The Employment Office is a world-wide recruitment and HR firm with offices around the world (www.theemploymentoffice.ca), operating one of their offices out of Vancouver, BC. They have conducted a fascinating study on Canadian hiring trends in 2010. The study showed that generally, companies are optimistic about hiring in 2010 and are taking measures to ensure future growth. Following are seven trends for the new year; trends you may want to be aware of as you look to grow your business in the coming year.

#1 Replacing Low-Performing Workers: Some companies are using this economic recovery period to strengthen their workforce by recruiting top talent to replace low performing workers.

Survey said: 42% of employers said they planned to hire A-players to replace low performers in 2010.

#2 Flexible Work Arrangements: Companies plan to continue providing employees with greater flexibility in hopes of maintaining a better work-life balance. Survey said: 43% of employers say they plan to provide more flexible work arrangements in 2010, which include: 

•    Alternate schedules – come in early, leave early OR come in later, leave later – 72%

•    Telecommuting options – 55%

•    Compressed workweeks – work the same hours, but in fewer days – 41%

•    Summer hours – 30%

•    Job sharing – 25%

•    Sabbaticals – 16% 

#3 Rehiring Laid-Off Workers: As the job market continues to stabilize and show signs of growth, some companies are reversing strategies taken to manage through challenging economic times.

Survey said: Of employers who had layoffs in the last 12 months, nearly 29% reported their company is planning to bring back some employees they let go earlier in the year. Looking ahead, 10% reported they plan to bring back workers in the first quarter, while 9% plan on doing so in the second quarter.  An additional 5% said they would rehire employees in the second half of 2010. Companies also indicated that their layoff decisions in the last year may have been made too quickly; 25% of employers said they thought they cut workers too soon and that it ultimately had a negative impact on their business.

#4 Green Jobs: Employers plan to continue to be environmentally aware in the new year. “Green jobs” are positions that implement environmentally conscious design, policy and technology to improve conservation and sustainability. Survey said: One-in-five (20%) employers say they plan to add “green jobs” in 2010, compared to 13% who said they planned to add them in 2009.

#5 Recruitment Tools: As employers increase headcounts in 2010, they will turn to a mix of hiring vehicles to find the right candidates. Survey said: Employers’ report that they plan to increase their recruitment spending on the following: 

•    Online recruitment sites – 29%

•    Staffing firms and recruiters – 13%

•    Career fairs – 19%

•    Social and professional networking sites – 18%

•    Business and trade magazine ads – 5% 

#6 Freelance or Contact Hiring: As many companies rebuild their workforces, they are turning to more freelance or contract workers to help move their businesses forward.

Survey said: 48% of employers anticipate hiring freelancers or contractors in 2010; 13% expect to employ more freelancers or contractors than last year, while 18% expect to hire the same amount and 17% plan to hire fewer.

#7 Less Business Travel: While employers are moving away from cost containment and more into growth, one area they still plan to save money on is business travel.

Survey said: More than half (52%) of employers report that there will be less business travel at their organization in 2010 than in 2009.

Trend spotting is not an exact science, but it is based on some concrete patterns that have been determined by people’s past behaviours and ways they indicate they intend on behaving in the future. As you think about growing your team in 2010, keep these trends in mind. They may have an impact on the decisions you make (and those your competitors are already making).

Customer Service Training for Your Staff

There was a time when customer service was exactly what it said it was. It seemed to be universally understood what was involved in making your customers happy, and what it looked like to take good care of your customers. It’s not that way anymore.  You can’t assume that people you hire or even those who already work for you, know what customer services means to you. Your customer service philosophy is something you should be imparting to your staff on an ongoing basis. This is the only way to ensure that your customers are getting the service you want them to have. Training doesn’t have to be onerous. It’s just sharing your values and expectations with your staff. Here are some things to think about when training your staff on how to deliver the kind of service you expect for your customers.

1) Provide goals and expectations. What exactly do you want your staff to do to deliver your kind of service? How do you want them to behave – on the phone, behind the counter, on the floor? Your answer will be unique to your business, the product or service you provide and the type of customers you serve. Regardless of the kind of business you have, you need to have a clear idea of the end results you're looking for. Employees need to have clear expectations; they need to know what success "looks like" and how you will be judging their efforts. Be specific with expectations. Don't assume that employees know what you expect.

