Behind the Name: What is a Consultant Kick?

Good question!  Are you sure you want to know? Managing a company is tough and there are a lot of pressures that you are constantly facing, not to mention managing dozens of employees and trying to stay afloat in this tough economy!  We have all been there...stressed...tired...confused...unmotivated..unsure of the next direction.

But, what's a manager to do? Well, sometimes you just need a kick in the butt and that is why we are here. We want to encourage and motivate your company to be better tomorrow, than what it currently is today.

In case you were wondering the definition:

kick ass/butt Vulgar Slang To take forceful or harsh measures to achieve an objective.

We couldn't have said it better ourselves!  Now don't worry, we won't come at your with any weapons, but we will be forceful and we will tell you like it is.  We will let you know what your employees are really feeling and give you measures to track and do better in your performance as a manager and a company.  Because, let's face it, running a business is tough.  But, it can be so rewarding and that is right where we will kick you to! Are you ready?

10 Ways To Motivate Your Employees

Employees can be unmotivated, bored and inefficient.  If you can learn how to motivate your employees, you can reduce your costs in no time.  Here are some quick tips that you can implement today:

1. Treat your employees with respect. Don't treat them like dogs. 
2. Listen to what your employees say and offer opportunities for them to give their ideas and suggestions.
3. Offer awards and honor your employees with a job well done.
4. Get your work done so your employees aren't waiting for you. If you aren't checking your email or if you expect your employees to tell you when something big happens, you are doomed.
5. Offer employees a chance to do what they love and are passionate about.  
6. Don't make your employees tied to their desks all day. Set a good example for your employees to follow by taking lunches and vacations.
7. Don't require you employees to work from home or in the evenings.  They will be drained and hate their work if they do it all the time.  Let them leave work at work.
8. Don't set outrageous goals that your team can't meet.  Set small ones that they are constantly achieving.  
9. Create a comfortable work space for your employees and encourage them to share their personal lives with photos and whatever makes them happy at their desk.
10. Have a positive attitude.  If you have one, it is much more likely that your employees will also have a  positive attitude.

"A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

5 Quick Business Tips for your Work Week

10 Ways to Take Create Better Team Communication

Ever noticed that not everyone on your team is on the same page? You do your best to get the word out but the details never get to the employees that really need it? Or you actually find that too much communication is getting passed down that people are getting swamped with emails and are not even able to be able to figure out what is important or not important. There can be so many efficiencies in companies but most people just don't know where to start.

Today, I am going to walk you through 10 ways that you can achieve better communication with your team.  Why? So that your employees are efficient and not wasting time completing tasks and requirements that aren't required. These tips are from my experience working with companies over the last 7 seven years and the consulting work I have done to improve my client's communication.

1. Try Yammer.com. Yammer is a free, private social network for your company. If all your employees are on Facebook or Twitter all day, you definitely want to check this out!
2. Have an open door policy. Are your employees afraid to come talk to you? Or are do their managers even allow them to go directly to you? I constantly see organizational structures that don't allow employees to get information to the people that need to know. Make sure everyone knows that even though there are management levels, that you still want to hear everyone's thoughts and ideas for improvements and efficiencies. You may be surprised what you find!
3. Analyze your large deliverables to see how many review and approval steps there are. If there are too many, cut them out so that time isn't waiting getting everyone's buy in on projects. Learn to trust your employees so that you don't have to see every deliverable going out the door.
4. Happy hours. If your employees get to know each other better on a personal level, they will be more likely to ask questions and communicate better on the job as well. It may cost you a few dollars, but it will do wonders for the communication and job satisfaction of your team.
5. Create agendas and outlines for meetings so that you don't waste your employees time and so that you can communicate the really important items, not what you did last night. 
6. Learn to pick up your phone instead of sending an email. Not only will you be able to get your point across better on the phone, but you will also build a better relationship with your employee.
7. Don't expect your employees to read your mind. Be up front, honest and please make decisions quickly. Otherwise, your employers will be lost and incredibly frustrated.
8. Be proactive. If you need to address an issue, don't wait for your employees to come to you. Walk out of your office and address it. 
9. Read your email. Many managers feel like once they get to a certain level, that other people are suppose to give them updates of what is in their email because they are too busy to read it themselves. Au contraire! When you are a manager, you need to have emails read so that you know what is going on in your company and you can manage issues quickly and efficiently. Spend some time creating an email organizational structure so you can make sure you know what is going on in your company so that time isn't wasted briefing you on the status.
10. Watch your body language. When you call a meeting with a staff member, don't take that phone call and definitely don't check your email.  Care enough about your employees to give them your time and listen to them. Trust me, it will mean a lot to them!

"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -George Bernard Shawn


How are you going to improve the communication on your team this week?

Welcome to The Consultant Kick!

Welcome to our blog!  We are so happy that you have stumbled onto our page!  We believe that you will be very happy with what you find.  This site is dedicated to helping you take your business to the next level. We want to help your business become extraordinary and, at the same time, help you become a better manager.

In today's economy, one thing is for certain.  There will always be change.  If you are struggling with managing change in your organization, we want to help. With seven years of consulting, we have seen the good, the bad and the ugly that change can bring.  Business is continually evolving and as a manager, you need to continually learn and grow otherwise they will not be able to withstand your competition.

Our company is an organizational development firm that helps organizations manage change, communicate more effectively and reduce costs.  We have been in the training, consulting and financial fields for seven years and we have worked with businesses, the government and non-profit organizations.  We started our own consulting firm after seeing the lack of efficiency and effective communication in the top consulting companies.  We want to be different.  We aren't in it for the money.  We aren't in it for the prestige.  And we definitely aren't in it to wear an expensive suit to work everyday.

We just want to help you and share our experiences to help you be better. We want to provide you the information to be the best that you can be and to make your company the best that it can be.  By reading this blog, you will find that not only does it give you motivation, but it also provides you the information you need to take your business to the next level.

Topics that you can expect to see covered on this blog each week are:

• Management 
• Social Media and marketing
• Corporate communication
• Teamwork
• Current Events that matter to you
• Technology tips
• Process improvement, change management and organizational development

To your success!
The Consultant Kickers