Tools Archives

5 Benefits of Improved Workforce Management

Workforce management (WFM) is the process of optimizing employees’ productivity. Put differently, workforce management solutions consist of workforce management software and services that allow business to optimize their operations. An effective workforce management system will allow employers to allocate resources, forecast workloads, and avoid compliance risks effectively. The WFM system also involves tracking the employees’ schedules and performances. You should always strive to enhance your workforce management. Why? Because the benefits of using WFM software will see your business’s operations run much more smoothly. Are you ready to learn more about how workforce management works to improve your organization? Let’s take a closer look! The Three-Legged Stool of Workforce Management To elevate and align the Workforce Management at your organization, you should apply the PPT framework. The PPT framework refers to the People, Process, and Technology framework. This framework puts forth the idea that employees, processes, and technologies must work in harmony with each other. When harmonized, the PPT framework will allow for successful business operations that celebrate efficiency and effectiveness. The three-legged stool visual captures the notion of the PPT framework perfectly. If one leg is taller, shorter, or simply non-existent, the entire stool will destabilize. So, how does the PPT framework affect workforce management? Well, simply, you can’t have successful workforce management with the PPT framework. If your employees lack proper training and process expertise, your business operations will fail altogether. If your business’s processes/workflows become inconsistent, managing productivity and expenses will prove extremely challenging. Lastly, if you lack the proper technologies 💻, you and your team can’t conduct secure business operations at all. The PPT framework will serve as your guide when improving your workforce management techniques. The Benefits of Workforce Management In the United States, especially, workforce management has become an incredibly popular tool. According to Gitnux’s 2024 Market Data Report, 37% of US businesses use time and attendance solutions. Time and attendance solutions are crucial to workforce management systems. Source: Gitnux What’s more, about 64% of US organizations use human resource software. Again, this is also an integral part of workforce management. So, as you can see, WFM software is becoming a must-have for many businesses and organizations. Let’s explore this further. Below, you’ll find some of the most impactful advantages of using WFM techniques. 1. Real-Time Performance Analysis 🎭 Because of WFM tools, you don’t need to wait a long time to evaluate your employees’ performance. You’ll have real-time reporting about your employees’ performances, and you can monitor your KPIs too. With the data you are getting, you’ll know what is going well and what needs improvement. In other words, WFM tools will help you identify trends in your employees’ performances. As a result, you’ll find it easier to inform training programs and improve productivity altogether. What’s more, by identifying areas of improvement, you will reduce wasted time and better allocate your resources. 2. Reduced Labor Costs 💰 WFM allows you to schedule your employees’ shifts in such a way that reduces labor costs significantly. ‘How’, you may ask. WFM tools enable employers to minimize overtime, handle understaffing, and manage absences. Ultimately, WFM will ensure that you maintain staff coverage. Thus, you’ll always offer excellent customer service while keeping labor costs down ⬇️. Just think – when your business is understaffed, your existing employees have to work overtime, which results in costly wages. If you use WFM software that helps you distribute workloads optimally, costly wages aren’t an issue anymore. What’s more, when your employees feel overworked, they are much more likely to request time off. Managing these absences can prove a time-consuming task without workforce software. And, as you know, time is money. WFM tools can streamline this process through automation, resulting in fewer errors as an added bonus. 3. Optimized Productivity ↗️ Most of WFM involves scheduling. By aligning your employees’ schedules with your business’s needs, you can enhance the quality and efficiency of your services. Source: Federal Reserve Board WFM can help you create this alignment. WFM will forecast labor demands via historical data and match an employee’s skill sets with upcoming tasks. After having done that, your WFM software will adjust your employees’ schedules accordingly. As a result, you and your business will experience an increase in productivity and customer satisfaction. Best of all, if you incorporate your employees’ preferences into the scheduling process, you’ll find that your employees feel more actively involved and engaged in the workforce planning process. 4. Simplified Time & Attendance Tracking ⌛ Time and attendance tracking is incredibly important for any business owner. Simply put, you can’t have accurate payroll, employee benefits, or access to attendance patterns without it. Workforce management tools will enable you to accurately log your employees’ work hours, all while fostering a seamless integration with payroll systems. What’s more, workforce management software won’t just help you monitor your employees’ work hours. WFM will also simplify overtime, break regulations, and even paid absences. Furthermore, workforce management tools will ensure precise compensation and compliance with your business’s policies. Overall, with the right WFM tools, you can monitor attendance records and address any issues or trends you notice. As a result, you can better support your employees while you ensure your business runs efficiently. 5. Mitigated Risks ❌ Sharing sensitive information that relates to your employees isn’t something you should approach lightly. For that reason, workforce software must safeguard large quantities of data. Source: Tada WFM solutions offer integrity and protection of your workforce and payroll data. How? By investing in infrastructure with measurable uptime and service level agreements, WFM ensures your employee’s safety. In other words, workforce management will help give you peace of mind that all your information and data are safe and secure. Workforce Management: Final Thoughts By improving your workforce management processes and techniques, you’ll maintain and enhance the financial health of your business. You’ll also increase your employees’ engagement and productivity, which will then positively impact your customer’s experience with your business. Ultimately, the benefits of workforce management

Reasons Why Touchless Technology and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Bring a Better Workplace

