When you leave home you shouldn't have to worry about anything. Atlas Travel has a variety of plans to cover everything from emergency hospital & medical insurance, trip cancelation, single and multi-trip plans, and student coverage when traveling outside of Canada.

You will feel secure knowing your financially protected during your travels.

Best Doctors Elite Diagnostic Imaging Service - for companies 10 employees and up. We all know the kind of wait times we experience today for medical services. If you require Diagnostic Imaging to help diagnose a serious medical condition, you can be facing a 2 to 3 month wait, or even longer. Of course, this adds additional anxiety to the stress of worrying what the results of the test will be. Best Doctors Elite Diagnostic Imaging Service provides rapid access to diagnostic facilities and medical consulting.
Click here to download documentation

January 2010 Bulletin

News from The Benefit Specialists Corp.

From:	The Benefit Specialists Corp. <sean.murray@telus.net>
Subject:	News from The Benefit Specialists Corp.
Reply:	sean.murray@telus.net

Celebrating 10 Years of Business!

Thank you for all your support!

Just a Reminder,

As independent brokers we have the ability to go to any insurance company to get insurance quotes. If you are looking at your group benefit plan (or know of another company who is) and are wondering if you are using your dollars in the most efficient way possible please contact us and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

IN THIS ISSUE

Shoot for the Stars and Start Goal Setting Now!

Carol Rosdobutko, CHRP

President of Sandler Training Calgary

You can't buy goals in a store or order them on-line. You can't borrow them from your neighbors. So, where do you find them? And how do you find them and free them? By ignoring the problems of the day-to-day grind, and leaping over the limits of old habits and fears. Take time to let your imagination soar. Allow yourself to dream. Imagine, "what if ....?" and capture on paper the new pictures you see - even if only for an instant. more...

The Entrepreneur's Achilles Heel: Hire Fast, Fire Slow!
Eleanor A. M. Culver, BA, CHRP
President, REAL HR in Calgary, Alberta

Successful entrepreneurs assimilate, process, and make sound business decisions in a relatively short period of time. They don't dither. This works well for the vast majority of business situations, but not so well for hiring. In an interview, a prospective employee is showing you what they want you to see...making a fast decision based on a short interaction is a bad idea for you, for your other staff, and for your business. more...

Any Questions, Suggestions?

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or ideas you may have, we would love to here your feed back!

Just click the link below
www.beneco.ca

Shoot for the Stars and Start Goal Setting Now!
Carol Rosdobutko, CHRP
President of Sandler Training Calgary

It's amazing but true: some people can't see farther than the end of their current workday. When you talk to these people, you'll often find them drowning in their everyday problems. Ask how they can go on this way, and they'll give you a strange look, as if they have no alternative.

But you know better. You know that each morning brings you closer to larger goals, so you can look past the wear and tear of day-to-day "grunt work." You can see beyond being turned down or tuned out by a close-minded prospect. You won't spend today brooding over what happened yesterday - or worse, worrying about what might happen tomorrow. You also know there's an easy way to stay motivated, and guarantee your success. It's as simple as building a goals program.

Goals keep you motivated on those tough days when you feel you're slipping. They give you peak experiences on the days when you hit the target. The vision of a better future embodied in your goals gives you reasons to move through obstacles, not around them. They answer the question, "why?"

The ability to set goals and then, by following through, achieve them is a very powerful force. However, the short circuit occurs for most people when they don't commit to their goals in writing. Because the goal isn't written down, progress cannot be tracked. And, if progress isn't tracked, success cannot happen because the pathway to success is lost. Writing goals down sounds pretty easy: so why don't more of us do it?

For those out there who are new to goal setting, consider this a "Goal Setting Starter Kit" to change your belief system regarding setting goals.

There's probably a task or a goal you've been putting off for weeks, maybe even months, but not because you've forgotten it. On the contrary, if you're like most people, the guilt about your procrastination is driving you crazy. Maybe you want to clean out your basement, or you've been meaning to paint that spare bedroom. Whatever it is, write it down now. Make sure it's something low risk. Adding a second level to your house or installing that new in-ground pool doesn't qualify as low risk!

