How do you react when business goes quiet? Many businesses, at some time or other, experience quieter times. This could be due to the seasonal nature of a business, but more often than not, it’ll be due to the success or failure of putting goals and strategies in place to ensure a steady flow of business.

Here are 10 things you can do when business goes quiet:

Australians are getting fatter and unhealthier; if you’re a small business owner, the implications of this could be bad news. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that 16% of men and 17% of women are now classified as obese, while a further 42% of men and 25% of women are classified as overweight. The results of this for the workplace are reduced productivity, more time lost to sick leave, and increased health and safety issues.

So you’ve realised that all that talk about generational groups isn’t just marketing hype . . . that the era you are born in really does have a bearing on how you think and act, particularly at work. The question now is how to use this knowledge to help you get the most out of your team. What does it take to engage people of different generations?

I met a friend recently who manages a small business. He was under a lot of stress due to the behaviour of one of his employees.

She constantly undermined his authority, criticized at every opportunity and generally had a negative impact on company morale.

There are all types of suppliers in the business marketplace. At one end of the spectrum Greedy Suppliers simply want to make a good profit and don’t care about their impact on their customers’ profits. At the other end, great suppliers spend time to create a business culture, processes and products that help their customers save money and time.

Does your organisation have an engaging culture? Is it the kind of environment where people can thrive or do you find that your new hires start out fully engaged but over time, as they become ingrained in the culture, they lose their energy and start to resemble your less-than-engaged employees?

When you want to find out any information from your customers make sure that you don’t assume anything. Assumptions can make you bankrupt.

Most of the time you never have to assume all you have to do is ask. You can ask in so many different ways. You can ask in day-to-day contact. You can ask through surveys. You can ask through focus groups.

Whatever we you want to know, you can ask. And customers will tell you exactly what they want. However, you have to listen and be receptive to their answers. Are you willing to listen?

Customer service experience can either be pleasant or unpleasant. Everyone loves a pleasant experience and despises unpleasant ones wherever and whenever we purchase a product or acquire a service.

Customers’ today are no longer that timid and simple. Customers are getting more savvy and knowledgeable in their needs and wants. To win you need to be to create “wow” factor in every part of your Company’s supply chain. Want to know more about creating the WOW factor in customer service, read on….

If you’re frustrated in your efforts to elicit the best from each of your team members, chances are it’s not that they can’t be motivated, but that the wrong methods are being used to motivate them.

The secret is to package what you want from each individual in a way that makes them want to deliver for you. There are 7 classic work styles, each of which is motivated differently: Commanders, who need control; Drifters, who need flexibility; Attackers who need respect; Pleasers who need to be liked; Performers, who need recognition; Avoiders who need security; and Analyticals, who need certainty. Here’s how to use this knowledge to better motivate your staff.

The expression ‘time is money’ has never been more accurate than when applied to the business sector. Every manager knows that streamlining processes and improving productivity internally has dramatic effect on output externally and, at the end of the day, your balance sheet.

But while we often hear talk of working smarter not harder, it’s a lot easier said than done. With the right steps, however, any business can make improved efficiency a reality.