We pay more attention than ever before to the surfaces around us, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Doorknobs. Countertops. The tools on our desks or in our conference rooms. You name it, we are way more cautious about it nowadays. In the modern era, a positive work environment doesn’t just mean preventing workplace injuries or protecting our team member’s mental health 🧠. It also means making it so that technology in the workplace doesn’t contribute to the spread of diseases. That’s where touchless technology and the bring your own device (BYOD) program enters the picture. In today’s guide, we’ll discuss the benefits of touchless technology and BYOD so that you can create a safer office environment. What Is Touchless Technology? 📱 While we don’t need to tell you what touchless technology is, it’s good to know how you can implement it in your office spaces. Source: McKinsey & Company Let’s take a look at some of the most common forms of touchless technology. Gesture Recognition 👋: You simply just need to make a gesture to control or interact with devices. It’s completely touch-free and a classic example is in the bathroom. Think touchless hand dryers. Touchless Sensing 🚪: This is when a sensor detects the presence or motion of a person. And you’ve definitely encountered it if you’ve ever you’ve walked through an automatic door. Voice Recognition 🗣️: All you need to do here is speak to a device to interact with it. Just think of all of the times Siri has said “Sorry I didn’t understand that” when you haven’t actually been talking to it. Facial Recognition 🙋: Even more convenient than voice recognition, facial recognition just needs to clearly see your face. Think of the newer iPhone models that support Face ID these days. Personal Devices 🖥️: Yes, this method is more a not-so-touchless form of technology. But believe it or not, it still counts. Anything that works by responding to the commands of your personal devices still helps you avoid touching public surfaces. So, essentially, you’re touching your own tech to avoid touching public tech. The impact of this technology completely removes the need for physical touch when you interact with a workplace device. The result – better hygienic practices for you and your employees! What Is BYOD? 🧑‍💻 Let’s shift focus to BYOD. The bring-your-own-device policy allows you and your employees to bring personal devices to work. So, if you’d like to bring your own computers, tablets, smartphones, or USB drives to work, this policy is a game-changer. Source: Security Brief Australia In a lot of cases, the BYOD program has led to massive increases in productivity and morale. According to a study from Cybersecurity Insider, organizations that implemented the BYOD program experienced a 68% increase in employee productivity. But that’s not to say that the BYOD policy doesn’t have drawbacks. It does, and you need about them before you introduce the policy into your workspace. When left unaddressed, a personal device’s access to an organization’s network can leave said organization wide open to all sorts of nasty security risks. Don’t worry – there are ways around this. You need a BYOD security policy in place that informs and educates every team member on how to use the BYOD program without compromising the business’s data or networks. There are some elements you should always add to your BYOD security policies, including the following: The types of devices approved for use. Security and data ownership policies. The degree of IT support you’ll grant to the approved personal devices. When IT leaders decide how much support they can offer personal devices, they must make sure there is a balance between the organization’s security and your employees’ personal privacy. Treat it like a work-life balance but just for security protocols. Workplace Improvement: The Benefits of Touchless Tech & BYOD So, you know about the surface-level benefits of touchless tech and BYOD in that it’s great for preventing the spread of germs and diseases. But, did you know that there are other benefits too, like providing more opportunities for cost saving? Below, we’ve looked at some of the most useful advantages to touchless tech and BYOD in the workplace. BYOD Saves Money 💲 If you work with a large group of people, the cost of providing devices for everyone can add up quickly. Also, not everyone on staff may be familiar with the tools you give, which can necessitate additional training resources and associated costs. Source: Training Magazine But if you implement a bring your own device policy, you can save money on: Investing in or leasing personal technology for each worker. Assistance in learning how to use novel tools. Employing hardware and computer technicians. Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group estimates that implementing a comprehensive BYOD program amounts to an annual savings of $3,150 per worker. Up-To-Date Technology 💻 Employees may neglect to update company-issued gadgets routinely. The worst part? Ignoring security upgrades may accidentally put everyone’s sensitive information at risk. Yet they are more likely to update their personal computers and other gadgets whenever new versions become available. Source: Okta It’s also financially impractical for a corporation to keep buying new equipment to accommodate the latest technological advancements. But you know how it is – when we want the latest iPhone or Samsung model for personal use, we are pretty quick to grab our credit cards. Just imagine the amount of money the company can save by letting their employees take care of their belongings under the BYOD program. Contactless Check-Ins Improve Everyone’s Health 🥼 Touchless check-in won’t just help your employees avoid the spread of germs; it will also help your visitors. Why? Because it reduces the likelihood that visitors will come into contact with germs by touching surfaces like door knobs and elevator buttons. All in all, touchless tech and BYOD make safe, hygienic visitor management much easier to put in place. Brand Establishment ↗️ As an expanding business, your brand’s identity means everything. What’s more,

