The day is finally here! The day that one of your best employees have been working toward their whole life: retirement. They have spent most of their years using a little bit of elbow grease to make your company thrive. Implementations of processes, problem solving strategies, and organizational plans proudly have their name on them. They have become your ‘go to person’. Now it’s time for them to pass the baton to someone else. But wait, who will receive the baton and will they keep up with the success they have created?
The issues that this scenario poses is becoming more prevalent today as large number of the baby boomer generation begin to retire, companies are scrambling to bridge the gap between the millennials’ inexperience and the retiring expert worker. These retiring employees contain a vital component to the function of most companies: deep smarts. Deep smarts is a type of knowledge that can only be obtainable through experience. The day-to-day of their job becomes second nature for them and can be very difficult to verbalize this type of knowledge, therefore unfolding the multi-leveled issues that affect the financial, competitive, and organizational aspects of a company when these employees are gone.
An effective strategy to implement involves varied components that would be ignited prior to the retirement stage of employees.
Allow impending retirees to assist with candidate searches
A tough as nails work ethic and company loyalty were ways of life that were embedded into the baby boomer generation. Potential candidates for the position from a different generation, specifically the millennials, are wired differently with regards to work ethic and general work practices. Some of the more traditional ways of thinking through certain processes at work are not shared between these generations. Therefore, taking the time to allow impending retirees to express input during the search process would benefit the company greatly in that they are able to utilize their employee’s discernment as another filter for the hiring process.
Invest time into less experienced employees
The main reason companies are facing these issues that are detrimental to their success is because they are losing the only person who can do that job effectively. A method to lessen the pressure of finding their replacement would be to hire young aspiring workers with a desire to become a leader in their industry and have them develop a mentoring type relationship through internships, co-ops, and hands-on learning. In order for this upcoming generation to become successful leaders of the workforce, they need to get their hands dirty and work side by side our current leaders.
Assess and modify
Not all companies are created equal and what works for one may not work for another. Maybe it’s a battle to get retiring employees involved with interviews or maybe a particular internship was a disaster. Look at how your employees respond to these situations and how it affects the progress of your company to make modifications in hopes of the transfer of tribal knowledge.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Ravinder Tulsiani is the Author of the #1 BESTSELLER: “Your Leadership Edge”, an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... get your copy at http://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

There are three things that determine the effectiveness of training:

• Leadership. Gain management support before scheduling any training program. Any training program will be more successful if management supports it. Always involve top executives in planning your workshops. Ask them to attend. Recommend follow-up sessions to review the material covered in the workshop. If management doesn't value and support the learning, training effectiveness is almost guaranteed to suffer.
• Individual. Learners buy-into the value of the training and start applying it in their daily work so that it sticks and they remain engaged in the new way of doing things.
• Training Professional. Effectiveness of training is determined by the design and delivery of the training. That means, the instructional design process focuses on aligning the training to ensure learning objectives are met; and the facilitator creates a safe learning environment that is highly engaging.

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Ravinder Tulsiani is the Author of the #1 BESTSELLER: “Your Leadership Edge”, an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... get your copy at http://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

Distinguish yourself as an effective leader by applying these six communication skill strategies. In fact, these strategies are so powerful, they even work at home.
Effective leaders are known for being excellent communicators. Here's what to do.

1. Avoid "No", "Can't" or "Won't" and any other negative words. Negative talk encourages arguments and hinders problem resolution by redirecting focus. It also creates a negative impression. For example, when you say, "I can't," you appear helpless and ineffective. Instead, focus on the positive by focusing on what you can do.
2. Deal with impossible requests by 1) acknowledging the request, 2) empathizing with the other person's feelings, 3) saying, "I wish I could fix it." and 4) suggesting a reasonable alternative." For example, imagine that you work at a resort and it is raining. A guest walks up to you carrying a golf bag, slams it against your desk, and shouts, "This place stinks! I spent thousands of dollars coming here and it's raining." You respond by saying, "You're right it's raining. And I know how upsetting it must feel to travel this far and be stuck inside. I wish I could make it stop. In the meantime, you may want to visit our indoor putting center. Our golf pro is offering instructions this afternoon."
3. Deal with difficult requests by 1) affirming your willingness to help and 2) asking the other person to help you plan a solution. For example, if your boss asks you to start another project, you could say, "I understand you want me to start a new project. And right now I'm working on another project. To help me set my priorities, I wonder which one you want me to finish first."
4. When possible, offer choices that show the consequences of different options. This allows the other person to choose both the process and its impact. For example, you can say, "That's a great idea. And there are different ways I can meet your request. We can use our existing supplies, which are free, or we can buy custom materials, which will cost $500. Which option would you prefer?"
5. Deal with complaints by asking the other person to describe a fair settlement. You can say, "What do you want?" or "What would you consider a fair solution to this?" or "What would make you happy?" 
6. A smile significantly affects how you sound. It also makes you more approachable. When you frown, other people hear anxiety, caution, fear, and rejection. A smile (or at least a pleasant expression) encourages open communication.

