Making Layoffs Strategic</h1> <article> <h1>Making Layoffs Strategic</h1> <p>Tara Rethore — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:03:11 GMT</p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">News of layoffs - in the US and abroad - continues to headline in most geographic areas. Most layoffs are cited as critical to helping the organization to compete more effectively (via reduced operating costs) amid tight credit markets and low consumer demand. However, we're hearing among our clients and on the street that organizations have cut 'too deeply' or 'not cut the right folks'. True or not, these kinds of comments beg the question: How do we ensure that the outcomes of our layoffs support the future picture versus providing just a short term fix?</font></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">We suggest three key ingredients to balance your short term needs against insuring your future success.</font></span></p> <p style="margin-left:0.25in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;">1. </span><font face="Verdana"> </font><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;">Determine your future organization structure - look 18-24 months ahead</span></strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">. Set your layoff targets versus that future need, NOT on today's structure and current issues or demands. Even when lay-offs are required, it's critical to retain those team and individual skills that will accelerate your organization through the upturn. Cut too deeply (or not in the right places) and you risk not being ready to capture emerging opportunities. And for small business, that agility is critical to beating the competition.</span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.25in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;">2. </span><font face="Verdana"> </font><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;">Calculate the cost of rehiring.</span></strong><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">It's tempting to take out cost quickly through layoffs but there is a cost associated with choosing wrongly. Reviewing your current situation in the context of your future structure <em><span style="font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">before</span></em> layoffs can help to avoid the future cost of rehiring. It can also provide the backdrop for other decisions, such as the cost-benefit of redeploying and re-skilling employees.</span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.25in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;">3. </span><font face="Verdana"> </font><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;">Survive and thrive in the meantime.</span></strong><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">How do you do this? Think and act differently, counter to intuition and without the 'doom and gloom'. Consider these actions to decrease the likelihood of layoffs and to increase productivity. </span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span></font><font color="#444444"><em><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Think 'innovation'.</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font></font><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">Jeff Immelt, GE's CEO says: "Technological innovation is going to be more important then ever."</font><a name="_ftnref2"></a><a href="http://www.gather.com/#_ftn2"><span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;">[2]</span></span></a><font color="#444444"> While so many organizations are contracting, it's a great time to really be creative. Tap into your top talent. Focus their ingenuity on the key success factors you'll need post-recession. Follow Intel's lead: It will 'invest $7billion in innovation, upgrading manufacturing technologies, redeploying assets and people, and accelerating product launches as part of its 'investing in the downturn' strategy'.</font><a name="_ftnref3"></a><a href="http://www.gather.com/#_ftn3"><span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;">[3]</span></span></a></span></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Tackle the recurring issues.</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Again, it may not feel like the right time to start a new initiative, but in fact, it's potentially a great opportunity to use your talent differently, including those experienced 'old hands' whom you may otherwise be tempted to retire early. </span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Rethink how and where 'work' is done.</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Consider different operating models to amortize fixed costs and retain key talent. Appeal to different generations of employees who have new ideas of how, where, and in what way they want to work. Small business has a real advantage in this area, as many already work flexibly. Still, take another look at the way you work and where; what new opportunities do you have to reduce infrastructure costs and retain people? </span></font></p> <p style="margin-left:0.5in;tab-stops:.75in;"><font color="#444444"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;">·<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Deal with average performance</span></em><font face="Verdana"> </font><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">as part of a mitigation strategy to counter the need for future layoffs. We assume you've already addressed poor and substandard performance as part of the initial strategies. Place the range of C and B- performers who remain on very specific, performance improvement / capabilities expansion programs - and follow through! Meanwhile, it will send crucial signals about your willingness to help employees, while also enforcing accountability.</span></font></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">Layoffs have become a fixed strategy in North America to respond to unfavourable economic cycles as an acceptable strategy to restructuring current costs; gradually, they've also become more common across the globe. Nevertheless, like other tools, layoffs must be used judiciously and always with an eye to your desired future since layoffs can also reduce core competencies or disable emerging competencies. In turn, that can inhibit future growth potential, attract additional cost and time just when you need to be fast-tracking emerging opportunities. We encourage you to continue to take the long view and resolve your current challenges utilizing an array of options in addition to lay-offs. Doing so can not only help you to survive this recession, but also can position you to truly accelerate up the curve at the first signs of recovery. </font></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"><font color="#444444">Excerpted from a larger article. For the full article or more information, contact the authors:</font></span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">Tara J. Rethore, President</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">M. Beacon Enterprises, LLC</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">TRethore@MBeaconEnterprises.com</font></span></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;mso-add-space:auto;"><font face="Calibri"><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;">703.625.9124</span><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;"></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">Marian Bradshaw-Knapton, President</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">Avocet Organizational Performance Inc.</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;"><font face="Calibri">avocet@sympatico.ca</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;"><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-fareast-font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-family:Bliss-Light;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;"><font face="Times New Roman">416.436.4782</font></span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Interview with Dawn Goldberg: How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business</h1> <p>Jill Rafalowski — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:36:27 GMT</p> <p> I recently had the opportunity to ask Dawn Goldberg, virtual-assistant extraordinaire, some questions about her experiences in the emerging field of virtual assistance. Many small business owners could benefit from a virtual assistant like Dawn: virtual assistants are less costly than traditional, in-office assistants, and their number-one priority is ensuring that their clients' businesses run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. You can read my interview with Dawn Goldberg below: <br /><i> </i><br /><br /> <i>1. For those not familiar with virtual assistants, can you please describe some of the most common areas in which you help your clients? </i><i></i><br /><br /> Since my specialty is writing, everything I do seems to revolve around writing. I do a lot of editing and even full drafting of anything from website copy to marketing campaigns to special reports to regular customer communication. One of my other gifts is the ability to see the big picture and strategize. Most often, business owners are too deep in their businesses to see an objective, more global picture. Not only am I a champion for them and their businesses, but I also help keep their dreams and visions safe. I can see clearly whether an idea is a step in the right direction or a possible departure from their goals.<br /><br /> <i>2. What are some of the responsibilities you take on as a VA? </i></p> <p>Managing my clients' businesses, which includes corresponding with their clients and customers, billing, customer support, troubleshooting, appointment making, website design and maintenance, Internet marketing campaigns, and creating a professional image (which in and of itself includes that big picture - making sure actions and goals are in line with the vision of the company, as well as writing and editing).</p> <p><i>3. On your Web site, you state that the work between a virtual assistant and his or her client is "all about the relationship." What can both parties expect to give and receive from this relationship</i> <br /><br /> The relationship between client and VA is one of equality and partnership. I treat my clients' businesses as if they were my own. I care for them. I'm constantly thinking about them. It's happened more than once that I've gone for a walk and woken up in the middle of the night with an idea for their business, just as I've done for my own business. It means that the "who" is more important than the "what." I may not love sitting on hold with American Airlines to make changes to a ticket, but I can honestly say I love my clients, the businesses, and what they bring to the world.<br /><br /><i>4. What are some of the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant over an in-office assistant? </i><br /><br /> A client only has to pay a VA for the time he or she works. The VA brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and if they can't get it done, they have the huge resources to get it done. The client doesn't have to provide space or equipment for a VA. The client also doesn't have to pay employee taxes or benefits.<br /><br /> <i>5. Can VAs help both the small business and large business worlds? Are virtual assistants for everyone, or are their certain types of clients that can reap more benefits than others when working with a VA? </i><br /><br /> Of course, most clients are small business owners because they don't have the resources or the desire to hire an in-house employee. That being said, all sorts of people use VAs. Some are retired executives who are used to having great secretaries efficiently manage them. Others are people who want VAs to handle personal tasks, like putting ads in local papers, hiring nannies, vacation research, and so on. Anyone can use a VA. Those who use them the best or who are most suited are those who can work virtually and from a distance and believe in the value of people.<br /><br /> <i>6. The VA field is one that is still relatively new. How has the emergence of virtual assistants changed the business world, and how do you predict it will continue to do so in the future? </i><br /><br /> In a world where we can't depend upon corporations to keep our jobs safe and where we see a large number of jobs being eliminated or outsourced, the need for working creatively and connecting with people becomes more important. The VA/client relationship is a perfect example of how those who collaborate, connect, and create are going to be seen as more valuable than those who can do one discrete task.<br /><br /><i>7. What inspired you to become a VA, and what were some of the first steps you took in starting this practice? Do you have any advice for those considering a career as a virtual assistant? </i><br /><br /> A few years ago, I had been playing around with the idea of starting my own business for some time, partly because I'm a stay-at-home mom, and partly because I liked the idea of owning my own business, setting my own hours, choosing with whom I work, etc. I was reading a book by Cheryl Richardson, <i>Take Time For Your Life</i> (I was really trying to get some balance into my life), and in the book she mentions virtual assistants as a way for someone to get help. I was intrigued and researched it further. Cheryl noted <a href="http://www.assistu.com/">AssistU</a> in the reference section, and that was the first place I went.<br /><br /> As I read more about it and investigated their website, I became really excited. As I can get excited about a lot of ideas (interior decorating, etc), I put the idea on hold for a few days. When I came back to it, I was still really excited about it, and I decided to go for it and apply to AssistU for their training program. The training program was 20 weeks long and pretty intense. The program, of course, talked about the logistics of being a virtual assistant-communicating virtually and even long-distance, what equipment you should have, invoicing, pricing structure, and so on. It really got me started on the process of setting up my own business-registering, coming up with a name, doing a business plan (complete with a marketing plan), developing marketing materials (brochure, marketing letters, etc.). We even talked about dealing with clients-the good and the bad, finding your ideal client, dealing with problems, etc. More importantly, it gave me a language for life. I found I could create my own high standards and expect other people to honor them. People valued me for who I was and saw me as an asset. I was appreciated, and my gifts blossomed. Becoming a VA truly changed my life.<br /><br /> <i>8. How have social media tools, like Twitter, Linked In, and blogging, helped grow your business? </i><i></i><br /><br /> These social media tools are all part of that connecting that is core to who I am. I'm able to be a person, not just a professional persona. I connect with all sorts of people, including my clients, on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I let them in to my life so that they see who I really am. Again, it's more about the "who" than the "what I do." The "what I do" <i>is</i> important, don't get me wrong. It's just that the "who" is what draws me and my clients together. Social media tools help that along. <br /><br /> <i>9. Reflecting on your work with past and present clients, if you could share one piece of advice with small business owners and budding entrepreneurs, what would it be? </i><i></i><br /><br /> To be your authentic self. To love that authentic self and to not be afraid to show it. You'll attract clients, customers, and associates who are naturally attuned to you, and you'll be more successful as a result.</p> <p> </p> <p>If you would like to contact Dawn Goldberg or read her professional bio, please go to: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysolutionspot.com/DawnGoldberg/">http://www.mysolutionspot.com/DawnGoldberg/</a></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>A Few Ways to Cut Costs</h1> <p>Nit Sujatanond — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:38:18 GMT</p> <p>Everywhere we go, we hear more and more bad news about our economy. We've heard about layoffs, buyouts, bankruptcies, and large corporations asking for sizeable government loans. Therefore, while we all want to be optimistic, we know we must take precautions.</p> <p>The best way to protect your business is to cut costs. There are many ways to help control your budget during a tough economy. First, you can cross-train your employees. Cross-training is a cost-effective way to run your business more efficiently. Employees who are trained in other roles can step in whenever other departments are short-staffed or overwhelmed with heavy workloads. This eliminates the need to hire additional help.