Harmony vs Chaos: Keep Employees on the Same Page

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Making sure everyone in your business is on the page shouldn’t be seen as mere courtesy. When everyone is on the same page, then it becomes much easier for business to go smoothly! You want everyone working in some sort of harmony, in order to fight off the chaos that big business projects can often bring.

Employees are your strongest asset, but you’re doing them a disservice if communication and collaboration isn’t that strong in your business. Here are a few tips you should keep in mind.

Contribution

If employees don’t feel all that involved in certain aspects of the business, then it’s going to be more difficult for them to really engage as deeply as you want them to. One of the best ways to encourage professional harmony in the workplace is to get more employees involved in the planning process of a particular project, or even in its inception. Of course, you have to balance this with the risk of having too many cooks in the kitchen – this approach may stretch out the planning process. It could benefit the project in the long run, though.

Collaboration

The easier it is to collaborate, the more people you’re going to get on the same page. Thankfully, there’s a bunch of software and web applications you can use to facilitate this. SharePoint, a Microsoft Office feature, is currently gaining popularity in this area. It’s relatively new to many people, however, so consider working with a consultancy business such as HingePoint to help people get used to things. There’s also suites such as Google Drive, communication programs such as Skype and Google Hangouts, and project management web apps such as Trello and Basecamp that are all recommended.

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Documentation

Whether it be documents detailing the goals of the project or notes taken from meetings, keeping strong documentation of the project is pretty essential. When people get a little lost, they can refer to a central piece of information – such as a project bible – to help them get back on track and see what the particular aims and expectations are. This is also very useful for instances in which employees are late, have to take a sick day, and return from vacation. You should make sure that these documents are kept up-to-date, too; they shouldn’t be static texts. After all, things are probably going to change a few times on a given project!

Sociability

A lot of business owners see encouraging sociability to be something quite peripheral to work. They want to keep things friendly in the office, though they also know that these good vibes can also increase satisfaction, which helps drive productivity and focus. But encouraging sociability really helps in a very direct way when it comes to people being on the same page at the workplace. When bonds grow between employees, they don’t only talk about private or trivial matters – they also begin to talk about work more frankly, and become more enthusiastic to offer each other help. So arranging after-work social events, as well as allowing employees a bit of space to talk casually from time to time, can help your business more than you might think.

Smooth HR Equals Smooth Business Growth

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In the business world, growth relies on a team of knowledgeable and experienced professionals. Naturally, the quality of the service or product, the success of the marketing campaigns, and the satisfaction of the customers and partners also play an essential role. But there is no denying that a company that is struggling with finding the appropriate talent or retaining essential skills in-house will also experience a slow or even negative growth. After all, a business is made of people, and it is them who create the necessary additional value. Therefore the performance of the HR department matters hugely to support business expansion. Often overlooked or labeled as the department responsible for internal policies only, the HR has essential tasks to perform successfully in the business structure: From a recruitment process that identifies the right candidate for the job to the effective organization of the team structure. And that is without mentioning the abilities to run useful employee retention policies.

At A Recruiting Level

When it comes to the recruitment process, the HR team is responsible for the job advertisement. While it can be designed in collaboration with the relevant manager, in truth, HR is in charge of defining the job perks that are likely to attract candidates. It is essential at this stage to be realistic. Free gym membership, free coffee, fancy IT devices, company cars, and much more, are among the most common perks to be found in job specs. However, most candidates would happily exchange the latest MacBook against flexible time, as their values have evolved. Additionally, when it comes to the choice of the right candidate, most companies now prefer to use the cover letter as a gauge. Yet this doesn’t mean that the resume doesn’t count: It is used to identify the suitable skills and experience.

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At An Organizational Level

StrategyDriven Talent Management ArticleWithin the company, HR continues to make sense of the internal teams for all, especially in large companies where it can be difficult to keep track of everyone. In these organizations, creating an org chart is a mammoth task that needs to be updated with every employee who leaves, changes function, or is hired. However, there are tools, such as the Pingboard org chart software solution, that enable the HR team to complete the chart in a matter of minutes, saving time for more urgent projects. Finally, it is essential that the HR provides each new employee with an information pack and ensures that an introduction day or week – depending on the size of the company – is planned for the newcomer.

Limiting Staff Turnover For A Healthy Structure

Last, but not least, it also falls under the HR responsibility to work on employee retention concepts. This requires regular measurements of job satisfaction, stress level, and team integration, as well as internal communication. It is more expensive to launch a new recruitment process than to try to fix existing issues. With this in mind, the HR needs to help develop recognition models that go beyond monetary rewards, and identify structural issues that turn off new employees, such as excessive micromanagement or disinterested team manager.

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Managing Your International Team Without Letting Go Of The Reins

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Many business owners understand the enormous benefits of having sales teams based in their international territories. Unfortunately, there are also a large number of disadvantages to recruiting internationally. Global operations can feel too distant and remote. Soon you may feel like you have to let go of the heart of your business and allow these international offices to become their own entity. That simply isn’t the case, if you know how to tackle the challenges of remote working effectively.

Managing your international teams can be easier than you think. The situation calls for you to manage your own time so that you can be available to them as they need you. That’s challenging enough in your own territory without having to worry about time zone differences as well. If you hate to travel, or you simply don’t have the time, you need to find other ways to personally communicate with your teams. Fortunately, technology has the answers.

Video conferencing gives you the chance to view the room and better measure the reactions and mood of your distant team. When you summon the entire office to a meeting, it confirms you’re the one in charge and you’re not letting go of the reins. Do this weekly, so you are continuously and reliably available to discuss issues. Try not to treat it just like a meeting, but instead make it less formal. Chat about local issues both there and here. Catch up on a personal level with the key members of your international team.

