Michael Levitt's Blog, page 96
February 24, 2021
Tips To Improve The Way You Work
If you are a business owner, you can soon fall into bad habits. This is usually because you don’t have anyone senior above you to necessarily critique what you do, or help you to grow. Because of this you can find that you don’t work as well as perhaps you once did, or you have become complacent, or perhaps the opposite and you are completely overworked. No matter what it is, it is important to nip this in the bud as soon as you can and change the way that you work. Whether you are the main business owner, you are in the midst of hoping for a promotion or you have just started a role in marketing or HR administration, these can help you to get better. Here are some top tips to improve the way that you work
Just because you have been doing something for a long time or because you think you know everything there is to know on a topic, doesn’t mean you should close your mind off to learning more. It is a good idea for you to enroll in training courses in areas that might need a bit of touching up or refreshing. These could be courses that you have to travel to, or just simple ones that you can do online and in your spare time. They will instantly help to improve the way that you work.
Read books
Don’t underestimate the power of reading! Reading books can really help the way that you work in more ways than one. Firstly you can learn important elements about your working habits and the way you spend your day. It can help you to become better at what you do and teach you valuable skills. It is also a good way of getting you away from a screen for a while. Being on a screen too much is bad for your eyes as well as your mental health, so this can be a much-welcomed reprieve. There are a host of books out there, including those that show you how to work “smarter not harder”, how to work a four-day work week, how to retire early, and how to save money. If you don’t like physical books, why not invest in a kindle or e-book reader?
Working can be impossible if you are not organized. While many cite their desks as being an “organized mess” it is still a good idea to give it a tidy at least once a week. Invest in some good desk storage that can get your papers and important documents out of the way. You could also sort through all the digital files on your computer, getting rid of anything that you don’t need or use. This will free up space on your computer making it work faster too! It is a good idea to set your day's tasks out first thing in the morning so you know how much you need to achieve in the hours that follow. This way you can tick things off when you have done them and know if you are on track to complete the tasks that you need to get done. Why not invest in a whiteboard to go on the wall that you can then use to keep a record of everything that you are working on.
As a business owner, it can be a tough task to delegate sometimes. This might be because you worry that someone else won’t put the same effort into the task as you would, or because you think that you can do everything yourself. It is important to remember that two heads are better than one and multiple brains are better than that. Don’t be afraid to give the tasks that are overflowing on your list to someone else in your team. They will probably be grateful of the responsibility and will put a lot of effort into ensuring it is executed correctly and to a high standard that you would be impressed with.
These are just a few ways to improve the way that you work. By trying these out and adding them to your everyday routine you are sure to notice a difference and an improvement in your productivity and quality of work that you produce. Are there any top tips here that you are going to try? Which ones do you think are the most effective?
February 23, 2021
You Should Be Using These Tools For Your Business
All businesses, big and small, can benefit from the wide variety of tools out there designed to make things easier for managers and employees alike. If there’s something you’re having difficulty with, there’s a high chance that there’s a way around it or a way to make it easier, and that’s the whole point of using these tools - to help your business! Some tools are free for you to use, some will cost money - but in any case, you should consider them as an investment to help you make more money later on.
The cloud
If you aren’t using the cloud to improve the efficiency of your business, then you’re hindering yourself a lot. There are different services out there that offer cloud solutions that can mean you and your employees have constant access to everything you need. Everything gets to be in one place, you have to deal with a lot less paperwork! Some services even allow you to grow your cloud usage as you need it, meaning you won’t have to pay for extra space that you don’t need right off the bat!
Not everyone out there is a skilled marketing expert, nor an expert in cinematography, and you shouldn’t have to be when it comes to making advertisements for your business! If you’re a small business, the chances are you don’t have the kind of funds you need to make a professional-looking marketing campaign, but that can be helped! There are tools out there that let you make your own advertisements, without the need to put in a lot of work or hire a professional to do it for you.
Being able to make your own ads quickly and easily is one thing, but then being able to calculate your ROI (return on investment) with the same tool is perfect for your needs! You want to know that you’re getting your money’s worth if you’re investing in this kind of tool, and you can use the data to help improve on your next move.