Next, take out a 3x5 index card and write the following: "I commit to [insert the task you've been putting off]." Then, write: "I will complete this by [insert a due date thirty days from today]." Now sign and date your commitment. Don't continue reading this article until you've stopped to write down your goal. Fold the card down into a small square about the size of a quarter. Now, here's the key: Carry that little square with you wherever you go during the next 30 days. It's your portable Goal Setting Starter Kit. Men, if you carry your change in your pocket, keep the square with your change. Women, if you carry your change in a purse, keep your square there.

Every time you buy something where you need to reach for your change, pull out your little square, open it up, and read it to yourself. Then fold it and put it away again. After a while you won't need to open it up again because you know what it says, but do it anyway. If somebody in line at the grocery store looks over your shoulder as you do this, tell them what your card says. You'll probably feel funny, but do it anyway. Do this for thirty days and whatever you wrote down on your card will happen.

Goals don't have to be glamorous or earth-shaking. They don't have to reach into some far distant future. You can start small with goals that take you through tomorrow, into next week, or next month. Or start with lifetime goals that reach as high and as far as you dare to dream. Large or small, you must have goals if you are to achieve.

But you can't buy goals in a store or order them on-line. You can't borrow them from your neighbors. So, where do you find them? And how do you find them and free them? By ignoring the problems of the day-to-day grind, and leaping over the limits of old habits and fears. Take time to let your imagination soar. Allow yourself to dream. Imagine, "what if ....?" and capture on paper the new pictures you see - even if only for an instant.

Then, once they are captured, allow these small scratches on a pad, these glimpses of the future, to take shape to be the masterpiece which is to be your future. You can do it- if you dare.

Carol Rosdobutko, CHRP, President of Sandler Training Calgary. She can be reached at 403 265 5670 or carolrosdobutko@sandler.com

Sandler Training is an international sales and sales management training company. With over 200 training centers around the world, hundreds of thousands of individuals and thousands of companies have embraced the Sandler Training sales and sales management principles to take their business to the next level. Entrepreneur Magazine has ranked Sandler the # 1 training company nine times since 1994, including 2005 - 2009.

We work with individuals who want to fully realize their personal and professional potential; who want to overcome procrastination, take action and accomplish more; and who want to develop new strategies for solving old problems. For the individual who is looking for the "edge" to get to the next level in their business, Sandler Training offers long term reinforcement coaching and training.
* * *
� 2009 Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sandler Training is an international management training/consulting firm since 1967.
S Sandler Training Finding Power In Reinforcement (with design) is a service mark of Sandler Systems, Inc.

The Entrepreneur's Achilles Heel: Hire Fast, Fire Slow!
Eleanor A. M. Culver, BA, CHRP
President, REAL HR in Calgary, Alberta

"I found a great new employee! They are really going to make a difference and be a fantastic addition to the team!" Thus begins the honeymoon phase of the new employee.

Meet John, the owner/operator of a franchise retail business in Calgary Alberta. Known for having built a successful business with several locations and currently in expansion mode again, he is the envy of many new entrepreneurs in town. What many of his peers and customers don't know however, is his dirty little secret; he likes to make fast gut-based decisions when it comes to hiring. He's not the only one. I can't count the number of times I've listened to a client wax rhapsodically about the wonderful new hire only to be listening to the same person moan about their new employee's shortcomings three months down the road. Check in with me 6-12 months later and I'm coaching the client through the process of either putting the person on a formal performance improvement plan or terminating them altogether.

Successful entrepreneurs assimilate, process, and make sound business decisions in a relatively short period of time. They don't dither. This works well for the vast majority of business situations, but not so well for hiring. In an interview, a prospective employee is showing you what they want you to see; they are trying to make a good impression. And though there is nothing wrong with that, making a fast decision based on a short interaction is a bad idea for you, for your other staff, and for your business. Here's how to avoid it:

1.    Memorize or have a copy of standard behavioural descriptive interview questions.

Everyone should know a few of these by heart. Use them when you've just met someone who might be good for your organization to determine if you want to ask them to come for a formal interview.

2.    Hold a formal interview in your offices and ask a trusted manager to participate. This will give you an idea of how the person might fit in your company culture (i.e. do they show up in 3 inch stillettos to talk to you about a job driving a forklift?), and the manager will give you a second opinion.

