Michael Levitt's Blog, page 127

How To Build A Successful Career Within The Investment Banking Sector

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay 

Whether you’re someone who has just graduated with a major in business or finance, or you’re someone who has already spent a few years working within a different industry, if you’re interested in the concept of starting a career within the investment banking sector, then you may be unsure about where to start. Knowing how to get your career in investment banking off of the ground isn’t a simple or straightforward task - there’s a lot that you need to consider. 

Although the investment banking industry is highly competitive, the good news is that it’s packed full of highly rewarding opportunities. You will find plenty of useful people within the industry who are willing to share their insights and advice with you about their own successful careers. You will also find that there is plenty of training and support available, when it comes to moving forward within the investment banking sphere.

If you are serious about becoming an investment banker, then the advice below will be invaluable to your career aspiration and success. 

Understand the career track 

First and foremost, it’s essential that when it comes to building a career as an investment banker, that you take the time to understand the path that you will need to follow. For most investment bankers, the career track begins with an internship or entry-level role - these seemingly menial roles are vital for your success within the investment banking industry. Ensure that any internship or entry-level roles that you apply for, offer the adequate training and career advancement opportunities that you require for a successful investment banking career. 

Develop your knowledge 

Having a solid understanding of the industry in which you will be working is vital for your success as an investment banker. That’s why it’s crucial that you take the time to develop the knowledge that you have, and properly get to know the industry in which you will be working. You need to properly understand past and present marketing trends, and consider where you specialist knowledge will lay, if you plan on building one, that is. 

Build your network 

Like all industries, investment banking is as much about who you know as what you know, which is why building a strong, supportive network within the industry is so important. An effective way to build your network is through internships, shadowing, and networking, both in-person networking and virtual networking, via sites such as LinkedIn where you can find key investment bankers, like Australian investment banker Adam Blumenthal, for example. If you want to see success within the investment banking industry, you need to build a strong network of contacts to utilise as and when you need them. 

There you have it, a simple guide to how to begin to build a successful career within the investment banking sector. The process isn’t a quick one - it will take time and hard work to make your mark on the industry. However, with the right approach and the right mindset, it is possible to achieve success.

Ten Ways To Ask For A Promotion

Photo by mentatdgt from Pexels

If there is one thing that everyone wants but no one should assume that they get, it’s a promotion. We all want to do well in our careers and go places, but a promotion isn't like the bonus check you get at the end of the year. It’s actually something you have to really work for. Not that you didn't work for your bonus, but a bonus is a given based on your performance where a promotion is something you grow into with years of practice, study and gained skills. Many employees simply do not want to hand out promotions to just anyone, and in some cases, you really have to make your case for a promotion to stick. Most employers will wait for their staff to ask for a promotion and even then, it’s up to you to put your case across to prove you deserve the promotion in the first place. 

Before you can do that, you have to know your worth and know why you are in the right line for a promotion in the first place. You have to aspire to do better, so whether you want to take on a degree to grow your skills, or you work your way through the business to become the Medical Health Service Manager of the business you work for, there has to be some work for it. Your aspirations mean that you want to reach as high as you can and get everything from your business before you move onto the next challenge. So, how can you get that promotion that you know you’re worth without begging? Let’s take a look!

Get Your Homework Done

Before you ask for a promotion, you need to do some research. Is the position even available? Is there somewhere for you to grow once you get there or are you going to reach your ceiling? You need to know that you are a good fit for the next step, and that means having a game plan. You need to prepare and get ahead of the competition around you, and your preparation shows you are intelligent and mature. If you’ve done your research, it will be favorable with your boss, too.

Put A Case Together

If you really want to get in front of your bosses and ask for a promotion, you need to have a case. You cannot just randomly ask for a promotion - you have to prove that you’re worth it. That’s why you have to put a case together so that you can readily answer the question as to why you’re worth this promotion. Make a list of what you’ve accomplished and the changes that you hope to make when you get into the right position. Highlight your talents and you can then prove that you know what you’re doing! 

Prove You’re A Leader

If you haven't gathered by now, a lot of getting a promotion is showing that you deserve it. Proving yourself is a must, but you need to do it before you get to that meeting stage. So, you need to get in there and show your leadership qualities. You need to have a strong work ethic and get along with everyone and this can help you to build your case for your boss. Take up the leadership baton with ease and make it known that you are constantly trying.