Social media is more than just an app you can use to stay in touch with your friends and family, it can be a tool you can use for your business to help improve customer relations! By putting yourself on social media, you stand to gain a lot of benefits. Firstly, you can use it to market your new products or put out infographics that will inform customers about what you’re offering. So you have free marketing available to you, but on top of that, and more importantly - you have the perfect solution to receiving customer feedback! Apps like Twitter allow you to make polls for your followers to interact with, and you can get quick results on questions that you would like to ask your audience.
These are just a few tools you should be using to improve your business’s functionality, there’s plenty out there to be used, and many of them are free!
February 22, 2021
The Importance Of Diversity In The Workplace
This infographic was created by CoachDiversity Institute, certified diversity professionals
Diversity and inclusion mean more than just policies and programs for your organization. To reap the greatest benefits, you have to create a corporate culture that both incorporates, and listens to the perspectives of many different kinds of individuals. Not only is this kind of culture good for your employees, but it is also good for your business.
You probably already realize that gathering diverse viewpoints and perspectives is key to innovation and creativity. If everyone operated exactly the same way, how could anyone be challenged to think in new ways or try fresh possibilities? In the office environment, diversity allows for a greater range of skills and talent, as well as a larger scope of problem-solving and worldviews. Diversity is far more than an abstract benefit, too.
Consider some statistics, reported in the infographic below, that demonstrate its concrete value:
Diversity influences who will work for you. The majority of modern job candidates want to work in cultures that value diversity and inclusion. In fact, 64% say it plays a major factor in which job to accept.
Diversity impacts your bottom line. Research shows that companies with higher cultural and ethnic diversity are 36% more likely than those with the least diversity to have above-average profits. Likewise, those with the highest gender diversity are 25% more likely to have high profits than the companies with the least gender diversity.
Diversity plays into employee satisfaction. Close to 60% of employees want their companies to be more diverse.
Diversity leads to better strategy. When it comes to decision-making, diversity pays off. Teams of diverse individuals have been shown to make better decisions 87% of the time, compared to individual decision-makers on their own.
Diverse fuels innovation. It only makes sense that more people yield more ideas. Research bears this out: More diverse companies are almost two times more innovative than their competitors.
Given that diversity offers so many benefits to both you and your staff, it makes sense to seek it out—but how? For many brands, actually achieving diversity proves to be much tougher than desiring it. You may know diversity is valuable, but how do you assemble a more diverse team? Why is it so challenging?
One issue is inconsistency between goals and practice. Maybe you want diversity and set policies for diversity but then the reality of day-to-day business chokes out those ideals. Simply aiming at an ambiguous sense of diversity will not work. What can help is getting super specific in your goals. Rather than trying to be “more inclusive,” for example, you can outline tangible action steps to take.
Likewise, a surefire way to fail is to copy what another corporation does, hoping for identical results. Each business has its own unique social and corporate makeup; failing to take yours into account can derail an initiative that was actually designed for another place. Rather than trying to copy what another corporation does, you can brainstorm with your team to create strategies specific to your culture and demands.
The beauty of a diverse, inclusive workplace is how it makes everyone, regardless of gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, age, etc., feel seen and significant; this empowers all team members to put forth their best efforts and fullest contributions. The company reaps the benefits, even while the employees enjoy and take more pride in their jobs.
To learn more about how to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion in your business, take a look at the attached resource. It highlights some of the statistics about the importance of diversity, as well as provides a list of tips for talking about it in your company. Use it to learn how to get your whole team on the same page about promoting understanding and empathy business wide.
Author bio: Dr. Towanna Burrous is President of CoachDiversity Institute and a best-selling author, trainer and ICF Professional Certified Coach based in Washington, D.C. As a highly sought-after executive coach, Burrous’ mission is to empower diverse communities through executive coaching.
