On Monday, November 1 from 10:30AM to 1PM Midwest Staffing team members, Chris Kratochvil, Justin Smith, Dan Webinger and Mary Verdeja along with Firstat's Brian Thoemke, attended “Celebrate Opportunity” an Opportunity Partners event. The event was an executive networking and business recognition luncheon to celebrate and learn how people with disabilities enhance our workplace. Midwest Staffing and Firstat donated $1,250 to help people with disabilities add value to the Twin Cities area.

The “Celebrate Opportunity” networking luncheon was hosted by Frank Vascellaro from WCCO-TV with keynote speaker Randy Lewis, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Management for Walgreens. Walgreens the largest pharmacy chain in the United States is one of the strongest supporters of Opportunity Partners by integrating people with disabilities into their workforce, marketplace and supplier chain. Randy discussed the success Walgreens has had by integrating Opportunity Partners workers into their distribution channels. They plan to increase the employment percentage of employees with disabilities by 20 percent. This is Walgreens secret to success; with this in mind your business should consider contacting Opportunity Partners.

Other than having the privilege of listening to Guest speaker Randy Lewis, the luncheon also included a speed networking session. Speed networking is similar to speed dating, a timed round robin where professionals meet to exchange contact information and their companies goals and history. Afterwards professionals decide on whom they will connect with or where they can utilize their product or service. A few businesses that Chris Kratochvil of Midwest Staffing connected with were Graybow HD, Minnesota Life College and Anchor Insurance Agency.

Besides a great networking event Midwest Staffing and Firstat fully intend to participate in this event again November 1, 2012. Not only to connect with other business professionals but to support the added value and the impact Opportunity Partners has on our community.

A few weeks ago I found myself back in the classroom for my daughter, Madeline’s pre-school orientation. As I sat through the handbook orientation, I began to notice a plethora of overly excited parents, nervous children clinging to their parents’ legs, and enthusiastic teachers ready for the year to begin.

I looked over at Madeline confidently playing in the dress-up area as she sported overly large plastic high heels, a gaudy fake jeweled necklace and a fluffy pink “princess” dress. Madeline was at-ease and ready to begin pre-school. It was in this moment that I realized that preparing a child for their first day of preschool is much like managing change in an organization. (Yes, this was the Human Resource Manager coming out in me)!

Preparing a child for their first day of preschool
is much like managing change in an organization.

Define the End Goal

Much like managing change in an organization, the first step in preparing a preschooler for their first day is to clearly explain what the goal is and what will happen. I helped Madeline to understand I wanted her to have fun, to meet new friends and learn new things. When beginning a change effort in an organization, it’s essential to understand and define the business intent. Employees need to know exactly what the goal or business intent of the change effort is. When creating the change, you should be looking at how to foster an environment where employees can embrace they change rather than telling them the new policy.

Identify Stakeholders

In every change, there are going to be numerous parties that will be impacted. Some employees will be deeply impacted while other employees will hardly notice the change has taken place. As a change leader, you must have a plan developed to address the various needs of each group to gain their support for the change. Prior to preschool beginning, my husband and I discussed how the “stakeholders” in our family would be impacted. Jack, our 6 month old son would have to take a slightly later morning nap to accommodate dropping Madeline off at school. On occasion my husband will have to take time off of work to attend a school function. The largest stakeholder would be Madeline who was transitioning from a summer with little structure to a classroom. All of the issues were addressed and a plan was communicated to each “stakeholder”. Okay, so we didn’t technically communicate it to the infant, but you get the point! Address all of the stakeholders needs to make them feel important and a part of the change.

Gauge Organizational Readiness

It’s important for a change leader to be able to assess the organization’s readiness for the change. To create an analysis you should gather information in the following areas:

• Employees understanding the reason for the change and/or understanding of the business goal.
• If the key employees are in agreement about the importance of the specific change effort.
• Leadership’s ability to communicate the vision/purpose of the change.
• Availability to communicate with employees to gather feedback, suggestions and concerns.

