Management Information

The Dark Side of Help Desk SLAs

You just signed a Help Desk Service Level Agreement (SLA) and now think things will get easier. However, you may soon be falling into one of these traps:1) COVERING THE TRUTH WITH METRICSIn some companies, those under the radar of SLA compliance may resort to doing the minimum instead of really solving the problem.

Never Hire Anyone Dumber Than You Are!

In a previous life I was a Navy Pilot. Great life, great people to be around.

7 Strategies for Sustained Innovation

The need for constant reinvention is a given in today's business environment. And while a breakthrough product or concept can catapult an organization ahead of its competitors, in these fast-paced times, that advantage is often short-lived.

How to Leverage Your Strengths for Peak Performance

Ask almost any business leader how to most effectively develop people and build teamwork and you'll hear, "tap into employees' strengths." Yet when it comes to their own careers, many managers still focus the majority of their personal development efforts on shoring up areas of weakness.

Top 7 Methods to Empower Employees

How many times have you asked someone to do something like "draw up a plan for such and such project"? Your employee completes the plan, but then you say, "That is not what I wanted" or "That is not how you do it". And so the employee thinks: you didn't tell me exactly how you wanted it done.

The Leaders Fallacy May Be Howard Deans Undoing

Howard Dean's tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee will be fleeting unless he avoids a common leadership trap I call it, the "Leader's Fallacy".Leaders adhere to the Leader's Fallacy when they believe their enthusiasm for a particular leadership challenge is automatically reciprocated by the people they lead.

Argue Your Way To Business Success

"Jack" (not his real name) is a vice president of a publicly traded company. Recently, Jack's stress and anxiety levels have been high enough to impact both his working and his personal lives.

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Training is in the Eye of the Beholder

This article relates to the Training competency, commonly evaluated in employee surveys. It comments on the value of training to both the company and its workforce.

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Responsibility for Job Security

This article relates to the Job Security competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. This competency evaluates how your employees view their job security within your organization.

Provisioning/User Management System Upgrades: Part II - Building Awareness And Building Approval

Somewhere in the world is a person who wants to see their provisioning/user management systems get a sorely needed upgrade. But they seem to be getting nowhere.

Provisioning/User Management System Upgrades: Part I -- Ten Reasons Why Not To Do An Upgrade

Tommy Sherman daily monitors a helpdesk-provisioning queue for a large company. The current provisioning/user management system was written with homegrown software.

Meaningful Diversity: Creating Cultures of Inclusion

In the fitness room the other day, I caught a glimpse of a movie trailer on television. A father spoke very open-heartedly with his son about his work as a fireman.

Effective Email Communication

Email, when used properly, can generate additional direct sales and leads; can be used as a tool to communicate with your existing client base to let them know of upcoming events which may affect them; and as a means of ongoing promotion for your business.The following is a list of simple guidelines and tips that will help you become an effective email communicator.

Spotlight on Productivity: How to Overcome E-Mail Overload

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by e-mail? Have you ever spent more of your day wading through your e-mail than managing your work? Are you looking for ways to spend less time creating, managing and answering messages? Discover how to overcome e-mail overload and be more productive by writing more effective e-mail messages and reducing the volume of e-mail.Write Effective E-Mail MessagesStart improving your e-mail effectiveness by creating and formatting easy to follow content, and by using pre-written responses.

Planning Your Recruiting Efforts Can Help You Find Great Employees

Today, companies have an ever-expanding list of options available to them when it comes to sourcing new employees, from advertising in newspapers and trade journals to powerful, cost-effective recruiting options available through the Internet. Unfortunately, the growth in the number of recruiting options available has made the competition for top candidates even more fierce.

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