How to Help Your Staff Adjust to Change

Change is one of the hardest issues that managers deal with in the workplace. Whether it is updating the company's technology, adding in new staff members or simply replacing the furniture, employees typically resist change. While it is inevitable that managers will often have to make changes to keep business running smoothly, there are ways to mitigate the effects it will have on your staff.

Help Them Get Used to the Idea

One of the best ways to introduce something new to the workplace is to allow your staff to gradually adjust to it. Let them know in advance that you will be remodeling the office and that their desks will be replaced. Start by gradually replacing the furniture in common areas, then finally their personal furniture. This principle can work with other changes as well. Let them test out a demo version of a new software while still using their old system. They will be able to accept change better if it is gradual.

Understand That They Will Go Through Stages of Grief

Adjusting to change is often akin to the adjustment to any major loss in life. People will go through denial, hoping that the news of a change is simply a rumor. They will then go through anger, lashing out and becoming enraged at the thought of having a new boss. They may try to bargain or negotiate, hoping that improving their work performance may stave off the change. Finally, they will accept the new change and start to move on in their work lives.

Helping your staff get used to the idea of change means understanding these stages and helping them through them. Expect anger, disbelief and shock. Taking change management courses can help you to better understand these concepts and manage your staff.

Communicate With Them

When you are introducing new policies or staff, it is important to communicate with your existing staff. If you don't tell them what is happening and how it will affect them, they will start to spread rumors. This will lower morale at the company and lead to a loss of productivity. When you communicate with them openly and honestly, they can make the right conclusions and feel more secure about their role in the workplace.

Be Flexible

When you introduce something new to your workplace, understand that everything may not go smoothly. In change management training courses, managers are taught to recognize the signs that the change is not going according to plan. Perhaps one of your staff members was on vacation when you trained the staff on the new software and you now have to train him separately. Maybe the assistant does not work well with her new boss. The IT department may have a hard time integrating your new software with the old operating system.

When you make major changes in the workplace there may be setbacks and delays. If you anticipate these setbacks, you will be in a better position to overcome them.

Keep Spirits High

New change may mean that some well-liked staff members move to different departments or a favorite chair is replaced by new, ergonomic ones. The key during major change is to keep spirits high. Now is the time to pull out all the stops when it comes to enjoying a happy staff. Bring in breakfast a few days a week and give out incentives for excellent work. Openly praise and thank your staff for their cooperation and reassure them that they are still doing a good job. If they feel secure that they are still valuable to the organization, they will be able to keep up with their work in spite of any new changes.

As a manager, there are times when you will have to help your staff adjust to workplace changes. Even small changes can change the dynamic in an office, and handling these with finesse is key. A Diploma of Change Management will help you to get the skills you need to manage these workplace changes. Start on the road to this exciting diploma program today.

How to Attract Top Talent to Your Company

Companies that are looking to hire top talent need to come up with clever ways to add that talent to their teams. While hiring an executive is more complicated than hiring a cashier or another low level employee, there are several sensible steps that companies can take to get the executives that they are after.

Allow Your New Executive to Make Mistakes

There is a good reason why your company is looking for new leadership. Most likely, your company has been in a rut or suffering from customer or regulatory backlash. This means that there is a lot that needs to be changed or scrapped before the company can compete and thrive.

When a new executive comes in, he or she is going to have to take distinct action as soon as he or she starts. Therefore, mistakes are most likely going to be made and will need to be ironed out as time goes on.

If the executive doesn't have the support of those around him or her, that person probably won't want to take the job. When someone is in a bad situation without any support to help fix the problem, that position is going to be seen as toxic and not worth touching.

Allow That Person to Bring in His or Her People

The typical executive has spent years or decades working up to the executive level. Along the way, he or she has developed many connections and business relationships. Allowing your new leader to bring in people that he or she is comfortable with can be a great way to entice that person to come join your company.

When your executive has people that he or she can trust, it makes it a lot easier for that person to lead. It is also in the best interest of the company to bring in as much talent as possible. Those who have a proven track record aren't easy to acquire in today's business world.

Give That Person Ownership of the Company

To get the right person, you may need to cede a large part of the company to that person. While this may be scary to some shareholders, it means that the new executive has an incentive to do well. If compensation is tied to the performance of the company, that executive has to make moves that benefit the company. This presents an opportunity for everyone from the CEO to the person stocking shelves in the store to benefit from the success of the company.

Offer the Opportunity to Cement the Executive's Legacy

Those who are stepping into a new position for the first time want to be able to take credit for something. This helps to cement their legacy and gives that person credibility. If your company is looking to roll out a new product or wants to completely change company culture, allowing the new executive to take charge of that could entice him or her to want to be with your company. In some cases, merely allowing an executive to take credit for something that may have been in place before he or she came on board could do the job.

