Education programs can significantly add to your bottom line
What you don't know about your business may be costing you in operational cost, lost sales, and time spent keeping track of what's going on. You may be able to learn what you need to know about any issue, but:
How long will it take and what are the other costs to learn what you need in the school of hard knocks? After struggling through to a solution, is the solution the most effective and efficient? After learning the hard way, what related learning opportunities have been missed?
Listed below are a few of the many areas in a business where education, and the tools education provides, can make a significant contribution to the bottom-line:
Accounting:
- Do you know how your business is doing all the time? (The sooner you
know there's a problem, the sooner you can fix it)
- At the end of the year, how long does it take to prepare to go to your tax preparer? (The sooner you're prepared, the sooner the return can be done, saving time and money and allowing you to focus on your business)
- Are you keeping your accounting records correctly? Are you maintaining all the records required, or more/less? (Having the right records can save time and money in preparing taxes, responding to an audit, and being able to prove you paid a bill, along with many other benefits)
Computer skills:
- Do your formal and informal documents present an easy to read, professional image consistent with the image you want presented? (I love the ability my word processor gives me to verify spelling, look up alternate words in the Thesaurus, assess the grammar of my documents, and print a professional looking document every time).
- When your business needs a mailing list, do you have all the names and addresses as well as phone numbers you need to do the job effectively?
(If you keep a database of customers/vendors/others, it's easy to generate a series of labels or formal letters, without having to manually write the addresses. Additionally, when you need an infrequently used phone number where do you go to look it up? A personal information manager, sometimes referred to as an organizer, can help you keep track of all the people your business relies on to stay in business and prosper and can even keep track of your important dates and appointments)
- Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work with a spreadsheet and not have to do all the math by hand? (A spreadsheet can do the basic arithmetic of a spreadsheet, but can also do a multitude of other complex computations, from computing a loan amortization schedule, to adding up your budget each time you make a change and compute rates and ratios with ease.)
- Can you use the Internet effectively, create your own web site, and find what you're looking for when you do a search? (These tasks are easy when you know how. You can learn to do them a lot faster in class rather than by trial and error. There are lots of little tricks you may never find.)
Marketing:
- Do you know the difference between marketing and sales? (There is a world of difference between marketing and sales.) Specifically marketing is the total of all activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling. Proper marketing can make selling much easier by identifying the most likely buyers and more closely matching sales efforts to the buyers needs.
- Do you know how to market on a"shoestring?" (Marketing done correctly can partially compensate for lack of money by narrowly focusing your efforts and resources, rather than trying to sell to every possible buyer
you can go after the more likely prospects, saving money and time.)
- Can you make money on the Internet? (There are many areas of opportunity to do business on the Internet, learn from other what works and doesn't work before committing to the time and money needed to establish your business on the internet.)
Human Resources Management:
- Does your business have and maintain adequate human resources policies and procedures? (The most important advantage of having and maintaining adequate personnel policies and procedures is the consistency they bring to handling employees within the letter of the law. Whether it's hiring practices, disciplinary actions or vacation pay policies, policies and procedures will protect you and your employees.)
- Do you know all you need to know about employment related taxes? (If
you're doing payroll, it's critical for you to know what has to be paid when. What you don't know in this area can cost a bundle in penalties and
interest.)
There are a multitude of educational opportunities, of which some of the easiest to find are right in your own community. The local community college offers numerous educational opportunities focused on almost any aspect of business. Other obvious options include trade organizations, vendor sponsored seminars and programs, correspondence courses, as well as classes offered over the internet.
Not only is it important for the owner/manager of a small business to advance themselves via continuing education, investment in small business related employee education often has many more positive effects. When employees are well educated to the needs of the business they work for, they are more able to understand the needs of the customer, communicate effectively and help achieve business goals. n
Greg Panichello has been involved in small business development for 10 years, and has 20 years experience with financial institutions. He may be reached at 503/338-2405.
The U.S. Department of Labor recently awarded the contract for the continued operation of the Tongue Point Job Corps Center to Management & Training Corporation. Tongue Point Job Corps Center provides vocational, academic and social skills training to 540 disadvantaged young adults, ages 16-24. The center offers a fully accredited high school program and the following vocational offerings:
·Accounting ·Business & Clerical
·Carpentry ·Cement Mason
·Culinary Arts ·Dental Assisting
·Electrical ·Facilities Maintenance
·Glazing ·Health Occupations
·Landscaping ·Medical Assisting
·Painting ·Plastering
·Printing ·Seamanship
·Welding
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) which was signed into law by congress last year, is changing the way Job Corps centers operate. In the past, centers have offered a variety of vocational offerings, trained student employees for the workforce and sent them out to find work (with the assistance of Job Corps placement specialists). The WIA legislation mandates job corps centers to reach out to local employers to find out what kinds of skills their employees need to be successful. Once these skills have been determined, the centers will design training programs tailor-made to prepare workers to be the best in their industry.
Here's an example. Suppose XYZ corporation opens up a manufacturing operation in Seaside that requires employees trained in electrical, glazing and network communications. In this scenario, vocational instructors from these areas would work with XYZ to ensure that Tongue Point's student employees come to XYZ with the employability skills necessary to succeed. In a different scenario, the center may add or modify an existing training program to meet an emerging industry need.
In order to stay abreast of the changes brought about by the Workforce Investment Act, Job Corps Center staff serve as representatives on State and Local WIA planning boards. The WIA legislation also mandates Job Corps centers to be partners on local WIA youth councils.
The staff and student employees at the Tongue Point Job Corps Center are looking forward to the challenges and opportunities posed by the new legislation that governs the Job Corps program. We are committed to increasing our presence as the west coast's premier residential job training program. Any employer interested in partnering with Tongue Point to train and develop your future employee base, please call.
Tom Melancon, M.A., is the Director, Employability Development, at Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria. He may be reached at (503) 325-2131, ext. 346.Tom has spent the last 10 years training people of all ages in employability skill development.
The Employment Department offers an incredible number of resources for employers, the unemployed, and/or for people who are looking for a change. All services are free.
Employers will find the largest single source of job applicants in the state. Applicants have a wide variety of applications and skill levels, including professional, technical, trades and general labor. Job orders may be placed with our offices via telephone, fax or e-mail. We also will be happy to send out a representative to the work site to discuss our services. There is a wide range of labor information as well as a local labor market resource person.
Employees or those wanting to file for unemployment insurance only need to register to receive services. We have two Web sites: http://olmis.emp.state.or.us (primarily directed to labor information) and http://www.emp.state.or.us (for job-related information.)
For those who do not have access to the Internet, much of this information is available in hard copy at our offices, along with information on other services.
We offer weekly workshops on rotating subjects including resume writing, application preparation (both for private employers and the State of Oregon), interviewing techniques and exploring the "hidden" job market. (Wednesday 9am - Noon). There are weekly orientation sessions to learn more about our services (Thursday 9am - 10:30am).
We have computers to help write a resume, look up a job ( in our local area, other areas of Oregon or somewhere in the 50 states),and do a skills assessment to see for what type of work a person may be most suited.
There are special programs for veterans, Jobs Plus (a wage incentive program for employers/employees), Dislocated Worker Program, partnering with Management and Training Corporation, Adult and Family Services, Clatsop Community College just to mention three of the many agencies which which we coordinate to serve and educate our local population.
There are also kiosks and forms located throughout Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties for easy access by all.
Shirley Hall is an employment specialist for the Astoria field office of the Oregon Employment Department. She has been helping put employees with employers for the last eight years. She may be reached at 503/325-4821, ext 233.
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