Tip one:
The first thing that you want to think about is the fact that by law you are not required to provide your employees with any paid time off. This means that you do not need to pay your employees for any time that they take off of work, including vacation, holidays or sick days. So basically it is up to you whether you decide to pay your employees for any time that they are taking off, either willingly or because of holidays. But something else that you need to think about is that the Family and Medical Leave Act could apply to your place of business so you want to look into that law when developing your policy.

Tip two:
Another thing that you want to make sure that you do when developing paid time off policies to include exactly what you expect from your employees in the policy. Basically you want to spell out exactly what they can and can't do when it comes to taking time off. You also want to make sure that they are clear about the difference between sick leave and vacation. But in the policy you are also going to want to include if you are going to pay them for any sick time they take off, what they have to do in order to take sick leave, whether they have to provide doctor's notes, etc. You want the employees to know what they need to do in order to qualify for sick leave.

Tip three:
Not only do you want the employees to know what they can expect if they take time off you are also going to want to be specific on what is going to happen if they abuse the policy. Basically you want to include any disciplinary measures that you are going to take if the policy is abused or if the rules aren't followed. This can include write ups, verbal warnings, termination, whatever you deem appropriate for the offense. But you are also going to want to include what is going to happen the first time, the second time, etc. You want to make sure that this is clear to your employees so it helps lower the chance of people abusing the policies.

Tip four:
The last thing that you want to do is to make sure that you enforce the consequences on what will happen if the employees take advantage of the vacation, holiday or sick leave policies. This is the only way that your employees will know that you are serious about these policies.

Tip five:
The best thing that you can do to help manage the employees' time off is to have each employee fill out a request form if they want to take vacation time. When it comes to holidays you can either give them certain holidays off or you can let them swap days and work on the holidays and request a different day off with a request form. But these forms are the best way to keep track of who is taking off and when they are taking the time off, not to mention why they are taking the time off. Also keep in mind that you are going to want to keep these forms in their employee file for at least six years, if not longer.

Number two:
You can also make sure that you keep in touch with your team members by email. You can actually set up rules about when you want to hear from your team members or you can have an open door policy about emailing. But something that you need to know is that email is great for quick and routine matters, but if it is something serious or sensitive then email shouldn't be used. You are going to need to talk to that employee on the phone or even in person. The reason that emails shouldn't be used for more severe problems or any senstitive issues is that careless writing and even outright malice when using email can cause a minor mix-up to spin way out of control, hence causing even more problems that what you had before. In fact if you are going to be using email you are going to want to make sure your employees understand email etiquette so that things don't get taken the wrong way.

Number three:
If you happen to be an older manager, but this is actually important for all managers, you should take a course that teaches you about the various issues that can come up in managing an alternative workplace; basically you should receive special training about how to oversee an alternative workplace. The reason for this is that dealing with an offsite team can require special needs that you are unsure of how to address. For example, off-site employees might require you to use an appropriate type of media to stay in contact with them, such as email or video conferencing, but you will need to help them and help yourself use this type of media to make them feel like they are a part of the team.

Number four:
Another thing that you need to think about is appropriateness when it comes to choosing people to receive choice assignments or invitations to meetings. But in addition to appropriateness you also need to think about accessibility. Basically you don't want to get favor the off-site employees who come into the office more than other off-site employees. The reason for this is that it is showing favoritism and that is going to lead to a whole bunch of trouble, and as a manager you should be above showing favorites with employees.

Number five:
The most important thing that you need to realize is that managing people off-site requires even more management to maintain that personal contact, basically you are going to need to go above and beyond your normal managing skills to keep in contact with these people because of how alone they tend to be. The reason for this is that you are going to want to make sure that they feel connected as well as the people who are in the office. Basically you want everyone working together as a team no matter where they are located. The best thing that you can do to accomplish this goal is to have regular face-to-face meetings and scheduled social events to help keep everyone connected.