There is a lot that has to be done to attract a top executive. For companies that are eager to get the search underway, it may be a good idea to partner with an executive recruitment agency. The recruitment agency can help your company find the right people with the right skills to lead your company into the future. It could be the difference between taking the company to the next level and shutting down operations for good.

Do I Need to Declare Bankruptcy? Five Tips on Deciding if Bankruptcy is the Answer

As a business owner who has poured his or her heart and soul into an effort, it can be quite difficult to determine if bankruptcy is the answer for your business – in effect, it is closing a chapter in your life. Deciding to give up on your business and declare bankruptcy is always a tough step, but if you do your research you can be sure that you are making the best decision for yourself and your company. Here are a few criteria which can help you determine if bankruptcy is the right course of action for you.

Have you lost your passion for the business?

If you do not have the same fire for the business that you had in the beginning, then you will not be able to overcome the financial hurdles that you will need to in order to bring the company back to profitability. If you have lost passion, then it is time to cut the cord. If you are still highly devoted to your company and want to try other options to stay afloat, then it might not be time for bankruptcy.

Are the finances insurmountable?

If you have consulted with reputable, trusted financial advisors and you have multiple opinions saying that there is no way to return to profitability, then you may want to consider declaring bankruptcy. However, only consider this if you have multiple opinions telling you the same thing about your business. If you are still not sure that this is the right option for you, get a second opinion and look into other debt consolidation options.

Has your schedule changed?

Do you have less time to invest in your company than before? There are many life events that can completely change the schedule of an individual. Businesses take time to turn around, if you do not have this time, then it may be time to move on to other endevours.

Are you beginning to sell long term assets for short term fixes?

No financial advisor will ever tell you to trade long term assets in order to pay off short term debts. When your business begins to eat into your long-term savings, then it is time to stop investing in it and possibly declare bankruptcy. You don't want to risk losing everything and your future financial freedom for a short term fix.

Is bankruptcy the best legal option for you?

There are many ways to pay back creditors other than bankruptcy, many of them with less long-term financial repercussions. You can try to consolidate your debts or to settle them. Sometimes even those options won't keep your afloat though. According to an expert from Abakhan & Associates Inc, bankruptcy may actually be the best option for you under certain circumstances. You should consider a consultation with a reputable bankruptcy lawyer to discuss your options before declaring bankruptcy in BC.

Declaring bankruptcy is a decision that should not be taken lightly; however, time is of the essence when you are considering the future of your business as well as your life. Make sure to get expert opinions as soon as you can so that you will have the information to make an informed decision about how you should move forward with your financial life. Make sure that you get professional advice right away so that you don't dig yourself deeper and deeper while you are making your final decision.

More Than You Can Chew: Tips for Paying Medical Bills

A large medical or dental bill that is more than you can chew is so discouraging. When presented with a super-sized medical bill, it is possible to negotiate with the hospital, doctor, or dentist providing services. The results may be instant, or take some time to achieve, but do not despair. Here are tips for paying medical bills and keeping on top of your finances when the unexpected occurs.

Ask for a Discount Before Receiving a Medical Bill

Ask the doctor, hospital, dentist, or oral surgeon for a discount prior to the service if possible. Tell the provider that you do not have health or dental insurance, or any relevant financial circumstances. For example, if unemployed, living on a small fixed income, or anything else that affects the ability to pay, discuss this before services are rendered. Many providers and health care facilities offer financial services assistance to those in need. Unfortunately, unless the patient informs his or her doctor or institution about financial circumstances, the provider bills without consideration.

Offer to Settle the Outstanding Bill Immediately

When requesting a discount for services, do not accept the provider's initial rejection as the final word. The doctor or dentist needs office cash flow. Offer to pay the debt in full, at the reduced price offered, immediately. Pay the bill with a cashier's check or in cash, immediately after offering to pay the discounted rate. Write “paid in full” on a cashier's check and request a receive stating that the debt is paid when settling in cash.

How to Pay Older Medical Bills

Sometimes the patient's financial condition changes quickly, and he or she may become unemployed shortly after receiving expensive medical or dental services. It is still possible to ask the provider or hospital for a discount. In this instance, contact the doctor, dentist, hospital, or medical facility as quickly as possible to discuss the circumstances. If months have passed since the services were provided, look up the fair price for the services received. Use this information to negotiate a discount. Insurance companies use similar information to negotiate a better price on their subscribers' services.

Arrange a Payment Plan

Occasionally, a doctor, dentist, or hospital will demand payment in full. In this scenario, politely explain your financial circumstances, and request a payment plan. Never provide a credit card or offer to pay the amount owed on a credit card. This action subjects the financially-strapped individual to interest charges required to finance the medical bill. Instead, offer an affordable payment amount. Then, make the payments as agreed.

