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Tag Archive for 'Management & Leadership'

Questions to ask employees

Published by Corrina on 10 March, 2010 in Environment, HR & People Development, Management & Leadership and Strategy & Operations • 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Answer key questions on business strategy, innovation, efficiency, human resources and customer care.

Think business strategy, innovation, efficiency, human resources, customer care, and more. Asking good questions and acting on good answers can improve your business and its people. So let’s explore some key business areas where your employees could provide the answers. 

Human resources

In addition to telling you whether they feel satisfied and happy in their work, employees may be able to identify training and development needs which could make your business more successful. 

Key questions for employees: Do you feel happy, enthusiastic and satisfied in your work? How could we improve your job? What training or development could improve both your job and business performance? Do you have unused or underused skills that could help us improve? Do you receive recognition and feedback? What should managers start or stop doing? What could we do to improve communication?

Business strategy and innovation

Because of a closeness to customers, problems or challenges, employees might conjure up innovative ideas and solutions. Their detachment from decision-making could also inspire fresh strategic thinking.  

Key questions for employees: What do you like or dislike about this company? What would you like to see happen? How could we improve our company/product/services? What are your ideas? Can you identify specific problems and propose solutions? What would spur creativity and innovation in your team?

Business efficiency

In previous editions of business i we have found that, because of their closeness to the action, employees can drive efficiency improvements in areas from cost cutting to energy saving. 

Key questions for employees: Can you spot ways to cut business costs, or energy consumption, in your role or in the company as a whole? Are there any bottlenecks or issues that slow you or your team down? How could we reduce wasted time so that we can focus on more worthwhile tasks?

Customer feedback

Customer-facing employees possess invaluable frontline knowledge on how satisfied customers are when interacting with your business and using its products and services. 

Key questions for employees: What common issues or complaints do customers experience? Do you have any feedback or intelligence from customers which could help us improve? When listening to customers, can you spot any unmet or underserved needs? What makes people go elsewhere?

As important as the questions is the will to ask them and listen to the answers. It’s about appreciating the value of engaging with employees, deciding which questions are important, and creating ways to obtain the answers. You might question via formal means such as staff meetings, surveys or interviews. But it’s not all about formalities; sometimes those unplanned conversation-starters at the drinks machine are just as valuable. Ask questions, listen, and if you get good answers, act to make your business better. 

More information – Consulting your employees

More information – The art of good communication between employer and employees

Forecasting cashflow shortfalls

Published by Business Link on 14 November, 2008 in Finance and Strategy & Operations • 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

A recent survey from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) shows that for most companies cashflow has been worsening since the middle of 2007. Reflecting on this news, The Economist describes cashflow as “the most vital measure of long-term business health”. Cash is king, and right now diminishing cashflow is testing the well-being of UK businesses.

Cashflow forecasting should be paramount on every business’s agenda. Not just because trends show worsening cashflow almost universally, but also because credit has become less readily available and more expensive. (A September snap poll by the FSB found that three-quarters of business borrowers had seen an increase in the cost of credit in the past year).

Fundamentally, the earlier you know about upcoming cashflow shortfalls the better. Time makes you less desperate, for one thing; financiers, whether they be investors or creditors, are not as friendly in the face of desperation. Conversely, forward-thinking, planned attempts to finance cashflow shortfalls put you in a stronger position to attract and broker the right deal. Other challenges – such as boosting cashflow by increasing prices or sales volumes – could also take time, and thus must be planned and implemented far in advance of actual shortfalls.

Forecasting a couple of months in advance affords little scope for significant changes to your financial or strategic plans. Six months may do, and twelve might be better. How far forward you go may depend on how accurately you can forecast (but even less than accurate forecasts are better than nothing as long as they are regularly revised). Or it might depend on what you your biggest challenges are; for example, if declining sales mean you must re-think your sales plan and pump more money into marketing, how long will that take? If the answer is 6 months, you should forecast into and far beyond that period, so you can track potential cashflow shortfalls which might arise during and after.

A cashflow forecast can also be used to forecast and test hypothetical scenarios. Try making a list of ’sensitive’ cash income. For example, income from customers that might themselves be influenced by economic downturn, resulting in loss or non-payment of their business. Or indeed, list products and services that you rely on which could become more expensive (fuel, for example). Then make a copy of your cashflow forecast and play with the numbers. Test scenarios, such as 10 per cent reduction in business, or a 30 per cent rise in energy costs or credit interest. Asking such hypothetical questions could allow you to foresee how exposed you are to changes, three, six or twelve months in advance of a shortfall arising. To illustrate: an astute house-builder might have tested the impact on their cashflow of a 15 per cent average drop in house prices, and used this intelligence to put in place contingencies to cover shortfalls, should the worst happen.

Testing hypothetical changes in cashflow could expose weak spots, but with that, it could inform strategic thinking. If your cashflow relies heavily on the stability of one particular variable – such as sales volumes or fuel prices – arguably your strategic planning should look for ways to manage such a vulnerability.

One potential danger of cashflow forecasting is doing so inaccurately or without adequate, regular review. If your long-term cashflow forecast is not reliable or periodically revised, you may believe your cashflow is sufficient when it is not. Shortfalls could then hit with unexpected bangs as long-term forecasts become immediately different realities.

More than ever before, cashflow forecasting is something to be mastered. The process provides a glance into your financial future, providing sufficient time to identify and solve problems before they arise. But without regular attention, a cashflow forecast could become a false security blanket. These two facts mean you must do it well, and do it often.

More info – Cashflow management: the basics (Including a sample cashflow spreadsheet)

More info – Review your financial position