What is a healthy work culture? Is it the physical environment, quality of leadership, benefits or the vibe? A healthy work culture is considered to be one where employees feel valued, safe, comfortable, and flush with opportunity for growth. Creating a healthy environment starts with best practices generated by ownership or leadership. Set clear organizational […]
Part of communications is asking good questions that allow you to acquire the information you want or need to know. As a small business owner, you cannot be everyplace all of the time so you need to generate information from your team. In order to get good information we need to ask good questions. Consider […]
BizTips from SCORE – Upping Your Customer Service Performance
This week I walked into a local supermarket and coming towards me was an employee wearing a monogrammed shirt and name tag. I smiled as I passed with no recognition, acknowledgment, or greeting. This set the tone for the entire engagement and it wasn’t good. My guess was that the employee wasn’t coached that great […]
A brand audit is a check that evaluates your brand’s positioning in the marketplace. It examines your strengths and weaknesses and how to strengthen it. When conducting an audit there are essentially three elements: (1) internal branding – the brand’s values, organizational culture, and mission, (2) external branding – your logo, print and online marketing […]
Making Work Relationships Work Good relationships at work are essential for a positive and productive work environment. The key ingredients to building relationships are: Trust – the most important of all Respect Empathy Time Give & Take One of the primary ways to create great relationships is to make a habit of giving more than […]
BizTips from SCORE – Networking starts with small talk
What is the most anxiety-generating activity for you? Hot air ballooning, riding a roller coaster, going to the dentist, or attending a networking event where you have to talk with people you don’t know? What will I say? How will I respond? How will they respond? How can I look and feel comfortable in this […]
Keeping Your Team Motivated It is really hard to find employees to fill the ranks of small businesses today, but equally hard to retain them once you find and on-board them. Consider these best practices in managing your seasonal team: Employees stay when they are: appreciated, mentored, challenged, engaged, empowered, not just paid well. Getting […]
Many times you can say NO by saying YES. “I would love to spend a few minutes talking about your project, however I am in the middle of something, can we meet at 2pm?” Other ways of saying NO but not shutting the door are: Let’s look at this together. This gives both you and […]
H2B Workers: Please Practice Lawful Hiring Procedures
Published May 19, 2023, 10:47 am Recently one of our member businesses had two applicants that were H2B workers at the Chatham Bars Inn. As you know H2B workers are not allowed to work for another employer other than their designated sponsor(s). Hiring another employer’s H2B worker without having filed for that particular worker on […]