May 2012 Newsletter

Create a Healthy Office

Most people work for a living, whether in an office, shop, or home environment and many businesses strive to do their part in “going green”.  An element of a greener office is to create an environment that is mentally and physically healthy for all employees and that reduces stress and increases the energy level at work. Imagine how productive your office could be with healthy, invigorated and happy workers.  So, just what are some creative changes or updates that companies can put into place to start this transformation into a healthy working atmosphere?

  1. Create a Dedicated Workspace:  Whether in the office or working from home, employees should have a workspace that fulfills the needs they require for their day-to-day activities.  Do they have a desk or are they working off their couch at home? Do they have an ergonomically correct chair that helps support their back or are they using a beanbag chair or sitting on the floor for hours at a time?  Is their computer screen situated so that they aren’t straining their eyes to see or constantly looking up or down causing their neck strain instead of looking straight ahead in a comfortable position?  Is the office space they maintain ‘noise’ friendly; meaning, are they getting the quiet time they require or constantly being distracted by unnecessary noises?
  2. Allow For Natural Light:  Studies have shown that natural light increases human productivity while reducing fatigue and stress.  Does your office allow for natural light to come in or are there only fluorescent lights, which can be depressing and may induce headaches?  Is the office rather dark or well lit allowing for a bright and cheerful environment?  If your company does not have a lot of windows to allow for natural light, fluorescent lights can be replaced with full-spectrum tubes.  This type of lighting emits natural light, eases eye fatigue, and reduces stress.  Also, try using floor and desk lamps.  These can brighten up any space and invite positive energy to help employees work more efficiently.  This will also make workers feel better while working, which promotes overall health.
  3. Filter In Clean Air:  There are a couple of ways to enhance the quality of the air in your office.  First, try setting out some greenery.  Plants actually put more oxygen into the air and clean pollutants out of the air at the same time.  Not to mention, plants brighten up any area and makes any office more inviting.  Second, ionizing a room will reduce more than half the dust particles in the air as well as drastically lower bacteria levels.  This leads to purer air for employees to inhale while working and a much healthier environment.
  4. Improve The Mood With Color:  While this tip may seem minor, don’t rule it out. Colors on a wall within an office can create many different moods for your employees.  Warm colors like yellow, orange and red promote energy. But, if you are trying to create a relaxing environment, choose cooler colors such as blue, green and tan. 
  5. Let The Music Play:  While it is not feasible for some companies to play music, some offices can put this into their plans.  Music, whether playing at an individual employee’s desk or playing over an intercom in the background for the entire company to hear, can affect workers’ emotional well-being.  Appropriate music can be stimulating if performing repetitive tasks and can reduce stress. 
  6. Take Breaks: Last, but not least, please make sure your employees are taking their well-deserved breaks each day.  Just taking a few minutes to go outside into the sunshine while stretching their arms and legs can make a world of difference in their physical and mental health.  Sometimes if workers are focused on intense tasks for too long, they can become bogged down and unfocused.  Taking breaks will refresh and invigorate so when they come back to the task at hand they are ready to tackle it with renewed strength and more ideas.

These are just a few of many ways to create a healthy office environment for your employees. A little research will certainly turn up additional great ideas. These are low cost and high impact practices so do something good that will make your office a lot more productive and keep happy workers on the job for years to come.

Make This Hire Last

The bottom line is that hiring a new employee is something we all do—and we do it much more often than we should have to due to turnover.  Setting an employee up for success is one the most important things you can do.

This month let’s look at the ways we can ensure that our new employee becomes one of the very best employees we have, and absolutely wants to stay with us long term, and help us meet our goals.

Recently we spent time finding the right employee by using interviewing and selection techniques that ensured a good fit.  Our new employee is starting tomorrow, and we want to make sure that their first day, and everyday thereafter, is a success.

We can do this by providing an excellent working environment, supportive co-workers and management, excellent orientation and training processes, challenging individual and team goals, and all of the tools to do the job at the highest levels.