Pay as Agreed

When offering the provider a discount, or requesting a payment plan over a certain period of months or years, keep your word. Never offer a payment plan that is more than you can afford because this puts personal credit and ultimate settlement of the debt at risk. To make payments on a payment plan as agreed, consider writing checks for each month's payment in advance. Place each check into an addressed envelope, then place each ready to send payment in a calendar file.

Emergency Medical Bills

In some situations, such as an emergency, it is impossible to ask for discounted services. For example, an individual is in a car accident, and an emergency vehicle or ambulance takes him to the hospital to receive urgent care. In such an instance, the individual or his family should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Jeffery C. Metler, who has had experience in the field says medical bills, rehabilitation services, lost wages, and the cost to repair a vehicle can all be payed with the help of a personal injury attorney. Never interact with the at-fault driver's insurance company without the benefit of a personal injury attorney on your side.

When it comes to your health, you need the best care possible, and often it comes at a steep price. Don't let your current situation dictate your health. Take action and come up with a way to pay off the debt yourself. Use these tips to get started and improve your situation today.

You're Never Too Old to Earn!

Incredibly, there are still adults careening around financial aspects of their lives armed with only a debit card and crossed fingers. Our 90 day boot camp offers the entry into basic finance, leaving debt behind and entering the saving world. This application can save those users slower in financial maturity and provide easy financial basic education to begin pursuit of solvency. Just as incredibly, there are young capitalists of the future already watching their pennies and investing their quarters, well aware of current market trends. For both human ends of the financial totem, this app provides strong informative education and the resources to use it both now and tomorrow.

Professor Savings is the app for the century, able to equip anyone and everyone with financial skills and the ability to use them through their mobile phone. Even children are learning about their money needs and expenses with this application on their phone apps list.

The application is interactive and armed with fun tutorials. Customers can learn on the run as they enter their financial data throughout their busy days, submit questions and receive fast answers from their trusted mobile. Moving up the financial chain is easy through this app's mobile applications, and it is also entirely painless education for the user. From simple "I have/I want" agendas to the more categorized investment strategies and results, Professor Savings takes users smoothly through all steps of financial acumen. Moreover, this accumulated information and data remain private, confidential, secure and For Your Eyes Only!

This is the missing link of our education system which has never received the attention deserved. Students are busily conjugating verbs in ancient languages yet have been taught absolutely none of the basics in money management. The use of this application can remedy that oversight by educators and teach users how to take up their own reins for financial success. No matter the user's age or background in financial matters, this application can remedy any lack of understanding of money matters and enter a user into financial control. From that entrance level, it is rudimentary for the user to grow in financial management abilities by following the tutorials and video programming.

Control of finances is never taught in today's schools, leaving today's youth bare to the winds of poverty or chance. If the user is not in control of his/her funds and how and where they will be invested or spent, it is a certainty that someone in the future will use those funds in a way not wanted by the user. It is also a certainty that the end results will be losing ones for the user. Lessons in this application show users how to control and manage all funds, no matter the size or type. The resources used in this app are information packed tutorials, many keen witted and timely videos, plus interactive functions to hold the user's attention and enthusiasm.

About the Author:

George L. Hawkins, former CEO of one of Fortune 500's top producing fund families, brought his funds from near termination to success in five years of the worst market in history. Hawkins is an advocate of Professor Savings being utilized in early education for all public, parochial and private educational institutions. Hawkins is an advocate of Professor Savings being utilized in early education for all public, parochial and private educational institutions.

7 Business Ideas to Explore Post Retirement

retirement (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

Retire from your day job and start a business? Twenty years ago the idea of starting a business in retirement might have seemed a little odd, after all isn't the entire purpose of retiring to stop working altogether? There are a number of reasons why seniors will be working longer and some of them are financial (which we will delve into). Other reasons are to retain a more active lifestyle in retirement.

Can you see yourself running a business you love in your retirement? We are going to discuss the motivational factors and some of the pros and cons’s to running your own business after retirement and weigh some of the different options available for senior entrepreneurs. 

Redefining Our Understanding of Retirement

When you reach the age of sixty-five (65) and your federally provided old age pension begins, you should retire. At least that is what we have told generations of laborers in North America and the age of retirement looms for all workers (or has in the past) like a promised land. When you retire you will not have to do the forty-hour-a-week grind and deal with bad bosses or annoying co-workers. You can instead, accept the golden handshake and head off to do what other retirees do; golf, garden or visit grandchildren. That has been our understanding and profile of retirement.

