SPECIAL GUEST BLOG By Barry Brennan, Marketing and Business Development Mentor, Mentors.ie

There are benefits connected with partnering for promotions. Recently retailers like Toys R Us and Aeropostale partnered with eBay to benefit online customers. This partnership offers these customers with coupons that can be used at physical store locations. Partnerships of this sort are used in a two-fold way. They encourage customers to shop both via the internet and in store locations. Depending on the savings of coupons, these promotions could encourage customers to make multiple purchases. This is a smart way to attract new and existing customers to take advantage of sales. Partnerships work to benefit both businesses and customers. Small local businesses, as well as, large popular chains can use these techniques to inspire customers and to get sales.

Multiple Benefits

There are multiple benefits to online retailers when they enter into partnerships like the one with eBay. Using specific guidelines for acquiring deals and coupons is a part of this process. Some promotions may require specific payment methods. This one in particular led people to make purchases through PayPal. Coupons can then be redeemed within the time frame of one year. The goal for these relationships is that everyone gain a benefit.

Combining Business

A company cannot success if their in-store sales aren’t as good as online sales. This is why partnerships are beneficial across the board. Customers who shop primarily through the internet are happy to redeem in-store coupons. This is a way to combine business formats and objectives, as well as, meeting productivity goals.

Diversity Instead of Competition

Partners can find businesses to work with that are polar opposites to them. You don’t have to select a partnership that will pit you against your competition. Diverse businesses working together can more easily benefit from a partnership. This is a way to encourage a long-term relationship whether you use it seasonally or monthly.

Partnerships from local businesses is a unique way to apply big-business models. Those that have an internet presence can have even more of a significant benefit. This type of promotional idea showcases thinking outside-of-the-box. It also provides customers with savings that they wouldn’t otherwise encounter.

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG By Tony Ritchie, Management Mentor, Mentors.ie

Whether you dream of starting your own business or you just want to enter the exciting world of Irish business, there are three basic tenants of leadership to follow in order to become successful.

1. The ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ must burn within.

The yearning of building a successful business will hinge on passion, innovation and enterprise.  Efficient business leaders possess the characteristics and mindset of an entrepreneur with the initiative to make money through risk.  The level of risk is highly critical and can determine the amount of success.  However, taking that initial risk is a must in order to profit in any new endeavor.  New and existing business owners and executives should continue to assess entrepreneurial opportunities in this knowledge-based economy by taking innovative ideas and commercializing them.

2. Business plays a fundamental role in society.

Social issues are always concerned in business dealings and relationships.  Society affects everything from internal ethics to external marketing and all other aspects of corporate behaviour and strategy.  Business creates employment and wealth, thus contributing to public services.  Issues like resources depletion, treatment of factory workers in developing countries and global warming are among the vast array of societal concerns that impact the decisions of business leaders.

3. Life-long learning fosters greater success.

Continuing advancement in personal development is also a key component of successful leadership in the modern business world.  Staying informed of news and technological advances in every niche of enterprise along with routine assessment and improvement in soft skills like diplomacy, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, team-building and persuasion are integral to success and happiness as a business leader.  Life-long learning in the traditional form of continuing education happens in many settings but especially conferences, webinars and other meetings of business professionals.

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG By Barry Brennan, Marketing and Business Development Mentor, Mentors.ie

There’s no need to recreate the wheel as it relates to marketing methods. Proven methods for marketing are great ways to improve and increase your business. No successful business these days can operate effectively without the internet. This medium offers business owners the opportunity to connect with existing customers. At the same time, they can attract new customers to their business.

Simply existing on the internet, however, will not provide you with the success that you want. Businesses that have achieved this level of success have used marketing methods that work. It doesn’t matter, whether you are selling goods, services, or resources. The public must know who you are and what you have that benefits them. Finding the best way to market is the key to your overall success.

Offer a Good Product

No company or business is going to be success if their products are not good. Customers will not be attracted to substandard products. They certainly will not be interested in becoming a repeat customers. It is important that you provide offerings that meet customers’ needs. You will find it easier to market a useful product than one that is outside of normal fields.