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Ravinder Tulsiani is the Author of the #1 BESTSELLER: “Your Leadership Edge”, an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... get your copy at http://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

At its very core, a business cannot thrive unless it has excellent workers and excellent leadership. Very few “excellent” workers will remain excellent if they find their efforts go unnoticed or unrewarded by management, or if they see the business itself spiraling into the ground because of inept management decisions. Rather than stay in such an environment, these workers will find more pleasant employment elsewhere.
Some will even start up their own businesses. Those that want to start their own businesses possess that intangible “leadership” potential – they know how a business should be run and what needs to be done to keep it successful.

It is important, therefore, that these particular employees, the ones with leadership potential, be identified and promoted into management positions where their abilities and skills will bear fruit.

Not everyone wants to be a leader

Many “excellent” workers thrive because they have no responsibility beyond their own specific job – they like being given instructions on what to do, and then they do it – very well. They would be lost if they were moved up in the hierarchy to a position where they had to tell others what to do.
To promote such individuals out of their comfort zone is usually a recipe for disaster.

Not everyone can be a leader

There are a subset of employees who are good (or even not so good) at their jobs, and want to be promoted into a management level because they feel they’d be good at it, but for whatever reason they won’t be. Either they have no people skills and are too overbearing, or they just aren’t good enough at their job and so will not be able to earn the respect of those workers under them whom they are telling what to do.

How to identify good leaders

Depending on how many employees are in your company, you will doubtless have people divided into teams. In a team environment, potential leaders will usually come to the forefront. They will be outspoken in weekly meetings, giving their opinions and advice on the project under discussion.
It is the responsibility of supervisors to be aware of the potentialities of team leaders. Are these outspoken individuals contributing good work? How do their fellow team members respond to them – are they browbeaten or do they recognize this leader as the best person for the job?

Open communication

Another way to discover employees with leadership potential is to foster open communication and programs where employees can suggest ways to improve the processes or procedures of their team, their division, or of the company in general. Anyone who comes forward with suggestions usually has the knowledge, the ambition and the drive to be a leader. If they have the people skills as well, that is usually a winning combination.

Leadership training

Many leaders are born with great people skills, and the ability to draw the best out of their employees. However, leadership can be taught.
Any business that is structured with team leaders, supervisors, and other upper management positions should also put in place a leadership training program. Many individuals who were excellent team leaders flounder when thrown into the larger role of a supervisor, but can find their feet with proper training.

Next Steps

​Check out my book: "Your Leadership Edge". It's an innovative step-by-step leadership training program that will help you develop a highly engaged and super-charged workforce... http://www.yourleadershipedge.ca.

When you become a leader, whether it be that of a small team or a large company, the prospect is always daunting. Leadership is always a large responsibility and it can be a crushing burden if not handled properly. History is littered with leaders who weren't able to handle the pressure. Thankfully, we've learned a few things from history – which is where leadership development programs come in.

Being a good leader is not a trait that's spread out in the human population. It's kind of like being a good soccer player or a good player. Some people have the natural talent to be a leader. Some people need a little push in the right direction. The problem with being suddenly handed the big chair is that, unless you've had previous experience, you might not know which of the two are you. 

Which is why most employers initiate leadership development programs for those who are in a management position. You might be confident enough in your leadership abilities but those higher-up have to make sure that you are doing the best that you can at the job. The following are two reasons why leadership development programs are good for you:

a) Better self-assessment – Most of the time we're often blind to our own faults. A cursory self-examination will always come up with the result that you may not be perfect but you're not that bad. That's a completely wrong way to do it. When evaluating yourself, you need to be your own worst critic. This is mostly because most other people are not as forgiving of your own faults. 

Having a faulty high opinion of oneself is a recipe for disaster – everyone's heard of the arrogant boss or supervisor. You should identify your personal shortcomings before your subordinates do and do something about them. Leadership development programs have a strict self-assessment portion that helps you do this. Additionally, the professional counselors who run these programs can help open your eyes to any troublesome personality traits or habits that you may have.

b)A more aware learning experience – Most leaders learn on-the-job. It's not exactly optimal but sometimes the best way to learn something is to experience it. These learning experiences are often problems at work. The problem with experiencing crises it is sometimes we don't think of it as a learning experience and just pass it off as being part of the job. They do not care to examine deeper into the problem. 

