Archive for October, 2009
October 31st, 2009 | 
Author: Give Yourself A Boss Day Gift
Become a better boss and reap the benefits
Another interesting study was done. One that should really catch our attention. It reveals that employees who are happier and treated well produce better results than those who are unhappy. And most frontline workers are unhappy and are looking elsewhere for work.
No it shouldnt surprise us. But somehow it does. It surprises us first because we are stunned that a study had to be done to prove something that is so obvious. The outcome of the study should not be as surprising as the fact that it was done at all! When we recover from that then it may surprise us because we arent aware that most frontline staffers arent happy and they dont feel that they are treated well at work.
Ugh! This must make us look at ourselves if we are managers. But we have to give ourselves a breakwere not the bad guy! I think I know why and how this happens.
The position somehow changes us whether we know it or not! My own research and my work with thousands of frontline supervisors lead me to believe that there is a clear and simple answer: We become so consumed with the position we lose the person we think and know ourselves to be. This is too bad too because it was probably that personable person who got us this higher position!
The funloving spontaneous smiling person we think ourselves as has morphed into a serious unapproachable distracted frenzied boss concentrating on the demands of the position losing the person we were and forgetting the people who work for us. The moment we concentrate on the work and the final product and not the people who produce that product we become the position and leave behind the person who relates to others on a personal level. We want to be successful and do a good job. We think taking the job so seriously is part of the package. Oooops. Big mistake.
This serious approach to the position not only negatively affects our workers but us too. When we reach a toxic level of position it is usually painful: we feel misunderstood overwhelmed crisisoriented overstressed and we begin to hate our job and maybe our coworkers which we may have previously loved. Others see this and they begin to shy away from us. This cycle happens so often that many supervisors quit within 3 years of the promotion.
So heres where the results of the study comes in. Supervisors need to remind themselves that no matter what work they think are in they are really in human services. No matter what the company does: make widgets produce soft or hardware sell via the phone; once you become a frontline supervisor your priority must be the human beings who are responsible to you as it is those humans who produce the final product. The work or the final product is no longer your priority. No work is done well if people arent happy doing it. So dont lose your person to the position.
And here we must be reminded why people leave their jobs (this from yet another study). Most people leave because they see their supervisor as a jerk and second they leave because they dont feel acknowledged recognized or appreciated. We can again become the person known to be talented liked and therefore promoted by remembering the importance of the people who do the job. Stop the vicious cycle. Lighten up! Smile. Visit. Have fun. Its a winwin situation!
About the writer:
Linda LaPointe MRA is author of The New Supervisor who has taught thousands successful supervisory techniques. See part two of this article buy the book and sign up for Lindas FREE ETools News at www.thenewsupervisor.com.
soseniorsyahoo.com
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Get Your Credit Score To Soar In The Twinkling Of An Eye.
Ever wonder how a creditor decides whether to grant you credit? For years creditors have been using credit scoring systems to determine if you’d be a good risk for credit cards and auto loans. More recently credit scoring has been used to help creditors evaluate your ability to repay home mortgage loans. Here’s how credit scoring works in helping decide who gets credit and why.
What is credit scoring?
Credit scoring is a system creditors use to help determine whether to give you credit.
Information about you and your credit experiences such as your billpaying history the number and type of accounts you have late payments collection actions outstanding debt and the age of your accounts is collected from your credit application and your credit report. Using a statistical program creditors compare this information to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles. A credit scoring system awards points for each factor that helps predict who is most likely to repay a debt. A total number of points a credit score helps predict how creditworthy you are that is how likely it is that you will repay a loan and make the payments when due.
Because your credit report is an important part of many credit scoring systems it is very important to make sure it’s accurate before you submit a credit application. To get copies of your report contact the three major credit reporting agencies:
- Equifax: (800) 6851111
- Experian (formerly TRW): (888) EXPERIAN (3973742)
- Trans Union: (800) 9168800
These agencies may charge you up to 9.00 for your credit report.
Why is credit scoring used?
Credit scoring is based on real data and statistics so it usually is more reliable than subjective or judgmental methods. It treats all applicants objectively. Judgmental methods typically rely on criteria that are not systematically tested and can vary when applied by different individuals.
