SAVE THE DATE – 15 March 2012

• Are CEOs interested in investing in future leaders?
• How do CEOs implement effective talent strategies for a worldwide workforce?
• How worried are CEOs about lost IP and succession planning?
• How critical is HR to business success in 2012?
• How can HR support CEO decisions during tough times?

SHL, the global leader in talent assessment solutions, will answer these questions when it hosts the first Australian LINK Conference on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney.

“CEOs have a major impact on how effectively HR supports business objectives to achieve success,” says Stephanie Christopher, managing director for SHL Australia and New Zealand.

“CEOs who align their people strategy with business strategy will find they have the right mix of skills and leadership to face the challenges of 2012,” she says.

The complimentary, one-day SHL (Learn. Interact. Network. Know.) LINK Conference will demonstrate the importance of understanding the value and potential of employees and how that knowledge translates into improved business performance.

Speakers at the conference will share industry thought leadership, real world case studies, and local and global strategies for effectively integrating HR with overarching business objectives.

Confirmed speakers include:

• David Leigh, CEO SHL Global
• Eugene Burke, Chief Science and People Intelligence Officer, SHL
• Caroline Hands, Principal Advisor Group Graduate Management, Rio Tinto
• Caroline Adams, Senior Manager: Global Learning and Development, KPMG
• Keynote speaker – Adam Spencer, Breakfast show host ABC 702
• More speakers to be announced closer to the date

During the conference SHL will host workshops on succession planning, professional hiring and graduate recruitment.

For updates on speakers and topics, follow @SHL_LINK12 on twitter. Additional information can also be found at SHL LINK 2012.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Stephanie Christopher, managing director for SHL Australia and New Zealand, please contact:

There is no specific requirement under legislation to give employees 3 warnings before going through a termination. However, employers should ensure they follow the law.

Employers must ensure that when it comes to termination:

• the employee receives the amount of notice they are entitled to
• the dismissal is fair (i.e. not harsh, unjust or unreasonable)
• the dismissal is lawful (i.e. the employee has not been dismissed for a discriminatory reason).

While there is no specific number of warnings under legislation, when it comes to unfair dismissal what may be taken into consideration is whether an employee has been sufficiently warned that their employment may not continue because of poor performance. They should also be given an opportunity to fix the problem.

Managing employee underperformance is important in any business. Failure to manage underperformance effectively, appropriately and sensitively is likely to have consequences for the employer, the underperforming employee, and the rest of the workplace. Take a look at our best practice guide for information on how to manage underperformance.

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman

If you’re like many small business owners today, your workplace includes three generations of employees: boomers, Gen X and Gen Y/Millennials. ZDNet recently took a look at the challenges of managing multigenerational workforces and how some companies handle this issue. Although the examples used were large companies, there’s a lot that small businesses can learn.

First, here are some characteristics of each age group:

Boomers are extremely job-focused. They value security and stability, and appreciate clearly stated goals and tasks. They prefer to communicate through in-person meetings and emails.

Here are 10 ways to manage employees who are younger than you >>

Gen X (born roughly between 1965 and 1981) values work-life balance and independence. They are adaptable and resourceful, and most have learned to use digital technology and communicate with the latest tech tools.

Gen Y/Millennials (born roughly between 1982 and 2001) are described by one expert in ZDNet’s article as “Gen X on steroids.” They value work-life balance and flexibility even more than Gen X. They also seek freedom and want to be treated as equals from their first day on the job. This generation doesn’t fear authority, and seeks challenging and meaningful work. And they’re the most tech-savvy of the three groups, preferring to communicate quickly via texting and IM.

Here are 10 ways to manage employees who are older than you >>

Each generation has unique strengths, clearly—but their strengths may also be perceived as weaknesses by the other age groups. How can you keep your three generations of employees working harmoniously as a team? Take a page from these big-company strategies:

Consider individual needs. At IBM, a Generational Diversity program assesses employees’ career “life cycles” and the different needs a person may have at all stages of their career. As a small business owner, you’re in an even better position to learn what each employee values, wants and needs to be most productive. For instance, Boomers will probably relish being put in charge of a project; a Gen-Xer will appreciate the autonomy to complete a task her way; and a Millennial will enjoy sharing ideas with a creative team working together.