2) Provide the tools to deliver on your expectations. Employees need tools, and they need to know how to use those tools, to serve customers effectively. Have they been given the appropriate amount of training for adequate product knowledge? Do they have the right software or equipment to do what is expected? Do they have the authority to make decisions in the customer relationship? Do they know what your policies and practices are with regard to satisfying customers and responding to complaints? The more flexibility you're able to offer and the more clearly you communicate these guidelines, the better able employees will be to meet customer needs. Customers benefit too, when employees are able to resolve situations "on the spot" instead of having to "talk to my manager."

3) Provide practical, relatable training. Your customer service training should be based on real life experiences – yours and those of others in your company or your industry. Use examples of things that have actually happened to help to highlight bad/good/better/best examples of working with clients and customers. Use your most successful people to assist you in training and coaching others. Use roleplay to provide examples of how to deal with common challenging situations. Provide employees with an opportunity to "practice" their responses. When a "real situation" occurs they will have a higher comfort level about their ability to respond effectively.
4) Provide opportunities for shared learning. Have everyone on the team involved in the training process. Ask them for their worst customer service experiences – allow them to tell the stories of how they didn’t do very well because those situations are perfect for teaching “what could you have done different?” You need a good balance of both failure and success stories to build a strong service culture. Similarly, take time to celebrate your successes and to share these success examples with all employees. Sometimes the best customer service training for staff can be a good debriefing of either a positive or negative customer service situation.

5) Provide an example. Your staff will watch not only how you interact with customers, but what you say about your customers. If your attitude toward customers is disparaging, this sends a very strong, negative message to employees. In fact, it shows a distinct disrespect for your customers, and no matter what you say you want them to do, they are not likely to respect your customers any more than you do. Make sure you're being a strong role model - both in word and deed.

Gone are the days when you can hire someone in a customer service role and just assume they know what that looks like. If you really want your staff to deliver excellent service, you must take the time to show them what that means. Your customers will see the difference, and so will your business.

Recovering from Losing a Big Customer

Nothing strikes quite the blow to a small business as losing a large or long-time customer. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, and one that can be difficult to recover from. According to Terry Corbell, CMS Associates LLC, 70% of the time customers leave because they feel taken for granted. Further, Kevin Antler, CEO with KnowledgeBank, Inc. says “The fact that your client turned to someone else means that something clearly was missing in the relationship if you weren’t given the opportunity to resolve whatever issues existed that caused the client to leave.” As a small business, such a loss can be very costly, so the obvious question is, how do you recover, and how do you prevent it from happening again?

Talk to the customer about why they left

Ok, so it’s painful, and it may hurt your pride, but the best thing you can do assist your recovery and move forward is to find out why the customer left. If you don’t ask, you can’t learn what caused the client to switch, and fix it so it doesn’t happen again. Or, you may uncover a competitive advantage your competitor has. This takes courage, and you have to go in to the meeting determined not to be defensive. Ask your client to be totally honest. Were there needs you weren’t meeting from either a production or quality standpoint? Was your service less than desirable? What could you have done differently to retain their business? You will either find out that it really had nothing to do with you (“I just wanted to do business with my cousin Frank”), in which case you can walk away happy in the knowledge that there was nothing you could have done. Or, you’ll get a list of things that you can work on so that it doesn’t happen with anyone else.

Another advantage of asking for feedback, is that it shows you really cared about having them as a customer. You never know whether things will work out with their new vendor, and if you left them with a positive impression, they may be back. These meetings are most effective when done face to face. Even though the client has left you, take him or her out to lunch and have the conversation. If they are uncomfortable with doing this, consider writing a letter. Thank them for past business and let them know that if they aren’t satisfied with the new provider you’d appreciate another opportunity to earn their business back. Ask for suggestions on how the company can improve its service to help earn back that business if the new provider doesn’t work out.

Finally, don’t get defensive. Defensiveness will destroy the opportunity you may have in winning the customer back. View this experience as an opportunity to improve.

