Working smarter and not harder is one of those corporate-sounding expressions that gets flung around the world of business all too often, but is it just a cliché or does it hold any real advice from the average entrepreneur?
We take a glance at some of the systems you might have in place at your world of work and see if there are any ways you can make them work harder AND smarter for you.
Software
How’s that company network working out. Are your employees constantly complaining about a lack of access to shared files and documents? Does your IT support fail to give you the service you need? If you find yourself up against it, when it comes to tech, why not consider something like Cloud computing to take your IT to the next level.
There are real, tangible benefits to Cloud computing that are more than just having everything in one place. For a start you also have the flexibility to allow employees to work remotely. They’ll be able to access their Cloud-based network from anywhere with a Wifi connection but stipulate that this connection must be secured and not open to prevent any potential security breaches.
You also have the advantage of less hardware and equipment in your office and consequently you won’t have the need to keep an in-house IT support team on standby. Cloud providers offer IT support 24-hours a day and can be accessed remotely.
Naturally, there are some negatives you’ll want to consider and that comes in the form of security. While there will be data protection measures in place, just how secure your sensitive files are on the Cloud depends entirely on the providers security measures and how regularly they are updated and patched. Your data is made all the more vulnerable when you or your employees access the Cloud on open networks, as discussed up post.
How cohesive is your team working day-to-day? If you have people working remotely are tasks getting done efficiently or are you finding crossovers and missed objectives on a regular basis? The answer to creating a smarter working environment is to have everyone with smart software. From programmes to better manage your options data to shared task software that will help keep everyone on track. Your team is your best investment but also your most costly so review how effectively they’re working and how well you’re managing them.
Yes, it is possible to work smarter, but this doesn’t necessarily fall to you as the boss, it’s a team effort and as such needs to include everyone working towards objectives to achieve your shared business goals.
Think Cloud computing, more efficient and helpful software and breathe new life into staff members who might be floundering on the side lines. Get everyone working efficiently and your business will stop limping along but rather soar towards greater and greater successes, thanks to your smart thinking and even smarter changes to your working practices.
If you are suspicious that someone is breaking the law at work, it can be very awkward, and while one option is just to quit—find a different job, your conscience or your financial situation might mean you have to stick around and try to fix the situation. So Here’s how to protect yourself and others should you find yourself in this situation:
Report It
If you believe your employer is doing something illegal or unethical, and you have good reasons to think this, you should first bring it to your supervisor’s attention. If no one in the company responds to your complaint, then there is generally a government agency with who you can speak to.
If you have noticed or believe that your employer is violating labor laws, then go to the state labor agency, and if you see another employee being mistreated, the best approach is to talk with that employee and suggest that he or she make a complaint to the appropriate person.
Employer misconduct isn’t limited to mistreatment of employees either. More significant issues can include widespread fraud or false advertising and many companies do have hotlines that employees can call to report illegal or offensive executive behavior, but if none of those options are available, then you might need to blow the whistle to the police or a regulatory agency.
Be Aware Of Whistleblower Laws
Even if whistleblower laws protect you, that doesn’t mean life won’t be difficult for you.
If you have blown the whistle then obviously you will be at risk for retaliation due to such behavior, and there is nothing that will prevent you from losing your job or experiencing other adverse action. You might decide that keeping your job is a better option than going through lengthy litigation.
No matter what you do, make sure to document your actions by saving copies of emails and taking notes at meetings. Whistleblower cases need to be based on facts, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up if you are unable to fix the situation. All you can do is your best and if you have done that then you should, feel free to remove yourself and find something better. You can read more at mahanyertl.com, a law firm who specializes in this kind of case.
Avoid toxic workplaces
There’s no reason for you to have to go to work every day and be worried about the legality of the actions of your employer, thereby putting your own career’s future in jeopardy. While it’s not always that easy to find a new job, if you see something shady going on at your place of work and you’re not feeling good anymore you could speak to a recruiter or start looking online straight away to see what your options are.
