Analytics are a big deal, in every business organization. From Information Technology, to Food Service and Hospitality, everyone has a service that will track figures for you.

The tyre industry has been covering fleet tires for ages, construction tires and OTR tires are under terrific scrutiny, due to the enormous costs inherent in operations. While amassing information is an extraordinary beginning, it will not, as if by magic, remedy all of your troubles: For example, just because you became conscious that the wife is chalking up $1000.00 in credit card bills each month, does not mean that it will stop her from doing so in the future.

You have to do something about it. There must be an plan of action in place, so that the problem stops happening. That is the shortfall of numerous a tyre management scheme these days: It can tell you that you are losing money, and which tires are dying prematurely, but it has positively no idea as to why this is taking place.

At the end of the day, you will be looking at a big spreadsheet, with no way to make sense of the figures that extend before you. That is why you don’t merely need tire management. You need Tyre Asset Management. What’s the difference? tire Asset Management is where someone inspects the tires in your storage warehouse or operation as an investment, rather than a quickly depreciating stock of inventory.

After all, the typical mine has an investiture of more than $2,000,000 in inventory. If that amount was in cold, hard, cash, wouldn’t someone demand a return of investment, even at the minimum interest rate? Well, someone who is involved with tire Asset Management does the same thing as an veteran broker: He gives you the maximum ROI on the cash you have invested.

How? By trying your operating conditions, to see if they have been optimized for your tyre, or if they are detrimental. He checks to make sure the tyre is running at the proper cost per hour, rather than looking at the gross cost paid for the tyre. The practices of your service crew are tweaked, and your employees are trained in the proper procedures to make sure that work is done safely and efficiently.

Those are just a few ways that proper tyre asset management can increase the amount of dollars you recover from your tyres.

Netting a strong ROI is not challenging, if you know what to look for. So, if you have all the proper information, have none whatsoever, or are simply curious about how a strong, tyre Asset Management program can help you, please call OTR tyre Supply at +877-426-1090, or visit our website at http://www.otrtiresupply.com .

Comments Off

Standing out at a Career Fair can make a difference in your career search. Job Faires are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a San Jose Area Career Fair in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 job fairs scheduled for 2010 across the United States.

How do you rise above the crowd at a Job Fair? The contention can be significant, but you can help yourself stand out from the crowd with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple 6-step process to prepare. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:

First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your targets. Use the web to check out the organizations that are there before you even decide to go. Go to their web sites and see if they have their jobs listed. Pick a sane number to go after, and get ready to spend about an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than seven in a day, and four or five is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring organization, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and contacts you know. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You will end up with with a page or two of research for each company/job.

Second, if there are job postings on the web, read them to see what the hiring manager is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the prerequisites of the job. Make the nomenclature match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring organization.

Third, create a ‘thumbnail sales pitch’ for each likely company/job combination. Write down a sixty second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud depicting why you are a fantastic candidate for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job booth.

Fourth, modify your resume for each opportunity. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re going after. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the achievements and skills that most clearly match the job requirements. Especially at a Job Faire, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be obvious to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.

Fifth, rehearse your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each spot - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a understandably marked folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.

Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be properly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any cologne or scent meagerly, if at all.

Remember to smile, and good hunting!

Comments Off

It’s essential to recognize when the “hot job” pendulum swings to a new area - particularly if your job or industry is out of favor.

In the not to distant past we had the swing of the dot-bombs, companies were being started almost every hour of each day. Then came the swing of the pendulum, companies folded, jobs went away, and now ten years later many of those buildings remain bare.

Then we entered the “oughts” and the hot industries were bio-tech and health-care. The SF Area saw a growth of schools training people in the medical field; even the EDD started training people for the medical field. Unfortunately, after a couple of years, the number of people looking for healthcare jobsfar exceeded the needs of the industry and today many of these individuals are now seeking a new hot field.

The new buzzword for jobs in 2009-10…and maybe beyond…is “GREEN JOBS”. The administration has injected tremendous sums of funds for companies in a variety of connected industries - like energy storage, smart-grid, photo-voltaic solar, wind. These funds are allowing these companies to expand and also helping new companies to get a start. According to CNN Money (11/18/2009), the government stimulus money has created 110,185 jobs in California. In discussions with Paul Davis, V.P. of Client Services here at the AA-Careers job hunting center, this year 25% of new customers are looking for vocation changes, and over 20% of them are taking clean tech jobs. The job openings cover the complete rante from accounting to engineering and testing developers to administration and merchandising.