3.    Ask standard questions in the interview and take notes (LOTS of them)! Ask all candidates the same questions, and make sure ALL of your questions ask them about their past performance. "When did you...How did you...What was..." are all great starters for behavioural descriptive questions and the best indicators of how the potential employee will perform in your company.

4.    Check references. Do it. Always. Take notes. Ask the difficult questions. Interview the reference person as thoroughly as you did the potential employee. These are critical insights into the person's character and work standard, and so often don't get done.

Finally, if there are any red flags at any stage of this process, DON'T HIRE! To get rid of a $45,000/year employee with, say four months' service, is going to cost your business at least $20,000 in cash and lost productivity. Can you really afford to take this out of your bottom line?

Fast-forward eight months and I'm meeting John again. I ask about his new star employee and I'm met with a glum face. "It's not really working out...." His voice trails off as he contemplates the challenges he's had; other employees have been complaining about their aggressiveness, lack of team-work, and indifference to co-workers. "You know, I had such high hopes, but she just doesn't seem to get it."

I ask John about training, and he says she's had a company orientation, has been given the company policy manual, and he's even sent her to a couple of expensive outside courses, all to no avail. He's even sat down and talked with her about her performance a number of times, but after a few weeks of improvement, she slides right back into her old habits.

We are conditioned to believe that every employee is salvageable. In my 20 years' experience working in the HR field, I can tell you that there are some people who can not be led. Not by you. Not in your company. In such cases, the answer is to accept this fact and terminate the person's employment.

Thousands of successful lawsuits are filed every year because businesses have neither the process, nor the internal fortitude to deal with problem employees. Front and centre in recent legislation across Canada are the issues of workplace bullying, violence, harassment and discrimination. Why? Because the courts recognize the average business manager's reluctance to deal with these issues.

I have heard clients say they are downright scared to terminate problem employees. So, when you are faced with the unavoidable, here are five tips for terminating effectively:

1. Have a plan. Develop, document and communicate the process for dealing with non-performing employees. This process should outline what constitutes just cause for immediate termination (e.g. theft, violence, job abandonment), and what procedure is to be followed for managing performance issues.

2. Follow-through on your plan. As soon as you are aware of a performance issue with one of your employees, deal with it! Now. Not after you've talked to your wife, your best friend, several other managers, and the family dog. This is wasted energy. Direct your energy to dealing with the problem so that you can start sleeping soundly again.

3. Be consistent. Apply your policies and your disciplinary process absolutely consistently. Remember that what you allow to happen in your workplace becomes the new accepted norm. Once you allow an employee to repay monies owed from a "mistake" on an expense claim, you cannot terminate another employee who makes the same mistake (well, you can, but you open yourself to significant legal risk).

4. Document Everything. As with hiring, document every step of the process so that if questions are raised down the road, you can address them with the facts, not vague recollections.

5. Be professional. The disciplinary process is charged with emotion. People come to work wanting to do a good job, and being told they are not meeting expectations can be difficult to hear. Be polite, but firm, and keep the discussion on-track; this is about the issues with work behaviour, nothing else. If you are terminating an employee, the meeting should be very brief (less than 5 minutes). This may seem harsh, but it is not kind to drag out this meeting, nor is it advisable from a legal standpoint.

Protect your entrepreneurial Achilles heel; curb your instinct when it comes both to hiring and to firing employees for your company. Hire slow and you won't have to fire at all- well, at least not as much. When you do have performance issues with an employee, have a clearly outlined performance management plan and if you have to, fire swiftly so that you can minimize the impact on your company's productivity.

Tell your friends!

The Benefit Specialists Corp. is more than willing to answer any questions you or anyone you know may have. If you know someone who has questions regarding the insurance industry or anyone who wants to join our mailing list please contact me, or forward this email to them and get them to click the join our mailing list button below.

Thanks!

Sean Murray
The Benefit Specialists Corp.
sean.murray@beneco.ca
403-547-5236

The information contained in this bulletin is for general information purposes only. The articles published in this bulletin have been collected by The Benefit Specialists Corp. (TBSC) and we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits out of, or in connection with, the use of the information contained in this bulletin. Through this bulletin you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TBSC. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

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