Business Etiquette Tips

Employees with bad attitudes can spoil a business and alienate customers. This principle remains true whether the business in question is a fast food restaurant, high-end retail store, or even a business-to-business company. People skills and social etiquette are instrumental to a successful business – paradoxically, people will sometimes choose a smiling face and an inferior product over a more efficient solution which is dealt out in a surly manner. Here are some tips on how to keep employee and client dissatisfaction at a minimum by using old-fashioned good manners!

Etiquette Tips

• Stress the team. Every person at a company has a role – at least they ought to if they’re being paid! Make sure that everyone feels included. If lower-level employees don’t feel appreciated, their quality of work will suffer. Without proper support staff, hot-shot upper level employees will have their efficiency compromised.
• Minimize meetings. Although they are a necessary part of running a business, meetings can become a burden on productivity. Keep meetings concise and be sensitive to the time-strain they may put on employee’s effectiveness.
• Be quick on the draw. Nothing is worse than reaching out to give a company business only to receive dead air in return. No matter how absurd or demanding the request, always be prompt in correspondence with potential clients.
• Organize thoughts. Rambling emails appear unprofessional and can also be a legitimate source of confusion. By being concise and clear the first time, the chances of having to explain something twice or deal with a perturbed and confused employee are reduced.
• Don’t overdress or underdress. The idea of a uniform might seem constricting, especially in creative fields. But for most businesses, and especially in the case of those that are engaged in a large amount of business-to-business contact, underdressing can be taken as a sign of unprofessionalism. Establishing guidelines for dress is a tacit way of reminding employees that they’re at work and that they need to reflect this outwardly.
• Make deadlines. A missed deadline can give a client the impression that they are of limited importance. If the scope of work becomes larger than expected, give significant notice and explain the reasons behind a project’s tardiness.
• Be sensitive to diversity. This goes both for clients and employees, creeds and personality types. Remember that a business relationship requires collaboration and compromise. Additionally, keep in mind that a lack of dissenting voices doesn’t necessarily mean consensus – it may mean that employees are afraid to speak out!

Some may underestimate the value of proper etiquette in the work place. After all, we live in an era when many of the formalities have gone out of business relationships. We can see our business associate’s exploits on social media, and interoffice emails these days often contain cat video attachments or the like. But when it comes to ensuring a profitable and smoothly functioning business, decorum still has a rightful place. It can be difficult to measure how many clients may be lost or never secured because of poor etiquette, so it’s best to do everything possible to keep this number low!

Justin blogs about business tips and how to start and market a business on behalf of Kwikkerb. He also provides information on the Kwikkerb business opportunity.

 

 

7 Steps To Reducing Employee Sick Leave

Image Source

There’s really no way of completely avoiding germs – they’re everywhere, year-round. Alas, this means your employees are just as likely to fall ill in balmy summer months as they are in the bleak midwinter. Fortunately, conscientious employers out there can do their bit to help by implementing strategies to boost employee health and fitness, thereby heading off any pesky illnesses at the pass. Here’s what you as an employer should do to cut down on employee sickness…

Light & Green

As unlikely as it may sound, introducing more greenery around the workplace can have a positive effect on employee mood, productivity, and health. Sourcing office plants can be cheaply and easily done and will certainly brighten up the workplace – plus, studies have demonstrated that proximity to nature increases alertness and well-being. Likewise, exposure to natural sunlight has equally positive effects, so an office layout that allows for lots of natural light is beneficial, too.  It’s really the little things that make a difference.

Healthy Snacks

Office vending machines tend to offer easy access to fizzy drinks and sugar-laden sweets, the consumption of which results in sugar bursts that eventually leave employees tired and possibly moody. Try to offer healthy alternatives like fresh fruit, peanuts, and suchlike – whether in your company cafeteria or simply in the kitchen or break rooms.

Provide Health Incentives

If your employees bike to work, offer them incentives in the form of subsidies or through the provision of secure bike parking and other useful facilities. You could even take this a step further and encourage energy-saving practices like carpooling, using public transport, or walking to work.