</p> <p>Another way you can save money is by re-evaluating your marketing plan. Once you identify which strategies generate the most success, you can put a hold on the strategies that have a history of producing minimal results. When re-evaluating your marketing plan, you should concentrate on finding more economical ways to continue using your most effective marketing strategies (e.g., sending your mailers via email will cut printing, packaging and shipping costs), and you should consider utilizing free media, like social networking sites and <a href="http://www.thinklocal.com">online business directories</a>.</p> <p>You can also cut costs by keeping travel to a minimum. Sure, there are some circumstances where face-to-face communication is vital, but for the remainder, Web conferencing and teleconferencing should suffice. Both types of conferencing are effective methods of long-distance communication. By using Web conferencing and teleconferencing, your business can save thousands of dollars that would otherwise be spent on unnecessary flights, car rentals, hotel stays, meals, gasoline and more.</p> <p>Cost-cutting tips usually vary depending on the type of business you own. To keep up with new small business tips and trends, continue to read business resources like MySolutionSpot. </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Hiring Virtual Assistants</h1> <p>Nit Sujatanond — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:33:56 GMT</p> <p>It is common for small businesses owners, especially home-based business owners, to reach a point where they can no longer efficiently handle their administrative tasks on their own. In the past, they had no other choice but to expand their facilities and add to their current staff, but today, they have another option - to hire virtual assistants. <br /><br /> Virtual assistants are highly-skilled independent contractors who provide a variety of administrative services, such as typing, editing, data entry, dispatching, bookkeeping, faxing and answering emails, but from a remote location. The roles of virtual assistants vary by industry. Some specialized assistants are also able to fulfill customer support roles, marketing tasks, website maintenance, legal assistance and travel management roles. Furthermore, many virtual assistants cater to their clients' personal lives by carrying out a wide range of duties, like making doctor's appointments, picking up dry-cleaning and pet-sitting.<br /><br /> Hiring a virtual assistant can cost you more than $40 an hour. However, most virtual assistants are very advanced, with past experiences in customer service, office management or executive assistance.<br /><br /> Virtual assistance is a great option if you need to lighten your workload. Be sure to carefully evaluate each candidate. Because virtual assistants work on their own premises, you will not be able to monitor their productivity; therefore, you will want to make sure the assistant you hire is extremely reliable.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Achieving The Power of Enterprise-Wide Project Management</h1> <p>Dennis Bolles — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:01:37 GMT</p> <p> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Arial">Achieving the Power of Enterprise-Wide Project Management</font></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Dennis L. Bolles, PMP, President DLB Associates, LLC</span></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Darrel G. Hubbard, PE, President D.G.Hubbard Enterprises, LLC</span></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span></b></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span></b></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Times New Roman">Project Management Is a Business Function<span style="font-weight:normal;"></span></font></span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">In a world where every enterprise is striving for the most effective competitive weapon, project management has become renowned for keeping initiatives on track. There is a growing recognition in business management circles that project management is an emerging business function that enables enterprises to become world-class leaders in their markets. In the project business management methodology an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">enterprise</i> can be a company, business, firm, partnership, corporation, or governmental agency, and includes associations, societies, for-profit entities, and not-for-profit entities. An <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">enterprise</i> can also include many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organizations. </i>An <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organization </i>is a group of persons organized for some purpose such as to perform some type of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">work</span> within an <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">enterprise, and</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> </i>includes business units, functional groups, departments, divisions, or sub-agencies.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Enterprises are doing more service and product development and product enhancement through projects. This is driven by intense competition, the fast paced technical obsolescence of products, and the need for product innovation. This means that more and more of the enterprise’s financial assets are being expended performing non-operational project work rather than operational work. Project work is very different in many areas than operational work. Many enterprises have so many strategic initiatives which generate so many projects that those projects need to be assembled into programs and portfolios for effective management and status reporting. This creates a growing pressure on enterprises in the marketplace to more formally apply some form of business management as well as project management to their non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. This also means that project management must be implemented at a senior executive level on an equal management footing with the operational oriented organizations within the enterprise.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Meeting and exceeding customer expectations by consistently completing projects successfully is also a goal of every enterprise and is the basis for receiving excellence awards from most customers, executive management, and stakeholders. Also, many business enterprises find the task of keeping there business units aligned with larger business initiatives and objectives and the enterprise’s philosophy and mission very daunting. These are just some of the driving forces influencing enterprises to implement project management practices and processes on an enterprise wide basis. The challenge now faced by those enterprises is how to incorporate project management into their business operations and how to integrate project management as a business function into their organizational structure.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Enterprise-wide Project Management</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> (EWPM) is the application of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project Business Management</i> practices and processes on an enterprise-wide basis, using an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Enterprise-wide Project Management Office</i> as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">business unit</i> organization to support management of the enterprise’s non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. Where <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">business unit </i>means<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> </i>any sized functional organization within the enterprise that is charted to perform a relatively well defined business support operation, such as accounting, safety, quality assurance, human resources, marketing, or a project management office.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The principles and concepts of project-related portfolio management, program management, and project management are complex, and the management processes involved are many fold. The blending of these principles and concepts with the principles, concepts, and varied processes of general business management motivated the authors to develop the concept of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project Business Management</i> to eliminate any confusion and suppress assumptions as to just what the term <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">project</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> management</i> means when used in a business context. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project Business Management (PBM)</i> is defined as the utilization of general business management and project management knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques in applying portfolio, program, and project processes to meet or exceed stakeholder needs, and to derive benefits from and capture value through any project-related actions and activities used to accomplish the enterprise’s business objectives and related strategic initiatives. The PBM methodology blends the terminology from the vocabularies of both general business management and project management, which allows the PBM methodology and model to be easily understood by business executives, business unit mangers, and portfolio, program, and project managers.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">If projects are an integral part of the business, it stands to reason that there should be a clear understanding of what is and is not a project, what is required to complete projects to the customer’s satisfaction, and how projects are combined into programs and portfolios to accomplish the enterprise’s strategic initiatives and business objectives.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Properly implemented project management principles, processes, and practices can have a significant impact on an enterprise’s time to market, cost to market, and quality to market and customers’ recognition of the enterprise as a world-class leader. If executives and business unit heads can recognize that managing projects has a significant impact on an enterprise’s bottom line, and that their ability to successfully manage projects depends on the proper application of specific project management processes, knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques, then it makes sense to establish ownership and management of project management practices enterprise-wide at the upper executive management level of the enterprise.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>How else can the executive management of an enterprise ensure that limited funds and resources are effectively applied across the enterprise to only those projects that support approved business strategies and objectives and that those selected projects are given the best opportunity to succeed from the very start?</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Times New Roman">Enterprise Project Management Office</font></span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Therefore, enterprise-wide adoption of project management processes and best practices calls for the development and single ownership of an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Enterprise Project Management Office</i> (EPMO) function. However, establishing common processes and practices across an enterprise is very difficult, if not impossible, without establishing exclusive ownership of the EPMO. The EPMO must be recognized as an independent business unit function at the highest level of the enterprise. This recognition provides the EPMO’s executive management with the authority, acceptance, adoption, and autonomy required to establish, monitor, and control the distribution of the resources required to successfully apply PBM best practices enterprise-wide. The EPMO is established as the organizational structure within the enterprise that will institute and manage the project business management processes for portfolios, programs, and projects. To be effective in managing the initiating, authorizing, planning, controlling, and executing processes of project business management, the EPMO is positioned at the executive level of the enterprise.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Establishing project management within an enterprise is a significant undertaking and may meet with resistance at various organizational levels for many reasons. One major reason behind some resistance is the most obvious, but it is seldom given sufficient consideration.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>People generally resist changes because they do not understand why the changes are necessary or what impact the changes will have on them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Most prefer the status-quo to something new, especially when it involves how they perform their work. So, communicating the benefits of establishing project management as a functioning business unit at all levels enterprise-wide is a critical step in making project management an integral capability within the enterprise. Implementation also requires dedication and commitment over an extended period of time.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><a name="_Toc134523055"></a><a name="_Toc128815914"><span><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">PBM </span></span></a><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Model Structure</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The Project Business Management Model is based upon the components of the Enterprise-wide Project Management House of Excellence. Exhibit 1 illustrates the four major elements, or pillars, and related foundation that form the frame-work of the house of excellence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>This two-dimensional integrated framework and foundation is useful in understanding and building a structurally sound enterprise-wide project management capability and is a requisite to building and sustaining a successful EPMO, as represented by the roof of the house of excellence. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;tab-stops:.25in 276.0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1;"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;tab-stops:30.0pt 258.0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span>Exhibit 1, PBM Two-Dimensional View<span style="mso-tab-count:1;"> </span>Exhibit 2, PBM Three-Dimensional View</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The various components of the two-dimensional house of excellence used to organize the elements of the PBM Methodology Model and enable enterprises to achieve the full power of EWPM, are as follows:</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Pillar One – Governance:</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> Establishes the EPMO as a management business unit, sets policy, establishes charters, and develops the organizational model for the business management of projects, programs, and portfolios. The function of the EPMO is to lead the project management efforts of the enterprise and may, if required, be composed of multiple levels.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Pillar Two – Standardization:</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> Identifies and integrates processes and practices, and develops standardized project business management processes and documentation of enterprise-wide portfolio, program, and project management process methodology models, including their associated policies, practices, and procedures.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Pillar Three – Capability: </span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Assess the enterprise’s abilities, develops a project management competency model, lays out an education and training program, establishes a career path progression plan, and documents various key enterprise environmental factors. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Enterprise</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"> environmental factors</i> are any or all external environmental factors and internal organizational environmental factors that surround or influence an initiative’s, portfolio’s, program’s, or project’s success. These factors come from all of the various enterprises involved in accomplishing a strategic initiative and its associated business objectives and include organizational culture and structure, infrastructure, existing resources, commercial databases, market conditions, and software.