The word “blessing” is defined by Webster as: “to bestow some benefit upon.” We all know that the true spirit of Christmas (as witnessed by Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”) involves giving to others. The reality is that all too often we can’t find the time to give because of how busy we are surviving the stuff of life (and of business). So how can you and your business “bestow some benefit upon” those around you? How can you bless those you work and live with every day? Whether or not you have a religious connection to Christmas, it is a universally accepted season of giving – a time when many people focus on sharing what they have with others less fortunate. This blessing of giving is something that brings people together, creates focus on what’s really important, and challenges communities to share with one another. Here are some ideas to enhance your business blessings to those around you.

Start early in the year to plan for your seasonal giving

Build it into your budget at the beginning of the year. It’s very difficult to plan for meaningful giving when the season is suddenly upon you and you’re scrambling for extra funds at a time when your sales may be taking a dip, or you’re too busy to think about it. Be thoughtful and creative as to how you will do this. The more time you have to think about it, the more creative you can be. The point isn’t the amount you spend, but your example of thoughtfulness and a giving spirit will bless others.

Bless your customers

How can you let your customers know that you appreciate and value their loyalty? How about a Christmas card for starters, signed by you and your staff? A Christmas discount or coupon inserted into the card? Some boxed chocolates or treats out on your service counter? Some business owners purchase gift baskets or other appropriate gifts for significant or extra loyal customers. Or how about a double “blessing”? Create an opportunity for your customers to partner with you to bless someone else in your community - the local food bank, Christmas charity, church or shelter for instance. These organizations always have extraordinary needs over the holiday season. How about investing in a treat for your customers? I shopped at a gift store several years ago that invited regular customers to two customer appreciation evenings during December. They brought in a coffee bar and served eggnog lattes and other goodies, provided special discounts that evening for invited guests (doesn’t the word “guest” make you feel entirely different than “customer”), and had a small jazz ensemble playing live music throughout the evening. It was an enormously pleasurable shopping experience and I spent a fair bit of money that night! You can never go wrong with blessing your customers, so be creative. Talk about it with your staff. Make sure you plan something over the holidays to value them and their support of your business.

Bless Your Staff

Don’t forget the people without whom you couldn’t run your business – your employees. How can you let them know how much you appreciate their hard work, their loyalty, and their contribution to your business success? Don’t just go through the motions with your staff this year - why not bump up the creativity? One company I worked for sent all the women employees out for afternoon high tea at a famous hotel. We were treated royally to a magnificent British tea, and were entertained by a local choir. The men were given hockey tickets and they enjoyed an evening out together as well. Some meaningful staff gifts I’ve received in the past include monogrammed sweatshirts with the company name, a personalized canvass briefcase, gift certificates for a 20 lb turkey and all the trimmings, a lovely Italian Panatone breakfast bread, and a gift certificate to my favorite coffee shop. Your blessing to your staff tells them how much you value what they give to your business. Don’t cheap out on this one! Valued employees work hard and give back more than you can measure.

Bless Your Community

Finally, how can you look beyond yourself and your business and bless others in your community who may be less fortunate? Every city has Christmas charitable organizations who would gladly take your cash donations to further their efforts. Find an organization that coordinates Christmas hampers for needy families – you can include your staff in this process for an incredibly meaningful experience. Find out what your local church is doing to support your community and join in. It doesn’t have to involve money – volunteer in a soup kitchen, go caroling at the senior’s centre – there are loads of things going on in your city that require volunteers. Blessing your community puts things into perspective, and helps you to realize how fortunate you are.

These are just a few ideas – consider how you can inspire a spirit of giving this year, by being a giving person. Don’t let another year go by where the hustle and bustle of the season takes over your desire to share what you have with others. In the end, the blessing you’ll receive will probably outshine the one you gave.

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The secret to getting those customers through the check-out is really quite simple. Most of the time it doesn't matter if your web site looks great or how good and inexpensive the products you offer are. It’s the design of your web site and how your customers can interact with it that will ultimately make the difference between the success or failure of your web-based sales. Here are a few simple tips that will make your online shopping cart more successful.