Encourage Exercise

If your company doesn’t already have gym facilities, why not strike up a deal with nearby gyms and negotiate discounts for employees who choose to work out there? People are more likely to head to a gym that’s close by their work or home, since it makes travelling easier. A quick workout in the morning leaves employees energised and ready to tackle the tasks ahead, and even if they go after work an overall increase in health reduces the likelihood of falling ill.

Stay Clean

Encourage employees to wash their hands, dispose of used tissues, and be as hygienic as possible in using bathroom and kitchen facilities. In a place where many people spend all day indoors together, breathing the same air, drinking out of the same mugs and touching the same door handles, germs can spread super fast. The cost of employee sick leave is a major expense for businesses, so forking out for better cleaning services can save you money overall.

Options For Sick Leave

Ensure that in the event your employees do fall ill, they’re aware of what they’re entitled to in terms of sick pay and leave. This isn’t possible in all industries, but to prevent employees from coming into work even when they’re sick and could infect co-workers, you could come up with a system that, for example, allows employees to work from home for reduced pay while they’re still contagious but able to remain at least somewhat productive. That way, any urgent work can still get done on time without the expense of other employees’ health.

Step In

If an employee is stressed, struggling to stay on top of things, and constantly working long hours, it may be necessary to take him or her aside and talk through things. This is especially true when it comes to new hires or recent in-house promotions, who may be finding it difficult to adjust. If possible, help them come up with solutions to manage their work more effectively, remind them of the relevant people they can ask for help, and if they’ve been unfairly loaded down with work, try and redistribute assignments so that the work isn’t getting done at the detriment of one person’s health. It’s not always possible to keep an eye on these things, but generally taking the time to check up on employees can mean that stressful situations are easily and efficiently sorted out. Oh, and did I mention stress increases your chances of falling ill?

Got any other tips for reducing ill-health in the workplace? Share them in the comments!

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source

James Duval is the business and tech editor at GKBCInc.

 

 

Five Tips To Overcome Top Executive Burnouts

Even though people use stress and burnout as synonyms, these words refer to different aspects: stress implies a physical state where your body is overly taxed, whereas a burnout defines a state of depression that is mostly caused by an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness. Nonetheless, stress is known to be one of the leading causes of several conditions, including work burnout. Given the current frantic economic fluctuations and intense competition, it is safe to assume that almost all managers are under a lot of stress and therefore more likely to experience burnout. Because both will affect an executive manager’s capacity to run an organization effectively, it is important to take action immediately; following is a list of 5 tips on how to deal with work-related burnouts.

1. Make realistic to-do lists
As the CEO, it’s very likely that you have an interminable to-do list that gets bigger and bigger each day. Without denying that those tasks have to get done, they don’t have to be done all at once, but rather gradually, particularly if you don’t have the physical time to finish them all. Since the mere sight of an endless list could add to the stress load, it is recommended to start making smaller and more manageable lists.

2. Take some time for yourself
If you are unable to remember the last time you took your family out to dinner or the last time you spent some quality time with your spouse, then you are experiencing burnout. While you are an indispensable man for your company, don’t forget that those countless sleepless nights and stress could have already taken their toll on the other important aspects of your life. The solution is to take some time off and meet with the people you love on a regular basis. However, make sure you are truly “away” from work by leaving your laptop and phone at the office.

3. Reevaluate the deadlines
Although you are under a lot of pressure to reach deadlines, it is never a good idea to overpromise on the delivery date. Not only will you and your team be under a lot of stress, but the final product could also be subpar to the company’s standards. An effective approach in this case is to allow for some leeway time, so the consequences are not so tragic if you don’t meet deadlines.

4. Make sure you have sufficient resources to get the job done
Closely related to successfully meeting deadlines, incorrectly estimating the resources you need to get the project done constitutes another source of burnout. Despite the fact that some projects are urgent, dedicate some time to evaluate exactly what you need and even get additional resources before you get started. On a side note, it’s a good idea to consult with your staff when establishing the required resources for a project.