Since each employee learns at a different pace, in different ways and with different tools, we need to be creative when we provide the orientation and training that will allow the new employee to become a successful part of the team.  Incumbents need to understand how best to serve the customer, the potential needs of co-workers, industry standards that the company is held accountable to, and the level of quality they will be expected to reach once they learn the job responsibilities.

Be creative as you set up the first few days and weeks of training time.  (Hint:  Newer employees will be able to share their most enjoyable training experiences.)

  • Make time to build rapport on day 1.  Greet the new employee personally and take the time to tell them a little about yourself.  Share what is important to you, and give the new employee time to talk as well.
  • Show the employee where they will work—–desk, cubicle, or work space.  Make sure they have office supplies, phone lists and the computer or other tools they will need on their first day.
  • Introduce them to a Mentor or Buddy.  This can be done by asking for volunteers or assigning the task to just the right person.  Ask this individual to take the new employee on a tour and introduce co-workers as they go. Encourage them to share work stories that will enable the new employee to get to know their counterparts quickly.
  • Make the orientation fun and interactive.  Send the employee on a “trip around the building” where you hand the employee off to the first manager that will share what they do, and then that manger moves the employee along to the next.  Make it a competition and encourage the managers to find things that they have in common with the new employee.
  • Introduce the new employee to their On-The-Job Trainer.  Ask the trainer to review the new employee’s schedule, job description, and give the employee a good idea of what they will learn, and when.
  • Take the time to regroup at the lunch hour.  See how things are going, and make sure the new employee has friends to join for lunch, or arrange a team lunch to make the new employee feel comfortable.
  • Review the job responsibilities and the level of quality that the new employee will need to reach.  Be sure that their job description is up to date, and give the employee examples of ways they can excel in their work.)
  • Ask for feedback on each phase of the orientation process.  Take the time to understand what went well, what was missing, and what may need to be covered again.
  • Finally, catch your new employee doing something right. Early “wins” will provide encouragement, and will allow the new employee to see that Coaching is a part of your daily routine. Great Coaching is 4 to 1. That means that for each piece of constructive feedback, you have already shared 4 positive thoughts!

Making the new employee feel welcome and sharing all of this information on day one may not be possible, but setting a schedule and including all of these things in the first few weeks, will ensure that you have a fully satisfactory or better employee, and it will enable you to hold the employee accountable going forward.

Dealing With Negative Online Business Reviews

As a business owner or manager of business, you must be aware and cognizant of any online reviews that are posted about your business – good or bad.  More and more customers search the Internet for information on products or businesses.  Many customers search out reviews of the product or business they are interested in because they want to see the feedback from other consumers that have either purchased that particular product or have done business with a particular company.

No matter if your business is big or small, you are bound to come across disgruntled customers.  Those unhappy customers have the opportunity to easily air their grievances via the Internet.  They can post their message through social media outlets such as Facebook or Twitter or post a blog entry on the company’s site or on a general business aggregator like Manta or Merchant Circle.  Some motivated customers have gone so far as to upload a video on YouTube.

So, now you have received a negative review.  As the business owner or manger, what should you do?  Do you attack like a momma bear protecting her cub or do you act like an ostrich and bury your head in the sand?  Neither, but business owners or managers need to resolve any customer grievances quickly and professionally.  Here are some suggestions.

    1.  Respond quickly to the negative review.  A quick response will show that you, the business owner or manger are in touch with your business.  You do not want to wait a few weeks before you respond because more readers will see this negative review without any response.
    2. Do your homework and get the facts.  You need to collect your facts concerning the reason for the negative review.  Who helped the customer?  Did the customer return a product or send back a meal?  If so, why?  Was the problem a shipping error or delay?  If a mistake was made, was the customer contacted and kept informed throughout the process? How was the error or bad product/service experience corrected?
    3. Consider whether the issue is part of a pattern. Have you heard this feedback before? Can something be improved or addressed to bring a higher level of customer service?
    4. Respond to the negative comment on the Web site where it was made, and, directly to the customer if possible. 
  • Always personalize your response, by introducing yourself and how you are associated with the business – example:  John Smith and I am the owner of XYZ Business.  Now you have to decide at this point – was my business at fault and the negative review was valid or was my business not at fault.  Either way you still should respond. 
  • Start by thanking the reviewer for their comments or feedback.
  • Be logical and straightforward and demonstrate that you listened. Don’t engage in a personal battle.
  • If your company was wrong – always make a sincere apology to the customer.
  • Tell the reviewer that you would like to rectify the situation.
  • Include that you are sorry that they had a negative experience with your company or product.
  • Let the reviewer know that you have investigated the facts surround the negative review and spell those facts out.  If your company handled the situation incorrectly, then let the customer know that.  Also, let the customer know that the situation or policy has been changed.
  • Personally invite the customer to contact you or someone at your company to discuss resolution to the customer’s problem.
  • Remember that social networking is a conversation, not bully pulpit. And, that all social networking is marketing. All online posts are public, and for the most part permanent. What are you saying about your business?
  • Most important – If there is a resolution to the customer’s complaint, ask them to please post a follow up to the same website.

