Management 101: Three Tips For Effective Employee Communication

If you ask any manager what the most difficult part of managing their employees is, a lot will say that it’s communicating with them.  When you’re in a management position you need to do whatever you can to ensure that you communicate will with your employees.  Managers like Maurice Bouri know that you have to communicate in a certain way to get your point across to employees, but a lot of managers struggle with the concept and may not even know that they’re doing anything wrong.  Any manager can tell you that you shouldn’t yell or use foul language, but a lot don’t know that you can still come across as aggressive and rude without even raising your voice.  If you’re struggling to talk to your employees, these tips may be able to help you.

Empathize with your employees

Maybe you want to ask someone why a certain project is late, or maybe you want to ask a department about their latest ideas on how to improve their work.  Either way, the best way to communicate with employees is to try to put yourself in their shoes.  You may be angry that a project is late, but you may not know that it was late because a specific client didn’t get back to an employee on time.  The department you want to see improve may not have had time to brainstorm new ideas because they’re buried in work.  If you try your best to put yourself in their shoes, you’ll be able to effectively communicate your needs.

Don’t “test” your employees

“Do you know why I called you to my office?”

“Do you understand why I want you to re-work this project?”

Asking your employees questions without providing any context may seem like a good way to get inside their heads, but it really just comes off as patronizing and rude.  To be perfectly honest if your employees knew the answers to your proposed questions, you wouldn’t be there talking to them in the first place.  Instead of having your employee play a guessing game tell them up front why you’re talking to them.  It’ll help get things done faster, and they won’t feel like they’re being patronized. 

Don’t rely on e-mail

E-mailing an employee may be easier than talking to them in person, but sometimes it’s best to say certain things in person.  A lot of things can be misconstrued over the e-mail and text communication, and you may confuse or surprise your employee with a misplaced period or a poor choice of words.  Body language and the tone of your voice can get your point across much more efficiently than an email could.

What Corporate Companies are Doing to Go Green

Since corporations are known for mass-producing their products, having large office and warehouse spaces, and needing to travel often, it's no secret that it requires a lot of resources – many of them non-renewable – to keep them afloat. For that reason, they're heavily scrutinized by the public eye. Taking environmentally friendly initiatives is, of course, a benefit to the Earth, but in many cases, it also helps to reduce their overhead and influences the opinions of prospective and current customers. That's why these businesses take "going green" so seriously.

Intel

Intel owns many factories all around the world, many of which produce semiconductors. It doesn't take a scientist to realize that the manufacturing process for this company consumes a massive amount of power. That's why Intel has turned to renewable resources, such as solar and wind, to generate their energy. In fact, more than 85% of the electricity Intel uses comes from renewable resources, making them among the largest corporate consumers of green energy in the United States. Intel started these initiatives several years ago and have been going strong ever since.

Seament

When Alexander Bouri started Seament more than four decades ago, being mindful of the environment was one of his biggest priorities. It remains so today. Producing and shipping a bulk product like cement is bound to consume a lot of resources, but reducing emissions and waste is one of the biggest concerns for this company. That's why they have sponsored various projects to help incorporate environmental management systems into their business plan. Not only that, but Bouri is on the board of directors for Envipco, which means that he helps other major companies to meet their environmental goals as well.

Whole Foods

If you've ever set foot in a Whole Foods Market, you'd know that they do their very best to be a friend to the environment. Not only do they diligently divide their recycling, but they encourage their customers to do the same, providing separate waste receptacles for garbage, paper recycling, plastic recycling, and aluminum recycling. They provide their customers with recycled food boxes, dinnerware, and paper bags to take home their food, and almost all their electricity usage is solar or wind power.

Three Things You Should Never Do When You’re Starting Your Business

How many of you reading this wish you could quit your job and start your own business?  Nearly everyone in the workforce dreams about being their own boss, but few are able to start and maintain a successful business.  Alex F. Bouri and other successful entrepreneurs have been in your shoes, and starting a business is no laughing matter.  It takes a lot of planning, effort and money to start and build a business, and it seems like nearly every news site and business blogs have advice on how to do it.  If you really want to learn how to start a successful business, you’d be better off reading articles on things you should avoid doing instead of things you must do.  If you want to have a successful business, avoid making these common mistakes when you’re starting out.

Not figuring out a target audience

A lot of new business owners assume that everyone is potential customer and think that their target audience is the public at large.  This way of thinking may seem smart, but neglecting to identify and research your target audience will only lead to failure.  Go online a do a little research on how to find your target audience, and spend time researching them to get a feel for them.  Find out where they like to spend their time, what websites they like to visit, and their average level of income.  After you learn about your target audience and their interests, you’ll be able to better market your products and services. 

Getting loans from family members and friends

Your aunt or best friend is more than willing to give you the money you need to launch your business, but if you want to succeed you’ll turn their money down and head to a bank for a loan.  Friends, family, and business rarely mix well, especially when there’s money involved.  Imagine having your friends and family members dictate your business decisions because they feel like they need to protect their financial interests.  Envision having to explain to your family member that you can’t pay back their loan on time because of business matters.  Don’t risk any of your personal relationships over a business, do your best to keep your business life and personal life separate.

Relying on yourself for accounting and legal matters

You may have enough knowledge to open your own business, but unless you have degrees in finance and law you shouldn’t handle your business’ books or legal matters.  There’s a reason why self-made businessmen have a team of accountants and lawyers handle their legal and financial matters.  They have enough foresight to know that they don’t have the expertise or the time available to handle their business’s financial needs or legal needs.  It may seem “too expensive”, but you can’t afford to not have a lawyer or an accountant help you when you’re starting out.