Are you taking notice of your employee’s complaints?
You really should be, as failure to do so could result in a lack of employee morale, and that in turn will lead to a lower productivity level. There are other consequences too, and these are outlined below. If you haven’t been taking your employee’s complaints seriously then, you might want to reconsider your stance after reading this article.
Employee complaint #1: The workplace contains health and safety issues
If the building is in ill-repair; if office furniture is old and worn; if there hasn’t been sufficient instruction on how to use certain pieces of equipment, then you are putting your employee’s health at risk. Unless you want to be on the receiving end of a phone call from an injury lawyer, you need to prioritise staff training on both equipment and health and safety issues, and take steps to ensure risk assessments are made around your business premises.
Employee complaint #2: Your business hasn’t gone green
If you are wasting paper on a daily basis; if there are no green policies in place; and if you are sourcing equipment from unethical sources, then you might have an employee outcry on your hands. Many employees are keen to do their bit for the environment, especially amongst the Millennial workforce, so you need to be compliant. By doing simple things, such as migrating files to the cloud, operating a recycling policy, and reducing fuel, you have a better chance of keeping your employees, attracting new hires, and most importantly of all, saving the world!
Employee complaint #3: They have too much work to do
Your employees are only human after all, so there is only so much you can expect of them in a day. Should you overload their workload, they are going to get tired and stressed, and this might lead to time off work. And again, you will hurt their morale, as if they also become less productive as a result of having too much to do, their self-esteem might be affected by the quality of their work. Your business will suffer too, especially when those sick calls start coming in. Therefore, give your poor employees a break. Prioritize those 1:1 staff reviews to find out how they are coping with their workloads, and consider outsourcing certain tasks to alleviate their daily burdens.
Employee complaint #4: You have staff favorites
Sure, there will be some staff members you like more than others, but you should never show this in your business practices. You need to treat everybody fairly, ensuring they all have the same opportunities for such things as staff training and promotion as their colleagues. If you are shown to favor certain staff members, you may well have a mutiny on your hands, including walkouts by those people you should be taking better care of. Your employees might also take their complaints to a higher authority than you, so if you are part of the chain, your job might be in danger. Do the right thing then, and ensure you show equal rights within every facet of your business.
So, are you taking notice of your employee complaints? For your sake, and for that of your employees, you need to extend more than just a listening ear when your employees come to your door. Trouble awaits you if you don’t!
For some of us, sports come naturally. Such individuals wouldn’t feel right without at least half an hour of running. Then, there are those of us at the opposite end of the scale, who gasp in horror at the idea. We’d love to be ‘sportier’ or ‘fitter,’ but it doesn’t seem to happen. No matter how hard we try, we always seem to slip back into our couch potato habits after a week or so.
That’s why many of us choose to join a club instead of going it alone. This can work wonders for both the time we stick to something and our social lives. As a result, we end up feeling fitter in every way. And, we don’t even have to deal with the guilt of failure.
Given that you’ve clicked on this post, we’re going to assume that you’re considering clubs like these. The chances are that you even have some idea of what type of club you’d like to join. Still, you don’t know how to select between the options in that field. Lucky for you, we have some pointers which could see you choosing a club you’re happy with for a long time to come.
Before signing up for anything, check for accreditation which puts your mind at ease. All you need to do is decide what you want from the club in question. Then, do some checks to settle your mind that they can offer what you’re after. It may be that health and safety certificates are enough to see you signing up. Or, you may look out for a club which has received awards or produced award winners.
Look over the grounds
For the most part, clubs have grounds. This is especially the case if you’ve chosen a sport such as soccer or baseball. You can’t play either without a pitch. But, pitches vary, and that could make all the difference to your enjoyment. That’s why it’s also worth looking at the grounds before committing. Any club will allow you to do this if you ask. During your investigation, look out for things like whether the grass is real or artificial. If it’s the latter, don’t be afraid to ask whether the club use artificial turf infill for safety. Ask, too, about rainy day playing. Is there a cover or indoor pitch? These all impact your enjoyment, so it’s best to know about them before parting with your cash.