FLSA Timekeeping Compliance

Business owners in the United States must comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This federal labor law sets the minimum wage, overtime pay, and provisions related to timekeeping and record keeping. As a US business, you must understand the rules of the FLSA, how it impacts your business, and what processes you need to put into play regarding the regulations set out by the act. In this article, we’re going to simplify it for you. Read on to learn what the FLSA is all about, the benefits of FLSA timekeeping, and who is and isn’t exempt from the FLSA. What is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?⚖️ Source: Time FLSA is a federal law set by the US Department of Labor (DOL) for part-time and full-time employees in private companies and local, state, and federal governments. It establishes standards for the following: Federal minimum wage laws: The FLSA sets out a minimum wage that all employees are entitled to. The rate is $7.25 per hour as of July 2009. It is essential to understand that many states have their own minimum wage laws and employee protections, which have to be complied with alongside the FLSA regulations. Overtime pay requirements ⏰: Employees working overtime are entitled to pay at a rate of one and a half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The FLSA means that employers must keep track of the hours worked by non-exempt employees to ensure that proper compensation is given based on the number of hours over 40 hours they have worked. Unauthorized overtime: Even overtime that has not been authorized must be paid, but employers may take disciplinary action against employees for unauthorized overtime. Recordkeeping requirements for businesses: The FLSA indicates that companies may use any timekeeping method that they prefer as long as records are complete and accurate. The records must include basic employee information, hours worked per day and workweek, regular pay rates, overtime, and the total earnings per period. Timekeeping ⌚: Employers are expected to implement reliable timekeeping methods, like time clocks or electronic timekeeping software, to ensure all worked hours are accurately recorded. These records must be kept for a minimum of two years. Some employees are exempt from FLSA regulations, meaning that they are not entitled to overtime pay. It is imperative that you have each employee properly classified so that you are complying with FLSA rules. Benefits of FLSA Compliance FLSA compliance can ensure that you are not fined or subject to lengthy lawsuits, but there are also other benefits of following these regulations. These include the following. Accurate overtime calculations 🧮 and records so you know exactly who is working more hours and why. This can help you decide when more staff are needed to ensure everyone is getting a good work-life balance. Productivity can be monitored, ensuring you know which employees are the most productive and which are the least. This can help you to implement productivity initiatives to ensure all employees are working optimally. You can assess the need for automation 🤖 in areas where it would be beneficial based on productivity, overtime, and other timekeeping records. You’ll be able to analyze the length of time needed per project based on past instances of similar projects. You’ll figure out the most time-consuming work or client, which can help you plan for the future or even put processes in place to reduce the time spent on said client or project. Who is Covered by FLSA Regulations? FLSA regulations cover the following employees. Interstate commerce employees Goods production for commerce workers Domestic service employees Hospital workers 🏥 Employees at schools for disabled or gifted children Employees at educational institutions 🏫 Public agency workers FLSA regulations cover the following employers. Those that have $500,000 (or higher) yearly gross Those who operate schools for gifted children Those who operate elementary & secondary schools and institutes with higher education Those who primarily care for the elderly, sick, or mentally challenged people Who is Exempted From FLSA Regulations? The FLSA is not applicable to all workers and workplaces. The following workers are exempt from FLSA regulations. Professional, administrative, and executive employees who earn at least $684 per week Computer workers who are paid not less than $27.63 per hour or $684 per week Outside salespeople who usually are away from the place of business and are typically paid via commissions Apprentices Small farms workers 🧑‍🌾 Casual babysitters, seniors’ caregivers, personal companions Newspaper delivery workers 🗞️ Seamen or sea women on foreign ships ⚓ Employees of recreational businesses or seasonal amusement Employees of local newspapers with a circulation of less than 4000 FLSA Recordkeeping Rules To comply with the FLSA, employers must adere to the FLSA rules on recordkeeping. These rules cover what must be recorded by employees and are as follows. Additional Records Required for FLSA Compliance Storage of Records 📦 Records should be accessible for inspection by the Division’s representatives. They may ask the company to make computations, extensions, or transcriptions. The records can be kept in a central records office or at the employment location. Records which must be kept for at least 2 years include the following. On top of this, employers are expected to keep the following records for a minimum of three years. Timekeeping Methods ⏳ The FLSA, while making timekeeping a rule, does not prescribe which method of timekeeping an employer should use. This means that you can use any method you prefer. The following are some options to choose from depending on what suits your business best. Manual or automated time clock Timekeeper that records all employees’ hours Timekeeping software Manually input timesheets Mobile apps GPS tracking systems Self-reporting If you’re considering using timekeeping software, then why not check out Tommy for timekeeping? It is a reliable and effective method of keeping track of your employee’s workdays as well as giving insight into productivity and overtime shares. Learn more about it. FLSA’s Out

VAR vs. MSP: Which Is Better for You?