Strive to keep older workers engaged. When an older employee leaves the company because he or she no longer feels valued, your business loses valuable institutional knowledge. Make sure your older staffers don’t feel like they’re being pushed aside for younger team members. Make extra efforts to keep them engaged and show that their contributions are valued.

Tap into diverse age groups to innovate. Fire up meetings or brainstorming sessions by including employees from all age levels. A diverse group means more viewpoints and more creativity. Having staff members from different generations gives your business an advantage, so use it!

Honor each person’s contribution. Especially in a group setting such as a team project or meeting, make sure that you show how much you appreciate what each worker brings to the team. Encourage workers to share their knowledge, whether it’s an entry-level Millennial showing a Boomer manger how to use social media or a Boomer employee explaining the history of a long-term client to a Gen X salesperson.

Emphasize commonality. It’s easy for employees to become adversarial when they focus on their differences. Continually remind your team of its common goals—winning new business, growing sales or whatever your company is working to achieve. Pulling together will help overcome generational differences and build tighter bonds.

From Small Business Trends Managing Different Generations in the Workplace

Source: Business Insider

Do you have a late starter, incessant whinger or non-delivering employee in your business? If so, you need these strategies for dealing with difficult employee types.

According to workplace communications expert and CEO of health and education organisation Casey Centre Dr. Mary Casey, diversity in a workplace brings the best set of skills to the business, but managers need to be aware of any behaviour that can harm the business and its culture.

Casey said that when dealing with a difficult employee, what works for one may not work for another, “as no employee is the same, you need specific strategies to most effectively deal with their personalities.”

“The most beneficial action a boss can do when dealing with any employee’s behaviour is giving them feedback on it immediately and holding them accountable. Ensure you keep communication open and flowing.”

Casey has identified 7 difficult employee types, and some strategies for dealing with them.

• The Seducer: Strategic friendships and allegiances is the goal for these types – they pick and choose their networks to benefit their careers. These relationships are self-serving and damaging to business. They praise you, compliment you and may even buy you small gifts in order to manipulate and seduce.
  • Being aware of this type of behaviour is the first skill employers require, because we all love praise and compliments and we therefore easily get caught up with this kind of manipulation. Set strong boundaries for acceptable behaviour with other employees.

• The Back-stabber: These employees discredit their co-workers and take credit for more work than they have done. This kind of behaviour highlights a deep insecurity in these employees.
  • An employer’s best strategy is to be open to feedback from other employees and confront the employee with what they have said or done – let them know their behaviour is unacceptable. Be aware they will often try to turn what you are saying into an over-reaction from you, however stand your ground and repeat what they have said or done and that you will take it further if they don’t stop. Be unemotional. It is a good idea to speak to them in private because, being insecure, they don’t cope with confrontation or assertiveness.

• The Social Networker:Do you see the flicking of screens from Facebook to their work whenever you walk past their desk? An addiction to Facebook, Twitter or mobile phones will have significant effects on the productivity of any employee.
  • Set a strong policy for internet usage, specifically outlining boundaries on social networking as it is a new phenomenon. Ensure it outlines consequences for abusing the policy. With a strong policy, you can hold your employee accountable when they are caught online. In worst-case scenarios, you would disable employee access to social networking sites.

• The Martyr: These people blame everything and everyone rather than take responsibility for something that they have or haven’t done. They have a “poor me” attitude and try to make those around them feel sorry for them.
  • They use this behaviour to manipulate. Keep these people responsible by putting the onus back onto them. It is important to remain unemotional and stick to the issue at hand, rather than being pulled into their “story”. Put your concerns in writing, outlining the exact details of their behaviour and how it negatively affects the company culture.

• The Iceberg: Cold and non-communicative, these employees rarely keep you or their team up to date on their work, don’t contribute in meeting, and keep to themselves along with any information they may have.
  • Dealing with these types takes courage and assertiveness. Communicate via notes or emails to encourage their involvement. Ask open-ended questions so that they are forced to give you information. If they often answer ‘I don’t know’, a good tactic is to ask ‘What if you had to guess?’ or ‘What if you did know?’