According to an article done by a major career website, hiring in the 2009 period in “Green” jobs increased nationwide by 13 %, and that will grow once again in 2010. Clean Edge.(October 2009) states “President Obama and Chinese President Jintao have both made clean-tech development and deployment a cornerstone of their leadership, targeting the creation of millions of new clean-tech jobs”. “Many believe we are just at the beginning of the clean-tech job creation era.” It could be the deepest growth area since the advent of the computer and the Internet.

The top 5 areas for clean-tech job activity, according to CleanEdge are:
1. CPV solar
2. Bio fuels & Biomaterials
3. Conservation and Recycling
4. Smart Grid, and
5. Small Wind.

Making job transitions has never been easy. Many people using the old “Historical Style” resume have little or no success and tend to give up, using excuses such as “they are only hiring people with prior experience”. Paul Davis and his staff at AA-Careers have been extraordinarily successful for years using specific, targeted resumes which contain more and highly specific information regarding the client’s ability to make the company money or save them money, based upon past accomplishments. Think about your past accomplishments and how could they apply to the new rapidly growing “green” jobs.

Stay tuned for more hiring trends with AA-Careers new job hunting blog!

Comments Off

Numerous companies believe that, by providing staff with basic training in health and safety, they are sufficiently prepared for a disaster. In reality however, staff require more than just a basic education in health and safety and risk assessment. You need to supply your employees with a great supervisor, not to mention equip them properly and give them the chance to practice.

Click here and surf to this excellent web site for safety policy tips!

All teams need a great supervisor to watch over staff performance, yet this individual must also take another role in the business. A supervisor needs to see their health and safety training as essential and have the ability to get other staff excited about it. In addition to encouraging conformity with health and safety regulations, the supervisor as well should make certain that each employee performs to the highest standard. Naturally it isn’t easy to do all this at once. In-depth industry knowledge is an essential for a supervisory position not to mention a high level of comprehension of the safety laws, risk assessment, and first aid.

It simply is not adequate to simply send your employees to a health and safety course. To successfully find a hazard they need practical experience. Employees have to understand how to eradicate hazards and understanding what to do if anything unexpected happens. Not until these processes become automatic are workers properly educated.

Education is in fact useless without safety equipment. If staff find they don’t have apparatus they need, or notice that gear is broken when they are needed, then all the education in the world won’t help them.

Frequent maintanence of your apparatus is a good idea. When piece of equipment won’t come up to the pertinent legislation, be certain to have it rectified speedily and return it to the appropriate place.

Proper health and safety education is vital to the safety of your staff, but in addition they require the right supplies, scheduled practise drills, and a supervisor who has the kind of enthusiasm that people find infectious. Only then will adopting health and safety legislation will be part of everyone’s working habits instead of something challenging for the workforce to remember all the time.

Comments Off

People management is extremely important for business success. With a little effort you can gain and improve these techniques. Having a intuitive affinity for dealing with people can be an advantage, all the same there are some skills you can learn to make the procedure simple. Build relationships: Begin by remembering staff’s names. Talk to staff; make eye contact during a conversation. Develop a respectful attitude, also listen to the other person’s point of view, even if you don’t agree or have a different point of view. Listening to everything employees say is one of the best talent management skills in your arsenal. Welcome any contributions from your co-workers. Keep your word: Keeping your promises is crucial. When you don’t keep your promises, the fragile bond of trust is fractured, and if they can’t trust you people certainly won’t give you their best. Everytime you make a commitment or make a promise about something, ensure that you can deliver or it would really be more sensible not to give your word at all. You will find, when you can’t be counted on, they can’t be trusted on to be there when you truly need them.

Welcome any observations: Feedback should be a mutual process. Human Resource management skills mean being open to all feedback. If you are able to show that you are accessible and receptive, you prove that you want to listen to other people’s feedback, your opinions will be valued in the same fashion. Bona Fide discussion in addition boosts innovative ideas, new ways of fulfilling the goals of the business, and strengthens the bonds of an excellent team. When your staff can express themselves, the project will become important to each employee. Communication is the key: Good communication is the key to managing individuals with skill. Keeping an open door policy, use good listening techniques, keep an open mind, and allow all your employees a chance to speak. The team must be inspired to speak with one another not just with you. The creative process depends a great deal on the interchange of opinions, if the team communicate openly, you can spot any problems at an early stage, permitting corrective action to be implemented to prevent any further problems. Some time is necessary, but the payoffs far outbalance the work. By building the bonds of a good team and developing effective listening techniques, you can easily have the best in business success.