As an employer you know just how much paperwork is required anytime that you hire an employee. But what you might not be aware of is why this paperwork is so important. Basically the potential employee needs to fill out all of that paperwork so they can work for you legitimately; in fact the government requires you to have a new employee file out various things in the paperwork department. One of the main reasons that they need to fill out all of this information is because of taxes. In the United States you as an employer need to file certain things with the IRS, including all of your employees and their personal information. And the only way to do this is to have your employees fill out the paperwork when they get hired.

The best thing that you can do to make sure that you have the most current information, both personal and tax information, is to have your employees update their information on a yearly basis. The perfect time to have them update their personal information is when they are updating their tax information, which by law is required every year. But you also need to make sure that in your company's policy manual that you have a policy that requires your employees to update their personal information any time that they move. This will help to ensure that you are notified of the move before it is time to file taxes.

Here is a list of information that you as an employer must keep on each employee that you hire.

• The employee's name


• The employee's age, especially if under 20 years old


• The employee's postal address


• The type of work that the employee does


• The type of employment agreement, individual or collective


• The title, expiry date and employee classification in any applicable collective agreement


• Where payment is calculated by the hour; the hours and days of employment in each pay period. This also needs to include the start time, the finish time and any non-paid breaks that were taken.


• The wages paid each pay day


• Details of employment relations leave taken


• Details of annual leave taken


• Details of statutory holidays worked and days in lieu provided


• Details of salary deductions, such as PAYE and agreed superannuation contributions

Something that you want to keep in mind when it comes to having this paperwork is that you need to make sure that you keep it for a certain period of time. Most tax information has to be kept for a period of seven years, but it is generally recommended that you keep personal and tax information on each employee for at least six years.

Tip one:
Create the files that you need. Although this sounds really simple and it actually is many people do not do it because they overlook it or they put everything into one huge file. This is great if you only have a few items, such as pay stubs, but when you are organizing your expenses for a business you need to have multiple files to store all of your paperwork. If you itemize your deductions you should have a separate file for each deduction. You should also have a separate file for your business expenses, such as utilities, payroll, etc. Keep it all in one spot that is easy to access, such as in a filing cabinet or in accordion files. This will make it easier to track during tax time or if you ever get audited.

Tip two:
Now you need to put the system to use. Many people will create the system and then not use it until it is April and taxes are due in two weeks. By immediately filing your paperwork in the appropriate spot on a daily or weekly basis you will not have to do it at the last minute, thus making tax time a bit less stressful. By taking care of it in a reasonable amount of time you will be able to better track where things are on a moment's notice.

Tip three:
Sort your receipts. Basically what this means is rather than putting all receipts into one file folder you should put them with each expense. By keeping your receipts sorted you will find it is easier to find the correct supporting documentation you need if there are questions on your taxes. Besides this is why you created individual files in the first place so that each group is in its own folder making it easier to sort and easier to find what you need.

Tip four:
One of the best ways that you can make sure that you keep on top of your paperwork is to make sure that you have backups of everything. This is especially important if you plan to document things on your computer rather than keeping paper copies. But when it comes to backups you are going to need to make sure that you keep a copy of these in a secure location. You can also keep your original receipts in a secure location so that if there are ever any questions you have a paper and computer backup of everything.

But one thing that you need to know about keeping up on your paperwork is that it is very important to do because you need to know how much money is coming in and how much money is going out. But the best thing that you can do to keep on top of your paperwork is to get in the habit of doing it, basically set aside a certain time each day to manage your paperwork.

A bona fide meal period actually qualifies as an unpaid break. These meal periods usually lasts at least 30 minutes, if not more. And according to the U.S. Department of Labor in order to qualify a meal break as a bona fide meal period the break needs to be a period of time set aside for a regular meal, and it must also be long enough to be able to eat. But in addition to that in order to qualify as a bona fide meal period the employee must also be relieved completely of their duties, meaning they cannot be actively or inactively working. But with a rest period they are actually considered work time so the employee has to get paid for it. These basically consist of coffee breaks and time for snacks and can last anywhere from five to twenty minutes.

