StrategyDriven Expert Contributors' Blog

New Career Changes Often Need Assistance

January 21, 2021/in Professional Development/by StrategyDriven

Many people work at a job they do not like, to say the least, which makes them want to get up for another day of work and feel real sadness and frustration at the beginning of the week. Now, we are working from home, but this may not always be the case. Soon the 9-5 will return…possibly. In some form.

The reasons for this are many and varied, from the precarious political situation, through the fear of going out into the world of job interviews again to the fear that they will not be able to find a new job at all, and especially not one that will offer the same conditions as the current job. However, whatever the reasons may be, the very fact that a person chooses to stay in a job he does not like may cause more harm than its monetary value. Plenty of people have been laid off during this pandemic and unemployment is rising everywhere. With Unemploymenttracker.com you can see how.

Self-realization and love of the profession are necessary for every person and are not interchangeable. Therefore, over the years, a selection of types of personal training have been developed, designed to help create career changes. What is the same career training for change and how can it be used?

What is personal training and do I need it for a new career?

Before examining personal coaching focused on the career field, it is better to first examine what personal coaching is all about. Over the years, it has evolved into other areas as well, relying on different methods, whether psychological and cognitive or spiritual. However, this is not a psychological treatment, as personal training is not meant to understand the trainee’s past and motives or change their personality. Personal training helps a person set certain goals and objectives, and with the help of the coach strive to achieve them. Therefore, personal coaching can help in many areas, from relationships and family to profession and career.

It’s time for a change!

Personal coaching in the field of career is usually divided into two main types – career retraining or professional advancement. When the current job is restrictive and does not match the employee’s dreams or goals, then it needs to be changed. If you have your own business, then other goals and objectives must be set than if he wants to continue to be an employee but engage in another field. When changing careers, coaching can focus on the smallest details, including upgrading and changing resumes, conducting job interviews, registering for studies required for the new profession, business guidance, contacting business start-ups and more.

If you want to advance in the company in which you work but are not successful or know how to do it on your own, then it may be time to troubleshoot. What skills do you have? What skills do you need? Listen to your intuition and heart, as it is better to change your mind at first, than to walk the path you are unsure of in the guide. If you are unsure, you can ask for recommendations, whether from previous customers or friends or acquaintances from your family. It’s time for a change.

3 Tips to Take Charge of Your Finances

January 20, 2021/in Practices for Professionals/by StrategyDriven

If you feel as though you’re not doing enough to save and plan for the future, you’re probably right that you could be doing more. It’s surprisingly common for people to let years elapse before making any life changes that will affect their financial status. In many cases, people simply aren’t able to exercise forward thinking because their expenses are continually in excess of what they earn. The cost of living continues to rise, yet wages remain fairly static. Nevertheless, even when people aren’t earning enough to pay for basic necessities, they often put money towards less important expenditures. Also, they don’t look for savings where they can or make an active effort to achieve better financial health. They simply accept that money is tight and they give up on trying to effect change.

Despite the difficulty of making changes or the realities of having to go without the things that you want, there’s a lot that you can do to take charge of your finances. You can start by viewing material about financial wellness for women that might give you an edge on saving. Small steps towards being more attentive to spending and saving will ultimately give you better control of your financial future.

1. Preserve Your Credit

Even if you’re not planning on buying a home or taking out a loan, your credit score can be a huge factor in your overall financial health. When you apply for a new higher paying job, a poor credit score may be a red flag to a hiring manager. If you want to move into a more affordable apartment, poor credit may make you an unappealing tenant. Furthermore, your credit score can subject you to higher interest rates on monthly expenses such as your credit cards or car payments. Make it a point to check your credit regularly so you can stay on top of any reporting mistakes. Pay your bills on time, and avoid letting outstanding account balances fall into collections.

2. Plan Ahead

Even when you have a lot of outstanding expenses, you still need to think about savings. Having some money put away is extremely important to your financial security. You need two different types of savings accounts. First, you need a rainy day fund that can go towards emergency expenses or help you withstand a sudden loss of income. Second, you need to save as a part of your retirement planning. Although retirement may still be many years away, your efforts to plan for it now will have a considerable impact on when you can retire and how comfortably you can live when you do. Determine what percentage of your income you can set aside each month for both accounts, and don’t deviate from your savings plan.