Provide Intriguing Content

In the process of marketing, content is very important. This is the case whether we are talking about articles, website content, or product descriptions. Successful companies have found out the secret of blanketing the internet with content about their offerings. This content must be professionally written and to include keywords that steer potential customers to you. These techniques have proven successful no matter what your industry.

Connect with Your Traffic

Successful businesses connect with the traffic that visits their sites in a variety of ways. They first must have an effective product. This needs to be something that is priced well and answers a specific need. Search engine optimization is critical when it comes to improving your rankings online. The easier it is for people to find you and your product, the more business you are likely to receive.

There are effective tools available to help you to steer people to your products. It is important to deliver a product that is useful and well-designed. At the same time, you must market your product to the public. Utilizing search engines and the right content online are important as well. Iterro offers the products that are needed to sufficiently market businesses and to attract new customers.

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG By Colin Lewis, Marketing and Business Development Mentor, Mentors.ie

Finding and training new employees is a substantial cost, no matter the size of the organization. One of the best ways to retain employees is to reward them for their work. One of the primary rewards for working adults is to feel a sense of meaning or purpose in their work. If employees feel that they are serving a useful purpose, they are much more likely to stay at their current job.

A common complaint from employees in small- to medium-sized organizations is that they feel burned out. A common symptom of burnout is to feel unappreciated. One of the best ways to address burnout, and retain employees, is to ensure that they feel appreciated for their work.

Thus, it is critical that organizations give careful consideration as to how they reward their employees. Organizations do not need huge sums of money in order to reward them (besides, the belief that money is the major reward is just a myth). Guidelines in this section will help you to think about what might be the best rewards for your employees and to take steps to ensure that you are providing those rewards.

Guidelines to Rewarding Employees

There is not a set of standard rewards to be used for employees everywhere. Instead, each person has his/her own nature and needs. The following guidelines will help you to determine what might be the best ways to reward your employees.

1. Reward employees by letting them hear positive comments from customers about how the employees’ activities benefited the customer.
2. Occasionally have a Board member come to an employee meeting to thank them. This usually means a lot to employees, almost as much as having customers provide positive feedback about the employees’ activities.
3. Understand what motivates each of your employees. You can do this by applying the “Checklist of Categories of Typical Motivators” in the previous subsection about supporting employee motivation on page 199. A major benefit of this approach is that each employee is afforded the opportunity to explain what motivates him or her.
4. In each monthly staff meeting, take a few minutes to open the meeting by mentioning major accomplishments of various employees.
5. Present gift certificates to employees who have made major accomplishments. Guidelines for determining who gets this reward should be clearly explained in your personnel policies in order to ensure all employees perceive the practice as fair and equitable. Allow employees to recommend other employees for awards.

1. Probably the most fulfilling for employees is to be able to do useful work. Be sure that each employee understands the mission of the business and how his/her work is contributing to that mission. Post your mission statement on the walls. Discuss the action-planning section of your strategic plan with employees so that they see how their activities tie directly to achieving the strategic goals of the organization.

If employees and executives are frequently guilty of downplaying HR’s role, often so too is HR in assessing employees’ ability to manage information. Computers first appeared in schools over 12 years ago and today are used by 75 percent of employees to access the Internet for three hours a day on average. Still, many in HR are reluctant to give up basic self-service benefit management tasks that would save a tremendous amount of time and allow them to better address company objectives.

While it is true that online benefits management can be a scary prospect for those who may be less computer savvy, having access to employee benefits online is another way to provide greater employee satisfaction through accessibility and choice. In fact, many employees will expect online access, especially today’s younger generation for whom iPods and IM are part of everyday life.

Self-service HR has become so invaluable that a September 2006 Forrester Research report termed it “an essential core application” for businesses. The report pointed to the ability of Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) to help manage personnel costs, operate efficient business processes, comply with regulations and manage legal exposures, and optimize the value of human capital.

HR personnel who are currently postponing  the introduction of a self-service HRMS in their business should consider implementing such a system in the near future – not only to provide better value for the company but also to allow them to focus on key strategic tasks that are unique to their role.

