Archives for April 2019

The Five Emails You Can Send On A Regular Basis To Secure Your Future Promotion

April 30, 2019 by Patrick Algrim Leave a Comment

Good communication is undoubtedly the skill that all employers value the most. Many great managers say the best skill set they have is to listen, especially to those who employ the roles most lucrative to the company. The symbiotic relationship between individual contributor and manager is there, but it’s up to you to ensure you are communicating so that your manager can play their part.

From the start of your employment journey, communication has always been at the forefront of why you are successful. From answering the hiring managers phone interview questions in a clear and concise way, to the email you send after your interview, and the communication you have regularly after you’re hired. Without good communication, managers can’t place their focus on performing their duties. For example, if you have a roadblock and the manager could help unblock you, but they simply don’t know about it; then efficiency is lost. Because of this, most managers reward communicative individual contributors.

Email is a great tool because it allows us to spend time thinking about what we’d like to communicate before the other party has a chance to read it. In the moment, or in front of your peers, you may feel more pressure to respond quickly. And with that pressure your communication skills may naturally become stressed as well. I’m going to show you five email techniques you can do to go above and beyond with regards to good communication. These communication techniques take very little time, are impactful to your manager, show you have leadership or promotion potential, show you are proactive about your role, and best of all, you can do this passively. Meaning you won’t place yourself into potentially stressful situations, like presenting in front of a group.

#1: The priority check in

In this email your goal is to ensure no new information has entered the managers knowledge bank. And that you are spending your time the best way you can. Here’s what your email should look like:

Hi Jeff,

Here’s my priorities. Let me know if I should reorder some of them, remove them or add any other priorities in.

Redesign our print flyers
Finish our sales pitch deck
Improve our homepage experience

Thanks Jeff.

You’ll need to place your own priorities in this list. Keep them high level and something you and the team have already discussed. Make them the top three most important objectives or tasks from your perspective. This one you can send bi-weekly if your work doesn’t change frequently.

#2: The random thank you email

In these emails your goal is to pick a team member each week and show your appreciation for them. These random acts of kindness don’t go unnoticed. When a manager asks your peers how they like working with you, these emails are sure to be brought up. Here’s what you’ll say.

Hi Sarah,

I just wanted to send you a short note about how much I appreciate working with you. You are so talented. Thank you for all of your hard work.

Thanks Sarah

If you can use a more specific and recent moment that stood out to you, the better. Like when Sarah worked on Saturday to meet a deadline.

#3: The weekly report

This will be your most valuable weekly email. Send this email every Friday and recap the weeks work. When crafting this email. Think about the questions your manager would have for you if you two were to talk. For example they would ask, how’s the progress on our new homepage? Answer these questions for them so you can save them time. Here’s what you’ll say:

Hi Jeff,

Here’s my weekly report.

New homepage:

Finished our design brief
Met with Nancy in sales to prepare her on timing
Sent our technical needs to the web developers
We’re on track with regards to timing

Sales pitch:

Finished 2 sales pitches this week for Nancy and Kevin

Thanks Jeff

Let me know if you have any thoughts. Have a good weekend!

Keep it brief, impactful, informative and insightful.

#4: The request for feedback

It’s imperative that you are always willing to hear feedback on how you can do better. It shows you are leadership material. I wouldn’t send this email more than once per month but be sure you are sending it.

Hi Jeff,

Would love to know if there’s anything you feel I could be doing better. Or if there’s anything you appreciate that I am doing, and that you’d like to see more of.

Thanks Jeff

This information gives you insight into how to beat perform for the manager. Be prepared to take criticism you might receive, though.

#5: Asking if your manager wants any other type of regular communication

After a while, your manager might start appreciating but ignoring your weekly reports. That’s ok! That’s good! That means they’ve built trust with you. But ask them what other communication they’d appreciate so you are always moving forward. Here’s how to do it:

Hi Jeff,

I hope you’ve been appreciating my weekly reports. What are some things you’d like to see in them? Anything I can cover which may be most beneficial to you?

Thanks Jeff

And there you have it. Five simple communication techniques you can send by email each week which will do wonders for your development within the company. The good thing about these emails is that your manager has the option to read them. You may be wondering, what if they are annoyed by all the emails I’m sending them? Remember that these emails are insights, not strictly discussion. They’re digestible action items your manager can choose to see or not. They have the option to open the email if they’re curious or maybe lacking insight into your work. And they have the option to ignore it if they feel they already know enough. It’s a win-win for both parties!

