New York SBDC Research Network

The buzzword for the Obama campaign - besides "Change" of course - was "transparency". I suppose that's part of what the transition website has been all about. Likewise, just as it is important to be transparent with the outside world and potential customers, the same goes for your business's internal affairs as well. Be transparent with your staff. "It is all about internal communication and trust...[M]any companies are actually reducing communications just to cut costs...this is the last thing you want to do."

Here's an article that offers a few tips on screening employees through the Internet. Some of it is rather obvious (check Google . . . really?). It also cites a few fee-based sites that help with background checks. On a similar note, the Degree Check website is a useful tool to see whether or not a candidate for a position really has that MBA. There are likely dozens of additional sites that perform similarly useful functions. Anyone know of any off the top of their head?

I have suggested the language podcasts on iTunes . They also have business podcasts on various issues. I've been listening to one called How to Give Feedback About Attire on Manager Tools by Michael Auzenne and Mark Horstman. It's free and you can also get it from their website . One of the sessions I listened to was about talking to employees about dress codes. It is interesting and talks to this team's approach to managing employees in general. For the purposes of this topic they discuss the ways managers talk to employees - making judgements versus offering feedback on employee behavior with an explanation of impacts. In this scenario, not criticizing clothes specifically, but talking to the choices employees make and how to separate the person from the behavior. They describe situations where a dress code is too specific and tries to codify clothes. The difficulty is where a person is not breaking rules but is making choices that creates less than positive results. Th