Secure The Long Term Success Of Your Business With Multiple Income Streams
Recently, there has been a transformation in the way businesses succeed. No longer is it all about focusing on a single main product. Instead, by building an empire around your product it is possible to diversify your business and so ensure a greater chance of profit and success.
The good news is that diversification isn't a difficult model to grasp. Indeed you can read all about how to diversify your business with multiple income streams below.
Main product
Now, there are two types of main products that businesses may work with. The first is something that a company produces such as a physical item or service. For example a stain remover spray, or a professional cleaning service. For these types of businesses, this is what the rest of their portfolio will be built around - a starting point for their diversification.
There is one other type of business model that is applicable here and that is where a person or persona online and on social media is the main product. Of course, we are talking about bloggers, vloggers, and other types of influencers here.
Indeed, the approach is very similar for both options, it’s just in the latter the content and persona the personality puts out can be treated as their product and be used as the foundation of their diversified empire.
For instance, an excellent of this model is Grav3yardGirl, Bunny Myer on Youtube. Her original product was her vlogs and videos, yet she has managed to monetize her business in a variety of clever ways such as creating her own makeup pallet, hairdryer, and straightener, as well as her own line of merch.
However, it is also worth noting that the social media strategy for a business with a physical product at its core will be different from that of one that is based around a social media personality.
Indeed, with a physical product companies will need to take more time building up a relevant content and a community around their product. One that doesn't feel forced, and offers a good balance of useful information and entertainment. No small feat when it comes to more mundane products such as stain removal spray. However, you will note that with a little creativity, businesses like Flash have done a fine job of this.
Image by Esther Webgirl from Pixabay
When diversifying, the social media aspect of a business is important for two major reasons. The first of these is that it helps to build brand awareness and customer loyalty. While the second is that it can be used as a source of income with things like shoppable posts, or monetized promotions in the case of a business with a personality model.
The great thing is that once you have your social media following established you can then use this as a platform on which to diversify. Indeed, there are several products that you can market and sell from this base.
One of the most popular of these is an eBook, one that can be bought via your website and downloaded instantly by your customers. The great thing about eBooks is that they are a passive course of income. That means once you have written and published them you will need to do little else to ensure the money comes rolling in from this stream.
Another great source of passive income is to create a video course, and then sell access to it. Again, this is such an effective model because once the initial work is completed it can make you money over and over again without you having to do anything.
However, when using the course diversification stream you must choose the right platform on which to release your content. After all, Youtube may be popular but you won't be able to charge people to access your material on this platform.
With that in mind, it's best to check out resources like online course platforms review, beforehand. The reason being that these can help you make the right decision both for your customers and economically for your business.
In addition to eBooks, and courses, merch must also be considered. Indeed, this is no longer only for those basing their business model on personality, but can be equally as successful for companies offering a product or a service as well.
For example, high-end vehicle merch such as Porsche and Harley Davidson clothing items remain popular. While online services such as TRPG site Roll20, and digital VoIP system Discord also have successful merch lines adding another stream of income to their business models.
February 20, 2021
How To Reduce Occupational Burnout With Exercise
Occupational burnout has been one of the growing concerns in the workforce for some time now. It is estimated that over $300 billion in profits is lost globally. When employees cannot perform to the best of their ability due to lack of energy or feeling overworked, it affects the organization's fortunes. Studies have confirmed that outdoor activities can help reduce occupational burnout in employees. Activities such as swimming and running lessen the emotional and physical toll that burnout exacts on employees. Exercise is a vital aspect of improving the positive well-being of your employees.
It can be referred to as a state of mental, emotional, and physical distress when employees feel emotionally drained, overwhelmed, or not enthused about work. The continuous build-up of such stress creates self-doubt, saps their energy, and reduces interest in their work. Occupational burnout often transcends the workplace and seeps into all other aspects of your life, be it social or family. Burnout can manifest physically and make you prone to falling ill.
The symptoms of burnout are often subtle in the beginning stages but increase with time. These symptoms may manifest emotionally, physically, and behaviorally. Physical symptoms include sleep problems, feeling exhausted after work, tension, headaches or muscle pain, and a weakened immune system. Emotional symptoms include a lack of motivation, self-doubt, and negative thoughts. Behavioral symptoms include procrastination, sticking to yourself, substance abuse, and lateness.