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;"><font face="Times New Roman"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Pillar Four – Execution: </i>Establishes strategic business planning, tactical business planning, business objective and project prioritization, selection, and initiation, stage-gate reviews, portfolio, program and project execution planning and applies enterprise environmental factors and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organizational process assets</i> that will be used to manage programs and projects or need to be applied during planning or re-planning activities. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Organizational process assets</i> are any or all process related assets, from any or all of the organizations involved in the programs and projects that are or can be used to influence success. These process assets include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, and guidelines. The process assets also include the organizations’ knowledge bases such as lessons learned and historical information. </font></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Foundation – Maturity:</span></i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> Establishes the measurement basis for project business management process and practice maturity, and evaluates the maturity of institutionalized project business management best practices enterprise-wide. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">Project business management maturity</i> is the maturity of an enterprise’s policies, plans, procedures, organizational governance, management personnel, and the project business management methodology and processes that identify, plan, implement, control, accomplish, and communicate the enterprise’s business strategic initiatives and related business objectives and supporting portfolios, programs, and projects.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span></span></span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">PBM Methodology Model</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The discipline of project management has matured and is becoming an identifiable part of the fabric of general business management. The purpose of the PBM Methodology is to show executive management how to implement project management to serve the enterprise’s strategic business initiatives and business objectives and how to harness the enterprise’s existing project management capabilities. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Exhibit 2 provides a three dimensional construct for the PBM Methodology Model. The two-dimensional view is incorporated into the right-side of the cube. This view shows how operational business management and project business management are two related and integrated aspects of the management of an overall enterprise. However, PBM is only concerned with the planning and management of the non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. The graphic also shows how, for some enterprises, about two-thirds of the funds go to operational work while about one-third goes to non-operational work. This also leads to a factual based conclusion that many processes, procedures and management methods have usually been developed and deployed by most enterprises for the operational side of the business, while the non-operational work side has been neglected. Even though the products and services that result from the non-operational work will shape the financial success and business future of the enterprise.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The PBM Methodology Model as illustrated in Exhibit 2 is a comprehensive, practical, and simple top-down hierarchically integrated blend of strategic, tactical, portfolio, program, and project management and associated processes. PBM is a proactive approach to managing the non-operational project-related business of an enterprise and making the most of limited resources. It enables enterprises to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and to derive benefits from project-related actions and activities used to accomplish the enterprise’s non-operational business objectives and related strategies. The processes used within the PBM Methodology flow down from strategies, to objectives, to portfolios, to programs, and to projects. This hierarchically integrated set of processes is used to produce the required deliverables and to assure the values and benefits desired by the enterprise can be attained. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The PBM practices and process for strategic and tactical planning are taken from business management and include the use of business cases. The business case articulates the intent of a specific strategy in a feasibility study format. Each business case provides the bases for authorizing further PBM planning activities, so that an adequate definition of the intent of each strategy initiative and supporting business objective can be developed. Each business case applies the business implications of the known <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">enterprise environmental factors</i> to determine if the strategic initiative is plausible. The list of defined <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">organizational process asset</i>s is applied next during tactical planning to determine if the proposed supporting business objectives will be able to be accomplished. During strategic and tactical planning executive and senior management establish the values and benefits to be derived from the strategic initiatives and associated business objectives and include them in the business case. Performance measures and key performance indictors, related to each value and benefit, are also developed as tools to be used during management of the work. The business objectives and associated portfolios, programs, and projects are next prioritized and selected for execution. This methodology requires that executive management operate the strategic management process until the strategic initiative and associated business objectives have been accomplished. This includes appraising results against desired benefits, redirecting as needed the strategies and objectives, and monitoring the tactical implementation of the associated portfolios, programs and projects through mandatory status reporting.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a name="OLE_LINK1"><span><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The PBM practices and processes for portfolio, program, and </span></span></span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span><span><span style="font-size:11pt;">project</span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> management are based upon the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) five process groups: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & control, and closure. The practices and processes are similar to PMI’s issued standards for portfolio, program, and project management. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;">The portfolios, programs and projects supporting each selected business objective are next planned in detail. The plans and products from the portfolio management processes flow down into the program management processes, whose plans and products flow down into the project management processes. Specific performance measurement metrics related to each business objective are also developed at the portfolio, program and project levels. These performance metrics are used as measurement tools during management of the work. The set of metrics must be both necessary and sufficient to determine if a portfolio, program or project can be re-planned, should be terminated early, or was successful.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The set of processes and the steps within each PBM process and the structure of the EPMO can be adjusted and modified to suit the business size of the enterprise employing the PBM Methodology Model.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Knowing what specific actions are required and how to proceed after executive management gives the go-ahead is a key implementation objective of the PBM methodology model. The success of an EPMO as a project management center of excellence for project business management processes enterprise-wide is the end goal. Another objective is to understand that acquiring executive recognition of project management as a business function is the critical first step in establishing project management as a core business management competency. The basic PBM methodology model is useful in understanding the key success criteria required to establish an EPMO as the vehicle to integrate project and business processes, thereby creating and establishing PBM and enterprise-wide project management. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleBefore6pt"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Initiation and Authorization Theme</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The PBM methodology places an emphasis on strategic and tactical planning and on the start-up processes for portfolios, programs, and projects.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Executives and senior management need to become aware of the impact these initial processes have in their business practices. The importance of initiation and authorization is evidenced by their positioning in the first two of the five common “process groups” in portfolio, program and project management. It is during those initiating process<span style="color:black;">es</span> and supporting planning processes, starting with identifying a single strategic initiative down through planning a project that will accomplish that initiative, where up to 80% of the value and benefit of the desired outcome can be created. It is also during these initiating and authorizing processes that executive and senior managements’ involvement and decision-making will have its maximum impact.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><a name="_Toc134523053"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Relevance to Management</span></a></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Project business management and the PBM methodology are a unique approach and structured solution to managing the non-operational project-related business of an enterprise. Enterprise-wide Project Management (EWPM) is a business management function driven by executive and senior management. EWPM utilizes an executive level EPMO to apply the standardized PBM methodology to manage non-operational work. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Most books and presentations on project management discuss the concepts and problems that affect the development of enterprise project management and project management offices. Most of the books on project management are written primarily for project and program managers. The primary target audience of the PBM methodology, and our book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">The Power of Enterprise-wide Project Management</i>, is those executives and senior managers who recognize project management is a business function and want to establish project management as a core competency enterprise-wide within their organization. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The relevancy of having project management as a business function, implementing PBM best practices as a core competency, and instituting an executive level EPMO to implement the PBM methodology is best understood by executives and senior managers through the following EWPM value and benefit statements.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Integration</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>PBM <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">integrates and harmonizes</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;"> </span>management concepts, processes, and practices contained in <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">Project Management Institute’s standards</span> for project, program, and portfolio management <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">with</span> those of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">business management</span>. It i<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">ntegrates </span>strategic initiative planning and tactical planning of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">operational business objectives</span> with the tactical planning of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">non-operational business objectives, </span>as part of overall methodology. It provides seamless integration and harmonization of general business management, operations management, and project, program, and portfolio management principles, policies, processes, and procedures</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Direction and Decision</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">: PBM supports <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">centralized management</span> of the enterprise’s non-operational portfolios, programs, and projects. Management can exercise their prerogatives and can make a profound impact during the strategic and tactical planning processes. Management can adequately and successfully control and obtain an ROI on the significant assets being expended on non-operational work.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">Work and Resource Alignment</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">: </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">PBM <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">organizes, applies,</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">and manages</span> an enterprise’s non-operational<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"> resources</span> in direct <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">alignment</span> with the enterprise’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">vision, mission, strategic </span>initiatives<span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">,</span> and business <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">objectives. It a</span>ssures work and <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">deliverables</span> for authorized portfolios, programs, and projects <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">stay aligned</span> with their approved business objectives. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Performance</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">: <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">PBM establishes key performance indicators</span> (KPIs) and related metrics for strategy and business objective accomplishments and for project / program / portfolio performance. Success is only recognized via performance measures, KPIs, and related metrics for strategy and business objective accomplishments and for project / program / portfolio performance. Management can set, during the PMB processes, their required enterprise-level benefit and value outcomes and the related KPI measurements. They can thereby assure desired strategic and business objective values and benefits are attained.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;" class="PMIbullets"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;">EPMO Functionality</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;">: The EPMO is an </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">independent executive-level business unit</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> for project / program / portfolio management. It maintains an enterprise level </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">focus on</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> achieving all approved </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">non-operational</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> business </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">objectives</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> and related </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">strategies</span><span style="font-size:11pt;">. The EPMO is organizationally an equal player in company politics and executive power, thereby assuring the enterprise is both </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">doing the right things and doing things right. The </span><span style="font-size:11pt;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">PBM methodology mitigates those project management office (PMO) implementation and operation issues identified in the Project Management Institute’s 2007</span><span style="font-size:11pt;"> research <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">white paper entitled<i> “The Multi-Project PMO: A Global Analysis of the Current State of Practice,</i>” prepared by Dr. Brian Hobbs, </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"><font size="2">PhD, PMP Chair of Project Management Research in the Department of Management and technology of the School of management Sciences, University of Quebec at Montréal (UQAM) in Montreal, Canada.