As we have seen from great Australian businesses like Qantas, this requires quick and decisive action, and that’s why we are offering to help with a FREE phone or Zoom advice meeting for Australian businesses.

Watch our brief video message below and/or follow this link to book a meeting and we will get back to you within 24 hours.

Just because we are all practicing social distancing, doesn’t mean you need to be alone. We are helping lots of companies navigate their way through and we are here to help you too.

The post A Video message from our director Chris Bates appeared first on Checkside.

You learn a lot through this process and I am often asked what the best SMEs do to manage their people and performance.  In Checkside language we refer to these companies as the ‘A-Graders’. They operate at a high level, attract ‘A-grade’ talent and get great outcomes for themselves and their customers.

Based on the last 10 years, here is my list of the top 10 things that ‘A-Grade’ businesses do:

1. Their teams are very clear on the values and behaviours that are acceptable and unacceptable to the group.

2. They play to win and set very high standards in everything they do, never compromising or accepting poor performance.

3. They understand the difference between leading people and managing stuff and know that they need to foster a culture of leadership at every level to get the right results.

4. They spend more time and money than their competitors on training and developing their people, at every level in the company.

5. They apply a continuous feedback and learning approach.  ‘A-graders’ have ditched the annual performance review and have instead moved on to a blend of formal and informal catch-ups that maintain a focus on engagement, productivity and re-setting objectives.

6. They measure everything that is important to the business (and nothing that isn’t).

7. They are at the forefront of new technologies to increase efficiency, productivity and profits.

8. They are both investor ready and employee ready.  They have a detailed ‘information memorandum’ for new talent, clear objectives, strong recruitment processes, effective onboarding plans and a ‘bench’ of talent ready to call upon.

9. They embrace succession planning and don’t fall victim to the ‘hero syndrome’.  Everything is about the team and martyr complexes are not welcome.

10. They capture war-stories and their company history to show their people why and how the company has evolved and thrived through good times and bad.

The post List: Top ten things that ‘A-Grade’ SMEs do appeared first on Checkside.

Most SME owners tend to choose one of 3 options:

a)      Delegate ‘HR tasks’ to an existing admin, support or management resource

b)      Use a third party HR provider on an ‘as needs’ basis

c)       ‘Outsource’ their HR to a consultant

All options are valid from a (short term) cost saving perspective, but are they going to reduce your business risks, make you more money and turn you into a sought after ‘A-Grade’ employer?

As with all our blogs, this one is based on the assumption that: ‘Every SME business owner wants less stress, more money and would love to have a high performing team of people helping them achieve that.’ 

Progressive business owners who want to have a great company will look beyond the first option of delegating HR to an inexperienced internal resource. But how do you identify HR advisers who can actually add value, improve your bottom line and not just ‘deal with HR stuff’?

The following checklist will help:

1.    Have your advisers walked in your shoes? Many HR consultants are ex-corporate managers who haven’t dealt with the stresses of owning or running an SME. There are obviously significant differences between being a manager versus being financially responsible for your own employees.

2.    Do you have access to a team – or are you reliant on a single consultant? Succession and contingency planning are critical HR strategies, so you probably want a team that practices what they preach and have a diversified skill base to draw from.

3.    Do your advisers understand your business numbers and know how to make you more money? At the end of the day a good HR adviser needs to know how to model, influence and measure financial impacts. Ask potential advisers for performance evidence and statistics – how have they helped other business owners boost their return on human capital, reduce HR costs and increase profitability.

4.    Are your advisers up to speed with the latest technology, software and trends that can help you lower process costs and increase productivity?

5.    Do your advisers ask you hard questions and understand the strategy and core processes of your business? Your HR approach and culture must be connected to your vision and strategy, or it simply won’t work. It needs to engage your people at every stage of your business value chain

6.    Are your advisers unafraid to challenge you and your leaders, talk straight and tell you what you need to know (not what you want to hear)? Good advisers don’t try to protect their fees by skirting around the edges, they have the courage to put their money where their mouth is and help their clients ‘play to win’.

Like a good external accountant, you don’t need HR expertise all the time, but regular ongoing contact will ensure that your advisers are involved in your strategy, ‘get’ what needs to be done and can add value across a number of areas.

Think beyond just ‘outsourcing’ to developing a partnership. The performance and engagement of your team requires input and energy from your leaders, so the role of a trusted partner is to bring an ‘inside and out’ perspective, working alongside your key people.

The post Six HR essentials for ‘A-Grade’ SMEs appeared first on Checkside.

