Welcome to another issue of Jrob Business Tips.  Our articles are:

Been Busy Hiring
Merchant Account Contracts - No Longer the Standard

Motivational Quote

There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I don't care how great, how famous or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause.

George MatthewAdams  

Interview-

Been Busy Hiring?

5 Ways to Keep the People You Have Hired and Get Them Up to Speed Quickly

It has been a busy time for recruiting. Have you and your company recruited strategically? Or did you just go for the 'warm body' to fill a position.

Strategic recruiting means you will get new hires up to speed quicker and increase the likelihood that new hires will stick around longer then you can say 'pay period".

An organization I have worked with provides HVAC services to developers in Portland. Last year they held a management retreat strictly focused on strategic hiring. In the retreat they listed the characteristics of a perfect employee for their company. Then they listed the common traits that long term, high performing employees had in common. They quickly discovered that their ideal demographic was men in their late 20's or early 30 who enjoyed hunting and fishing. Wait a sec, you might be asking what does hunting or fishing have to do with recruiting? Well if you are creative you will quickly put two and two together and know that hiring around lifestyle is a very smart thing to do. So guess where the HVAC Company went to recruit? Yup, the local hunting and fishing games show and they recruited six 'perfect profile' employees into the company.

The HVAC Company described above did the first step in keeping the people they recruited and getting them up to speed quickly.

Step One: Have a strategy before recruiting; take the time to identify theperfect fit, what their interests are, where to find them and how your company fits into their lifestyle. One reason the HVAC Company had men interested in hunting and fishing is because the company owner was an avid outdoorsmen and he would take his entire team on hunting and fishing excursions as reward and as incentive.

Step Two: If it's too late and you didn't hire strategically it is never too late to have a training and retention strategy. Find out what their lifestyle interests are, how can you tailor reward and incentive around the lifestyles of your employees?

In a survey conducted by Right Management 2006 showed that 68% surveyed stated

bad hires and promotions lead to lower morale, 66% said it led to lower productivity, 54% said it causes loss of customers and 51% said bad hires/promotions increased training costs.

Step three:Provide the training. Many baby boomer leaders expect new hires to have common sense or to just know what needs to be done. Stephen Covey says; fail to plan-plan to fail. We need to set up our new hires for success by providing them with the training to do the job at the highest level. Among surveyed CIO's in order to retain employees: 63% are providing additional training opportunities and 47% are providing flexible work schedules (Robert Half Technology Survey of 1400 CIO's)

Step four: Cross-train. Bringnew hiresup to super speed by having them cross train with cross-functional departments. Employees that have a deeper understanding of the overall company operations tend to buy in faster to the culture, the goals and their role in the company success. Set up a simple process of buddy system information sessions for example pairing an operations role with a sales role and let them see a day in the life of each other's department. It is eye opening and builds team at the same time.

Step Five: Create outlets for fun. I know when I bring this one up people balk especially us Canadians. What do you mean fun? It's called work for a reason, is a typical baby boomer response to the 'fun' word. In my research even tired and burned out baby boomers are looking for a little levity along with their Generation X and Y counterparts.

Survey results from," Fun Work Environment Survey," Sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management

Companies who have 'fun' plans in the workplace:

79% companies had reductions in turnover

72% companies had decreases in absenteeism

72% companies saw reductions in employee conflicts

95% indicated an increase in the ability to attract new employees

95% of the respondents reported increases in employee enthusiasm as a result of the fun.

94% experienced an increase in group cohesiveness

93% had increased communications among employees and employee satisfaction

92% saw an increase in employee creativity

If you have made it through the first 90 days of a new hire and you have training and retention plan in place then you are in good shape. If your hiring strategy is hit and miss and your training strategy is sink or swim and your retention strategy is that they should just be happy to get a paycheck you could find yourself on the hiring/re-hiring treadmill indefinitely. By the way the HVAC Company in Portland has a 95% retention rate in a very complex industry with a steep learning curve.



Cheryl Cran, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) is the author of "50 Ways to Lead & Love It" and the January 2008 release by Career Press titled, "The Control Freak Revolution". Check out Cheryl's site www.cherylcran.com to find out more.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/organizational-articles/been-busy-hiring-184134.html

Cheryl is the President of Synthesis at Work Inc. and an internationally renowned keynote speaker. She provides practical tools and creative strategies for individuals to take their current level of success and boldly grow it to the next level. The companies that Cheryl works with are top performing organizations with a strong focus on becoming a workplace of choice. The leaders of these organizations recognize the value of investing in the growth of their employees for overall company success. Cheryl is a bold growth seeker herself and continually challenges herself to grow, learn and expand as much as she challenges others to do the same. http://www.cherylcran.com

Merchant Account Contracts - No Longer the Standard
By Ben Dwyer

Many of the negative feelings toward the merchant account industry are born out of stories about lengthy contract terms that carry steep cancellation fees. The negative stereotypes that these stories create aren't totally undeserved but their origins are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Not too long ago merchant account contracts were the norm in the credit card processing industry. In order to begin accepting credit cards businesses had little choice but to sign a merchant service agreement that carried a term. Terminating the agreement prior to the end of the term meant paying a cancellation fee.

While some merchant service providers still insist on placing a contract and cancellation fee on their merchant accounts, competition is making it tougher to do. If you're looking to accept credit cards as a form of payment for your business there are couple things that you should know about contracts.

First of all, not all merchant accounts require a contract term - some are month-to-month arrangements. Competition in the online marketplace has been especially effective at forcing providers to drop contract requirements. Many providers no longer require that merchants agree to a contract term when opening an account. You can find these providers by getting quotes through a website like CardFellow or by doing a search with your preferred search engine.

Negotiation is vital to avoiding contracts. There's a lot of competition in the credit card processing industry and providers are willing to do what they can to gain your business. They'll do their best to waive a cancellation fee if it will help close a deal. All you need to do is ask. Keep in mind that almost everything is open for negotiation when it comes to merchant accounts.

If you're already stuck in an account with a contract, there are some ways that you may be able to avoid paying the cancellation fee when closing the account. First, scour your merchant service agreement for a clause that waives the cancellation fee if rates and fees change during the contract period. If this is true in your situation, you will be able to terminate the account without paying a fee.

The second option is to switch to a new provider that is willing to pick up the tab. If your business is processing a large enough volume to justify the expense a new merchant service provider may be willing to pay the cancellation fee on your current account if it means they will earn your business.

This article about a merchant account contract and more information to help businesses that will start accepting credit cards is available at MerchantCouncil.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Dwyer
http://EzineArticles.com/?Merchant-Account-Contracts---No-Longer-the-Standard&id=2897206