Posted by alina77vere9uk on August 14, 2008 under Cold Stone Creamery, Young Chefs Academy | 
If you compare the two stories going on at the two websites below, you’ll quickly notice a rash of similarities. Just a simple question, “What is the moral of the story?” ( Obviously, the goal of that question is how do we help others avoid the same fate, though. )
Cold Stone Creamery: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/ColdStoneFranchiseesFeelChill.aspx
Young Chefs Academy: http://www.franchisespeak.com/young-chefs-academy-discussion
Comment has been sought from both parties, but of course who we’d really like to hear from here are franchisees. Because anonymous (and therefore we believe honest) comments from those involved would be far better for future potential victims, er.. customers. ( … lawyers would be welcome too … )
Posted by alina77vere9uk on August 12, 2008 under Articles |
Parents pushing team sports on their kids may seem like a crafty way to just get them active and out of the house, but most know that the skills of teamwork learned as a youth never go out of style.Company executives also know that the benefits of team-building can pay off big when it comes to the bottom line. Employees working together for one common goal have always worked better than encouraging the individual stars to carry the load — and now, executives have some high-end research to back that up.
Researches put teamwork to the test during studies that were published in 2005 in the Wall Street Journal, finding that in wide-ranging fields from medicine to business to basketball, working together meant working better.
Harvard researchers found death rates in hospitals dropped when surgeons consistently worked together with the same team that included anesthesiologists, nurses and other technicians. The same successful results were found by Harvard professors regarding teamwork at Wall Street investment firms. A study from Santa Clara University found that NBA teams where players had played together longer won an average of five more games per season due to their “tacit knowledge” regarding their teammates.
The team approach may not appeal to every employee, but the anecdotal and fact-based research overwhelmingly shows that it’s an extremely important component of company success. Implementing team-building strategies, however, aren’t as simple as scheduling a meeting with refreshments. When an executive drops the ball on putting together solid team-building exercises, it can result in employee skepticism, frustration, and futility. If nothing gets accomplish, or worse, the exercises drive a wedge between workers, the chance for getting fresh ideas from employees is severely reduced.
Executives can stay on course with effective team-building strategies by following some simple rules:
Expect the Expected
An offense on a football team knows what its expectations are – score points. If the expectations aren’t clear for a team at work, you can bet it will fumble the assignment. The team has to clearly understand project goals, why the project matters to the company and must have the leadership, support and time to accomplish whatever task is at hand.
Keep it Real
Don’t reinvent the wheel or come up with goals that are unattainable. The bar should be set high for members of the team, but the bar shouldn’t be made of pixy dust and magic beans. Employees tend to scoff when an executive sets impossible goals, which signals defeat from the start. Making it attainable will keep employees motivated and on track.
Everyone Bats
There’s no I in Team is the oldest cliché in the book. Nevertheless, it’s extremely important that each member has defined goals and is participating in the process. A team, of course, needs a leader. After that, if there’s a pecking order of favorites the system can break down with cries of favoritism. The team members must be working together, sharing ideas, understanding their roles and feeling like they are part of the process. If you remember Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” television show, it was a great example of how a team comes together – or falls apart – when faced with a particular project.
Article By: Executives Know Teamwork Pays Off
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
Posted by alina77vere9uk on August 6, 2008 under Articles |
Make graduate recruiting a continuing process, not a one-time event.
Start your relationship with students well before they leave uni. The Internet makes this an easy, cost effective strategy.
But how do you start an online relationship?
Create a top-notch interactive graduate site that will get graduates’ attention and keep them coming back to your site. A good example of a graduate recruitment site is Hewttt. Microsoft just launched a bit of a wacky one, Hey, Genius! (bonus points for you if you can figure out their games).
Get graduates to your web site and then have them opt in so you can communicate with them.
Use professors, lecturers and assistants at targeted universities to help get students to your graduate site. You can create virtual projects or case studies for them to complete and be reviewed.
If appropriate, “donate” your company’s products to universities. For example, a recruitment software company could donate their software for use in an HR recruiting course, getting students exposed to the technology and the company at an early stage in their career. I did this at my first job (a gazillion years ago) and the programme is still running!
Once students are on your site, keep them there and impress them with your blog, chat room, video feeds, podcasts, etc.
You can use assessment tools to pinpoint top students, and give them special status as “fast trackers”.
Create an e-newsletter to keep students up-to-date and create a positive impression of your company. Add a RSS feed so students can subscribe to receive news.