3. Avoid Frivolous Spending

It’s okay to get yourself some of the things that you want, but you simply can’t buy everything that you want. Put some reasonable limits on unnecessary expenditures. In particular, it’s essential that you don’t spend more for things than you really need to. Avoid paying full price for items that you can purchase at a discount by shopping around or waiting for a sale.

Can Your Business Handle A Disaster?

January 20, 2021/in Risk Management/by StrategyDriven

Mother Nature is a fearless beast. She throws fire, blows wind and sends floods, and we have to be ready for it all. Depending on where you are located, you may face one or all of these different natural disasters and if you aren’t careful, you could lose your business because of them. Currently, we are living in a pandemic, and your business needs to be able to handle any disaster that Mother Nature throws at it. With the right protection in place, you keep both your employees and your data as safe as possible.

Data recovery is one of the most important elements to consider when you decide whether your business can handle a disaster. Not only do you need to ensure that you are keeping your data regularly saved, but you need to be able to get it all back to be able to recover your business properly. Keeping your business going through a crisis is important, so here are some of the ways that you can keep it all going.

Create A Communication Plan. Before a huge storm, a flood or a fire occur, we usually have some kind of warning. If your business is located somewhere that is prone to natural disasters, you will likely be aware of the rate of fires, floods and tornadoes that occur. You have to have a communication plan in place to interact with your employees. You need to know which channels you’ll use for communication, whether that is email, live chat, video chat or text message. Information that you share with your employees will include news resources and delays that are expected on public transport. You need a plan to keep talking to your team in the event of a crisis and you should have this in place so that everyone is aware of what to do when a disaster happens.
Do Better with Your Digital Presence. Too little information that’s outdated is going to cause confusion. You need to ensure that your employees are up to date with their online profiles and your website should remain up to date, too. You need to have a way for customers to contact you at all times, even when a disaster has wiped out your physical office. They still need to know how to get in touch with you and this is what will help your business to continue no matter what happens.
Interact With Customers Better. When you talk to your customers in the wake of a disaster, you need to strike the right tone so that they know you are still available to provide the right service. They also deserve to know that their information is safe. Communicating with customers during a crisis is important, as these customers are the ones providing you with continued business. If you would communicate with staff effectively, you need to do the same with your customers, too!

Take the time to put a business disaster plan in place, and you will be able to take on anything with regard to your business and careful recovery.

Should Your Business Pay Home Office Costs For Remote Employees?

January 20, 2021/in Managing Your Finances/by StrategyDriven

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced so many businesses to adopt remote working overnight. While there are a lot of benefits to remote working and it’s much safer for everybody right now, there are some challenges for your employees.

Creating a positive working environment in the home can be difficult and expensive. But many companies aim to solve this problem by giving their employees a stipend to create their own home office.

Shopify and Twitter, for example, offered to give each remote employee $1,000 to set up their home office. This money is to be spent on things like ergonomic office desks and chairs, or new laptops. Some companies are also offering a monthly payment to help cover things like internet or phone bills.

For big companies like Twitter, this expense is manageable and it seems like a no-brainer if it makes life easier for their employees. However, it’s not so easy for small businesses and paying your employees a similar stipend will put a lot of financial strain on you, so is it really worth it?

What Are The Benefits Of Paying Home Office Costs For Your Remote Workers?

Although it is a big expense to cover, it may be the best thing for your business in the long run. If you pay this money to your employees you will notice a big increase in productivity. It’s difficult to work productively if you don’t have a comfortable, well equipped space to do it. But if you give your employees the money to buy a proper office desk and chair so they can stay comfortable and focus, they will get a lot more done.

