Suggestions for Better Management

What is the one specific thing that you would tell Will and Steve to do immediately and why?

I would advise Will and Steve to attend training in Time Management, Leadership, Communication, and Project Management which will prepare them with a better understanding of their business and other changes that need to take place. They both started off as self-professed “computer geeks”, then programmers, and now running their own company without any management training. The fix needs to start from the top down.

• If Will and Steve still insist on doing the hiring in the future, after training they will have the knowledge on conducting interviews that produce more successful candidates. They will learn how their old way of hiring didn’t provide them with any job skill information from the candidate.

• With Time Management training, the three staff in HR would not be working overtime as Will and Steve would have the skills to recognize early on that a replacement would be needed and would have to be hired and trained before Lorna left to have her baby. Just as important, Will and Steve would learn how “With overtime 3 nights a week, the work is getting done just fine”, is causing the HR staff stress. They appear hurried and have no time to talk when I was introduced to them.

• With training, Will and Steve would be able to identify the possible reasons why 8 programmers left the company and what steps are needed to prevent more staff leaving.

• They will learn ways to compensate employees and restructure salaries to a more reasonable and logical format. Some junior programmers are earning as much as senior programmers.

• With Project Management training, will and Steve will gain an understanding why the programing teams are not meeting deadlines and ways to alleviate the problem.

• Project Management training will show Will and Steve how each departments performance has an effect on other areas. They will understand why the programming team’s...