Business Success

For You Tuesday October 4, 2011 Lack of Communication Due to Style, Not Fear Chris Lytle Tip -- Edit Your Proposals Quote of the Day

Lack of Communication Due to Style, Not Fear  Lindsey Novak Q: Our condominium association hired a professional management company to handle our large complex. The engineers work directly for the association. The security guards and cleaning staff are employed by outside companies, but are assigned to work at our property. Regardless of whom they work for, we, the residents, see the same people everyday. Many of the various types of staff have worked at the property for years. Then one day, one of the staff is no longer here and then we were told nothing. There was no notice posted announcing someone leaving and someone new joining the staff. We find it out in passing when we suddenly saw a new face and had to ask the person who he or she is. This has happened to all types of staff -- security guards, engineers and janitors. A person could work here for five years and poof -- gone overnight. We think we should be notified, as a courtesy to us. This creates a lot of bad feelings and unnecessary gossip. Does the manager not post a notice out of fear of a wrongful termination lawsuit? A: Of course you are concerned about employees who seemingly disappear overnight. You have developed a relationship with the staff and its sudden end can be a shock. Your condominium association's board of directors and the property manager could post a polite notice stating, for example, "Alvin Smith has left to pursue another position. Please welcome Susan Turner, our new security guard, who will be working the 3rd shift." It would not be wise for the board or the manager to release details on why the person left, as negative information could trigger a defamation lawsuit, but nothing should stop them from practicing good manners. Aaron B. Maduff, partner of Maduff & Maduff, which focuses on employment law, says, "Defamation is essentially the act of putting someone in a negative and false light. This can be done in written or oral communication." There are two types of defamation: "per quod" and "per se." In per quod, "damages" is an element of the lawsuit. It is not a legal violation to lie about someone, unless there is an injury. With per se defamation, one does not need to prove a legal violation. "Per se defamation occurs where the lie falls into one of four categories: accusation of adultery; accusation of criminal conduct; accusation of being subject to a loathsome disease; and accusation of incompetence in one's chosen profession." These four categories show why wisely managed companies do not offer negative information on former employees to anyone. They also offer managers a good reason to stop gossip at work the minute they hear about it. JOB HUNTER RECEIVES CRITICISM ON COVER LETTER Q: I sent my resume and cover letter for a job at a charter school. I received a response letter from a woman criticizing my cover letter for being "generic" and that it "reflects no knowledge whatsoever of the school." It also said the school's policy was to delete generic cover letters, but she would give me a chance to re-submit my resume with a revised cover letter. I looked this woman up online and saw she is a law school professor and volunteers for the charter school. I don't send generic cover letters with my resumes, but there is not much information on the school. I replied with a polite but stern letter saying I found her response unprofessional and inappropriate, and I had no intention of re-applying. Have you heard of deleting resumes due to generic cover letters before? A: This woman probably thought she was helping you. Since she behaves oddly in screening applicants, imagine what the others in charge of the school are like. You won't get an inside look into the personality types at the school by looking online before accepting a job. Happily move on in your job search. Email Lindsey Novak at LindseyNovak@yahoo.com with all your workplace questions. She answers all emails. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

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Chris Lytle Tip -- Edit Your Proposals  Chris Lytle Proposal Writing Tip: I once interviewed 40-plus clients of a major Canadian corporation. "What does good look like in a written proposal?" I asked. The consensus was that conciseness is good. "Edit and summarize," they said. "Cut to the chase" came up a lot too. Check the length of your next proposal. What words and sections could you eliminate? What if your customers demanded a one-page proposal? What vital information would make the cut? Mark Twain said, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." It takes time to edit yourself. (This tip took 25 minutes to write and rewrite.) Time-starved customers might see your conciseness as a positive point of differentiation. Don't take my word for it. Ask them the question in the second sentence of this tip. Your competitors aren't. Click here to visit Lytle's site.

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Quote of the Day  John Ruskin "The greatest thing a human being ever does in this world is to see something...To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion, all in one."