"href"=’https://plus.google.com/101651909899715878453?rel=author’>+Anthony Davis
An understanding of the levels of ownership and responsibility is absolutely critical when two or more technicians get together to build a business. It is also important when the founding owner wants to implement Succession or Secession Planning. In small business, owners usually play all four roles.
As a Shareholder (Owner) of any corporation, large or small, your ownership only allows you the right to vote at Meetings (General or Special) at the level reflected by your shareholding. Your return for risk as an Owner is a share of the profits of the business.
You have the right to vote to elect the Directors. These are people you trust to maximise the return you get from your investment in the business. Often the information needed to make decisions and recommendations are passed to the Board of Directors by the management team.
In Partnerships, Partners share the Owner/ Director responsibilities and share the profits of the business as their reward for both their risk and their effort. As a business Owner you make your decisions about the direction of the business as Director/Partner, not as an Owner.
The other two levels are: Managers and Workers.
The employment process can prove to be a minefield! There are many different pieces of legislation that could impact on the relationship with employees. All relationships with People should be structured and documented to minimise your risk.
Before you advertise you must create a Written Role Description, Define an Ideal Personnel Profile, Define the Terms and Conditions of Employment, Create an Advertisement, Define Specific Tasks to assess skill and attitude level at second and third level screening.
Next use a four step screen/interview/offer process. With Internet advertisements (eg Seek) you can use an on-line screening process before you get to the interview round.
You need your: Mission Statement; Code of Conduct; Role Description; Screening Questionnaire to identify if they have the ability to follow instructions and move to the second round. The second round Screening Questionnaire more deeply analyses their suitability.
Next the Interview round with a specific set of questions to ask the interview shortlist. Finally there is the Offer of Employment. You will need: Terms and Conditions of Employment; Employment Agreement; Documented Induction System; Employee Manual and Your Performance Appraisal System.
Need help? Phone Brightwater on 1800 242 366. We can introduce you to highly skilled practitioners who can assist you with many of these HR aspects.
What you Measure You Manage and what You Manage Improves. This is a positive spin on the old adage 'if you don't measure it, you can't manage it'.
Often in Businesses we see this expression being reversed. Without ‘Valued Information’ owners and managers are ‘flying blind’. Take the client with $500,000 in the bank wanting to Franchise his business. Having failed to get up-to-date financials for over three years, the end result was a huge Tax bill, the remainder in deposits held for work not started and a business sent into Receivership all because of no valued information.
One area that is often poorly measured and therefore badly managed is the area of Man Hours, Labour, Time; call it what you will. The irony is that this is often the area of greatest expenditure.
Once a business starts to measure and manage this area of their business, productivity increases and the returns to the owner/s improve. Another expression to remember in relation to people’s performance is, “If you tell me how I will be measured, then I will show you how I will perform!”