But like most employers the problem that you might be facing if you do offer these paid breaks or if your state requires you to provide your employees with rest periods then you might have experienced your employees taking advantage of the breaks and stretching them out to long periods of time. So if this is the case then you might be wondering what you can do to help keep these types of breaks to a minimum.

One of the best things that you can do to keep your employees from taking advantage of these breaks is to make sure that you have in your policy manual the rules about these rest periods. You are also going to want to make sure that you include the consequences for not following the rules when it comes to the rest periods. And you want to make sure that if an employee does take advantage of the rest periods that you follow through on your end of the deal, which means they must pay the consequences.

When it comes to determining break policies employers often consider numerous factors to make sure they are choosing the best policies for their business. Here are some of the factors that go into determining break policies in various companies.

• Any provisions existing in a negotiated agreement


• The availability, convenience and distance of eating establishments


• Whether employees must be present at work to fulfill their work requirements


• Whether work must be performed on weekends, during overtime or at night

Difficulty rating: Moderate to difficult

Step two:
You also need to develop an acceptable use policy for all employees that outlines appropriate use of corporate assets and employee information. When it comes to this policy you are going to want to make sure that you outline your company's procedures for if and when a violation takes place.

Step three:
You are also going to want to make sure that you consistently enforce the policies and procedures that you have outlined in your manual. What this means is that if a violation occurs make sure you follow what is written down rather than just letting it slide. This will let your employees know that you are serious about keeping personal information safe and that you mean what you say, basically that you stand behind your policies and procedures.

Step four:
You want to make sure that you regularly review and revise your existing policies to ensure that all necessary policy changes and additions have been addressed. You want to make sure that you keep it up to date because as technology changes so does where we store our personal information, not to mention but as technology changes we need to make sure that the wording is keeping up with the newer technology.

Step five:
Make sure that your company has an internal incident response plan. What this means is that you need to make sure that you have a plan that you can follow and a team of employees who are trained to follow that plan in case something does happen. You also want to make sure that you have the appropriate resources in-house to handle an incident of employee information or corporate data loss or any kind of access by unauthorized employees or any outsiders.

But if something does happen and the employees personal information is breached there are some things that you are going to not want to do. And the reason that you are not going to want to do any of this stuff is because you can actually destroy potential evidence. Here are the ten common things that you should avoid so you don't compromise the investigation.

• Booting up the computer


• Turning off a relevant computer


• Browsing through the files on the suspect computer


• Failing to use a computer forensics expert


• Failure to involve all parties


• Failure to learn the lingo


• Forgetting or not making a forensics image of the computer or computers involved


• Copying data in "cut and paste" or "drag and drop" methods


• Waiting to preserve the evidence


• Failing to maintain a proper chain of custody at the time of collection

But the truth of the matter is when it comes to department cutbacks and layoffs there is no easy way to deliver the news. But there are some things that you can keep in mind when you are delivering the news so that you can make sure that it is delivered in both a compassionate and direct way.

Tip two:
You also want to make sure that you plan your key messages out ahead of time that way you are not fumbling around looking for something to say. Keep in mind that the key messages are something that is designed to make the employee feel better about being laid off, but they are still going to be upset because they are getting laid off. Your key messages might include the following:

• I recognize that this news comes as a shock to you and that this decision will be difficult to fully comprehend.


• There are no good ways to deliver bad news so I want to be as sensitive to your needs as possible.


• I imagine that this news is quite upsetting to you. Is there anyone that you would like to talk to/call?

Tip three:
You also want to make sure that you are very clear about the next steps of the lay off. Basically you want to include lay off dates, status of insurance, and other important information to the employee when you are laying them off. In fact it is best that you also prepare the important dates in writing as well as verbally that way there can be no discrepancies later on.

Tip four:
Make sure that you are not dominating the discussion. Basically you are going to want to make sure that you are given the employee plenty of chances to talk. But when they are talking you want to make sure that you are listening carefully to what the employee has to say.

