Regardless of the type of business you run, there are risks involved. You could be faced with anything from accidents to lawsuits to financial trouble. Keep the following in mind as you take measures to avoid risk in your business.
Don’t Go Underinsured
Life is unpredictable and preparation is vital to handling any potential disasters. The first step is buying insurance for your business. The type of insurance you purchase is dependent on your type of business, but a few places to start would be insurance against death, disaster, or any general liability. If something unexpected comes up, you can put your mind at ease knowing you’re protected.
Avoid Lawsuits
It may seem like a daunting task to avoid lawsuits. In many businesses they’re inevitable, but there are still precautions you can take. For example, you can write out your company policies, make employees aware of them, and enforce them. It’s also important to keep accurate and consistent records. These could include records of when contracts were agreed upon, when regulations were given to employees, etc. If you have accurate records, they can help you make your case during a lawsuit. Additionally, you can limit the risk of lawsuits by hiring employees certified in your field. This ensures that they are qualified and will meet the professional standards and regulations.
Save Money
While insurance can be good protection against the unpredictable, it’s still smart to be saving. If there’s an accident, insurance has you covered, but one hard truth is that sometimes businesses aren’t successful. There’s no predicting it and often there’s no stopping it. Because of this, you should try to have a nice cushion of money in case your business starts to go under.
If you have a large sum of money saved, then perhaps you could even revive your business. You could hire a business consultant or invest in new methods. Having money saved is always a smart choice and it can give you more options if things start to go south. Aside from helping if your business fails, a savings account can have many other benefits.
Preparation is the key to succeeding in your business. Plan for any outcome and then take the necessary measures to avoid risk. Buying insurance, taking steps to avoid lawsuits, and saving money are only some of the best ways you can prepare for the unexpected.
In your workplace, it’s imperative that you consider the safety of yourself and your employees. Creating a workplace safety initiative is an excellent place to start. It will be a process to determine all risks and adjust to any changes, but it will ensure the well-being of everyone in the workplace.
Determine Your Risks
Before creating a workplace safety initiative, you need to know what to include by determining the risks in your workplace. First, you should have a professional assessment done of any hazards. These hazards could be related to the building itself, the environment (such as air quality), or the activities done on the job such as operating machinery. Along with a professional assessment, survey your employees on any risks they are aware of. Your employees are the ones who are in the working environment every day. They will be more in tune with the risks associated with the job. Determining risks can also be done by thoroughly investigating any accidents or injuries. It’s likely that many are preventable and keeping track of these incidents will help you know what risks to look out for.
Make Education a Priority
In order for your workplace safety initiative to be successful, it is essential that everyone is aware of the regulations made. Make sure you put your initiative in writing and have all of your employees sign once they’ve read it. Go over safety training regularly to ensure your employees are still aware of regulations. Go over the regulations with new or transferred employees. It’s also a good idea to go over the initiative if there are any changes made such as new equipment being added or new hazards being noticed.
Measuring Success
In order to maintain safety in the workplace, you will need to evaluate the success of your initiative. One measure is to see if the rate of incidents changes. The OSHA Incident Rate offers a useful metric for how often injuries occur in your workplace. This incident rate will measure your workplace against other businesses in the same field. Doing so allows you to see how your workplace compares with the national average and then you can adjust your workplace safety accordingly.
The process of creating a workplace safety initiative may be long, but it will be very inclusive of your employees. You can get their feedback and show that you value their safety. Make sure you make education and evaluation a priority as you begin the process.
It might surprise you how easily different areas of your business become overly complicated. Complicated processes have a tendency to slow things down and reduce efficiency. Simplifying them can provide greater clarity and make them easier to get through. If you’re not quite sure where to start, there are some areas of your business that are likely overdue for some simplification.
Hiring
Hiring has the potential to be frustrating for prospective employees as well as employers. There’s the collection of applications, sorting through applicants, conducting effective interviews, following up, making an offer, the paperwork, and the onboarding process. It can get pretty complicated pretty quickly. Make things simpler by having a clear idea of what you’re looking for in an employee and conducting the interview in a way that allows you to quickly identify whether or not a candidate is worth your time. Also consider leveraging online programs that can streamline your paperwork and onboarding process, which can help speed things along.
