The Best From July

Since one of the main objectives of this weekly newsletter is to share with you the best from our corporate blog, The Knowledge Center, for this week’s edition, we want to share with you a collection of our most popular articles during July.

This time, we’ll explore topics such as dealing with verbal job offers, commission-based jobs, and supervisor evaluation, so be sure to stay with this read.

Verbal job offers: yay or nay?

Arguably, the peak moment of your job search is receiving a job offer. After many resumes sent, job applications, and interviews, you’re finally seeing how your efforts pay off, but does it mean the same if the offer comes as a verbal offering? Can you take it as seriously as an offer letter? Is it an informality or just a part of the process?

Although verbal job offers are defined as informal employment propositions, they’re usually a prelude to an actual offer letter; however, believe it or not, when handled correctly, you can speed up the transition from a verbal to a written agreement. So, how can you achieve this? Here is a quick step-by-step you can try:

• Be sure it includes the position’s basics: title, compensation, start date, work schedule, etc.
• Express your gratitude and request a time to evaluate the offer.
• Ask for any additional details you may need to make up your mind.
• Request a written offer or a formal agreement.

Learn more about the ups and downs of verbal job offers, as well as tips for navigating them in the following article from our blog.

To work or not to work on commission

Some professionals in many roles and industries reach a point where they’re unable to substantially increase their income, pushing them to seek more rewarding opportunities. When they start exploring new career paths, one option that offers more financial potential is commission-based jobs; of course, only for those bold enough to base their earnings on their efforts and results.

Despite all the myths around commission pay, the concept is pretty simple: your income is strictly defined by the goals you accomplish, whether they are closed deals, the amount of sales, contracts signed, etc. Before diving into the top-paying commission jobs, you must understand the types of commission-based pay plans; among the most common ones, there are the following:

• Straight commission
• Salary plus commission
• Variable commission
• Salary plus bonus

If you want to know more about the specifics of this commission plan and the best commission-based jobs, check out the following blog post from our Knowledge Center.

Taking on the role of evaluator

Of course, employees’ performance evaluations are key to driving an organization toward its objectives. Nevertheless, evaluating supervisors is equally important, as they’re in charge of guiding teams and making important decisions across a business. But how should companies manage a supervisor evaluation? Here are a few important best practices to be aware of:

• Set measurable goals and metrics for performance.
• Assess leadership qualities with their teams.
• Evaluate their interpersonal skills and communication style.
• Gauge how aligned they are with company values, culture, and team building.

As challenging and complex as it may seem, evaluating a supervisor unlocks several benefits for businesses: healthier and more efficient organizational development, improved workplace productivity, and many more.

Check out the following blog post to get more insight into how to evaluate a supervisor, as well as some best practices and questions you can include in your evaluation.

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