This is why they do the same mistakes that resulted in the situation in the first place. Leadership development programs usually give you a better handle on these incidents. A more positive outlook and an inquisitive mind are what these programs encourage and they often result in leaders who know how to identify roots of problems and eliminate them at that level.

There are, of course, several other reasons why you should join leadership development programs but these two are the primary ones. Enter one as soon as possible and prepare to learn to become a better leader.

I have been asked by many of family and friends how I was able to access netflix, hulu and other US-based services in Canada. So, I thought I would share this information with all of my readers.

First, why access US programming? It’s cheaper and offers wider selection.

Why do you need Smart DNS?

Because of licensing issues, US-based providers block your access if you are outside of US; they do that by looking at your IP address (your electronic address). Smart DNS in essence allows to you have a US-based electronic address that inturn enables you to access blocked websites and programming.

You can get a US-based electronic address via VPN or Smart DNS. The key advantage to using Smart DNS is that it will not slow down your internet speed. VPN on the other hand is great if you’re concerned with online privacy, but if you’re simply looking for US-based programming, then go with Smart DNS. 


If you're looking for a quality Smart DNS, take a look at SmartyDNS . They unblock US, UK and Polish media websites.

Well-trained employees ensure your business success, as such, it’s crucial that any gaps in potential and actual skill levels of the employees are identified and bridged quickly to maximize their potential. Once you identify the employee skills gap in light of business potential, you can decide what kind of training is needed or who should be trained in your organization. Ravinder Tulsiani, a Learning Consultant with Training EDGE, the Canadian based performance consulting firm explains the importance of evaluating any such training needs within the organization.


Effective staff training sets the pace of your business expansion and proves extremely beneficial to the organization. Any areas of your business, including customer service, current operations, morale, motivation and overall productivity of the employees can be improved through training that might otherwise hold or drag the growth of the entire organization. Analyzing the need for training and selecting the right type of training is the basic step in effective staff training.


The following suggestions can help you in accessing whether any developments have created gaps in the potential and actual skill levels of your employees that should be bridged by implementing appropriate training modules:

1. Analyze Business Plans, Policies and Procedures: Your business will tell you everything you if you analyze the recent changes. For example, training will facilitate a smooth transition for both the customers as well as the employees if you have implemented point-of-sale program or upgraded system management software. The employees will be willing and capable of handling changes on being adequately trained. The training will also strengthen their loyalty towards the organization by infusing the sense of being valued and supported.
   
2. Analyze the Demographic Profile of Your Customers: The changes in the demographic profile of your customers can create new opportunities and business potentials that require you to prepare your organization to utilize the available potential for business expansion. For example, if the new generation is showing trends for an increase in online services, you may need to train your employees according to the requirements for effectively handling the online demand.
   
3. Analyze the Feedbacks: The feedbacks from the customers, employees or even the managers can reflect the need for training in your organization. The surveys and forums create communication opportunities between the management and employees providing simple and effective methods of accessing hidden training needs. The feedbacks not only serve as effective grievances Redressal system, but also provide avenues of business expansion by highlighting staff training requirements.
   
4. Analyze Complaints and Frequent Problems: The recurring problems within the system or complaints might indicate the need for employee training. Many issues can be easily resolved by training the staff rather than considering them as the lost, dumb or inefficient workers to be fired. Therefore, the complaints and frequent problems should be analyzed whether training is required to solve the problem
   
5. Analyze the Training Needs of New Staff: The new employees might need advanced skills required to work as front-line employees and understand the organizational culture and structure of your organization. The training needs of new hires are extremely crucial and should be promptly addressed. Lack of training can affect the quality of service and thus prospects of your business.
   
6. Analyze the Training Needs for Retaining Employees: High employee turnovers can negatively affect your business prospects. You should implement sufficient opportunities to improve the skill levels of your employees and create avenues of their career growth within the organization or industry in order to retain skilled workers.
   

However, Ravinder cautions that training cannot be seen as one solution to all your problems. Training the employees doesn’t guarantee that recurring problems will be completely addressed. For example, unsatisfied employees may still decide to quit the organization after being trained, and you have to train your new employees again. Similarly, you may find that training doesn’t reduce the customer complaints against any front-line employee who needs to be shifted to another position or functional line. Accessing the training needs within your organization also requires your attention, and you have to prioritize your time for evaluating the training needs and overall benefits of such training. Developing and implementing right training modules also require planning to take care of the training needs of specific workers or functional divisions.

Once you analyze staff training in the right perspective, it allows you to reap the full potential of your employees by boosting their morale, motivation and efficiency through constant proactive support. The high morale, motivation and efficiency are the key factors that contribute to the growth and prosperity of your business. The assessment of training needs within your organization will provide great insight to improve your customer experience and create avenues of business expansion.