Whether you’re already operating as a VAR and looking to transition to the world of MSP, or you’re just setting up your business and wondering which is better, a thorough understanding of these two acronyms is going to help you out. Both VAR and MSP businesses operate in the business and technology services industries but refer to different types of businesses and business models. This article is going to take a closer look at both VAR and MSP to help you determine which business model is right for you. Take a look now to learn more. VAR Vs. MSP: The Basics 🧑‍💻 Even if you’re already operating as a VAR, you may find that the MSP acronym leaves much to be imagined. It can be difficult to get your head around what both these business models actually entail and how they work when put into action. Below is a basic overview of both VARs and MSPs to help you fully understand what each business type entails. What Is VAR? Source: LinkedIn VARs, or Value-Added Resellers, are businesses within the business services industry that resell tech products, like software, to other businesses. Rather than just being a middle-man, though, these businesses add value to the products before selling them, often including services like customization, integration, and support. VARs focus primarily on sales and selling the tangible products that they stock. They make most of their month through the resale of products, and additional revenue comes from the value-added services that they provide. VARs can be on-site and cloud-based businesses and often aid both large enterprises and SMEs. VARs are attractive to clients looking for a one-stop experience, i.e., if they have an extensive project and need lots of different software products, they could go to a VAR to ensure all their needs are met in one simple transaction. What Is MSP? An MSP, or a Managed Service Provider, is a business that provides ongoing and proactive management of a company’s IT, infrastructure, or end-user systems. Services MSPs offer can vary but may include network monitoring, security, data backup, customer support, and more. When compared with VARs, MSPs are much more service-oriented. While a VAR looks to sell a product, an MSP offers support to its clients. MSPs often aim to nurture a good relationship with their clients and support them with various services to ensure the smooth running of the company’s operations. The MSP model is most often subscription-based, meaning that MSP businesses make their money by charging a recurring fee. This makes for a more predictable revenue stream when compared to the way VARs make their money. Pros and Cons of VARs 🧐 The VAR model comes with both pros and cons, which you should consider when deciding between the two. Pros of VARs 😃 Flexibility: VARs can adapt easily to changes in current market trends, meaning they can supply the products people want and need. Diverse revenue streams: VARs can stock a wide range of third-party products, which means there are lots of different methods of income. Customization: The whole VAR model relies on the fact that the company adds features or services to already existing products. This means that they can create the exact products or services businesses need, no matter whether they’re working with a large enterprise or a small business. Cons of VARs 😬 Competitive market: The VAR market is a highly saturated field, which means that VARs are always facing steep competition from others in the industry. Market dependency: When businesses cut spending during times of economic downturn, most often, it is VARs that suffer. This reduction in demand can lead to a drop in revenue. Margins: Due to the saturation of the market, VARs are under constant pressure to ensure their profit margins remain competitive. This could add pressure to pricing and negotiations with clients. Supplier dependency: VARs are completely dependent on the availability of products from other suppliers, which means that their inventory is subject to outside fluctuations. Pros and Cons of MSPs 🤔 MSPs tend to have more pros than the VAR business model, which we have detailed below. Pros of MSPs 🥳 Recurring revenue stream: One of the major pros of the MSP model is that you have a consistent revenue stream from subscription fees paid to you by your clients 💰. Scalability: The MSP model can grow with their clients, so as the business gets bigger, your services can match their needs. Expertise: MSPs can often be highly specialized in the information technology sector. This could mean specializing in data management or cloud services. Specialization gives you a niche to target and an edge over the competition. Proactive maintenance: The MSP model means you proactively maintain a system for your clients. This can save them time and money, as well as reduce downtime when something goes wrong. Cons of MSPs Intensive customer relationships: Client satisfaction is absolutely crucial to MSPs, so client relationships need to remain strong. Security: Because MSPs are dealing with sensitive client data, their security systems need to be robust. MSPs are often the target of cybercriminals. Client education: Sometimes, MSPs will need to educate their clients on why the services they provide are worthwhile. This might include educating them on the long-term benefits of IT management rather than relying on the break-fix model. Income: VARs Vs. MSPs 💸 If you’re looking to start a VAR or MSP business or transition from one model to the other, you’re likely interested in the kind of money you can be making. VARs and MSPs have different revenue streams, and because of this, they often have different annual incomes. We’ve detailed the differences below. VARs Income VARs make most of their money through third-party product sales. This means that income can fluctuate depending on the kind of profit margin set. For niche products, a higher margin can be added to ensure the VAR makes money from the sale, but with more popular products that competitors may be selling, it’s

