We are organizing an event for our VIP customers and would like to give them a gift card to encourage participation. Should we offer a percentage off or a dollar discount?
Go for the cash, says Tony Argyle, co-founder of Small Business Marketing Results. “We have tested both percentage discount vouchers and dollar value vouchers with clients, and dollars wins hands down,” he says. “A 20 percent voucher means nothing if you don’t know what you are spending before you go, whereas a $20 voucher has real cash value and is seen to be more of a reward by the customer.” Argyle says you can still cover yourself by attaching a minimum spend to the offer, although given these are your best customers, it’s probably best if you don’t.
I’ve never fired anyone before, but we need to let an underperfomer go. How do you let someone go with respect and fairness?
For both legal and management reasons, a dismissal should never be a surprise. You should have a record of your attempts to remedy the situation and the individual should be acutely aware they weren’t performing as expected. As such, the final meeting to part ways should not dwell on the whys but the process. In his book The Manager’s Handbook, David Dodson, a professor of management at the Stanford’s graduate school of business, recommends the following:
- Respect their privacy. Being asked to leave is often embarrassing, and likely someone’s worst professional experience. Meet in a space other employees won’t be able to observe. Consider leaving the room if the employee needs to collect themselves before continuing the meeting.
- Keep it quick. “Directness is kindness,” Dodson says. The meeting should last no more than 10 minutes. Avoid ambiguous language that might leave the employee thinking their role is changing, not ending.
- Be ready for questions. If you don’t have answers about logistics like unused vacation time and insurance, the other person will leave feeling anxious. “Preparation is compassion,” Dodson writes.
- Bring a transition agreement. Lay out the terms of the separation and give the employee time to review them.
- It’s not about your feelings. Avoid awkward lines such as “This is so hard for me” or “I hope we can be friends.” And don’t try to pass off responsibility to the owner, a partner, your customers, or anyone else. As Dodson explains, “You made the decision; you need to own it.”
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We recently failed to make a delivery on time to a corporate client due to circumstances beyond our control. I would like to personally apologize to try to salvage the relationship, but my husband thinks it’s a bad idea in business to ever admit fault. What do you think?
If your husband’s worried about being sued, then maybe he is right. (In some states, apologizing can be treated by the courts as an admission of guilt. If you find yourself dealing with someone litigious, consult your attorney first.) But aside from those rare instances, the “never say sorry” school of thought probably should have been put to rest with John Wayne. In nearly all cases, it’s best to try to make amends. Business is based on trust, and you won’t last long if you lose the trust of your local community, especially in jewelry. Simply saying “sorry” won’t cut it though. Apologies that are most effective are those in which the offending party accepts full responsibility for their actions, explains why the problem happened and how they intend to address the issue in future, and, where appropriate, offers to pay or remedy any damage caused.
I went away for a vacation that I’d hoped would also serve as a test of my staff’s initiative. The result? I came back to a pile of pending work. How do I get them to pick up the ball?
To be sure, it could be that your employees lack initiative, but this is an area where you have to be very clear about expectations. Most employees of a small business will assume operations are basically on hold when the owner is away. To change things, you have two options: Go big picture, where you give them ownership of their responsibilities on a day-to-day basis (not just when you go away), or go small, where every procedure is defined in detail. The first requires employees with the right personality and experience who will know what do when you say, “OK, our goal is to wow every person who comes in the store. Go to it!” The second requires a lot of work from you in putting systems in place and — crucially — providing the necessary training. The great benefit, however, is that when you’ve done it, you will be able to step aside. Your staff will know how to tackle most situations and know they have your confidence in their decision-making.