Patrick Algrim is an experienced executive in the technology sector. He’s helped to build some of the worlds greatest teams at some of the fastest growing Companies in Silicon Valley. You can find out more about him and see more content like this at Algrim.co.

Need To Turn The Workplace Into A Paradise For Your Employees? Use These Strategies

April 26, 2019 by Sally Phillips Leave a Comment

Nothing is as important as employees to a business. But the costs of ignoring sluggish employee productivity and the critical unhealthy organizational culture are high, a new study suggests. Business leaders should focus on fostering teamwork amongst workers to improve their productivity, and also enhance business growth. One of the qualities that define a great leader is the ability to communicate effectively with co-workers. Such leaders practice positive reinforcement, reward good performers, and put mechanisms in place that encourage employees to deliver more in a shorter period.

Invest In Effective Communication

People like being heard by their employers. Regardless of how much passion they could have for their job, poor communication undercuts their ability to execute. A survey done by the HR consultancy Willis Tower Watson found that organizations with staff members that communicate well are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their industry peers who are less effective communicators, and witness lower rates of employee turnover. Naturally, employees want everyone around them to listen to them — managers, co-workers, and acquaintances. By communicating with your team, you will understand the kind of grievances they intend to share, allowing you to tackle those concerns sooner rather than later.

Communication skills are what allow employees to connect with each other. To communicate better with your colleagues, you have to be a good listener. Since effective communication is two-way, pay attention to the message of others before putting yours across. Respect every coworker’s preferred medium of communication — it doesn’t matter whether it’s via text, voice or video. Last, pick your moments correctly. Know when to say something, and have some empathy for coworkers who are stressed out.

Let Employees Own The Company

Having a strong management team that encourages workers to be creative and publicly recognizes individual and group efforts are proven to improve productivity and engagement at work, so work consistently toward incorporating new and amazing employee engagement ideas to create a culture that helps employees feel engaged continuously in their everyday tasks. Furthermore, research indicates that a sense of ownership and purpose is a great motivator in keeping staff engaged and productive.

Motivate And Reward For Good Results

Showing workers how much the organization respects, values and appreciates each one of them is gratifying, yet often overlooked. Motivate, encourage and reward employees, and inform colleagues when they are doing good work, giving constructive criticism. Offer employees personal incentives for performing beyond their roles. Also, indicate precisely the achievement of a single employee to other workers to instill a sense of fulfillment and motivate others. By motivating your co-workers to put in more effort and rewarding them for their exemplary performance, they’re more likely to push themselves to achieve more productivity, as they have a reward ahead of them.

Decreasing productivity in your company can put its sustainability at risk if left unresolved for long. Even so, your team will not be at peak performance every day, so prepare for this, and don’t blame it on anybody. Instead, implement these tips, and you will be surprised how much everyone can do, both in and out of the workplace

How Should Your Business Handle Customer Service

April 19, 2019 by Keith Coppersmith Leave a Comment

There are many things that go into making a great company, a good product, a well-designed marketing strategy, dedicated employees etc. However, one aspect that is often overlooked, is the value a good customer service can bring to your business. In fact, many small businesses choose to completely neglect it and focus on other things they deem more important. In order to see just how much impact customer service can really have when it comes to improving your business, let’s take a look at how your business should handle customer service.

The pros of a customer service

For a small business, every customer counts. This means that you can’t afford to lose any loyal customers to your competition. On top of this, recent years have shown that one of the most effective ways to grow your business is to sell more to current customers. The only way to successfully achieve both of these things is to invest in high-quality customer service.

Providing a platform on which your customers can ask for help, as well as voice their concerns, will make them feel appreciated and cared for, making it a lot more likely that they will stick with your business. This will also help you define and convey your brand image and company values to your customers, forming public opinion of your company as one that really puts their customers in the first place.

The other big and often unappreciated value customer service can bring to your business is the way in which it can help you gather and track customer opinions about your business. Having this source of constant feedback will prove invaluable, as it will allow you to know which aspects of your business may need to change or improve. If used to its full potential, this information will give you the competitive edge you need to grow and rise above your competition.

Choosing the right type of customer service

With the lack of funding you most likely have to deal with as a small business, it can be hard to encompass all of the different channels of customer service within your business. Because of this, choosing the right one to invest in is crucial.

