Time Management

Do You Have Time Management Issues?

Business owners and managers often struggle with managing time efficiently. There are many root causes for time waste that can be addressed to improve effectiveness of the business.
Here are a few thought starters:

1. Project assignments. Have you assigned the right person to the right job? An employee may appear to have a problem managing time but they may be in a role or doing a jog they are not suited for.

2. Delegation. As owner/manager do you have poor delegation skills or do you not delegate in order to maintain control? The need to do everything yourself can dramatically impact your time management.

3. Meetings. How many meetings held are really effective? A lot of time can be wasted in unnecessary or poorly organized meetings.

4. Training. Do staff members need training to perform better? What appears to be a time management issue may be a training need.

5. Planning. Are the business’ plans well defined? If direction is unclear staff may struggle to know how to prioritize work activity.

These are samples of business issues that may mask what appear to be time management issues. There can be many others; examination of each may uncover root causes of poor productivity.

If you have thoughts to share please let me know.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Management Principles

Are your Management Principles Current?

Style of management has changes over time and new technology has dramatically affected how we communicate and interact with employees.  Transactions are completed at hyper-speed and certain principles of management are worth reviewing to ensure they optimize business operations.

Here are a few ideas that may have merit for your consideration.
1. Listen: strong relationships with employees, suppliers and customers are needed for success. Customers are particularly important and rather than creating spreadsheets to analyze customer effectiveness develop questions to ask customers and then listen to how they describe what they really need.

2. Think/Plan long term: short term thinking is an affliction. Strong relationships are built over time and create more long-term value. Today’s actions can affect long term relations with customers so think about the benefit of customer retention.

3. Structure: formal organization structures with top down authority with information flowing up through channels from the bottom are “passé”. Today with a tap on a smartphone anyone can and does communicate instantly. Collaboration and shared communications are becoming the norm without a formal hierarchy.

4. Share. Employees want to share so spend less on monetary incentives and share ideas, technology or data in order to inspire more sharing and perhaps faster innovation.

These are a few thoughts to consider on your management style. I hope they help.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

How satisfied are your employees?

In most organizations the most important asset is the staff and there are many ways to maintain and improve the level of satisfaction employees feel as part of the organization. Many steps can be taken by management without spending vast sums of money to attain this goal.


1. Recognize. This may be the easiest and least expensive but very important motivator. A simple thank you may be priceless. Recognizing in public the effort and contribution of an employee can be a very effective motivator and creates a strong sense of appreciation.

2. Communicate. Keep employees informed on company goals, issues, and how individuals can contribute to the overall success of the business. Show trust, accountability and expectations through clear communications. Listening to employees is another key way to show they are part of the team.

3. Train and educate. Provide employees with the necessary training and education to show your interest and to reinforce that they are appreciated. Job rotation may be another way to enhance employee’s skills and also strengthen employees skill set and the resources of the business.

4. Monitor. Employees keep score too. So management should recognize and reward positive contributions. This can be a positive motivator for other employees as well.

This is a short list of some ways to keep employees satisfied and thus helping the organization achieve its goals. None of the suggestions need break the bank but the return can be substantial.