent business advisory and consulting services that create value to their ventures. With our focus set on value addition, we offer our clients the highest quality professional services in Accounting, Audit and assurance, Tax, Business Transformation, Investments and Financial Advisory, Family Business Advisory, Company Secretarial Services and Property Management that addresses their business needs through attracting, recruiting and retaining knowledgeable and passionate professionals who enable us to deliver superior results while contributing positively to the community in which we live and work.   Make us your business partner by always consulting with us. ‘‘With us, you are in safe hands’’

Creating Exceptional Customer Service

Creating Exceptional Customer Service Who is a customer? A customer is a person who is regarded as a king by a sales/marketing organisation as he/she buys goods/services or helps in the sales process to helps the goods to reach and be consumed by the end user. A customer is also referred to as a ‘MAN’, i.e. a person who has; M - Money A - Authority N - Need to satisfy What is customer service? Customer service is the act of taking care of the customer's needs by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and assistance before, during, and after the customer's requirements are met. Features of good customer service Customer service is the act of taking care of the customer's needs by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and assistance before, during, and after the customer's requirements are met. Customer service is meeting the needs and desires of any customer. Some characteristics of good customer service include: Promptness: Promises for delivery of products must be on time. Delays and cancellations of products should be avoided. Politeness: Politeness is almost a lost art. Saying 'hello,' 'good afternoon,' 'sir,' and 'thank you very much' are a part of good customer service. For any business, using good manners is appropriate whether the customer makes a purchase or not. Professionalism: All customers should be treated professionally, which means the use of competence or skill expected of the professional. Professionalism shows the customer that they're cared for. Personalization: Using the customer's name is very effective in producing loyalty. Customers like the idea that whom they do business with knows them on a personal level. Importance of a customer to an organisation The organisation exist to fulfill the needs of the customer hence without the customer organization cannot be there. Customers are a source of valuable information to organisation. Customers helps organisation to achieve its objectives such as profit sales maximization. Customers gives feedback to firms about their product and customer service. Customers helps to market organisations products especially when they give a positive word of mouth to other people about organisations products. Customers sustains an organisation through repeat purchase. When a customer expects a higher, better service but on return get a poor low service depending on his/her knowledge and experience with the retailer, making the customer to be dissatisfied hence leading to service gap. Service gap includes: Knowledge gap - This is the difference between the customer’s expectation of the customer service and the retailer’s perception of the customer’s expectation of the customer service. Standard gap - This is the difference between the retailer’s standard and the customer it sets. Delivery gap - This is the difference between the retailer’s set standards and the actual customer service offered. Communication gap - This the difference between the actual customer service offered and the customer service promised in the retailer’s promotion program. Performance gap - This is the difference between the performance promised/past performance by the retailer and the actual customer service. Solving the customer service gap Collect/gather information of the basic customer’s needs/requirement. Set standards to help deliver well the customer’s requirement. Develop programs to implement the set standards for a better customer requirement delivery. Communicate to customers of the service they should expect. Clues to help evaluate customer service Tangibles; for example, appearance of the sales people, display of the merchandise in the store, store display. Security; i.e. security in the parking lot, are the customers comfortable to transact in the store? Knowledge and understanding of customers; i.e., recognizing regular customers, responding to customers issues/complaints and suggestion. Access; ie, convenient location, convenient operating hours and access to managers to settle issues/complaints. Competence; that is, knowledgeable sales people, skillful and equipped service providers. Trustworthy; warranties and guarantees offered, trustworthy of the retailer’s staffs while giving change/balance, goods return policy. Courtesy; ie, interest shown to customers, how customers are treated by the retailer’s staffs and service providers. Nature of customer service Customer service is different from provision of merchandise in the following aspects;  Intangible - A service unlike general merchandise can’t be evaluated by physical aspects such as colour, weight, size hence cannot be touched or seen. Inconsistent - A service provider may provide a higher/better service to one customer and a poor service to the next customer depending on the service provider’s moods, judgement, experience, educational level, emotions and feelings. Standardization and customization - standardization involves a strict adherence to as set of rules and procedures when delivering customer service while customization involves delivery of a superior service depending on the customer’s needs hence a satisfied customer leading to customer loyalty and a positive word of mouth. Types of customer service There are different types of customer service that are provided by businesses. The type of service that customers encounter will depend on the product or service that a business provides, what the customers' needs are, and whether the service is problem-oriented or focused toward enhancing the consumer's experience. Support: Support services include resolution of billing queries, order taking, activation of accounts, registration of new customers and recording complaints. Marketing: Marketing tasks carried out through a contact center include sending outbound emails, telemarketing, surveys and poling, responding to inbound emails and management of marketing campaigns. Sales: Sales tasks include inbound sales, outbound sales, web chat, web call-back and co-browsing. Technical Support: Customers require different technical support services such as data verification, application support, address updates and problem resolution through the technical help desk. Customer Analytics: Customer analytics includes profitability analytics, quality auditing, reporting and complaint analysis. Managing a conflict of interest in customer service In most organizations there exist a conflict of interest between the organization’s interest (profits, shareholders welfare) and the customer’s interest of a high better service hence to manage this conflict, the organization policies and goals should be aligned in such a way that they guarantee a better customer service. Customer service and complaints Organisations should encourage customers to table their complaints by establishing a customer...

