I’ve often talked about the importance of outsourcing tasks that you can’t do on your own to make sure you have time to focus on what you love about your business. But how do you do that? Many business owners have only a basic understanding of best practices when it comes to hiring good people.

A little while back, I got some great tips in this area from Vertical Bridge Corporate Consulting managing partner Sandra Reder. She had these ideas for how to conduct an effective hiring process:

1. Placing the advertisement on various job boards, website and possibly in print media

2. Receiving resumes (these days it can be anywhere from 75 to 150 resumes for one position)

3. Screening resumes to the job description and short-listing the suitable candidates

 4. Pre-qualifying calls to the short-listed candidates to see how they communicate, as well as to confirm some basic details about them

5. Possibly doing a more in-depth pre-screen on the phone to find out more about their past work experience before bringing them in for face-to-face interviews

My good friends at Clear HR Consulting also had some good advice about hiring, particularly in developing job descriptions and matching qualifications to your requirements, in one of their recent newsletters. I really liked this bit:

 Be specific about the qualifications, skills and experience required.

 * Consider requirements for education, work experience, technical skills and soft skills.

* Be specific about what qualifications the successful candidate must have. One of the biggest job description mistakes is listing vague & non-specific qualifications.

* Specify to what degree the candidate needs to possess the skills you require. For instance, if you need someone who needs to be able to do heavy lifting, specify the weight they need to be able to comfortably lift.

 * Include the level of education that needs to have been attained (e.g. grade 12, undergraduate degree in Science, P. Eng).

 * For “soft” skills that you require (e.g. organizational skills, communication skills), specify how strong their skills need to be or what they need to apply their skills towards. For example, “Good communication skills” can be improved by saying “Proven communication skills resolving customer complaints”.

 Remember, channeling your passion for business isn’t just about focusing your own activities. Hiring right and delegating will let you out-task certain responsibilities while you can concentrate on your own area of interest.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

As entrepreneurs, we have to be lifelong learners. But we don’t all have time to go back to school. Well, there’s so much information out there that if you know how to organize it, you can still benefit hugely – and so can your business.

There’s a great line from Goodwill Hunting where Matt Damon says “You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you coulda’ picked up for a dollar fifty in late charges at the Public Library.” Well, now you don’t even have to go to the library.

 To organize streams of information, you can use Google applications like Reader and Alerts. These have been around for years, but I’m still surprised to find many of my colleagues have never heard of them. Once you have a Google account, you can filter streams of data from news and blog sites to easily scan headlines in categories that you set up. For instance, I have a category for many of my local Vancouver-based business colleagues that I’m in touch with, so whenever one of them publishes an article on their website, I see it. Just Of course, you can do the same thing through your web browser, but I find the Reader format seems to work for me.I also have a Google Alert that creates a feed for “small business tips”, so anytime anyone in the world writes about this, I can check the latest tips.

If you have a mobile device like an iPhone or other MP3 player, you can also listen to audio podcasts with all kinds of great information. For example, the iTunes University site offers free lectures from many great institutions including Harvard and Oxford. Imagine listening to an Ivy League lecture once a day, perhaps on your commute or while you’re at the gym, on just about any topic you could mention – for free.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

The likes of Twitter, Linked In and Facebook have allowed for networking to grow to the next level. They are exceptional tools for being able to build credibility with your audience as you share relevant information, tips and tools of the trade and make comfortable introductions in a timely and effective manner.  All that said, there is an important step that some social media butterflies are neglecting – take your online relationships offline!

Use the tools of the internet to cast your net wide as it pertains to establishing relationships, but make sure you continue to connect with your network offline. Schedule coffee meetings and lunches and invite people to events you are hosting. Taking your online relationships offline will increase your credibility and solidify your relationships even further.

All the best,

Heather White, CEO 2020 Communications Inc.

A lot of the web tools we use for marketing purposes or just for fun can also be used to help us collaborate better in our work.

For instance, if you’ve ever tried drafting a document with two or more people, you’ll understand the frustrations of using email to send drafts back and forth. Is this the latest draft? Who made these changes? How do I get rid of all of this markup?

