When Office Talk Can Hurt Your Business

 

• Can Office Gossip Be Good For You?
• No matter how large or small your office, office gossip is universal.
• Office rumors stimulate conversation and provide natural breaks to make the day go by faster.
• We all should be careful about engaging in office gossip, as it often can be derogatory when aimed toward others.
• Office gossip, on the other hand, can be instrumental in discovering the pulse of the company.
• What can you gain from office gossip?
• You most certainly want to listen for valuable information that could affect your job. For example, if the company is about to be bought, sold, merged, or about to right size, down size or outsource, you most certainly want to be proactive in listening for signs of change. You certainly don’t want to be the last to hear important information.
• A senior manager arrived at work one day and discovered that her company was sold. The sale was not announced to the staff. A team member found an article in the morning paper and then substantiated the information online. The senior manager was fired shortly thereafter as her position was eliminated for redundancy.
• If you’re sensing unusual activity or hearing rumors, depending on the source, chances are they are true.
• What’s the best way to protect your own interest?
• For the entire article go to techexecpartners.

It would stand to reason that office gossips are neither good for production or morale. In fact, they may not be good for business at all. Do you think for a moment that those who run off at the mouth during work hours are not also doing the same once they are out the door.

Then, as Diane point out in her article, there is the upside. The employees with their ears to the ground who through some seemingly preternatural sensibility are able to acquire information that no one else has. They are the ones who get the scuttlebutt, as they say in the Navy.

So here in lies the dilemma, the same person that can clue you in to impending layoffs, buyouts and other acts of crisis that may impact your job are the same people who can bad mouth you behind your back. But, hey, no one claimed it is a perfect world and sometimes you get the best information from the people you don’t particularly like.

When its your business or you are the human resources manager responsible for hiring, in addition to the usual criminal background check and education verification, you may also wish to conduct a reference verification to see whether the candidate’s big mouth was part of the cause to show them the exit door.

Check them out before you hire. Call Corra.

 

 

Employers Should Talk To Their Workers In The Style of Language They Understand

Communicating with your boss: Tips for Generation Y

• (Computerworld) Like every generation, Gen Y is subject to its share of myths and stereotypes as it enters the IT workforce. Sometimes painted as privileged, technology-obsessed individuals who avoid face-to-face interaction, Millennial workers actually have many basic needs in common with their more experienced colleagues, including recognition, constructive feedback and a healthy relationship with one’s boss. That said, there are some real differences in the communication styles of different generations.
• If you’re like many of your Generation Y colleagues, you prefer frequent communication with your boss.
• For the entire article go to ComputerWorld.com

Look, the most important thing about communication is the ability to communicate clearly. You can talk for hours, but if no one gets a word you are saying, then it all goes for naught. If you think this is overly simplistic, think of the jargon used in the business world and the other worlds that are supposed to enable a simpler form of communication. Sometimes sure the jargon works, but just as often in its generic quality we lose precise definition, which can make all the difference.

Since I am hardly a child at this stage of the game, although some may beg to differ, one of the things I have noticed when dealing with younger workers is that you must get to the point. Most are not overly burdened with abundant attention spans, and they have little tolerance for preambles. They may want to talk to you more often, sometimes because the information you provided the first time may have timed out somewhere in mid conversation. This doesn’t make the younger generation stupid by any means, just used to shorter inputs of information.

Whatever age group from which you are recruiting, a background check should be part of your pre-employment screening program. A solid interview, perhaps a psychological assessment and background checks covering criminal, education verification and even Motor Vehicle Records Searches to help determine behavior patterns.

As more than a few have said, let’s not resort to generic slogans as a means to communication. Spell it out sometimes, as if I was in fifth grade. You think you may be wasting time, but in reality you are saving yourself a bundle of it.

Check them out before you hire. Call Corra.