Read those reviews
With the internet, there are readily available reviews for near enough everything nowadays. And, sporting clubs are no different. The chances are that past and present members have posted their thoughts online. So, read them. Reviews can actually be more helpful in finding the right club than anything else. If people report having made friends and had fun, you can bet you’re onto a winner. If, however, the reviews pick up on a lot of negatives, it may be best to move onto the next club on your list.
If you are not happy with the performance of your social media campaigns or paid advertising performance, you will need to take a step back and try to implement positive changes that will improve your return on investment and your conversion rates. You will need to start measuring everything, set conversion targets, and maximize the value of each visitor and converted customer. Below you will find a few ideas on how to get started.
First, you will have to stop focusing on the small tasks. It is understandable that you would like to be in front of your customers every minute, but if you spend more than an hour on social media every day, you are not likely to be using your resources the best way. What you need is a well designed sales funnel and a digital marketing automation that will help you schedule your posts, measure your engagement, and find the right content to post for your niche.
Measure Everything
Once you have your marketing automation in place, you will need to find a way to measure everything. You have to find out how many people have been reached through your blog post, your social media, and your YouTube channels. Normally, this would take hours to find out, not to mention that you will also need to analyze the results after. However, there are several digital marketing tools that will do the job for you.
Focus on Capturing Leads
If you have to earn every sale individually, and you have no chance of selling to the same buyer again, you are wasting your advertising money and resources. One of the best advice advanced marketers can give startup entrepreneurs is that they should create their own list of leads and follow them up. Get a customer relationship platform in place, so you never miss a sales or promotion opportunity again.
If you would like to maximize your revenue per sale or per client, you will have to pay attention to retention and keeping your clients happy. Show your appreciation by providing free tips and value added services, so they don’t even think about trying other services or products. Customer care is one of the best ways of maximizing your return on your marketing investment and improving your reputation.
The Power of Retargeting
Are you dealing with a lot of abandoned shopping carts, or incomplete forms? You can now use retargeting as a great way of getting people to visit your website again. You might also want to invest a system that will Optimize Google Ads automatically so you don’t have to manually review your visitors’ behavior and put different actions in place to win them back.
Autoresponders
In case you believe that email marketing is dead and you are not likely to get sales, you couldn’t be more wrong. If you don’t have an autoresponder, a newsletter, and an exclusive membership program in place, you are wasting a lot of your energy chasing cold leads instead of focusing on the people who already trust you and are much closer to making a buying decision. Autoresponders can generate revenue and sales and create customer engagement at the same time.
Joint Ventures
When you are just starting up, chances are that you will find your list building and marketing extremely slow. What if you could piggyback on the traffic other people in the industry are getting and cross-promoted each other’s products? This method is great, as it will result in new leads in both businesses, and you can add value to your products and services at the same time.
If you are just getting started with social media advertising, or YouTube, chances are that your first campaign will not be a winner. This is why you might want to make adjustments and get a software to provide you with detailed statistics. You should learn how to interpret the reports Facebook and other social media advertising platforms create, so you can change things around and get more conversions for your advertising dollars.
There are several tasks an online business owner needs to deal with, but nothing can turn a venture around as much as improving the efficiency of your digital marketing. Implement continuous changes, test and tweak campaigns, until you get the results you expect from your advertising campaigns. After all, marketing is a numbers’ game, and you should always focus on the outcomes.
Is your job safe from the robot invasion? No, we aren’t talking about Daleks, Replicants, and Terminators invading your workspace! Rather, we are referring to computers and automated machines that are replacing much of our workforce around the world. According to this study, one in three workers will see their jobs replaced partly or entirely by some kind of artificial intelligence somewhere around 2030.
Should you panic now?
