Hot Topics:
To request more information on how the Sutter County One Stop can help you reach your goals use our online form.
Labor Law Posters Available Through the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce
The Yuba-Sutter Chamber partners with the California Chamber of Commerce to offer posters and other labor law materials that are required by law. The 2010 Labor Law posters are now available for sale through the Chamber at a reduced cost of $23 plus tax for a non-laminated poster. The poster includes all 16 required state & federal notices. It is also available in Spanish. All businesses with employees must have a Labor Law poster or face fines up to $7000. Added materials this year include a guide to protecting credit card data and an exporting guide for California businesses. The order form is available on the Chamber’s website at www.yubasutterchamber.com, by sending an email to cjones@yubasutterchamber.com, or by calling l 530.743-6501 to have an order form faxed to you. |
| |
Hot Topics Archive
Strategies for Businesses in Difficult Times
Are you laying off employees?
Expand your customer base by complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Are you on top of the new labor laws?
Provide exceptional customer service and watch your profits grow!
How Businesses Stay Relevant & Stay on Top
Cost of Turnover
Retain Your Most Valuable Assets, Your Employees. Part II
Retain Your Most Valuable Assets, Your Employees.
Part I
Provide exceptional customer service and watch your profits grow!
What is it going to cost my business to accommodate the workplace for people with disabilities?
How many customer service mistakes are you making?
|
Strategies for Businesses in Difficult Times
Everyone has been affected by the downturn in the economy. Some businesses have already closed, while others struggle to keep their doors open. Economic cycles are just that, cyclical. The economy will eventually turn around and the companies that work through the tough times will emerge stronger and even better positioned than before. What steps can your business take to succeed in trying times?
Marketing
A knee-jerk reaction is to discontinue or deviate from your marketing plan. This is a huge mistake! In fact, you may need to focus on marketing your services or products even more during these times. It is important to have a clear, concise and consistent message.
Think about the big picture
Begin by looking at your past accomplishments. Remind yourself and your team about the good decisions and goals you have achieved in the past. Try to envision the future of your company in the next 2-3 years. Focus and what you do best and what is relevant to the customer. You don’t want to abandon things without giving them a fair shot, but we all carve out niches over time and if a category wasn’t working in good times, it probably won’t work in bad times.
Do the math
If your sales have dropped and your profits are decreasing then you must adjust your spending. Review your expenses and make the necessary cut backs right away. |
Are you laying off employees?
Is your business in danger of closing it’s doors forever?
Every business has been affected by the economy. Some
companies will be able to rise above these trying times, but
unfortunately, many will not be able to weather the financial storm. Whether your business is laying off one or two employees, down-sizing or closing it’s doors, the Sutter County One Stop can help your
establishment during these trying times.
The Sutter County One Stop can help your business plan effectively, comply with federal regulations, reducing stress, boosting employee morale and assisting dislocated workers finding new jobs. Our timely assistance can help you maintain a positive work environment during a difficult period.
For more information, please contact Heather Helmer at 530.822.5120 ext. 3015 |
| |
Expand your customer base by complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Did you know that more than one in six people have some type of disability? Businesses can tap into a huge, growing market of people with disabilities. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Americans with disabilities have $175 billion in discretionary spending? Wouldn’t your business like to benefit from their patronage? People with disabilities would love to shop at any establishment, but may not because is may not be easily accessible to them User friendly businesses allow customers with disabilities to gain access to services, products and employment opportunities. All it may take is a few simple changes. For more information about how businesses can comply with the ADA and reach and more customers, please visit the U.S. Department of Justice’s ADA Business Connection site at www.ada.gov, or call their information line at (800) 514-0301. |
| |
Are you on top of the new labor laws?
The Sutter County One Stop offers a wealth of information to businesses, including the new 2009 Labor Law Digest. Companies can significantly reduce risk of litigation and fines by having easy access to legal information. The Labor Law Digest is a comprehensive resource for California specific labor and employment law information. It gives guidelines for hiring, managing, paying benefits, leaves of absence, discrimination, termination and more, with new requirements for 2009 covered in detail. Companies can significantly reduce risk of litigation and fines by having easy access to legal information.
If you would like to check the book out of our lending library, please contact
Heather Helmer at (530) 822-5120 ext. 3015, or hhelmer@sutter.k12.ca.us |
| |
Provide exceptional customer service and watch your profits grow!
