How to Boost Employee Productivity

With the current status of the economy many business owners think that simply having a job and getting a paycheck should motivate employees to work hard.  Unfortunately, this is not the case, and companies, both big and small, have to motivate their employees to be productive via rewarding them.  Mark Bouri, owner of the global company Seament, implements some of the below tips into his day-to-day operations so his staff is always producing.

§  Don’t Be a Micro Manager – When employees are asked what one of their biggest pet peeves are – they’re likely to say that it’s having a manager that micromanages everything they do.  It’s very important to find the balance between managing your team but not breathing down their necks and watching their every move.  While some employees need a lot of supervision and need to be given direction and assistance, others are able to hit the ground running.  It’s important to keep in mind that micro management doesn’t allow employees to think for themselves, so in the long run it can paralyze your company.

§  Set Realistic Goals and Celebrate – A great way to naturally motivate your staff is to set realistic goals for them to work towards. Once the goal is met celebrate or reward your employees.  You can make the reward monetary or treat them to a conference that the company will pay for.  Rewarding your employees for the hard work they put in makes them want to continue to work hard because they feel appreciated.  Keeping your employees happy makes them feel like their effort is being recognized and will prevent them from not putting their best effort forward every day.

§  Make Your Employees Accountable - To keep your staff working meticulously they need to be aware that they are accountable for their actions and decisions. They will also be more likely to not make rash decisions and not take advantage of their position because they know that you’re supporting them and depending on them to do their job the correct way.

Mark Bouri, owner of Seament, has learned that when you put trust in your employees and reward them when they work hard, productivity will soar. Keeping your employees motivated and appreciated are the secrets to boosting your company’s productivity. Staff members admit that when they’re recognized, they don’t want to disappoint their bosses.

How to Make Your Company Stand Out in 2014

A desire to see their company succeed is something that drives almost all members of the business community. Whether the company is a large corporation or is family-owned, like the one Maurice Bouri works for, the formula is simple: customers = money. That being said, consumers are constantly exposed to new products and services on a daily basis. In order to stay competitive, it is important that companies learn how to make themselves stand out in 2014 and beyond.

Find or Create a Niche

In order to attract customers, you need to understand where they are and what they want. Prior to launching your company, take some time to scout out your potential competition. Not only will this give you an understanding of what you are going to face when you open, but you may also learn what the competition doesn’t have. If what they don’t offer is something you can provide, jump on it -- ensure that everyone knows through your advertising that you are able to fulfill that need.

Many industries are tough to break into; however, if you create a unique approach or niche for your company, then you may find it easier to succeed. For instance, if you have many talents that can easily be united into a single business, combine them. This way, you can offer one stop shopping to your customers. People are constantly moving, so the more they can get done with one visit the easier it is on them.

Create and Maintain an Online Presence

We are officially deep into the digital age. Even if you choose not to embrace much technology in your personal life, it is important that you do so professionally. The majority of society interacts with technology, either through their phone or online, at least once a day. Make sure they know where to find you when they need you.

After creating your website, consider creating a blog or allowing one of your employees to create and maintain one for you, as Maurice Bouri does for his company. Become actively involved in social media as a way to stay on top of trends and get a jumpstart on what your potential customers are looking for. Make sure to keep your online presence fresh so that current clients as well as potential ones will stay interested.

Helping your business stand out from its competitors is going to take time. Don’t become entrenched in one stale strategy and forget about new ideas and growth! Ensure that your potential clients know what separates you from your competitors and focus on those strengths.

Giving Building Materials a New Lease on Life

The idea of reduce, reuse, recycle is something that many of us learn from a young age. It is not only a good way to teach young children how they can care for the environment, but it is also something adults should keep in mind. As you look to freshen up your home or place of business this year, take some time to really look at the materials you are going to be replacing. If you are going to be using a lot of building supplies, you may even consider contacting Mark Bouri for assistance.

Recycle

Recycling is one way consumers of all ages can help reduce the amount of waste in landfills. Before you fill up the first trash bag or rent a dumpster to clear out the building, take a close look at the materials in question. Can any of them be donated to a charity or are they worth any money in terms of scrap? Charities are always looking for donations and will gladly take a wide variety of items off your hands. Certain products built in the past may contain a lot of steel or other metals that have since been replaced by cheaper materials. Instead of just tossing them, see if they could be utilized by someone else.