Develop a Plan

After the research has been completed and data gathered, it’s time to create a strategic implementation plan. The plan should include:

Business goal/intent, the stakeholder and organizational readiness analysis, implementation steps, a means for evaluating the effectiveness of the change effort and a communication plan

This list is not by any means all inclusive, but it does provide the basics of managing an effective change process. Perhaps one of the more important parts of managing change is to celebrate the milestones and small victories along the way. First day of preschool was a huge milestone… deserving of a celebratory ice cream cone. Yes, I think so!

During my childhood I had the tendency to exaggerate or fib on little things for instance, how far I hit the baseball, how sick I was (to skip school) and of course when I broke something in the house. Now that I am older, wiser and have a better understanding of the value of truth, my actions have transformed tremendously. This behavior is understandable in naive children but I have noticed this same behavior in small businesses.

Small businesses have the tendency to imply “lie” that they are larger than they are. For instance some will claim they are a national business when in fact they only service locally but have sister companies in other states with different services. Another example is when a small business consisting of only one employee (owner) classifies their home office as their main headquarters, insinuating that they have multiple locations and are more grandiose than they are. My favorite “white lie” used frequently by small businesses is their broad description of their territory that they service. An example of this is when they say they service the west coast in reality they service one city that happens to be located on the west coast.

Small businesses are essentially trying to deceive potential clients which I, as a potential client do not appreciate being misled. With all the resources that we have available to us like Linked In, a business website, and blogs like this one, everyone has the capability to research businesses before making purchasing decisions. So it is inevitable that we will figure out the actual status of the company and in turn be disappointed by their tactics.

Do you or fellow employees embellish on your businesses?

Don’t risk a possible good business relationship with a white lie. These embellishments directly affect a brand and reputation of a business. Embrace the fact that you are a small business and use it to sell your business to success.

Have you ever exaggerated about your business or caught someone in a white lie. If so; share in the comment box below.

On Saturday June 25 Jen Granner, Mike Thoemke, Josie Schwake and myself participated in Team Ortho’s 5K Commando Run. The fun included 13 different grueling obstacles throughout the race which pushed you to the limits mentally and physically, a few of the obstacles involved running through deep waters, jumping over burning logs, climbing over bales of hay and navigating up and down the slippery slopes. After finishing the adventurous race, runners rehydrate and replenished their nutrients with beer and hotdogs. Now that’s a Race!

We not only increased our physical fitness and enjoyed in a delicious post-race beer and hotdog; we also gained more enduring benefits. The positive attitudes and teamwork we partook in directly correlates to what a successful business is built around and we find it is extremely effective to foster it through physical fitness.

Physical fitness is known to raise your endorphins which gives your body a natural good feeling and releases stress. Employees who are less stressed and have a positive attitude will directly result in an increase in productivity. Employees with a positive attitude tend to represent a company better, utilize company work time more effectively and have a happier home life.

Effective teamwork will result in an effective and efficient business. Team building activities will replace the common use of “I” with “Us”. This will enforce the team to look out for one another, bring the best out of each other and do whatever it takes for the “team” to succeed.

With team building events such as the Commando Run your company has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Does your business participate in team building activities? If so; what type of activities?

All businesses want their company to be the first listed as a search result on Google, Bing, Yahoo and other large search engines. Some don’t know the work that goes behind making that happen, with that in mind there are devious businesses that will try to take advantage of less informed more naïve businesses. To decipher which business is truly working for you and not trying to swindle you is difficult if you don’t know what to look for. There are two consistent and immediate red flags that people should be aware of when acquisitioning an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) firm.

First and most importantly is to hone in on the “Keywords” sales pitch of the SEO’s representative. Keywords are certain words in headers, web page content, and titles of articles that search engines look for to flag your site. One scenario a representative may use is telling a business that they are missing out on a keyword in their site which is resulting in ‘x’ amount of dollars missed annually. Well there are hundreds of possibilities for keywords and all businesses face this issue when selecting keywords because usually only 3-5 words are relevant and result in the maximum effectiveness. Choosing these words is a time consuming and lengthy process. Most businesses do not have the time and resources to effectively research each and every keyword without some type of financial commitment toward a company that will do it for them.

For example “Midwest Staffing” could select the following 4 keywords “staffing, employment, temporary and agency” which word placement, seekers, and recruiters would identify. They could also add “Midwest Staffing” to the list of key words but then they become dangerously close to exceeding the suggested keyword criteria and would fail to yield the highest search engine results.