• The Tardy Employee: These employees keep to their own clock: they might arrive at work late, take long lunchbreaks, and leave right on time. They may even make regular personal appointments during work hours.
  • Tardiness should be addressed in a professional manner. When discussing the issue, explain that their behaviour shows lack of commitment and hurts the morale of the office by letting co-workers see that they are breaking the rules, while the rest are doing their part to obey them.
  • It’d be a good idea to get to the heart of the matter by discussing with them whether they feel committed to the job and devising a solution from there. If they have a good reason for coming in late – such getting their young children off to school or study commitments – find a compromise between their schedule and their work that won’t affect the business or their productivity that is seen to be fair by everyone.

• The Offloader: They ensure they have very little work on their plate while making themselves look very busy and important in front of their managers. When given a brief, they quickly make it someone else’s responsibility by briefing a junior or bringing another employee to each briefing. When asked about the project by management, they often refer to the junior.
  • Often these employees are not confident in themselves to do the job, although they can be very confident communicators. It’s important that a clear and detailed job description and specific KPIs form the basis of their performance appraisals. Being confident, they can paint a very convincing picture in front on management even in a performance appraisal, for instance shifting the blame for poor performance to other employees. It is important for managers to keep the appraisal focussed on the responsibilities of their role.

Source:  Dynamic Business

When your team starts working virtually, some people are going to adjust to the situation better, and perhaps faster, than others. You may find that you get very different responses to the very concept of working virtually from team members of varying ages.

Here are some technology and management considerations to take into account when managing a multi-generational virtual team.

Technology

If some team members are young enough to have been around computers most of their lives, it’s reasonable to expect they will be comfortable with the idea of virtual working.

Younger employees are more likely to be comfortable with the technologies that go along with working online, but that may not always hold true. For instance, while a younger team member may be very comfortable with social collaboration tools, she will likely need training when it comes to industry-specific applications.

Management Styles

Younger members of the workforce, especially those in Generation Y, may need more management feedback, and may expect a more collaborative work environment, than their predecessors. While Generation X-ers may have a preference for handling projects on their own, Generation Y members may struggle in a virtual work environment because of the reduced feedback that often happens in such situations.

While the situation is not simply a matter of age — Generation Y-ers are showing similarities to previous generations as they age — you do need to take the age of your team members into account when managing a virtual workforce. You need to make sure that you’re providing a work environment that supports them, whether they need an in-depth support network, as a Millennial might, or whether they want you to cut the interference and get out of their way, as a member of Generation X might.

Beyond Age Differences

The names of different generations, from Millennials to Baby Boomers, are simply shorthand for general trends. Employees of the same generation will never be identical. While you can certainly expect management techniques to change, the most important thing is to keep an eye on individual team members. The best way to minimize the issues that go along with online team collaboration is to pay attention to what’s really going on. You can prepare for certain eventualities by looking at generational trends, but you can’t implement every management technique your team needs until you see the team in action.

That said, it is certainly worth your while to read up on proven techniques for managing the age groups you’re working with. Having specialized tools will let you find the best answers. After all, by working with a virtual team, you have less face-to-face interaction on which to judge situations. Having a few extra techniques is the least you can do to make up for that lack.

How do you bridge the “generation gap” among team members?

Photo courtesy Flickr user xflickrx

Source: Gigaom

Being a manager in any industry can be a fulfilling job, but it can also be a difficult one. You will need to find the right balance of friendliness and authority. You will need to create a good team atmosphere whilst achieving the bigger goals. So how do you strike that balance?

1. Do Your Job

First and foremost do your own job. Managing people isn’t an excuse to let them do the work whilst you look on. Of course, sometimes your job may involve being more strategic but your staff will respect you for doing what needs to be done and being willing to pitch in like everyone else at times. Many of us have had managers who use their role as an excuse to do less or attend more meetings. Get the balance right and earn respect from your staff.

2. Acknowledge The Positive

See the positives in your staff and their work. Don’t be one of those bosses who only sees what’s missing rather than what’s been achieved. It is demoralizing for staff to have someone only see what they have done ‘wrong’. Positivity breeds positivity. Genuine and meaningful praise goes a long way. If this is difficult for you, get in the habit of noting down positive things you notice about how your staff work. Give feedback regularly and let them know that you see the good work they do.