Exercise makes a substantial difference when dealing with occupational burnout. Recent studies have shown that people who exercised outside experienced feelings of better revitalization and increased energy.
This is one of the few physical activities that make use of the entire body. The feel of cold water over your body brings some relief and eases tensed muscles. A good swim can help you relax and take your mind off things. Rubber surfacing for pool decks has been encouraged lately to provide better safety for swimmers as it prevents slips. Before going for a swim, be sure to follow all swimming safety protocols.
This is a relatively easy exercise that does not require any special training. The rush of the wind against your face can be exhilarating, and it is an excellent workout. After slumping at a desk all day, it will feel good to use other muscles that were dormant during the day.
The consensus is that there are essential benefits of exercising outdoors, and it brings the body and mind to a state of calm. Other studies indicate a positive correlation between exercise and a reduction of psychological stress. It is known to decrease tension, anger, depression, and confusion and is noted to be easier to commit to in the long-term than exercising indoors.
With occupational burnout becoming more profound, you must be able to observe and recognize the early signs. Early detection will enable you to handle the situation appropriately by identifying and eliminating stressors. Once stressors are dealt with, your mental, behavioral and physical health will not be affected, and you can focus on your work and increase your productivity at the workplace.
February 19, 2021
What Is Your Customer Service Approach Lacking?
There should be no such as a business that doesn’t have an approach to customer service (including customer support.) At some point, your customers are going to need some help, whether it comes to making purchasing decisions to troubleshooting products. Here, we’re going to look at a near-comprehensive approach to customer service and customer support. We’re going to look at both the different approaches to how you resolve customer problems and help them, as well as the essence of what makes them successful.
Believe it or not, most customers would rather not have to get in touch with a member of your team unless they absolutely need to. To that end, you can help them solve their own problems by making sure that you have resources available for them to use. This can include tools as simple as FAQs but, especially for more technically oriented industries like software and electronics, you can also set up a forum where people can share issues, swap advice and solutions, and your team can interact on a regular basis. This page has more advice on setting up the resources that your customers need to be more self-sufficient. Just make sure that your only option isn’t “help yourself.” If someone needs your help, you need to be there, too.
Just as your customers can benefit from resources they can use to help themselves, you should start building a customer service bible that your team can follow as well. Not only can it offer them common solutions to the most common problems, but you can also ensure that it’s open for them to input their own solutions, as well. As such, you can make sure that they’re not acting on out of date information, but that they can share tips and resolutions with each other, as well. Of course, active efforts should be made to replace out of date information, but you can democratize the process using the help of those people most likely to use it.
Sometimes, it seems like some websites, especially some of the biggest and most popular, actively hide their customer support and service pages. If customers have to jump through several hoops to get in touch with a human being, then you’re only going to end up frustrating them more by the time you’re in a position to help. Make sure that you have multiple methods of getting in touch, a contact us page, and a support page that all feature instructions on how to get in touch with members of the team. The more barriers you put up between customers and the processes that are supposed to help them, the more likely they are to simply give up on the idea and go.
Aside from making your customer service channels accessible, you can make them proactive. There are a host of websites that are making great use of live chat software. This page has more information on how to integrate them but, effectively, they are chat windows that pop up as the user is browsing, offering to help with anything they might need. You don’t want to make them too interruptive to the experience just in case the customer is making their way through the site just fine. However, when a customer is starting to feel stuck, that little notification in the corner of the browser can help nip their issues in the bud and make them feel cared for.
Another frequent complaint, aside from finding it difficult to even get the support needed in the first place, is when customers have to explain their situation time and time again. There’s really no excuse for this happening in the course of a single call or email chain. However, you can even prevent it from happening in the long-term. Remember your customers, remember their past interactions, and remember what solutions you offered in the past. This site gives more details on how customer relationship management software can help you keep records on just about every engagement you have with your customers, allowing your team to quickly get up to speed on how to best help.
