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Question:
Joe, Buffalo, NY:
What about
responses to the Counsellor from my organisation?
Answer:
Joe, as the
Counsellor is not seeking a permanent position they do not pose a
threat and are available to offer their wide experience and mentor
less experienced personnel. The
interpersonal skills of the Counsellor are paramount and as such
they will be able to gain respect and co-operation from your
employees.
Counsellors share both specialised knowledge and new ideas. In
stressful situations or new developments the Counsellor’s additional
skills and focus will be beneficial.
Question:
Sandy, Albany, NY:
How long
does a typical assignment last?
Answer:
Sandy, based on
the Business Physical a session plan is created. This ensures that we
capture not only the surface issues at hand but also the underlying
problems. Every business is as unique as their owners, the average we
see is three months , followed by long term support. However, this
period is frequently extended once the client appreciates the
abilities and potential of the Counsellor. It is rare for an
assignment to be less than two months, and for longer than one year.
However, both are possible.
Question:
Ingrid, Rotterdam, NL:
What is
the attraction of Counsellors to business?
Answer:
Ingrid, there are several advantages to work with a
Counsellor:
-
The
ability to analyse issues at very short notice
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No long
term commitments
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Specialist knowledge and experience
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The
ability to raise skill levels and mentor staff
-
Availability and speed of output
Question:
George, New Haven, CT: My company is
growing but I am making less and less profit, how is
this possible?
Answer:
George, excellent
question and what you are describing is not a "if" but a
"when" a business is going to see that. In short you are
closing in on your Abasia Point. The Abasia Point in a
business is the point where sales and net profit are in
a inverse relationship. The more you sell your net
profit is going down with almost the same rate. It is
basically your sales outgrowing the way you are running
your business. Simply put more of the same is not
enough. What works for 50 orders a week will not work
for 3,000 orders a week. Is is time for action, this is
not going to be solved by itself! For a more detailed
description of the Abasia Point please click
here.
Question:
Larry, New York City, NY: I own
co-own a company with my brother, my lawyer told me to
get a buy sell agreement. Should I?
Answer:
Larry, it
is always good to have legal matters under control,
however just having a buy-sell agreement is not the
complete solution. The answer to your question has three
components. First, you need to have a clear picture of
the value of your business. This is where our Business
Physical or a valuation can give you an answer. Just
decided what is owned by whom and what that is worth is
not sufficient. Secondly you need to fund this agreement
properly, unfortunately most buy-sell agreement we see
are not funded or improperly funded. If you have a
buy-sell agreement, you should a life insurance policy
on each partner for the value of the portion of the
business that that partner owns. This way the life
insurance will guarantee that the funds is available to
pay out the beneficiaries. If there is no life insurance
the remaining partners need to come up with the cash to
pay out the beneficiaries. In most cases, it will cause
the downfall of the business simply because there are
insufficient funds available. The third part is your
company is always changing. This means that the value
changes also, this is why we recommend to do a Business
Physical at least every two or three years to make sure
the proper value is represented in the insurances
involved.
Question:
Bruce, Westminster, MD: I have only
32 employees do I need procedures?
Answer:
Bruce, it is essential to the business that you write
down the way each of us does things. We need to make
sure there is a “SOP” for how things “should” get done,
vice how individuals think is a good way to do it
---today. Without procedures the quality of service your
clients are receiving is based on the individual they
are dealing with instead of a process that decides the
quality. Procedures are de facto standards. The more
standards we have the more certain we are that things
will be completed the same way every time. Look at
McDonalds as an example. One thing we can learn from
McDonald’s is everything has a standard and there is a
set procedure for the way things are to be done. The
result is you get a hamburger the same way in Rotterdam,
Oklahoma City, New York, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Caracas, and
Wichita Falls. A good start is to have your employees
write down the procedures they perform on a repetitive
basis and set them up as “desk-top” procedures. None of
these procedures should be extensive except, of course,
those pertaining to e.g. R&D and safety. Before the
procedures are finalized, they must be discussed with
the President and the Manager, Finance and
Administration. The purpose of the discussion is to
ensure input for senior management so that they see that
all essential elements of a particular process are
included. Next to that you will need a procedure of who
how and when procedures can be changed.
Question:
Sam, Lake George, NY:
Do I have to comply with ADA since my company has only
19 employees?
Answer:
Sam, the short answer
is yes. Unfortunately many small firms are not aware of
the requirements. You have reached the threshold level of the
15-employee base, which requires you to incorporate the
ADA information in your operational methods, your
internal documents, and methods of interviewing. The ADA
or Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”);
Titles I and III. The Act has been implemented in
phases; the final phase (affecting Employers with 15, or
more, employees) became effective on July 26, 1994,
before this date the threshold was 25 employees. We
typically help our clients to create the proper
documentation even when they are not at the threshold
yet. The ADA was enacted to prohibit discrimination “. .
. against a qualified individual with a disability
because of the disability of such individual in regard
to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement,
or discharge of employees, their compensation, job
training and other terms, conditions and privileges of
employment.” (Ss 12112, Sec. 102 of the Act). The
underlying premise of the employment section (Title I)
of the law is people with disabilities who are able to
work should have opportunities to do so. Employers must
make reasonable accommodations to ensure these
opportunities exist. Violations of Title I provisions
can cost an employer as much as $ 300,000 for multiple
violations and the lack of corrective actions. For
more information see
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-ada.html .
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