FeaturesNow

Independence Boosters: Nine Ways to Build Employee Confidence

Fostering employee self-confidence is one of the most powerful productivity-boosters available.  In this feature, your readers will learn nine time-tested techniques they can use to help turn ordinary employees into highly effective self-starters.  554 words.  [Feature 0611]

Trauma Tip: Responding to Employees in Crisis

Any manager or supervisor could walk into the office tomorrow morning, and find that one of her employees is facing a traumatic event: family illness, a tragic accident, death, divorce, or any one of a number of other serious problems.  Your readers can't erase problems like these.  But they can address employee crisis positively and sensitively.  This article explains how.  601 words.  [Feature 0514]

Empowerment: Bringing Out the Best in Your People

Just about everyone agrees that "empowerment" is a good thing, but what does this word really mean?  This feature describes the key traits of empowering leaders -- traits your readers can use to help the people around them become more motivated, productive and effective.  622 words.  [Feature 0320]

Let Me Make a Suggestion!

Offering suggestions to co-workers, employees, vendors or virtually anyone can be tricky business.  Making a good suggestion -- one that will be respected and implemented -- is especially hard when there's potential criticism involved.  This article offers nine specific suggestions readers can use to make suggestions that work.  505 words.  [Feature 0314]

Storytelling: An Employee Satisfaction and Retention Tool

Stories can be great managerial tools.  Readers can use stories to recruit, motivate and inspire the people around them.  Here's how.  956 words.  [Feature 0015]

Angry Customers: A Step-by-Step Guide to Turning Things Around

Angry customers can be perplexing and upsetting.  This feature shows readers how to initiate positive conversation with visibly upset customers, deflect customer anger, and return those relationships to a solid footing.  1226 words.  [Feature 9624]

What Your Employees Really Want from You

This feature, of interest to business owners and managers, is written in a hypothetical employee's own words.  It helps readers understand the simple human needs employees feel each day.  727 words.  [Feature 9423]

Watch Out for These Performance Evaluation Traps

Performance appraisals are worthwhile -- but they can be a challenge to many supervisors.  Here, readers responsible for assessing the performance of others will learn about the traps that can make an evaluation invalid and inaccurate, and how to avoid them.  639 words.  [Feature 9402]

The New Employee Scavanger Hunt: A Training Tool for Today

If you run a business, you can speed up the orientation of new hires with a scavenger hunt -- a cost-effective, thoroughly enjoyable training technique.  This feature explains how.  Sidebar (scavenger hunt checklist) included.  779 words.  [Feature 9323]

Affirmation: A Key to Employee Growth

This article offers your readers twenty-seven different ways you can affirm employees and associates.  The article uses simulated statements to show your readers how they can use affirmation to thank an employee for a job well done, boost an employee's performance, initiate constructive discussion, and much more.  895 words.  [Feature 9117]