Your customer service process is most likely to fit the description as being a series of touchpoints, each of which aims to help customers get closer to the resolution they need. However, the fewer touchpoints it takes to help, the more likely you are to satisfy them. It can difficult to resolve it in just one, as often you need to take the time to narrow down what, exactly, the problem is. One of the best ways to expedite that process is to use co-browsing tools. This way, you can quickly see, in real-time, what their issue is which allows you to better understand it and more quickly find a solution. AI chatbots can help with this, as well, as they will incorporate things like browsing history on the site into their responses, not just what the customer tells them.
For a lot of companies that don’t invest very much into their customer service, their idea of training is teaching their team how to use a computer system that connects to customers and giving them a script to read from. Simply put, that’s far from enough. Instead, customer service training is about ensuring that your team can recognise patterns in customer behaviour and have the right emotional response, as well as being able to find the right resources and answers, to satisfy them as best as possible. This means they need genuine customer service training from a professional trainer. The better trained they are, the better they can handle the unexpected situations that often pop up in customer-facing roles.
If you’re paying your customer service team minimum wage, encouraging them to work overtime, and stuffing them in a cubicle environment then, simply put, you should expect bad customer service outcomes. You can’t expect people to invest the time and energy necessary to really work with customers and to enthusiastically engage with them if there’s nothing to motivate them other than the risk of losing a low-paying, low-worth job. There are plenty of ways to help improve their motivation, and not all of them have to be expensive. For instance, it can actually be more cost-effective to work remotely with them, allowing them to set their own hours, and in the environment that suits their needs, best.
Aside from the right methods of solving your customers’ problems, your team should also keep in mind how important it is to offer service with a smile (or at least a warm tone of voice.) From your perspective, this means that keeping them happy is essential. However, you should also encourage your team to develop a good understanding of customer psychology and offer scripts that show positive and warm language. Some people don’t naturally gravitate towards being warm and generous in their language, but this doesn’t mean that they can’t learn it with your help.
Anticipate their needsEven better than responding to customer needs as and when they make them clear is learning how to better anticipate them. This comes in the form of creating an online experience that benefits from the various insights you can get from website metrics and analytics. Your website, and other websites that index them like Google, can share a plethora of data that shows how customers use the site, what pages they go to, what links they click, and how long they stay on each site. You can use this information, such as juxtaposing bounce rates to find which pages need to be spruced up, for instance. A good user experience is customer service before they even know that they need it.
You shouldn’t simply assume that just because a customer says “thank you” and hangs up or leaves the chat that you have done your part in ensuring satisfactory customer service. It’s important to always be looking back and looking for room for improvement. One of the best ways to do that is to ask customers what they think of the service. Rather than asking immediately after the session is over, however, you should send an email after they have had time to process. After all, most people want to stop talking after they’re done working through their issues with you. They don’t want to then go on and explain the whole process over again in a new window.
You, naturally, don’t have to incorporate every single piece of advice listed above. Different methods of customer service and support will be more or less effective depending on the nature of your business. However, you should be able to find at least one element you can implement in your own processes.
Prepare Your Business For The Next Pandemic Today
Right now, you are probably focused on ensuring that your business can continue to survive the coronavirus pandemic. However, it’s important to be aware that it’s never too early to prepare your business for the next pandemic. Unfortunately, experts do believe that this could be a lot closer than anyone is prepared for. So, how can you ensure that your business is ready for the coming storm?
Do Your Research
First, you need to make sure that you are completing the right level of research. For instance, you might want to spend a little time researching things like Disease X which scientists already worry there may be evidence of in Africa right now. By completing the research, you’ll also be able to plan ahead and ensure that you do have the right safety measures ready to be put in place. It’s worth looking at experts in the market too like Carlos Ramirez safety professional. These individuals lead the charge in ensuring that businesses could adapt and keep everyone protected after the coronavirus hit. You can guarantee they will be key figures during the next pandemic too.
