Based on reader’s vote, predominantly comprised of members of Omaha’s business community, B2B Quarterly awards the “Best of” in several categories, including professional services, business services, financial services, building services and travel & event planning.

B2B Quarterly is Greater Omaha’s premiere business publication, featuring the latest business developments as well as features on Omaha’s most prominent business leaders.

Over the last several months, C&A has also been named among Omaha’s Best Places to Work by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and Baird Holm as well as among Omaha’s Best Employers by Omaha Magazine.

1) Don’t look for perfection. Your objective is to get the job done, not create a masterpiece. Establish a standard of quality and a fair timeframe for reaching it. Once you establish the expectations, let your staff decide how to carry out the project.

2) Set the parameters. Make sure your employee has all the information needed to complete the job. Confirm that he or she understands—and accepts—the requirements before you consider it delegated.

3) Focus on teaching skills. Delegating doesn’t mean passing off work you don’t enjoy, but letting your employees stretch their skills and judgment. As you hand over greater responsibility, it’s important to understand that learning new skills sometimes includes making mistakes. Don’t punish employees who make a good faith effort to do things right.

4) Check on progress. Let the employee do the work, but check in periodically on progress. Don’t look over employees’ shoulders or watch their every move. When you outline the expectations in the beginning, make sure you build in checkpoints for follow up.

This annual competition, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and Baird Holm, recognizes a select number of companies based on employee surveys which measure employee satisfaction and engagement.  C&A, parent company of AurStaff, has been named in the category of organizations with more than 250 employees.

At C&A, our mission is to be the staffing provider and employer of choice by helping people and companies achieve their goals.  We’re proud to once again be a recipient of this significant honor.  And, we know that it’s due to our outstanding employees that C&A has become the great organization that it is today.

• Adapt to each person you oversee. Look at employees as individuals. Get to know their strengths and weaknesses and deal with them accordingly.

• Don’t be a know-it-all. Ac­knowledge your own humanness. Turn to employees for advice on how you can be a better supervi­sor to them.

• Learn to let go. Don’t micromanage. Trust employees to do their jobs. Cultivate their growth by giving them a little more than they think they’re capable of doing.

• Stay available. Keep your door open, and let employees know they can come to you at any time to discuss any issue that affects them positively or negatively.

• Work for employees’ goals. That means first knowing what an employee’s goals are. Then, serve as a mentor, and strive to do what you can to advance a person’s professional goals.

Here’s how to break the cycle without compromising your career prospects:
• Examine your attitude. What are you afraid of when you say no? The answer will help you understand what drives you: the approval of others, the desire to prove yourself, the need for control, or whatever. Once that’s clear in your mind, you’ll be able to set priorities more effectively. What kind of control do you really have, if you’re too busy to get things done?

• Discipline yourself. As with any other habit, resisting the urge to say yes calls for self-discipline and control. Teach yourself to pause before answering a request. Remember that you have other responsibilities. Think through the implications of a positive response before committing yourself.

• Offer an alternative. Instead of saying no outright, make some kind of counteroffer: “I can’t lead that task force, but I’d be happy to look at the final report before you submit it.” This lets you contribute without tying your hands.

• Negotiate. See whether you can delegate or eliminate something from your to-do list in exchange for saying yes. You’ll free up some time, and the other person will realize just how much you’ve got on your plate.

Choose from among these categories:
• Factual. “What did you have for lunch?” or, “What is 357 times 62?” Some questions have only one correct answer — truth that can be objectively confirmed.

• Interpretive. “What does that painting look like?” Even if a question has more than one correct answer (“A blue cow,” or “a blue dog”), an interpretive question calls for evidence, some kind of supporting material that others can validate.

• Evaluative. “Do you like eggplant parmigiana?” Questions regard­ing opinions or beliefs have no correct or incorrect answer, but they can tell you a lot about the other person’s point of view.

• Empowering. “What would you do about Sarah’s problem?” Sometimes you want to urge someone to action, without directly telling him or her what to do. In these cases, ask ques­tions to show you’re interested in the other person’s ideas and trust his or her judgment.

• Broad vs. focused. The questions above can be asked in different ways, depending on whether you want a lot of information or a single answer: “How many different animals could that painting look like?” vs. “What specific animal do you see?” Think before you ask, so you don’t have to backtrack.

• Follow-up. “What do you mean by that?” This is one of the best questions you can ask in almost any category, because it invites the other person to think more deeply and share more information.

• Know the hazards. Different workspaces have different hazards. Make sure you know where the danger zones are—from cords that run across the office floor to other objects you could trip over.

• Use shock-absorbing insoles. This is especially important if you do a lot of walking or standing on hard floors at work.

• Wear the right shoes. When it comes to feet, choose comfort over fashion. Safe shoes have an inner side that’s straight from the heel to the end of the big toe. They should grip the heel firmly, allow you to move your toes, and have a low, wide-based heel.

• Buy with care. At the store, measure both your feet, as they’re frequently different sizes. Get shoes that fit the larger foot. Try on and buy shoes late in the afternoon when your feet will be their largest, especially if you’ve stood on or walked on them throughout the day. And buy a shoe that really fits—don’t assume a tight shoe will stretch in time.

AurStaff was the proud winner of the team Customer Development Award, having won the award four of the last five years. In conjunction with the awards luncheon, individual employees were also recognized for their years of service at a special ceremony the day before. AurStaff is honored to have two employees, Kevin B., sales manager, and Stephanie N., operations manager, who have been with the company for 10 years each. 

“Stephanie and Kevin are a valuable part of the AurStaff team and each bring a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to the group having served in numerous roles during their time with the company,” AurStaff Division Manager Jim O. said. “As team leaders, Stephanie and Kevin’s commitment to customer service and dedication to AurStaff candidates serves as motivation to others and is unmatched.”

These employees and so many others at C&A continue to illustrate how hard work and dedication can garner amazing results. Congratulations to Kevin and Stephanie and all of AurStaff for their achievements throughout the year!

The AurStaff awards dinner followed National Staffing Employee week, this year held September 14 – 20, which is a time to recognize the hard work of the 2.66 million people employed by staffing companies through out the US on any given day. At the AurStaff awards dinner we give thanks to our contract employees and recognize the achievements of one employee who stands out from the rest. We are excited to award Howard Lee Walker for his accomplishments this year.

Howard started with Aurstaff in 2005. He has stared in 51 “performances” ranging from warehouse/logistics to manufacturing/production and has been a great asset to Aurstaff. All of our clients have recognized that he can help their bottom line and have commented that you can set your clock by Howard as he is always early and ready to start. He goes above and beyond to help where ever needed and we are proud to honor him as this year’s Employee of the Year. Congratulations, Howard!

AurStaff Branch Manager, Annette Pace, and Regional Manager, Jim O'Connor, pose with the Employee of the Year, Howard Walker, after the awards dinner.

More troubling results, from researchers at the University of North Carolina:

• 53 percent of workers have lost time at work over worries about a previous or potential confrontation with a colleague.

• 28 percent have lost work time in their attempts to avoid confrontations.

• 37 percent are less committed to their employer because of a hostile workplace altercation.

• 22 percent say they’re putting less effort into their work due to conflicts at the office.

As a manager, make sure you stay on top of workplace gossip to eliminate any potential risk of conflicts developing. Consult with your employees often to make sure they are comfortable with their work environment and quickly respond to any concerns.