33 quotes about business growth to motivate you

Conclusion

How to handle workplace bullying like an experienced leader

When it comes to signs of workplace bullying, you can’t have tolerance for it. Keeping your employees happy doesn’t mean only appreciating them for their work. It also means caring for employee’s physical and mental health in the workspace. And because no work is above a person’s mental well-being, if you witness bullying at your company, make sure you know how to handle it.

Create a formal anti-bullying policy

If you wonder how to handle workplace bullying, you should deploy an anti-bullying policy that should define what constitutes bullying and inform staff that such conduct would not be accepted. Your program should reassure staff that all complaints of workplace bullying cases will be reviewed immediately and adequately, with corrective action taken, up to and including termination of the perpetrator’s job.

Employees and managers should consider the standards and the protocol that will follow in the event of an incident where complaints are filed. Your HR services company will assist you in the development of your policy, by checking to see how it complies with all existing federal, state, or local rules.

Establish an open-door policy

As a manager, you should derive an open-door policy that is beneficial for a variety of causes, many of which relate to a welcoming workplace atmosphere. It will help assist your employees to be more reachable in case of any bullying that is troubling them.

Also by having an open-door policy employees can discuss both the possibilities and improvements in regards to bullying at the workplace including concerns like occupational discrimination prevention.

Take all reports of bullying seriously

Managers who respond respectfully and quickly to reports of workplace bullying are most likely to find that their staff is more willing to report cases of bullying. Naturally, the more bullying that is documented, prosecuted, and, hopefully, stopped, the less bullying you will face in the future.

Not only is it beneficial for workplace culture, successful leadership, and corporate performance to investigate discrimination, but it will also help the company stay in line with anti-harassment legislation and regulations.

Managers bullying training

Another way to handle workplace bullying is having manager bullying training. This is essential for two reasons: the employer expresses explicitly that supervisory bullying will not be accepted, and they usually have the most insight into coworker peer-to-peer bullying practices.

When a survivor or spectator mentions bullying, they are often the first to respond. Teach managers how to recognize the symptoms of bullying and how to react correctly to questions about bullying. Managers should be held accountable for upholding a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, much as they are for the anti-harassment policy.

Train team members to recognize and report bullying

Apart from managers, team members should be trained to recognize and report bullying as well. Therefore, managers are responsible for arranging educational courses about workplace bullying cases and teach employees how to handle workplace bullying. With HR’s help, they can show workers how to recognize signs of workplace bullying and protect themselves and others.

Develop a safe space

The most effective way to keep a check on bullying is to develop a portal, a safe space through which the employees can directly connect with the management to complain about any unjust act. Many companies do have such systems but fail to maintain the security of the employees as the system remains unkept.

Keep a record of the bully’s behavior

If the bullying gets out of control and the victim ends up suing, they will need proof. Hence, you should keep track of the date, time, and specifics of any incidents in which you feel bullied or are the victim of bullying behavior. If another employee observed the incident, make a note of it.

The bully isn’t just hurting somebody’s feelings, he’s also sabotaging the success of the business. Documentation of the bully’s effect on business performance and progress gives HR the details they need to work on your behalf if you ultimately seek support from Human Resources.

The truth is a victim of bullying can sue for workplace bullying, but many employees are still not aware of whether workplace bullying is illegal or not. Maintain a hard copy of the trail of emails if the bullying happens by email, texts, or correspondence. You’ll need witnesses and dated documents if you plan to press charges in the future.

Stay Professional

One tip about how to handle workplace bullying is to stay professional. In a small organization where everyone knows who’s who, dealing with a bullying accusation is likely to cause a lot of anxiety and awkwardness. It’s important to remain reasonable, competent, and calm no matter how you handle the situation.

Insulting one of the parties is likely to make the situation worse. If you think you may be biassed against one side or the other in a case like this, assign the mediation to another colleague. This will ensure that you are being fair to all parties involved. Keep in mind that some bullying accusations can be malicious, so don’t leap to conclusions.

Confront them

Stop bullies from interrupting others or acting aggressively, confront them when they mock someone else’s ideas or suggestions, and work hard to create a diverse workplace. Bullies, unfortunately, get away with their actions because no one wants to deal with them. Such negative attitudes thrive on tension and drama, and confronting them can result in toxic company culture.

Try to understand the situation from both perspectives

On one hand, if you raise the alarm without reason, you might make your employees uncomfortable. On the other hand, doing nothing just because you are not sure means you have poor leadership qualities and will probably cost you the employee that it’s the victim.

Hold the individual accountable

The most important tip as a manager to combat bullying is to hold the individual accountable. Most bullies are technical experts but lack any empathy and emotional intellect. So when this happens, speak to all parties involved and offer a way to rectify the situation, which means giving them a verbal or written warning. By holding them accountable you can be sure they think twice before bullying someone again.