You should be thinking about insurance as a way to combat the impact of a new pandemic. A lot of business owners were caught off guard during the coronavirus pandemic because they didn’t have the right insurance coverage. You can’t afford to end up in this situation. If you already have insurance, you should contact your provider now and find out exactly what type of coverage you are entitled to and scenarios where you won’t receive financial support. It might be worth switching to a different company, even if that means paying a higher premium.
Next, you need to make sure that you are ready for the financial strain of the potential next pandemic. It’s important that you can keep the doors open and the lights on. The best way to guarantee this is to work to make your business model as flexible as possible. For instance, rather than hiring permanent workers in your business, you should think about hiring freelancers or an outsourcing company. If you take this step, then you won’t have to worry about letting team members go when you feel the strain. You’ll be able to change your model and team at the drop of a hat.
Finally, if there is another pandemic, it’s likely that the impact is going to be similar to what we have seen thus far with COVID-19. Specifically, companies are going to need to turn their attention to their online strategy to survive. However, you don’t have to wait for a new pandemic to hit before you do this. Instead, you should start focusing on your online strategy right now. It’s important to guarantee that customers can find your business and can easily buy your products online. It’s harder for some businesses to switch to an online model compared to others but it’s never impossible.
Four Reasons Why the Productivity of Your Employees Is Reducing
Have you noted that most of your employees are not as productive as they were a few months ago? Many employers struggle with this issue where their employees deepen in productivity as time progresses.
Several factors might be causing the decline in productivity, and knowing them can significantly help in dealing with the underlying issues. Here are a few reasons.
Doing the same thing over and over leads to monotony, which can reduce productivity levels among employees. Redundancy makes the employee feel as if they are repeating the same thing and such employees lack the motivation to work hard.
These employees get used to the same routine to the extent where they no longer feel the urge to come to work.
You can deal with monotony by interchanging duties and responsibilities among the employees from time to time. Employees in the same department should be given different duties after a specified period to provide them with a chance of facing new challenges.
You only need to ensure that the employees given new assignments can handle the particular tasks without failure.
Your employees can also experience a reduction in productivity if your organization does not have explicit goals. It is relatively challenging to assign specific duties without clear goals since this leads to mix-ups. Some employees find themselves performing tasks that are necessarily not helpful, and this lowers their productivity.
You need to have clear goals indicating where you want your business to be after a certain period. You should explain your goals to employees so that they can know what they should achieve.
It is imperative to explain the goals while doing employee onboarding so that even the new employees can understand the company's objective.
Remuneration is the primary form of motivation that makes employees work extra hard. Employees who get low pay do not feel valued. As a result, their productivity can lower from time to time.
Even the employees who performed well a few months ago will have reduced productivity if they do not get fair salaries.
It would be best if you also incorporated incentives such as bonuses and rewards so that your employees can maintain high levels of productivity. With proper remuneration and different kinds of incentives, the employees will give their all, and as a result, their productivity will remain high.
Your employees might also be victims of the general economy's poor performance. Every poor performance of the economy comes with an increase in certain products' prices, especially the products used by ordinary people.
You can cushion your employees against the harsh economic times by increasing their salaries. This might be challenging significantly if your business is also affected by poor financial performance. But it can help you get improved productivity and therefore keep the company afloat.
Therefore, if you notice that your employees' productivity is dropping, you should check out the outlined issues and then resolve them in the best way possible. Besides, investing in their skills goes a long way in ensuring that their productivity improves.
February 17, 2021
Safety At Work - Are You Prepared?
Photo: Unsplash
Organizations operating in an office environment are considered a relatively safe place. But it is precisely in comfortable offices that employees face quite a few dangers. Many are unaware of the fact that an employer can be sued and pay huge sums of compensation to injured workers if they do not take all safety precautions; most notably the required frequency (at least once a year) safety and hygiene training. In addition, the employer must perform a series of tasks, such as appointing a safety trustee, in some organizations also a safety committee, etc., and ensure that all employees, up to the very last one, follow the safety instructions as written and as spoken. To assist with health and safety, you should consider chemical testing lab
So, what types of safety hazards threaten employees working in an office environment:
Risk of falling or slippingFalling or slipping on slippery floors - whether wet or waxed. Whilst falling isn’t overly common in the workplace, any type of injury caused by this could mean a hefty payout from the financial department. You may want to look out for the following possibilities such as:
Falling as a result of climbing on a chair or improvisations that workers use to reach high places. To climb to reach a high shelf, use a good or standard bunk or ladder.