Think about the last time you had a negative buying experience. Did the clerk at your local store act like it was a bother to help you? Did the email you sent to a company to inquire about more product information go unanswered? Did a sales associate at your neighborhood computer store fail to know the difference between a floppy drive and a hard drive? Were you left on hold left on hold for a substantial amount of time amount of time when you called a mail order company's toll-free line? Negative buying experiences are almost always linked to shabby customer service. Most businesses claim that they put people first, but the reality is that for whatever reason most businesses don’t.
Strong customer service is essential to operating a successful business. Start improving your
organization’s customer service skills by following these basic rules:
Commit to provide quality service.
Everyone in the company needs to be devoted to creating a positive experience for the customer. Always try to go above and beyond customer expectations.
Know your products.
Convey knowledge of products and services to win customer trust and confidence. Know your company’s products, services and return policies inside and out. Try to anticipate the types of questions that customers will ask.
Know your customers.
Try to learn everything you can about your customers in order to customize your service approach to their needs and buying habits. Talk to customers about their experience with your company, and listen to their complaints! If you can get to the root of customer dissatisfaction, you can solve it.
Make it easy to buy.
The buying experience in your store, on your Web site, or through your catalog should be as easy as possible. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork and forms, help people to find what they need, explain how products work, and do whatever else you can to facilitate transactions.
Treat people with courtesy and respect.
Remember that every time that you or your employees make contact with a customer (whether it’s by email, phone, written correspondence or a face-to-face meeting); the interaction leaves an impression with that customer. Use soothing phrases such as "Sorry to keep you waiting," "Thanks for your order," "You’re welcome," and "It’s been a pleasure helping you" to demonstrate not only your commitment to customer satisfaction but your dedication to courtesy.
Never argue with a customer.
The customer may not always be right, but you certainly don’t want to argue with them. Try to emphasize with the customer and resolve their problem. Otherwise, you may watch your profits walk out the door.
Always provide what you promise.
Fail to do this and you’ll lose both credibility and customers. If and when you neglect to make good on your promise, for whatever reason, apologize to the customer and offer some type of compensation, such as a small discount or free delivery. Strive to only make promises that you are confident that you and your business can keep.
Focus on making customers, not on sales.
Salespeople, especially those who get paid on commission, sometimes focus on the volume instead of on the quality of the sale. Remember that to keep a customer’s business is more important than to close a sale. Research shows that it costs six times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. Moreover, happy customers are the best and most effective way to find new customers. |
| |
How Businesses Stay Relevant & Stay on Top
• Hire right, train right & treat right
• All organizations need visionaries and bean counters to achieve balance.
• Empower your employees
• Provide consistent services
• Create & sustain company culture & core values.
• Find out what the customer wants. How? Ask, eavesdrop, etc…
• Doing ordinary things exceptionally well
• Be willing to change & step out of your comfort zone. Avoid complacency.
Organizations that reinvent themselves are successful.
• Observe imagine & deliver
• Reward creative thinkers
• Be sure that the ideas that look good on paper can actually be executed in the
“real world”
• Outwit (see possibilities), outplay (be flexible) & outlast (rely on your team) the
competition |
| |
Cost of Turnover
Employers are aware that employee turnovers cost their company money, but do they know how much? When you take into consideration both the tangible and intangible costs the numbers really begin to add up. The cost of employee turnover can be deceivingly expensive and affect more than just the bottom line.
Tangible Costs
Termination Costs: Administration
Exit interviews
Severance pay
Unemployment compensation
Interim Costs: Increased costs due to increased overtime or temporary employees, to complete the tasks of the vacant position, and administrative costs related to the same. Hiring Costs: Attracting applicants
Entrance interviews
Testing
Travel/moving expenses
Pre-employment administrative expenses
Medical exams/Drug testing
Training costs
Intangible Costs
Turnover impacts existing employees too. In addition to the added responsibilities that remaining employees must perform due to the loss of a key employee, turnover, it may also cause stress, tension and decreased employee morale.
Call the Sutter County One Stop today to learn how we may help lower your hiring costs. |
| |
Retain Your Most Valuable Assets, Your Employees. Part II
Employers are often limited in their ability to change certain elements of a job to retain good employees, but they have unlimited power in other areas. Use the suggestions below to develop a strategy to retain employees.
