A lot of businesses which put much importance on CRM have the idea that it is the responsibility of a certain company to make sure that customers are not disappointed whenever they do business with the company. Also, it must be assured that everybody in the company is working together to achieve the same objective. By achieving this goal, the company is assured that customers will have the best service experience they will ever get. However, if each part of the group does not work as one, then the whole business operation is in big trouble. That is why it is important that customers must bear in mind the importance of always keeping the company’s goal of keeping customers satisfied a priority. In doing so, the company is assured that their business gets the most exceptional Customer Relationship Management.

On the other hand, there are businesses, such as those in the sales committee, that have a different perspective of what Customer Relationship Management is. Another kind of business that may regard CRM differently is a life insurance company, especially its sales team. For the people in the sales team, they would regard CRM as something that is dependent on the sales representative. Thus, what happens is that sales representative would work individually trying to source out their clients on their own. Losing a big client would mean that something was wrong with what the sales representative in charge of that customer has done and that sales rep should be blamed for it.

They are responsible for getting their own clients and making their own sales and if they lose a big client, no one is to blame but the sales rep themselves. This can ring true for car sales businesses and the like. Companies view CRM or Customer Relationship Management differently. Not all companies believe it is the entire organization’s responsibility to keep the customer happy and provide an excellent experience. It usually depends on the business and how they are setup.

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Armed with the knowledge of what the specific specialties of each of your staff are, you can tailor your procedures to optimize their effectiveness and consequently get the most from the business as a whole. The issue lies in finding and collating this information.

Defining and tracking development through employee performance management on its own can turn into a huge hassle. You first put employee evaluation systems together in order to assess all work done by each staff member. And if you’re using established approaches, you will have to examine all of this information by eye simply to define goalposts, and keep track of further development. Employing performance management software you can be confident that this analysis is taken care of and you only need to examine the different analyses and factors to find what an appropriate goals for this member of staff would be. It also makes charting the member of staff’s development much simpler. With more precise information for less time invested, this is of course a major saving on its own. If you want to you can instead make your own assessment, merely employing the software to produce and maintain a record to work from. Performance appraisal software doesn’t just work for employees. You can also use the software to study your clients as well as your suppliers. With suppliers in particular you can pinpoint the weak points such as poor delivery times, high loss rates, and so forth. Clients have their own metrics to be scrutinized, and once again this information can be used to streamline your systems and help your bottom line. Using this information you can customize your system of orders and supplies to maximize profits and cut expenses. Who couldn’t benefit from that? To add to this, marketing campaigns become much more effective because you’ll have a deeper insight into your market and the location of your biggest audience.

Performance appraisal software can keep track of your sources to save money and analyze your market to customize your plans and boost your profits. With a program of employee assessment this tool is guaranteed to simplify employee performance management dramatically. There may be no upper limit when using performance management software.

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Servicing your equipment on a regular basis is essential. If piece of equipment doesn’t come up to the pertinent legislation, have it mended or call out a maintenance professional as quickly as possible.

Your workforce need to get good health and safety training, however they require the proper gear, regular practise sessions, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. Only then will following health & safety legislation will soon become established in your business culture and no longer something troublesome for employees to remember.

Don’t get me wrong, business planning is one of the most important things you need to do to succeed in your one man or woman show. Without planning you’ll drift aimlessly from one crisis to the next and one idea to the next, never really getting anything done.

So, what’s a solo pro to do? Here’s what I do in my own business:

My business plan consists of one page with very little on it. It simply lists the three goals that I must achieve this year. Then, I list a statement for each goal: To achieve Goal #1 I need to….This is followed by two to five activities or action items I need to do to make that happen.

That’s it. That’s the whole plan. The beauty is the simplicity. I simply cannot handle more than that. I don’t have a staff. I don’t have “people”. Everything has to be structured so that I can get it done simply and systematically.

So, let’s say one of my goals is to increase sales by a certain number, like $25,000. I then ask myself, “What do you need to do to make that happen?” Maybe I want to develop an ebook or add a new service. How many potential or current customers will I need to reach? How much time will I need to develop the book or service? How will I market it?

From those answers, I develop my schedule. What do I need to do monthly, weekly, daily? I break it up into small pieces that take an hour or less. For example, if I decide I need to send out 100 marketing postcards in a month, I break it into 25 cards a week. Then, I put it on my schedule each week, just as I do my appointments with clients.

To keep myself on track, I place my mini plan in front of my keyboard so every morning it’s the first thing I see. I also include a note to myself. It reminds me that “Nothing Else Matters.” I follow it with my company slogan: Get Knowledge. Get Focus. Get Results.