Yes and no! In some cases, computers and other AI devices are making jobs easier. Those of you working in an office-based job will understand this, as there are now many advanced AI tools at your disposal to make light work of mundane and time-consuming tasks. The same is true of the construction industry where automated workers make light work of many jobs requiring physical labor. However, in both industries, there are complex tasks, decisions, and customer interactions that still require human intervention. You can breathe easy if you hold a job in these fields…for now!
On the other hand, if you work in the manufacturing industry, your job may be at risk. Many jobs have already been replaced by machines. The same is true of the transportation industry. There are more examples here of those industries where job security is questionable. In some of these cases, robots are collaborative, so human and machine can work together hand-in-hand. But it might only be a matter of time before machines take the priority, as in the long-term, it might be cheaper for a company to implement them in favor of hiring extra human employees.
So, what should you do?
If you are in a job that is at risk (see the link above), you might consider waiting before jumping ship into something else entirely. Research your industry and speak to other professionals to gather an opinion on how safe your job is. However, if you have already noticed redundancies, and have seen colleagues replaced by something automated, it’s worth considering the options below.
Some careers are safe, and if you aren’t in them already, you might want to think about the transition. These job roles include those in creative fields – writing, marketing, graphic design – and people-focussed jobs, such as teaching, nursing, and social work. There are other high-paying fields here that might be considered safe.
To ensure you survive the robot invasion, therefore, you might want to consider going back to school to retrain for a new career. Take these MSW schools online, for example, as a route into social work. You might also want to learn those skills in your current job that robots are not yet able to perform adequately, as this might save you from redundancy. Alternatively, you might escape the rat race altogether and start your own business. There is some advice here on things you need to know before you do.
So you see, there are options open to you, so while the risk of a robot invasion is a frightening prospect for some workers, there are ways to combat the threat. Pay attention to what is going on around you, consider your job security, and if you do need to take action, start putting something in place to futureproof your place in the workforce.
A lot of big companies are starting to get worried about the environment, particularly climate change. Why? Because climate change threatens their business model and profits in the future. If people can’t work as productively, or the planet’s resources can’t support ever-greater consumer spending, then their bottom lines will take a hit, shareholders will lose out, and the magical growth story of our economy will finally come to an end.
One of the ways that companies are trying to make a difference is by getting their employees to start taking alternative means of transport to work – not surprising at all really. As these auto accident lawyers point out, driving is not only bad for the environment but dangerous too, costing employers large upfront fees in health insurance and lost working hours due to injury.
So what are companies doing to try to entice people out of their private motor vehicles and into something a little less taxing on the environment?
Google is a company right at the forefront of the workplace commuting revolution. It knows that if it wants to get the best out of people, they have to show up to the office, day in, day out. But getting them there is an environmental nightmare.
Well, at least it was in the past. But now Google has started running a series of autonomous electric shuttle buses to ferry workers from A to B without having an appreciable impact on the environment at its offices in California. Of course, the buses use the company’s own autonomous driving technology and are reportedly very safe, but they’re not yet in mass usage across the country. If Waymo takes off, though, that could all change pretty quickly.
Panasonic Wants People To Ride On Public Transport
Panasonic recently opened a new North America head office in Newark. Part of the reason for relocating there had to do with the transit benefits that the new Newark location would bring. Rather than employees having to drive alone – which more than 90 percent did at the former Secaucus office – the new Newark office was strategically placed near to the town’s station, providing easy access to workers.
That wasn’t the only change that the company made. It also gave employees 50 percent off their transit costs, incentivizing them to ditch their cars and take public transport instead. So did they? After the move to Newark, the number of people driving to work alone fell to an impressive 35 percent. Those taking public transport rocketed from about 5 percent to an impressive 55 percent.
The reason so many workers made the switch is easy to understand. The average employee saved around $150 to $200 per month on parking spaces alone, let alone the additional cost of fuel and motoring expenses.
Panasonic also helped educate its workforce on the benefits of taking mass transit up to two years before introducing the scheme, helping to grease the wheels once finally implemented. So far it’s been a roaring success.
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