Asynchronous Communication for Better Employee Productivity

What Is Asynchronous Communication? What are the Benefits of Asynchronous Communication? Implementing an Asynchronous Approach Balancing All Types Of Communication: Both Synchronous and Asynchronous⚖️ Conclusion In the fast-paced world of modern work, expectations for employee productivity are high🤩. Workplace efficiency is critical for a company to thrive and succeed, so ensuring employees feel motivated is essential. In a general work setting, meetings, phone calls📞 and instant, synchronous communication dominate. But what if there was an easier way? According to statistics, “The majority of employees (52%) prefer asynchronous communication to synchronous communication, with 42% saying asynchronous communication is the future of work.” Asynchronous communication is any method of communication that doesn’t require real-time communication or interactions🗣. This could be sending emails, audio recordings, pre-recorded videos and more. As organisations become aware of the advantages of this type of communication, there’s a general shift towards it to increase employee productivity🤝. In this blog, we’ll look at asynchronous communication in more detail, its benefits, and how to implement it in your workplace. Let’s get into it. Source: Go1 What Is Asynchronous Communication? Comparing asynchronous communication to its counterpart, synchronous communication is the most straightforward method to explain it. So, what exactly is the distinction between asynchronous and synchronous communication💬? To communicate information, synchronised communication necessitates that all participants be on the same platform. Calls, Zoom meetings, in-person meetings, and simply passing by a colleague’s desk for a chat are all examples of synchronous communication🧍‍. Meanwhile, asynchronous communication entails sending a message without anticipating a response right away. All parties don’t need to be present to share information. Emails📧, instant chats, texts, and voicemail, for example, are all asynchronous ways of communication we utilise in both our personal and professional lives. When it comes to adopting a work-from-home mindset🏡, asynchronous communication is a viable option when teams are distributed and have complex schedules. Employees can use online collaboration tools to share files and communicate with each other. Source: Asana What are the Benefits of Asynchronous Communication? Communication is essential in many facets of life and business, but is there such a thing as too much communication🤔? Yes, according to HBR research, employees can spend up to 80% of their workdays talking with coworkers through emails, meetings, and instant messaging apps. But it doesn’t stop when you leave the office🏢. Thanks to our mobile devices, it’s never been easier to check and respond to work messages at any time of day or night. All of this isn’t motivating us to produce our best work. In fact, the frequent pulls on our attention make it impossible to devote our full attention to our objectives and duties🥱. Employees generally try to work faster to compensate for workplace interruptions, resulting in more stress, irritation, time pressure, and effort. This can lead to burnout and a lack of job satisfaction👎. Asynchronous communication offers benefits to employees, making it a popular way to interact with people in the workplace. Here are some benefits of asynchronous communication: 1. Enhanced Focus🙇‍♂️ Without the demands for real-time, always-on communication, there’s less pressure and stress. This gives employees a greater ability to pick their preferred time to complete critical objectives that matter, rather than simply being present but doing less mentally strenuous work such as sorting emails. Employees can dive into tasks with fewer interruptions, improving efficiency and a better quality of work. 2. Reduced Interruptions🗣 Asynchronous communication takes away the pressure of instant responses, reducing the amount of interruptions. This increases employee engagement, as they can focus on a task with all their attention. This style of communication lets people address people at different times, meaning they can do it when it’s convenient, and they’re able to focus more. 3. Improved Work-Life Balance⚖️ Employees will experience an improvement in their work-life balance without the pressure of needing to respond instantly. According to statistics by Sony, “61% of employees say asynchronous communication results in a better work-life balance.” This type of communication is ideal for remote workers, as it also helps to decrease stress and the risk of burnout. Instead, they can draw the line between their work and personal life, doing remote work during their actual working hours. Source: Sony 4. Adaptability to Different Work-styles👩‍💻 Every worker has different times or situations in which they’re their most productive. Asynchronous communication allows all styles of workers to work when it’s convenient for them. Team members can work, reply or engage in communication when it works best for them. 5. Global Collaboration🌏 When your team has employees located all across time zones, communication can get complicated. Employees can go on to other tasks while waiting for their international colleagues to clock on. This will increase employee productivity, as there’s less need to waste time waiting for a response. Instead, tasks can proceed as usual, keeping the flow of business running swiftly and smoothly. 6. Promotes Better General Communication💬 When an immediate reaction isn’t guaranteed, you have to think more carefully about what you’re saying. Instead of a quick reaction, asynchronous communication allows you to craft a considered response. Studies show that 69% of employees say this kind of communication gives them time to perfect ideas💡 and responses. In conclusion, the benefits of this type of communication go beyond the office work environment. Not only does the company benefit from an efficient workforce, individual preferences and well-being are prioritised👍. In the following section, we’ll look at how you can implement asynchronous communication in your company. Implementing an Asynchronous Approach While challenging, the benefits of adopting asynchronous solutions practices, especially in larger organisations, are significant. Asynchronous methods can drastically minimise the amount of time spent on each task⏳. Implementing this approach into your business will help not only the company but the individual workers, too. Here are some ways you can implement this approach into your business: 1. Evaluate Existing Communication💬 Look into the current channels of communication that already exist in your company. Identify any strengths or weaknesses, and see where a new type of