Show That You Can Do It All

You need to go above and beyond in your role and show that you can do it all. If you go around doing only what is necessary, you’re going to be limited when it comes to your boss seeing how good you are. Of course, it doesn't mean that you should take on everything, but it does mean that you can show that you are able to do it all if you need to!

Be Cool - Just Relax

If you’re positive about the chance of a promotion, you’re going to keep your cool and show that you are able to retain a positive demeanor. Cement your position with the right attitude and you can gain the respect of your superiors. Meet your deadlines and get ahead with your projects. Ask the right questions and you’ll be in the best position for promotion.

Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels

Time It Right

If you approach your employer when they’re in a bad mood, or it’s been a bad day for sales, you need to hang back and don't barrel in there. You need to acknowledge that this is a difficult conversation to have but it’s an easy moment if you time it right. Meet after a work review where you are asked about your expectations for the future. It’s a good time to approach your goals, and it puts you in the best position to ask for a step up!

Schedule A Meeting

Asking for a meeting is a big deal, and it should be done in a way that explains that you want to discuss your future. You want to write an official email to your manager to request a meeting with them, asking for the best time to meet and chat about the future. No matter what, you need to consider that you want to discuss the topics of performance and promotion. When you do this, you can help them to prepare for a conversation that requires adequate warning.

Prepare Well

Before your big meeting, get a great night of sleep. You need to make sure that you bring all evidence that you deserve this promotion you’re asking for to the meeting. You need to write down your strengths and weaknesses and present these to your boss. Add any research you’ve undertaken and how you plan to do better in your new role. Don’t be afraid to make a separate file for your boss so that they can take this away with them, too.

Fake It Til You Make It

Confident? No, most people aren’t confident going into this type of meeting. Confidence is your key to success, though, and without it you don't get very far. You need to believe in yourself, and you need to have a good attitude if you want to get the outcome you really want from your meeting. Being calm and collected in the meeting will help you to make the right impression. You must be as professional and efficient as possible, but your attitude with your boss will help you to get the right outcome. You want this promotion, and all of this matters and will help you to get what you want.

Always Follow Up

You may not get offered a promotion on the spot, but that doesn't mean that you won’t get it. Follow up with your boss and ask them the outcome of the meeting if you don't hear within a day or two. Don't be too upset if it’s a no, though; you need to know why you are passed over and how you can improve. Then, work on those improvements and try again next year. Work on yourself; go back to school and learn some new things for that job you want the most. Promotions get you places, and you can get there one day if not right now!

A promotion could be what you want, but you need to fight for it! Prove that you’re happy to show off and you will get somewhere with your future. Promotions are there for the taking if you know how to work for it. Try the tips above and see if they work for you.

Employee Engagement In The Construction Industry

Photo by Ivan Henao on Unsplash

It’s no secret that an engaged workforce is vital to the long term success of a business.  Motivated, loyal employees can improve every aspect of a company, from its balance sheet to its health and safety record. 

Construction companies need to devote time, effort, and resources to measuring and improving employee engagement if they are to reap the benefits.  

Over the five years, the construction industry has performed very well in terms of employee engagement, but the very nature of the industry means that this can change very quickly. 

Measuring employee engagement

It’s important that employee engagement is measured continually. The days of the annual survey are over, they only provide a snapshot of the company at a given moment.  When you finally compile and analyze the data, you could be looking at a very different company.  

Your employee engagement strategy should be woven into the very fabric of your company, from the hire strategy to the exit interview. 

Due to their dispersed workforces, using an employee engagement platform for continuous listening is a good solution for construction companies.  

Ask the right questions

Many people make the mistake of asking the wrong questions in an employee survey.  What is the point of asking questions on issues that you cannot change?

It’s not all about work, people are well-rounded individuals who have lives, goals, and issues outside of their job.  

Find out if your employees feel that their work impacts their personal lives and what can be done to manage that.  

Show strong leadership

Commitment to employee engagement has to come from the top-down, it’s not just an HR initiative. It has to flow through all levels of leadership and management.  

Good managers create engaged teams who feel valued and will work more productively and efficiently. 

Offer a clear path to progress

Employees who feel like they are stuck in a job with no prospects or career paths are likely to become disengaged very quickly.  By having a clear progression through the company, with promotions, increases in responsibility and salary.  

Create meaning

People are happy when they believe in what they are doing.  Even if a job doesn’t seem overtly meaningful, good leaders will find a way to motivate their team by communicating their importance to the company.  