Generation X, Or How to Advance Careers Without Harboring Too Much Resentment

Generation X Doesn’t Like You

• By Lance Haun • May 21st, 2008 • Category: Lead Story
• And who can blame them?!
• I certainly can’t. I would be irritated as hell with the work environment if I were a Gen X’er because they are supposed to be entering the earning years of their life (the one where you bank your retirement, put your kids through college and pay off your mortgage) and it is getting turned upside down by a variety of factors. Harvard Business Publishing throws some of these out:
• Most corporate career paths “narrow” at the top
• And then there are those pesky Gen Y’s.
• X’ers are the most conservative cohort in today’s workforce
• Boomer colleagues are annoying
• Your own parenting pressures are at a peak
• And this is why I am so indifferent about generational differences.
• For the complete article go to YourHRGuy.com

I loved this article. I enjoyed it for its insights, and enjoyed it even more since I am at the moment in a truncated p…ing contest with one of the op-ed columnists from a daily newspaper. She laments and otherwise whines about the Boomer generation co-opting her otherwise notable and utterly progressive Generation X. She referred to it as Boomer Cultural Imperialism. Gotta love a catchy phrase.

I think the point Lance Haun is making is quite a good one. In a nut shell, Gen X will eventually have its turn at the big brass ring. Right now, I suppose, to coin the old Steeler’s Wheel Song, “Stuck in the Middle With You,” Gen X is bordered by the omnipresent culturally imperialistic Boomers who still struggle to occupy senior executive positions, since they lack the decency to die off and allow the Gen X’ers to move in to the top spots. On other side, the new Gen Y’s with their techno savvy capabilities and their MBA’s are posing as much more attractive recruitment prospects than the graying or soon-to-be graying Gen X’ers. Uh, oh.

But as Lance attests, they too will have their day at the beach. The Boomers will in time fade out to the big be-in, and Gen X’ers will fill their spaces. Probably, as with the Boomers, Gen X will be resented by future generations. Perhaps they will be resented for rescinding their values or not having any real values at all. Young groups will make fun of their material desires and their oh so keen fashion senses. They will berate them for being far too conservative and for refusing against all temptations to ever really have any fun.

No matter. As the article attests every generation will face its own foibles and obstacles in looking for a job and advancing their careers. The thing in with any group is to conduct background checks and especially education verification searches to be sure they actually went to that college. Corra an help you there.

Check them out before you hire.

If You Care About Green Industries, Do Your Corporate Research

China ‘now top carbon polluter’

China has already overtaken the US as the world’s “biggest polluter”, a report to be published next month says.

The research suggests the country’s greenhouse gas emissions have been underestimated, and probably passed those of the US in 2006-2007.

The University of California team will report their work in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management.

They warn that unchecked future growth will dwarf any emissions cuts made by rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol.

For the entire article go to BBCNews.

I guess it is no secret to most that China is now the largest polluter in the world. In fact, I am told, that periodically this big black cloud of schmootz that wafts across the ocean currents to visit California on its bad days. As if California doesn’t have enough troubles without black clouds of dirt visiting upon us.

But now there are growing concerns for a greener, better environment. Consumers and clients will judge you based on your concern for the environment. More importantly, they will base their desire to do business with you on your ecological concerns.

Doing corporate research goes a long way in helping you determine what companies are going green and are therefore appealing to consumers and prospective clients. Corra Business Research Services can help you there will cost-effective reviews. It’s sensible, given the conditions of the world we live in and the world in which we are liable to reside in the not too distant future.

So part of your bottom line is a green business. Making this a part of your policy, along with background checks and careful scrutiny is rapidly becoming essential. Be smart and be sure your company is moving its business toward the future. Corra can help you get there.

Check them out before you hire.

Corra Says, It’s Memorial Day. Let’s Remember

Memorial Day has come to be known as the weekend kickoff for the summer season. It is known for barbecuing, taking the family on three day vacations to lakes and beaches. On the downside we know it for all the traffic accidents, and the tally comes in over the news on Monday like some grim form of ball scores.

What we sometimes forget is this is the weekend to remember those who have fallen in defense of this country. Whether your are for war or against it, for this war or against it, be grateful that there are some of us who have answered the call in times of national crisis. I don’t like to get all jingoistic about this, all the knee jerk patriotism, but considering there is a new GI Bill being voted on in Congress, this is really the weekend to remember that ware is not a movie, resolved in a couple of hours. Nor is war a video game. War is where very real people lose their lives for their convictions and sense of duty. Where families suffer and where loved ones come to terms with the loss and finality of a soldier’s passing.