One alternative is Google Docs, which allows all invited users access to the same document, which they can look at and edit all at the same time.

Cell phones are also rapidly becoming mobile computing devices with tons of capabilities. If you’ve got an iPhone or a device with recording capabilities, consider recording a voice memo and sending the recording off to your teammates with just two more clicks.

Apps like Tweetdeck can also act as mobile group messaging devices on the fly. Take five minutes to create Twitter accounts (if you don’t already have them), create a work group on Tweetdeck and download the application to your phone. Now you’ve got a quick messaging platform that can also be used to share links and pictures.

With more teams working remotely than ever before, technology is awfully useful for helping people collaborate in new and practical ways. Experiment a little and you’ll find even more tools and tricks to keep your group in sync.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

We don’t always appreciate what we have, whether at home or at work. That angst that fights against complacency is actually a good thing – the sense that the grass is always greener on the other side is what makes us jump into new opportunities. That said, making a team work together with real synergy is not an everyday feat. Learn to spot the successes in your collaborations, so you can replicate that synergy elsewhere.

Does your team actually seem to enjoy working with each other? Happy people are productive people. If you find yourself actually looking forward to seeing the people at your office every day – well, that’s no small thing.

Then there’s the skill set. With an optimal balance where everyone is assigned tasks and workload according to their talents rather than which person has the smallest stack of projects on their desk, you’ll get real productivity.

Next, look at how your group talks to each other. If discussions are fluid, with plenty of back and forth, engaging ideas, and everybody listening to what other team members are saying, you’ve got something special. Far too many groups are dominated by someone with a forceful personality rather than expertise in all areas that the team has to work in. Freedom of speech and thought are not just good for civil society – they make businesses work better.

If you do recognize your team is functioning very well, analyze what it is about this group that works well. Often, it is based on good habits rather than some innate ability to work well with others. Try to transfer these habits to your other collaborative activities and watch your successes add up.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

In many small businesses, the two top employees aren’t just collaborating closely at work –  they’re husband and wife. How can you work together while maintaining a work-life balance?

First of all, you need to set firm boundaries for work and your life outside of your work. The dinner table and the bedroom are business-free zones. If you’re in a home office, papers, files, supplies and hardware all stay in there.

Dividing up responsibilities according to your real strengths is also key. If both partners have similar skill sets, it’s important to ensure they both have a share of the interesting work that will keep them motivated. It’s often easier if they have complementary skill sets (say, one handling logistics while another takes on creative tasks). Workload should be split fairly, which doesn’t always mean equally.

Communication is always important. You want to nip problems that can lead to workplace stress and resentment in the bud, because any lingering stress realistically will impact your relationship. Recognize that stressful situations will happen, but aim to mitigate these issues. Be honest with your partner and make sure that any possible miscommunications are clarified before the end of the workday.

Keep that balance in your work and life and you can have it all.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

We all have bad habits that hold us back in our business and personal lives. But habits don’t have to be permanent. And if you’re serious about changing your ways, don’t be intimidated by thinking it’s a matter of willpower (in case you don’t think you’ve got it). It’s more about simply replacing your bad habits with new, better habits.

First, choose just one habit you want to change. You don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. The habit can and often will be a habit of omission – for instance, you often lost your access key card, miss appointment or neglect your paperwork.

Next, tell yourself how you’re going to replace your habit. Tell others. The more of your colleagues who know you’re trying to change your habit, the easier it will be. Write it down.

Every day, take a few minutes to think about the habit you are changing, and repeat to yourself (out loud, if you’ve got some privacy) your commitment to change your ways. You can also use this time to actually undertake the replacement habit. For instance, if you’ve resolved to improve your filing of paperwork so it becomes a regular process, doing this on a daily basis at a regularly scheduled time is ideal. If the problem was missed meetings, then taking a few minutes to check your calendar at the beginning of every day just before your prioritized tasks is essential.

Remind your colleagues about your habit change so they can help keep you on the right path.