Recognition and reward performance 

Being recognized for your work is a great confidence boost.  Make sure that achievement is recognized at all levels of your company.  It’s not enough to assume that their salary is enough of a motivator.  The rewards don’t always have to be financial. If in doubt, ask your employees how they would like to be recognized.  

Conclusion

The nature of the construction industry produces its own unique set of challenges when it comes to employee engagement.  By implementing continuous listening and devoting resources to making meaningful change, you are more like to achieve the holy grail of employee engagement.  

Engaged employees are more productive, happier, take less sick days, and are more willing to go the extra mile for their employers. It can even directly impact the health and safety record of a company. 

Essential Tips For More Effective Cold Calling

Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash

Cold calling is a very important part of your marketing strategy and when it is used properly, it can be an effective tool to generate more leads and attract more customers. If you can prep properly for your cold calls, you can make each call go a lot more productively. Proper preparation will also make sure that you feel a lot more confident while you’re talking to prospects, build a better relationship with potential customers and clients, and have a higher rate of success at turning cold leads into confirmed sales.

Research Every Prospect

Before making a cold-call to any prospect, you need to do some research on the prospect that you’re targeting before you make the call. This research should be a pre-call ritual that you complete every time. If you put some time into finding plenty of helpful information about every prospect that you reach out to, you can make sure that every call has value for the prospect and will hold the interest of the person you are approaching. If you miss out on doing this essential research, you will appear uninterested and as though you are putting very little investment into offering any solutions to the person you have cold called. Your prospects will notice the extra effort that you have put in, and appreciate that you have been able to personalize the call to them. With more personalization and a better beginning relationship, you will also be better able to have a much more productive talk. 

Write An Outline Of What You Need To Say

Prepare a brief cold call script that takes you a little under thirty seconds to deliver during a call. You can turn to this script while you are on the telephone. Resist the urge to turn to this script and just read it out loud. Instead, you should use the script as a helpful guide to allow you to deliver your message with confidence and clarity. With the script for support, you are less likely to feel nervous, even if the call is a difficult one. When you are preparing your script, remember that the main goal of all your cold calls should not be to pitch straight away during that call. Instead, you should be aiming to persuade the prospect to agree to a meeting with you at another time in order to further discuss your products and services, and what their benefits are. 

Take A Couple Of Hours To Go Through Your Call List

To get through more calls and make each call go quickly and productively, you need to make the calls without any distractions. You should never try to and make your calls while also doing something else like checking your emails or typing up meeting notes. The only thing that you should have on your desk or in front of you while you are making calls is the list of people that you need and the brief script that you have prepared. Having other things in front of you can be a distraction. If you’re distracted, you won’t be able to be entirely present with the other person on the line during the call, and they may be able to tell that you are distracted. You can also use tools like Call Cowboy Auto Dialer to speed things up and make more calls. 

Work Out How Many Calls You Need To Make To Hit Your Goals

How many cold calls do you need to have made in order to hit your monthly quota? If you don’t know, you need to work it out. You can figure out this number by starting with your goal and then working backward from this point. You can then pinpoint roughly how many cold calls you will need to make each day, and from there how many calls in total each month in order to reach those goals. 

Prepare A Strong Opening Sentence

When you are making a cold call, you have roughly ten seconds to catch the attention of the prospect and convince them that they want to be speaking to you. To make a successful call, you must stand out immediately from the dozens of other cold callers that most companies are contacted by. Once you have introduced yourself, immediately move the focus onto the prospect and off you. Do this by using some information from your research that allows you to tailor the call to the prospect. 

For example, you could start your call by giving the prospect a sincere compliment on a recent accomplishment that you have learned about while doing your research into the prospect. This could be congratulating them on an award win or mentioning a recent piece of media coverage they have earned. This shows you understand them and pay attention to what they do and will start the conversation on a positive note.

Be Motivated By Rejection

Rejection is never pleasant, and nobody likes to have to face it. This unpleasantness can mean it is all too simple to become discouraged if a call goes badly and then struggle with the calls you need to make later on. If you do become discouraged, you must allow this to interfere with other calls you need to make. Instead of becoming put off, try to maintain a positive attitude. Pick up the phone again, and make more calls, using what you have learned from calls than have gone less than perfectly.  

