Friday, November 29, 2019

the 5 Hot Trends in the Pet Industry

the 5 Hot Trends in the Pet Industrythe 5 Hot Trends in the Pet IndustryAccording to industry trends and projections, the pet business will continue to boom unabated in the future. While the forecast is healthy across the board, certain segments in the pet industry are seeing a significant amount of growth. Natural Pet Products Natural products, in general, are gaining wide-spread popularity. This is because people have become mora conscious about improving and sustaining the health of the planet. Consumers are also increasingly leery of the tauglichkeit toxicity of synthetic chemicals and other harmful materials. In addition to a desire to decrease their pets carbon paw prints, pet parents are opting to purchase natural products in an effort to maintain and/or improve the health and well-being of their beloved companion animals. The top-selling natural pet products are Holistic cat and dog foodCat litterNatural flea and tick repellentsHolistic grooming products such as the blueb erry facial for dogsProducts for older pets, particularly for dogsToys made with natural fibers Specialty Pet Services Propel Pet Business Growth The American Pet Products Association (APPA) predicted that spending in this arena would increase from $510 billion for 2013 to $620 billion in 2016. The demand for high-end pet grooming services isexpected to continue to be particularly brisk. Other Pet Services That Are Increasing in Popularity Are Dog trainingUpscale and holistic spa servicessuch as paw-tinctures, Reiki and pet massagePet behavioral consultingPet portrait photographyPet sitting Another pet enterprise that is gaining a lot of popularity is the self-serve dog wash.In addition to offering ease and convenience for pet owners, this concept offers many unique retail opportunities. To a lesser degree, unique niche services such as joga for dogs and pet psychic communicators are in-demand industry trends. In and of themselves, these services are not huge. They do, howev er, offer great vermgen as promotional services to increase a pet businesss visibility and ability to attract more store traffic. More Hot Pet Industry Trends Mobile pet grooming. This service involves the use of specially equipped vehicles that travel to pet owners homes. It allows groomers the ability to perform a full range of services right outside the customers door. This is a very in-demand service because Its convenient for the customer.It reduces potential stress on the pets.Its perfect for home-bound older people who have companion animals. On the downside, initial start-up costs for such an enterprise are hefty. Those in a position to make an investment in this are virtually guaranteed high business growth dividends. Pet-friendly travel.This is another high business growth concept thats being adopted by an increasing number of businesses in the vacation and hospitality industries. As more and more people regard their pets as beloved family members, they are opting to t ake them along on vacations. Moreover, people are more mobile and may have to travel long distances to relocate for jobs, retirement or other purposes. Takeyourpet.com- An information resource and directory for those who travel with companion animals.Pet-friendly Travel Apps - A number of apps are available that can direct consumers to places that welcome cats and dogs. An increasing number of hotels, motels, and inns, including New Yorks posh Carlton Hotel, now welcome pets. Its a very smart move for those who wish to facilitate business growth and its sure to remain a red-hot industry trend for a long time to come. Pet health insurance.Although available in the U.S. for a good 30 years, sales of pet policies have only begun to accelerate in recent times.This trend is expected to proliferate dramatically and offer theenhanced potential for pet business growth due to a number of factors. People increasingly regard their pets as beloved family members.Pets (like people) are living lo nger, requiring more complex and extended medical care.Advances in veterinary technology have resulted in more costly medical care. This industry trend presents such a huge potential for business growth that corporate behemoth Nestle Purina even got on the bandwagon by launching Pethealth Inc., a pet insurance subsidiary in 2008. Fast Fact Pet parents spent $13 billion on vet bills in 2010 and, according to the APPA, that increased to $14 billion in 2013. Although this is an extremely complex business, getting in on it may be a very smart move for those who have the inclination. Pet Industry Trends of the Future These are just some examples of products, services, and concepts that offer great potential for business growth.Considering that American pet parents are expected to spend even more on their companion animals in the future, the skys the limit for those who have a good head for business and genuine love of critters.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