Tip five:
If you think that the employee is going to react in a bad manner, either hostile or threatening, you want to make sure that you have some kind of a safety plan in place. This plan should include notifying security and making sure that another manager is going to be there in case you need help. You also want to make sure that you give plenty of thought to any other security related issues, such as computers, that might come up.

Tip six:
You also want to make sure that you think about your own reactions to the employee's reactions. You want to make sure that no matter what is said or what you are accused of doing that you do not respond in a defensive manner towards the employee. But you also want to keep in mind what your role in the layoff decision was and how you felt about it, in addition to what you plan on sharing with your employees about how you feel.

Sales forecasts are a great way to guide your business to success. Study your industry and gain a feel for what people are buying. Know your competitors and their prices, establish your prices based off of your competitors. Make sure you establish prices that will allow you to generate revenue and not just break-even costs. Estimate how often you expect your customers to buy per year and project the dollar amount of each purchase. Try not to overestimate, which can be hard to do. Many smaller businesses overestimate their sales forecast and find themselves strapped for cash when sales do not meet their expectations.

If you are working with a bank for financing, you will need to do multiple sales forecasts. This will help your confidence and the bank's confidence if sales fall through for one month, you should have a forecast that will "pick up the slack".

Always be sure to include your expenses in your sales forecast. Manage your cash flow appropriate to accommodate for larger expenses that are purchased by season. Some companies purchase their supplies for Christmas in July and may not get all their receipts until Christmas or later. This can cause large cash flow problems, especially if your bookkeeper isn't staying on top of the finances to make sure you will have that money to pay at a later date. If you purchase vehicles or capital, be sure to include the depreciation expenses in your sales forecast as well.

Be sure to allow for bad debts in your sales forecast too. Determine your sales that will be cash, credit card, and how many are done by you extending credit to your consumer. Allow money for credit card expenses and also for quarterly tax withholdings.

From here, you need to determine how your business will grow. Do you plan to market and sell to existing customers? Are you planning on marketing new products to attract new customers? Make sure to include this in your sales forecast too. This sales forecast will be helpful if you are applying for a bank loan for the company as it shows you have a goal for the company and a way to achieve it.
Always remember to include negative cash flow months in your sales forecast too. When your company is not marketing and is not in a busy season, this is a great time to include negative cash flow numbers since you should expect costs to be a break-even or slightly above break-even.

By keeping a control on your business finances and your cash flow situation, you can make better sales forecasts for the future. Having solid information to base your numbers off will help you make good decisions. You will be able to watch your company grow and produce revenue as a direct result of your hard efforts of making a proper sales forecast.

Start by defining the problems. Take the time to see what the problem actually is instead of reacting to certain situations you think may be the problem. For example, walk around your office and look at how people function on a day-to-day basis. You can spot problems easily and you can see what is causing the problems. Write down what the problems are, where they are occurring, how they are happening, and why is it happening. Once you have identified everything involved with the problem, you can make an educated decision on how to solve it.

Look at ways problems have been solved in the past and brainstorm new approaches. Talking to your employees directly can also help you make a decision as you will have input from several parties who may be involved. From here you can narrow your decision down and select an approach that will resolve the problem.

Once you are ready to implement your business decision you should take all the necessary steps to make it a smooth process. Have a good implementation plan that has steps to be followed. Make sure your managers are thoroughly executing your business decision properly. Again, know how much time will be involved for all parties.

After your business decision has been implemented, you need to verify that it is working. Check to see if your decision plan is being implemented as expected. If it is not, make adjustments that will make it easier. Make certain aspects of your business decision a priority so you can evaluate their results quickly. Having a small sampling to being with can help you as you keep tracking results.

Make sure the problem has been solved. This is your last step. If you noticed the problem is still there, go back to the drawing board and try one of your other decisions and implement it. Learn from your mistakes. Write a brief memo that highlights the success of the decision you made and also what parts needed more effort. Your goal is to make a proper decision that will avoid the problem from arising in the future. Try planning several different scenarios and ways to solve them so that you can be prepared if you ever need to make a decision "on the spot".