Make teams with a lot of senior management

Although having age diversity at the workplace has many benefits for your company, bullying in the workplace happens often when the bully is working in a team with a lot of juniors. Juniors as easy targets and feel compelled to listen to the senior management even when it can be a low form of workplace harassment.

One thing that helps handle difficult people who bully is by putting them in a team with a lot of senior management so there is no scope to bully for the bully. He or she will no longer control or harass since there won’t be any juniors who need to take the bad behavior and seniors in a team will not tolerate any kind of bullying solving the problem without creating any issues.

Conclusion

if you let bullying pass the first time, it will keep coming back, therefore If you witness signs of workplace bullying don’t wait further for more action. Nobody wants to deal with problems at work, but knowing how to handle workplace bullying is imperative. So next time you detect a workplace bullying case, report immediately to the HR Manager or your higher up so they can deal with it accordingly.

How to ask for a deposit in a contract?

Be clear upfront how much you want to receive as a deposit, what is included for the amount paid and when you are expecting the deposit to be paid.

Getting paid some deposit helps to grow some level of trust between you and the client. You can be sure that the client will be present till the end of the project. However, asking for upfront payment is not an easy task, therefore here’s how to ask for a deposit in a contract.

Include it in your contract terms

To make it easier for you to explain, include it in the contract clause. Note the purpose of the deposit and your reason for why you are asking for a deposit. This should have a rationale, and be delivered in the most business-like way, to keep your contract look professional.

Have a set price per project

The client will be comfortable knowing exactly what they are paying and what they are getting. Additionally, they will be sure that you will not increase the prices midway. They can easily pay the deposit knowing that it is part of an already agreed sum.

State it as being the company’s policy

Another best way to ask for a deposit is to state it as being the company’s policy. You should also clarify your refund policy for the deposit to the client, which is usually that if you cannot provide the agreed service, the deposit will be refunded.

Avoid over-explaining

Make asking for a deposit seem like it warrants no explanation because that’s just how much of a normal part of the process. Also, your client trusts you to lead them through the initiation process and says too much to try to defend your requirement of a deposit comes across as a lack of confidence in your business practices. 

You can answer any questions they may have regarding the required deposit, but in my experience, the portrayal of confidence is enough to create an atmosphere where a consumer feels comfortable and trusting enough to provide the deposit without much resistance.

Be clear about how much you need for a deposit and why

When it comes to how to ask for a deposit in a contract, be clear about how much you need for a deposit and why. Calculate the price for your service and how much deposit you can ask for and prepare to stand firm. However much you ask for, be sure you can explain why you need that amount so that your clients can understand the whole deal.

Decide what should happen if a contract is canceled

Projects don’t always go as planned, but if your customer chooses to abandon the project, you’ll want to make sure your company is protected. And, of course, you should be compensated for the job you’ve already done.

Include a clause in the contract that says that any funds received are non-refundable if the project is canceled for any reason. If you’re going to invoice for the length of the project, this is critical. It will assist you to avoid putting in a lot of time and effort just to have the customer cancel the job and refuse to pay you.

A deposit is needed to kickstart the project

Another way on how to ask for a deposit in a contract is to explain to clients that a 25% deposit is needed to kickstart the project and offer them a credit card installment of 12 months for the 25%. Because most businesses want to make payment as slow as possible, so the credit card installment helps in obtaining the contract fast.

Be polite

One of the most valuable characteristics of entrepreneurs and especially necessary when asking for an upfront payment is politeness. Let the customer know how much you appreciate the opportunity to do business with them. Be firm but respectful in stating your payment requirements. Try to see their side of the issue and don’t lose your cool, even if they sound unreasonable.

Be sure to politely bring up your travel expenses. Describe just how much of an investment each project is to you – you’re taking a risk on the customer’s behalf. Assuming you’ve developed a rapport, they should be willing to meet you halfway and make the partial payment upfront.

Specify the terms and scope of the project

Contracts are all about laying forth the fine print of your agreement. It’s critical to be as clear as possible about what you’re being recruited to accomplish, how you’ll execute it, and what both parties’ expectations are.

When it comes to describing the specifics of your project, you can never be too detailed. The aim is to establish expectations and use clear and specified criteria to govern the working relationship. While it may seem to be overkill, it is critical for you and your clients to delve into those precise specifics.

You don’t want to feel obligated to work outside of scope, and you certainly don’t want your customers to believe they aren’t receiving what they paid for.

Show the immediate work with success

Even though nothing scares a client more than asking for a deposit before even the actual work begins. However, there is one more way on how to ask for a deposit in a contract to console them off this fear.

Show your clients the immediate work with a guaranteed success report, based on the deposit asked before beginning actual work. Most of the clients will agree to easily pay the deposit if they are convinced by real examples of success for previous clients.

Conclusion

When speaking about how to ask for a deposit in a contract, the most important thing is to know your worth. Know that you are offering something that they do not have the bandwidth to do themselves either because of time or skill. When someone is in need of your services and you have a good reputation for doing your work, they will follow your company protocol especially if it pretty much meets industry standards.