Reuse

Reusing or repurposing any items that are salvageable may make a world of difference to your next project. For instance, if you are looking to restore an older home back to its original glory, reuse as much of the original as you can. Not only will this help keep the history of your building intact, but it will also reduce the amount of waste created by the project.

If you have no use for the leftovers in your next project, but they are still in good shape, consider donating them to a friend or charity. You may even want to give them to an organization such as Habitat for Humanity, which can use the materials in one of their developments.

Create New

Instead of trying to keep an item in its original form, reuse it to create something new. For instance, Mark Bouri and his company are able to take environmentally friendly repurposed items and create new products and structures for their clients. This gives you an opportunity to place a unique touch on a project that may need just a little something more to help it stand out.

Becoming more environmentally aware is something we should all be doing. Whether you recycle small items or reuse large ones, take the time to give items a new life. It will give you a chance to be creative and help the environment!

Essential Advice For Being An Excellent Leader

When you’re running a business like Charlie Bouri, or are taking charge of a big project, you need to learn how to be a good leader.  Some people think that you have to be a natural at management and leadership to be able to do it well, but you can easily learn skills that will help you become a better leader.  If you’re going to be in a leadership position, follow these tips to ensure that you’ll be the leader that you need to be.

Avoid Blaming

Playing the blame game in a managerial situation is sure to result in a lot of missed opportunities.  Your employees may have messed something up, but in the end everything comes back to your managerial skills.  You don’t have to avoid mentioning someone else’s mistakes, but you shouldn’t immediately set out to pin a problem or setback on someone.  If you consistently get angry and blame your employees for problems, they’ll be less likely to come to you when there are actual problems.

Cut Your Losses

Nobody likes admitting that they’re wrong, but sticking to something that clearly isn’t working to seem competent is a big mistake.   When you find out that original idea you had for a project isn’t going to work, don’t stick with it and hope that it’ll sort itself out later.  If a new hire you brought on has been turning in inconsistent and bad work, don’t give them a few more months to figure things out when it’s apparent that they aren’t doing a good job.

Lead By Example

If you tell your employees that they should work hard and put in extra hours on a project, they won’t take your words to heart if they see you taking half days three days a week.  Being a manager shouldn’t put you above your own rules, and if you practice what you preach your employees will notice it.  Obviously there are some exceptions to this rule, but if you want your employees to trust your leadership skills, you’ll need to show them that you’re more than capable of living up to your own standards.

Three Things That Spell Certain Disaster For Family Businesses

There are countless successful corporates that started out as family business, but there are also many more family businesses that fizzled out before they could make it big.  Alexander F Bouri found significant success in the cement business, but other family business owners haven’t been as lucky.  It takes a lot of work to run a family business, and keeping a balance between your work life and your home life can be difficult.  There are a lot of reasons why some family businesses don’t make it past their first year, and if you want to run a successful family owned business you should try to avoid making these mistakes.

Nepotism

This is one of the biggest reasons why family businesses fail.  If you’re going to run a business with your family, you need to hire people based on whether or not they have the ability to do their job, and not if they share your DNA.  Hiring, promoting, and managing your employees based on their bloodlines can lead to failure, and resentment from non-related employees.  It could also lead to your favorite family members/employees slack on the job because they know that they won’t have to face the consequences.

Emotions

It may seem harsh, but the phrase “It’s not personal, it’s business” has no place in a family run company.  Separating your emotions from your work can be very difficult, and the task becomes even more difficult when you’re managing your family.  Having your emotions interfere with your business can lead to several problems.  Your employees could take your emotional decisions as a sign of weakness, or a sign that their boss can’t handle what would usually be simple situations in a non-family owned establishment.  It could also cause some of your family members/employees to resent you if they think you’re acting too emotional.  Try to reign in your emotions when you’re dealing with business.  If you don’t, you could be setting yourself up for failure.

Refusing outside help

Unless you have a huge family with members that are experts in your industry, you’re going to have to hire people who you aren’t related to.  Refusing to hire employees who aren’t your family members can end in disaster.  It’s impossible to start a business from the ground up without skilled help, but there can be risks when you hire people from the outside.  If you have a business that’s full of feuding family members, your other employees will get sick of working in a hostile environment.  Don’t refuse help from other people, and make sure that your non-related employees feel like they’re being treated fairly.