Archives for August 2021

5 Methods Of Raising The Morale And Chemistry In Any Workplace

August 23, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

https://unsplash.com/photos/QBpZGqEMsKg

As the leader of a business or the one in charge of a select group, it’s your job to make sure those under you are performing to the absolute best of their abilities. If the team is doing well collectively, then everybody wins. If everyone is happy along the way, then it makes everything a lot easier going forward. Work isn’t just about acting like robots and getting everything done – the people involved need to feel accomplished and as though they’ve really done their bit as part of the team.

How can you raise the morale and the overall chemistry of the workplace, you say? Well, it’s actually not too complicated. It’s a case of doing a few things repeatedly, as you’d expect, but if you can get people’s heads right, then you’ll be good to go. Here are a few ideas:

Have A Plan For Absolutely Everyone

You’ll obviously have a plan for the collective unit, but you’re also going to want to make sure that you have a plan for every single individual, too. At the end of the day, they’re all people and they’re all going to need to feel the love of their superior. If you put the effort in and have a real idea of what you want from one person, then they’re going to feel very appreciated.

Hire The Right People For The Group

This is something that is, again, so fundamental, but something that will make a huge difference in how everything transpires. If you literally bring in the correct people, then it’s going to make life so much easier going forward. You need to know how to hire the right people in the first place, of course. It’s not just a case of looking at qualifications and experience – the personality matters a whole lot, too.

Provide Proper Training That Is Stimulating

When it comes to improving their abilities and giving them more to do than their typical daily tasks, you’re going to want to make sure that they’re excited by what they’re doing. A few days away or work with a Digital learning strategy would make a lot of sense as they allow each staff member to attack their new work with a lot more vigor. Doing the same kind of thing every single day is not exactly great for morale or one’s mental state.

Provide A Positive Aura Yourself

People bounce off of the attitudes and behaviors of others – that’s just how our minds work. So, if you’re a miserable person around the place, then it’s going to bring them down and make them feel like they’re not in a dead-end job. If you’re positive and spritely every day, then it’s going to reverberate around the entire force.

Do Something About The Workplace Itself

If the venue itself is pretty dour and miserable, then it’s going to make those inside not really as productive as you’d like. The first impressions, reception area, office area, and all other facilities should make people want to continue coming in every day. If you can’t find something like this, then you’re going to struggle.

Outside Appeal: Wow People Before They Step Inside

August 20, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

https://unsplash.com/photos/Ca8r0PSWg9Q

No matter whether you run a café or you have a store that sells electronic goods, it is important that your business has curb appeal. The exterior of your business can make a massive difference. In fact, it can be the difference between someone coming inside and walking straight past it. Of course, you want to ensure that the former happens, and below you will find some great tips to help you make sure that this is the case.

Focus on your logo – There is only one place to begin, and this is with the sign that displays your business’ name or logo. This is the most important part of your building’s external appearance. Of course, you need to ensure that your name or logo stands out and that it is easy to read. You also need to ensure that it boasts a professional appearance. There is nothing worse than a cheap and tacky design. This is one area where it certainly pays to spend a little bit more, as it can have a big impact.
Make people feel welcome – Another important way to boost the curb appeal of your business is to ensure that you are welcoming. A lot of businesses put signs on their windows that put people off, for example, signs stating that there are no public bathrooms inside. While it can be very annoying when people only enter your store to go to the toilet, such a sign is going to put people off and make them feel unwelcome. After all, you never know the number of people that could come into your store looking for a toilet and end up making an impulse buy.

Paint and landscape – Giving your business a fresh coat of exterior paint every few years can ensure it looks professional and tidy. You can also ensure your business looks updated and fresh with simple landscaping. Make sure your pathways and sidewalks are well maintained. Why not manicure your shrubs and bushes for some extra curb appeal once spring comes? A little bit of effort can go a long way, creating an inviting business front for your customers. Bradley Mowers can provide you with what you need to keep everything in check.

Give your customers a taste of what is inside – It is important to give people a glimpse of what they will get once they step inside of your store. If you run any type of retail store, you should include some of your items in the display window or on the sidewalk in front of your business. If you run a café or a bakery, why not put some of your delicious cakes and pastries in the window? Even if you have a service-based business, you can make this suggestion work for you. Friendly signage is a good place to start, as is transparency; allowing people that are walking by to see your friendly staff interacting with customers can make a huge difference.

Becoming a Property Investor Is a Lot More Involved Than Some People Might Think

August 18, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Some people have this idea that as soon as you’ve bought a property, you’re on the ladder and have access to infinite passive income. All you need to do is start buying and selling properties and sooner or later, you’ll have a large portfolio. This can lead to other investment opportunities and you’re essentially going to be financially secure for the rest of your life.

Unfortunately, that really isn’t the case.

Many of the articles and videos about passive income and property investment are extremely positive and sugar-coated. That is, they don’t often go into the problems that property investors face and the potential pitfalls that come with an overly enthusiastic attitude. So in this post, we’re going to explain how simply owning a property doesn’t mean you’re suddenly rich, and how much work is involved in actually managing and investing in property.

Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/jJnZg7vBfMs (CC0)

The more things you delegate, the more money you’re losing

When people think of passive income, they might think of people sitting at home collecting rent from all of their different properties. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work this way. No matter how much you’ve grown your property portfolio, it doesn’t mean that you can just collect a paycheck just for doing nothing. There are many decisions to make as a property investor and it’s not completely hands-off. In fact, you’ll have to get your hands dirty at times, doing things like cleaning a property before new tenants move in or personally renovating a home before it’s ready to be sold.

