When you own a business and you want to have your children follow you it is never too young to start!
What does young Julie or Jason need to learn? There are two key things any employer looks for today – an ability to think and the right attitude to find solutions. Continue reading
When you recognize your customer’s needs you have a better opportunity of helping them “buy”. Recently I was in a local retail store when I was approached by a sales person – that in itself is rather unusual today. Most stores have no one available when you need them! Continue reading
When hiring we need to ensure those we hire will be a benefit to our organizations. In the past, many people have been hired as a pair of hands – there is a task to do and we need someone to do it. That was all there was to it.
Today, the needs are far different. When we recruit for an organization we do the usual. Every resume is examined to see if it meets the qualifications brought forward by the organization. However, we also examine the need for new hires to be able to think and to adapt to the ever changing situation. Continue reading
Let’s call him Henry – he is a great guy! He is gregarious, hardworking, educated and thoughtful of others. What more could an employer ask for? As it turns out, plenty!
Henry is new to his position. He studies his role, listens attentively to direction and asks pertinent questions. Yet, there is more. As I said, he is well educated and as such he generally adds to the topic of conversation and his ideas often show great insight. Continue reading
Recently a young man we worked with left his plumbing job – he is excited about the field, enjoys getting up in the morning for his job and likes the people he works with. In fact, he is hoping to work towards his apprenticeship by going to school in the fall. Why then did he leave? The answer is simple. Because he is young and mobile, he was constantly being sent to jobs out of town. The good part of this is his meals and his accommodation have been paid for by the company. The downside is he cannot get together with his friends in the evenings. Continue reading
Many years ago the head of Saskatchewan Coca Cola said to me, “All these people here are my assets. If you take away my building and my machinery, no problem, we can be up and running quickly! However, if you take away my people, there is no way I can be running tomorrow.” People are your biggest asset, regardless of what your accountants tell you. The building, the equipment, the computers, staplers and pens are merely assets to the people who use them. Continue reading