After a while, you will have a created a positive, online relationship with this group.
What are your thoughts on creating an online relationship? Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear.
-Susanna
PS — Our next post in this series is on “communicating in their language”.
** This post is an excerpt from Advorto’s “15-minute guide to graduate recruiting”. You can download the full report for FREE.
Article By: Susanna Cesar Morton
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
Posted by Lisa Bredahl on August 1, 2008 under Articles |
Make Your “To-Do List” More Efficient Small business owners spend so much time running around trying to accomplish so much. It is important for you to manage your time wisely. Here is a time management idea that will help you be more efficient. 1. Create Categories of “To-Do’s”2. Create “Urgent To-Do’s” It’s That Simple…. J Example:
Categories:
- Running Errands
- Miscellaneous
- Office Supplies Needed
- Email To-Do’s
- Computer To-Do’s
- Calls To Make
- Items to do at the Business
- On-Line Search/To-Do’s
- Urgent List
Now Create Your “To-Do List” to be most efficient. This way you don’t run all over town wasting time and energy. Example:
Email (set a specific time of the day to check your email. Don’t let it run your life!)
- Check Email
- Send an Email to XXXX regarding XXX
- Send email newsletter to customers
Call (set a specific time of the day to call. Delegate what you can!)
- Call XXXX
- Call BBBB about xxx
- Call CCCC to schedule XXX
- Order YYYY
Running Errands (are you spending multiple days running errands? Strategically plan your trip to avoid extra travel time/gas expenses… designate 1 day a week to do your errands)
- Office Supply Store
- Computer paper
- Pens
- Order business cards
- folders
- Grocery Store/Gordon Foods/Sam’s/Etc.
- Paper towel
- Pinesol
- Windex
- Post Office
- .41 cent stamps x 100
- .76 cent steps x 20
- Mail package
- Bank
6 Urgent To-Do’s (these are items from your to-do list that must be done today)
- Order YYYY
- Send an Email to XXXX
- Call to schedule appointement
- Call the News Paper to place ad
Provided by Licensed Business Coach, Lisa Bredahl, Small Business Coaching Center LLC 269 370-9453
Posted by alina77vere9uk on under Articles |
A placement scheme is a great way to test the water, for both employer and employee.
Although “internships” aren’t as ingrained in UK business culture as they are in mainland Europe and the US, there are many companies here that use this strategy. The AGR Summer Survey 2008 (available free to members or £200 to non-members) reports that UK companies rate “internships” very highly “in terms of valuable experience and also as a pool from which to select high quality graduate employees.”
When you think about it, a placement scheme is a perfect way to have a better look at candidates, and for candidates to learn amore about your company. This makes a lot of sense in today’s current economic climate, and we may soon see more companies using this strategy.
Many companies with well thought out placement schemes find they can lead to a steady source of reliable candidates, and if offered a full time jobs, some of their most loyal and productive hires.
In fact, some placement schemes manage to convert 75 percent of placements to graduate hires!
Unfortunately many placement schemes are not well thought out, are poorly funded and have no measurements of success.
Here are some tips to think about when creating a student placement scheme:
-Provide “real work” – Yes, students will expect some grunt work, but structure it so there is something tangible and that they feel they are adding to their experience and building their CV.
-Create mini-projects – graduates love a sense of accomplishment, which can be hard to get with a short term placement. Create a project that the students can do from start to finish in the allotted time frame, and let them present the results. Obviously these projects have to be valuable to your organisation, but with a little thought this can turn out to be a win-win idea.
-Have the CEO or other senior executives give “master classes” to placement scheme participants once a month. Of course, these could take the form of conference calls, webcasts, podcasts etc. The students will feel important, and it will get senior management in touch with Generation Y.
-Assign students to work alongside a senior exec or manager. Make sure you pick the right exec (some are better at managing students than others).
-Provide a mentor, close to their age and interests.
Design the placement programme so the students know they will work with the latest methods and technologies, this will be a draw for them.
-Offer students training. The incremental cost of adding students to your training programme is minimal and they will appreciate it.
What are the aspects of your most successful placement scheme? We’d love to hear…
-Susanna
PS — Our next post in this series is on “going on campus”.
This post is an excerpt from Advorto’s “15-minute guide to graduate recruiting”. You can download the full report for FREE at http://www.advorto.com/GradGuide.aspx
Article By: Susanna Cesar Morton of Recruitment 2.0
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
