Ways To Invest In Your Team For Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Invest in your Team|Ways To Invest In Your Team For BusinessYour team is important to your business, and if you’re not making an effort to look after them and to provide everything they need to be successful, then, as a result, your business will suffer. Here are a few ways to invest in your team for business.

Have A Budget For Staff Training

A budget for staff training is useful to have because there are lots of opportunities that you can give your staff to build up their knowledge, the skills that they have, and the experiences that they can receive whilst in your employment. Some businesses have been known to part-fund and even fully fund degrees, whether that’s to the University of Nevada Reno or even overseas. If they can see the benefit that it can have for the company, then any good business owner will take that investment risk and hope that it pays off. Even if you start off small, being able to offer some opportunities for learning can be great to keep your staff happy but to also benefit the business in a variety of ways.

Consider Their Mental Wellbeing

Everyone has mental health, and the way we look after it can influence how well we cope in our day to day lives. Whether it be the stress of a particular campaign that a staff member is working on or issues outside of the workplace, as an employer, you can do your bit. Think about the support you can offer to help your employees look after their mental health. Flexible working could be an option if there are staff members who might need to work home occasionally. Having more one to one meetings can be good with their line managers to discuss how they’re getting on and whether there can be any improvements or issues fixed that they’re concerned about.

Support New Ideas

Everyone can have an influence on a business, and each person can bring something new to the table. When it comes to your team, try to incorporate everyone into any directions that you want to take the business in, no matter big or small. Make team meetings more interactive and engaging for everyone, rather than the few confident colleagues who might like to talk a lot. Give everyone a chance to bring new ideas to the table, and you might find someone in your workforce that’s got something great.

Reward Their Work

Hard work certainly deserves rewards, and whether that’s in a financial form of a bonus or an extra day off, it doesn’t go unnoticed with staff. Make a point of ensuring that all staff will get acknowledged and praised for putting in the hard work. Those extra perks can be essential for staff who need it and want to feel valued within their workplace. It also feels good as an employer to reward hard work, and it inspires others to work harder too.

Your team matters, no matter how big or small they may be. Use these tips to help improve your investment in the company.

5 Ways to Improve Productivity in a Digital Marketing Environment

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Improve Productivity|5 Ways to Improve Productivity in a Digital Marketing EnvironmentMost companies strive to do better and be more productive. There will always be tasks that take time and resources. However, there are also solutions to make these everyday projects more profitable in the long term. In a digital marketing environment, there are many areas to consider throughout all client projects. An agency may cover all aspects such as email marketing, SEO, content creation, and digital strategy under one roof. When this happens, unless you have suitable resources available, individuals may need to take on more work than is possible.

Teams cannot always be in all places or cover everything, and inadequate resource availability may mean that some areas are stretched thinly. To avoid this issue and improve productivity, there are several ways to boost your operations and the time taken to complete mundane tasks.

Take a look at some areas that will improve your overall productivity and profitability:

1. Delegate effectively

There will be a range of experts in your in-house teams that can complete projects more speedily and accurately than others in the department. That’s not to say the others in the group are not valuable. However, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and you need to find out where they are to delegate tasks effectively.

In smaller digital agencies, there may not be adequate resources to carry out client projects, so outsourcing may also be a sound option. This is another form of delegation and frees up your staff to continue with projects they have expertise in. There are several options for outsourcing, including specific tasks and entire project delegation. You will also find a range of specialist agencies and freelancers than can assist.

2. Use tools to speed up processes

One of the main issues that companies face is the time taken to process information to get the desired results. However, if you use expert tools to eliminate this, this time will be reduced to focus on other more profitable areas. For example, if your digital agency focuses on content creation, you will understand that the entire process involves planning content, researching trends, creating copy, proofing, and outreaching. If you could take one of these aspects out of the equation, such as the proofing part – there are tools such as the ProofHQ alternative, Ziflow that speeds up the whole process and provides automation within the activity. This automation frees up time for the team to focus on other aspects of client projects.

3. Schedule time to plan and focus

Many businesses are buzzing with projects and general tasks that these eat into your day with little time left to evaluate and plan your next move. If teams feel they are under constant pressure to get things done, projects can often fall foul of errors and misjudgments due to time and resource constraints. In any company, there should be time scheduled in to plan and effectively focus on tasks. There’s no point in having meetings for the sake of meetings. This time has to be used with intention. So, leaving mobiles and laptops at desks is crucial to get individuals focused and engaged in the entire process.

4. Identify and analysis results

In the marketing world, it’s not enough to think about projects in isolation. Each part of the process has a knock-on effect on a range of other things, and it’s vital to ensure you are kept in the loop. Completing a project doesn’t mean it’s finished, and you got the results you wanted. Looking at where your most profitable areas lie is also essential. Drilling down into the finer detail and splitting time taken and profitable tasks is a valuable way to establish where you should focus your efforts. There will also times where you need to take on the jobs that are more hassle for less profit. However, it’s judging how often and how to avoid these situations that will lead to more profit and improved productivity across the company.