Why did the employee take the job in the first place?
The Employer and employee both have goals and expectations when the working relationship begins. On the surface, employers may think they want someone who is a team player and works hard, while employees may want a good paying job and the ability to advance, but, there's always more to the equation.
As you're likely to have a good relationship with the employees you wish to retain, take the opportunity to discover why they accepted the job in the first place and make sure that their expectations are being met. For example, the employee may like a flexible schedule or a structured environment. If the employer changes the schedule to 9-5:00, or allows employees to develop their own daily duties, they employee may begin to look elsewhere. Having this discussion should be part of the evaluation process at a minimum. You'll be surprised at what you'll find by just asking.
Motivation
Motivated employees are less likely to seek employment outside the company. However, what motivates one employee may not motivate another. The key is to determine what motivates your good employees and then find a way to enable them to earn it. Examples may include eliminating boundaries to advancement, rewarding creativity and free thinking, offering interesting perks (gym memberships, discounts at spas, in-office massages, golf passes, free movie or sports tickets, etc.), flexible work schedules, acting on employee feedback and yes, even money and benefits.
Challenge
Employees who feel challenged by their jobs feel a greater sense of satisfaction from their jobs. Challenge employees by giving them greater responsibilities, having them manage projects, coordinating interdepartmental tasks and committees or by asking them to come up with new ideas for products, services or procedures.
Empowerment
Employers with the highest retention rates report that empowering employees to make decisions so that they feel as though they are an integral part of the company helps keep them there. Micromanaging, or controlling employees' every move, limits their ability for empowerment.
Work/personal life balance
Employers who realize that there must be a balance between work and personal life are generally able to retain good employees longer. Allowing for flexibility in work hours, scheduling appointments and taking time off to attend children's functions let employees know that the employer values their personal lives. |
| |
Retain Your Most Valuable Assets, Your Employees.
Part I
In today’s business world, employees are always looking for better opportunities, whether it is at your company or somewhere else. Every company needs good employees to stay competitive, but many employers don’t know how to go about keeping the good ones they have. With the costs of turnovers on the rise, it is important to retain your investment.
It may surprise you, but studies show that while money (salary/benefits) is a motivator, it isn’t necessarily the biggest motivator. In fact, 88% of employees leave for reasons other than money. So, why do employees quit?
Stress
• Excessive workload
• Quality of coworkers
• Lack of teamwork
• Cutbacks in staff and an increase in the work load
Poor relationships with supervisors and coworkers
• Insufficient coaching and feedback from supervisors
• Poor coworker cooperation/commitment
• Lack of interdepartmental coordination
Lack of training
• No substantial training for new hires
• Not sufficiently training managers
• No staff development
Poor management
• Uncaring and unprofessional managers
• Overworking staff
• Placing people in the wrong
• Poor management selection (people often leave managers, not companies)
• Criticizing or reprimanding employees for doing things wrong, but not taking the time out to appreciate quality work
•Piling on more work as a reward for being productive.
• Problems communicating from the top down and between departments, after mergers or between facilities
Lack of appreciation, recognition and rewards
• Need I say more? If your budget allows gift cards & gift certificates are always a nice reward. If you have no budget to work with, a sincere thank you will cost you nothing. Certificates of appreciation are also cost effective.
Lack of career growth and advancement opportunities
• No perceivable career paths, not posting job openings to fill from within and favoritism or unfair promotionsMoney (Compensation not competitive)
• Paid under market or less than contributions warrant, pay inequities, slow raises, favoritism for bonuses/raises, ineffective appraisals |
| |
Provide exceptional customer service and watch your profits grow!
Think about the last time you had a negative buying experience. Did the clerk at your local store act like it was a bother to help you? Did the email you sent to a company to inquire about more product information go unanswered? Did a sales associate at your neighborhood computer store fail to know the difference between a floppy drive and a hard drive? Were you left on hold left on hold for a substantial amount of time amount of time when you called a mail order company's toll-free line? Negative buying experiences are almost always linked to shabby customer service. Most businesses claim that they put people first, but the reality is that for whatever reason most businesses don’t.
