Who Moved Your Cheese?

How to Keep Employees

Sales Tax Cap Shuffle

Regulation of Evaporative Emissions from Boat Fuel Systems

Hiring New Employees – How to Protect Yourself

Set Your Calendar for Fall Co-Sponsored Workshops

Who Moved Your Cheese?

One of the hot “quick read” management books out now is Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson. Its premise is simple: business owners and managers accustomed to their business “cheese” (market-personnel issues, etc.), are often unaware when the cheese moves or changes. The book is a parable about change management and how to relocate your “cheese”, keep it fresh and plan for change.

The key tool often used to assess business change is a strategic audit, the results of which becomes a strategic plan. Bill Yeargin of Rybovich Spencer stresses the importance of developing a strategic plan in the June 2001 edition of Soundings Trade Only, He states “many managers have no idea how to go about preparing one. Many others get started but quit in frustration along the way.” We (NC Marine Trades Services) work with marine business across the state and understand the truth of these comments.

Our professional, for-fee Management Education Services of the SBTDC has developed a set of tools for making the strategic planning process as simple and painless as possible. Our qualified trainers lead companies through examination of their present position to formulation of future goals. After assisting you in a strategic audit of your business, trainers help you and your management team determine your options and how you can handle current and future issues/problems identified in the audit.

One of the most useful tools in this process is a Strategic Planning Retreat. These one-to-two day sessions put on by our professionals help companies examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to their business. It helps form priorities, goals and action plans based on your business issues. Call Mike Bradley (252) 728-2144 or Wendy Larimer (910) 962-3351 for further information.

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How to Keep Employees

The cost of hiring, training, and maintaining quality employees makes it is essential for employers to do everything within their means to keep good workers. Employers often jump to the conclusion that good pay and benefits are what keep employees happy, but numerous studies have found this is not the case. The most important motivator for employees is being appreciated for the work they do, followed closely by being kept aware of what is happening within the company. The costly items to a company, such as promotions, high pay, and good working conditions are often of low importance to the employee, while the free stuff, such as showing appreciation, valuing employee input and a sense of “family”, rank high.

So what can you do? Talk to your employees. Conduct performance evaluations to encourage feedback, say thank you, hold lunchtime sessions on topics that interest your employees, and get input and suggestions. Show appreciation for the daily work.  Hand out awards, hold appreciation days, use flex time, provide training programs, bring in lunch, provide company-sponsored memberships to health clubs, allow wholesale purchasing. And finally, consider that employees have a right to know what is expected and how they are doing, and they will perform better if these rights are met. 

Information for this article taken from JOB Strategies, Inc. of Raleigh, and RSM McGladrey, Inc. of Wilmington.

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Sales Tax Cap Shuffle

Just as we thought removal of the boat sales cap was a concern without merit, it showed up as a item for discussion on the NC House Finance Committee. In short, they will be told the following: There were just over 18,500 “Newly Registered New” boats sold in NC in 2000 and just over 31,000 “Newly Registered Used” boats sold in the same time frame. Assuming that most boats over 27 feet are likely to be $50,000 or more in cost, then only 710 new  boats (estimated) sold during this same time frame were in the category to bring new money to the state if they chose to remove the cap. A study will show them that 3% of the boats sold would generate new tax dollars equal to just (approximately) $2.5 million. To see more on this study and keep up-to-date and  informed, see New Tax Cap Concern at www.NCMTA.com.

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Regulation of Evaporative Emissions from Boat Fuel Systems

The NMMA has taken the initiative to provide SBREFA (Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act) written comments on behalf of its small business members regarding EPA’s plan to regulate evaporative emissions from boat fuel systems. These businesses include boat builders, fuel tank manufacturers, fuel line manufacturers, and manufacturers of ancillary equipment such as siphon tubes, fill tubes, fuel caps, and sending units. The concern is about the challenges that many of the small businesses would face if required to test engines for emissions.

NMMA has serious concerns that years of fuel system evolution could be reversed by an ill-thought-through EPA rule that focuses exclusively on emission reduction and does consider safety issues. NMMA is concerned that EPA would take a tiny step forward for the environment and a giant step backwards for boater safety.  To read more, see the complete letter from John McKnight (NMMA) found under Regulations at www.NCMTA.com.

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Hiring New Employees – How to Protect Yourself

The goal in hiring is to find people who can do the job better than you, and then allowing them to do the job. But how do you protect yourself from hiring someone whose idea of how to do the job is dangerous, counterproductive to your goals, or just plain outrageous? First, get a completed job application form with a signature. On that signed application, have them identify the skills and certifications they have and the tools with which they have expertise. If an employee tells you he can run a spray gun, but he then uses it incorrectly injuring a co-worker, you have a signed statement that to your knowledge the employee knew what he was doing. This will help protect you in a lawsuit. It is also critically important to actually check references. Ask former employers: If conditions were favorable, would they re-hire the employee?

The interview is where you gauge the knowledge, skills and abilities of the prospective employee, so questions should be well developed. The goal is to find out about the employee’s past behaviors in situa­tions similar to ones s/he will face with your company. Ask questions that probe organizational, communication, problem solving, teamwork, and customer relations skills.  Ask “what would you do if” questions, and why did you leave your last job, and why are you interviewing for this job.

In almost all regions of the state, the Employee Security Commission has quality help available for the asking. They can find, screen and hire, and they have several programs – including the 100-Day No-Fault Guarantee program and job-listing services. Give this agency  a chance to help you. Find informa­tion on the web at http://www.esc.state.nc.us/business/find_skilled.asp. And finally, once you hire someone, make sure s/he completes an I-9 form that says s/he is eligible to work in the US. Then verify what is stated on the form by looking at driver’s license, social security card or other identifying documents. An illegal immigrant, no matter how skilled, can cause your business considerable difficulty.

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Set Your Calendar for Fall Co-Sponsored Workshops

The Small Business & Technology Development Center is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA’s funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions, or services.  All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

* NCMTA Member

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