Practice Makes Perfect

Go into every call properly prepared. In order to feel more confident on every call you make, prepare by taking some time to rehearse what you are going to say. If you’ve spent some time practising some time what you want to say, you will be better able to perform well on the call. 

Overcome Reluctance To Make Calls

One of the main reasons that salespeople fail at making successful cold calls is because they are reluctant to make any of those calls. It is totally normal to feel somewhat awkward about making a cold call, but with proper preparation and confidence in your services, you can set aside reluctance and get on with making those all-important calls. 

There are several methods you could try to ease any nerves before making a cold call. Regardless of the outcome of any calls, learn to see every one as an opportunity to learn. Even if the call doesn’t go as you hoped, you can learn from your mistakes so the error is not repeated. Embrace the positives instead, and remember what worked.

Use Trigger Events To Find An Opening

You need to time contact right. If you reach out to someone just after that have agreed to work with a competitor, you are wasting your time and theirs. 

However, if you know that a prospect is in the market for a new vendor, you should reach out before they start the search, so you can get ahead of the competition. 

Getting this timing right doesn’t have to as difficult as you might think. There are some great moments that can capitalize on, known as trigger events. Monitor publicly available information, such as in the media. You can use services like Google alerts to keep an eye out for these trigger events. Good things to look out for include:

New executive hires

Winning large contracts

Large customer announcements

Company expansions

Mergers and acquisitions

Funding

Behavioural indicators

All these things suggest a potential need for a new vendor, due to increased budget or new blood in charge, making this a great time to make a cold call. 

A Guide To Make Running Your Online Business Less Stressful

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Many people think that opening an online business will automatically be less stressful than opening a physical business. Surely there’s a lot less to think about, so it’ll be easier and less of a stress trigger, right? Not necessarily! 

An online business requires as much attention as a physical business, especially when starting out. Just because it’s virtual doesn’t mean it’s a venture void of stress. The advice below will help to make running your online business less stressful, so take a look if you’re thinking of starting an online business or you’re struggling with yours already:

Don’t Go It All Alone 

When starting an online business, you might have the impression that you’re ‘supposed’ to do it all alone. This is not the case! If you have the capital and you know you could use some help, it would be a great investment to hire a freelancer or outsource a service to take a weight off your shoulders. Looking for a reliable, cheap vps supplier will take a weight off your shoulders right away when starting a website. You could even invest in some software to take care of some of the simpler tasks for you. The more time you can free up, the less stressed you’ll be. Trying to do everything will only leave you stressed and spread too thinly. 

Schedule Your Downtime 

As an entrepreneur, you need to schedule your downtime just like you would any piece of work. Your downtime is just as important, as it’ll help you to avoid burnout. Burnout will seriously set you back, so you need to pay attention to your body and give it the rest it needs. 

Take The Time To Acknowledge Your Accomplishments

Even if it feels like you’re behind, take time regularly to look at what’s going right for you. Acknowledging your accomplishments is so important. All entrepreneurs are programmed to want to achieve ‘more’, but sometimes, appreciating where you’re at is healthy. 

Learn To Prioritize Effectively 

When you have many tasks to do, it can be tempting to put off the larger, more taxing tasks until later. Many people do this by doing the smaller, less important tasks first. This is still procrastination! Prioritizing effectively means knowing exactly what has to be done and making sure you do it first. Some people call it ‘eating the frog’. Whatever you call it, make sure you do it. The rest of your day will seem like a breeze in comparison! 

Purge Your Brain

Entrepreneurs often have a lot going on in their minds. Purging your brain by writing everything down morning/night can be a great form of therapy. It’s not necessarily journaling. You can do it on scrap paper if you wish, just get everything out of your mind and onto paper. You should feel better right away. 

Exercise

Exercise will ensure you’re doing something healthy before getting glued to your computer - it’ll also give you a wonderful cognitive boost for the rest of the day. Exercise has been proven to increase happiness and lower stress levels, too. 

How To Maximize Your Productivity On A Computer

Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels

It is the 21st century, so it's no surprise that many organizations around the world have dropped the old way of working which involved typewriters, physical files, and using fax machines to send documents. The use of computers to work is now a necessary requirement across many sectors, especially those who have to work from home. 

The difference between having a stress free yet productive day and a stressful day with nothing could simply lie in the efficiency of your computer. Let’s take a look at five things that can maximize your productivity while using a computer.