</font></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 1.5in 0pt 0in;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Sizing</span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">: The PBM methodology and model are<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"> adjustable</span> to various enterprise sizes.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p> <h3 style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;">Conclusion</span></h3> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The time for project management to be recognized as a business function has arrived! The enterprise needs to employ an enterprise project management office (EPMO) as the managerial vehicle to govern the integration and application of the project and business processes that comprise project business management. The EPMO project business management governance should be a blend of several of the enterprise’s governance methods, particularly those of executive, operations, portfolio, program, and project management. It must be employed at the different decision-making levels of the enterprise and at different stages within the PBM methodology to support accomplishment of specific business objectives and their related business strategic initiatives.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Executive management, to assure a high probability of establishing and effectively employing project business management on an enterprise-wide basis, must initiate and authorize two major strategic business objectives that need to be performed in parallel:</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Develop and formally document a mature, integrated set of standardized project business management processes, known as the PBM methodology, and institutionalize those processes within the enterprise and its organizational process assets.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;text-indent:-0.25in;text-align:justify;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:black;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore;">·<span style="font:7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Establish an enterprise project management office (EPMO) as an operational business unit at the executive level and staff it with competent managers and support personnel.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">Executive sponsorship is required to accomplish the two strategic business objectives. In addition, the enterprise must ensure that the necessary supporting organizational structures, systems, culture, and business practices are sufficient and available.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">To achieve these two business objectives, a senior manager should be assigned to plan and manage the required development work and the resulting non-operational project business management processes should be incorporated into the enterprise’s day-to-day operations. Developing, establishing, distributing, and implementing project business management on an enterprise-wide basis must not be treated as a trivial undertaking; it requires project business management to be implemented both horizontally and vertically within the enterprise’s organizational structure.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">The full benefits of PBM are only realized when the two business objectives are fully accomplished. The enterprise will then have a low-cost and high-performance project business management operation supported by an executive-led EPMO that can provide a consistent positive return on the investment in project, program, and portfolio management. However, the success each enterprise will have from project business management depends directly on the maturity of its project business management methodology and the associated involvement by executive and senior managements in the initiating and authorizing processes where their decision-making will have its maximum impact. The understanding by executives that implementing a PBM methodology using an EPMO can and will positively affect the enterprises financial bottom line is the key factor in any successful implementation.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';">It is executive management’s responsibility, with the support of portfolio management, to assure that the correct business objectives and supporting projects are authorized or terminated at the correct time. It is the responsibility of program and project management to ensure that the selected projects are properly completed and meet the enterprise’s performance measures.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="StyleFirstline025"><span style="font-size:small;font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></p> <p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;text-align:center;" class="PMIBodyText"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">References</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="PMIBodyText"><span style="font-size:x-small;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>Hobbs</span><span>, B (June 2007) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal;">The Multi-Project PMO: A Global Analysis of the Current State of Practice, </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic;">PMI Website (www.pmi.org.</span></span><b><span style="font-size:12pt;mso-bidi-font-style:italic;"></span></b></font></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>The Serviced Office Is A Comprehensive And Economical Business Solution.</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:16 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">When it comes to gaining comprehensive business support, an increasing number of companies are moving to serviced offices as their solution. So, why is this a growing trend?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Serviced offices provide a resourceful approach to business which, in many respects, exceeds conventional offices. As an extension of your company, a serviced office will cater to your firm's unique needs and adapt according to your changing circumstances - whether this involves start-up processes, growth and development, new locations or individual project support.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">What exactly do you get with a serviced office? Basically, everything you would get with a conventional office, but with greater efficiency, flexibility and at a lower cost. Simply put, serviced offices place more control into your hands; so you can decide how you use it to build your business.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Conventional offices require individual monthly costs as well as capital costs. These expenses include numerous features such as buildings insurance, utilities, furniture, rent, maintenance, IT infrastructure and even reception staff. However, serviced offices combine all of these costs, and more, into one simple monthly payment. And, importantly, it can reduce your total costs by up to 60%. In addition, many serviced office providers do not charge start-up costs, making the deal of optimal value. You get all you need: from project management and support to security services; all for a fraction of the price of a conventional office.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">However, serviced offices do not only save you money - they also save you time, something that everyone is short of in business today. When you choose a serviced office, you will not need to search for company support, such as secretarial staff, facilities management, or IT connectivity, because they will all be included in your business package. After all, when it comes to managing a business, your time is valuable. Spend time developing a business strategy and plan, rather than worrying about basic infrastructural and basic day-to-day office management. In summary, that is what serviced offices are all about. They allow you to focus your efforts where they matter most and will have maximum impact.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Serviced offices are also known for flexibility, enabling you to expand or downsize your business as required and at your own pace. Obtain short or long-term agreements; opt for specialised types of support according to your specific company requirements. You'll even find different serviced office types to suit your specific needs: Whether you require support for a start-up, a growing business, a project team office or a temporary office, a serviced office can be just the resource you need; and no matter where in the UK you take your business, you will have a tailored means of support.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">While serviced offices supply a comprehensive set of benefits, many serviced office providers also offer a range of individual services designed to help your business grow - from virtual offices and meeting venues, to shared offices and hot desks. When you take into account all the advantages of serviced offices and related services compared with conventional offices, including a potential cost saving of 60% per month, serviced offices make business sense.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">So when it comes to gaining business support, you will discover serviced offices not only offer a comprehensive business solution, but that they do so with your financial interests in mind.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Andrew Regan is a freelance online journalist.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Regan</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></strong></p> </article> <article> <h1>Working Toward the Paperless Office.</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:13 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Paper is both a necessity and a nuisance. One thing is guaranteed, there will always be a constant influx of paper. It just keeps coming into our homes, offices and lives. Most of what we receive is from unsolicited sources such as junk mail and advertisements. Some of it we need to act on and some we need to save for future reference. How do we efficiently handle all of this paper?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Whether you work in an office building or your home office, the first step to take is to sort and purge mail daily. Recycle all junk mail, advertisements and outdated information. Shred all documents that contain personal identification information. Now what do you do with the rest?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Given that paper is one of the top contributors to clutter in an office, learning how to handle it efficiently can save both time and money. Physical clutter leads to mental clutter so creating a paperless or semi-paperless office is a worthy option to consider. We have found that striving for a semi-paperless office is a more practical approach to streamlining most offices than expecting a full blown paperless environment.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">What do you need to go paperless?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">You need a computer, a scanner and imaging software and an open mind for accepting change. Each work station should be set up with dual monitors. This allows for more efficient processing of work as one monitor can be used to display the program you are working in and the other for displaying reference document files. The second screen takes the place of a paper document.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">We recommend that you check with your IT professional to ensure that your computer system and network will support your plan for a paperless office. They can also suggest the appropriate scanners and dual monitor screen set ups that make running a paperless office more efficient. Imaging software is sometimes included with the purchase of a scanner. We recommend Scan Soft Paper Port software which is very user friendly and cost effective for most small offices. You can research software and scanner options on the internet.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">In addition you must also have a plan for how to process the paper into electronic files. It is important to sort and purge documents prior to scanning and filing electronically otherwise you will have an electronic pile in place of a paper pile. Remember the same rule applies to electronic files as to paper files; 80% of what you file will never be looked at again. Be critical of what you keep. Purge your electronic files monthly or at least quarterly. Name your files with the date in the title so you know how old the document is which will make it easier to purge electronic files. Since the office staff will be contributing to shared electronic files, it is important that everyone follow the same procedure when assigning file names. Establishing a file name protocol for everyone to follow will streamline the process and ensure easy retrieval of documents.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It is important to consider the legal and industry specific regulations affecting your business when considering what documents can be kept electronically and what documents must be kept in paper format. Generally speaking all contracts with wet signatures must be kept in paper format. It is also wise to keep paper files as back up for a period of 6 months while you are transitioning to electronic files. You will then be able to retrieve the paper files should you experience a glitch in the paperless system.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Back up is very important when creating a paperless office. You should back up your files on an external drive not just on your hard drive so if something happens to your computer you will still be able to access your files. If you are on a network it is best to back up the files on the server. If you are storing critical files you should consider having an outside source for storing your backups. This provides the security should your office have a fire or a theft. It is important to discuss backup set up and procedures with your IT professional.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Advantages of going paperless in your office:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It reduces the amount of time it takes to retrieve a document. Sharing of documents is simplified as they can be accessed from the shared network drive right from one's desktop computer rather than having to physically go to the filing cabinet to retrieve the document. It eliminates the need for duplicate files. Rather than each individual keeping their own copy, all employees can retrieve the document from the shared drive. There is a recognized savings in the amount of paper supplies that the office consumes which helps the budget and the environment. You can email documents rather than having to fax or mail them which further reduce the cost in office supplies and postage. By removing bulky filing cabinets you will have more physical space in the office.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">If your current paper files work for you then you can simply create an electronic replica of these files and start scanning to reduce the paper load in your office. If your paper files need refining it is best to do this prior to recreating an electronic version. Instituting an electronic documentation system can improve office efficiency and productivity but if you want optimum business performance consider streamlining your workflow and processes first. The key to improving office efficiency is to combine technology with organization.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Dhawn Hansen, CPO® and Tracey Turner, CPO® of Hansen Turner Solutions, LLC are office organizing and time management experts and the authors of Organize Your Office & Manage Your Time: A Be Smart Girls™ Guide. Get on the FAST TRACK to achieving your goals and leading a more organized life. After all, how you spend your time is how you spend your life. Hansen and Turner work with clients nationally and internationally. Please visit our website at http://hansenturner.