But as an SME owner, can you do the same with professional advisers?

Yes, you can… but it’s not as simple as picking up a brochure.

To make things that little bit easier, we’ve come up with a short guide to help SME owners choose the right adviser to fit their business.

1. Understand who you’re dealing with

Are you ready for difficult questions and being challenged – or are you looking for a more supportive approach? You need to be on the same wavelength as your adviser in order to achieve the best results:

• Observe how prospective advisers act, behave and communicate in your meetings
• Make sure you are comfortable with their approach and communication style

Obviously, the better the rapport you are able to build with your adviser, the more successful the relationship is likely to be. One size does not fit all.

2. Understand the adviser’s typical client

By understanding whom a prospective adviser works with and their experience, you will be able to determine whether the adviser is likely to ‘get’ your situation.  Research the ‘types of clients the adviser typically deals with:

• The scale and ownership ‘type’ is more important than industry ‘type’. As an SME or family business owner, you are probably going to get a better level of understanding from someone who deals with SMEs, has worked in SMEs and/or owns an SME – not someone who primarily deals with corporate or government clients
• Understand how many clients the adviser has – and the average size of each client

3. Understand the adviser’s process and service standards

Knowing what your experience as a client is likely to be prior to engaging an adviser is very powerful:

• Ask about the ‘typical’ client experience and what this entails.  How often (and by what means) does the adviser typically communicate with clients?
• Ask if the firm uses any technology to interface with clients – if so, how does it work?
• Find out about the professional and support team behind the adviser. From a succession point of view you don’t want to be reliable on a ‘one man band’

By asking the right questions you will be able to gain useful insight into how you are likely to be treated as a client.

4. Understand fee options

Depending on the area of professional advice, there may be a range of fee options available.  It is important to understand what fees are charged – and how, so that there are no surprises post engagement:

• If the adviser receives any combination of retainer, time based, fixed fee or commission payments understand how these work and the proportion of annual revenue that each accounts for
• Is the firm – or any individual adviser – incentivised in any way, and if so, how?
• Aside from fees, what other costs are you likely to incur along the way?

Obviously as a SME owner you will need to see value in the fee structure.  Beware of any conflicts of interest where incentives exist for individual advisers.

5. Understand the plan

Most SMEs are looking for a long term relationship with their professional advisers.  Good professional relationships will develop and grow over time – but you should never get the feeling your adviser is trying to make you dependent on them.  As the owner of an SME you need to have insight into how your professional relationship will look now – and into the future:

• As your business grows, how does the adviser determine when it is time to ‘fire’ his or her self or change the service offering to suit the next stage of your development?
• What happens to your relationship with the firm if the principal advisor dies, is disabled, retires or leaves?

6. Understand the fine print

Failure to read the fine print could lead to issues down the track.  Take the time to review contracts – don’t just skip straight to the signing page!

• What is the adviser’s level of liability insurance?
• What is the adviser’s privacy policy?
• What level of commitment are you signing up for – and how do you ‘get out’ if things don’t go as planned?
• If the industry requires licencing – check that the prospective adviser is licensed

If you do need to hit the eject button – it’s best to do the leg-work up front to avoid any nasty surprises.

Choosing the right adviser is an important long-term decision for any SME owner.  Spending some time researching and comparing a number of firms will improve your chances of finding the right adviser and getting the results you are after.

The post Six steps to choosing the right business adviser appeared first on Checkside.

There are certainly some successful companies where the two intertwine, but the question was raised as to how  well those companies will do over time, once the leader is gone? The challenge is one of succession planning, but that is really hard to do if the leader sees his or her role as the hero, rather than the hero-maker.

To illustrate the point further, for every successful advisory firm, there are numerous micro or one-man-band consultants around where the ‘business’ is entirely dependent on the principal and a couple of key client relationships. And in nearly every case, these consultants eventually disappear or give up the consulting life to (reluctantly) work for someone else.

A leader who understands how to be a hero-maker and focus on raising the knowledge, ability and profile of the rest of his or her team is going to be a mile in front when it comes to:

• Growing his/her business
• Reducing risks and personal workload
• Employee engagement and productivity
• Taking more time out of the business
• Increasing exit options, and
• Exiting the business at a higher price!

And the concept should not stop with your own people. Too many consultants try to make their clients completely dependent on the delivery of their services – another example of making themselves the hero, rather than the client.

What they don’t seem to realise is that the client is then less likely to refer them to others, because they don’t want to ‘share’ the individual they rely on (particularly in the one-man band scenario). They are going to be far more comfortable referring a brand where there is a team of people who have the time and capacity to help their friends.