Break These Bad Habits To Keep Customer’s Trust

How to Avoid the Biggest Timesheet Mistakes

The importance of timesheets⏰ can’t be ignored, as they help to streamline operations and monitor employee productivity🤩. In the fast-paced world of running a business, timesheets are ideal for keeping everyone accountable and play a crucial role in project management, payroll processing and ensuring compliance with labor laws✅. In some cases, timesheet mistakes are made which can be detrimental to the flow of operations. In this blog, we’ll uncover some common errors and explore ways to prevent them from occurring👌. This way, your business will continue to thrive, you’ll save money, and operations will run smoothly. Source: LinkedIn The Importance of Timesheets⏰📃 Timesheets are arguably the unsung heroes of the business world, and the role they play should not be underplayed🦸‍♀️. Timesheet management is vital, as an effective job can help a business in more ways than one. Here are some examples: Effective Progress Trackers📈 One of the key reasons why timesheets are so important is because they track the progress of employees. They allow managers to get an insight into how much time is spent on each task. From there, a manager can take steps to optimise workflow, identify any issues or bottlenecks and track the progress of each employee. Source: Zoomshift Billing Accuracy💵 Employees fill out timesheets to keep track of their work hours, making it useful for billing and invoicing purposes. Precise timesheets are crucial to a business as they can help avoid any mistakes in payment and foster trust and positive relationships in the workplace. Allocation and Planning🤔 Looking at the work of each employee, their productivity, and the time taken for tasks can help future resource allocation and planning. This, in hand, will help operations run smoothly and efficiently. Compliance with Labour Laws👮‍♂️ Accurate records of employee work hours can help businesses ensure they adhere to legal requirements and labour laws. Laws are constantly evolving, which is why keeping track of all employees and their working hours is essential. Overall, timesheets are more than just recording work hours⏳. They’re vital in keeping business operations running smoothly and efficiently and ensuring everything is legal and tracked. Common Timesheet Mistakes🙅‍♀️ In order to avoid common timesheet mistakes, looking at common errors is essential. That way, businesses can make a conscious effort to avoid them and keep all processes running as smoothly as possible. Here are some common mistakes: Inaccurate Time Tracking👎 One of the main errors that occurs within businesses is inaccurate time tracking. This is incredibly common, especially in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Sometimes, employees will forget to log their hours, creating issues later down the line. By doing this, their pay may be inaccurate. Time Theft👮‍♂️ Time theft is when an employee may exaggerate their hours, insinuating that tasks have taken up more of their time. The result of this is that employees can be paid more or less for the time that they work. An employee might log their break, making it appear that they’ve worked more than they have. Calculation Errors🤔 Calculation errors are common timesheet mistakes, and unfortunately, they happen often. According to QuickBooks, “80 percent of employee timesheets have to be corrected.” Whether it’s because of a typing error or handwriting that’s hard to read, it can have a significant impact. Rounding errors, up or down, can also cause calculation issues, as it can lead to a miscalculation of wages. Source: Quickbooks Buddy Punching🥊 Buddy punching is a term that refers to one employee clocking in on behalf of another, and it’s actually a form of fraud. The person filling in the timesheet for another employee may put in different time entries, like a false arrival or leave time. It’s estimated that “Over 75% of companies lose money from buddy punching”, according to the American Payroll Association Society. Source: PredictiveHR Overtime Abuse⏱ In some instances, employees might log their standard work hours as overtime on a timesheet. As a result of this, they might receive a higher salary that they’ve not actually worked for. If an employee doesn’t monitor their overtime correctly, it may impact a timesheet. These common timesheet mistakes happen all the time, and that’s why acknowledging and addressing them is so important. Once businesses are aware of the issues that might arise, they can take steps to ensure they avoid them🤝. How to Avoid Timesheet Mistakes⭐️ Taking steps to avoid timesheet mistakes can help your business continue to run efficiently and keep your operations streamlined. Whether you use paper timesheets or digital time-tracking software, you can implement strategies and cultivate a culture of effective time tracking. Here are some tips on how to avoid timesheet mistakes: Implement Effective Time Tracking Tools🔧 Thanks to the internet and modern technology💻, there are many tools available to aid successful time tracking in a business. Consider your options and important factors, like the different features and scalability, and ensure it’s user-friendly. Make sure the system you choose aligns with your organization and meets the specific needs of the company. Tommy offers effective timesheet software that comes with a range of features to streamline your processes. The software highlights anomalies like overtime, manual edits, unscheduled time, and more. It also offers you the chance to review, edit, and approve the timesheets, saving you from hours of payroll headaches💆‍♀️. Source: eBillity Create Clear Deadlines and Expectations📆 As a manager, setting clear deadlines and expectations of when you want timesheets filled in is essential. This will help staff remain on top of it and work towards the deadline, whether it’s weekly, monthly, or bi-weekly; set up an automated reminder system that provides gradual reminders in the time leading up to the submission. This will help to avoid any procrastination or missed deadlines⏳. To help business operations, set the deadline so that it matches up with the payroll or any project timelines. This way, you can assess the timesheets, identify any issues or strengths, and reallocate depending on that. Provide Education and Training👨‍🏫 Taking the time to educate your employees about

4 Tips for Easier Staff Scheduling for Cafes, Bars & Restaurants

Staff scheduling for staff in the hospitality industry can be challenging. Often, the workers in these industries will work part-time or have other commitments that you need to work around, which makes the scheduling process difficult. On top of this, employees might want to trade shifts, work different hours from week to week, and even request time off with little notice. Whether you use a scheduling tool, like an employee scheduling app, or you do the whole thing manually, scheduling is always a bit of a nightmare. If you’re looking for a way to make things easier when it comes to shift schedules in hospitality, then we’ve got you covered. Below, we’ve come up with four of our top tips when it comes to scheduling employees for your cafe, bar, or restaurant 🍽️. Take a look below now to learn more about the best ways to schedule. 1. Develop a Smart Scheduling Strategy 🤓 Having a strategy for scheduling starts with being consistent. The best way to ensure that, is to have a systematic approach to scheduling. What this means is following the same routine for each schedule. Here are our top tips for a smart scheduling strategy: Work out when your peak hours are. Knowing when demand is greatest means you’ll know when you need more staff on shift. Take employee preferences into account, but make sure they follow rules for time-off requests and submit availability within a reasonable amount of time (see below). While it can seem straightforward to ignore employee demands, if you force people to work shifts they cannot or don’t want to work, you may see more absenteeism, more shift swaps, and higher employee turnover. Strike a balance between giving employees what they want and making sure your shifts are covered. Implement a rotating shift schedule so that employees all work the more ‘undesirable’ shifts but also get to work the ‘money’ shifts throughout the month. This will also ensure that employees get their fair share of busy shifts where things are more stressful. Consider cross-training employees so that you always have staff available to cover a shift. If you suddenly have all of your cocktail bartenders🍸 off, cross-training means that someone can step in while they’re away. Have a cut-off point at least a few days before scheduling for employees to get their requests in (see below), but also ensure you’re doing the schedule on the same day each month. Regularity in scheduling is key to keeping employees happy and knowing where you all stand for the month ahead. If you’re going to be late with the schedule, then make sure to communicate clearly with staff about it. Consider skill levels when setting out your shifts. For example, having a shift with only new starters working is likely to put more stress on the manager or supervisor in charge. Pepper each shift with those with more experience alongside newer staff who might still be undergoing training. Monitor seasonal shifts and other changes throughout the year and forecast these changes in your upcoming schedules. Learn from mistakes and evaluate as often as possible. 2. Get to Know Your Staff 🤝 One of the easiest ways to make sure your scheduling works well for everyone is to know your staff inside and out. As we’ve mentioned above, peppering a range of skill levels throughout each shift will create balance and ensure new starters aren’t overwhelmed. But on top of this, knowing which staff like working quieter daytime shifts compared with those who thrive in the chaos of weekend shifts can keep your staff happy overall. Getting to know your staff will mean that they also feel like they can come to you with scheduling conflicts, are more likely to put day-off requests in on time, and will work shifts for you when you need them to cover much more readily. But while keeping your staff happy is always a good idea, remember you need to balance what they want with what you need. There are some instances when you will need to make changes and swap people’s shifts around.This isn’t always a bad thing, for example: Having your best bartender on for certain lunch shifts where the work is slower might increase patronage and make what was once a quiet time into your busiest time, due to the upgrade in customer service. A new staff member steps up because they are given the opportunity and becomes your most competent and best worker after scheduling them for a busy shift. Remember that variety can benefit you, but it can alsoboost staff satisfactionand happiness, leading to a more positive workforce overall. Source: Futurelearn In hospitality🧑‍🍳, something different might mean working a bar shift when they have previously only worked as a host. It could also mean switching up their schedule, dealing with different customers, or having the opportunity to learn something new. 3. Set Ground Rules for Shift Swaps and Requests 📄 Often as a manager, you will be fielding lots of different requests for time off, holidays🏖️, and more. But if you’re trying to make a schedule, then last-minute requests can mean starting from scratch. We recommend setting some ground rules for shift swapping and time-off requests so that you can make a schedule to suit everyone, and so that all your shifts are properly covered as you need them to be. Below is our list of recommended rules. 4. Use Employee Scheduling Software 🧑‍💻 Employee scheduling apps can have a profound impact on the speed and efficiency of your scheduling process. So, how do scheduling apps work? Automated scheduling: Managers can input shift requirements and the app will generate a schedule based on these rules. The app will take things like employee availability, preferences, and labor laws into account for you. Time off management: Employees have access to the app and can input their time off requests directly so that managers can see it and align schedules with the availability of their team. Notifications and