Building a Dream Team for Your Company

Building a Dream Team for Your Company What is a dream team? This is a number of persons of the highest ability associated in some joint actions. It is a team or a group whose members are among the most talented in their fields whose effort combined yield synergy that lead to increased output. Composition of a dream team Business Advisory Board (BAB); This is a group of local business and community leaders who are recruited by the owners of the business to serve as mentors. Their key role is: providing guidance and mentorship, introducing the entrepreneur to other business leaders in the community, suggesting project ideas, providing access to needed resources, funding opportunities, giving feedback on projects and presentation etc. They are able to guide you in the right direction and answer any question you might be having. The experts share their experience whether good or bad so that you can learn from their mistakes. The supporters; These are persons who supports you in thin and thick, when you have ideas and things you want to do, they are right there with you, helping you figure out things. The trailblazer; These are persons who always think outside the box, that is, comes up with new and exciting ways to do things. They keep up to date with technology and new techniques, and they won’t let things get out of stake. The trailblazers objectives/aim is to help you stay in the current. The disputer; these are persons who always brings you back to the earth because they view things and situations through from each and every angle. They don’t necessarily mean to pull down your idea but does make sure that all things are considered. The connectors; these are persons who know people, that is, social butterflies who know how to network. They always know someone to help you with what you need and are always happy to make the connection. The muscles; the muscle can help you set-up before an event and tear everything down afterwards. Technocrats; This are persons who are highly qualified, professional staff members who help you maneuver in business and help you reduce the risk of running the business buy use or trial and error method.  They are selected on the basis of their expertise in their areas of responsibility and knowledge e.g. accountants, lawyers etc. Steps of building a dream team The following are some of the steps of developing a successful dream team; Define what skills and talent you need at the time; what skills do you need to have to make your business shine? At this point, it is important to think of the bigger picture and think beyond the basic skills such as customer service, finance or accounting. At this point, one only needs a list of skills and talents that you need to run your business optimally. Check what talent you have within the business; at this stage look at the people you already have in your business and see how they can satisfy the talents that you require. You may be surprised that some of your employees already possess many of the talents or skills you require. Look for new hires; for those talents which cannot be satisfied by what you have-in house; you need to look for them in your new hires. Find out why people will leave your business and who is promotable; at this stage, look at your employees and see who is likely to leave and the reasons why they will want to leave. If they are valuable assets to the company, find out ways to to retain them if you can. If some employees are hungry for growth, put up systems in place which will allow the employee to grow and be able to take over successfully. Build a talent map; Talent mapping is the use of specific formula to evaluate the readiness and performance of your current workforce against the changes ahead. The goal is to identify high-potential employees whose future development aligns with your strategic priorities. For example, if one of your biggest needs is developing mid-level sales managers for field offices, which employees have the fundamental skills and interest to pursue that career path? During a talent mapping exercise, you're looking for a mix of current performance and future growth potential that indicates a long-term match. Set clear goals and job for each role; set out clear achievable, realistic goals and timelines which your staff can measure against so that you know what the staff require in order for them to meet their targets. This is aimed to help boost their morale when they know what is required from them. Study your employees and play to their strengths; it is important to watch how your employees work, what motivates them, how they communicate and what is their passion. People work styles should not be used as an excuse for bad behavior but should be taken into account where conflict situations occur. Give freedom with responsibility; by giving some control over to your employees they will be able to grow in their positions. Also you will show them that you trust them to make good decisions with the business mind. By doing so, this creates great advocates for your business. Finally appoint the members of Business Advisory Board with the skills, knowledge and expertise that you require from. Members of leading businesses, educational and civic organisation Members of the organisation sponsoring the business/company Members of the Mass Media Institutional administrators Religious organisation Members of various professional bodies. Representative from political arena. Local managers from national and/or State businesses Managers from local industry associations By following the above discussed steps, one will be able to build a successful dream team for a company. Benefits of a successful dream team to a firm Helps carry your company/firm to productivity and success. There’s higher retention rates which makes a lower rate of turnover. Helps to attract the best talent and ensure a more natural fit...