And ultimately most clients would prefer to have more than one person thinking about their business. That can either come from a team, or they will probably seek the input of other advisers.

The post Are you a hero or a hero-maker? appeared first on Checkside.

Recent data from the Commonwealth Bank – CCI Survey of Business Expectations shows that just 13 per cent of WA businesses expect the WA economy will improve over the next 12 months, while 45 per cent expect it to deteriorate. Significantly, wage costs were revealed as the number one priority for businesses in 2013 – just ahead of domestic and global economic conditions.

A quick round of crystal ball gazing by Australia’s top economists (facilitated by independent website Crikey) found that the general consensus was a slowdown in 2013.

We last experienced a business climate like this in 2009. Doom and gloom everywhere. Companies were going out of business on a weekly basis, and mass redundancies were happening almost daily.

It was during this time that I had the pleasure of working with TSG – a (then) small specialist consultancy based in Perth. TSG worked predominantly with large mining clients, helping them to simulate, analyse and optimise complex supply chains.

The directors were of the view that the post-GFC downturn presented an unparalleled opportunity for them to reinvent their business and lay the groundwork for future growth. They rejected the commonly held view that cost cutting and redundancies were the order of the day. Instead they believed that by taking informed, intelligent steps – they could distance themselves from the competition in the years to come.

Fast forward four years and this group has significantly increased revenues, is expanding internationally, has increased headcount significantly and has positioned themselves as a world leader in their field.

Here are some of the secrets to their success:

 1.       A focus on engagement and collaboration

The directors understood that high levels of engagement would:

• make it easier to attract talented people
• minimise unwanted staff turnover
• increase efficiency and innovation from their existing team
• reduce the ‘compensation premium’ required  to attract talented people

They took the opportunity to review rewards structures, training and development, organisational culture, the way work was organised and the way their people interacted and communicated.  Every change they made was aimed at promoting meritocracy, improving communication and increasing social interaction.

The result was much higher levels of engagement throughout the organisation.  This led to the delivery of exceptional work for clients, which of course led to repeat business. In fact over 90 per cent of TSG’s work is now on-going or repeat business.

More and more businesses are becoming aware of the benefits associated with a more engaged and collaborative workforce – and it is not as expensive or difficult to achieve as it may seem.

2.       Workforce planning

The company’s strategic plan involved an international expansion and a significant increase in headcount.  The directors knew that a key factor in the success of any new interstate and international offices was getting the staffing mix right.  Workforce planning was essential.  The directors forecast future staffing requirements to reveal potential gaps (staff numbers, expertise, and skills and abilities) and implemented the appropriate HR and recruitment strategies to achieve the desired outcomes.

The result was the successful opening and performance of interstate and international offices – all headed by suitably experienced directors or senior employees and backed up by locally sourced talent.  The directors also brought in a General Manager to provide input into and oversee the implementation of the strategic plan – allowing them to focus on leading their people and opening new offices.

Regardless of whether your crystal ball predicts growth or contraction in 2013 – workforce planning is an important step towards effective implementation of your business strategy.

3.       A new approach to performance management and communication

The company had an out-dated template that they used to facilitate their annual performance reviews.  Employees dreaded the process.  So did managers.  It was yielding almost zero value to the organisation and was chewing up a great deal of time and resources.

The directors decided to throw out the old process and move to a process that:

• was aligned with the company culture
• was simple and efficient
• focused on development and succession
• linked to incentives
• involved employees in setting objectives (aligned to company strategy)

The result was more regular and meaningful communication between managers and their teams.  Employees and managers alike now enjoy participating in the review process.  The company now benefits from increased efficiency of the process and improved communication within teams.  Unwanted staff turnover is ridiculously low.

With recent advances in social performance management software like Small Improvements, Work.com and WorkSimple, it is now even easier for employers to achieve similar results.

4.       Get serious about the recruitment process

With layoffs happening almost daily in both client and competitor companies – and given the group’s forecast workforce needs, the directors saw an unprecedented opportunity to grab good people.  But how did they know if they were recruiting the right ones?

Historically, the group relied on networks and contacts to source good people.  More often than not this was effective in their ‘home State’ of WA – but the directors knew they wouldn’t have this luxury in the future.

The directors looked to their existing team to identify:

• what personality attributes were (or were not) a fit for their culture?
• what cognitive abilities were required to ensure success?
• What technical skills or work experience were required?
• What motivated their best people to join and stay?