Determine what you can do better next time  

Bring your team together to review the client’s feedback, if you have it. “As a consequence of losing the client, it is a great time to reexamine what else you could do to better retain your client(s), especially if this client was what you consider an ideal client,” says Jeff Diercks, managing director of InTrust Advisors. Take an honest, hard look at your company and decide whether the feedback warrants some changes in the way you do things. Chances are, the things that caused this client to leave, may also be nagging at other customers. Making these fixes before they get that far is a proactive approach to client retention.

Consider creating a stronger feedback system for existing customers. If you had known about the issues that caused your client to leave in the early stages, could you have prevented him or her from moving on? Likely, yes. So make a commitment to talk to your clients more often to find out how you are doing.  They may not talk to you on their own when they are unhappy, but they will speak loudly with their feet if they choose to move on.

Move on

After gathering all the information to understand what happened, move on. “We’ve all lost customers for a variety of reasons, but dwelling in the failure and dejection of the loss is not only a waste of time, it will affect your ability to support other clients,” says Kevin Antler. It’s easy to take it personally and blame yourself, but it’s not productive. You can’t control everything. When you have done your best to find the answers about what you may have done wrong, and made the changes necessary to address those things, rest in the fact that you’ve done what you can do. Dwelling on the loss will make you ineffective and prevent you from moving forward.

Small business clients can feel almost like family, and when you are rejected, it’s painful. But taking responsibility for what happened, and being proactive in addressing issues that can prevent it from happening again, will move you firmly toward finding your next big client!

10 Ways to Generate Brilliant Ideas (part 2)

Last month we presented Roberts’ first five of the 10 ways to generate brilliant ideas. They were:

•    Define the problem

•    Brainstorm

•    Focus entirely on what you want

•    Have a genuine interest in what you are trying to solve, and

•    Look at parallel problems and solutions

This month we’ll look at the last five.

6) Look at each task as a challenge


It's true that if you look at a problem simply as a "problem" then that is exactly how others will look at it. Sure, it is a problem and therefore, it needs a solution. However, this thought should not be in the forefront of the mind when looking to turn this "problem" into an "asset". The word, "problem" tends to sum up negative thoughts within us.

It is these negative thoughts that can almost act as a barrier to its resolution. Turning the problem upside down and seeing it as a challenge rather than a barrier, will generate more positive thoughts within our mind. These positive thoughts are more likely to cause us to enjoy ourselves along the way, and move us closer to a solution more quickly.

7) Turn the challenge into a catchy expression


One step further is to present the challenge as a catchphrase. Let’s say you are trying to figure out a way to attend an expensive industry trade show in Denver in the spring, when it seems you don’t have the financial means to do so.

Phrases like, “Denver or Bust”, “Spring to Denver”, “Let’s Make a Trade to Show up in Denver”, or “Up, up and away to the Mile High City”.

Doing this will give everyone a goal or theme to work toward - the attainment of the challenge becomes a picture. It's so much easier to get there with a popular vision on the mind.

•     Daydream - Let Your Creative Sub-conscious work for you! 

It's no strange coincidence that during the time you drive along staring out the window, sleep in your bed, undertake your daily duties at work or anything for that matter, your sub-conscious continues to work for you (even though you may not always be fully aware of this). How often have you been doing something totally unrelated and then suddenly an idea snaps into your mind? After you have put considerable time into solving your problem you will find your inner mind will work for you. Sometimes if you try too hard to solve something you end up with major frustration. So, as the expression goes "chill out", have a break and sleep on it. You may be surprised at how successful switching off can be.

9) Alter your routine regularly

Have you ever noticed how easily we accumulate habits? Many habits can actually stifle your creativity. If you are someone who: travels the same route each day, works at the same desk and task day in day out, mixes with the same people regularly, takes your annual holidays to the same destination each year, or orders the same meal at the same restaurant, these routines may actually be curbing your creativity.

To continue generating healthy ideas to better our work, our surroundings, our family etc., we must continually be looking for "newness". Familiarity is very good in that it makes us feel secure. It is this very security that closes our mind to change and restricts our creative abilities. Take the bus or the train across town or maybe even just a different route from time to time, broaden your job responsibilities, take on another sport or leisure activity and meet some people with a different outlook. You will be quietly surprised at how much positive energy you will get from doing these small things.