5. Understand that sometimes you need to say “no”
While most managers can’t even imagine turning down a project, it is important to note that if you don’t have the time and resources for it then it is OK to refuse that task. In addition, you can also decline going to meetings that don’t really concern you or say “no” to your boss or colleague if they come in unannounced and interrupt you constantly when you are busy. As an executive, CEO or other professional remember you’re the boss!

Featured images:

•  License: Image author owned

Lucy Smith is currently learning to manage stress in the workplace. She chooses running to help manage her stress and improve her health and wellbeing. Lucy can’t wait to run her 8th marathon this year!

 

 

How Managed Services Can Benefit Your Business By Cutting Cost

Cost cutting has hit each and every business in the last decade. The businesses target on maximizing profits by getting rid of extra overhead expenses and outsourcing the processes if required. It has been observed that the first step towards cost cutting is laying off extra, under-used or non-performing human resources. Downsizing has been a major threat to the employees specially working at lower and middle level.

The department that usually witnesses downsizing the most is IT department. It has been observed that in the long run, the companies tend to outsource IT processes to maximize their profits. While closing down the IT departments, the companies usually start with outsourcing server and storage management. The service providers that are specialized in this field are contacted for data storage, maintenance, retrieval and access.  This saves IT infrastructure cost that the company has to bear from time to time. Although outsourcing is a solution but there are ways through which a company can reduce costs without putting down the machines and servers. Remember, closing down the IT department can be very risky as a single wrong decision can lose data worth of millions of dollars or can shut down the whole IT infrastructure of the company. There are companies that specialize in this transition process and even help companies use their current setup efficiently.  Based on following solutions, they may recommend a solution that best suits your company’s IT environment:

Using Serve Space To Increase Efficiency

It has been seen that many companies do not take full advantage of the installed servers. The servers have a specific capacity and if a company is shifting to a new server without using the previous one to its maximum capacity, the company is actually wasting money, hence, increasing its cost. The service providers can review the server usage and recommend accordingly. They can even guide how a company can effectively use its server capacity. They can consolidate some data, remove unwanted and useless data and free some space for more storage.

Avoid Upgrading Already Installed Servers

Many companies opt for updating the old servers rather than buying the new machinery, but it is observed that this decision can cost more in the long run. Although old machinery can be upgraded at lower cost but new machinery is usually more energy efficient and can bear more load. Maintenance and troubleshooting requirements also minimize with new machinery on board.

Minimize Cost Of Virtualization Licenses

Virtualization also amuses many companies as they tend to reduce the cost of IT processes. It is however important to know that if a Virtualization solution is not selected intelligently, it can cost more than physical IT arrangements. The companies usually pay an annual subscription or monthly rent for virtualized data space and also for licenses of required applications. The experts and service providers may at times suggest hosting some machines in the office and reducing licensing cost of applications while using only the data storage facility virtually.

If the IT department of your company needs certain changes, consider hiring a service organization and ask them to provide a diverse but specific IT solutions for your organization like managed services to ensure smooth operations.

Author Bio
Maegan Pulman is a freelance IT consultant and technology enthusiast. She is active in local and international IT events and is always on the lookout for the latest industry trends.

 

 

Knowledge Sharing In 2013

The challenges of knowledge sharing is becoming more difficult as more information becomes available. According to the Daily Mail, the average person is exposed to enough data to fill 174 newspapers every day. This staggering amount of content highlights how critical it is for companies to have clear channels for interoffice communication. Employees must know how to sort through data and effectively share it with their associates.

Companies are ensuring that their staff members have the proper skills to find and distribute important information. Tools like social media and databases have become key components for knowledge sharing in 2013.  The data must be fully understood before businesses can capitalize on it.

Reliable research
The internet has become a valuable tool for information and knowledge sharing, but unfortunately, it web also makes it extremely difficult for employees to find verified data from reliable sources. What seems like a great statistic that’s indicative of a specific market trend may actually be a complete fabrication written by an anonymous blogger. Managers are worried that their employees will rely on false data and unintentionally hurt the business.

The problem has become so severe that Google has stepped in to help. According to The New York Times, the search engine recently began offering courses to show people how to find reliable data. Over 155,000 students joined the first class, and attendance is expected to grow during future installments.