The second tactic of SEO representatives is offering a guarantee that they can generate a #1 position in search result. For starters all search engines’ algorithms for search results are substantially different and unknown. A claim of knowing search engine’s algorithms to position your website at #1 is nothing more than fraud.

For example search “Movie Store” on bing.com and google.com.com. As you will notice the search results are substantially different. The top 3 results for bing were “moviestore.com, blockbuster.com and moviegallery.com” and the google results were “blockbuster.com, bestbuy.com and fye.com”. Anyone’s results could potentially be different, mainly because of demographic factors.

A precaution bookmark, this page as a reference to rely on when receiving an email or phone call in regards to your website. You will have a better understanding of when to hang up the phone or delete the email. If you have further questions about “keywords” that help position your website ask in the comment area below.

Last month, we pointed out that the CEO that plans the best, maximizes cost-effective resources and concentrates on their business the most wins!

Whether you are starting a business, building a new plant, reengineering processes, buying/installing capital equipment or launching a new product/program, project management has an unparalleled track record of success. But where do I start? Every idea may not be viable or even qualify as a project.

You start with the project’s feasibility. The PFASAP (Project Feasibility As Soon As Possible) model sets the baseline for the initial investigation of the project’s worthiness, helps establish prioritization and directs subsequent actions. It begins with 5-questions which are helpful in focusing the initial planning and the actual setting-up of the project.

1. What do you want? (Project Definition)
   1.1. Clearly define the expected result.
2. What for? (Project Justification)
   2.1. Purpose is stronger than object
3. How much are you willing to spend in terms of time, money and people? (Project Cost)
   3.1. Not many have the luxury of time and unlimited funds.
4. What is the timeframe? (Project Schedule)
   4.1. In order to be successful, my resources must be available or planned for in advanced.
5. What is the value to the Customer? (Project Audit)
   There are both internal and external Customers to consider. Ensure you project’s goal/objective is to provide a benefit to the correct Customer base. For example, satisfying the internal Customer base is important, but not at the expense of the external Customer(s).

The answers to these five simple questions have a remarkable effect on the outcome of your project because in business “Time is precious and delays cost money”.

I just finished reading a great book called “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson, M.D. The story revolves around four main characters that have four different personalities and it takes place inside a maze. The primary message is whenever the cheese moves you need to be prepared to adapt and overcome the situation in order to succeed and ultimately reach the cheese. Some may call these obstacles but if looked at in a different perspective they can actually be seen as a blessing at work or in your personal life.

After quickly reading the mere 96 pages; I asked myself the question “Why do employers find applicants that jump from job to job undesirable?” The obvious answer is they are a risky investment of time and money. Instead this should influence employers to interview the candidate.

Why? Because the majority of businesses and industries need to anticipate change or be able to adapt to changes rapidly otherwise they are in jeopardy of falling behind the competition. Candidates that moved rapidly from job to job may do so not because of the stereotypical reasons like laziness; they’re not driven or are unmotivated. One of the reasons they move from job to job is because the employment wasn’t stimulating or challenging enough. Granted not everyone will love their job and at times all jobs can be monotonous but some of these “job hoppers” are self-driven and strive to reach their full potential by continuing explore new positions.

By being part of a rapidly changing environment you could find yourself with a first-class employee. While the word “change” is scary to the majority of employees the “cheese movers” enjoy change. They understand change happens, can anticipate change and experienced several of changes so they can adapt rapidly. Their “job hopping” should be looked at as a potential, valued employee that will be flexible and optimistic to your company’s growth.

Now, instead of discarding a resume or application consider taking a second look an interview may be beneficial. Does your business change rapidly? If so; maybe employees with similar traits should be considered.

Every business has the same resources: Time, Money and People.

The one common factor no matter the size, industry or technology is time. Every business has the same amount. Therefore, all businesses must be categorized by the remaining two-thirds: Money and People. The key to your success is how you deploy and maximize those resources you have control over.