5. Know when to scale your agency

Hiring more staff doesn’t mean you will get a similar effect in results or profit (at least not straight away!). The dynamics of your teams will change, and this will need to be factored in to determine how successful scaling up maybe for your company. Planning when to scale your agency is crucial and should be done when projected benefits outweigh the losses you could face in the short term. In the meantime, outsourcing could help you scale up temporarily to meet higher demand.

5 Simple Methods for Boosting Employee Productivity

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Employee Productivity|5 Simple Methods for Boosting Employee ProductivityWithout hyperbole, employee productivity is arguably the biggest factor that determines if a business is successful or not. When those productivity levels are labored, this negatively affects every aspect of the company.

Yet when everything runs smoothly, where employees are completing their tasks on time and in an effective manner, the entire business will thrive. Although, as the saying goes, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. If a single staff member fails to do their job as expected, it will be felt at all levels of the company.

Due to this, it’s imperative to maximize the effort of every worker. However, how do you reach this point? How can you turn an average performer into a productive powerhouse?

This article is here to help answer those questions. Below are five easy methods you can implement for boosting employee productivity.

Be clear with goals and instructions

When you are setting tasks for your employees to complete, you need to do so in an effective and careful way. If you feed them instructions which are muddled or complicated, this is only going to compromise their productivity.

Worse, it might even lead to them doing the task wrong.

As a result, provide them with clear instructions and goals to target. The less time they spend confused and asking for assistance, the more efficient they will be.

Streamline work with automation

Automation is a gift which your business should cherish. Rather than your employees spending precious time on completing monotonous tasks, this can be completed automatically with technology. This then gives them additional time to focus on more important tasks.

Automation can be utilized in various different ways. For instance, software specialists PaperSave can assist with streamlining invoice management and data entry.

Give them a break

It might sound counterproductive on the surface, but allowing employees to take regular breaks from their work is recommended. It gives them a chance to recharge and have a mental break from their work.

Based on research, 52 minutes of solid work before a 17-minute break is an ideal balance for productivity. While you don’t have to be quite that specific with your timing, it demonstrates why allowing employees to regularly rest pays off.

Measure their work

If you fail to measure the work of your employees, you won’t be able to gain an accurate picture of their productivity. Are they meeting deadlines? Are they following directions? Is the work of a high quality? The answers to these questions might slip away if you don’t measure their productivity.

Thankfully, the task is made easy due to the number of effective software tools available for monitoring employee productivity.

Reward success

When employees complete their job to a successful standard, don’t let them feel their hard work was overlooked. Acknowledge the work they did and supply them with a healthy dose of praise. Even just a few kind words will help boost their morale.

However, you could always take it a step further and provide the employee with a reward. This could be everything from the afternoon off to a free meal at a local restaurant.

Why Has Productivity Declined In Your Business Offices & How Can You Fix It?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Productivity|Why Has Productivity Declined In Your Business Offices & How Can You Fix It?A productive commercial office is the heartbeat of any successful business. Unfortunately, performance levels can quickly fall if you leave problems untreated. Therefore, identifying the issues and building a strategy to overcome them is crucial.

Here are some of the most common sources of slowed progress, along with the simplest ways to put your company back on track.

Troubled Employees

Great employees are the driving force in any commercial office space. Investing in a smarter recruitment process will provide a foundation for efficiency. However, lost motivation and disengagement with the work are equally damaging. You can combat these issues by going the extra mile to keep staff members happy. In addition to the personal aspects, you must also try to develop strong relationships between colleagues. Likewise, the employer-employee bond requires ongoing attention. A team that works together is destined for greatness.

Faulty Equipment

Thriving office spaces utilize a wide range of equipment ranging from computer to telecoms systems. Experts at JabberComm can provide the maintenance and cabling upgrades to ensure that all systems are ready to perform. As well as the benefits of increased capability and reliability, the infrastructure can help employees. After all, there’s no greater frustration than not being able to complete a job due to inadequate or faulty products. Regular maintenance, which should be supported by software updates, will work wonders for the venture.

Why Has Productivity Declined In Your Business Offices & How Can You Fix It?Poor Collaboration

Collective success is arguably even more significant than individual productivity. If collaboration levels aren’t at the desired levels, productivity will slide. In today’s world, it’s likely that internal interactions will be supported by connections to other depts. Investing in video conferencing equipment, messaging Apps, and project management tools should help. Above all else, you must adapt your strategy to avoid wasted time. This can manifest itself as shorter team meetings or a smarter approach to using team leaders and senior staff members.

Unsafe Surroundings

Color schemes and design features of the office can impact morale. In truth, though, the greatest threat to productivity comes from shortcomings in safety and security. Employees will be heavily distracted if they are uncertain about their safety. Upgrading the online data protection systems should be at the top of your agenda. Meanwhile, physical security in the form of Swann CCTV and key entry systems can put an end to employee fears. In turn, everyone in the office will have the opportunity to work without interruptions. Cleanliness and good organizational habits are central features too.