Keep in mind, that someone took the time out of her busy day, to sit down and write a review – whether positive or negative.  Having the opportunity to address a negative experience is always a positive. It’s a chance to review and strengthen a business plan, improve operations and processes, and keep a finger on the pulse of customer experiences.

Direct Deposit – The Way To Go

Many of us are “going paperless” whenever we can in an effort to save trees. Employees can contribute toward this goal by selecting direct deposit rather than paper checks. They are rewarded with additional benefits as well:

  • Some banks offer free or low cost accounts when the account holder has their paychecks deposited directly into their account. Banks save the cost of processing paper checks and the savings is passed onto the consumer with free accounts.
  • No more waiting in line at the bank. Direct deposits will automatically go into the account on the day the check is negotiable, or paid. No more worries if you are out of town, sick, or just to busy too make it to the bank.
  • In most cases, multiple accounts can be set up for direct deposit. This is ideal for the savings account you have been thinking about opening.
  • If you schedule direct debits, or payments, such as your mortgage or utility bill, you can feel confident knowing the funds will be there to cover the payment. Since your direct deposit is automatically sent to your account, you are covered.
  • The worry of a paper check not arriving on time, being lost, or stolen is eliminated.
  • There are no holds placed on direct deposit funds. You can budget your bills more efficiently by knowing exactly when your funds will be in your account without the concern that the bank might hold the funds.

Setting up direct deposit through an employer is easy. Set up simply requires a completed authorization form and a voided check. The authorization form gives the employer permission to deposit the funds into your account but also gives permission to reverse funds if there should ever be a rare error in the funds paid. The voided check allows for set up accuracy of the account information.

Employers save on the expensive price of check stock and on the postage required to mail the checks to employees’ homes. Additionally, by giving the employees online access to their pay stubs, there is no more time wasted in passing out checks, locating the employee, or mailing checks to employees’ homes.

Direct deposit is a benefit for all for in time saved, expenses reduced, and peace of mind increased.

OSHA Revises Hazard Communications Standard

To better protect workers from hazardous chemicals, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ global chemical labeling system. The new standard, once implemented, will prevent an estimated 43 deaths per year and result in an estimated $475.2 million in enhanced productivity for U.S. businesses each year.

The Hazard Communication Standard, is being revised to align with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, will be fully implemented in 2016 and will benefit workers by reducing confusion about chemical hazards in the workplace, facilitating safety training and improving understanding of hazards, especially for low literacy workers. OSHA’s standard will classify chemicals according to their health and physical hazards, and establish consistent labels and safety data sheets for all chemicals made in the United States and imported from abroad.

The revised standard also is expected to prevent an estimated 585 injuries and illnesses annually. It will reduce trade barriers and result in estimated annualized benefits in productivity improvements for American businesses that regularly handle, store and use hazardous chemicals, as well as cost savings of $32.2 million for American businesses that periodically update safety data sheets and labels for chemicals covered under the standard.

“OSHA’s 1983 Hazard Communication Standard gave workers the right to know. As one participant expressed during our rulemaking process, this update will give them the right to understand, as well,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels.

During the transition period to the effective completion dates noted in the standard, chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers may comply with either 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.1200 (the final standard), the current standard or both.

Source: www.osha.gov