What Is Workforce Optimization and How Will It Help You Achieve Success

Behind every thriving business is a team of efficient, motivated and engaged employees🤝. Staying ahead in the ever-evolving business landscape requires strategic planning, streamlined processes, and an optimized workforce. Increasing productivity and efficiency in the workplace can lead to increased employee and customer satisfaction, and, as a manager, there are steps you can take to implement this🤩. Workforce optimization is your key to success🔑. This crucial concept is a game-changer in the business world and is an excellent way to maximize productivity and elevate the efficiency of your staff. In this blog, we’ll explore workforce optimization in more detail, exploring what it is and how you can incorporate it into your organization. What is Workforce Optimization? Workforce optimization (WFO) is a comprehensive approach to improving the efficiency, productivity, and performance of a company’s workforce📈. It’s a collection of business strategies, technologies, and tools that allows you to automate critical processes, maintain data visibility, adhere to legal requirements, and fix staff-related issues👍. Workforce optimization includes these components: Workforce planning🤔 – This involves aligning the workforce with the organizational goals by planning ahead. Through forecasting, scheduling, and resource allocation, you can streamline your operations. You can use your findings to inform your future decisions and anticipate staffing needs. Situations like understaffing or overstaffing can have a detrimental impact on your business, leading to issues with your current employees. A recent study found that “over 50 percent of workers are not engaged at work as a result of stress, leading to a loss of productivity.” Data analytics📈 – By leveraging data like metrics, employee performance, and trends, you can make informed decisions about workforce management. The data offers key insights so you can identify any areas of improvement and streamline processes. Performance management⭐️ – This involves regularly assessing individual and team performance to give an insight into what’s working and what isn’t. By putting strategies in place, you can take steps to enhance productivity based on your findings and drive overall productivity. Source: Work-fit Quality monitoring👌 – Checking the quality of your standards allows you to improve customer loyalty and trust. Whether it’s the quality of your products, customer interactions or services, monitoring the quality will enable you to maintain high standards. Source: Asana Employee engagement🤝 – This refers to ensuring your employees are as engaged as possible by creating a positive work environment. If they feel comfortable in their surroundings and amongst their peers and management, they’ll be more motivated, engaged and more productive as a result. Training and development👨‍🏫 – Taking time to train your team and enhance their skills will increase their engagement. By elevating their skills and capabilities through training, they’ll feel more motivated to put them to use, and the company will thrive. Furthermore, studies have shown that “Employee retention rate grows by 30–50% at companies with a potent training program.” These factors are crucial parts of workforce optimization, and when used together, you can unlock your workforce’s true potential🔓. By strategically implementing these components into your organization, you’ll drive success and stay ahead in today’s competitive business landscape. Source: TeamStage How Does it Achieve Success?🏆 Workforce organization affects many parts of a business, propelling you toward success. By focusing on each factor mentioned above, your organization will transform into a thriving hub where efficiency and success soar. Here are some ways WFO can help you achieve success: Enhanced Efficiency📈 Through strategic workforce planning, you can ensure that operations run smoothly by aligning your operational goals with your workforce. By careful forecasting and planning, you can avoid issues like understaffing and overstaffing and ensure that all resources are utilized. By assessing data analytics and insights🔎, you can determine how your staff operates and put any necessary measures in place for optimum efficiency. Source: shiftbase Maximised Productivity👌 Performance management helps to identify any strengths, issues, and areas for improvement amongst staff. From there, you can provide feedback and implement strategies to help. This, in hand, will help to maximize productivity as staff can work to their strengths and improve on any areas of weakness. If each staff member works to the best of their ability, you’ll end up with a motivated workforce that contributes to the overall success and productivity of the company. Improved Financial Health💰 By planning ahead and working to avoid any issues with regard to understanding and the allocation of resources, you’ll experience better financial health. Doing this will help to prevent unnecessary costs and reduce expenses for better financial stability. Customer Satisfaction😊 Taking time to monitor quality will ensure higher customer satisfaction, and focus on maintaining high standards with regard to customer service will improve customer loyalty🤝. This can lead to a positive reputation, good reviews, and better brand loyalty. Furthermore, customers will appreciate an engaged and motivated workforce, improving the customer experience. According to Forbes, “96% of customers say customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand.” Source: Forbes Employee Engagement🤩 As mentioned above, your customers will feel more positive about your organization if the staff is motivated and engaged. Creating a positive work environment will foster better relationships within the workplace and lead to happier, more satisfied workers. If employee satisfaction is high, employee productivity, innovation, and engagement will rise. Source: Forbes Continuous Improvement🧠 Offering training and development opportunities provides your staff with the opportunity to refine their skills. This ensures that your workforce is equipped with crucial knowledge and that they’re up to date with any relevant information. As a result, your business will become more resilient and robust💪 with a workforce full of successful people who are continuously improving their skills. Overall, WFO has a significant impact on the success of a business. By strategically aligning, developing, and empowering your staff, your organization will thrive with excellent productivity and efficiency. In the following sections, we’ll look at how to implement WFO in the workplace. Workforce Optimisation Strategies📈 Successful WFO strategies combine all the goals of a business and work to elevate a company based on its