Taking On Too Much

The fact that an employee is capable of completing a task doesn’t mean they should do it. When senior staff members spend time on admin and other basic tasks, it stops them from utilizing their real talents. Let your on-site staff focus on the most challenging tasks. Remote freelancers and virtual assistants to take care of the easy tasks. This will maximize the efficiency of the company’s time and budget, opening the door to greater output. In turn, this should encourage increased profitability. Better still, the concept of outsourcing can open the door to smoother expansion.

Turn to Multidimensional Employees for Identifying New Business Models

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |New Business Models|Turn to Multidimensional Employees for Identifying New Business ModelsCompanies can find untapped value in their employees when working to solve current challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. This involves utilizing a Make Your Case initiative that allows employees to apply their unused skillsets and connections in opening up new ways for their companies to operate.

Surprisingly, employers don’t often care to know about or think to utilize the stockpile of unused resources their employees bring. They tend to view skills outside of their employees’ job descriptions as irrelevant to the scope of normal business operations. It’s possible that employers simply don’t see the value that such extraneous abilities or connections can generate.

But given the shockwaves reverberating from the market disruption that’s taking place, many normal business models are no longer operational, and new models must emerge. Companies would benefit from turning to the untapped expertise of their multidimensional employees for new ideas through Make Your Case solutions to the rising challenges.

For example, in this unprecedented shelter-in-place environment, consider the value inherent in the information sharing taking place through social media. Networks of people are utilizing their own knowledge and past experiences to advise others on meeting the challenge of remaining isolated in their homes. People share their experiences of living through hurricanes, surviving in post-war Kosovo, and living in a remote outpost in Alaska, for example, as tried-and-true ideas for working and remaining connected in difficult circumstances. The social media forum is a plethora of innovative solutions not only for connecting with co-workers and customers while sheltering in the place, but also remaining socially connected — think virtual happy hours.

Compare the diverse and innovative social media postings with some of the messaging coming from companies during this pandemic. The emails and posts coming from the business sector lack variety, color and the ability to engage. Companies regularly communicate that they are aware of the hardships to customers, vendors and employees during this time. Yet, besides possible changes in delivery methods or product discounts, the companies’ information lacks flavor and innovation.

Yet many of the same people with clever ideas on social media also work for companies who could use some creativity to their approach. These very people have experience in dealing with work disruptions or isolation, and they’ve accumulated amazing personal, social, and professional capital that can be utilized by their companies in their organizational recalibration.

Companies often acknowledge the importance of diversity. Yet, they tend to overlook opportunities to explore the diversity of experiences and interests that employees bring beyond their work responsibilities. But involving more diverse ideas will help in responding to this crisis. Companies will benefit from understanding that the diversity of multidimensional employees’ perspectives can be of enormous value to them.

In Make Your Case initiatives, companies invite employees to utilize their multidimensional core and contribute their original perspectives on challenges that the company currently faces. The process is similar to design thinking, with a different emphasis for idea creation. Instead of brainstorming a creative new idea, employees reference their multidimensional experiences outside of work and employ them in a proposed solution.

The Make Your Case process involves:

1. Outline the idea. Employees initially summarize their idea through the filter of the company’s case challenge to ensure their understanding of the challenge and its context. Make Your Case company reviewers make sure the idea is grounded in the appropriate context before inviting authors to continue.

2. Describe applicability of the solution. The authors illustrate their idea with a personal story of how the solution worked in other settings. As their ideas come from outside the work setting, it’s important to treat the Make Your Case solution as a proposal that may need more specifics.

3. Share ideas for implementation. Using what they know of the company, the authors indicate which parts of their proposed solution can be implemented immediately, and which will need additional resources. Company reviewers who are now vested in the idea will likely help facilitate finding resources and funding to expedite implementation of the solution.

4. Fine-tune specifics. Together with company reviewers, the authors tailor specifics of their solution to the company challenge. This includes providing an action plan of how the solution will be carried out.

Make Your Case initiatives engage employees by inviting them to demonstrate their unique multidimensional cores. By providing their innovative solutions and helping to implement them in a way that addresses a pressing challenge, employees are given an opportunity to craft their own edge within the company.

The company benefits from a pipeline of solutions that have been tested in other contexts and tailored to the reality of this particular challenge.

About the Author

Julia Ivy, PhD Psych, PhD Mgmt, is a strategy and international business executive professor and faculty director at Northeastern University. Her area of expertise is in bridging strategy and psychology in the concept of personal strategy. In addition to her academic work, she acts as an executive coach for those facing the “What’s next?” challenge. Her new book is Crafting Your Edge for Today’s Job Market: Using the BE-EDGE Method for Consulting Cases and Capstone Projects (Emerald Publishing, Oct. 7, 2019). Learn more at be-edge.com.