Communication
Keeping customer communications clear and simple is key to keeping them happy. The more complicated and difficult to understand you make things, the more frustrated they will become and the more likely they are to go somewhere else. Simplifying customer communication means taking a look at the way you say what you say and the methods you use. If you identify deficits or overly complicated processes, address them. Don’t forget to look at how fast your response time is either. If you take too long to respond because your processes are too complicated, look for ways to simplify them. Consolidating messages makes it easier to respond quicker to customers. Make sure you put plans in place to prevent messages from being overlooked as well.
Meetings
Few people actually enjoy business meetings unless it’s because it’s a break from the day to day functions of their job. Meetings have a way of getting off track and taking longer than needed, so make sure they are done in a simple, efficient manner. Identify who actually needs to be at a meeting and don’t include anyone else. Have a clear agenda, send it to attendees ahead of the meeting, and stick to it. Keep Q&A sessions short and sweet. Before you schedule a meeting, ask yourself if a meeting is really necessary or if a simple email will do the trick. This will help you keep your business meetings simpler.
As a business owner, it can be tricky to know what aspects of your business really need to be simplified. Look at your hiring processes, how you communicate with your customers, and how your meetings go. For other ideas on aspects of your business that are overly complex, consider talking to your employees. They probably have a few ideas worth your consideration.
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As your employees begin trickling back into the office, there are several important questions you should ask yourself to make sure you are doing enough to promote the safety of your employees and business as a whole. Take a moment to ask yourself these five questions.
Are You Practicing Social Distancing?
Social distancing in the workplace requires maintaining six feet of physical distance between employees at all times. This can mean having to make significant changes in how you run things. You may need to implement a new, more flexible work schedule, such as one with staggered shifts to prevent overcrowding, or increase the flexibility of the worksite, like providing more opportunities for employees to work from home.
Something that can help your employees with social distancing is requiring (and even providing) face coverings for your employees to wear while in the office to slow the spread of germs. You can also mark six-foot distances with tape to illustrate to employees where they are allowed to stand or sit in the office.
Are You Doing Enough to Clean?
You should ask yourself about the cleaning standards in your workplace and whether they are enough. When it comes to cleaning surfaces, for example, are your procedures effective? You should be cleaning surfaces in your office every day. If you are outsourcing, ask things like, are cleaners wearing disposable gloves while cleaning? Are the products that they are using effective against COVID-19? Surfaces should be cleaned with soap and water, then with a disinfectant in order to kill all germs. The most frequently touched surfaces should be routinely cleaned even more than once a day. These surfaces include light switches, door handles, desks, phones, keyboards, etc. Check to see if you are following pandemic-specific recommendations for keeping your office clean. There is often local guidance that should be followed.
Are Your Employees Staying Home When Sick?
Thankfully, gone are the days of bravado, forcing yourself into work even when you feel absolutely awful. Your employees should not come to work if they feel ill and/or exhibit any coronavirus symptoms. Make sure employees are carefully monitoring their state of health. You could enforce this through mandatory temperature and symptom checks, or you can ask them to keep track of their health on their own.
Do your employees feel comfortable staying home if they are sick? Do you have protections in place such as paid sick leave and the option to work from home to ensure your employees do not feel pressured to go to work when feeling under the weather? You do not want one sick employee to risk the health and safety of your entire office.
Are You Providing PPE?
I’ve seen the wild debates about making employees wear masks and for me, there is no debate. Wear a mask. Require that your employees wear a mask. Provide masks. It is important that you train your employees on the proper way to handle and wear masks. Pay attention to any local laws and guidelines. If employees don’t want to wear one or have a disability and can’t wear one and they can work from home, allow it. If they can’t, remember to use the interactive process for looking into reasonable accommodations. Now isn’t the time to bring down the hammer, try to work through things. Ultimately, you have to do what is right to keep your employees safe and healthy. Have you put the right policies and procedures in place with PPE in the workplace?
Are You Putting Employees First?
Other than just the risk of getting ill, employees may be worried about their financial stability, social injustice, homeschooling their children, and a myriad of other issues. This is most often the part that leaders forget to address, but it can make or break your entire organization. Treating people as people and helping them be OK with not being OK is important. One great resource to put in place is an Employee Assistance Plan. These are typically inexpensive plans that help your employees by giving them free access to counseling and other services that can help with some of the major issues that they are facing in and out of work. What are you putting in place to help ease the burden that your employees are facing right now?