How is a credit scoring model developed?
To develop a model a creditor selects a random sample of its customers or a sample of similar customers if their sample is not large enough and analyzes it statistically to identify characteristics that relate to creditworthiness. Then each of these factors is assigned a weight based on how strong a predictor it is of who would be a good credit risk. Each creditor may use its own credit scoring model different scoring models for different types of credit or a generic model developed by a credit scoring company.
Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act a credit scoring system may not use certain characteristics like race sex marital status national origin or religion as factors. However creditors are allowed to use age in properly designed scoring systems. But any scoring system that includes age must give equal treatment to elderly applicants.
What can I do to improve my score?
Credit scoring models are complex and often vary among creditors and for different types of credit. If one factor changes your score may change but improvement generally depends on how that factor relates to other factors considered by the model. Only the creditor can explain what might improve your score under the particular model used to evaluate your credit application.
Nevertheless scoring models generally evaluate the following types of information in your credit report:
- Have you paid your bills on time? Payment history typically is a significant factor. It is likely that your score will be affected negatively if you have paid bills late had an account referred to collections or declared bankruptcy if that history is reflected on your credit report.
- What is your outstanding debt? Many scoring models evaluate the amount of debt you have compared to your credit limits. If the amount you owe is close to your credit limit that is likely to have a negative effect on your score.
- How long is your credit history? Generally models consider the length of your credit track record. An insufficient credit history may have an effect on your score but that can be offset by other factors such as timely payments and low balances.
- Have you applied for new credit recently? Many scoring models consider whether you have applied for credit recently by looking at “inquiries” on your credit report when you apply for credit. If you have applied for too many new accounts recently that may negatively affect your score. However not all inquiries are counted. Inquiries by creditors who are monitoring your account or looking at credit reports to make “prescreened” credit offers are not counted.
- How many and what types of credit accounts do you have? Although it is generally good to have established credit accounts too many credit card accounts may have a negative effect on your score. In addition many models consider the type of credit accounts you have. For example under some scoring models loans from finance companies may negatively affect your credit score.
Scoring models may be based on more than just information in your credit report. For example the model may consider information from your credit application as well: your job or occupation length of employment or whether you own a home.
To improve your credit score under most models concentrate on paying your bills on time paying down outstanding balances and not taking on new debt. It’s likely to take some time to improve your score significantly.
How reliable is the credit scoring system?
Credit scoring systems enable creditors to evaluate millions of applicants consistently and impartially on many different characteristics. But to be statistically valid credit scoring systems must be based on a big enough sample. Remember that these systems generally vary from creditor to creditor.
Although you may think such a system is arbitrary or impersonal it can help make decisions faster more accurately and more impartially than individuals when it is properly designed. And many creditors design their systems so that in marginal cases applicants whose scores are not high enough to pass easily or are low enough to fail absolutely are referred to a credit manager who decides whether the company or lender will extend credit. This may allow for discussion and negotiation between the credit manager and the consumer.
What happens if you are denied credit or don’t get the terms you want?
If you are denied credit the Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires that the creditor give you a notice that tells you the specific reasons your application was rejected or the fact that you have the right to learn the reasons if you ask within 60 days. Indefinite and vague reasons for denial are illegal so ask the creditor to be specific. Acceptable reasons include: “Your income was low” or “You haven’t been employed long enough.” Unacceptable reasons include: “You didn’t meet our minimum standards” or “You didn’t receive enough points on our credit scoring system.”
If a creditor says you were denied credit because you are too near your credit limits on your charge cards or you have too many credit card accounts you may want to reapply after paying down your balances or closing some accounts. Credit scoring systems consider updated information and change over time.
Sometimes you can be denied credit because of information from a credit report. If so the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the creditor to give you the name address and phone number of the credit reporting agency that supplied the information. You should contact that agency to find out what your report said. This information is free if you request it within 60 days of being turned down for credit. The credit reporting agency can tell you what’s in your report but only the creditor can tell you why your application was denied.