• Cash Flow. Is your company spending more than it is earning?


•  Accounts Receivable. Is your Accounts Receivable department lacking in following up with invoicing?


•  Sales. Check with your sales team on what they are telling customers about payment options and terms.


•  Are your books adding up? Who is in control of your companies' books? Are they stealing money from the company?

If you don't have the money to hire an accountant to control your business finances, there are many software programs available now that can use to track your businesses expenses. Having proper procedures in place for financial management will pay off in the long run.

One of the best things you can do for your company is to learn a basic set of financial management skills. Having some basic financial management skills will help you when discussing critical areas pertaining to your company such as cash flow management and bookkeeping. Proper financial management is one of the most important practices in business management.

Contact a financial analyst to look at your cash flow projects, profit and loss statements, and budgets. A financial analyst can tell you how well your business is doing and how you can improve certain areas to be productive. You can even do an analysis of your business yourself, set aside a couple hours each month and focus on your businesses finances. You should have your cash flow situation at hand, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and income statements. Once you see where your business has been and where it is going, you can make an educated decision about your business finances instead of leaving it all up to your financial controller or bookkeeper.

You should always put together a break-even analysis. You can use information from your cash flow statements to determine how much sales you need in order to pay for all of your fixed and variable expenses. The fixed expenses are those expenses you will always have such as rent, insurance, maintenance, and salary. Your variable expenses are those expenses you have incurred to keep the product level in line with the sales. This can be having products shipped to you, sales tax, freight to ship products, and sales commissions. The break-even analysis is important to your financial management since it helps you determine how to project profits. It also helps determine when you will make a profit, how much to sell your products for, and how you should set your sales goal.

Proper business management comes from a leader who is honest, responsible, and prepared. If you don't know much about financial management, take a class. You can find local colleges who will offer one-course business finance classes for a reasonable rate. Train yourself to understand business finance so you can help your company grow and achieve success.

Start off by showing your employees that you value their work. When you value employees, they know it. Employees know when they are being treated fairly and know when you care about them. This not only builds trust, but it inspires them to work harder on the quality of their work. Most anyone will tell you they like to have their accomplishments recognized by others. Allowing your companies to share the success stories of employees also makes it meaningful. It shows your employees you care about them when they do a good job and you don't just see them when they are underachieving.

Track your business finances. Tracking your finances can often times be a tedious chore. Many companies find themselves hiring accountants to keep track of your business finance. Some simple things you can to track your business finances are as follows:



• Cash Flow. Is your company spending more than it is earning?


•  Accounts Receivable. Is your Accounts Receivable department lacking in following up with invoicing?


•  Sales. Check with your sales team on what they are telling customers about payment options and terms.


•  Are your books adding up? Who is in control of your companies' books? Are they stealing money from the company?

Use high impact marketing. If you have tried all the different avenues of marketing, perhaps you should try different marketing strategies. Online advertising is a great way to meet many clients who perhaps will never even leave their houses to learn about your company and products. Let's hope you are doing a pay-per click campaign. Studies have reported that 3 out of 4 web searchers use search engines to find products or services they are looking for. If your only goal is to have potential clients click on the ad, then chances are you're not going to get the sale. Online ads have an impact on buyers purchasing decisions long after they are viewed. If you don't have a good landing page to back up a great online ad, you better get re-vamping quickly. You want your customer to leave your website with a knowledge that they were impressed by what they saw. Sending out an e-mail campaign is tricky. Many times new customers flag your e-mail as spam and it never reaches anyone. They key is to make your e-mail campaign relevant and avoid sending out too many e-mails as this can be considered over-kill.

No matter what type of business you are or how large or small your business is, you can improve. Everyone needs improvement in one aspect or another, and so does your company. Take a good look at some existing procedures and find a way to change them into something new that will give your company a greater chance of staying competitive and profitable.

Trust
Establishing trust is one of the most difficult things a business leader faces. Trust involves feeling that you can depend upon another person to achieve a common goal. You know how people feel about you and how you feel about them. If you have had past incidences with employees and they have formed a negative opinion of you, it will be difficult to change their minds. Change the way you treat people and start pointing out their achievements and telling them why you appreciate them.