Think carefully about your responses to these five questions. Are there things you need to add or change to your business’s procedures? Making sure your employees are protected through PPE, social distancing, cleaning, staying home when ill, and helping your employee’s mental well being will benefit your office as your employees begin to return.
Most things in life run circularly. This is especially the case during these unprecedented times of COVID. If you take the right steps to protecting your employees, they will ensure the safety of your customers. If you ensure the safety of your customers, you ensure the safety of your company—and ensuring the safety of your company ensures YOUR health and success. You can do this by following these protocols:
Increased Safety Protocols
One of the best ways you can ensure the safety and health of your employees is to increase safety protocols. You can do this in a number of different ways. First, make sure that your employees are kept physically apart from each other as much as possible. Only bring employees into your physical location when essential.
Encourage cleanliness amongst your workers. Companies should use signs that alert employees to new rules and hygiene practices. You should also set up hand sanitizing stations or provide each office space with cleaning wipes to remind your employees to frequently wash and sanitize themselves and their areas. Furthermore, provide your employees with masks and gloves, especially if they frequently come into contact with customers.
Stagger Employee Shifts
To best follow safety protocols and social distancing during COVID, choose to stagger your employees’ shifts so that there are not too many people working within the same area at once. Since business is slower than usual anyways, there shouldn’t be much of an issue in decreasing your number of employees on shift. However, if you are still receiving influxes of customers, you can always implement different systems that either encourage customers to shop online or enforce only a certain number of customers in your physical location at one time. This will help reduce traffic while maintaining business and low employee numbers. It’s time to be innovative and creative!
Sick Leave
Many of your employees may feel stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to beinghonest about their health. Many employees fail to request sick days until after it is too late, either because they don’t understand the severity of the situation, minimize their symptoms, lack of paid time off, or fear losing their job entirely.
For this reason, you must take the time to educate your employees about the current situation and ensure paid sick days if symptoms arise—especially if an employee is found to carry the virus or is showing virus symptoms such as a fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat. While it can be frustrating losing hours and employees over false alerts, it is worth the extra precaution and associated costs to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Keeping your employees safe is your number one duty as a business owner and leader. The consequences of not taking COVID seriously within your company can be devastating—not only for your employees, but for both you and your customers. Implement these safety protocols and take employee safety off of your worry list.
It’s always good to keep learning about how to be a better leader so you can better serve your employees. For more leadership advice, try one of our coaching programs!
It’s incredibly important to have goals as a company. Goals are what will help you get to that next level of success. If you reach a goal, setting your next goal will keep you moving through the ranks. There are many different ways that you can reach your goals as a company. Some involve the internet, SEO content, and different marketing techniques.
Find Capable Leadership
You may have great intentions as the company’s leader and owner. You’re only going to be as successful as the people who work for you. Hiring the appropriate talent for your business will help you reach your goals as a company. Everyone needs to be on board as the motivation level reaches new heights to bring passion and success to a company. Finding great leaders is the first step to making that happen.
Get Your Employees on Board
There are far too many companies that set goals at the corporate level but don’t include employees that work for the company. A goal should be shared with everybody within a company. Employees should understand what the main objective is. This will keep everyone on the same page. Information can be shared with employees through periodic meetings, newsletters that are released monthly, etc. You can even initiate some sort of reward program that will praise employees for the work that they do for the greater good of the company. There are lots of great methods of uniting your team toward achieving company goals.
Utilizing Tracking
Once a goal has been set, appropriate tracking will help when it comes to seeing how success is achieved. You can track progress to monitor if a certain technique is working. If something isn’t working, there are plenty of things that can be done to change the course of action. A goal doesn’t have to be scrapped if the journey to get there isn’t working out the way it was intended. Track search engine results, followers, sales and more. This is useful information that can be shared with everyone in the company.
Certain goals will inevitably be easier to achieve in a short amount of time. These short-term goals can really teach you a lot so you can go on to achieve larger goals. It’s ok if goals aren’t being achieved as quickly as intended. There should be an upward climb to success in order to determine if something is working properly. Don’t be afraid to change things up a bit to accommodate what is affecting your strategies. It’s normal for things to ebb and flow over time.
