Tag Archives: customers

When Can You Use Feedback in Your Business?

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Giving regular feedback to your employees is essential if you want them to stay focused and motivated and if you want to prevent small issues turning into something bigger. If you leave it until the annual appraisal, you may find that your staff aren’t as happy or committed as you thought they might be.

Here are some ideas on how to give regular feedback.

Day to day praise. At the end of each day, think of a way of thanking your members of staff as they leave.

Making it personal. Treat each person as an individual and give them their own feedback, even if they are part of a team.

Do it as soon as possible. Feedback has a much greater effect if you can deliver it just after the event, whether you are giving positive or negative feedback.

Negative reactions.  Be prepared for them if you’re giving negative feedback about something that needs to be improved.

Formal feedback. Avoid giving formal, negative feedback in public; take the person aside and speak to them personally. Positive feedback in public can be highly motivating.

Feedback from your employees. Always listen to what they have to say. It’s not just about you giving feedback to them, as they may have something really useful to contribute.

Regular feedback is essential as it maintains dialogue between the boss and your staff. Used well, it can boost performance of individuals, teams and businesses.

How do you give feedback? Leave a reply to share your tips.

Bribery Prevention

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Do you understand how the Bribery Act 2010 could affect your business and the measures you need to take to prevent you from falling foul of acts of criminal bribery?  Here are a few tips to get you started:

  • Undertake a risk assessment and draft an anti-bribery policy that is relevant to your business operations and your employees
  • Ensure top level commitment to the policy and put in force a zero tolerance approach
  • Communicate your policy to your staff, customers, suppliers and any other parties associated with your company
  • Ensure your employees are trained and understand the implications of the Bribery Act
  • Update your contracts of employment to include acts of bribery in the context of gross misconduct
  • Ensure appropriate approval processes for any payments, gifts or hospitality requests
  • Ensure good record keeping and audit trail – record any incidents where ethical standards may have been breached and how it has been dealt with

Implications of the Bribery Act 2010

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Are you aware that it is an offence to offer, promise or give a bribe as well as to request, or accept one with the intention to obtain or retain business, or commercial advantage in the conduct of business?

Facilitation payments such as those made to Government officials for carrying out or speeding up routine procedures such as planning permission; gifts given to secure advantage during a tender process or to encourage customers to buy products or services; and any payment/gift given by an employee to obtain new contracts can all be considered acts of criminal bribery.  You will be pleased to hear that corporate hospitality is permitted but it is important you take a common sense approach.  If it looks too good to be allowed it probably is!  Ensure the hospitality is offered in good faith with the sole intention of establishing or maintaining good business relations and not to secure an advantage for your business or influence the impartiality of the recipient.

What prevention measures can you put in place?  Firstly, undertake a risk assessment and draft a zero tolerance anti-bribery policy, with top level commitment, that is relevant to your business operations and your employees.  Secondly, ensure your employees are trained and understand the implications of the Bribery Act 2010 and that contracts of employment are updated to include acts of bribery in the context of gross misconduct.  Finally, put in place a stringent  approval processes for any payments, gifts or hospitality requests and keep an audit trail that includes a record of any incidents where ethical standards may have been breached and how they have been dealt with.

With prison sentences of up to 10 years and confiscation proceedings the likely outcomes for getting it wrong, you really cannot afford not to be aware of the risks.