Comments Off

Gas prices are rising and this is making business cash holdings are spread to the limit worse than ever before. Considering our nations economic output grinds and credit stays scarce, prudent executives see that redundant costs must slashed. Business people across the country must make some calculated priority judgments to lower expenses. One of the best option to slash business costs is to cut down on unneeded travel expenses, and the secret is web conference calls.

Web conferencing enable business people to speak with others virtually in a appointment in another town, in another time zone or most definitely in another continent. The usual web conferencing calls make use of revolutionary streaming components. Because that they done through standard high-speed Internet connections, they merely make additional use of no additional company outlays. By using the web, may an executive conduct a international presentation from just about any place offering an Internet connection. Its more than just convenient, it can save travel costs more than five digits.

Break throughs in digital technology make Internet conference calls so easy for participants to exchange information and presentations at the same time. Conference participants can see and hear as if they are virtually there, even if theyre really thousands of miles across the earth. The quality of the video, audio, and presentation is very accurate due to the best in web architecture.

Its hard to miss how most businesses would save money by using web conference calls in place of wasting thousands dispatching a team on a expensive trip. You won’t waste money on meals, hotels and even transportation costs. These savings cannot be dismissed. Any dollar saved means higher productivity for your business. It’s not surprising that some firms are choosing web conference calls to slash budgets on low-priority company trips.

Comments Off

There are two TV ads in the U.S. that are driving me crazy. Subway and Hardee’s both have ads running where the voice-over talks about a great Samich.

There is no such word as Samich. It is SANDWICH. The basic description is for some food product between two pieces of bread.

Where did Samich come from? Lazy tongues, poor language development, general acceptance by people who don’t care and are not corrected. It makes me cry that big bucks are spent perpetrating bad grammar and fast fat food.

OH, JULIA - YOU SAY —
You’re just being an old fuddy-duddy. Nobody cares how people pronounce it - we know what it is.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH TRADE SHOWS?

Trade shows are noisy environments so I may not understand what you say because of noise pollution. I may not understand what you say because it is a new word to me, or you are using jargon not in my vocabulary.

I may not understand what you say for any number of reasons but NEVER ever let it be the fact that you mangled a word, mispronounced it and didn’t know the difference.

Prospects are picky people. Your great exhibit, wonderful give-aways and that nifty shirt you are wearing only gets them into your space. It’s the little things people remember - bad grammar, sloppy pronunciation and incoherent syntax are high on my list of no-nos.

MANAGERS - Check your staff for vocabulary and pronunciation before a show. This is particularly important when there are new products and technical terms. Don’t forget to check for the vernacular and correct your staff so they are proper representatives for your company.

Julia O’Connor - Speaker, Author, Consultant - writes about practical aspects of trade shows. As president of Trade Show Training, inc,, now celebrating its 11th year, she works with companies in a variety of industries to improve their bottom line and marketing opportunities at trade shows. Julia is founder of Camp Sho-M-Sel-M, a specialized sales training program being held August 22-23 in Las Vegas. The focus of this Camp is Trade Shows & The Unions, with a Behind-the-Scene tour of the Las Vegas Convention Center, led by union officials. Julia is an expert in the psychology of the trade show environment and uses this expertise in sales training and management seminars. Contact her at 804-355-7800 or check the site http://www.TradeShowTraining.com

Comments Off

Although organizations have much in common with one another, they differ in many ways. Some organizations are large, and some are small. Some operate in one product area, while others operate in many diversified areas. Some operate in a small geographical area, whereas others do business in many countries of the world. That’s where the role of workforce management systems comes into the fore. To cope with these varied objectives, strategies and situations, managers adopt different workforce management systems.

Departmentation is the process of dividing the organization into manageable subunits. The subunits are often referred to as departments, divisions or sections. Functional departmentation is the process of dividing the organization into units on the basis of the firm’s major activities. It involves grouping employees according to the broad tasks they perform. Normally, separate departments are created in workforce management systems for all the key activities of the business.

If the organization or given department is large, or as the organization grows, major departments can be subdivided. These sub-divisions are called derivative departments. The essential idea is to take advantage of specialization. As organizations are not static, they grow in size either by broadening its product line or by expanding geographically.

Further, as the size of the organization increases, some of the disadvantages become more apparent. The organization is forced to look for other systems in tune with the requirements. In such situations, managements will opt for various other types of departments, in focusing on the product or market. One of the most common ways in which businesses grow is by increasing the number of products they make and sell. If the organization is successful, several product lines may attain such high sales that they require a separate division.