Programs like Google’s classes help bolster knowledge-sharing within an enterprise. Managers should offer research training to their staff members to ensure that data is verified before it’s shared.

Webinars are vital
Webinars and online training are becoming key contributors to knowledge development and sharing.  Many companies are using them to ensure that their employees have access to verified information. In-person meetings are being gradually replaced by digital alternatives. The mobile workforce requires constant connectivity, so managers encourage their workers to host and participate in webinars.

An online seminar can be a staff meeting, a product demonstration or any topic related to the  industry the participants are in. With webinars, employees ensure that they are speaking with a reliable source, whether it is a client, an associate or a trusted third-party.

Social Media Today points out that many webinar applications allow hosts and attendees to record presentations. These files can be valuable for knowledge sharing. Employees can share the meetings with their associates so that the entire company has access to the information.

Benefits of knowledge sharing
Forbes writes that are three primary benefits of knowledge sharing in the corporate arena: decision-making, learning and innovation. Reliable data allows companies to make the best possible decisions and adapt to market forces. This allows an enterprise to position itself as an industry leader.

They also point out that knowledge sharing fosters an educational atmosphere that makes learning part of the everyday routine. Workers grow as they discover new information and can improve their on-the-job performance.

Finally, data allows companies to monitor trends so that they can improve. Instead of falling behind competitors, a business can innovate its products or internal operations.

Featured images:

•  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.istock.com

Scott Murray is the Social Learning Evangelist for TrainUp.com, the web’s largest career marketplace.  He is also a contributor to the Training Insights Blog, a series of blogs dedicated to career and professional development.

 

 

George Bush “Miserable Failure” Google Bomb Back, This Time In Knowledge Graph

 by Barry Schwartz

The Google Bomb is back! Searching for [miserable failure] in Google now returns George W. Bush’s knowledge graph in the search results.

The Google Bomb first became popular back in 2004 when Google and some other search engines ranked George W. Bush as the number one result for a search on [miserable failure]. In 2007, Google killed the Google bomb from showing up.

But why did it rank in the first place? Google ranks pages based on anchor text of links, among other factors, and many sites bombed Google by linking to George Bush’s webpage with the anchor text [miserable failure]. In 2007, Google decided to prevent Google Bombs from happening.

Now, with the launch of the knowledge graph, George Bush’s related knowledge graph snippet on the right shows up.

I wonder if Google will come up with a method of preventing this from happening or if they will find it relevant for the query.

This was spotted first by Bill Slawski.

 

 

Google’s Matt Cutts On SEO Industry Misconceptions: Updates, Revenue Goals & Link Building Obsession

by Barry Schwartz

Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, released another video named 

What are some misconceptions in the SEO industry?

 In short, Matt outlined three topics in this five-minute video.

(1) SEOs confuse algorithm updates with data refreshes.

(2) Panda & Penguin algorithms are not about making Google more money in the short term.

(3) SEOs spend too much energy and time focused on link building and only thinking about search engines.

Algorithm Updates Versus Data Refreshes:

Matt explained that one of the biggest misconceptions he sees in the industry is that SEOs often confuse data refreshes and algorithmic updates. This is a topic we covered before at least once, but in short, here is the difference. An algorithm update is when Google changes the algorithm on how the search results are ranked, indexed or filtered. A data refresh is when Google updates the data where the algorithm runs. For example, we had a Penguin updaterecently; and, that last update was an algorithm update. There was a change to how the algorithm worked. Prior to that, Penguin 3 and 2 were mostly just data refreshes.

Panda & Penguin Updates Are Not About Revenue Gains For Google:

There are many people in the industry that feel Google releases algorithm updates, such as thePanda and Penguin updates with short-term goals of increasing their revenues. Matt said that is absolutely false and the algorithm and organic search results are completely separated from revenue goals.

Matt added that in one of the older earnings report, Panda was listed as a reason why Google’s revenues may not be as high in future quarters. Simply because Panda may have short-term negative impact on Google’s revenues. Why? Because Panda’s goal was to eliminate low-quality content sites that monetized mostly over AdSense revenue.