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It has been said that small businesses form the backbone of a community. There’s no question that this is a true statement, but in order for it to be 100% accurate, your small business must be an active and engaged member of your community. This means that you need to do everything you can to help everyone in your community grow and prosper. Here are three ways in which you can achieve that.
Raise Money for Charity
There are many ways your business can raise money for charities. You can have collection boxes, donate a portion of sales or simply make contributions. However, keep in mind that there can be many problems with ordinary fundraising if your business wants to raise money for charity. You have to account for all of the money and make sure you keep adequate records. It can also be complicated to raise money while not looking like you are profiting off of the fundraising, so it’s important that you are as transparent as possible when it comes to raising money.
Volunteer
Volunteering is vitally important, particularly for small businesses. It gives you a chance to be present, to get your name out to a large number of people who have never seen you before and to do some real good in your community. There is nothing wrong with keeping your business interests in mind while you volunteer. Indeed, it’s important. As such, find volunteer opportunities that align with your business interests. For example, if you deal with food service, working with local food banks or meals on wheels would be a very appropriate use of your time.
Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce
There are many benefits of joining your local chamber. It allows you to meet new people, network, find business deals and identify ways to get involved in your local area. Chambers provide great ways for you to grow your list of contacts. Furthermore, they can allow you to find the most efficient and cost-effective ways that you can make a local difference.
Of course, your time is limited, but being actively involved in community efforts is not only good for you and your neighbors, but it’s also good for your bottom line. Those are some of the many reasons that it is so important for you to do everything you can to keep your business community-centered. You can do good, meet more people and, ultimately, make more money.
If you are a business owner, you probably know that customers like to know about the people behind the company. They trust individuals, but they may not be so sure about trusting a corporate entity. I recommend that you use personal branding to personalize your company’s website so that your customers can identify with who you are.
Establish a Presence
The first thing that you need to do is establish your presence across the internet. Getting a LinkedIn account and regularly updating it with articles that you write is a great place to start. You also should have social media accounts with your name on it where you connect with your target audience. You should also join industry groups and take on leadership roles. If you do business in a particular geographical area, connect with local groups.
Get Professional Headshots
You need professional headshots because customers want to see your face, and selfies don’t exactly portray a professional image. Before starting your portrait session, you should follow some tips to get the most out of your headshots:
Make sure that you get your hair done and that it looks great. In AZ? I know someone.
Think about what colors resonate with your audience, and choose clothes in those colors, even if it is just an accent piece.
Choose a wardrobe that will resonate with your target audience. For example, if you are a sporting goods manufacturer, then you may want to get your headshots taken while you are wearing athletic clothes. Lawyers will typically want to get their headshots done in corporate attire.
You should also choose a location for your headshots that will resonate with your target audience. For example, if you are a dog trainer, you might want to have them taken at a show. If you are a doctor, consider having them taken in your exam room.
Create an About Me Page
Your website should contain an about me page that shares why you are an expert in your field. This is the place to show off any related degrees that you have earned. It is also the place to tell readers why you are so passionate about helping them. If there is a story behind why you founded the company, you can share it on this page. You should also provide a sentence or two about your family and what you enjoy doing when you are not at work. The trick in creating about me pages is to tell a little about yourself but put the primary focus on why you are the best choice for helping customers solve their issues.
Following these tips is a great way to show your target audience who they are dealing with when they choose to use your company. Pick your favorite idea from this list and get started putting it into action today.
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One of the best ways to improve productivity within the workplace is to build a rapport with your subordinates. If you are new to the management field and are unsure of how to do that, here are some suggestions that can help you out.
Engage in Company Activities
Whenever there is a company picnic, office party, et cetera, by engaging in these activities, you send a message to your employees that you are part of the team rather than just over it. Atmospheres, such as a catered lunch, that are more relaxed will give you and your employees an opportunity to relate outside of the office politics and even make communicating in the office much easier.
Show Employees Your Appreciation
No matter who you are, whether you are a sales representative or a housewife, everyone wants to feel appreciated. The best way to get someone to perform in a manner that you want is by praising them whenever they do. Positive reinforcement will not only help your employees do their job better, but they will also be more open to listening to you as well.