Benefits of Bootstrap Financing to Young Entrepreneurs

Benefits of Bootstrap Financing to Young Entrepreneurs What is bootstrap financing? Anyone who has started a business on a shoestring is adept at bootstrapping, or stretching resources both financial and otherwise as far as they can. But bootstrapping isn't limited to the start-ups only. It's a valid way for business owners to treat valuable resources at any stage of their business' growth. When you're thinking about how to raise money, one of the first things you should consider is bootstrap financing, using your own money to get your business off the ground. This is one of the most popular forms of internal funding because it relies on your ability to utilize all your company's resources to free additional capital to launch a venture, meet operational needs or expand your business. Bootstrap financing is a way to pull yourself up without the help of others. You are the one financing your growth by your current earnings and assets. Primary types of funding (i.e sources) Internal (i.e., bootstrapping) Debt Equity What makes Entrepreneurial finance different from Traditional finance? Entrepreneurs lack of: history upon which to assess risk ability to compare against other firms when industry is new short term profit potential in the immediate future liquidity . . . CASH IS KING!!! Various Methods of Bootstrap Financing Administrative overhead bootstrapping  Space - Sharing office/working space. Use co-working spaces in order to cut on leasing cost. Furnishing and office equipment- In order to minimize of the cost of furnishing, organizations should try to make use of second-hand furniture which is much cheaper than brand new stock. Administrative cost- As a new organization, the available funds are usually in a limited amount and therefore measures should be put in place to ensure there is minimal wastage and highest utilization in regards to administration cost. Bootstrap Marketing Know your customers. Who are they, what their preferences are, and their purchasing trends to enable stock fast-moving products. Impact of the message is more important than the “volume” the number of messages. Remember your market space or niche and the benefits you bring, spend your marketing funds carefully. Remember that marketing is a process, not an event and should be carefully evaluated.  Human resource bootstrapping Employee “stretching”. A stretch assignment is simply a project or task you take on that falls outside your typical duties and requires you to step outside your comfort zone and learn new skills. Using independent contractors to avoid cost to transfer the cost that may occur due unforeseen eventuality. Use of service contracts and engaging temporary employees. Using student interns. Equity compensation to employees. Paying with non-monetary benefits. Operations and inventory bootstrapping  Making use of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) where possible. Making Just-in-Time Inventory techniques to reduce the chances of holding dead stock. Ensuring that there is an effective cost accounting. Limit Product Scope. Start with fast moving items. Use of trade credits (TC). Making use of discounts and avoid the high cost of Trade Credits TC (interest rate and penalties) Having an aggressive method of liquidating accounts receivable, eg factoring of debtors to relive funds held by customers (accounts receivable), having an aggressive method of collecting debts etc. Acquiring goods against letter of credits. Making sure that your client makes advance payment when purchasing. Making policies where your customers pay in advance. Bootstrapping from financing activities  Real estate; Land and building. Negotiate for repayment to pay with a longer period and to pay less installments in the initial years. Buy an asset whose value can appreciation within a short time hence increasing equity when capitalised. This can secure guarantee for credit supplies. Making use of tax incentives which arise due to purchase of an asset eg Industrial Building Deductions (IBD). Equipment suppliers; trade contracts. To avoid a bigger initial cash outlay when the business is young If you spend a lot of money on equipment, you may find yourself without enough working capital to keep your business going in its first months. Instead of paying out cash for your equipment, you can purchase it with a loan from manufacturers; that is, you pay for the equipment over a period of time. In this way, equipment suppliers are a source of bootstrap financing. Two types of credit contracts are commonly used to finance equipment purchases; The conditional sales contract, in which the purchaser does not acquire ownership of the equipment until it is fully paid for. The chattel-mortgage contract, in which the equipment becomes the property of the purchaser on delivery, but the seller holds a mortgage claim against it until the amount specified in the contract is paid. Leasing There are many ways that a lease can be modified to increase your cash position. These modifications include: A down payment lower than 10 percent or no down payment at all. Maintenance costs that are built into the lease package, thereby reducing your working-capital expenses. If you needed employees or a repair person to do maintenance on purchased equipment, it would cost you more than if you had leased it. Assignment of all executory costs such as insurance, property taxes, etc. While this will initially increase your cash-flow, it will reduce the amount of taxable income the business generates. Extension of the lease term to cover the entire economic life of the property. Use of the property can be guaranteed for as long as you wish to use it. A purchase option, which can be added to the lease allowing you to buy the property after the lease period, has ended. A fixed purchase price can also be added to the option provisions. Lease payments that can be structured to accommodate seasonal variations in the business or tied to indexes that track interest to create an adjustable lease. You reduce the chances of injecting additional capital in the event that the machinery or equipment you are using becomes obsolete due to change in technology. Sale and lease back with an option to take ownership of the property after the lease period. Friends & Family...