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Personnel challenges are common when you’re not there in person. It can be too tricky to route all your HR function through your local head office. Instead, you might find it useful to consult experts in global payroll to ensure you are meeting local requirements at home and abroad. You should also outsource your recruitment drives to local providers to ensure you don’t make any cultural or legal faux pas.

Training your remote team can be particularly challenging when you’re not there. You will need excellent resources to guide the team (potentially in their local language) through your preferred business practices. Their understanding and compliance must be tested, so don’t be afraid to set up a couple of exams or practical tests. Again, video calls are very useful here. You can set up a webinar that offers the opportunity for feedback and interaction while you present your ideas. Contracting an educational video production company could be very useful here.

Ultimately, you’re going to need someone to take the lead in your overseas office. This individual may be a sales manager so helping them to become a good leader as well takes some careful planning. They may need your guidance and coaching. You may even become their mentor, but you need to clearly draw the line when it comes to their limitations. You’re the boss, and the buck ultimately stops with you. Make it clear which issues they can seek to resolve themselves, and which must go over their head directly to you.

Managing an overseas team has its challenges, but it’s not impossible. A global presence can help you reach the territories you need with success. How do you manage yours?

Recruitment Strategies – What To Look For In A Resume

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These days any employer advertising a post knows they will be inundated with applications. That mean you will have a large number of resumes to sort through before you can narrow down your choice of candidates for interview. This can obviously take a long time. Many recruiters choose to use recruitment agencies or talent scouts to select the very best talent to come into the office for an interview. It can take a lot of the time and hassle out of the process, but there will be a cost added. If you’re currently recruiting, what do you look for in a resume?

Cover Page

Many recruiters read only the covering letter to gauge whether a candidate will be right. This can be a little naive though, as it will only give very brief information. Still, it should provide an insight into the level of professionalism you can expect. Spelling errors are simply unacceptable to recruiters today. Some won’t accept anything that isn’t personally addressed to the manager. A cover letter should offer you enough detail that you want to read on.

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The First Paragraph

Many resumes feature an introduction paragraph designed to sell that candidate to recruiters. Not everyone is a great marketer, and self-promotion can be difficult for some. Still, a candidate with the confidence and clarity to identify relevant qualifications and achievements in a single paragraph could be worthy of an interview. Look for insights into the candidate’s personality in their writing style. Sometimes quirky, chatty styles fit well in the company.

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Qualifications

Some companies have strict policies about the schools they will recruit from. Others simply demand a degree. The qualifications should be clearly listed so you can quickly identify the level of education for the candidate. You should be able to see any recent continuance of studies. Some colleges like UAB offer degrees online. Candidates that study this way can manage work and study in tandem and so might be of more interest to demanding employers.

Work Experience

Do you frown upon candidates with gaps in their work history? There are many reasons why a potential recruit had time away from work. Before you completely dismiss them, consider how rounded their experience might be. Have they taken on non-salaried projects? Perhaps they were studying, raising a family, or running their own business? If they’re unemployed now, consider the benefits of a well-rested candidate!

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The Closing Paragraph

If you’ve read this far, chances are this candidate has piqued your interest. Now they have a chance to let you know if their personality could be a fit for your firm. This final paragraph often offers an insight into their hobbies and interests outside of the workplace. We’re all trained to include something artistic and something that suggests we look after our health. You might ignore those references because every resume has them. What else can you find that fits in well with the culture of the company, the products you develop, and the customer base you’ve built?

Recruitment is expensive and time-consuming. It’s important to find candidates that are right for the business. That’s not easy without a recruitment strategy.

The Secrets Of A Productive Business

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In terms of time that you need to organise yourself, your staff and a successful business, it can seem like you barely have any to work with at all. The saying goes that we’ve got the same amount of time in the day as (insert extremely successful person here), yet surely we cannot be doing everything ourselves in order to propel ourselves forwards. So what are the secrets of those who are managing to get everything done? Don’t panic – it’s not all as mysterious and time-consuming as it may seem.

Pssttt … It’s Not Just Them.

There are people in this world who are super-productive. But to truly succeed, they need a firm foundation of people who are willing to help them achieve what they want and need to achieve. It’s a case that is first rooted in education. Those who are given the privilege of succeeding are more likely to go further than those who put the work in. It’s unfair, but unfortunately a fact of life. To truly succeed in the business world, you need to be able to pass your work over to those who are more able.

How Do I Find The More Able?

You think outside of the box. Don’t just look towards humans – look towards technology, too. The computers that are able to process things a thousand times faster than we ourselves are able to. The apps that can help us out with simple things that take way longer for humans to complete. For example, investing in real-time ID scanning and ID authentication rather than having clients visit you or having to take time out of their schedule to go one step further in validating their existence will save not just you the hassle, but your customers too. This is beneficial to the both of you. It’ll keep your customers coming back.

So What Happens After That?

Keep the simplicity coming. Delegate the jobs that need delegating, whether to human or computer. Focus on your own management issues and stylings and think about whether these need working on. This is something that technology definitely can’t help out with. There are resources online to let you know what you should be doing to keep your team happy, if you have one, or what you need to do to increase productivity/effectiveness of your staff, but it’s more a case of trying and testing these theories. Everybody is different, and that goes for not just you but your staff as well.  Especially in terms of project management, certain tactics work well in some situations but not so much in others. It’s a way of being able to move forward and get more stuff done in the time that you have given to it. Setting yourself limits on the time that you have can definitely aid you in regards to getting a set amount of work done in a set amount of time, but it’s more about recognising the impact of said work and how much it positively impacts your business.