Understand Every Single Job
Performing a Gemba walk may provide insight into your daily operations and help you understand what your employees are dealing with daily. Understanding what each job entails will help you empathize with your employees whenever they have an issue instead of dismissing their concerns. When your employees feel as though they are being heard and their concerns are valid, they will feel comfortable coming to you more, which will help to improve your relationship.
Provide Employees With Support and Guidance
When giving feedback that is not so positive, it is important that you not simply tell your employees what they did wrong but also tell them how they can make it right. Although correction comes with the managerial territory, it is also critical to provide positive feedback, as well, so employees know what they are doing right. Offering advice and tips that can help them be successful at work will ensure that your feedback is not only well received but also appreciated.
A good working relationship, just like any other, is based upon having an open line of communication. It is important that you try to understand your employees’ concerns, as well as, the needs of the company and communicate them in a positive and productive manner.
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Leading a retail sales team takes patience and flexibility. Not only are you dealing with the public on a daily basis, but you may be working with employees with limited employment experience. Managing people of different ages and skill sets will take a great deal of your time and focus.
Be a Leader
Mirror the skills you’d like your team members to exhibit. If you have a customer struggling to locate something, walk them to the item and make sure they have what they need before you step away. People bringing in returns may require special handling. Sometimes providing terrific customer service means letting people share a longer story than you have time for. Be an active listener. Let your team members watch you handle a difficult or unhappy customer. Remember that you are always teaching your team members, no matter how tough your job gets.
Embrace New Technology
Change can be hard for some people. If your team has members that struggle to learn new technology or customers who get unhappy when the store checkout process changes, you have the chance to shine. Changing technologies will suit some but may leave others behind. Of course, your team members will need to learn to use the latest tools available in the facility. By demonstrating that these changes will enhance their ability to do their jobs, you can reduce the resistance you have to face.
Do Research
Making sure that your team is successful will require some study on your part. For example, many retail managers now need to lead people who are much older than themselves. Reading up on generational work habits, communication patterns, and overall work expectations can make connecting with these employees easier. Factors for the business you work for, such as building and maintaining market share in a world that has embraced on-line shopping, can help you lead a team that provides magnetizing customer service. Reading some of the top rated books on retail management can provide you with great insights on how you can improve your skills as a retail manager.
Use Smart Delegation
You may have employees that are eager to learn and willing to go the extra mile. Make sure to encourage these employees to build a deep knowledge of the products sold by the company. If they demonstrate a willingness to learn, you can start delegating more responsibility to them. It’s important to note that these employees are not your competition. A well-trained and responsible team member can be the person who allows you to take a vacation or stay home with a sick family member. If you delegate and that person drops the ball, you know what they can handle and what they will choose to avoid. All of this information can help you develop your team for the best results for the business.
Focus on Organization
The retail space needs to be inviting, tidy, well-lit and unique. When you’re working in a space, use any downtime to organize the space. Whether that means refolding rumpled clothing on a display table or straightening things on a hanger, let your team see you focusing on these simple steps. If you run a restaurant, take around a pitcher of water or a pot of coffee. If you’re selling stationary, tidy the shelves and check the card displays to make sure each card has the proper envelope. The power of online shopping is that it allows customers to look at only one thing at a time. In sticks-and-bricks retail, you can successfully display a range of objects, but only if the display is well-organized and attractive.
It’s All About the Details
Each of your employees is a unique individual. Some may be punctual at the start of their shift but stretch their breaks. Others may struggle with being constantly late but work very hard once they arrive. Each of these employees brings something to the team and has areas they need to improve. Rather than trying to be an enforcer, think of yourself as a coach. Praise in public and try to promote improvement ideas in private. The late employee may be dealing with a difficult transportation issue, waiting on a babysitter or coming over after class. The employee who needs a longer break may be struggling with a personal issue or a health challenge. You may need to be flexible, but without open communication, you won’t know what’s causing the problem. Once the problem is defined, celebrate small improvements to let your employees know that you’re pulling for them and their success.
Managing people isn’t easy. Every person on your team will face challenges and struggles. To provide your employees with the right kind of support, focus on empathy and communication. Be aware of their goals and help them hit those targets or encourage them to focus on your goals for them as they get started in their retail careers. Your goal should always be their success.
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