Well…“Time Management is the answer and Project Management is the tool”. Think about this: In order to manage your time, you must first control your resources. The beauty of project management when properly configured for the job at hand is that it has an unparalleled track record; proven in countless programs in every field of endeavor since the 1950s. Why because it works!

Your business is constantly inventing, modifying and implementing your products and services. By controlling how you develop these new opportunities and when they are launched is based on time, money and people. Project Management can get your products and services to market faster by identifying and creating the environment to streamline processes which reduce risks, delays and impediments to your success.

A project is simply a one-time event to accomplish a result. From business, technical and nonprofits to personal events, the logic of defining what is to be accomplished, who is responsible and how it is to be implemented has many benefits.

If you employ project management within your organization, you create your own unique ‘Strategic Weapon’. Your customers will embrace your flawless delivery and your competitors will marvel at your continual improvement.

Timely solutions are absolutely critical to your success. The CEO that plans the best, maximizes cost-effective resources and concentrates on their business the most wins! It’s that simple. What’s not that simple, tough to recognize and the recipe for disaster is “Thinking good is good enough”.

Everyone in the Minnesota area impatiently waits for this time of year; I don’t mean spring I mean Girl Scout cookie season. As our cookie supply kept fresh in the freezer starts to dwindle or is completely depleted we know we don’t need to go in search for a Girl Scout, we know they will come to us. This expert sales team entices us with eleven scrumptious flavors and their expected sales are estimated to be up 17.5% according to Chief Operating Officer Tisha Bolger. Even with the so called “rough economy” the Girl Scouts dominate in sales. Now why is that?

A Girl Scouts success isn’t due to the inability for consumers to say “no”, to a sweet innocent girl, their success is due to their persistence. Over the past four weeks I had 3 different Girl Scouts knock on my door and who knows how many times they tried while I was away.

Now let’s compare the Girl Scouts to the great frozen food company Schwan’s. I have been living in my home for over 5 years and noticed a Schwan’s truck stopping by my neighboring houses. Only after my brother became a Schwan’s employee did I received the honor of a Schwan’s sales person at my doorstep. After a year my brother left the company on good terms to another company, we haven’t seen the Schwan’s man since. The odd part is the Schwan’s truck still pulls up to my neighboring homes and parks at the local Holiday station for hours but doesn’t take the initiative to knock on a door. Now I wasn’t a “big account” but a small frequent purchaser from my brother.

Assuming that a few of my neighbors in my community have similar feelings, the Schwan's company could increase their revenue if they would follow the example of the Girl Scouts. They would have a noticeable increase in servicing accounts and sales. With the persistence of a Girl Scout, the Schwan’s company along with many other businesses could become more prosperous. That’s why Schwan’s President Greg Flack should start recruiting his sales force from the Girl Scouts. What do you think Mr. Flack?

As a business owner or manager, you are constantly deciding where to invest and allocate marketing resources. Before making your next marketing investment or decision, read HubSpots’ “The State of Inbound Marketing” research report. The report demonstrates the effectiveness of using blogs, social media and search engines for influencing business targets on a purchasing decision. Conversely, the traditional techniques of direct mail, telemarketing and trade shows are becoming less effective.

“The State of Inbound Marketing” surveyed 644 professional businesses’ marketing strategies. Each company recorded spending and distribution of marketing expenses in order to calculate the cost per lead. In this study, “inbound marketing” consisted of blogs, social media, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay Per Click). “Outbound marketing” consisted of traditional marketing tactics, such as telemarketing, trade shows and direct mail. To understand inbound and outbound marketing more thoroughly, read Brian Halligan’s blog, “Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing.”

In the research report, outbound marketing amounted to an average cost of $373 per lead, while inbound marketing came to $143 per lead— an astonishing 62% lower cost per lead than outbound marketing. Looking at the graph below (courtesy of HubSpot.com), blogs were reported as the least expensive strategy, while trade shows and other traditional marketing tactics, along with PPC, ranked significantly lower. Although PPC had a lower cost per than telemarketing and direct mail, all other outbound approaches were significantly higher.

For greater customer acquisition and cost effectiveness, social media, blogs and search engine optimization are obviously successful factors for businesses. These techniques should be considered and implemented in all marketing budgets. Have blogs, social media and SEO been factors in your business’ success?