Workforce Management provides detailed information on Workforce Management, Workforce Management Software, Workforce Management Solutions, Workforce Management Systems and more. Workforce Management is affiliated with Workflow Management.

Comments Off

MORE and more corporations in Malaysia have awoken to the necessity of training and developing their people these days. Hence, many local speakers have emerged in recent years just as many foreign ones have already been flocking to Malaysia as far back as two decades ago.
With so many speakers available in the market, the success of your event lies in selecting the right speaker who would make a big difference in your conference or seminar.

Here are some tips.

First, discard the “white is superior” mindset. Although there are some really good foreign speakers from the West, there are also many who are unable to deliver. To select a speaker to grace your conference or engage one to run an in-house seminar primarily on the basis of skin color alone could end in disappointment.

Selection of a speaker should be based on the desired content appropriate to your conference theme or meeting your training needs, and the competence of the speaker to deliver. If you care to look around our own backyard - Malaysia - you may find some local speakers who are really good in their respective specialization.

The next thing to consider is: Can you afford the really good ones?

There are many people representing cash-rich corporations and yet could become quite niggardly when it comes to paying for good speakers.

Just as luxury cars and branded time pieces don’t come cheap, don’t expect the top speakers to work for peanuts. And don’t try the “while we won’t pay you much but think of the exposure we can give you if you were to speak in our conference” approach. The really top speakers would just walk away even if they are too polite to laugh in your face.

On average, you should expect to fork out anything between USD5,000 to USD15,000 for any of the internationally-acclaimed speakers, even for just an hour’s presentation as in a conference. Although some people had made some noises when I gave them the same quotation for an hour’s presentation just as I had quoted for a day’s work, they had overlooked that whether a professional speaker spoke for an hour or a day, that very day could no longer be offered to another client. This is especially so when some traveling is involved. For an example, to speak in another city, say Beijing, a day before the event and a day after the event would be spent in traveling.

In Malaysia, good local speakers are available for RM7,000 to RM10,000 for up to a day’s presentation although for RM3,000 to RM6,000, you may still be able to get some who are relatively quite good albeit they may not be in the “internationally-acclaimed” league.

Speaking of “internationally-acclaimed” speakers, don’t be fooled by those who claimed to be “internationally-acclaimed” speakers from having spoken abroad. Find out who they have spoken for. If they spoke for multinationals that are household names like Cisco Systems, Citibank, GE, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, etc., then you could take their word for it. Just be aware that there are many event organizers who pay peanuts to local speakers to speak at overseas events, and such speakers would subsequently pose themselves off as “internationally-acclaimed” ones.

As I have mentioned, getting a good speaker makes a big difference. An inexperienced or incompetent one would either send the delegates to sleep or fail to get the key learning points across.

Last but not least, you ought to keep up with the times. Make use of the Internet in your search for the right speaker. There are many websites, e.g. www.eventclicks.com, www.cityspeakersinternational.co.uk, www.malaysiahronline.com, etc., where you can browse through a panel of speakers and peruse their resumes.

And just as you are in keeping with the times, make sure your selected speaker is also technically-inclined. As a self-respecting speaker will ask for an LCD projector since he or she will bring along a personal computer loaded with presentations on PowerPoint, you should discard the one who still uses transparencies on overhead projector.

Khoo Kheng-Hor, a best-selling author of several books on the application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in contemporary business management is a sought-after speaker in conferences and seminars throughout Asia. He can be reached at http://www.webpoint.com.sg/suntzu or suntzu333@yahoo.com

For more tips and tricks resources, log on to http://www.tips.com.my

Comments Off

First of all, if all you ever do is an annual performance review for your employees, they are worthless. Put every last one of them in a big pile and burn them. The scenario of annual performance reviews often goes like this;

“I have nine reviews I have to get done by the end of the month. I feel more pressure about completing the review than I feel an obligation to the employees to let them know how they are really doing. How I can help them.”

Additionally, since you only do one review a year, chances are you base your judgment about the employee’s performance on the last two months or so. If the employee happened to have done something wrong during that two month period, they get a poor review. Conversely, if they did everything right in those two months, they get a good review. A good review even if they performed very poorly throughout most of the year. Is that really justice?

Some critics promote the theory that annual reviews are worthless and should be abolished altogether. However, that really isn’t an option. Performance reviews are and have been a corner stone for managing performance. It is about accountability, right? In reality, performance reviews don’t hold people accountable, managers do. However, employees must understand what the employers expectations are of them. This can not be accomplished in a once a year meeting.

