| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Phone Sex is Bad for Business
On August 3rd/2005, Reuters reported that a German man had colluded with a phone sex operator to defraud his employer's company out of approximately 16,000 Euro or almost 20,000 US dollars, by making 160 phone calls over a year and a half from work. He apparently split the profits 50/50 with the phone sex operator. The courts convicted the man and gave him a suspended sentence of eight months. Does your company have a written communications policy, and are your employees aware of its existence? Most phone systems these days are highly sophisticated and access can be easily controlled and usage monitored. An employee abusing valuable telecommunication resources is an unnecessary problem to have these days. A quick call to your communication provider will reveal a plethora of information that is available to ensure your systems are being used, not abused. In the United States, except California, it is perfectly legal for employers to monitor business-related calls, even if it is unannounced. It is important to note that counsel recommends employees be aware of all communication policies, preferably in writing. Phone sex aside, we are more apt to hear these days about employees abusing internet privileges. In fact, an entire sub section of the software industry has developed to provide companies with internet monitoring software. Some software will just monitor employee's internet usage and provide management with interesting reports to bring up at the good old annual review. Different software will allow management to filter what websites can be viewed, thus only allowing employees to visit sites that pertain to their industry. What's the big deal? 37 % of people said they surf the internet constantly at work. When an employee abuses company communication resources it reduces productivity, stealing valuable time and resources that do affect the bottom line. Ask any stock holder if they would be happy realizing the employees of XYZ Company's phone or internet usage are the result of their reduced dividends this quarter? I doubt you would get a happy response. The conversation that often comes up when anyone discusses employee monitoring, and specifically phone calls, is privacy rights. It is Federal law in both the United States and Canada that when an employer realizes the call is personal, he or she must immediately stop monitoring the call. This is a very good thing indeed, but one that as well could cause some confusion. Wouldn't phone sex sound like a personal call? By Lee Raito, CFP, FMA
MORE RESOURCES:
management - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Challenges of Human Resource Management IntroductionThe role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources. Dealing with Marginal Performers: The Therapeutic Approach --PREPARATION: The purpose of the therapeutic approach is to spark an employee toward improved performance through counseling. The manager's goal is to help the employee recognize the existence of a problem, accept the need for change, and formulate his or her own program for improvement. Let the Professionals Help You Out - Outsource As your website grows in terms of attracting more footfalls, generating more business, and providing more content; it will demand more time and attention from you to continue performing. As a businessperson, it is advisable that you concentrate on your core competency, which is the reason why you created the website in the first place. Tales From the Corporate Frontlines:The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a company that needed to attract new employees and discovered how a competitive wage and benefits package was integral to this process. The Power of the Contract in Performance Management An essential step in managing the performance of salespeople is that of establishing a sound and agreed contract between manager and the salesperson. A contract in this context is simply an agreement between the manager and the salesperson as to how best they are going to work together. Office Politics Office politics! It's just another way of saying: "The employees are not getting along!"When so much of a company's success depends on the employees' ability to work together as a cohesive team, it is critical that people understand and appreciate the differences in each other.Symptoms of Office Politics:ConflictStressJob DissatisfactionPoor communication skillsThe Results:High employee turnoverReduced productivity and profitabilityThe Solution:Improve employee communication and understandingThe Disc Classic behavioral assessment is widely used by the nation's largest companies to improve the working relationship amongst its employees. Cultural Awareness - an HR Perspective The use of cultural awareness training has increased rapidly in the majority of global companies over the last decade.My experience working in global companies in which effective cross-cultural functioning was critical, involved the devotion of considerable time and energies to ensuring that cultural training needs were identified and accommodated as necessary. What Personal Assistants Really Want What would happen if the personal assistants in your organisation were away for a week? How would it affect the running of your business or department? How would it affect you?personally?If you are fortunate to have a personal assistant whom you heavily rely on to assist you, in most instances you would find yourself run ragged if they were absent for longer than a day.This week I spoke with two clients who were in the situation where their p. Employees Commit Corporate Fraud Imagine the following scenario; Ten years ago you decided to quit your job and start your own company. For ten years you worked hard, made sacrifices, and it paid off in the end. How to Hire the Right People One of the biggest challenges any business owner or manager has is hiring the right people. I've recently discovered a simple, inexpensive yet very effective way which will help you get it right. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Conduct Successful Training Activities Whether you are training preschoolers in the classroom or executives in the board room, here are 15 premises you might want to keep in mind the next time you're designing training activities.1. 30 Ways to be a Butt-Head Boss 1. Trust no one. Smart Staffing: Replacing a Key Manager Have you been in this situation? One of your top managers left suddenly and you're under the gun to replace her quickly. So you promoted her assistant. Interviewing Candidates: 3 Ways to Avoid Snap Judgments Have you ever hired the wrong person? If so, perhaps you are an emotional interviewer?An emotional interviewer tends to make judgments on first impressions. In a matter of minutes, an emotional interviewer may decide if someone is competent or not. Business Innovation - Status Games Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Is ISO 9001 2000 Right For My Business? Firstly you should decide your own reasoning behind considering ISO 9001 2000 registration for your business.Is the number of registrations in your market sector increasing?Are your competitors seeking registration?Are your customers asking about registration?Are registrations increasing in your industry?Are your customers asking you to become registered?Have your group HQ asked you to gain registration?Do you want to reap the financial benefits of registration?Have the number of customer or consumer complaints increased?Preventable errors reoccur again and again?It is not possible to state exactly what benefits your organization will gain by having a formal quality system, primarily because each organisation is different. How To Get 10% More Work Out Of Your Employees It is getting harder to run a business for a profit. We are faced with rising costs, lowered demand etc. Performance Evaluation: How To Create Change STEPS TOWARDS GIVING A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW: Give specific feedback. Statements such as, "You're doing a good job" and "You'd better shape up" are almost without value unless accompanied by specific feedback on what the employee is to continue doing or to stop doing. Quality Standards with ISO 9001 Standardizing Quality SystemsThe ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standards currently in place, ISO has created the auditing and certification process known as ISO 9001. Re-Discovery Procedures for Building Effective Management Systems: Phase V Now we turn the corner to our final phase: Re-Discovery.Last year marked the 200th anniversary of the expedition of Lewis & Clark, and much has been written about their remarkable journey up the Missouri River and on to the Pacific.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