Don’t Be Afraid to Manage

Things don’t always go smoothly in any workplace. You are a manager, so you must be willing to manage. Some people find it hard to set boundaries or give feedback but it is important to get over that hurdle. If you need some help with this don’t be afraid to ask your own boss for help or request training. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone. You can make a work situation worse by not being clear with staff if you are hesitant about managing. People appreciate genuine leadership. Practice managing and making the tough decisions. These things get easier with practice but people will appreciate knowing where you stand and any changes they need to make.

3. Be Vulnerable

If you make a mistake, be big about it and apologize. It can be scary and seem like you are making yourself vulnerable, but your staff will appreciate your honesty. No one expects a manager to be super human. Everyone likes someone who takes responsibility for your actions. Being honest will help you create a culture of honesty.

4. Be Real With People

The way we work is changing. You don’t have to be superhuman or untouchable. Be the real human being that you are. Let people at work know about your life and find out about others. If you let people know the “real you” it is much easier than having different personalities for your work and home life.

Communicate

Let your staff know what’s going on behind the scenes, as appropriate. If something will affect a member of staff, make sure they are included in the communication. This doesn’t mean you have to let your staff know everything. Sometimes keeping communications back until the correct time can save panic and needless worrying. Communicate appropriately and consistently but be aware of how communication (or lack of it) can affect your staff.

5. Lead By Example

If you want your staff to behave in a certain way (professional, good team players), then lead by example. It is not fair to expect your staff to do something if you are not doing it yourself.

6. Be Self Aware

Be aware of your moods and how you communicate. You may not realise how much of an impact you have on your team as a manager. You may know you are in a bad mood about the dog chewing your shoes this morning but staff may feel that they have done something wrong if they don’t know this! Be aware of how and what you communicate. Your team will pick up on it.

7. Have Fun

Having fun at work can help make the work easier for everyone, forge positive relationships and strengthen your team. There is usually room for more fun in any work environment, but if the nature of your work makes that difficult, be sure to schedule fun activities when you can. Meeting for lunch or drinks after work can help build relationships and help your team to see you and each other in a new light. If you create a positive work atmosphere it also becomes easier to deal with challenges as they arise.

8. Trust Yourself

At the end of the day, there is no one right way to be a manager. Trust yourself and learn through your mistakes. Managing others is a great way to develop and enhance your leadership skills and create a positive work experience for yourself and others.

Are you or have you been a manager? What advice would you add to this list?

(Image courtesy of planetlight under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 generic license.)

Source: Work Awesome

Employee evaluations (or staff appraisals) should be an enlightening experience for both parties involved. These reviews should be in no way intimidating for either you or your employee. However, for a lot of people the process has become exactly that. The reasons for these discouraging occurrences can range from when the evaluation takes place to how the reviewer handles the evaluation process. Here’s a guide to help you create a positive employee evaluation procedure in your workplace.

Deciding When to Conduct Employee Reviews

The first thing required for a successful employee evaluation program is a solid review schedule. You need to know when the evaluations will take place and how you plan on notifying your employees of their upcoming performance reviews. It is important to decide how many times per year you want to do employee reviews. While some companies only hold one single evaluation per year, other companies will conduct more informal (or “mini”) reviews once or twice before that yearly review is conducted. This practice can be beneficial to all involved — it cuts down on the time that the formal review takes. Periodic “mini-reviews” also allow the employees time to improve on weaker areas of work before the dreaded formal evaluation takes place.

Employee “mini-reviews” can also give managers an opportunity to get to know their employees better. This is a way in which to show employees that they are valued and taken seriously. As such, you shouldn’t think of these reviews as simply a place in which to negotiate salaries.

Are You Getting Paid Enough? Do a Salary Comparison

Things like working conditions, future opportunities and any problems that either party has should also be discussed at this time.

Setting Aside Time for Employee Evaluations

You should set aside a specific time when the review will be held in order to get the most out of the evaluation. This practice gives your employee adequate time to prepare themselves; the evaluation is not sprung on them suddenly and it allows them the time required to adequately prepare for it. You will find that proper preparation cannot happen if you send your employee an email on Monday informing him that this is the week of his or her performance evaluation. Instead, make sure that you have a quiet private place and at least an hour’s worth of time set aside to perform the evaluation.

Performing an Effective Employee Evaluation

The list of questions that are involved in an employee evaluation do not need to be so involved that the review seems impersonal and institutional. Also, you do not need to ask the employee ‘everything under sun.” You cannot expect to be able to cover everything in one hour.

