Business Advice and Financial Planning for Small Businesses

Business Tips

Developing company disciplinary rules and procedures

In many instances when new company’s or new businesses are starting up they will think about their employment contracts for staff and may have straightforward disciplinary and grievance procedures for staff on appointment. However, many new small companies with no previous experience of employing staff (and only envisaging employing small number of staff) may neglect to set out disciplinary rules in a specific way. This may mean that when staff bend or break these unwritten “rules” it is difficult to discipline them if the specific behaviour had not been mentioned.

So employees have to know firstly, what behaviour is expected of them in the workplace, and, secondly what will happen to them if they then break the rules as stated.

The rules given to staff should include:

Timekeeping requirements and procedures for absence
Performance of the particular job or task
Issue of personal appearance
Unacceptable behaviour to other staff such as bullying and harassment
Rules about smoking, alcohols and drugs
Personal use of company resources in work time (or out of work time) such as access to the internet and sending personal email, playing and downloading games and other misuse of company time and equipment

There may be particular strictures a particular company may need, such as behaviour with customers, though it is impossible to cover every possibility, but covering a range of areas will make clear the importance of appropriate behaviour. which may not be written in one policy, but noted in an appropriate document. For example, a health and safety policy will state employee’s responsibilities to themselves and others for different aspects of health and safety.

Employees should be aware that if rules are broken then disciplinary action may well be taken.

Local businesses must shape up they way the ship out!

If you’re the owner of a small, local business that’s growing slowly but surely, the last thing you need to have is trouble with shipping and delivery. Shipping Companies rarely disappoint, but if you streamline your shipping, all may be more than well. Shipping is the last service you can give your customer before they receive your goods. If they feel they’ve paid too much for delivery, they won’t repeat buy.

It’s worth taking time to compare rates for delivery and shipping. Remember, you don’t have to be sending vast amounts of product in order to negotiate a discount. [Read More...]

5 quick tips

1. Building a forceful network of contacts is a serious part of gaining influence in small company circles. You may then leverage your contacts inside that network to call in favours or cooperate.

2. Try hard not to waste any chance to spread your influence. The most effective way to modify the way that folks think is to continuously elbow them in the correct direction with your words.

3. Ensure that you always try and talk in language that your target market will understand. Creative folks will reply well to ideas and pictures, while analytical folk will generally need info to realise your meaning.

4. Mirroring the individual you’re talking to has scientifically been proved to be effective when handling others. This could involve duplicating the way that they sit or stand, or imitating their gestures and tone of voice.

5. It is really important to develop the right disposition so you are giving off the proper signals to folk. A serious part of human communication is non-verbal, which regularly forces entrepreneurs to learn a completely new mind-set if they would like to become successful.