The first thing you should consider is what assets you possess can be used to your advantage. For example, if you already have a well-established social media presence, integrating customer service through it can help you save a lot of money. On top of this, a big advantage social media has is that most of the support you are offering will be public, and everyone will be able to see it. This will allow you to maximize your efficiency, but also to affirm to everyone that your business cares for its customers.

Phone calls are another popular channel of customer support, as many people today still prefer human interaction when asking for assistance. And, while it may require a somewhat larger investment in order to get a proper call centre going, it will definitely be worth the price. There are many modern tools that can help you along the way, like 1800 numbers and key performance indicators (KPIs), that will ensure your call centre is operating at full capacity.

Finally, live chat is channel of customer service with rising popularity. Unlike other online-based ways to help your customers, live chats are unique because they allow people to go into greater details on what their problems are, as well as ask follow-up questions. This allows them to easily fix their issues which increases the overall satisfaction they have with your business. Another benefit of live chats is that the time customers have to wait in order to receive help is minimal, as they basically only need to be patient until a chat slot to become available.

Adapting customer service to your business

As your business starts to grow and develop, the chances are it will begin to outgrow the capacity of your current customer service. Once that time arrives, an important question you should be asking yourself is: whether or not it’s time for you to outsource it?

There are many reasons to outsource customer service. However, the most important one is that there is no need for you to actively spend money on it when others can do it for you with lower expenses and more efficiently. In order to see if this is the case, the first thing you should do is to take a deeper look at the performances of your current customer service, and with them in mind decide whether or not it’s time to outsource.

If you believe the time is right, a good idea would be to define the goals and expectations you have from your customer service. This will help you set a clear target to aim at and aid you in the search for an appropriate partner. The most important thing to remember here is that at the end of the day you should diligently take note of the feedback you are receiving from your customers, as their opinions will be the ones that really matter. In conclusion, it’s important to remember that customer service isn’t just another unimportant cost of doing business. It is instead a key element of it, which will if done correctly, give your business the advantage it needs in order to succeed and set itself apart.

The First Checks You Should Make In Any New Property Investment

April 18, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

If you’re looking to start a career or business in investing in property, whether as a landlord or as a flipper of houses, then you know how to spot a good investment. It’s not all about how well you can market and manage your properties, but also about finding those that cost less to get ready for market than they’re likely to get you.

As such, you need to keep an eye out for some of the pesky issues that can end up costing you dearly. Here, we’re going to look at a few crucial checks you need to make before any property investment.

The plumbing

If there are any issues with the plumbing, even if they’re still lurking beneath the surface, there’s a good chance that you’re likely to end up having to pay for them, if you don’t end up paying for the water damage that they cause instead. Hiring a good property inspector should help you spot any issues in the plumbing, but if you’re taking a DIY approach to inspections, there are a few key areas you should look at in particular. Check the water heater’s age, the toilets for leaks in the base, water supply pipes for signs of corrosion, the inside water lines for signs of discoloration, and don’t forget to check all the taps and the overall water pressure.

The electrics

The other utility is naturally just as important. Faulty electrics will lead not only to the lights suddenly going, but to a serious risk of injury, which you could be held liable for if you’re looking to host tenants in your new property investment. When it comes to the electrics, there is no other option than a professional electrical inspection. Not only are you not likely to be fully qualified to carry out such an inspection yourself, but it could be potentially dangerous. We’re trying to avoid not only shocking costs after purchasing a property, but actual electric shocks to your person, as well. Play it safe, hire a professional when you need one.

The efficiency

While it’s not quite as important as the plumbing or the electrics, the energy efficiency of a home is becoming a more important factor in its marketability. Potential buyers and tenants are very likely to request that you take the necessary steps to make a home energy efficient before they move in. You might be able to be some financial assistance through schemes that provide free insulation or energy efficient boiler and air conditioning replacements. It’s not wise to make that assumption, so take an energy audit. From there, calculate what you would need to invest in to make the home more efficient, then consider if that investment is worth making. Sometimes, it’s better to give up on a property investment idea than to simply continue to sink money into it.

Signs of water woes

Some kinds of damage can be repaired easily and cheaply enough, while others may become the costliest part of the entire project. Being aware of that is crucial when you catch the first signs of water damage. It’s an easy enough problem to notice, with damp musty smells being particularly hard to ignore. If water damage has spread through things like dry wall or the ceiling, patching them up and replacing them is easy enough. However, if it has seeped deeper into the home, such as spreading throughout the roof and the insulation in the attic, then that could be a much more costly problem. If you catch a sign of water damage, make sure you arrange a thorough inspection so you can be fully aware of just how much it might cost to fix it.

