Business Acumen

Seeing the Big Picture

Many people believe you are born with business acumen, which is loosely defined as the ability to assess an external market and make effective decisions. Knowing what is necessary to navigate and create a successful business seems innate for certain people. For example, Steve Jobs showed great business acumen. Fortunately, it is possible for the rest of us to improve business acumen. The right training combined with experience will improve your business savvy.


Business acumen requires an understanding of finance, strategy, and decision making. Most managers and employees, however, are responsible for specific areas, and they have little understanding of the impact their decisions have on other areas. When too much focus is placed on one aspect of the business, it is difficult to make decisions for the good of the company. In order to make effective decisions, it is necessary for you to examine the big picture.   

When looking at the big picture, it is necessary to consider long term as well as short term interactions. Short term interactions are immediate, single exchanges, and they are necessary for the company to survive. Without looking at the big picture, however, short term interactions may hinder long term success. For example, you may damage a business relationship by using aggressive sales techniques, costing you sales in the future.

Long term interactions are processes or relationships that are essential to growth. Long term business success requires the long term interactions. The relationships with customers, vendors, and employees need to be carefully cultivated. Failure to cultivate relationships occurs when there is a lack of communication or communication is not respectful. Long term relationships help guide the future of the business.

The full 6 hour online course is available at Networx Business Solutions.

40% off discount code: Networx2015

Tina Oliver, M.Ed.

Networx LLC

Teacher Professional Development Plan

Teacher Professional Development Plan

Most organizations make a good habit of evaluating staff performance on an annual or semi-annual basis.  These evaluations should be written and should include observation and/or assessments of work performance.  Employees should also be given the opportunity to do a self-evaluation of their work performance.  Evaluations should be discussed privately with staff, dated, signed and placed in the employees’ confidential file.

It is also a good idea to prepare a professional development plan for the employee during the evaluation meeting.  The professional development plan should include at least three topics that are identified as areas needing improvement and areas of opportunity for growth.  The plan should indicate the staff member’s responsibility and the supervisors’ responsibility for insuring growth.  Additionally, there should be a time line and steps taken to achieve the agreed upon goals.  Make sure that goals are attainable and measureable.

Tina Oliver, M.Ed.

Networx  Early Childhood Training and Consulting Co.

www.networxllc.net 

What are Model Work Standards?

What are Model Work Standards?

If your goal is to have a high quality adult working environment, you want to use Model Work Standards in the administration of your business.  Whether you are in the child care business or some other industry, the ultimate success of your business is dependent upon the satisfaction of a group of your key stakeholders, your employees.

So how can we make sure that our employees are satisfied and that we are in fact running a high quality adult working environment?  Get staff involved by asking them to identify the needs for improvement and then make them part of the strategic planning process.

When I work with child care programs who are interested in improving the quality of their work environment, I put together a STRATEGIC PLANNING MEETING AROUND MODEL WORK STANDARDS.  Prior to this meeting, I will have staff complete a detailed survey. I then compile a list of possible goals from the results of the survey.  During our first meeting, staff will establish a voting system for selection of goals and prioritizing goals. We then create a one year action plan listing the goals, step for meeting the goals, and timeline.  This plan is then reviewed quarterly for progress.

In child care, a quality work environment means quality care for the children served, lower teacher turnover and higher quality teachers.

Tina Oliver, M.Ed.

Networx Early Childhood Training and Consulting Co.

www.networxllc.net

Exit Interviews: A Key to Quality Improvement

Exit Interviews: A Key to Quality Improvement

As owners and leaders of organizations, we often overlook a potential key element to improve our company’s bottom line; exit interviews.  When properly conducted, the exit interview could be a valuable source of information and could catapult your organization to the next level.  As we discussed in the article, Human Resource Development Best Practices, our employees are our greatest asset and one of our greatest stakeholders.  So, it would stand to reason that we want to know how they really feel about the organization and how it is run.    Unfortunately or fortunately, you may get your best critical analysis from an exiting employee.  They have nothing to lose by giving you their true and honest opinions about the company.

