I am always amazed at how much valuable business info is in the Costco Connection magazine. This month there's a column by Paul and Sarah Edwards founders of www.workingfromhome.com that discusses the importance of taking criticism well. They compare a customer's criticism to the voting process on the popular reality TV shows such as American Idol. The contestants who take criticism well know that they must retain a positive relationship with the audience who ultimately makes the decision as to who stays and who goes. How the contestants handle Simon plays into that voting decision - even if they want to scream at Simon, they often know better. Similarly, when a customer complains, often our first reaction is to explain why. More often than not, they don't care why, they just want it right. Listen to and understand your customer and how you can imrpove next time. Remember that the customer gets to vote as to whether you stay or go as a business partner.
The Seattle Times has a business Q&A column by Daneen Skube which recently addressed the issue of unresponsiveness to emails and voicemails. Skube replies with what we all know: You should respond to emails and voicemails within 24 hours but most people follow the normal business responsiveness of a week or more. I agree with her comment that this shows disrespect to the other party. Even if your response states, "I won't get to this until Thursday." It shows that you value the relationship. Most of us also know that it takes a good half hour (for many people more) to get through a day's worth of emails and respond to the ones most critical. Skube recommends creating guidelines for which emails you will not respond to. Also, put in the email "consequences" of a slow response -- "If I don't hear back from you by Friday, I'll go with another vendor." As a small business owner, every relationship is important. Be sure you are respectful and professional in everything you do -- it will come back to you!
I thought it interesting that a recent article in the May 11-17 edition of the Puget Sound Business Journal on employment law issues focused on its application to doctors when the topic covered employment law issues important to any employer. I realize that each issue has a theme but am concerned that many employers may have glossed over this article as inapplicable to their businesses because the title emphasized doctors. To recap the article's key points: 1) Immigration: Many fewer H1-B visas are being allocated, state and local governments are considering stricter penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers, and the Dept. of Homeland Security is proposing regulations that would require an employer to verify an employees identification documents and even continuously monitor the immigration status of their employees; 2) Privacy: Employee records must be maintained and protected so employers must train employees on the importance of privacy issues around employee recordkeeping; and 3) Retaliation: Many human resources professionals and managers understand that a "retaliatory" act by an employer in response to a claim of discrimination or harassment is illegal. Employers need to ensure that all managers are aware of the law and more specifically what constitutes a retaliatory act.
An article in the Seattle Times today discusses Congressional hearings on independent contractors who are treated like employees. The goal seems to be to get a better understanding of why these "employees" are being classified as independent contractors. The hearings look specifically at the construction industry which notoriously uses independent contractors but treats them as employees by directing them when to work and how to perform the work. Some companies are intentionally using this mechanism to avoid payroll taxes while others view this as a practical way to staff projects for seasonality. Congress is looking to create enforcement mechanisms and encourage reporting of misclassification. Given this crackdown, if you're using independent contractors, in the construction industry or otherwise, make sure you understand the independent contractor classifications and are properly categorizing them.
The US Supreme Court handed down a couple of decisions this week that focus on the "uniqueness" of patents and their defensibility. The first case, KSR Int'l Co. vs. Teleflex Inc. emphasizes the need for patents to actually be new inventions, not a combination of already existing inventions. The second case, Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., rules that software patents sold overseas may not be an infringement of a US patent because the software, in this case Windows, is not a "physical component" but rather digital data and not violating the 1984 law preventing someone from avoiding infringement of a US patent by assembling the product overseas. The general consensus among patent law experts is that the Court is moving toward limiting the legal rights of inventors and focusing more on innovation. The opinions can be found at the Supreme Court's website.
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