The purpose of a performance review is not to build a case for termination. Nor is its purpose to write a hallmark moment about how wonderful the employee is. The purpose of a performance review is to let the employee know where they stand. How they are doing. To determine what the company can do to help them become the best at what they do. To recognize their contributions and also to help them recognize their weaknesses and where they may need additional training and development. You can not accomplish those objectives if you are forced to complete multiple reviews under pressure. You can not accomplish those objectives if you only think about the last several months of the employee’s performance.

As managers, as leaders, we owe it to our employees to help them develop their talents. It’s good for them, it’s good for us and it is good for the company. We need to make an individual commitment to every one of our direct reports that we will spend a minimum of thirty minutes per month discussing their performance. What they are doing well and what they need to work on. A simple three by five card noting our discussion thrown into their file provides tremendous insight when it comes time to do their annual review. (e-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for a sample card form) We now have twelve individual documented discussions to refer to when completing their review. It also will show their progress. How they follow direction. What kind of support, training, mentoring or coaching that has taken place over the course of a year?

Reviews will never be 100% accurate and 100 % honest. It’s a good idea to review the reviews especially if they only occur annually. This should be done by Human Resources. Another concept for making reviews more accurate is the utilization of 360 degree reviews. This includes having employees reviewed by their boss, their peers and subordinates if applicable. Keeping reviews as objective as possible with definitive key performance measurements also reduces the human factor. Yes, performance reviews will probably never go away. We must not lose sight of the fact that the more critical aspect of leadership, coaching and mentoring is the actual setting and understanding of expectations.

Why are performance reviews important?

Performance reviews are important because employees want to be held accountable. Employees want to know how they are doing. Employees can not strive for excellence if they do not know where they stand. Performance reviews can guide an employee’s progress. They can identify the employee’s career path and they can identify area’s of performance that need improvement and create a plan with input from the employee to correct the problems. In order for employees to improve and maintain their job performance and skills, it is necessary to periodically review their performance and provide appropriate feedback, coaching and mentoring..

The starting point of any coaching process is setting goals and expectations and then observing behavior and providing specific performance feedback. That is what a performance review is all about. When you are reviewing performance, there is a process that you should follow.

When reviewing performance it is necessary to observe your employee’s behaviors throughout the year. A monthly coaching discussion will keep the employee informed and will allow you to make an objective assessment of the employees performance and progress.

Here are a few tips to observing performance:

Performance observance can happen in numerous different ways depending upon the employees job function. Outside sales is easy. A Ride Along by the Sales Manager creates a great opportunity to observe performance. Other observation techniques include:

• Spending a day a month actually working in the warehouse

• In Basket e-mail training (The employee is asked to handle every e-mail you receive in a day and make a decision as to what action should be taken)

• Reviewing specific metric KPI’s (key performance indicators)

• Working side by side with the employee by assigning a special project

Evaluate——–Tips on Performance Reviews

• Be fair and objective by assessing job performance against pre-determined job-related performance standards.

• Involve the employee in the development of the action plan.

• Include specific and measurable goals with action plans on how to reach them. Set time frames to review accomplished goals, identify possible obstacles and identify ways to overcome them.

• Encourage feedback from your employee.

• Review a summary of your feedback by beginning with the employee’s strengths and then tactfully move into the weaknesses.

• End the review by summarizing the action plan for improvements, so your employee clearly understands what’s expected of him or her. End on a positive note and set a date for the next review.

The outcome of this review should come as no surprise to the employee, if you are continually reviewing, evaluating, and providing feedback.

Conducting the Review:

Create a self review. Have your EMPLOYEE rate themselves by filling out a Performance Evaluation prior to their review. Tell them to provide specific examples to back up their ratings. Review their evaluation before you meet. This will provide for a more interactive meeting. Always focus on a positive before you discuss a negative. Keep the review as objective as possible utilizing facts and data. Follow your company review form precisely. It is organized in the fashion it is in for a reason. Do not speculate; make assumptions or offer opinions as to cause. Do ask a lot of questions. Focus on the differences between the self review and your review of the employee. Create a continuous follow up schedule.

Remember, employees are your most precious asset. Respect them, train them, coach and mentor them, trust them and they will create competitive advantage for your company.

http://www.ceostrategist.com Dr. Rick Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in leadership and the creation of competitive advantage. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information. CEO Strategist - experts in Strategic Leadership in Wholesale Distribution.

Comments Off