Have a Clean and Organized Desktop

Just like a physical desktop, a cluttered computer desktop can affect productivity. It is important to keep your desktop clutter free, as it can go a long way in improving creativity, productivity, and morale. Take time out to organize your files and pick a motivating wallpaper that incorporates colors or words that get you pumped every time you need to work.

Use a File Sharing Protocol

If you use your computer to work remotely, then you'll most likely have to share or receive files from your team members. It is important to choose a competent file sharer that allows users to efficiently share and receive large volumes of data. They do all this whilst also using minimum Internet bandwidth. This way, data is passed across timely and efficiently. For more information on file-sharing protocols, this article will help; https://setapp.com/how-to/best-torrent-client-for-mac

Download an Antivirus

An antivirus program carries out a wide range of functions. But, for the most part, it ensures your valued data is not corrupted or altogether lost. Some good antiviruses include Geekflare, Norton, and MacAfee, which all offer up a comprehensive definition of an antivirus. More so, they can easily be installed for protection against spyware, rootkits, malware, Trojans, spam and phishing attacks, and other cyber threats. More so, antiviruses also help declutter cached threats, which in turn, speed up your computer.

Use a Time Tracker

Ever wondered why many wise and successful people often emphasize the importance of time management? Well, the answer is simple - time is money. As such, one good way to manage your time is to use a time tracker. These apps go a long way to help you take note of how you use every single second; more so, they equally rid you of distractions and amp your overall productivity.

Have a Reliable Internet Connection

The internet is an important source of data and a means to stay connected with work peers, regardless of their location. Selecting a reliable and secured internet connection enables you to meet up with deadlines, communicate swiftly with peers and clients, keep your data secured and multi-task smoothly without lags or glitches.

Conclusion

As we live in a results-oriented culture, it is only normal to seek out ways to improve efficiency and productivity. When using a computer, productivity can be improved by using the tips suggested above and adapting even the most unlikely and minute changes. For instance increasing your mouse speed, getting reading glasses, or increasing the font of your desktop. 

Just make sure that whatever changes you incorporate, they are efficient, safe, and saves time.

8 Elements of Every Small Successful Business

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay 

Whether you run a small or medium business, you have to handle several tasks every day. But when it comes down to it, your main plan is to achieve your business goals. Of course, many factors contribute to the success of any business. Still, there are some key elements that you should consider in order to transform your venture into a successful business.

Key Elements that will Make Your Business a Success1. Planning

The first element of a successful business is a business and marketing plan. New product releases, your company growth, revenue, and marketing campaigns should be carefully planned. Your business plan will guide your company in the right direction, while a marketing plan helps you choose the right mode of advertising your product, like using the right brochure template that can include maps, invitations, resumes, photos, and anything else that you need for your particular campaign. Additionally, your marketing plan should include budgeting, personnel utilization, and product distribution strategies. With good planning, your company will remain focused on activities that can generate profit.

2. Data-driven

As the world goes digital, data has become the lifeblood of every business. Therefore, for your business to become successful, you need to develop a data-centric culture. Both internal and external data will help you to accurately measure your business. Apart from just understanding the key performance indicators or KPI’s, you need to develop a business where decisions are based on the use of good and quality data.

3. Flexible

Another important characteristic of successful businesses and the people who work to build successful companies is that they are flexible. For your business to grow, you need to be able to change, manage, and also adapt to the challenges you face along your way. This may mean being rigid on your experimental ideas or products and, at other times, taking a different route that you have not used before. Your business should be flexible enough for it to thrive.

4. Financing

For any business to become successful, it needs proper financing. Financing can come from external sources like lenders, investors, or the business can generate it. The ability to source for financing matches the needs of your business. It is important to maintain daily operations and fund projects that will enable you to increase your market share.

5. Work with the right people

Sustaining a successful business comes down to the people. Therefore, you have to work with the right people and have the right people handling the right tasks at the right time. If you own a fairly new business, where success and failure hang in the balance of executing tasks efficiently, working with the wrong people will slow you down. Your business will survive through the ups and downs if you find the right people.

6. Employee retention

You can retain your employees by offering competitive salaries, career development, health benefits, and a safe working environment. Therefore, you should invest more in recruiting talented employees and maintaining them. The growth of your balance will be stunted if you have to constantly replace experienced employees. Additionally, for your business to become successful, you have to invest in training your employees to equip them with skill sets that can help them to develop new products and stay up to date with developments in your industry.