Risk of injury as a result of falling objects.
Risks of damage from improper installation in the buildingInjury resulting from the opening of doors (outward or inward).
Damage from a window.
Damage from open drawers.
Electrical risks resulting from a lack of proper maintenanceAn annual inspection of electrical equipment must be performed, and first and foremost the circuit breaker and the observance of the safety rules regarding it. Any malfunction must be reported. You should consider looking at the following issues:
Damage from the electrical appliances themselves such as a paper shredder.
Damage from copiers, fax machines, printers, and more.
Damage to kettles, refrigerators, and electric kitchen utensils in the company's kitchen.
Damage as a result of electrical equipment and cleaning tools.
Danger of fireMany people are surprised at just how many fires occur in offices. Any papers left lying around would certainly pose a fire hazard if someone left something is left to chance nearby. Paperwork, cartons, plastic materials, insulation materials, cleaning materials, and carpets can catch fire. Another reason why digital paperwork is becoming more and more popular and it also means less waste in and around the office. These are areas to consider:
Load on a single socket.
The malfunction of an electrical outlet.
Unsuitable heaters.
Smoking in unsuitable places.
Burning incense and scented candles.
Unavailability of fire-fighting equipment and escape routes.
Attention should be paid to all areas, such as safety, security, and ensuring that there are well-lighted passages and stairwells. There should be fire systems in place and fire extinguishers just in case of any hazards. Ensure your health and safety regulations are up to date and displayed correctly.
Fulfilling The Responsibility Of Securing Your Small Business
Keeping your small business secure is one of the most important features that contribute towards long-term success, and it's a vital responsibility that any quality leader must fulfill. Experiencing constant difficulties with safety will not only be a huge distraction, but it will also put your staff and data at risk potentially costing a considerable amount of money to solve. Luckily, figuring out how to keep your small business out of harm's way needn’t be as tricky as you might expect, as there are several simple tips and tricks that you can make the most of to start making a huge difference in no time at all. So, if you would like to find out more about how you can protect both your employees and customers through strong business security, then read on to uncover some of the best steps that you can follow today!
Physical Security
Keeping your premises, equipment, and staff secure should always be the main priority no matter what kind of business you run. Luckily the physical threats that are often associated with running your own company can be assessed and reduced, starting off with the installation of a closed-circuit television system. A CCTV set up will allow you to constantly monitor both the inside of your workspaces as well as the perimeter, keeping a solid copy that can be used for reference whenever you may need it. Investing in a grandstream device will also give you the chance to link your live video up to your computer or smartphone in order to watch your camera at any time, which can be a brilliant help for those who often work remotely. Installing a quality locking system on each of your doors will stop those who seek to gain unauthorized access to your premises, so provide your staff with their own key or swipe card that lets them move about your workspace with ease.
In recent years the need to focus more heavily on online security is growing greater and greater, as there are so many new threats on the internet that threaten to cause your business to come crashing down. Investing in online security measures will help you to avoid such a catastrophe, so there’s no time like the present to begin implementing some tech-savvy tricks to reduce the risk. Be sure to set a good example and train your staff to use complex passwords that utilize capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, and do not allow them to visit personal websites whilst operating on commercial equipment. Teach the importance of email safety, explaining to your team that opening an email attachment from an unknown source could see your whole business come crashing down. It can also be of real benefit to source and install a firewall or antivirus software, as these can identify and remove any potential threats to your system before they become a real issue.
Keeping your small business as safe and secure as possible has never been so simple when you can take the time to make the most of the brilliant tips and tricks that have been carefully detailed above.