Empathy is another big factor in establishing trust. It puts you and your employee on the same "playing field" and you work together to resolve a situation. This goes along with listening. Without showing empathy, people will look at you as a "cold hearted" individual who only cares about the money, not the people.

Follow the Leader
Once you have established the trust of your employees, you need to give them a reason to follow you. Leadership skills are not obtained overnight and require a lot of effort on your part. First, develop a business plan for the future and make your staff excited about jumping on board to achieve the goals. Show your employees how you are going to achieve financial success. Discuss how you will take steps to improve quality, productivity, innovation, and revenue. Talk to your staff about how you plan to lighten the load in certain areas that may be overwhelmed.

Show people your dream and once it has been achieved, they will know you are a great business leader. Having a good track record always helps! Success is easier to follow than failure. However, if you fail, pick yourself up gracefully and try again. Being able to swallow your mistakes will prove to your employees that you are not afraid of anything and you are willing to put your reputation on the line for the sake of the company.

By taking theses small steps, you will see a change in the way your employees view you as a leader and you will gain the necessary trust and respect you deserve.

Start out by predicting your cash flow. If you are in retail, you should be aware of the peak shopping periods (like holidays and weekends) and you should know when you won't have as many sales coming in. Cash flow forecasting helps you plan your cash balance and know if you will need to borrow at certain times of the year and how much surplus cash you are likely to have at certain times. If you are considering a loan, you need to have a cash flow forecast in hand before they will consider lending you money.

Your cash flow forecast is usually done for one year or a quarter in advance and divided into months or weeks. For company's who are barley making the day-to-day expenses, a daily cash flow forecast many be needed. Pick periods in which most of your fixed costs will be spent.

Your forecast should include:
 Salaries
 Receipts and payments
 Opening bank balance
 Closing bank balance
 Excess receipts that may put you in a negative cash flow situation

You can purchase accounting software to prepare your cash flow forecast. Accounting software is helpful as it can allow you to change your predictions due to market trends or other factors influencing your business. You can also plan for seasonal peaks and lows.

Another great method to look at if you are in a negative cash flow situation is factoring. Factoring is a common process in the small business world. Factoring is the process of selling your accounts receivable invoices to a third party who then is in charge of collecting on the invoice. The agents in charge of collecting are called factors. Factoring for small business is a great way to provide financial growth. Since cash flow is so essential in business, factoring is the best method to expand operations.

Why does factoring helps improve your business? Here are a few reasons how factoring can help:

1. Cash Flow - Factoring allows you to sell invoices to a third party at a discount, thereby giving you money now to pay your expenses.

2. Financing alternative - Factoring is a powerful funding tool for supporting growth.

3. Cash on hand now - Factoring allows for funds to be in your account quicker than waiting for invoices to be paid.

4. Simple to use - Factoring is easy to use.

5. Leverage staff time - Factoring assures that who you do business with is credit worthy.

6. Professional Visibility - Factoring allows for invoices to be collected in a professional and consistent manner.

7. Success Factor - Factoring is a step up the financial ladder to improving your overall cash flow.

8. Funding Capacity - Again, factoring does not use personal assets as a way of funding companies.

9. No funding limits - Factoring does not have a limit on qualified invoices.

Factoring for small businesses typically takes about 5 to 7 days to set up. Your company will meet with a Business Development Officer (BDO) and submit an application and go over numerous invoices that need to be factored. After you are accepted and a security agreement is signed, the customers will be notified that all invoice collection will be handled by the factor company.

To gain clients, you need to market and if you don't retain those clients, why bother marketing? Keeping your customers happy is very challenging. Start by learning about your customers.

2. Dress to Impress
a. People judge you the second they see you. Make sure the clothing you wear reflect the image of the company.

3. The Business Card
a. After an introduction to a new client and discussing what you can achieve together, leave behind a business card.
b. Business Cards a great tools, it's a visual reminder of you.