7. Customer acquisition

Social media has created a new avenue where you can acquire new clients. Take your business to Facebook, Twitter, and use your blog to reel in customers. However, while it may seem like a good idea to jump into social media and give your business an online presence, the “word of mouth” is the ideal strategy for growing a small business. Direct referrals from your friends, family, and acquaintances are more likely to draw in more clients and positive reviews. 

8. Customer relations

You should give your customers an idea of your company’s operations framework, and use this framework to invite your customers to provide feedback. To maintain good customer relationships, ensure that you and your staff are easily accessible, and you can do this through the use of technology. Additionally, conduct customer surveys, review the results and follow up with your customers to ensure they’re satisfied with your products or services.

Bottom Line

Running a small business is a big responsibility, but there are strategies you can use to facilitate your business growth. It all comes to identifying the elements that can make or break your company, working smart, coming up with a clear plan, improving your customer relations, and retaining your employees. Observe the above elements of a successful business, and your small company will know no bounds.

How To Boost Your Workplace Morale

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay 

There are plenty of ways to keep your workers happy. Some of them may include ways of incentifying them such as: 

Offer some discount codes, vouchers and things to look forward to - this may include days out, social evenings and team building days so people can get to know each other better in a big team. 

Switch up the work day and be open to letting people be a little more flexible with their work, if possible, because staff members work better when they feel they have a little bit of the power in their own hands too. 

Blow off steam - whether that’s a games room and encouraging your staff to chat more and play games. Perhaps it’s a pool table or a coffee area with beanbags. 

Encourage creative time off and help your staff members to thrive in doing what they love doing outside of the office. Even help them in their own work with online classes. 

Offer equality, this is huge but in a bigger office there will be lots of people working there from completely different walks of life and from different backgrounds and skill sets. Equality is important and instilling this into your team is important too because it will allow them to see each other as individuals and realise that they are actually not just part of a huge team, but rather they are all playing an important role. 

Promote communication more by using something such as an id badge reel.  This is vital if you want to have your team start calling each other by their names. This will help people feel a little more like a person and not just a number. If your team members can see what they are called, they’re more likely to start chatting to them and using their name. This can bring a real sense of community to an office and make people feel as if they are part of something special. Keep a sense of bustle in the office too, but not too much, but enough to keep the place alive and with those added incentives, you should really be able to boost that morale!

Helping Your Staff to Be as Productive as Possible

Photo by fauxels from Pexels

When you run a small business, you’ll generally start out alone. You’ll take the bulk of the work onto your own shoulders and do your utmost to run things independently. This is largely generally due to a matter of budget. Many startups don’t have the funds to bring in a whole lot of professional help and largely rely on the grit and determination of the owner to get the ball rolling. As you begin to progress, you’ll likely outsource a little work to freelancers. This is lower commitment than taking on permanent staff, but will bring in relevant expertise to various areas of your business to help you progress. This may be a graphic designer creating a logo for your brand, a web designer and web developer working in tandem to create a high quality website for you, or anything else. As sales start rolling in and you begin to experience more success (and consequently, more profits) you may find that you are suddenly able to start taking on staff to support your business and help you to progress even further! Of course, when you’re paying staff to help your company grow, you’re going to want them to be as productive as possible. Here are just a few pieces of advice you can follow to help your staff to be as productive as possible at all times!

During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Let’s start by looking at the current world situation. At the start of 2020, we couldn't have imagined how the following months would pan out. We were living our usual lives and working in our usual routines. Now, in May, much of the world is in a lockdown situation to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Governments are encouraging us all to stay home at all times, only leaving if we are key workers, or if we need to collect food or medication. This will likely have had a huge impact on your business and if your staff can work from home, they’ll be working remotely, rather than in your commercial premises. Here are a few tips that can help you to help them be productive during these difficult times.

Prioritize Their Well-being

The first thing to note is that you should always put your staff members’ well being first. These are extremely difficult times for many people. Some will have experienced the illness themselves. Some may have lost loved ones. Some will be trying to look after their kids who are off school. Some will be struggling to adapt to being home all of the time. Anxiety, stress, loneliness and feelings of being overwhelmed are rife right now. So, be patient and lenient with staff. Give them time to settle into working from home. Offer your support at all times.

Invest in Necessary Software

You may need to invest in necessary software during these times so your staff can communicate with one another effectively while all working from different locations. Microsoft Teams is a great piece of software that offers instant messaging features, as well as options for remote meetings and conference calls.