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dhawn_Hansen</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://hansenturner.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Workflow Efficiency - Get the Answer to 8 Big Complaints</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:13 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">When things get busy at work and the pressure is on, locating and controlling key documentation is of paramount importance to ensure efficiency and productivity - but how often do you find yourself coming up against any of these eight familiar complaints?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Workflow Efficiency: The Eight Familiar Complaints If any of these complaints are familiar to you, then a document management solution can help:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I employ somebody just for filing and archiving</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I can't keep up with customer service enquiries</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- When somebody goes on holiday, we're lost without them</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I never seem to know where anything is</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- I've had to rewrite important documents because we lost the originals</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- If we were sued, we'd spend ages finding the appropriate documentation</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- We have too many paper records for compliance purposes</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Everyone in my company seems to have their own filing system</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Workflow Efficiency: The One Simple Response</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Document management is a glamorous name for keeping things organized. Perhaps the truly paperless office might never happen, but at least all the documents you have can be organized properly. Consider for example - what is the true cost of a key proposal which gets lost on somebody's computer because they've gone on holiday and no-one can find it? Or what is the true cost in lost time of rifling through acres of archived documents looking for one sheet from five years ago?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Document management is the result of several useful technologies (printing, scanning, archival and storage) coming together in a useful and co-ordinated way. Good document management software has the following properties these days:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Easy for staff to use</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Won't break the bank, and offer a genuinely money-saving ROI</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">- Can be installed in-line with your existing IT infrastructure.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Document Management Systems: Save Time</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Forget filing and photocopying (and their associated costs). With document management tools, everything is stored electronically on computer. Everything is named too, so finding documents is simple - helping you improve service to your customers and your colleagues too.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Document Management Systems: Reduce Costs</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Of course good document management saves staff time. But in practice there are so many other cost savings too. Free up your storage space and use it for business! Reduce administration time. Manage projects more efficiently and reduce the margin for costly errors. Improve communication internally, response time, and customer service. Our document management solutions can help you achieve all these cost savings. And you'll spend less on paper, postage and faxing too!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Typically, a good document management system installed and configured correctly can pay for itself in six months- time you can wisely use to push your business forward.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Document Management in Practice</strong> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Here are some key elements to workflow and communication improvements which stem from the use of document management systems:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Creating documents. Whenever a document is created, it's named according to your own conventions (even if it's scanned or copied). Everything's organized from the start and you'll never lose a document again.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Everyone has an In-Tray Documents, pictures, e-mails, whatever... they all come in through your in-tray, where you can categorize them, label them, and then act on them. Send them on, collaborate with other people, and manage versions of documents automatically- so you'll never be stuck working on yesterday's project.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Find and retrieve. Before document management, you had to remember filenames. Now, search by author, client, date, project- even just a phrase, and you'll soon have the document you need.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Out of the office? No problem- we can give you access to your office documents with the same find-and-retrieve functions over the web- at home or on the other side of the world.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Scan it in... No need for huge paper archives. Scan it in and forget about the paper copy. You can even scribble notes in the margin electronically.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">...e-mail or fax it out Electronic documents are so much more flexible than paper. With your documents in electronic form, emailing and faxing them (and making alterations and corrections) is only a click away.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Jimi St.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> Pierre</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> writes for several Office Equipment suppliers in the UK, including Principal Corporation, where you can find out more about INVU document management software on their comprehensive office equipment website at: => http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jimi_St._Pierre</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </article> <article> <h1>What Is A Virtual Assistant & What Do They Do?</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:11 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="> <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">A Virtual Assistant is an independent contractor / business owner & professional office administrator, who provides professional business support services & outsourcing services for your business or projects. They don't come into your office or home, {hence the name Virtual Assistants or VA 's} they provide services in a virtual / online capacity by using the internet, phone, email, fax, various courier services, postal mail & instant messaging services, just like most outsourcing companies. Some specialize in a huge variety of areas such as business support, office management, business management, real estate, marketing, construction, secretarial services, business development etc... The list is endless. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">WHAT DO THEY DO & WHAT TYPES OF SERVICES DO THEY PROVIDE?</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">They provide a variety of business support/ business related services, secretarial services & outsourcing services in many areas. Virtual Assistants provide some of the following services:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Business Consulting</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Outsourcing</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Creative Design Services (writing, art, design, advertising, film etc..) Business Coach</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Computer Specialist</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Research & Analysis</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Web Analytics</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Office Management/ Support</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Business Management</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Email Services</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Personal Assistant</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Real Estate Services</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Data Entry/ Typing</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Marketing</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Purchasing/ Procurement Services</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">And More!</span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Some people use Virtual Assistants to handle personal emails, update their websites, send out press releases, they help people to start-up their business, copy writing services, resume services, thesis/dissertation / manuscript services, they help you in finding employees, set appointments, book travel plans, keep personal or family schedules, client maintenance, they can help you with your ezines/ newsletters, taxes, database management, help you to improve your business operations and more. Virtual Assistants can assist you in doing a lot of things to help you maintain or get your business going & help you with personal projects.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">HOW CAN I FIND A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT & HOW MUCH DO THEY COST ?</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Finding one is easy. A lot of them can be found on the internet, Virtual Assistant organizations/ associations/ forums, just type Virtual Assistant into a search engine, also check out their blogs or press releases. You can also talk to people who have used their services. You don't have to have a business or employees to use their services. If you have the need to treat someone like an employee, or you have to have someone in the office with you, then a Virtual Assistant is not for you. They are providing you help & they run a business just like you are, so they are not your employees. They can provide assistance along with your current employees or help you find employees. If you just need one for a one time project most of them can accommodate you and also provide full-time permanent support.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">There are well over 5,000 of them worldwide and growing everyday. Most of them charge between $ 10 --$ 75 per hour. Some of them have a flat fee for some projects. Well, you may say that's a lot. In actuality it's not, when you compare what you are already paying a current full-time employee to the price of a Virtual Assistant. You pay a regular in-house employee rate of pay / salary, sometimes double or triple their hourly/ salary wage. It is more expensive to pay an in-house employee than a Virtual Assistant.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">They don't come with all the issues/ problems that a regular employee would like federal/ state/ city regulations, being late to work, wasting time on the job, cost of buying equipment/ office space/ training, other business expenses. A Virtual Assistant is 100% focused on your work, they only bill you for the work that they complete & they pay their own business expenses. As companies & entrepreneurs move more of their business operations to the internet Virtual Assistants become more of the obvious solution for staffing or business problems. So contact one today, to help with your business or project needs!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">In an effort to relieve some business stress, get organized, stay organized and stay on top of things try outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant. Outsource some of your business operations or administrative office tasks to Clerical Business Solutions. Clerical Business Solutions is "The Solution To Your Business Needs!", it's owned & operated by Renee Cloud "I provide cost-effective business services to help simplify your life & business. "Outsourcing is a strategic solution for business and it can help to alleviate stress, reduce some of your burden of day-to-day business operations or tasks, reduce your work hours and keep you on top of things. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">About the Author</span></b><b><span style="font-weight:normal;font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;">: </span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Renee Cloud is a Virtual Assistant, the CEO & operator of Clerical Business Solutions. Clerical Business Solutions provides many services to assist you in operating. Contact Renee Today! Email: info@clericalsolutionsinc.net</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Renee_Cloud</span><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Link</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">: http://www. clericalsolutionsinc.net</span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Understanding Online Data Entry</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:11 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Data entry is a process of entering data into electronic database. Data entry is probably the second most popular way to make money online behind paid surveys. Data entry is usually extensive work and may not pay very much. Data Entry is the process of placing information into a database in a consistent manner. Traditional data entry is generally done on an individual personal computer and the data is processed in discrete groups based on clusters of households. A primary rule of data entry is that it should never be done with a word processing program. Databases can be updated automatically without errors because the data entry is automated. Although double data entry is widely used, no definitive agreement has been reached as to how to model and quantify the time/cost involved to perform double data entry and the exact gain in data quality derived from its use. In this paper, an alternative to the verification step of double data entry is described. Online real-time data entry is the ultimate in terms of efficiency and accuracy. These data entry projects can be costly, time consuming, problematic and difficult to manage when data entry is not your business core competency. Web based data entry is fast, incredibly easy and actually makes doing payroll fun. A basic understanding of computer knowledge, as required for data entry is required.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Online real-time data entry is the ultimate in terms of efficiency and accuracy. Online Data Entry Jobs provides everything you need and has an outstanding support team that will help you in any way they can. Online Data Entry Jobs will return your membership fee, no questions asked, if for any reason you are not satisfied with the package. Most work at home data entry jobs involve filling out forms online and also require no skills whatsoever just a computer and an internet connection. Are data entry programs legitimate and is it really possible to make money online with them. What determines if an opportunity to enter data online is legitimate or not. Online Data Entry Jobs gives you complete training and all the tools needed to post ads that are extremely effective, and best of all, free. There are over 300 companies in the Online Data Entry Jobs database that will pay you to collect data and research on various projects. Online Data Entry Jobs will tell you how and where to become certified. Once you outsource your Data Entry requirements to Data Entry Florida, you can rest assured of the security and confidentiality of your mission-critical and strategic documents and information. The most important and direct benefit of integration is that it significantly improves the quality of the information, because it permits the correcting of errors and inconsistencies while the interviewers are still in the field. A system of verification can virtually assure that the information presented in the questionnaire is faithfully keyed. The links below provide information to specific experiences different countries have had in applying scanning technology. If it's any kind of important information you should be double checking your input at the end anyways.