Then, Matt goes into explaining how Google looks at long-term goals, making the searcher happy, so they come back and search more. Google has methods for letting users take their data and leave. Google is rarely interested in short-term revenue goals, Matt added a few times.

Clearly, this is the PR side of Matt talking; but in my opinion, he 100% believes it.

SEOs Focus Too Much On Link Building & Search Engines:

Matt’s final point in the video is discussing what SEOs spend too much energy focusing on. They include link building and search engines, as opposed to their users. Matt said they can spend more time on social media and other areas to help build awareness of their sites.

He then discusses how the history of great sites, those sites generally focus on design and user experience first. This way the user is happy and recommends it to others. Matt added that Craigslist is a great site; but, their user experience is not great. So, there are many startups that come in and beat them on user experience to take over in some niches.

 

Apple WWDC: What happened on Day 1

David Paul Morris

Workers apply an Apple Inc. logo to the exterior of the Moscone West Center in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, June 7, 2012. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

by Shana Lynch and Preeti Upadhyaya -

Silicon Valley Business Journal

If you were hoping for a big surprise out of day one of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, you were left wanting.

Day one of the conference, held in San Francisco this week, wasn’t too flashy. (Compare that to Google’s first day, when every developer scored a free Nexus 7 tablet.)

Still, the tech giant offered up plenty of meat and potatoes during the first day. Here are the call outs:

iTunes Radio

A big non-surprise, Apple Inc. unveiled its iTunes Radio. Users create radios stations they want to listen to (similar to Pandora). You can also share those stations with your friends or listen to ones others have created.

Like Pandora, you’ll even be listening to ads (unless you pay a little more).

Read more about iRadio here.

New Air, Pro

Apple also updated its desktop and laptop.

Gone is any kind of tower on the desktop. New is a black cylinder a fraction of the size. The computer also uses flash memory instead of a hard drive, a 12-core Intel Xeon processor and 2.5 times more graphics performance.

“Can’t innovate anymore, my ass,” Apple SVP Phil Schiller told the crowd.

New for the MacBook Air? Nearly double the battery life and the latest Intel chip, as well as a slightly lower price ($999 to $1,099).

Mavericks (and the end of the cats)

Well, they were bound to run out of big cats eventually. Apple said today it was ditching the kitty descriptors for each new version of its operating system and moving to descriptions of places in California. The next one, named after the famous big-wave surf spot near Half Moon Bay, will offer up support for multiple display monitors and file-tagging.

Mavericks also offers up better battery life through new features, faster apps, and an “App Nap” feature that helps idle apps quit taking up your power.

With this update comes a new Safari, too, with LinkedIn and Twitter reading lists.

Design overhaul for iOS 7

Finally, Apple showed off a major overhaul of iOS7 on day one. CEO Tim Cook called it the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone.

The update, which will be available to users this fall, brings changes like a vertical slide to unlock button, translucent app and keyboard icons, updated weather apps and receding control buttons when browsing Safari.

The overall design looks a lot flatter, shifting away from “skeuomorphism — the use of leather, wood and other real-world inspired texture and artifacts in apps.“

Companies: AAPL

Shana Lynch is Managing Editor at the Business Journal. Her phone number is 408.299.1831.

 

 

 

Five Cool Products For Your Office

Five Cool Products for Your Office People often do not realize the benefits that can be gained from upgraded office tools. This year, five office products captured the attention of business people in Australia. These five products are expected to improve office efficiency and productivity. Let’s take a look at what’s available:

1. HzO WaterBlock and Liquipel

Most people have heard horror stories about smartphones, netbooks, or tablets falling in the water at the office, airport, or home. This common occurrence has brought increasing demand for waterproof devices. HzO WaterBlock and Liquipel are both great products designed to repel water and remove the fear of losing precious information if devices are dropped into the water. Liquipel has the capability to protect from scratches also. Office devices should be waterproof to avoid data loss and business interruption.

2. SpnKiX

If the office complex spans a large area, SpnKiX can be used to zip from office to office or boardroom to boardroom. The skates cost $649, but the skates are expected to sell once the company raises enough capital to develop the design fully. Soon, people around the world will be zipping efficiently through the hallways and arriving to meetings on-time without experiencing fatigue or tiredness. SpnKiX makes it easy and fun to travel around.