Listen to Suggestions

It’s a good idea to give staff a way of expressing suggestions for things that will make working from home easier for them. The best way to get this information is to conduct anonymous surveys. This way, staff will feel more confident in putting their ideas forward. Small changes you’ve not even considered before could make all the difference to your staff’s productivity. This gives you a way to tap into them.

During Day to Day Operations

Of course, this will all hopefully pass at some point or another and we will be able to return to our usual routines. So, what can we do during standard times to boost our staff members’ productivity? These suggestions should help!

Have Staff Clock In and Out

A lot of working time is lost from staff turning up slightly late, taking slightly too long lunches or leaving slightly early each day. A way to discourage this is to have time clocks, where staff clock in and out. If staff are in work for the right amount of time, they’ll be paid the right amount. This is generally enough of an incentive to keep people on track and discourage lateness. It’s also beneficial for tracking staff members’ behaviour - if someone is routinely late, you can call them in to determine why and offer solutions that will help them to manage their time more effectively, or resolve issues that are creating lateness.

Boost Natural Light

Natural light is essential in any working environment. Sure, artificial light can make spaces workable. But natural light regulates our bodies’ circadian rhythms and lets us know when to be awake and perk up and when we need to wind down and start getting to sleep. More natural light will let your employees’ bodies know it’s day and they need to be productive and alert. Only consider work spaces with natural light and if you don’t have enough, you can always consider things like skylights!

Set KPIs and Goals

KPIs (or “key performance indicators”) and goals can help to keep employees on track with their work. After all, nobody wants to underperform. It prevents slacking, as they know they need to complete their work to a high standard by a set deadline. Just make sure that the KPIs and goals are realistic and achievable. Otherwise, they can have the opposite effect and can dishearten your workers, meaning they may reduce their efforts or give up.

These simple steps can help your staff to be more productive. Remember, reward generally works better than punishment. So, be kind, be caring and push your staff in the right direction in a positive way!

5 Tips For Professional Job Seekers In 2020

Photo by Philipp Birmes from Pexels

No matter which industry you are in job seeking can be a drawn-out and arduous task. You know that you’ve got the skills and talent, but frankly- so do many other candidates. To supercharge your job search this year, try taking on board the following five tips.

1 . Broaden Your Network

If you want to land yourself your next dream role, it pays to broaden your network. Most of us know that LinkedIn is a valuable tool for networking, but where else can you network online? Try using networking apps such as Shapr; this app provides users with many potential connections, including recruiters, employers, staff or professional friends. Invitly is another great networking resource. The application curates around twenty-five profiles per day, based on your networking goals.

2. Perfect Your Personal Brand

Professionals can boost their chances of getting hired if they pay attention to their personal branding. Create professional social media pages and use these to present your brand online. Make your own website and write a blog about the latest and greatest in your industry. Use SEO to gain traffic to your site and spread your message. Attend webinars and other online events within your industry, and chat to those who inspire you. It’s important to modernize your brand as time goes by to keep up with the latest personal branding trends.

3. Appeal To A.I

We know that businesses have started to use A.I to help them select candidates, so how can we make ourselves attractive to the robots? First off, you have to match your resume to the exact duties of the job spec, this will ensure that you're using the right keywords. Next, choose Word formatting over PDF; this is because PDF formats are not AI friendly in every instance. In the near future, it’s likely that A.I will be used more frequently throughout job selection processes.

4. Sector Specific Sites

When you’re job searching, it’s advisable to focus on the sites that are for your sector specifically. General job sites are fine, but you will find that a sector-specific site provides roles that you won’t have seen elsewhere. For example, Practice Match, a physician job board, is the best place for those looking for positions in internal medicine. Then there are sites like Dynamite Jobs and Remotive, these are not sector-specific, but they are useful for those looking for remote jobs only.

5. Professional Careers Guidance

Finally, you’ve probably noticed that 2020 is a competitive year for the jobs market. Our current coronavirus pandemic has only added to the competition. Due to this, it’s advisable to give yourself an edge in any way that you can. Consider investing in professional careers guidance. Doing so can be useful to gain help and to come up with a roadmap to achieve your career ambitions.

Career journaling is another advisable step. Start by simply writing down your goals, and then spitting these into manageable steps for each day. A digital journaling app like Reflectly can be useful to help track your progress.