The idea of delaying our retirement was a punitive concept for decades with some social misconceptions about seniors who were unable to retire. The assumption has always been that anyone working over the age of sixty-five years cannot afford to retire. It is a financial option that may not be possible for many people who may need to find alternatives. The sociological assumption is that no one would deliberately choose to work after the age of sixty-five; we now know that is wrong.

When the average age of retirement was set people were living into their seventies on average. Retirement was to allow for a restful slowing down and recreational time with family and friends before some of the physical decline of old age began. Between advances in medicine and pharmaceuticals, as well as increased nutrition and information on self-care many people are living well into their eighties now and even nineties. The average life expectancy of someone retiring in the 1950’s was seventy-one (71) years or roughly a ten year retirement. Now, retiring can mean twenty or more years of active living which has changed the rules somewhat with both fiscal and social influences delaying and even suspending the age of retirement indefinitely. We will take a closer look at some of those reasons. 

Switching Gears: The Benefits of Non-Retirement and Small Business Ownership

If you have decided that early retirement is not feasible, evaluating some of the benefits of non-retirement can help you plan a healthy and even lucrative transition into the next phase of your pre-retirement career. If you have been engaged in manual labor or a physically demanding job, you may opt to change your work duties to something that is both lighter in labor and more enjoyable for your retirement income.

Purchasing an established business franchise or even launching a new start-up business is very much part of the trend for the Baby Boomers. Why head into retirement strapped for cash and bored when you can transition into your own private business instead? We’ve put together seven new business ideas for retirees to explore.

1. The Consultant

Have you always dreamed of working in a more creative capacity and sharing your knowledge? Depending on your expertise, you may find yourself in a position to consult on a freelance basis. If you have spent your career in a specific industry or niche market you possess a wealth of information that is of value to employers.

Consultants are engaged on a per-contract-basis to coordinate and sometimes manage projects requiring an experienced expert. The best part? You can work as a consultant from anywhere in the world which means if you plan to travel, you can take your work with you. It is both a lucrative and convenient choice for retirement.

2. Landscaping Business

We know what you are thinking. You do not want to cut your own lawn, but a landscaping business can take a number of different business structures that are both rewarding and a well paying option for retirement. Lawn care companies are available by franchise and you can receive a franchise territory and a turn-key operation. Whether you wish to invest in additional staff or equipment for a full service landscape company (grass cutting and snow removal) or whether you wish to stick to seeding and lawn care treatments, it can be a great option for retirees that like being outdoors and meeting new people.

3. Pet Sitting Business

Do you love animals? If you have owned pets your whole life you understand how frustrating and expensive it can be to find a pet sitter when you need one for a vacation. Why not take the skills you already posses in pet care and create a business opportunity? All you will need is a website and some investment in social media and advertising to get the word out and start taking bookings. It is a fun way to run a small business and to get some exercise too.

4. Bed and Breakfast

If you like the idea of commuting from your bedroom to your living room or kitchen every day, consider investing in an established bed and breakfast. Downsizing the principal home and moving out of the city to a more affordable area is something most retirees will do anyhow. When you do, why not push out into the country or lakeside areas and invest in a home and business in one? Welcome international visitors and income, while realizing excellent tax deductions for expenses and if you live in a city or town with a college or university, welcome international students instead.

5. Become a Writer!

Are you the type of person who has always been very good at writing? If so there are a number of opportunities online for professional content providers (writers) to create text and copy for advertisements, websites, social media and more. The only overhead to this kind of business is your own time and creativity. Capitalize on it and become the professional commercial writer you always wanted to be.

6. Own a Motel

Similar to purchasing an established bed and breakfast, buying a motel in a popular area can be a rewarding business to run. Motels can be quite small or large in scale with other augmented income opportunities such as laundry, vending machines and convenience store revenues. Moving out of the city to a location with less competition will ensure a lower purchase price and many motels come equipped with a home on site or living area.

7. Professional Photographer

If you have always loved photography and are willing to make the investment, becoming a professional event photographer can be a lucrative part time income that is fun and creative. Most wedding photographers are hired at a rate of $1,500 per day or more. While the nature of the wedding photography demand is seasonal, other opportunities for corporate photography or special events may exist year round. A portrait studio and administrative office can be easily established within the home creating opportunities for tax deduction.

Remember that your retirement is a time of changing gears and creating the lifestyle you want with activities that you enjoy. Retirement is a transition not the end of your professional life. With some creative planning you can operate or own a business into the new chapter of your career where you work for yourself, and love what you do.


Author Bio:

Joshua Geary is a financial writer and experienced blogger for the real estate IRA for Sunwest Trust, Inc. When he’s not writing about IRA investment options and the self-directed IRA rules and regulations that go along with them, Joshua enjoys reading and swimming in his leisure time.