3. MacBook Air

MacBook Air is one of the coveted ultrabooks in the office. It is robust enough to perform complicated computations in the office and lightweight enough for travel to clients. Some people complain that the MacBook Air does not have all the features that a more balanced laptop might possess, but business people love to purchase these ultrabooks for the office.

4. HP Envy Spectre

HP Envy Spectre is an ultrabook that is covered in glass and is often viewed as desk art. Though the ultrabook is aesthetically impressive, the extra glass adds almost one pound to the total weight of the device. One of the most remarkable features is the proximity control keyboard that lights up when the fingertips come near the keyboard. This makes business people feel like they are working on a computer from a futuristic spy film like James Bond.

5. Accessory Kit for Laptops

Accessory kits are recommended for travelling business people. The case come equipped with a USB mini mouse. The cord is retractable for easy storage. The typical kit also features a USB hub with four ports, a USB microphone and headphone set, a retractable connector, and a RJ-45 Internet telephone retractable extension. These kits are cool because they contain everything a business person could need in one compact unit.

These Five Products Can Improve the Office Experience

These cool products will improve flexibility, productivity, and efficiency in the office environment. Purchasers should make a commitment to purchase these products and improve the office experience. While the tools are not necessary, business practices are improved with these five cool and innovative products. Consider these five products to improve office interactions, they are fun, techie also maintain a professional look.

Written by Christine Swan – Christine is a young owner of a small business online, in order to avoid complications for taxes/staff benefits and budget issue, a virtual office is an perfect option for her.

 

Make Your Google PPC Campaign Count: From The Right Ad Words To Perfect Landing Pages

One of the most common mistakes in any international or local internet marketing campaign is that the campaign does not make sense to most potential customers.  Within a few seconds of glancing at your PPC ad or landing page, customers should know exactly who you are, what you do, and what you do not do.  Below are a few tips for how to make your Google PPC campaign thrive, from picking the right Google Ad Words to creating the best landing page.

How to pick the right Google Ad Words

First and foremost, make sure that your Google Ad Words are relevant to your business or product.  Often, being more specific is better.  For example, instead of choosing the word “coffee” for your business that ships green coffee beans that individuals can roast at home, choose the keyword phrase “green coffee beans.”  Chances are, few people looking to find other things associated with coffee—coffee shops, coffee flavored ice cream, coffee pots, coffee gift baskets—are interested in purchasing green coffee beans to roast at home.  Reach out to the right customer for your business.

Have a landing page that is easy to understand

After having an ad that clearly states what you offer, make sure that your landing page is easy to understand.  Within a few seconds, potential customers should be able to know who you are and what you offer.  One problem with many landing pages is that site visitors cannot readily figure out what site they are visiting.  You need to ensure that your landing page shows the following, regardless of whether your focus is local internet marketing or international sales:

• In a few sentences, say who you are and what you do
• Like all other businesses, online businesses need to have a mission statement and statement of purpose
• This information should be easy to see on your landing page and easy to understand

Creative web design is great.   Similarly, having a landing page that looks expensive is important.  However, your landing page will only hurt you if you cannot clearly articulate who you are and what you do on it.  Remember that potential customers do not owe you anything.  It is your responsibility to make sure your message gets across, not their civic duty to try to decode your landing page.  Come up with a solid identity and clearly state it in a few simple sentences.  If you still question your company’s identity, it’s time to go back to your business plan and figure it out.

Optimizing any Google Ad Words campaign

Always focus on being clear and concise throughout the entire campaign.  You don’t want to attract all customers; you want to attract the right kind of customer by clearly articulating what you have to offer.  In addition, working with local marketing experts can help guide you through the system to make your internet marketing campaign count.  By connecting with the right customers through popular online advertising techniques, you can build a brand for your business to thrive.

Chris Marentis is the founder and CEO of Surefire Social.  He has a marked history of branding expertise in the e-commerce and internet marketing industires.  For more information, visit http://www.surefiresocial.com/.