Canadians are increasingly part of a global world. Canada itself is a fascinating mix of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. This diversity brings a richness that offers opportunities for both occupational and personal growth. It also brings substantial challenges, particularly as it relates to communication. Everything changes when you work with someone from a different […]
We have come to know a lot about employee motivation. We know that the ultimate responsibility for motivating employees lies within the individual employee. We know that both the meaningfulness of the work and the work environment itself can have a sizable impact on employee motivation. We know that intrinsic rewards and motivators […]
If you are a baseball fan, then you are familiar with the 6-4-3 double play. The shortstop fields the ball, tosses it to the second baseman who tosses it to the first baseman. But what if the shortstop decides only to toss it to the first baseman? Or what if the second baseman refuses to […]
All too often organizations cry out for what I call the quick fix. You know the scenario: two employees not getting along, probably personality differences, not real receptive to previous internal interventions, etc., so the organization decides to bring in outside help to fix the problem. Sound familiar?
I call it the quick fix because the […]
This may come as a shock to a lot of business owners but it is true! Most training does not work! Some companies spend hundreds, thousands and even millions of pounds or dollars on training programs that simply don’t produce a consistent return on investment.
Why?
One of the chief benefits of booking on-site (in-house) training, as opposed to sending your people off to a training centre to attend a pubic course, is that the training can be customised to suit the specific needs of your organisation. When booking on-site training courses, be sure to make this clear to the training […]
As with any other new product or service, people are skeptical about trying them.
They want to wait until more people they actually know personally have tried a particular device and can give them some information. The same is true of businesses, especially small businesses that do not have the funds to take huge risks. […]
Advances in technology and cultural responses to it mean that more people want to work from home and more companies want to outsource.
Here are just a few examples of opportunities for companies in taking advantage of virtual workers: reduced overhead costs, higher quality workers not available locally, often higher productivity per hour.
When you are trying to grow your business during those first few years, the ability to turn prospects into customers and to keep customers satisfied with your products and services is MISSION CRITICAL.
However, some entreprenurs and small business owners may have a common misconception thinking their inside sales professionals and the customer service staffs […]
A lot of businesses find themselves faced with some serious issues when it comes to training. Hiring a single training manager or even a team of trainers isn’t always cost effective, but there are ways to still provide great training without having to add extra personnel. There are even ways to get expert instruction without […]
There are twelve blocks to listening. You will find that some are old favorites that you use over and over. Others are held in reserve for certain types of people or situations. Everyone uses listening blocks, so you should not worry if a lot of blocks are familiar. This is an opportunity to become more […]
The majority of office employees use software applications from the Microsoft Office suite. Although they use such programs as Excel, Word and PowerPoint regularly it is common to find that they will have undertaken no formal training in their use. Due to the differing nature of each individual business, the way in which these applications […]
“What You Tolerate Becomes Your Standards.” This is a critical management philosophy that will assist you in driving high performance. When your employees are not performing, here are the steps to take to analyze why that performance is lower than the standard and suggestions for imbedding this philosophy into your organization’s culture.
1. Do you […]
Organisations are turning more and more to external training companies to develop the ’soft’ skills of their staff. With so much expertise available what do people need to look for to get the best from the training they buy in?
At Impact Factory we have evolved a way of working with our clients which produces truly […]
Good Communication Skills are essential
Being an effective communicator takes real skill. Communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an on-going basis. They are the heart of interpersonal skills and the greater your awareness of how it all works, the more effective your communication will be.
To be effective in business, you have […]
People development has long been recognised as a primary need for any growing and developing organisation. However there seems to be little agreement as to what people development really is. What tends to happen is that companies, once they do decide that something is needed (through annual appraisals, personal development reviews, performance management reviews, change […]
There is a lot of talk about “change” - how important it is, how we should alter the way we do to things at work and in our personal lives in order to be more effective. Sometimes we even hear how it is essential to change even if just for change’s sake.
At Impact Factory, we […]
Over 214 million dollars were spent on the internet last year to find meaningful relationships. People all over the globe are looking for happy and fulfilling relationships. Yet, obviously most are not finding it. Why? What is wrong?
The problem is in the goal or objective. People are driven to find happiness. They will do just […]
Who couldn’t use some great ad copy tips once in awhile?! Here are secrets shared by ad pros to use in your promotions online and off.
1. DIGITAL IMAGES - Add images with your ad copy. Rule of thumb here is NOT “the more the merrier.” So choose one or two of your best images. […]
There are increasingly two schools of thought (we’re sure there are probably 2002): one for and one against Appraisals. And in both, the bottom line still is that they will cost your company money if not handled well. As we know, in vast numbers of cases they aren’t.
Although the appraisal format may be key, the […]