We are working on a workplace employee survey for a client. It is awesome when employers value their employees' needs.

Employee surveys are best done by a third-party administrator (like us!) because employees will feel the most comfortable and be the most honest in our confidential setting. Employers are given summarized feedback on what their employees are saying, but all information is kept confidential as far as what each employee said. We provide the employers with a summary, reports & statistics, and suggested action plan. When employee morale is bad, or when retention is poor an employee survey can uncover what action needs taken to make improvements. Happy employees are the most productive and loyal. Turnover is expense.

Attendees of our open house on Friday March 8, 2013 all entered their business cards into our drawing "Cards for Cards." The winner was Frank Spreng, Ph.D, J.D., Professor of Economics & Director of the MBA Program at McKendree University. He won two (2) tickets to the St. Louis Cardinals versus Cincinnati Reds game on Monday April 29, 2013 at 7:15p.m., Section 171, Row 7! He also takes home the basket with Cardinals gear! Congratulations Dr. Spreng! A heartfelt 'thank you' to all who attended our open house and made it a wonderful day!

By: Kandi Mensing

Small businesses owners are a unique and talented breed of people. Think of farmers; they understand agriculture, financing, operations, management, and mechanics.  They oftentimes do their own accounting, ordering, hiring, and general management of the business, not to mention the day-to-day labor involved in their operations. They are even their own mechanic, fixing the machinery. It is the same in most small business environments; ownership is involved in so many tasks that it is hard to be a master at all of them. The marketing aspect can be tricky for owners of small businesses because if the business is not marketed appropriately, they are not positioning themselves to gain market share and succeed as a profitable, healthy operation. Not being a master in accounting can result in unaccounted for money as well as noncompliance with IRS regulations. The same goes with operations in the personnel arena. If an employer is not in compliance with human resource regulations, the resulting fines can be tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, not having the knowledge on how to effectively motivate and manage the personnel can cause the customer or client experience to be adversely affected. This could also prove to be detrimental to production quality and efficiency in any environment. Not all small business owners exercise the same strengths and weaknesses.  Every small business owner should take the time to determine their own strengths and weaknesses. They should then focus on maximizing their strengths while at the same time figuring out ways to improve upon their weaknesses.  Perhaps recruiting talent that appropriately compliments their own strengths and weaknesses is the most viable and beneficial option.

y: Kandi Mensing

In my career as a recruiter and talent manager, I have fired a great deal of people. As someone who has never been fired from a job, I certainly do not understand why it is so hard for employees to remain willfully employed.  The even more amazing thing is that almost every single person I have fired did not see it coming. Forget about the verbal and written warnings, the suspension(s), and the countless coaching sessions and chances the employee was given. Even when the employee is explicitly and repeatedly told that further such infractions can and will lead up to further disciplinary action including and up to termination, they still appear to be surprised in the termination meeting.

What interests me even more is when an employee will start fighting to keep their job after being told that their employment status is terminated with the company. What employees being terminated really need to understand is that firing someone is not a decision that companies take lightly. Terminations can get ugly with retaliation and litigation. Terminations can be very costly to an organization, not to mention the time and effort spent to source and train their replacement. Employers do not want to fire employees. Firing employees also temporarily leaves seats vacant in the company and work potentially undone. Plus, a reputable company does not want to hurt any of their employees or leave them stranded, which is why the employee is given warnings and opportunities to turn it around. Employees are usually deserving of their termination because they have not responded to the employer’s suggestions of improvement. Really, it is that easy; if an employer tells you a way to improve work on improving it. Most of the terminations I have conducted have been straight-forward and the employees deserving yet no one ever thinks it’s coming.

It really is simple to avoid termination – do your job! When your company gives your feedback on your performance, take it to heart. If employees would listen to what they are being told and learn to take constructive criticism rather than getting defensive, they would have a much better shot at success within an organization. Too many people get defensive when their organization tells them that they could improve. There is nothing wrong with being told where and how you can or need to improve. What’s wrong with personal or professional improvement? There is something wrong with not responding to the feedback and requests and making the necessary changes or improvements. On the other hand, I do think organizations could do a better job of giving purely constructive criticism, training their first line supervisors to better coach, develop and retain their employees, and also providing the positive feedback on a consistent and fair basis.

Share your termination story!

As the Human Resource Manager for a mid-sized manufacturing company, I was in charge of many important, mostly challenging, projects, and some were fun. Implementing this employee Veteran Wall honoring our employees who have or are serving in our Nation’s armed forces was indeed a fun project. It meant a lot to the employees and their families. It was also pretty interesting to see some of the employees’ old military photographs. Overall, it was a largely successful project and was fun to direct. I have always honored the military and the families that support them. I cannot even begin to imagine what they sacrifice on an ongoing basis. I applaud the military members who have and do risk their lives. I cherish my freedom. I am grateful that my husband, son, and I get to be with each other nearly every day. I thank each and every one of you for your service to our wonderful Nation and I honor your contributions in efforts to maintain our national security and American freedom! May you be showered with gratitude, hand shakes, and many thank you’s this Veteran’s Day, but not only this day, EVERYDAY! I think our Veteran’s Wall was a fantastic addition to the company’s lobby and was a joy to implement and inaugurate!