SAMPLE

NEWS ARTICLES

By

ERIC ALAGAN

PICK

THE

RIGHT

NUMBER

This article, by ERIC ALAGAN, first appeared in the Singapore

Straits Times on 14 May 2011

The following copyrighted article first appeared in the

STRAITS TIMES on Saturday 14th May 2011

Pick the right number

Take the guesswork out of hiring people.

Use a customised approach in assessing a candidate’s capability

How do you employ the best people?

For micro enterprises that cannot afford the services of a HR manager, let

alone the expertise of HR consultants, the challenges multiply.

Perhaps we ought to step back and define „best‟. One definition of „best‟

is someone who is better or at least equal to the current staff doing similar work.

We identify a person‟s capability factor by the numbers one (1) to

twenty-one (21) with one being the lowest and twenty-one being the highest or

„best‟.

These are arbitrary numbers dependent on the number of criteria and

weights assigned to these criteria.

Let us assume there are five people in the Team and each have the

following capability factors: - 16, 10, 14, 12 & 8.

The simple average capability will be a factor 12.

To maintain the same overall capability factor, you need to employ

someone who is at least a 12. A new employee with a factor of 8 pulls down the

average (16+10+14+12+8+8 = 68/6 = 11.33).

However, an employee with a factor 16, improves the overall Team factor

(16+10+14+12+8+16 = 76/6 = 12.7). This is what you should strive to achieve.

Let us consider a typical position as an example.

The hiring manager lists the criteria and assigns scores that reflects his

unique situation and beliefs:

The maximum possible score is 21 (our definition of „best‟).

The recruiter reviews the job applications and assigns the scores for the four

criteria he has decided are important.

The results for ten candidates, A to J, are shown below.

Customer Service Executive (CSE) - Hard Skills & Simple Weighting Max Mid Min

1 Minimum Diploma in Business/Sales/Engineering

Recognised mainstream institutions (RMI) 2

Other institutions 1

Business/Sales Diploma (BSD) 2

Engineering Diploma 1

Maximum possible (RMI + BSD) 4

2 Language Proficiency - English (Major/official languages - Mandarin, Malay, Tamil)

English & One other Major language 4

English & One other Minor language 3

English alone 2

Maximum possible (2 x 4 Major languages) 8

3 Computer Literacy

5 and more years 3

Between 2 to 4 years 2

Less than 2 years 1

Maximum possible score 3

4 Prior Experience in same/related industry

5 and more years 3

Between 2 to 4 years 2

Less than 2 years 1

Max possible - same industry double the score 6

Customer Service Executive (CSE) - Weighted Approach

Criteria\Candidates A B C D E F G H I J

1 Minimum Diploma in Business/Sales/Engineering 4 4 3 2 4 3 3 2 2 4

2 Proficient in English 3 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 3 2

3 Computer Literate 1 2 2 3 2 3 1 1 2 3

4 Prior Experience in same/relate industry 6 5 4 3 4 5 6 6 2 3

Weighted Score 14 13 10 9 13 13 12 11 9 12

Using 12 as a cut-off point, you can immediately shortlist candidates A,

B, E, F, G & J for further consideration. This ensures that the team capability

factor of 12 is maintained or even enhanced.

You can use similar tools to determine soft skills, using criteria and

assigning weights to suit your unique situation and requirements.

This simple tool ensures that even micro enterprises can use Consistent

Criteria & Weights, to maintain, or better still, improve overall Team Capability

Factor.

Article written by Eric Alagan, principal consultant of LCA

Consultants. He is also the author of Staff Selection, which suggests

similar simple tools as a guide for micro enterprises and business

managers who do not have the services of HR experts. For more

information, visit www.Lcabooks.com

KEEPING

THE

REGULARS

HAPPY

This article, by ERIC ALAGAN, appeared in the Singapore

Straits Times on 15 August 2011

The following copyrighted article first appeared in the STRAITS TIMES on Saturday 15th August 2011

Keeping the regulars happy Providing friendly service is key to retaining your customers and boosting the bottom line

CATS Recruit in The Straits Times - August 15, 2011

Escalating costs cut into profits. This leads some food and beverage operators to

raise prices, reduce portions, drop quality standards or resort to a combination

of all three.

A more effective and sustainable strategy to drive the bottom line is to exploit

the sometimes overlooked potential within their organizations — the waiting

staff or personnel hired to serve at the tables.

Even if the food is highly recommended, most diners will think twice about

patronizing a restaurant that is known for its bad service. When people shop,

they often look for the specific salesman with whom they have built rapport —

the one who brings out the 10th pair of shoes while retaining her smile.

People constantly and even unconsciously seek comfort zones. A comfort zone

is more than a place. It is a state of mind created by people.

Try to recall the last time you went to a place you really enjoyed. Who were you

with? When you returned to that place alone, did you enjoy it just as much?

People make the difference: they create comfort zones. The place, décor, lights,

colours, music and taste merely trigger our senses.

Wait staff spend the most time with diners, from receiving and leading them to

their seats, explaining the menu, taking their orders and delivering the food and

drinks. They help to form an impression of an establishment‟s service in

customers‟ minds.

Thus, waiters and waitresses are in a strong position to build rapport with

customers, and many do. Customers come looking for familiar faces and are

more forgiving of service lapses, which inevitably occur even in the best-

managed outlets. In return, many wait staff welcome the friendliness and

respect with which their regular customers treat them.

This bond is a powerful tool; it entices and encourages customers to return and

motivates your staff to do better and stay with you. It grows sales.

This strength is something your competitor will find hard to surmount and is a

true “win-win-win” situation for you, your staff and customers.

Unfortunately, some F&B managers are casual about losing wait staff and

because the loss of sales is gradual, they do not even recognize that there may

be a causal link between the two.

Find out which of your staff have managed to build up a following among the

regular customers. Build a database that pairs customers and waiting staff (see

table below).

With this information, you will know the probable opportunity cost of losing a

particular staff member. More importantly, it will help you to fairly reward and

retain both your staff and your regular customers.

Having a backup plan makes good business sense because the reality is that

your staff may leave the restaurant. When that happens, there is a possibility

that you may lose your customers too.

Article by Eric Alagan, principal consultant, LCA Consultants.

He is the author of Increase F&B Sales, which provides pointers

for F&B outlets. For details, visit www.Lcabooks.com