Profitability Channel

Every business owner knows that no one is irreplaceable. In fact the goal of many owners is to become replaceable at least for a few days or weeks a year. The hum of a well-oiled machine...

Well that hum can come to a grinding halt when the replacing isn't planned especially a key employee.

We often believe we know how our most important employees are doing. How they feel about their responsibilities. If the extra hours affect their families. What motivates them. We jealously guard them from other opportunities. Does it always work? No. But we probably have an idea in the back of our heads to deal with it when that challenge comes along.

Still that's not the only way to lose a key employee. I had a 41 year old operations manager die of a heart attack while helping his brother move on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Accidents, illness or family obligations can change a life so quickly that employers can be absolutely helpless in figuring out what to do and, sometimes, how to go on.

This Thursday tune into Business Disasters: When A Key Employee Leaves. Ruth King will give you a whole host of ideas and suggestions so you can avoid this kind of ordeal that can leave you drained mentally, financially and legally. Don't wait until this happens to you before you put a plan in place.

The best part of iBC is the opportunity is to learn from other's mistakes. Thursday is your next chance.

I hate making cold calls. Most of the people I know feel the same way. Why is that? Oh, fear of rejection is most of it. We don’t want our product or service shot down and we take it personally.

For a few it might be the product or service doesn’t really do what we are supposed to say it does. For others it’s a matter of price. If $5000 is the most amount of money you could ever imagine paying for something it’s going to be awfully hard to ask a customer to spend $10,000.

That isn’t my problem. I believe in my offering. The price is right. There’s a market for this service and I think it will change the way small businesses learn to operate and grow their businesses. Win. Win. Win.

So what stopped me? I couldn’t put my finger on it until yesterday.

My daughter is in her rebellious years. Her high school has a dress code. Bad combination. Anyway I decided to talk to the dean of girls because I couldn’t quite get clear on Ashley’s exact violations and what had to change to stop the punishment.

I made a mental outline of what I wanted for the outcome. I wore clothes I thought would immediately express my seriousness of purpose. I planned introductory remarks so I would be concise and to the point (not my strong suit so very important). I intended to understand the dean’s perspective before negotiating.

What a great meeting! We met, we developed a rapport, we exchanged a lot of information. I left the meeting with the promise of a phone call. I actually got it. I asked for a particular outcome. I listened quietly to the explanation of why I was not going to get it although it was better than the original deal. Still, the door is now wide open any time I want to come back.

I realize now what was missing. I placed cold calls in order to get a desired outcome – usually a sale or good lead for a sale. We often place them when we’re feeling desperate or someone tells us we have to. The person on the other end of the phone senses the desperation and who wants to listen to that?

I will be using a different approach now. I am taking the plan I developed out of the passion for my daughter’s success and applying it to my company. Will I be successful every time? Of course not. I just want to make sure that when the time is right to try again the door will be wide open.

Recent studies have found that American’s hate their jobs more than ever, and employee retention has become the top objective of employers. Why?

The workforce has changed. Companies have changed. Traditional retention strategies no longer work. Do your employees value an increase in salary as much as they would value learning new skills? Or building new relationships? Or more free time? Do they value new projects and more feedback from management or more autonomy?

94% of employee turnover is preventable and today, organizations are devoting tremendous thought, resources, and effort into figuring out how to retain the best and brightest people in their company. If you are not doing the same, you risk losing the top-performing employees that make your company great.

So you may be asking, “Where do we start?”

First, recognize that turnover is a symptom - not a problem. No company has a turnover problem. Turnover (like absenteeism and conflict) is the manifestation of deeper issues that have not been resolved. Maybe it is low morale, no career path, lack of recognition, poor employee-manager relationship, or literally 1 of 62 other employee-firm breakdowns we have identified. Solutions are unique to every organizational culture. "One-size-fits-all" answers do not work in complex workplace environments.

The greatest impact on the cost of doing business in the past 10 years has been employee turnover. In fact, employee turnover can cost companies up to 40% of their annual profit. So – how much is your turnover costing you?

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Chason Hecht is the President of Retensa, a company specializing in employee retention and strategic planning. Retensa's clients are companies looking to develop, motivate, and retain their best employees. Retensa uses web-based organizational assessment tools to reduce turnover, improve employee morale, and build HR Metrics.

In a nationwide search for the Best Boss, iBusinesschannel.com reached out to companies of all sizes and industries to find those fearless and venerable leaders taking their businesses and staffs to higher levels. Hundreds of endearing submissions and unrelenting appeals later, iBusinesschannel.com has landed on a decision and identified the person who drives business, implements new and effective ideas, works to empower the staff, and ensures customer satisfaction.

Gail DeBoer, President of SAC Federal Credit Union in Nebraska, is named the 2007 iBusinesschannel.com’s Best Boss. With a compelling submission by Jackie Boryca, the dedication and commitment Ms. DeBoer demonstrates has all the indications of a strong and forward-thinking, but caring boss. Being a veteran of SAC Federal Credit Union with 19 years under her belt, Ms. DeBoer was just appointed to President in January of this year. In that short time she’s made tremendous strides in product development, strategic planning that includes three levels of management, and employee morale.

“She also updated our product line adding free checking, free bill payer and completed two new branches,” expressed Ms. Boryca about why Gail DeBoer deserves this honor.

Spearheading the success and profitability of SAC Federal Credit Union is still just a component of Ms. DeBoer’s influence. To most employees, updating the employee kitchen area and increasing the casual days during summer is enough to garner a Nobel Peace Prize, but that’s not what impressed the judges the most. Ms. DeBoer’s desire to see her staff grow both personally and professionally by encouraging education and networking is admirable, and a significant factor in a progressive company’s bottom line.

iBusinesschannel.com’s Best Boss Contest didn’t stop with just a grand prize winner. Two finalists were selected and their contributions, respect from employees, and desire to nurture strong customer relationships is highly regarded. Herb Morgan, General Manager of Savemart in Lancaster, Pa was nominated by Chelsea Myers—a dedicated employee whose eloquently written submission made the judge’s choice a difficult one. Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation’s President and CEO, Mike Kazmierski, was nominated by Marlene Downs. Her letter about Mr. Kazmierski would compel anyone to consider jumping ship and relocate to the Rockies to work for this guy.

iBusinesschannel.com’s Best Boss Contest winners will receive cash prizes, specialty products from Zen Rabbit, a copy of The Ugly Truth About Managing People, and a one-year subscription to iBusinesschannel.com. The network is proud to announce its winners and encourages companies, big or small, to continue doing great work for the economy and the community.

Oftentimes, it is simply that people don’t know about the resources available, and thus miss out on the potential to both quickly and cost-efficiently grow a business,” says Greider. “Plus, people don’t have the time and resources to ferret out all the best resources – we help bring that to fruition through the show, through networthing and through tips we hand out.

Join us on The Ugly Truth About Business Monday October 22. We will be hosting the informative, entertaining and somewhat unpredictable Andy Greider, called “the "Clark Howard" of small business marketing.” John Dynes, owner of Sales Smarts, says - “In 60 minutes with Andy, you can learn more about the latest business and marketing technology than in a month of research.” Although we’ll only have a half an hour, take the time to call in and learn about how Andy can help you grow your small and medium sized businesses. Andy is a consultant and is host and producer of Uniqueness is Power, Business Growth Solutions Radio, which airs Thursdays at 6 pm (and features Ruth King on October 11.) Andy also provides free resource guides for start up, small and medium sized companies to grow. These are like having a rolodex on steroids.

Be sure to tune in and learn more about both how to grow you business, as well as learn about 4 or more companies that can save you bottom line money each month.