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Valuable information for anybody wanting to work from home. There is large amount of information in all types of business processes which needs to be properly stored, documented and processed in such a way that at point of need the said information is immediately retrieved for helping the business entrepreneur to take appropriate decisions of the business. Availing the benefits of our Data Entry Services can make a lot of difference in the performance levels of your business, irrespective of the size and area of specialization. It allows you to increase the rhythm of your business activities in a brisk pace, save time, save money and gives you various other advantages over your competitor(s). Access to over 11,000 companies from markets such as business, health, sports, culture, home & society and much more. There is large amount of information in all types of business processes which needs to be properly stored, documented and processed in such a way that at point of need the said information is immediately retrieved for helping the business entrepreneur to take appropriate decisions of the business. Our accurate and reliable solutions will provide you sample time to focus on your core business activities. These data entry projects can be costly, time consuming, problematic and difficult to manage when data entry is not your business core competency. They also offer some great bonuses, typing training, and information on managing your home based business. This is a detailed and comprehensive data entry package that will start you on your way to managing a successful home based business. Anyone considering starting a business from home.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Data Entry CA ensures data privacy and services continuity by using a secure, reliable, and scalable computing and communication system. High data accuracy, quick turnaround time and competitive pricing are some important factors that enabled us to successfully position ourselves as global player in the Data Entry Outsourcing Services for California. Having achieved significant domain experience through successful completion of a wide variety of projects for diverse industries, Data Entry CA delivers value-added Data processing and offshore outsourcing services to clients that help them achieve the maximum return from their investments. You can outsource your data entry services to Data Entry CA. Traditional data entry is generally done on an individual personal computer and the data is processed in discrete groups based on clusters of households. External requirements, such as the need to ensure a permanent power supply for the computers, need to be carefully considered by the survey planners and managers. The computers are usually organized in groups of data entry clerks managed by a supervisor. The computers are generally networked though allowances should be made in the event of a network failure. This is a detailed and comprehensive data entry package that will start you on your way to managing a successful home based business. Assignments will be anything from simple survey panels to in depth research study that will require you to type a detailed report on your findings based on your opinion. Online Data Entry Jobs will show you how to open your own home based secretarial business and provide data entry services for companies in your area. No other data entry package that I have come across has offered such an extensive course in home based business management. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: Jacob L. loves to write articles on different topics. You may find more information from here <a href="http://www.ourdataentry.com/"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">www.ourdataentry.com</span></a></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Source: Articles Universe: http://articlesuniverse.com</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://<strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> www.ourdataentry.com</span></strong></span></p> </article> <article> <h1>The Features Of Good Time Management Software</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:11 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">You’re looking to make changes in how your company manages time and projects. But how will you manage to implement those changes? Making changes in your time management system can be a challenge and could include a multitude of questions. There are many considerations; after all, it isn't just about you but equally about those that work with you. You probably have a system for bookkeeping and payroll right now, but in the ever-changing world of business you have most likely heard there are more effective tools for putting the numbers to work for you. These tools are known as Time Management Software, Project Management Software and Business Management Software.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Change, in the Business sense, is better labeled "progress". Progress is important, for it encompasses much in the business world, and without it you are merely spinning your wheels. History tends to reveal many answers. Take for instance two corner grocery stores in say the 50s. Store A puts all the receipts for ordering resale goods, utilities, hours of his employees and the tapes from his adding machine into a paper bag and brings them home on the weekend to balance between receivables and payouts.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Store B's owner keeps a log of sold items, employee tasks and items spoiled or out dated along with a simple two column ledger he kept up at the close of each day. There were not any differences that seemed major between store A and B in the beginning but in time store A developed a reputation for having out dated goods and spoiled product, the shelves were dusty and bookwork was behind by months because life happened on the weekends. Store A was beginning to loose revenue yet he was unaware of the reason because he did not have a time management or project management system in place. Store B continued to thrive, always offering the freshest product to their customers, cheerful employees that knew what was expected of them, and a store that seemed to carry just what the customer wanted.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Store B had a system for project management, time management and business management. Store B excelled to become a huge grocery store chain, where store A threw in the towel and locked their doors for the final time. The moral of the story is you need to have a system to manage your numbers. How good that system is will dictate the progress of your company. If progress means changing to a time tracking software system in today's world, then you need to know what you're looking for.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Since Time is Money, you need time management software as well as business management software to make your business as successful as it can be. The software you choose should feature as many of the following characteristics as possible:</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">WEB Based (Installed or Hosted Online)</span></p> <ul> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Over 134 reports</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Automated reporting, notifications, job tasking</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Custom reports & graphs supported</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Unlimited clients, projects, tasks, addresses, notes</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Support billable, nonbillable, overtime, flextime</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">International date, time, currencies</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Customizable terminology and user interfaces</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Unlimited user definable custom fields</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Free web-based teaching materials</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Corporate Compliance & Governance</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Windows Authentication (LDAP)</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Itemized security permissions</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">XML, Web services architecture</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Very scalable architecture</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Full Export / Import capability</span></div> </li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Included Integration:</span></p> <ul> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Microsoft Excel</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Microsoft Project (Microsoft certified)</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Microsoft Project Server (Microsoft certified)</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Intuit QuickBooks</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Microsoft Access</span></div> </li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as time managment software at http://www.dovico.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregg_Hall</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://www.dovico.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Outsource Medical Billing Services- Should a Physician Outsource Medical Billing Services?</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:10 GMT</p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">This is a very difficult decision for any physician and partially boils down to this or her own personal ideology and comfort level. Hospital-based physicians will almost always be better off outsourcing because of the office related expenses that they would not otherwise incur. As the owner of medical billing service you may think I'm naturally biased towards outsourcing. I can assure you that this is not the case. Physicians who are overly controlling, uncomfortable or mis-trusting toward billing services are nearly impossible to administer. I don't want anything to do with those types of physicians but I completely respect and understand their point of view. Setting all ideology aside I would like to delve into the pros and cons of this difficult and complicated decision.</span></p> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">1. I am a physician who is very interested in the business aspect of medicine and I do not mind spending my valuable time managing the medical billing aspect of my practice.</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Clearly, the best way to do your billing is to do it personally. Obviously, doing it yourself is probably not an option but if you're willing to spend the time and have the interest I would recommend that you do your own billing. Keep in mind that most billing service owners and certainly our employees have limited medical backgrounds. Physicians who study CPT, regularly attend billing seminars and keep up to date on industry changes are the ultimate medical billing gurus in my view. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">2. I am a physician who has absolutely no time or interest in the medical billing aspect of my practice. I am completely reliant upon my office manager and billing staff.</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Unfortunately, most physicians are in this position. Even if they were interested in keeping up with all the changes and elements of medical billing the practical reality is that there is absolutely no time. Let's face it; time is your most valuable asset. It's sort of like mowing your own lawn. You'd be way better off financially seeing patients for three hours on Saturday morning. I believe the following information will dramatically help with your decision to outsource your billing or continue to do it yourself and with future decisions in the ever-changing business aspect of medicine.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">The pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing services.</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">I would like to preface this article with a couple of obvious but important points. If you have a system of controls, keep an open mind about the competence of your office manager, you've got an excellent computer system, proper information systems and your office is doing a superb job at collecting your money, then by all means do not make any changes. Conversely if you're planning to outsource your billing make sure you hire quality firm. I'll spend some time at the end of this article discussing this further.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Most leading experts agree that it costs about 4.5% of net collections to perform the billing function within a physician's office. Incidentally, this is close to my actual cost as well.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Theoretically, a billing service should be able collect more money than a physician's office because it is our core competency. The question is how much more? This is why I focus on how to choose a billing service at the end of this article.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">The numbers</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">A. Lets just do the math in a theoretical model. We'll base our numbers on a practice whose total gross receivables are $100,000 per month. Obviously, this is an overly simplistic model designed to quantify the aggregate cost and or opportunity cost of the medical billing component only. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Current Aggregate Billing Expenses</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">In-house expense</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Total gross revenue $100,000</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Current billing expense $4,500</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">(4.5%) ---------------</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Net Revenue $95,500</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Outsourced Billing Expense</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Total gross revenue $100.000</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Current billing service exp. $7,000</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">(7.0% net collections) ---------------</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Net Revenue $93,000</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Net cost increase with outsourcing = $2,500.00</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">As you can see in this," all things being equal" theoretical model your practice would incur a $2,500 decrease in net revenue with the implementation of a billing outsource strategy. Keep in mind that this model does not address other less tangible issues such as your reduced payroll, computer expenses, ect. In reality the net cost could be substantially less than $2,500. Many physicians will perceive this as a small price to pay while others will consider it to be cost prohibitive.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">5% theoretical increase in gross revenue with outsourced billing</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Total gross revenue $105,000 (5% increase)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Billing service expense $7,350</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">(7% net collections) ----------------</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Net revenue $97,650</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">$95,500 - $97,650 = $2,150.00 increase in net revenue.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">As you can see from this model with a 5% increase in collections your net revenue will increase $2,150.00 with the added expense of the billing service. Keep in mind that a 5% increase in gross collections is actually quite conservative and should easily be obtainable by quality billing service. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Intangibles</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">B. A billing service should be able to provide you with a substantial reduction in your day-to-day aggravations such as practice management software issues, fewer employees, hassle of hiring competent employees, less health insurance, less training, ECT..ect. Conversely you will however lose some control over your practice. If the billing service does not collect more money your expenses will increase. It's up to you to determine whether or not the increased expense is offset by decreased aggravation.