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG By Colin Lewis, Marketing and Business Development Mentor, Mentors.ie

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG By David Parkinson, HR Mentor, Mentors.ie

Human resource management is a complex, multifaceted field that requires professionals to have the ability to juggle priorities and excel at a number of tasks-from the sometimes tedious to the often strategic. Exceptional managers know what to hone in on and what to delegate, stay on top of the latest trends in compensation and always have a finger on the pulse of employee relations.

Being in HR requires having a number of talents and brings with it the potential to make a big impact on the lives of individuals working for the company-its most important assets. Despite the importance of the role, often HR managers are left feeling less than appreciated, when their value as a strategic partner or their contributions to the bottom line are questioned.

HR’s Role: Strategic or Tactical?

Whether dictated by management, assumed by the practitioner, a function of “fighting fires” on a daily basis, or a combination of the above, HR’s role in the organization is all too often tactical over strategic, often to the dissatisfaction of practitioners themselves. This point is illustrated by USC Professor Edward E. Lawler III, who noted that HR professionals reported spending only 23% of their time in 2005 “being a strategic business partner” – no more than they reported in 1995. And line managers, he found, said HR is far less involved in strategy than HR thinks it is.

Though company culture often sets the stage, HR practitioners must actively seek key areas for improvement for themselves, their roles and for the company and take action to defend their role where possible.

HR : Cost Center or Cost Savings?

The view of HR as a cost center may be one of the hardest to overcome. How executives view the HR department and its role often plays a huge part in its perception and function, including whether the job is managed in-house to begin with. Frequently HR must take every opportunity to be its own proponent in providing greater education on the value of its offerings.

Other companies realize that HR managers contribute more directly in taking care of their most valuable assets, handling a range of responsibilities, including: recruiting; interviewing; providing, presenting, and delivering medical, dental, vision, life, and other ancillary benefits; job training; instituting programs for retention and growth of employees; establishing tools and guidance for management reviews; and reviewing and selecting technology to support HR functions, to name a few. Each of these, in fact, contributes greatly to the bottom line when all hard and soft costs of doing business are considered.

Group benefits, for instance, are a major part of the compensation employers offer to entice and retain productive and reliable employees and maintain the organization’s competitive nature. The methods by which these compensation elements are derived and presented are key to a company’s success. In retaining good employees, companies can save thousands, if not more, in rehiring and training costs. HR must be prepared to justify its case with a strong knowledge of its employee base and a rationalization of these types of obvious and not so obvious costs.

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG By Colin Lewis, Marketing and Business Development Mentor, Mentors.ie

Hiring a new candidate for your company can be a complex situation. After posting the position, choosing the short list of interview candidates and performing interview rounds, you are now faced with a difficult challenge – choosing the best fit candidate for your business.  However, it is surprising how much interviewers’ impressions can change once they all have an opportunity to carefully discuss and consider all of the candidates. Be sure your approach to selecting the best candidate is a comprehensive and consistent approach.

Soon after interviews are completed, interviewers together select the best candidate.

Within one or at most two weeks after all interviews have been completed, convene the interviewers. Consider a consistent method to select the best candidate from among the interviewers. For example, mention the name of a candidate, and allow 15 minutes total for all interviewers to share their impressions of that candidate. Also share results of any comments from references and/or background checks. Repeat the process for each candidate. After all candidates have been discussed, then list the candidates again, this time having interviewers vote for the best candidate from the list.

If there does not seem to be suitable candidate, then consider the following:

1. Are the job requirements too stringent or an odd mix? For example, the job might require someone with strong technical skills and also someone with strong clerical skills. Those two types of skills are sometimes unusual to expect to mix together.
2. Reconfigure the job so that the nature of the required skills and training are somewhat similar and so that the overall nature of the job becomes more common.
3. Hire the candidate who most closely matched the requirements of the job and then plan for dedicated training to bring that person’s skills up to needed levels.
4. Re-advertise the position.
5. Get advice from a human resources professional. At this point, your need for their advice is probably quite specific, so they might provide services on a pro bono basis.
6. Hire a consultant for the position on a short-term basis, but only as a last resort as this may be quite expensive.