If you’ve been denied credit or didn’t get the rate or credit terms you want ask the creditor if a credit scoring system was used. If so ask what characteristics or factors were used in that system and the best ways to improve your application. If you get credit ask the creditor whether you are getting the best rate and terms available and if not why. If you are not offered the best rate available because of inaccuracies in your credit report be sure to dispute the inaccurate information in your credit report.
About the writer:
copy; Copyright. http://www.deleteuglycredit.com
Omar M. Omar is the owner of http://www.deleteuglycredit.com. The website is dedicated to provide credit consumers with information about their credit right and how to dispute inaccurate information on their credit report. Omar M. Omar is also the author Of “The Credit Repair Bible” book.
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Getting Your Employees Attention Back To Work
It is 9:00 am on a Monday morning. Do you know where your employees attention is? Is it on work?
Picture this. You are at work. The phone rings. It is your aging fathers neighbor calling to say that Dad is walking around outside in his pajamas and seems confused. You have a full day of meetings and deadlines. Your heart sinks as you try to figure out how to care for your dad and keep your job.
The phone rings again. This time it is the school nurse saying that your asthmatic child is having trouble breathing.
According to the American Productivity Audit onethird of respondents said dependent health concerns were a top reason employees were not able to focus on their job while at work.
What you may not know is that the situations above can just as likely happen to a working woman as to a working man. However if a woman gets the troubling phone call she is more likely to talk about it at work while the man will not (2003 National Alliance for Caregiving national survey).
Millions of working adults men and women are juggling the competing demands of caring for a chronically ill or disabled parent raising a family and managing a career.
Working caregivers sacrifice leisure time and often suffer stressrelated illnesses. Negative effects on working caregivers include time lost from work lower productivity quitting a job to provide care lost career opportunities and lower future earnings. Eventually some 16 percent quit their jobs to provide care fulltime. Work disruptions due to employee caregiving responsibilities result in productivity losses of 1142 per year per employee. According to the Washington Post researchers estimate that the cost of informal caregiving in terms of lost productivity to U.S. businesses is 29 billion annually.
Caregiving Takes WorkLife Toll
A recent MetLife study dubbed “Juggling Act” revealed some of the productivitykilling adjustments that caregivers choose to make to their work schedules:
- 84 make phone calls
- 69 arrive late or leave early
- 67 take time off during the workday
- 29 make up work at another time
In addition a national survey conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving in 1997 found that two in ten working caregivers turned down the opportunity to work on special projects; almost as many avoided workrelated travel. Forty percent of the survey respondents said that caregiving affected their ability to advance in their jobs.
What Employers Can Do
Here are seven measures you can take to reduce employee stress increase productivity and decrease lost work time due to employee caregiving responsibilities.
- Offer “cafeteria style” employee benefits which allow employees to select supplemental dependent care coverage to reimburse costs for inhome care or adult day care. Benefits also should cover therapeutic counseling for employees to help cope with the stresses of caregiving.
- Provide information on helpful Internet sites or resource centers.
- Organize inhouse caregiver support groups or coordinate with local community groups or hospitals so that employees can attend an outside support group.
- One of the most critical benefits for an employee with caregiving responsibilities is time. Flexible work hours family illness days and leave time are key. Data from the Bureau of National Affairs (1993) found that flexible scheduling improved job performance decreased lateness and employee turnover and increased job satisfaction.
- Companies with 50 or more employees must comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which allows for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a seriously ill parent spouse or child while protecting job security. Smaller firms can use the FMLA guidelines to provide support for individual employees.
- Hold a company “caregiver fair” or a series of lunchtime seminars on issues such as health care planning before a crisis hits or coping skills for caregivers.
- Offer private longterm care insurance coverage for employees their spouses and dependents.
Employers have a stake in designing responsive and effective programs to support their caregiving employees. Research has demonstrated that the cost to employers of lost productivity and other factors related to caregiving employees difficulty in balancing work and family is high. Taking action immediately starts to increase productivity lessen direct and indirect financial costs and enhance employer/employee work/life relationship which directly impacts on employee morale satisfaction and retention.
About the writer:
Michael Christian is the President of Patient Advocate Solutions (PAS). PAS provides healthcare navigation and insurance resolution for consumers employers and healthcare providers. Contact him at (732) 5649800 or www.pasnow.com