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CEO's Notebook

Innovative recruitment ideas, how long to save files, on-the-spot problem solving, and more.

By Inc. staff | 
 

CEO's Notebook

How can we respond more quickly to problems that crop up?
At Stansbury Staffing Consultants, rather than letting problems fester, president Patricia Stansbury holds what she calls a "pop meeting" whenever a difficulty crops up. The people involved with the issue huddle together, swiftly identify the problem, and then brainstorm to come up with a solution. "We have to be able to move fast and make decisions quickly," says Stansbury, whose $3.7-million staffing service has offices in San Francisco and San Mateo, Calif. The meetings, which last 20 minutes at most, help improve processes and prevent issues from slipping through the cracks. For example, when a temporary employee sent in two time cards in one week and got paid twice for his work, someone called a pop meeting. Minutes later, Stansbury employees came up with a better system for logging and tracking time cards. --Stephanie Gruner

Benchmark
Up to your eyeballs in old files?

If your company is buried in paper, you may wonder how long you have to keep old records. There's no easy answer, according to Donald S. Skupsky, author of Recordkeeping Requirements. Here are some general guidelines, but Skupsky suggests checking the legal requirements of each state in which you conduct business and of any regulatory agency with which your company deals. --Cheryl McManus

Source: Recordkeeping Requirements, by Donald S. Skupsky, Information Requirements Clearinghouse, Denver, 1994.
How long must I keep this stuff?
MINIMUM MAXIMUM
Federal tax returns 3 years 6 years
Payroll records 4 years 6 years
Account ledgers 3 years 6 years
Sales receipts 3 years 6 years

What can I do to encourage employees to develop new skills?
Whenever Keith Lamb, CEO of the Lamb Group, has a job opening, he makes sure to invite interested employees to apply--even if they have almost no chance of getting the position. "They learn a lot in the process and get some honest feedback on where they need to develop careerwise," says Lamb, whose Chicago-based human-resources, consulting, and staffing companies have $3 million in combined revenues. One staff member interviewed for the job of national training director. She didn't get it, but Lamb changed her position to include more training, to prepare her for future opportunities. "It's a win for us because we would never have thought to get her involved in training," he explains. --Christopher Caggiano

I need to find new ways to recruit workers. Any suggestions?

  • Ask employees to help. David Riordan, co-owner of OOP!, a $1-million specialty-gift store in Providence, knows he'll lose a good chunk of his employee base every May. That's because half his workers are students from local universities. "Even if they're great, we have them only for two to four years," he says. So he asks his employees to agree when they come on board that when they do inevitably leave, they'll find and train their own replacements. This technique satisfies most of Riordan's hiring needs.
  • Target senior citizens. At John Greene's $4.5-million chauffeur service, Custom Transportation Service, in Braintree, Mass., about 30% of the company's 150 employees are retirees. Greene sends letters to human-resources departments at local companies, seeking soon-to-be retirees looking for extra income.
  • Search on-line. Mark Zweig, founder of Zweig White & Associates, a $3.1-million publishing and consulting company, doesn't just post job openings on his company's Web site. Zweig also logs on to America Online and visits the member directory. He selects cities and towns near his company's Natick, Mass., location, and then searches members' occupations by keyword. He sends E-mail to people with job descriptions he finds appealing. "It's much faster than a Sunday newspaper ad," Zweig explains. --Christopher Caggiano

I want to give customers memorable but inexpensive gifts. Any ideas?
Never underestimate the power of good food and a personal touch. Deborah Bass, founder of $5-million Bass & Associates, in Omaha, runs a 75-employee information-technology consultingbusiness whose consultants work at customer locations around the country. Each month, Bass sends batches of brownies to the attention of her off-site employees, who share the bounty with the customers' staff as a way of thanking them for their business. Needless to say, that policy makes Bass's consultants popular. "Competitors tease me for peddling brownies," she admits. "But clients love it. I've had many new clients call up and ask if we're 'that brownie company.' " --Mike Hofman

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