How to Manage Lazy Employees

How to Manage Lazy EmployeesHow to Manage Lazy EmployeesEven if just one employee isnt pulling their weight, it can impact productivity, customer service,and, ultimately, sales. Todays lean organizations can no longer tolerate anything less than 100 percent effort from every employee. Domino Effect The most significant impact of a slacker is not necessarily felt in the organization-at-large but on the employees co-workers who have to work harder to cover for the slacker. When amanager is either not aware of the situation, or, chooses not to address it, morale suffers, and ultimately, good employees lower their standards or quit. Defining a Lazy Employee What exactly is a lazy employee? The term lazy is certainly a judgmental and subjective term, so managers need to be careful when applying labels like lazy, slacker, or deadbeat, to poor performers. They need to first determine the cause of the poor performance, and then take the appropriate action to address it. When it comes to analyzing employee performance programs, you might want to turn to the classic Robert F. Mager book, Analyzing wertzuwachs Problems Or, You Really Oughta WannaHow to Figure out Why People Arent Doing What They Should Be, and What to do About It. Help for Identifying Cant Do From Wont Do Mager presents a model that helps a manager determine if an employeecantdo something (skill), versusthe employeenot wantingto do something (will). He developed a flowchart with a series of yes-no questions that managers can use to determine the problem. The easiest way to tell the difference is to ask the question,If you put a gun to theemployees head, could they do it?If the answer is no, then its a skill issue. The solution could be additional training or practice. If the answer is yes, then its a will issue or a lack of proper motivation. Magers book provides a series of questions (with detailed explanations in each chapter) a manager can ask to determine why an employee is notmotivatedto perform at the expected level. Depending on the answer, the manager can then take appropriate actionwhich doesnt always mean disciplining or firing the employee. Questions to Ask Employees Is Desired Performance Punishing or Is It Rewarding? The classic example of rewarding bad behavior is when a child misbehaves to get their parents attention. In a workplace, an employee might get rewarded with overtime pay for not getting their work done on. You can drill down to the details with unterstellung probing questions What is the consequence of performing as desired?Is it punishing to perform as expected?Do employees perceive desired performance as being geared to penalties?Would the employees world become a little dimmer if the desired performance were attained?What is the result of doing it the present way instead of my way?What do employees get out of the present performance in the way of reward, prestige, status, jollies?Do employees get more attention for misbehaving than for be having?What event in the world supports (rewards) the present way of doing things? Am I inadvertently rewarding irrelevant behavior while overlooking the crucial behaviors? Are employees physically inadequate or doing less because it is less tiring? Does Performing Really Matter to Them? Does performing as desired by management matter to the performer?Is there a favorable outcome for performing?Is there an undesirable outcome for not performing?Is therea source of satisfactionfor performing?Can employees take pride in this performance as individuals or as members of a group?Is there personal needs satisfaction from the job? Are There Obstacles to Performing? What prevents employees from performing?Do employees know what is expected?Do employees know when to do what is expected?Are there conflicting demands on employees time?Do employees lack the authority? The time? The tools?Are there restrictive policies, or a right way of doing it, or a way weve always done it that ought to be ch anged?Can I reduce competition from the job phone calls, brush fires, demands of less important but more immediate problems? At the end of the day, a manager may just have tocoach the employee out of the jobor takeprogressive disciplinary action.In doing so, they can be confident that they have given the employee every benefit of the doubt and are taking the right action to correct the right problem.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Over 60% in tech told not to discuss salary

Over 60% in tech told not to discuss salaryOver 60% in tech told not to discuss salarySalary and total compensation are some of the most popular topics discussed anonymously on Blind. Professionals often use this knowledge to negotiate the highest offer possible.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreLast year,we asked users of our appif they have been discouraged by HR or management from discussing compensation with other employees.This year, we decided to ask the saatkorn question along with a second question asking if verified employees actually share their compensation with their coworkers.The Survey QuestionsAt my current workplace, I have been discouraged by HR/management from discussing my compensation with other employees. Yes/NoDo you share your compensation with your coworkers? Yes/NoKey Points60.59%of participants answered Yes versus39.41%answering with No.Paypal,Intel,andCi scohad the highest percentage of Yes/ employees that have been discouraged to talk about their compensation.Facebook,Indeed.comandGooglehad the lowest percentage of Yes.Employees at companies that are discouraged to talk about their salary will more likelynottalk about their salary with their coworkers.Company breakdownThe survey ran from June 26 July 1st, 2019 andwe received a total of 5,149 responses from our users.This article first appeared on Team Blind.