Strong customer service is essential to operating a successful business. Start improving your
organization’s customer service skills by following these basic rules:
Commit to provide quality service.
Everyone in the company needs to be devoted to creating a positive experience for the customer. Always try to go above and beyond customer expectations.
Know your products.
Convey knowledge of products and services to win customer trust and confidence. Know your company’s products, services and return policies inside and out. Try to anticipate the types of questions that customers will ask.
|
Know your customers.
Try to learn everything you can about your customers in order to customize your service approach to their needs and buying habits. Talk to customers about their experience with your company, and listen to their complaints! If you can get to the root of customer dissatisfaction, you can solve it.
Make it easy to buy.
The buying experience in your store, on your Web site, or through your catalog should be as easy as possible. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork and forms, help people to find what they need, explain how products work, and do whatever else you can to facilitate transactions.
Treat people with courtesy and respect.
Remember that every time that you or your employees make contact with a customer (whether it’s by email, phone, written correspondence or a face-to-face meeting), the interaction leaves an impression with that customer. Use soothing phrases such as "Sorry to keep you waiting," "Thanks for your order," "You’re welcome," and "It’s been a pleasure helping you" to demonstrate not only your commitment to customer satisfaction but your dedication to courtesy.
Never argue with a customer.
The customer may not always be right, but you certainly don’t want to argue with them. Try to emphasize with the customer and resolve their problem. Otherwise, you may watch your profits walk out the door.
Always provide what you promise.
Fail to do this and you’ll lose both credibility and customers. If and when you neglect to make good on your promise, for whatever reason, apologize to the customer and offer some type of compensation, such as a small discount or free delivery. Strive to only make promises that you are confident that you and your business can keep.
Focus on making customers, not on sales.
Salespeople, especially those who get paid on commission, sometimes focus on the volume instead of on the quality of the sale. Remember that to keep a customer’s business is more important than to close a sale. Research shows that it costs six times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. Moreover, happy customers are the best and most effective way to find new customers. |
| |
What is it going to cost my business to accommodate the workplace for people with disabilities?
Studies have shown that there have been more than half of the accommodations cost less than $500. Over 80% cost less than $1000. Approximately 31% cost nothing at all. In addition there are resources available to help with some accommodations as several tax credits that will assist the removal of architectural barriers to your workplace.
Even if you do not hire individuals with disabilities, the easier it is for people with disabilities who live in your community as well as aging citizens to access your business, the more profit your company will enjoy.
Accessible technology also helps organizations retain talented employees who develop temporary or permanent disabilities, and those who develop impairments due to the natural aging process. Retaining employees by the use of Accessible technology helps eliminate the high cost of hiring and training replacements. It can also help improve employee morale. |
| |
How many customer service mistakes are you making?
Strong customer service is a valuable asset, especially in today’s increasingly impersonal business world. Please see the list below to see if your company is making mistakes. If you are aware of common customer service mistakes and avoid them, you may gain a loyal customer base and strengthen your position in a competitive market.
Forgetting the basics
"Please," "thank you," "we're sorry about the inconvenience," and so on are simple phrases that cost nothing, take little effort, and win big points.
Untrained staff
It does not matter whether you have two or 200 employees, everyone should receive customer service training. Customers and clients will not tolerate rudeness or incorrect information. They don’t have to because they can easily take there business elsewhere.
Trying to win the argument
It takes six times more effort and cost to gain one new customer as it takes to maintain a customer you already have. Therefore, to win an argument and lose a steady customer, you take the risk of hurting your business. Customer satisfaction is priceless to your company.
Standing by your policy
While the clerk who is scared that he or she may lose their job can say "That's our policy," customer service representatives and managers should be able to find ways to bend policies to build customer relationships. The phrase "If I do that for you, I'll have do to it for everyone," is one of the fastest ways to lose customers. Learn to empower your employees and watch your profits grow.
Unfulfilled promises
If you promise a customer that something would be ready by Thursday, then it should be there by Thursday. When you cannot make this happen, do not make excuses; the only words you need to remember are "We're sorry," backed up by an extra effort to make the customer happy.
Failure to listen
Customer service representatives routinely do not listen closely to customers. Typically they respond with an answer that does not match the problem because they were not paying attention. Employees need to be trained, particularly in the art of listening and even taking notes. |
|
|