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Security</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">C. A billing service should be able to increase your security levels by creating a system of checks and balances. As a former police officer I can assure you that crime statistics indicate most embezzlement/fraud/theft occurs from within. During an investigation a store manager for Sears and Roebuck Co. once told me," our customers take it out piecemeal but our employees take it out in wheel barrels" This logic also applies to a doctor's office. A billing service can provide an extra layer of protection because there is a system of independent checks and balances. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Typically billing services are fairly large businesses with strict internal controls. My organization Medi-Bill Inc. Operates internally similar to a banking institution with the way we handle funds. It is highly unlikely that the ownership of a reputable medical billing firm would risk the consequences of committing fraud against a client.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Conversely, the issue once again boils down to control. Many physicians are understandably quite unsettled at having their checks and correspondence mailed directly to the billing service. Further compounding this dilemma is," what will happen to the checks and correspondence after the billing service agreement is terminated?"(Again, we will discuss alternatives to this at the end of the article)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Technology</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">D. State-of-the-art practice management software is an extremely expensive investment. If you've already invested in a high quality computer system I do not believe outsourcing your billing would make much sense financially unless your computer vendor is charging outrageous support fees. If you're considering purchasing a computer system or a medical record management system my favorite vendor who we've been working with for over 15 years is Office Management Solutions (OMS) based in Tampa Florida. The owner's name is John Peake and he is by far the most honest and reputable computer vendor I have ever worked with. OMS can be reached at 813-963-5582 or www.oms-online.com.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">If you need to update your system, purchase a new system or your support fees are getting out of hand this may be an opportune time to consider outsourcing your medical billing services.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Financial security</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">F. Many physicians, for obvious reasons do not want their office managers/staffers to have any in-depth knowledge of how much money the practice is making. A reputable and properly run billing service can create this level of financial security. The best case scenario is for your staffers to only see your expenses and have only a limited understanding of the revenue being generated. This can also be accomplished internally by making and recording your own deposits. If you're going to do your own billing I must emphasize the importance of financial security. You must create a system of financial security. If you don't have the time to personally open your mail and make the deposits you are definitely a candidate for outsourcing. Many banks offer a "lockbox" where you can direct your checks and correspondence. Bank lockbox services are generally quite pricey. They usually charge about .25 per copy. You may also opt to take out your own P.O. Box located adjacent to your billing company. This way you still maintain control of your checks and correspondence.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Collection agencies</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">G. Many billing services own or have affiliate relationships with collection agencies. You'll most definitely want to avoid this situation. Make sure your billing service provides you with a monthly report containing proper information on delinquent accounts enabling your office manager to properly send the information to a collection agency of your choice. In my opinion billing services that own collection agencies or establish close affiliate relationships with them are unethical and should be avoided at all cost. Even though it is nearly impossible to find a collection agency that does not have relationships with medical billing services the point I'm trying to make is to be sure that your billing service is independent and you have the freedom to select a collection agency of your choice. This relationship presents a scenario whereby the billing service can simply go after the easy to collect accounts and allow the more difficult but still collectible ones to slip into the hands of a collection agency who obviously charge a much higher percentage of collections. Again, it's easy to see how a billing service can facilitate or erode your sense of control. The most reputable collection agency I've dealt with is a company called Collection Information Bureau (CIB). I've been doing business with them for years and they have never attempted to establish an affiliate relationship with my company. CIB can be reached at 1-800-231-3514, contact sandy Lopez.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Different types of billing services</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">There are three different types of billing services.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Fee per claim </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">50/50 </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Full service </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Fee per claim billing services charge a flat rate per claim.</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">The fees generally range between $1.25 to $5.00 per claim depending upon the services provided.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Advantages:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">May be helpful to a brand-new practice who is not fully implemented a computer system or is still trying to decide whether to outsource.</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Practices with old or outdated computer systems</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Relatively inexpensive cost per claim</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Excellent for practices who have a problem with only one particular payer group such as Medicare or payers that require electronic claims submission</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Physicians planning to retire within one year</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Highly flexible</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Low-volume practices</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Less employees</span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Disadvantages: </span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Expensive for high-volume practices </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Poor integrity of accounts receivable </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Lack of information systems </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Lack of control </span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">50/50</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">50/50 billing services install computer terminal/terminals in your office. The billing service performs part of the billing process while your office performs the other. As you can probably tell from my list of disadvantages this is in my opinion the least desirable type of billing service.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Advantages: </span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Less expensive than full-service billing services</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Avoid the purchase of practice management software</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Creates a system of checks and balances</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Less employees</span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Disadvantages:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">High set up fees </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Low accountability from the billing service </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Lack of control </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Communication Problems (all collection problems will be blamed upon your office) </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Your staff will still probably wind up doing most of the work </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Completely reliant upon the Internet </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Loss of data </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">HIPPA issues </span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Full-service</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Advantages:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Completely remove the billing process from your office</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Symbiotic relationship</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Avoid expensive computer system</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">System of checks and balances</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Less employees</span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Disadvantages:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Expensive</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Loss of control</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Patient relations</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Collection agency relationships</span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Should I outsource my billing checklist: If you answer yes to most of the following questions then you should probably consider outsourcing? </span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in;"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Is your overall collection rate declining?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Is your accounts receivable too high?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are you experiencing an increased number of denied claims?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Is your overall frustration level regarding your billing/business office very high?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are you facing a major capital investment in new hardware or software?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are your computer support fees to high?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are you having a difficult time keeping or hiring experienced billing staff?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are you spending too much time on the business aspect of medicine?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are you concerned that your staff or office manager has knowledge of your income?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are you completely reliant upon your office manager?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are you planning to expand your practice?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Do you believe that your practices cost structure is too high?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Do you have several employees performing tasks that could be handled by a single more experienced manager?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Is your computer system obsolete?</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Are hardware, software, and information technology disrupting the operation of your practice?</span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">How do I select a billing service?</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">The service should fit or complement the size of your actual practice. Try to get a basic idea of the size of the firm. A solo practice will most likely have greater success with a small to medium-sized billing firm. Obviously, a solo family practitioner would probably not be very well served by a publicly traded firm. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Avoid long-term binding contracts. You should be free to terminate your agreement any time within 30 days written notice. The agreement should clearly specify what each side will do for the other. Make sure the agreement assures that upon termination you'll receive a highly detailed account receivable report [listed by individual patient].</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Ask for references and call the other providers! </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> Inquire/investigate the actual owner of the company. Ask to speak with the owner directly. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Avoid firms who offer too many different types of service. Medical billing is a very highly specialized field. Companies who offer, collection agency services, payroll, financial consulting, tax consulting, malpractice insurance, marketing services etc. etc. are not in my view focused enough on what they're there to do. Collect your money! </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Ask other physicians. Keep open mind about this one because physicians who are happy with their billing company do not necessarily want them to grow and generally like to keep a low profile on this issue. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Is the billing service for sale? Try to ascertain whether or not the firm has recently been sold. In your contract/agreement you should request to be notified within 30 days of the pending sale. In my experience billing services are constantly being bought and sold. Sometimes the acquisition is a positive thing but quite often the merger/acquisition can be very detrimental. You should at least be notified and given ample time to make a proper decision on whether you'll stay with the new firm or select another. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Where will your checks and correspondence be mailed? This delicate and important issue need not be as complicated as it appears. Many physicians for obvious reasons are reluctant to allow checks and correspondence to be forwarded directly to their billing service. Some reputable, high-quality billing services will not even provide services to clients who insist upon having the checks and correspondence mailed to them directly. I'd like to spend a few moments on this important issue and explain the ramifications of exactly where your checks and correspondence will be mailed. Maintaining the integrity of your accounts receivable is crucial! If your office routinely fails to properly mail copies of checks and correspondence to your billing company your practice could be in grave danger of losing control of the accounts receivable. If your account receivable is to maintain any semblance of financial integrity it is crucial that billing service employees do not spend valuable time and effort following up on claims that have already paid and not properly forwarded to them. Understandably, your service may even look upon this as an intentional effort to reduce their commissions. Again, bank lock boxes provide a sound alternative to this dilemma. Some practices solve this problem by directing all checks and correspondence to a P.O. Box keeping EOB's separate from other corporate mail. The checks and correspondence are mailed to the billing service," unopened" biweekly. This is an excellent compromise and creates a system of control. There are many other possible options but the important point to remember is that ONE entity must be completely responsible for the validity and integrity of your EOB's. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Make sure all checks and correspondence are issued under your tax identification number and made payable to you! Make sure your contract/agreement specifies that the billing service will not countersign or attempt to countersign your checks and correspondence. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"></span><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Submit By</span></b><b><span style="font-weight:normal;font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;">: </span></b><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">About the Author</span></b><b><span style="font-weight:normal;font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;">: <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">David Duncan, president and founder of Medi-Bill Inc.</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">If you have any questions or comments regarding this article please do not hesitate to contact me at david@usemedibill.com.