Avoid those structural problems

When it comes to structural problems in the home, like cracks in the foundation, then that aforementioned water damage is likely to play a role. There are plenty of signs of structural damage you should pay attention to, if you don’t have an inspector who is likely to notice them. This includes tiny holes in drywall and wood, dry mud tubes on the foundation, problems with shutting or opening doors in the home with no clear mechanical reason, and noticeably sloping floors. In general, structural problems cost way more to fix than they’re worth, so you should avoid them when possible.

Make sure you don’t have any uninvited guests

Pests, little and large, are a problem is just about every kind of location. Even apartments high above the ground floor can be haunted by infestations. There are a lot of different kinds of pests, each of which can leave their own distinct warning signs, from hair, scratches, and scattered nesting material to droppings left around and the ammonia smell of urine in the home. Rather than trying to learn about all the pests your potential property may be vulnerable to and looking for any of their signs, it may be more effective to enlist a pest control team. Depending on the type of pest and where they’re found in the home, it may be easy enough to eliminate or at least get them out of the property.

What about the neighbors?

When it comes to renting out or selling a property, you’re marketing more than the home itself, you’re marketing the experience of living there. Which means that who they’re living beside is likely to play a factor in the decision that they make. Take a look at the neighbors’ yards when you’re looking at the home. If they’re incredibly disheveled, full of trash, or otherwise unsightly, it’s likely to bother any potential buyers or tenants even if your property is immaculate. You can try and talk to the neighbors or find other ways to deal with their eyesores, but it can still be a problem regardless.

Is the market moving there?

One of the key tips when it comes to building your property portfolio is to look at the trends of the market. The value of homes and increase and decrease of property prices in a given area is only one factor you should look at. There are also plenty of statistics on where people are moving to, both from city to city and from state to state, you can familiarize yourself with. See which towns, neighborhoods, cities, and ZIP codes are attracting more people, and which places tend to see a lot more emigration, instead. Finding the chance to capitalize on a popular new spot before other investors learn about it is the surest way to profit in the business.

Check the area

Don’t forget to make at least a cursory check of the data regarding the town, city, or neighborhood you’re considering buying in. Census and crime data are widely available for most locations and you can be sure that any potential buyers are going to be looking at it. Don’t forget to look at what features and amenities are nearby, such as schools and retail centers. These can help drive up the value of a property, as well as highlighting which market they’re best suited for. For instance, families are a lot more likely to look for homes that are closer to schools since they have kids that need to attend them. Areas that are high on crime are likely to be worth less, too.

If you want to get into property investment, then always being aware of your level of risk for each investment is essential. Hopefully, the tips above help you develop the habits you need to manage it.

UK Office Workers vs Telephobia

April 14, 2019 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

With Stress Awareness Month upon us, it’s only natural that we explore the things that increase our stress levels. We believe it’s important make every effort to support those around us, check in with ourselves and become wary of how our daily lives induce stress.

A little bit of stress can sometimes be healthy. It can help you accomplish tasks and even boost memory, but when it’s brought into the workplace or our personal lives on a consistent basis this can have a serious impact on our wellbeing and overall health. Face for Business, a telephone answering service, decided to conduct a survey on anxiety levels experienced in UK office workers who need to answer the phone. Phone fear (or most commonly known as “Telephobia”) affects 62% of UK office workers and can have a serious impact on the way we carry out office duties.
The fear of answering the phone can be a catalyst for stress. Millennials are experiencing this the most compared to any other demographic, with 72% experiencing the most telephone-answering anxiety compared to just 40% of baby boomers. Crowned the “anxious generation” – we feel that businesses need to work harder to help millennials feel confident in tasks the older generations find second-nature.
But what can we do to help reduce these anxiety levels across all demographics, as well as millennials?
• Provide adequate telephone training so that employees can comfortably deal with a variety of scenarios
• Remind employees to recall successful conversations to enhance feelings of empowerment
• Anxiety thrives when fear starts winning you over and avoidance becomes a regular pattern.
o Educate employees on anxious behaviours and provide a support network to help them feel relaxed and confident when answering the telephone.
Below is a summary of our results in infographic form:

Author bio
Christina is a Copywriter for Face for Business – a call answering service that offers excellent customer service and call handling to ensure SMEs never miss an incoming call.