This is because the more services you hire to do things for you, the more money you’re losing. Think about it this way; if you’re getting $5,000 in rent per month from a New York property, then not all of that is going to you. Some of it goes to your taxes, some of it goes to your property manager, some of it goes to the cleaning service, and some of it needs to be reinvested into the property to keep it up-to-date and to fix issues.

However, if you handle some of these tasks yourself, you can end up saving a lot of money. How much money you’ll save depends on how much you’re paying to get the task done. Once you have enough properties, you’ll generally trade profit for being able to hand the task off to somebody else. But at the beginning, you’ll need to do some work yourself.

Properties don’t always come in great condition and they don’t stay in great condition

Properties are subject to wear and tear. No matter if it’s a residential home, a highrise office, or a humble corner store. You might need to contact an interior flatwork contractor to help you fix up the property so that it’s in a workable state, you might need to lay down new utilities or fix existing ones, and you might have to retroactively fit new technologies such as air conditioning.

There are many considerations to keep in mind when becoming a property investor. Just don’t overlook the fact that properties can change over time and need work to be attractive.

A Lesson In The Importance Of Workplace Safety Training

August 17, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Now a prerequisite of most competitive business benefits packages, corporate training options that include new software iterations or the potential for job progression provide the best possible opportunity to attract top talent with every job listing. Unfortunately, far too many managers overlook the fact that to be comprehensive, training should also stretch to cover workplace safety issues.

This is especially the case with safety concerns at an all-time high in this post-pandemic period, but safety training that takes into account considerations like fire drills, first aid, and other such essentials have long deserved their place on the workplace curriculum. Obviously, these priorities can’t take the place of employer responsibilities in these areas, but ensuring that staff at least know the drill (excuse the pun) with regards to workplace safety from all angles brings undeniable benefits that are, if anything, more worthwhile than the plus points of other training focuses. But, what benefits can you enjoy from getting on top of health and safety training at last?

Higher employee satisfaction

Job satisfaction consists of multiple factors, but feeling safe at work is definitely a basic requirement for getting everyone onside. Obviously, safety precautions on your part are and will continue to be the best possible thing that you can do in this regard, but the added reassurance of instilled knowledge when it comes to your safety procedures and capabilities can also make a huge difference. At the very least, knowing what to do in the event of an emergency can save staff from worrying unnecessarily, or feeling entirely let down if the worst does happen while they’re working.

Incident prevention

Health and safety incident prevention largely comes down to regular fire suppression system service, equipment checks, and assessments, but training also plays a part here. After all, the better able every member of your team is to foresee risks and take the correct action should anything go wrong, the less likely it is that an incident will ever have a chance of arising. As well as being a fantastic step towards proactive safety measures, training therefore also has the benefit of taking the full weight of safety standards from your shoulders.

Image Credit: CC0 License

Cost savings

Many employers don’t realize that inclusive safety training focuses can also have the benefit of cost savings for a variety of reasons. Most notably, perhaps, comprehensive and compliant safety training programs have the benefit of often lowering insurance premiums when they’re implemented in accordance with an insurer’s requirements. It’s worth noting, too, that where proper, documented health and safety training is concerned, protections against often costly liability cases are almost guaranteed if employee injury occurs due to human error. Over time, these costs, too, are guaranteed to add up to some pretty significant savings, especially considering the reputational damage you’ll be able to avoid as a result.

Even if you’ve never made much space for health and safety training in your workplace curriculum until now, you can guarantee that this change is long overdue if you’re to stand any chance at coming close to these benefits and much more!

Education or Experience: Which Is Best For You?

August 17, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

https://unsplash.com/photos/ZFYg5jTvB4A

Everyone is faced with the choice of furthering their education or pursuing work experience in their desired industry. Most already know what they prefer and where they will thrive, but not everyone has this luck. With your future at stake, the last thing you want to do is make a decision that might set you back, so if you’re wondering whether education or experience is the correct choice right now, here are a few things to consider.

Education

Structure

Many people will opt for education because it provides a structure they are familiar with. Going straight for school to work can often intimidate and overwhelm, but a university or college course will feel more comfortable. If you’re studying something completely different to pursue your dream job, such as the Keiser University nutritionist program, this structure is essential for maintaining some semblance of normality as you grow.

Employability

You likely grew up being told that college degrees make you more employable, and this still holds true in some industries. After graduating, your college degree can (but won’t always) make up for your lack of real-world experience. It can also help you get a job in other industries or countries while you wait for your big break.

Versatility

Education is not merely about teaching you from a book. It also gives you the chance to master essential soft skills that will benefit you in the workplace including discipline and time management. This versatility is appealing to employers and could offer you plenty of opportunities early in your career.

Experience

On the Job

Sometimes, you can’t get a better introduction than being on the job. While you may not know what to do on your first day (and perhaps not even your second), going immediately into work will give you the chance to learn office dynamics and get an idea of how interpersonal relationships work. If you’re young, you will mature much faster, which could benefit your career.

A Foot in the Door

Everybody knows how important networking is in the modern world, and you can’t always do this at university. Often, students are too busy enjoying the freedoms that have come to them, which means any legitimate work is put in second place. However, by going straight into work and getting valuable experience, you can network and meet people that might be able to help you progress in your career in the future. The more you impress, the better your chances.

Earning Money

If you want to get a headstart compared to your contemporaries, the money-earning potential of experience is difficult to turn down. Of course, not every experience has this luxury, and some companies will offer unpaid internships while dangling the carrot of employment. Although these internships can be desirable, you still need to know your worth and be compensated fairly for your time.

Your Choice
You are not the same as your friends or family, and this means you won’t have the same desires that they do. When deciding whether to continue further education or go into work experience, think about what you want, and don’t let others influence your journey