Consistency is key. In 30 days, you can replace your bad habits with better ones. Remember, it’s not about willpower. It’s about routines.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

In my last post, I emphasized the importance of using your time according to the 80/20 rule, where you focus your efforts into your most profitable efforts. But how do you know which efforts are really paying off?

You’re going to have to log all your activities and how much time you spend doing non-productive work. For that, you’re going to need a spreadsheet.

Put together a simple Excel grid with two columns showing time range and the type of activity. Start recording the actual work that you do, going into some detail as to the types of tasks involved. This will help a lot later, when you’re not just focusing on what activities provide the most benefit, but also how efficiently you’re doing them. There may be ways to reduce the number of steps to produce virtually the same output.

If you’re being interrupted, record that as well – who’s doing the interrupting, who called you on the phone, who instant-messaged you, why you left your desk and so on.

Do this for at least one day, though if your week varies significantly, you may need to do this exercise for the entire period. This will also help you to arrange more consistent routines.

Finally, you get to the most important part – go through the logs you’ve recorded and note the activities that are providing a real measurable benefit to your business. This can also be the hardest part. You may want to consult with a business coach or time management expert to provide feedback on the best use of your time that you’ve recorded.

Now you’re on your way to designing a better time management system that you can use for the long term. You know what to do. There’s no time to waste.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

“I want to do it myself!” is the chant of every four-year old.  You have to admire their enthusiasm, but the end result doesn’t work so well for them a lot of the time.  As a business habit, it’s not so hot, either.

Our clients outsource because they know they can’t do everything themselves, and entrepreneurs need to recognize this about themselves. Particularly for those of us offering business-to-business services, we can have a habit of not taking our own advice.

We can’t wear all the hats and still feel passionate about our businesses. For instance, I outsource bookkeeping and some other administrative functions so that I can focus on the work that I’m passionate about: helping people and organizations by providing the tools and teaching them the strategies to stay de-cluttered, stay organized and manage time effectively.

Remember the 80/20 rule (organizations typically get 80 per cent of their results from 20 per cent of their efforts) and organize your tasks accordingly, ensuring you spend more of your time on the really productive work.

For small businesses in Canada, the future is looking a little brighter these days (CNW Group) and I’m definitely hearing anecdotal evidence about people (some of them recently handed pink slips) starting new businesses. It’s important for those new entrepreneurs and the experienced business owners among us to not attempt to wear too many hats.

Do what you love, spend your time on the high-impact activities and leverage off the activities you don’t like (but have to be done).

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

As a coach I am always forcing my clients to generate a plan B, no matter what, even if they’d rather die than not have their plan A come to fruition. Firstly because, as we all know, sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan, and that’s just life. It’s only in retrospect, and sometimes not even then, that we can see the reasons why our beloved plan didn’t come to fruition. Secondly, it’s there for insurance. No one plans to get in an accident or have their house burn down or worse, hence the reason we all by insurance, just in case. Lastly, and most importantly for me and those whom I advise, so that you can clear your anxious, fear based energy (the energy that manifests itself in quiet moments while you worry about your plan A not coming true).

Something very interesting happens to a person’s energy when they take the time to think out and formulate a plan B. They clear themselves of their attachment to the end result and their energy is therefore more open. Trust me, I’ve had many the argument with people who say ‘having a plan B means you’re not committed to your plan A’ and I highly disagree. Of the hundreds of times I’ve experienced in my own life and the number of times I’ve seen it happen in the lives of my clients I stand firm on this point. Just the other day, I found myself getting a bit anxious because the gentleman whom I wanted to keynote an upcoming foundational luncheon that I sit on the committee for, had not gotten back to me with an answer. Instead of worrying, I sat down and wrote out my back up plan for if he didn’t come through. An hour later he called and said, you guessed it, YES!

If you’re with me, sit down today and make sure you’ve got a plan B for all your beloved plan A’s. This will free your energy up and remove any anxiety and fear that may be getting in your way.

All the best,

Heather White, 2020 Communications Inc.