Giving your employees some financial assistance also increases access to tech tools, which employees may not otherwise use. Expecting your employees to pay out of their own pocket for a brand new laptop is unreasonable, especially considering their utility costs are likely to increase while they are working from home. The same goes for upgrading their internet connection to accommodate video conferencing. This means that many employees will struggle to work effectively because they are using outdated tools. Giving them some money to update their tech tools will benefit them as well as the business.

You should also consider it an investment for the future because it’s likely that the business world will be changed permanently by the pandemic. Remote working is going to become far more common, and that’s good for businesses because it cuts your office costs. However, if you expect your employees to continue working remotely in the future, you need to help them get their homes set up for it.

What Are The Downsides?

The obvious downside of these payments is that they put a lot of financial strain on the business in an already difficult time. So, before you make any promises, crunch the numbers and make sure that you can afford it.

The other thing to be aware of is that employees may spend the money elsewhere. Although this is unlikely, you may decide to ask them to purchase items and then reimburse them afterwards to avoid this.

Overall, if your business can afford it, paying home office costs for your remote employees is a good idea.

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Great Employers |Little Things Go a Long Way: 10 Ways Great Employers Set Themselves Apart From the Rest

Little Things Go a Long Way: 10 Ways Great Employers Set Themselves Apart From the Rest

January 20, 2021/in Managing Your People/by StrategyDriven

Really quick now, how well do you treat your employees? How happy are they working for your business? Guess what, if they’re not happy, how well do you think they’ll perform? How much attention to detail will they give to their work? How long are they going to hang around?

It’s so important nowadays for businesses to care about their employees and treat them right, but if you’re left scratching your head for ideas, here are ten ways you can set yourself apart from the rest of the employers out there.

1. Be Honest

When you’re talking to employees, it’s something easy to not speak the truth, whether you’re distorting facts or flat-out lying. Instead, be honest. All great leaders can be trusted because they know the truth is what matters, and people respect that.

2. You Connect with Them

Whether you’re merely asking whether your employees are okay as they come into work in the morning, or you’re communicating with them as human beings, talking and connecting with your employees is essential for making your place of work the best place it can be.

3. Avoid Micromanaging

This point speaks for itself, but just as a reminder, you employed your staff because they are capable of doing what you employed them to do. Delegation is essential. Micromanaging is crippling.

4. Stay Cool Under Pressure

There are going to be times when things heat up, and how you deal with them defines you as a leader and a good business. Instead of passing the buck or pointing fingers, a good business stands up and aims to get things sorted. No throwing anyone under the bus; you’re a team!

5. Make Your Employees Feel Valued

There’s nothing worse than working for a company where you’re treated as though you’re nothing. It’s like the work you do doesn’t matter and the time you’re spending there could be done by anyone. Even if that’s the case, appreciating your employees for working for you will make them feel as though they’re spending their life on something that matters, and this will dramatically increase satisfaction rates.

6. Looking for the Best

When you look for the best in others, people are more likely to want to show it to you, so actively seek it out. Try to find what the best your team has to offer is, and encourage people to share what they have.

7. Credit Where Credit is Due

Just like taking the heat when the going gets tough when things are done well, it’s important to remember that everything was a team effort, not just ‘oh, the business is doing really well right now,’ because it’s your employees making that happen. Share the praise with them.

8. Invest

Whether you’re providing promotional opportunities, training courses, or even just giving your staff the time of day, if you’re not investing something, you won’t have happy employees. You can use services like ServiceNow HR for employee experience to highlight the best ways to do this.

9. Create a Team Spirit

Few businesses run with just one employee, which means you’re working as a team. Just because you’re delegating the team and telling them what to do, that doesn’t make you better than them; you simply just have more responsibility to help guide the team in the right direction. Everyone is in this together.

10. Inspire Your Staff

There’s nothing more demoralizing than going to work for a company that feels like a dead-end job. A good business will inspire their staff to encourage them to want to be the best versions of themselves, no matter what that version may look like.

Summary

There’s no denying there are endless ways to make your company stand out from the rest when it comes to how you treat your employees and creating a work environment that people actually want to be in. Be proactive with a growth mindset, and you’ll see beautiful things start to happen.