There are a couple of ways to go about conducting these interviews.  The exit interview could be done in person (which is the best option) or remotely (online anonymous survey).  I personally think it is a good idea to have the interview conducted in person by someone in the organization who did not work as a direct supervisor of the employee. Having the interview conducted by the direct supervisor could potentially make the interview uncomfortable.  Feelings could get in the way of getting and receiving the best feedback.  The exiting employee may fear retaliation or hard feelings from the supervisor which could affect getting a good recommendation.  Anonymous interviews are also a great option for getting honest feedback. There are services like SurveyMonkey that could be used as a good start.

Here are a few examples of questions that could be used during the exit interview:

What was your overall satisfaction level in your job? 1-5

If you rated 1-3, did you share your dissatisfaction with you supervisor.

What is the reason for leaving the company?

Was there a single event that caused your decision to leave?

What did you like most about your job?

It is not enough just to ask the good questions, you have to be willing to take the information and use it to improve your organization.  It may be difficult to hear some of the negative responses, but those comments may very well be the ones that, if properly addressed, could cause an improvement in employee satisfaction and in turn increase your bottom line revenue.

Contact Networx for training and development for the Early Childhood Professional.

Tina Oliver, M.Ed.

Training and Development Specialist,

Networx LLC

Early Childhood Training, Resource and Consulting Company

 

Human Resource Development Best Practices: Part 2

Human Resource Development Best Practices: Part 2

Having a employee grievance policy is a must in any organization.  It is essential that each employee be given an opportunity to communicate their problems or concerns in a formalized way. By doing so, a level of trust is developed with staff which improves the overall working conditions.  What you don't want is disgruntle employees going around complaining to any and every employee that will listen. Disgruntle or dissatisfied employees are to be handled very delicately and very quickly. Negative feelings of dissatisfaction can spread through the organization like a bad cancer.

Job evaluations and performance appraisals are important, not only to determine the worth of the employee but also to determine the proper compensation for that position within the organization.  These documents can also serve as great tools for determining the correct placement of employees and help with developing a professional development plan.

Understanding the Best practices of HRD in your Early Childhood program, shows your dedication to the profession. It is all about respecting staff, supporting each one in their growth and development and being committed to making sure that everyone is treated fairly in compensation and growth potential.

For more informational resources for the Early Childhood Professional, contact Networx LLC.

Tina Oliver, M.Ed.
Training and Development Specialist
Networx LLC
Early Childhood Training, Resource and Consulting Company

Part 2 of 2, read part 1

Human Resource Development Best Practices: Part 1

Human Resource Development (HRD) Best Practices

In a early childhood program or day care center business, Human Resource Development is a very relevant topic to consider.

Employees (human capital or resources) are the programs greatest asset and one of the most significant stakeholders.  In order to improve the businesses effectiveness, Human Resource Development Best Practices must be strategically implemented. Providing opportunities for staff to learn and develop is at the heart of HRD.

There are many different disciplines that could be said to influence HRD such as; social science, psychology, sociology, arts, humanities and biology, but adult education seems to be the core discipline of HRD.

The Human Resource Development process starts with careful care and consideration for recruitment, interviewing and hiring.  Once an employee is hired, a well thought out and organized orientation should be in place.  Orientation is an important training opportunity that occurs when an the employee is hired and it sets the tone for the future performance goals of the employee.

During the orientation at my organization, the policies and procedures of the organization and job descriptions are reviewed in detail.  Once the employment begins, staff continue to undergo training and development.

Effective training can raise performance, improve morale and increase the organizations potential. Every effort should be made to ensure that training is affordable, if not free, convenient and most importantly relevant. More ...

Tina Oliver, M.Ed.

Training and Development Specialist
Networx LLC,
Early Childhood Training, Resource and Consulting