So while some of us might take this holiday more seriously and actually visit the national cemeteries where are fallen are laid to rest, let the rest of is at least take brief cognizance as to what this holiday is all about.

Come Tuesday Corra will be open again, and servicing your preemployment screening needs. We are the background checking company, and a service for business research. We will soon be offering new products, which you can review online.

But let’s all have a safe holiday weekend and remember to give thanks to our fallen soldiers this holiday weekend.

Check them out before you hire.

Mom and Pop is Now Mom and Daughter

The Success Gene

Why some family businesses thrive year after year after year.

From: Inc. Magazine| By: Adam Bluestein

• Even successful family businesses tend to resemble fireflies. They flicker brightly for a brief moment, then die away. Consultants call this the rule of thirds: Only about a third of businesses make it to a second generation, a third of those live to see a third generation, and on and on. A precious few family businesses, though, do manage to beat the odds. They are passed down, revived, and reinvented from generation to generation, while all the others have long since gone bust, been bought, or just slowly faded away, done in by family feuds, hard times, or changing tastes.
• We have taken a close look at half a dozen fifth- and sixth-generation family businesses. It turns out they are a very special breed. They tend to make and sell products that last: guitars, pool tables, furniture. They have managed to keep much of their manufacturing in the United States. And they are able to put today’s challenges — globalization, say — in perspective. “You think this is bad?” they might say. “You should have seen what happened during the Great Depression!”
• For the entire article go to inc.com

You have to love this article. Family businesses are back and, arguably, some family or close knit operations are the backbone of American manufacturing. These are the companies that actually produce goods and other things. These are the companies as the article attests, that prefer not to outsource but rather find manufacturing operations here.

With the cost of fuel on the increase, this isn’t a bad idea at all. Coupled with the low dollar value, this is an opportune time to ship overseas or to domestic companies who would rather not pay the high cost of trans-oceanic shipping.

If you are one of these small companies, you could be a Mom and Pop operation. You could be a young couple starting out and wanting to have a go at being entrepreneurs. You could be on the other side of the equation–boomers who have had enough of the corporate world and now decide to go it on their own. Increasingly the Mom and Pop operations, or the father and son operations, now list Mom and Daughter as part of the growing list of entrepreneurs. This is terrific and a sure sign of economic progress.

When you are doing business you should be conducting Corra background checks on the people you are hiring and business research on the companies with which you wish to do business. Spend the few bucks and have a pre-employment screening program, with screening packages for your different hires. And be sure to run the business credit reports for vendors and clients alike. It’s one thing to have clients and vendors, but it’s another to be assure they will either pay you or provide you with their needed goods and services.

Check them out before you do business.

The New Face of Corra Group, The Background Checking Service

Having blogged for years as the anonymous Corra, we have decided to come forth and begin posting more unique blog articles, pertaining to background checks and corporate investigation and research. We will also be inviting guest bloggers to post on Daily Planet, issuing forth their nuggets of wisdom about Human Resources, Business Management, Corporate Research and Investigation, and, of course, preemployment background checks.

We hope this will be a lot of fun. We hope others will comment or offer their own insights and suggestions. Since this is a professional site we certainly want to keep all comments and postings, well, professional.

But this is an expanding universe and by sharing our insights and observations in the above listed arenas we hope people will learn valuable listens in the different categories we at Corra service every day.

Nick Gustavson and I founded Corra so we could offer premium background checking reports and provide intimate but professional customer service. We saw what was wrong in places we had worked previously. We saw what was right with the places we worked previously. We threw out the wrong, worked on the right, and then we tried a few things on our own. We would like to think we have been innovative, but perhaps old timers could tell us that some of our business practices are so old they are new.

Anyway, we will work hard to give you insights and overviews into employment concerns as well as corporate research and investigation. We will shed light on domestic issues as well as international background packages.

And, please, don’t be shy about giving us suggestions or offering yourselves as guest bloggers. But be professional, please.

Check them out before you hire.

Going Green Can Cost Some Green

‘Green’ initiatives see red in economic uncertainty