1. Make sure your website is user-friendly. Easy navigation, well-functioning search tools, clear concise text, and working links all lead to a completed sale. If people can’t find what they’re looking for, find your site difficult to navigate or click on links that take them no where, they’re not likely to “proceed to check-out.”
2. Give them the opportunity to check-out on every page. You should have a check-our icon on every page of your website. If people are shopping around and finally decide they are ready to make a purchase, they don’t want to have to go back several pages to find out how to get to your check-out. Placing an icon on every page means that no matter where they are in their purchasing process, they can make that decision and get to the check-out quickly.
3. Avoid trying to get people to add to their carts once they’ve clicked the check-out button. This is a strategy many websites use but it more often than not annoys the customer rather than encourages them to buy more. I regularly purchase from a site that does this, and the only reason they get away with it is because they sell a specialty item I can’t find anywhere else. Every time I go to check-out I am annoyed to be asked if I want to buy this, that or the other. If I wanted to buy those things, they’d already be in my cart!
4. Keep the check-out process simple. This is really important. The more complicated your check-out process, the less sales you will make. Make it easy to select the form of payment. Ask only for information you need (asking for a bunch of irrelevant personal information turns people off and makes them assume they’re going to get unwanted mail from you). Make sure your shipping charges are clear and easy to figure out. Nothing is more frustrating than a complicated process of figuring out how much shipping will cost, and then getting billed even more because you didn’t do it right. Another important point – make it easy for customers to change their minds. Make sure they can easily change the quantity of items they’ve selected, or even the actual item. If they have to go back several pages to make changes, they won’t finish.
5. Have proof of security. This is a huge issue for online shoppers. If you have agreements with recognized online security companies make sure their logos are prominently displayed on your website. Give written assurance that customer information is secure on your site.

Take a walk through your website from the perspective of a customer. If you get frustrated with any portion of your site, you can bet you are losing customers prior to check-out. Following these simple tips will help you get people to the check-out and actually finishing the purchase more often.

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How to get valuable reference information from your candidate

Traditionally, a potential employee puts the names of people they want you to contact on their resume, or provides them when asked. The problem with using only this list, is that they will obviously choose people who will say what they want them to say. It is important that during the interview process, you get consent from the applicant to contact the references they have listed. However, in addition, you should ask the candidate if you can contact previous employers (especially if they are not already listed as references) or supervisors, or even colleagues in previous positions.

It is good practice to speak to two or three work-related references. Don’t make the mistake of allowing the person to only provide personal references. This is a sure clue they are hiding something. If the candidates’ current employers do not know they are seeking work elsewhere, then go to the previous employers. If the candidate says they do not want you to contact a previous employer (other than for the reason that they are unaware the candidate is looking for work), ask them why. This forces the person to disclose information that will be valuable to you. A difficult work relationship or conflict with a previous employer may be the reason, but that doesn’t necessarily mean this is a bad candidate. How they describe the conflict, steps they’ve taken to resolve (or not resolve) the situation will tell you a lot about that person.

Effective reference check questioning

It is good practice to ask each reference the same set of questions, giving you a consistent framework on which to base your decisions. All questions should be job-related. It is important to note that you cannot ask questions during a reference check that you are not legally allowed to ask during an interview. Here are a few things you should think about when creating your question list.

• Don’t ask obvious, easy-to-answer questions. This is a mistake many managers make. Remember that most people, even if they have had a negative experience with an employee, are reluctant to say anything bad about them, and will try to hide those experiences by highlighting only the positives. A question like “can you tell me about this person’s strengths and weaknesses” is as easy for references to fudge as a resume is for the candidate. These types of questions will give you well-rehearsed answers, but not ones that get you the informationyou need.

• Don’t allow yourself to be rushed through this process. When you call a reference, ask if you can make an appointment to speak with them rather then accepting a few rushed moments they may have in the middle of what they are doing. If you let them know you’ll need 15 or 20 minutes, they will be prepared for that and you won’t feel as if you are an interruption. If the person is unwilling to give you that amount of time, it may be an indication that the employee didn’t make enough of an impression for them to want to assist them in their career development.

• Ask “example” types of questions. Questions that force the reference to speak about the candidate’s performance and character through examples are difficult to fudge. Here are a few examples:
  • “Could you tell me about a time when Kathy demonstrated her ability to show attention to detail under a tight deadline?”
  • “Can you give me some examples of Joe’s troubleshooting skills on the job?"
  • “I’d love to hear some stories about how Susan demonstrated leadership while she was working for you.”
  • “Teamwork is a very important aspect of the job Jake is applying for. Are there any situations that come to your mind where he showed his ability to work well with a team?”

Use these questions to springboard onto others. You’ll soon get a picture of the candidate’s performance. If the examples given are poor, you can probe a little further. For example, “It sounds to me like teamwork wasn’t a real strength for Jake. Would you agree that he had some challenges in this area?” Questions about the candidate’s performance are fair game, and if you sense reluctance it should be a red flag.

• Ask about the candidate's response to supervision, correction and feedback from others.The answers to these questions will give you invaluable information about the candidate.
  • “How did Nancy respond to her annual performance reviews?”
  • “Were there any times in Pete’s employment with you that he underwent disciplinary action? How did he respond to that process?”
  • “How did Greg respond to the feedback he was given by his supervisors?”

Using strong strategies for your reference checks will help you to ensure you geet the most accurate and reliable information about your candidate. In the end, trust your instincts. If you sense the reference is hedging, not answering questions directly, or unwilling to provide the information you are seeking, it’s usually a signal for caution. You can also use the results you gained from your references as a foundation for a second interview, so that you can address the areas of concern directly with your candidate. Be a savvy reference checker and you'll make better hires overall.

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