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Developing assertiveness can be the key to getting the best out of your people - increased sales, better customer service, higher productivity and more ideas for improvement.
'Poor communication' is one of the most common criticisms employees have about the businesses they work for.
Disciplinary issues can result in unfair dismissal cases, if mishandled. Grievances can lead to low productivity, unwanted resignations and even constructive dismissal cases, if ignored. Both areas are minefields for employers.
New technologies and social change make working from home - sometimes called teleworking - an increasingly cost-effective and attractive option both for individuals and the organisations they work for.
Managing people takes time and resources. You can save yourself a lot of effort simply by having a clear policy on many everyday issues.
Whether you are the managing director or the office supervisor, the way you lead is the biggest success factor for everyone you work with.
All businesses face change all the time, driven by internal or external influences. The rhetoric of change always includes words like growth, innovation, reorganisation, computerisation, redundancy, relocation and diversification. But most changes in business are minor and incremental.
Time is like money. If you control it, you can create a satisfactory and productive working environment. If you do not control it, you can spend your working life in an exhausting and depressing muddle.
Most employees spend less than half their time at work being genuinely productive. For the business owner, this is frustrating and expensive.
Maintaining employees' focus and motivation is essential if they are to make a full contribution to your business.
Stress affects employers as well as employees. It can cause illness and absenteeism. It can also be the cause of bad business decisions, poor workplace relations, and loss of productivity.
Small businesses rely on teamwork, just as much as their bigger counterparts. When a small group of people starts working towards shared goals and producing results that add up to more than the sum of the parts, it becomes a team.
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Human Resources Management (HR)