Bill and Melinda Gates are some of the most generous philanthropists in the US. Their foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, tries to tackle issues of global health, education, and poverty with the desire to eliminate malaria within a generation. Their donations and hard work have made a tremendous difference in tackling some of the deadliest epidemic outbreaks in the world, ranging from polio to the Ebola virus. Since they first launched the Foundation back in 2000, the couple has already handled more than $36 billion to fund life-changing work all over the world.
But while Bill and Melinda have the financial means to have a worldwide impact, they can, unintentionally, make those who can’t match their generosity feel guilty. However, you don’t need to be rich to give back to the community. On the contrary, there are many ways of making a difference:
While not every donation is the same, at the end of the day, every dollar you put together can improve someone’s life. In other words, you may not have Bill Gates’s bank account, but it doesn’t mean that your contribution is worthless. It matters a lot! If you want to gather a generous amount, you can choose to spread the cost with others. In the money-raising sector, it is called a charity event. You can build a promotional social media campaign to promote your event while ensuring recognition and rewards to your donors.
Exploring how your skills could make a difference
Contrary to popular belief, not all donations are monetary. Indeed, you can maximize your business skills to help a community build a stable future, for instance. Building companies, for example, are the first to donate materials and workforce to help build community centers and other helpful sites. If you want to make a difference abroad, you can learn from Lew Schulman’s story. He’s been using his import-export knowledge to deliver a digital solution to remote communities, encouraging local skill sharing and selling.
The little gestures that make a difference
Sometimes, you help because you can’t watch passively. It’s the case of a small coffee shop in Greece, which lets stray dogs sleep inside every night to keep them safe and warm. The image of dogs, curled up onto the sofa, was shared on social media. For the owner, the decision was simple; he had to help. And by making the lives of the abandoned dogs a little easier, he is, in his own way, giving back without spending a dime.
Having faith in others
Changing a life is not always about giving someone money. It’s about giving them the respect and the confidence they have lost. It’s about the second chance that helps people to bounce back. In the business world, the best second chance you can offer is to hire an ex-inmate. Indeed, don’t be fooled by the past of an employee. Over 80% of managers agree that employees with criminal records perform just as well or even better than others.
In conclusion, the question is not whether you have enough money to make a donation. The question is how you will choose to give back.
If you would like to do something for the community or encourage your employees to work together, there is no better idea than organizing a charity event or a fundraiser. The good news is that – thanks to the latest digital technology – you can now reach out to partners, find resources on project management, and collaborate remotely. Below you will find a few creative ideas to raise more money at your charity event and create a buzz about your cause.
If you would like to sell out your tickets to your fundraiser, it might be a good idea to create a networking opportunity and offer sponsorship tables for people who are ready to donate and take part. This will answer their question: why, and you will be able to draw in crowds, as they will see the benefit for their business as well as the community or charity you are supporting.
Market on Social Media
Promoting your event on social media and listing it on various ticketing websites will cost you a bit of money in either advertising costs or commissions, but it is the quickest and easiest way of raising the profile of your business and creating awareness. At the same time, you will also be able to get people to learn more about the mission, vision, and values of your business.
Raise Money Online
If you don’t want to handle money when creating an event, you can outsource your ticketing to one of the online platforms, and get donations through social media, too. This is a good way of implementing transparency in your business and making sure that you don’t get bogged down with administration, so you can focus on making your event a success. Find a platform that automatically provides tax deductible receipts and donation certificates.
It is also a good idea to reward people with something memorable, so they can post about the event and create a public relations campaigns around your event. You can create personalized plaques or get more creative, and get their business featured on your wall. You can find plenty of great ideas at brickmarkers.com and get people to take photos and post them on social media raising awareness of your cause online.
Great Prizes
No fundraiser is perfect without relevant and valuable prizes. You can hold a raffle draw and ask your sponsors to offer prizes that will get them recognized, remembered, and might even earn them customers for a lifetime. No matter if you are a beauty salon, or a business legal firm, you will be able to find partners and participants who will be happy to donate prizes for extra mentions and exposure.
Organizing a fundraiser will not only help you raise your business profile, but it is also a good way of getting your employees to collaborate and improve their project management skills. Create awareness online and use social media platforms to engage with potential donors.