Complex plans take tons of time to develop and many (if not most) end up gathering dust on a shelf. Using a simple plan improves your focus and helps you to achieve great results.

Are you a solo professional feeling Stressed, Disorganized? Tired of Working Long Hours for Less Than You’re Worth? Struggling for Focus?: Learn how one Solo Professional used the Chaos Tamer to Survive and Thrive in the Midst of Total Rampaging Chaos. http://www.TheJordanResult.com .

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What’s that you say? Human Resources and “love” do not exist in the same sentence? Really? Why is that? (Go ahead and answer, I’ll wait…)

Perhaps a better question is, “What prevents love from co-existing in your staffing department, especially as it relates to hiring?”

Right away I sense that you find this ideal to be ludicrous and without merit or professional bearing, but I would argue the contrary. For the purposes of this article, love is defined as a potential hire possessing a zealous desire to work for your company rather than your competitors’ group.

Love is more art than science in the matrimonial sense and even after the marriage is consummated, there is an extended period of time where both parties strive to make the relationship work. Is the effort to keep love alive in a marriage due to the potential the marriage represents, or is it (and it is) due in large part to everything that came before it? Even the worst of couples endure the cruelest hardships in their relationship because of the courtship that preceded the marriage. To reiterate, a strong courtship prior to marriage increases the willingness of a couple to continue in said marriage. If one is to agree that this is true, then the significance of the interview process should be regarded as tantamount to the continued stability of a company workforce.

Whereas romantic love is too complicated to dissect into formula, in terms of closing a candidate, there are four factors that convince a candidate to accept a company as a long-term potential employer. If a potential new-hire feels welcome, comfortable, important and understood, then you have accomplished all you can in persuading someone to join your team. The means by which these ideals are initiated is “The Art of Wooing” and like the lost art of chivalry, a true and liberal adoption of the spirit of “Wooing” among companies is rarely encountered. How many companies can you cite that are known (positively) for their recruiting process to the point that people seek to interview simply for the experience? No doubt that this is a short list, but is it a list your company occupies? In the event that your enterprise would not be featured in this queue, I would like to offer some ideas for your consideration.

* Create an automated phone message from the Vice President of HR welcoming the candidate to the interview process. The VP of HR further espouses their commitment to quality in the interview process and invites the interviewee to email them personally to discuss their experience.

* When making arrangements to meet with the candidate, the HR Administrator (or whomever schedules the interview) inquire as to the candidates favorite snacks, beverages and music.

* Have a sign welcoming the candidate to the company and specifically, to a meeting with the recruiter.

* Have a waiting room designed to relax a pending interviewee, complete with preferred snacks, beverages, favorite music, comfortable chair and aromatherapy.

* When negotiating salary, express compensation on a per minute basis. What better way to communicate a candidate’s value in your eyes than to explain how you calculated the worth of their contribution down to the minute? (How? Divide an annual salary by 120,000 to get a per-minute wage.)

* Give closure to the interview process as quickly as possible. (If they are a strong contender!) If they are not a fit for the position, let them know and offer further means to assist them. For example, adding them to a “private” email list for unadvertised jobs, or forwarding an e-book of job hunting tips. (Bottom line? Never let a candidate leave your organization empty-handed.)

* At the conclusion of the interview, have the receptionist present an autographed Thank-you card to the candidate expressing your appreciation of their time. (A gift card and/or coupon to a nearby coffee house would be nice as well.)

It has been said that love is a many splendored thing and this is certainly true in recruiting. Treating a candidate like a VIP during the courtship period of interviewing is a strong incentive in retaining said candidate after his/ her acceptance has been processed. Conversely, the opposite of “woo” is a strong incentive for a candidate to consider employment with your competition. We are each of us self-centric on some level, with enough romance anyone can be swept off of their feet. As long as “wooer” has the right broom.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Jim Stroud is a “Searchologist” with an expertise in the full life-cycle placement of Executive and Technical personnel, Recruitment Research and Competitive Intelligence. He has consulted for such companies as Google, Siemens, MCI and a host of start-up companies. He presently serves Microsoft as a Technical Sourcing Consultant.

Quite recently, Jim Stroud launched “Jim Stroud 2.0,” which is a blog where he rants about the recruiting industry, explains innovative sourcing strategies and whatever else comes to mind. Jim Stroud was nominated for a “Best Blog Award” by Recruiting.com in 2005.

Visit Jim Stroud’s blog at: http://blogcharm.com/jimstroud