In addition, keep in mind that if you spend too much time on one thing you could easily lead the evaluation in the wrong direction, spending more time to accomplish the entire process than you originally intended and planned for.

Some of the other things that you may want to keep in mind during the evaluation include:

• Your employee needs to have been given a job description beforehand. That way they know what the evaluation is based on.
• Your employee should have a blank copy of the evaluation prior to the review as well. Then they can fill in how they would rate themselves. (You may actually find that they will be harder on themselves than you.)
• There should be certain goals outlined for this evaluation. Things such as improving performance, rewarding good performance and establishing new expectations are common — and important — areas to cover.
• Make sure that you don’t do all of the talking. You’ll want to ask questions and give your employee time to share their feelings and tell you what their needs are.
• Employees should be permitted to write an alternate point of view in their file if there is something that you disagree about. While it may not be binding, it is an important step in moving forward in your relationship.
• Try to put your employee at ease. If they are overly anxious, they will be unable to hear what you are trying to tell them.
• Have any metrics or performance data on hand to back up what your evaluation states. This adds hard evidence to the evaluation process.
• Don’t just focus on those areas that need improvement. Your employee also needs to hear praise, so make sure to spend just as much time telling them what they have done well over the time period.

How to Write the Employee Evaluation

As a manager, you should be taking notes on all of the employees that you are responsible for evaluating on an ongoing basis. Fortunately, there are a lot of different software packages available for this purpose. Even if you only need a template to help you along, these software packages will work well for you.

Remember that your goal is to assess the way in which your employee is performing in relation to their job description and requirements. You will want to be really strict here in order to motivate your employee to perform even better.

The Manager’s Guide to Increasing Employee Productivity

As mentioned, while you write the employee evaluation your employee should also be writing an honest self-appraisal. This is something that you will want to look over before finalizing your evaluation. It will give you some important information to consider before sharing your review with your employee.

The evaluation itself should also provide you with opportunities in which to coach the employee. Make sure that all of this is documented in order to ensure everybody’s understanding of what needs to be improved and areas in which the employee is excelling. You will want to document your employees’ reaction to the entire process.

A Final Word

First of all, you must make sure that employee reviews are done in a timely manner. This is important because whenever these reviews are constantly late, it can be very frustrating for the employee. So, if a review is due on a specific date, make sure that you get it done on that date and at the scheduled time. While your employees understand that you are busy, an untimely review simply suggests a lack of respect for them.

It is also important to remember that the evaluation is about your employee, not yourself. Also keep in mind that an honest evaluation only includes job performance-based issues and achievements, though you may have opinions regarding the employee’s home life and personal time. Don’t let the latter influence the former.

Finally, it is important to keep the evaluation relaxed and comfortable; nobody should feel intimidated or abused. Reviews should be beneficial to everyone, which is why they are so important. This is especially true if you concern yourself with building a good working relationship with your employees. The evaluation process is just another tool to improve the company’s employee development program — and a good manager knows how to use this tool effectively.

(Image courtesy of MyDigitalSLR under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 generic license.)

Source:  WorkAwesome

What kind of boss are you? It’s a question I looked at last year and it still keeps coming up. And the list of telltale signs that indicate a bad boss just keeps growing.

The Wall Street Journal has put together its list and it’s not pretty: one word emails, bosses that rarely talk to employees face to face, a high level of absenteeism with people often getting sick, teams putting in lots of overtime but still missing deadlines.

Other warning signs include lack of transparency, inconsistency, playing things too close to your chest and not communicating well, making everything personal, and refusing to delegate.

Others say you know you are in trouble as a boss when your employees are working around you, getting together to talk about work and not including you, or problems blow up before you hear about them. In addition you don’t really know what your employees enjoy doing or what drives them to work for you besides the money, your employees don’t know where they stand, and no one has the courage to speak up.

Or as Susan Heathfield puts it at the Human Resources blog: “You may be the bad boss. This requires that you reach deep inside of yourself to ask that question. Your direct reports will rarely tell you; they have too much career progress at stake. Your colleagues will be careful, too. Many of the negative qualities that make you a bad boss, make you a poor colleague, too. Your well-meaning, often conflict averse, colleagues weigh the price of their silence versus a potentially conflict-ridden scenario.”