10) Carry a notepad


I always have a notepad with me. I am now at the point where I can't live without one. A pen with a pocket size pad is brilliant as you can capture every idea that comes to you. It's absolutely useless to say, "I'll write it down later" as the chances are very slim that you will in fact do that at all. Capture your ideas. Preserve them. Apply them. If the old pen and paper don’t do it for you, find a way to capture ideas digitally. Record them on a notepad on your phone, or use a voice recorder to capture your thoughts. There are a ton of creative messages your brain sends to you every day, but you end up missing most of them because you don’t take note when they occur.

These are just a few ways to generate brilliant ideas. Use these to springboard onto even more! Just make sure to write them down so that you can access them when you need them.

Cooperative Marketing

Jay Conrad Levinson (Guerilla Marketing guru) coined the phrase "fusion marketing", which refers to a marketing strategy that challenges tradition. It involves building relationships with other businesses with a similar target market, to enhance each other's business success, a twist on the traditional, more territorial marketing methods. Cooperative marketing expands your exposure and your potential for profitability. Some recent examples of successful fusion marketing partnerships - Tim Hortons and Wendy's open restaurants in a shared space. People come in for lunch or dinner at Wendy's, and slip past Tim Horton's for coffee and dessert. And who hasn't enjoyed a cup of Starbucks coffee while shopping at Chapters? Another example - companies who offer frequent flyer miles partnering with hotels, car rental agencies and restaurants. Cooperative marketing is a win-win strategy for small business.

Cooperative marketing is one of the most inexpensive and underused forms of marketing. It's as simple as finding someone who will put your flyer in their window, while you put their flyer in yours. It can be as complex as merging huge companies as in the examples above. The purpose of cooperative marketing is mutual profitability, and it can work for you. So how do you go about finding cooperative partnerships?

Make a list of potential cooperative markets. Look out your window and write down all the businesses who provide a product or service within your sight. Contact your key suppliers and ask for their ideas. Ask your customers what kind of services they might like that would complement what you offer. Join your local Chamber of Commerce and take advantage of the business connections you will find there. Once you've created your list, move on to the next step.

Think about companies on your list who have a similar target market. If you own a car wash, and the business next door is a European deli, doesn't it make sense that people having their cars washed might want a sandwich while they wait, or that people who are having lunch might have their car washed while they eat?

Ask what your business might have in common with another. What might a bottled water company have in common with a company that sells organic gourmet coffee? People who drink expensive gourmet coffee are likely to use bottled water to make it. The water company has a rack of the gourmet coffee by its checkout, and the coffee company has a cooler in their store with water from the water company next door. Everyone wins. Ask yourself this question in relation to a dozen or so businesses in your area and see what you can come up with for cooperative marketing ideas.

Approach other businesses with your ideas. Since cooperative marketing is about mutual benefit, it's hard to imagine that people won't be excited about increasing their marketing potential by helping you with yours. Be enthusiastic and prepared. The more well thought-out your idea, the more likely someone will want to participate. Talk about ways to share marketing expenses. Can you share the cost of printing flyers if each business is featured on one side? Could you add their flyer to your next business mail-out and they add yours to theirs? Can you plan a customer appreciation event together that maximizes both your contact lists? Can you offer free advertising on each other's web sites? The possibilities are endless.

Keep looking for new partners. Chances are, you're going to find cooperative marketing such a great way to do business, you'll want to keep your options open all the time. Every time you get an advertisement in the mail, or purchase a product or service, ask yourself whether this might be the kind of business you could partner with.

Don't forget about web marketing. If you have a website, employ this strategy to maximize your Internet marketing dollar. Do a search of companies who offer similar or complementary products, or who do business in your geographic area. Search for established websites of organizations or associations in your industry, and approach them with a cooperative marketing plan.

Cooperative marketing does require a shift in the way we have traditionally thought about marketing, but it can push your sales and profits to a level you might never be able to reach on your own. Not only will you increase your bottom line, but you'll increase your network and potential customer base at the same time. You may never have heard of the gourmet coffee company I mentioned earlier, if you hadn't come in to get your bottled water. If you like the coffee, they've just gained a customer they could not have reached any other way. Think about how cooperative marketing might benefit you and your business, and watch your business grow!