Once they had answered these questions the directors structured the screening, assessment and selection process to reduce risk and improve the odds of hiring the right people.

The key to long-term recruitment success is objective, fact based decision making and a robust recruitment process.  By doing this, companies don’t just recruit great people – they can also protect and enhance their employer brand.

So whilst the economic outlook may not be particularly rosy, times like these do provide opportunities to increase your company’s competitiveness and build its long term value.  Make the most of it!

The post Four secrets to success in a slow-growth economy appeared first on Checkside.

Collins has teamed up with co-author Morten Hansen, a management professor at UC Berkeley, for Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite them All. Great by Choice looks at the traits leaders of great companies (defined as having achieved financial performance several multiples better than the market average over a sustained period) need to help their organizations thrive in times of uncertainty. As with Good to Great, the authors had entire teams of research analysts work for almost a decade to complete the book.

Here are the 3 skills that great leaders use to make their own luck and what I believe each means for small and medium sized businesses…

1. Fanatic discipline
Discipline around company performance is what matters. Leaders should set high but reachable goals (that are largely within their control) and then become ‘fanatical’ about the commitment to hitting these goals.

The authors use the example of John Brown, CEO of medical technology company Stryker who was fanatical in his commitment to achieving 20% net income growth every year. Sales people who hit the mark were rewarded. Those that missed were given the “Snorkel Award” – which signalled that you were soon going to drown. The company hit the goal 19 out of 21 years. Interestingly in very good years the company exhibited controlled growth without ‘over-reaching’ (think ‘slow and steady’ – the tortoise from Aesop’s fable of The Tortoise and the Hare).

The lesson here for leaders of small and medium sized businesses is to three-fold. First figure out what your Hedgehog Concept is. Second, have a plan and identify the key results areas that will see this plan executed successfully. Third, demonstrate an absolute commitment to achieving the plan and delivering in key results areas in a consistent manner – and take action to ensure that this permeates the culture of your organisation.

2. Empirical creativity
Great companies don’t just create beautiful things by chance. They create the future through empirical trials – and when they have success, they ‘make it happen’. The authors use the analogy of testing (firing bullets) before betting big on a major deal, launch or acquisition (firing cannonballs).

The research found that great companies tended to fire more bullets than the comparison companies. Both fired a SIMILAR number of cannonballs. However when the great companies fired their cannonballs, they were more likely to achieve success.

The authors use the example of Apple’s highly successful retail stores. Apple fired bullets by:

• In 1999 appointing Millard Drexler, the President of GAP, to the Apple Board
• Spending a year testing the store concept before launching the first two stores on 2001
• Refining their stores over the ensuing decade

There are now more than 300 Apple stores worldwide – earning more per square foot than Tiffany’s.

The lesson here for leaders of small and medium businesses is to do your homework to ensure that your product, service, acquisition or strategy has the odds of success in its favour before betting big. To do otherwise invites a very real prospect of failure.

3. Productive paranoia
Leaders of great companies are hyper-vigilant and aware of the countless number of things that could weaken or destroy their company. And they channel this into action. The research found that great companies:

• held a 3-10 times higher than average cash-to-assets and cash-to-liabilities ratio, and 80% had higher ratios than the comparison companies
• made fewer small, medium and high risk decisions compared to comparison companies
• often didn’t make the first move, but when they were sure it was the right move, they usually moved faster than the comparison companies

The authors used the example of Bill Gates’ “Nightmare Memo” of 2005, which identifies the challenges facing Microsoft in the form of the internet services wave. Interestingly Gates established a rule early in Microsoft’s existence that the company should be able to go a full year without any revenue.

The lesson here for leaders of small and medium business is to be alert to potential threats and to take the necessary steps to reduce risk. Always have a backup plan!

The importance of effective execution

The authors also investigated ‘luck events’ – both good and bad. They found that both the great and the comparison companies had roughly the same number of good and bad luck events. Interestingly they found that the great companies had higher return on their luck events. The authors believe that they achieved this by:

Preparing in advance for bad luck event

Identifying good luck events when they came their way (seizing the moment)

EXECUTING BRILLIANTLY and not squandering their opportunities

It seems that big-bets, light-bulb moments or amazing luck aren’t the keys to enduring success. Rather, its discipline, homework, risk management and brilliant execution that gets the job done.

You can see an interview with Morten Hansen at the Harvard Business Review Site here: http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2012/05/how-great-leaders-make-their-o.html

The post Three ways great leaders make their own luck appeared first on Checkside.