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_16590_15.html</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;"> Link</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;">: http:// www.usemedibill.com</span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Invoice Processing Software - Major Business Benefits</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:08 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>The Age-Old Problem: Cost Control</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">According to IBM, Gartner and Aberdeen Group, between 75-80% of invoices in any business or organization, are still processed manually - despite the advent of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). These days, sophisticated invoice processing systems are available to cut a swathe through the time and costs involved in handling supplier payments and to enhance business workflow.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Invoice Processing: The Real Costs</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">With a manual system, hundreds – often thousands – of invoices must be reviewed and entered onto an accounting system, at massive cost in terms of labor, time and potential errors.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Byline Group’s research into Accounts Payable processing has shown that 90% of Accounts payable invoice processing involves keying data from paper; that the average time taken to process and Accounts Payable invoice is 12 days, and that 25% of all invoices are paid late.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Also according to Byline’s research an accounts payable clerk handles just 70 invoices per day on average. Thus it is easy to put a labor cost on the front end processing. But the repercussions are felt further down the line too.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Invoice Processing Solutions: Key Benefits</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Invoice processing solutions comprise software to allow invoice processing to be speeded up massively. This has a great impact on reducing accounts admin costs associated with invoice processing and also enables companies to make best use of any time critical payment times which may attract supplier discounts.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Automated invoice processing systems allow a wide variety of typical invoices to be scanned at the same time and for them to be automatically reconciled against the original purchase order with minimal user intervention or data entry.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">In essence, an invoice processing system uses sophisticated OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and data matching techniques.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Invoice Processing Solutions: The Basic Principal</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">The best invoice processing solutions will automatically scan, extract and validate invoice data and feed directly to an accounting system. Invoices come in a multitude of formats, layouts and styles from a wide variety of different suppliers. They can be machine printed or part handwritten, single or multi-page, colored or white paper, and come from home or abroad.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">However, all of these can be handled simply by scanning in a seed invoice and selecting the items of information that you want to capture. This is done by defining a target zone for each of them; the system will automatically distinguish between the field label e.g. VAT amount and the associated value. If you now select the supplier name as a unique attribute of all such invoices, every invoice from this supplier can automatically be recognized and processed and the captured data sent straight to the accounting system.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Sophisticated Functionality</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">The challenges of identifying columns and lines of information, knowing where one item description ends and another begins, handwritten information, validation against almost any criteria or data values – all these are the remit of sophisticated invoice processing systems today.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Managing digitized invoices through the entire workflow approval process offers the potential for even greater efficiency and cost savings, and so it pays to check out software providers who can offer an interface with purchase-to-pay (P2P), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Electronic Content management (ECM) and Document Management (DM) to offer integrated workflow solutions.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Invoice Processing: Summary Benefits</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <ul> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Removes the need to handle and store large volumes of paper</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Increases staff productivity and reduce processing costs</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Faster invoice processing improves supplier relationships</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">More up-to-date position of the business/organization’s financial position</span></div> </li> <li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Reporting on all financial transactions assists with compliance to appropriate Accounting Standards</span></div> </li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Jimi St.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> Pierre</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> writes for several Office Equipment suppliers in the UK, including Principal Corporation, where you can find out more about INVU document management software on their comprehensive office equipment website at: => http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jimi_St._Pierre</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://www.principalcorp.co.uk/</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Home Business: Should You Hire Workers or Outsource?</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:08 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">As your home business begins to grow, the added work and responsibility may cause you to seek extra help. Once you have made the decision to no longer go on your own, you will have to decide whether to hire workers or outsource certain tasks. Knowing which option is right for you and your business will really depend on your specific circumstances.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Hiring Workers</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Your fist instinct may have been to hire. So let’s take a look at some of the pluses and negatives.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Why to hire</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It’s personal. Bringing a hired worker into your home business means that you will have a personal relationship with this person. The worker may also be more enthusiastic about his or her job then an independent contractor. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It’s an investment. You can also take comfort in knowing that he or she may be able to handle things not specifically connected to job, such as manning the office in case you suddenly get pulled away. A hired worker can multi task as part of the job description, or be trained to take on more responsibility in the future. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It’s reassuring. Finally, by bringing hired workers into your home business, you will have more direct control and contact over your business operations. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Why not to hire</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">You can’t afford it. One of the biggest reasons not to hire is the costs associated with it. If you are considering only part-time or temporary help, then these costs are not your concern. But if you are looking for full-time employees, then you will be responsible for several employer-paid taxes, in addition to any benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off, or sick leave. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It’s a hassle. You have to go through a thorough hiring and recruiting process (See my article, “Home Business 101: Hiring Employees“) </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It may be against the law. If you live in a city with strict zoning laws, then it may not be so easy to hire on-site help. In some residential zones, all types of commerce are prohibited; others allow small non-polluting businesses that do not effect the neighbors (for example, through an increase of noise, or a decrease in parking spaces). Check with your local government to see how strict the zoning laws are in your area. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It’s too crowded. Hiring workers means you must have adequate physical space to put them. If space is limited, then hiring may not be your best option. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Outsourcing</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Now let’s take a look at outsourcing.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Why Outsource</strong></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">It’s cheap. When you hire an independent contractor, you avoid the added cost of taxes and benefits. This is particularly important if your cash flow is tight. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">No hassle. Unlike the lengthy recruiting and screening process needed to hire a worker for your home business, hiring an independent contractor is relatively easy. There are several options- online and off, where business owners can find the right independent contractor for the job. Moreover, there are many aspects of your business that can be outsourced, from bookkeeping to web design, even specific, short-term projects. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">No worries. With an independent contractor, there is no need to worry about zoning laws or the size of your home office. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">The two major downsides of outsourcing are that you give up some control over these aspects of your business, and you miss out on investing in a workforce that could help you grow in the future.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">In short, for home-based businesses with limited resources, outsourcing could be a better option. But if your business is growing rapidly, and you are looking for a something more personal, then hiring may be the right choice.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: Business Articles by FastUpFront: Business Cash Advances is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://www.fastupfront.com</span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Choosing the Right Binding Style for Your Office</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:07 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">I have had many customers call me over the years asking for help in deciding what binding machine style would be best for their office. Often they have seen one binding style or another but want to understand their options for binding their own documents. This article will provide a quick overview of the strengths and limitations of the four major binding styles. These four styles include: Comb Binding, Coil Binding, Wire Binding and Thermal Binding. Although there are other binding styles available, these four styles represent the lion’s share of the presentation binding industry. Lets take a quick look at each of the four styles.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>1. Comb Binding:</strong> Comb Binding is the most common binding style used in North America. It has been around for more than 40 years, is simple and readily available. Binding supplies for plastic comb binding are cheaper than binding supplies for the other major binding styles. Plastic comb binding books have the ability to open flat for easy copying and can be easily opened and closed with a comb binding machine for editing purposes. Plastic comb bindings are available in 12 colors and in sizes up to 2”. Comb bindings that are 3/16” – 1-1/8” are round while comb bindings that are 1-1/4” – 2” are oval. Of all the binding styles, comb binding is the most economical and robust. However, because comb binding has been around for so long and is so economical it has become somewhat commonplace in the market. Many people see comb binding as “cheap” and such and image doesn’t lend itself well to many proposals and presentations. For this reason, several other binding styles are more popular.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>2. Coil Binding:</strong> Spiral Coil Binding is a great option for individuals searching for a different look for their presentations and proposals. Spiral coil binding involves winding a single piece of pre-coiled plastic binding onto the edge of ones book. Spiral coil binding is available in more than 60 different colors making it ideal for marketing firms and designers that are looking to match unique colors with company logos or report covers. Coil bound documents can open flat and can also wrap around for easy copying and reading. Documents bound with coil binding are ideal for documents that need to be mailed since the spines are flexible and retain their shape exceptionally well. Although spiral coil binding is available in sizes up to 2”, coil binding documents that are larger than 1” can be very difficult. Binding supplies for coil binding are more expensive than plastic comb bindings but are still reasonably priced and readily available.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>3. Wire Binding:</strong> Twin Loop Wire binding (also known as Wire-O) is another popular binding style available for individuals looking to bind their own documents. Twin loop wire binding comes out of the package in a C shape and a wire binding machine is used to close the wire binding so that it is round. Twin loop wire binding is available in sizes up to 1 – 1/4” thick. However, a different hole pattern is used for twin loop wire binding that is 9/16” or smaller than is used for wire binding from 5/8” to 1 – 1/4". An individual wanting to bind documents in all of these sizes would need either two binding machines or a binding machine that can punch both hole patterns. Documents bound with twin loop wire binding can lay flat and can also wrap around. Wire bound documents are not ideal for mailing since the metal wire binding can be deformed with abuse. Twin loop wire binding provides an elegant look and feel but is slightly more expensive than coil binding or wire binding.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><strong>4. Thermal book Binding:</strong> Thermal book binding style is another popular binding style. However, it is dramatically different from the other three styles discussed in this article. Thermal book binding does not involve punching holes in your documents to bind them. Instead, a strip of heat activated glue inside the spine of the book is used to bind the presentations or proposals. Books bound with this method of binding have the look of “perfect bound” documents and provide an beautiful finished product. Many people who use thermal binding buy utility covers which have a clear front cover with a linen paper back and spine; however, custom cover sets can be produced for this binding style assisting with company branding and brand awareness. Hard cover cases are also available for use with thermal book binding machines making short run hard cover books and proposals a possibility (something the other binding styles are not really capable of). Of all the available binding styles, thermal binding has the highest supply costs. However, it also provides the most unique and professional looking solution.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">About the Author</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Occupation: Markeing Director of MyBinding.com</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written over 100 articles on binding machines,binding supplies,laminators,laminating supplies, binding covers,paper handling equipments,binders,index tabs, and shredders. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">For more information on this topic and others please visit: MyBinding.com or </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">http://www.mybinding.com/.sc/ms/ch/Choosing-the-Right-Binding-Style-for-Your-Office.htm</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_460647_47.html </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Link</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">: http://www.mybinding.com/</span></p> </article> </main></body></html>