Research from the Australian School of Business points to some obvious warning signs of dysfunctional bosses: micromanagement, favouritism, indecisiveness, inconsistency, hypocrisy, dishonesty, poor communication, no ethics, discipline and no responsibility. And alarmingly many of us have witnessed these sorts of behaviors. “A recent survey of 2,146 Australian employees showed that almost half had witnessed their co-workers being mistreated. Co-workers who have observed hostile treatment reported higher levels of psychological distress.”

On the other hand, good bosses are easy to recognise.

The New York Times tells us that the best bosses are those who manage to lose it only in front of people they know can take it, who create an environment where people respect each other, provide positive feedback for jobs well done, have regular pay reviews that are totally transparent, are good at motivating people and offer support during difficult times.

Commentator Jeff Haden at BNet says bosses should try a bit of self-therapy by standing in front of a mirror every day and telling themselves five things: I’m not that important, I’m not that smart, I’m not that funny, my employees are not my friends, my employees will never care as much as I do.

It’s all about building self-awareness. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Linda Hill and Kent Lineback suggest that the really great bosses have that in spades. “Organisations usually have a few great managers, some capable ones, a horde of mediocre ones, some poor ones, and some awful ones.

The great majority of people we work with are well-intentioned, smart, accomplished individuals. Many progress and fulfill their ambitions. But too many derail and fail to live up to their potential. Why? Because they stop working on themselves.”

So what kind of boss are you? You can do some quizzes here, here and here. This is just a small selection from the many boss quizzes around.

When all is said and done, being a boss can be bloody hard work. Which is why so few do it really well.

How does your boss measure up?

Source:  The Age

To ensure that each and every one of your team members see you as someone they want to deliver the goods for, rather than someone who doesn’t care about them (can you just hear the ‘I told you so’s’). Here is a quick rundown on ‘How to be a boss that everyone likes’.

1. Say ‘Good Morning’ to everyone and make eye contact
By acknowledging them as real people, you will become much more interesting to your team and they will return the courtesy too. Making eye-contact makes a contract with them that shows you value them and they are important to you. Without saying anything, this focused attention of yours creates trust and a stronger relationship, right away.

2. Acknowledge people by their first name
If you can’t remember names, find a technique that helps you to – it’s very important to them – and the more you do it, the easier it is to remember!.

By building on how well you know them, knowing names is a way to ensure that you show that you treat them as individuals too.

Which, if you think about the reverse – when you are on the receiving end – makes you feel pretty special when it comes from your boss.

3. Ask them something about them that you have found out is really important to them
If they have a dog, get to know its name and occasionally, show interest in it! Life, for some people, is way more interesting outside work than inside – believe it or not!

By making sure that they know that you are interested in them as people and what is important to them too, you will start to create an amazing relationship.

A relationship that you can nurture with them and make managing much easier, as well as much more productive – on both sides.

4. Be comfortable when you are asked questions and ensure that you are attentive
Listening hard and – just as importantly – showing that you are listening too, is an absolute must.

If you want to build lasting relationships you need to be trusted. Simply being attentive to others when they are communicating with you will make a big step forward for you.

5. When good things happen (and they don’t have to be massive), say ‘Thank you’
It’s even better if you say, ‘Thank you for leaving me that message from Pete Arthurson, I appreciate you doing that for me’. ‘Thank you’ in context is much more powerful than simple ‘Thank you’, but if you can’t say a contextual one, the simple one is better than not at all!

People don’t like generics much – we’ve become immune to the value (if there ever was one, to scripted responses). Think of the twee ‘Have a nice day’ that so often gets churned out. Authenticity is the key here or if you can’t develop that, it’s probably not worth doing.

6. Say ‘Goodbye’ or ‘Good Night’ or ‘Good Evening’ at the end of your day
Taking the time to acknowledge your team, on their departure, is very powerful. They see that you are taking the time to see them off.

Of course this needs to work in your environment too. If you do this, try not to miss anyone if you can.

Simple courtesies and acknowledgements can make for the most amazing routes into successful relationships – with every one of your team members.

And once you have this, you will simply be amazed at what becomes much more possible, from a place where the possible didn’t look like it at all.

Source: Small Business Forum