How safe would you say your company was? Maybe you’ve got plenty of customers on the books, and you know they’ll keep coming back for more and more? Maybe you’ve got a great contact network set up around you, so you’ve always got some experienced to reach out? Maybe you’ve just invested in a new line of technology, and you know it’s going to do wonders for your business? But apart from all these external motivations, do you feel like you’re working in a safe and secure environment?
Your business needs to have safety standards to it, of course. It’s the law, and you wouldn’t even dream of allowing your employees to walk into a working environment that put them at risk. But there are some more understated rules of the security world you might be missing out on; ones that keep your business on the up and up, and have the best success rate at keeping emergencies at bay. So whether you’re a bit worried over your company finances right now, or you’ve had one too many trips and falls in the past 6 months or so, here’s a few tips for you.
The floor you walk over can be a dangerous place, and tripping over something carelessly strewn across it can lead to some very serious consequences for both the victim and the owner of the company where the accident happened. So always have one eye on the floor as you go about your business.
At the very least, make sure it’s clear, and there’s always a clear and obvious walkway for people to use as they naturally navigate around their workstations. Make sure the material the floor is made out of has a lot of wear and tear resistance, and there’s no bumps or dips for anyone to potentially break their ankle over – investing in epoxy floor coating systems could be quick solution for this possibility.
Stock Up on Supplies
And make sure they’re visible! You want to be sure that the environment you’re working in, whether it be an office or a warehouse, has plenty of safety supplies around and in plain view. You want to know there’s a fire extinguisher on the east wall, and you want to know you can get to it easily if a fire ever breaks out on the west side. And if you’re the boss in this situation, you’re the one who puts these questions at rest in your employees’ minds.
Make sure the first aid kits are always stocked up, and have plenty of bandages and antiseptics in them – make sure they’re color coded as well, so people can spot them a mile off, even without glasses on! As well as this, list the emergency numbers next to the kits, to make sure this crucial information is all in the same place whenever someone may be in need of it.
Staying safe whilst at work is a concern millions of people hold, so pioneer it.
When we are starting out and working at making a fully-functioning office environment, we know how important it is to get the right people on board. But these days, with overqualified people applying for low-level jobs, and underqualified people applying for roles above their remit, we can struggle to find the right person quickly. Ultimately, this is the goal. But why is the right employee hard to come by and what can we do to make this an easier process for us?
Is It About Education?
Education appears to be something that’s almost irrelevant now. And if we look at the numerous organizations that thrive on apprenticeships and internships, we can take a leaf out of their book and have people come on board that is willing to learn the ropes, and at the fraction of the cost. Education is something that can be done on the job now. And if we’re looking for the right employee right away, perhaps it’s not about having someone that has all the skills, but rather having someone who wants to learn and has the dedication. Because people that have a comprehensive education may come with certain expectations, it can take some time to change their way of thinking.
Are We Going About It The Wrong Way During The Hiring Process?
We want the right person for the job, but we might not have the best methods in place. Of course, we need to make sure that they are able to do the job, but also need to make sure that they are right for the company. As far as criteria are concerned, it becomes a long-standing challenge now. It’s even more difficult due to the number of people that apply for one role. But this is where the right recruitment software can come in handy. ELMO recruitment software is one of many organizational tools that could benefit you, especially if you’ve got a lot of applicants to wade through. Conversely, the hiring process doesn’t need to be complex, because we should think about finding the right person, not by a whole bunch of criteria, but perhaps, we need to trust our instincts?
People Don’t Get To The Interview Stage For The Wrong Reasons
We can look at someone’s resume and immediately throw it in the garbage because of a spelling or grammar error. Perhaps we need to reassess how we measure the abilities of potential employees. While a resume can be a good yardstick of what an employee can do, it’s not always a sufficient measure of a personality. You can argue that their resume needs to highlight their personality, and this is why video is increasingly being used as part of the application process. This is a very interesting approach because you are able to give a face to the resume, it’s giving us a more comprehensive a section of the potential employee, and it gives them a chance to show who they are.
Finding the right employee is a time-consuming process, but if the right employee is hard to come by, then perhaps we have to give a bit more thought into our hiring process. Is the right employee hard to come by? Or is it to do with our criteria? Maybe we need to relax the process a bit more?
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