4. Make A Relationship
a. Take a few moments and talk to your prospective client. Too many people try to hit up a sale and it leaves the client feeling like a piece of meat. Ask non-intrusive questions and get to know them.
b. Write down the answers later that evening so when you have a follow-up phone call or e-mail, you can re-kindle who you are.

Knowing your customers and their behaviors will pay off. You can predict future behavior if you know who your clients is and what they like. Reward your active customers. Happy customers like to "win". If send out a flyer for a 20% discount, it makes your active customers feel they are in control because they are smart about the decisions they make. Your business on the other hand will profit since promotions encourage active behavior.

If you want your customers to do something for you, you have to do something for them. Many stores have set up customer appreciation cards or discount cards for frequent shoppers. Studies have shown that if your promotion makes your customer feel good, they are more likely to use the card or follow through with the promotion.

Keep an active relationship with your customers. You will gain customer retention by sending them a newsletter or birthday card, anything that shows you care about them and want them to come back. If you don't keep your customers active with you, they will slip away and no longer be customers.

Knowing what your customers think is another important aspect of business marketing. Many companies offer surveys. The Olive Garden is a prime example; they select a few customers and tell them the manager would like to talk to them. The manager makes the customer feel important since they were "singled out" in the entire restaurant. The customer is given a receipt with a phone number to take a survey, at the end of the survey; they get a certain amount off their next meal. Great plan, you give them money so they can come back to you and spend it at your company!

Develop a strategy to retain your customers and make your business profitable. This sounds easier said than done, but with a little effort on your part, it can go a long way. Deliver the right message to your customer with the right promotion that will return excellent sales for your company.

By doing a yearly or semi-yearly employee evaluation, you can see areas of strength and weakness of each employee. You are given the chance to discuss one on one with that employee about how they feel about their job and what their goals are within the company. This can help you forecast your business plan if an employee shows interest in growing within the organization.

Performance standards.
Performance standards discuss what you want accomplished in a particular job and how you want your employee's to go about following that job. The performance standards you set should be applied to every employee who holds each particular job. Having performance standards in place will help the employee know what they need to live up to in their job in order to be considered for raises. Below are a few performance standards used by numerous organizations that you can follow. The performance standards should be:


• included in the job description


•  based on the position, not the present or former incumbent


•  reasonable, measurable and specific


•  subject to change as the position evolves

Of course these standards should be modified to your company and even revised from feedback of your employees. Newly created positions should have a feedback letter attached so you can judge how to improve on the employee evaluations.

Goals.
Goals are a little different from performance standards. You will need to evaluate each employee and their past performance. Then you should tailor the goals to each employee. Look at ways you can help make their job more efficient, like purchasing new software or implementing safety standards. Discussing the needs employees see will help you both decide what is reasonable.

Performance Appraisal
The employee performance appraisal helps to identify, evaluate, and develop and individual's performance. It is a motivation tool that encourages employees to have high performance levels. Some great benefits that come from performance appraisal are listed below:


• Validations of hiring practices - are the right people in the right positions?


•  provision of an objective measuring tool on which compensation decisions, and promotions can be based


•  identification of training needs - individually, departmentally and organizationally


•  identification of employees who have the potential for advancement or who might be better suited in other areas of the organization

By doing employee evaluations, you are setting certain standards for the company and the employees such as:


• Expectations for employees and company. Regular feedback obtained from both.


•  Reward good work; and discuss shortfalls in performance.


•  Open communication to discuss employee performance and keeps the needs of the workforce in check.

You will find that employee evaluations are a great time to address problems and find solutions for them. Having documentation of issues that have arisen with employees will help keep your company out of legal battles if that employee leaves the company on bad terms. Having that written proof before the employee leaves, goes a long way in court.

Employee evaluations are an effective tool in business management. Your employees will get a chance to speak their opinion to you in a comfortable setting instead of in front of their coworkers. This will help establish trust between you and your employees as you show empathy and a desire to help the employee succeed at the company.