What is OKR, and Why Should You Apply it in Your Business?

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are collaborative goals used by Google and other teams. It helps set challenging goals that have measurable results. OKRs help you monitor progress, produce alignment, and increase engagement around the goals. Read on to learn how to formulate OKRs. We will also explain their benefits and why you should consider using them in your business. What Comprises an OKR? Before focusing on what makes an OKR a critical addition to a business, we need to explain what it is and its major components. Here is what comprises an OKR. Formula 🗒️ You can write OKRs by listing the following: The objective you want to achieve. 2-5 Key Results from meeting the objective. You may also write it as a statement based on John Doerr’s formula: “I will (objective) as measured by (key results).” You can also measure your success by scoring them. According to CIO, you can score your OKR results on a 1-100% scale. For example, if you get 30%, you can count the result as a fail. A result of 70% is much better, but there is still room for improvement. 100% means you completed the objective perfectly. Components As well as the overall formula, there are the individual components you need to consider. Here are the parts that make up the OKR framework. 1. Objectives These are what you would like to achieve. It must be important, concrete, challenging, and inspirational. Objectives can last for a long time. For some, you can use them for a year or more. 2. Key Results You can use these to monitor your progress toward your objectives. Here is what key results must be to help you understand if you achieved your objectives. Per one objective, you must have two to five key results. Too many KRs will not be effective because they are easier to forget. Key results are either pass or fail, with no middle ground. It can evolve, and when you finish all of them, you will achieve your objective. Example There are many examples of OKRs. Here is one from John Doerr’s Measure What Matters book: “O – Create a planning model for the company. KR1 – Finish the presentation on time. KR2 – Make an example set of quarterly OKRs. KR3 – Gain management agreement for a 3-month OKR trial.” What Are the Benefits of Using an OKR? Setting and completing OKRs is incredibly beneficial for any organization. They help improve the business and offer multiple benefits to the workforce. Here are some benefits you can get from using OKRs. 1. OKRs Give More Meaning to Your Work OKRs can help inspire and motivate employees by providing them with a mission and well-defined goals. Employees with little direction or meaning while at work aren’t likely to achieve much in a workday. A study by Bi Worldwide found that employees with specific objectives are 3.6x more likely to commit to their organization fully. Additionally, employees who work for a goal-focused company are 6.7x more likely to feel pride at work. Source: Bi Worldwide 2. Helps With Alignment OKRs unite everyone to work together to achieve the desired objectives. A company with aligned objectives will have more focus and can quickly achieve results. 3. Empowers People 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Each staff member is part of stating the objectives and tracking their progress. It makes them feel that they were able to contribute to something great. 4. Simplicity Using OKR is a straightforward and easy-to-understand process. First, it decreases the time needed to set measurable goals, giving you more time to achieve them. Also, the number of results makes what you need to do to achieve them much more evident. You can also use the results list as a checklist to leave no stone unturned. However, you must be aware that the objectives are there to add value, not completely deliver the task. Finally, the simplicity of the goals improves team member performance. 5. Transparency OKRs are available throughout the organization, allowing transparent and efficient tracking of the goals over a specific time frame. A Harvard Business Review study found that 40% of employees knew their employers’ objectives and strategies. The remaining 60% stated they didn’t know their company’s goals. Not being transparent with the workforce leads to confusion and a lack of productivity. Therefore, you should consider using OKRs to solve this. What Are the Three Main Types of OKR? The benefits of OKRs should sell you on using them for your business, but are you aware that there’s more than one type? There are three main types of OKR that you should know. Read about them below and why they are necessary. 1. Committed OKRs This type of OKR focuses on commitments. At the end of a cycle, you should be able to pass them because they are essential objectives. Committed OKRs should be the priority over the other types. 2. Aspirational OKRs Other names for aspirational OKRs include: Stretch goals Moonshots In this type of OKR, you must forge your path because these are rare goals that are much harder to reach. They can be long-term, going beyond a cycle. You can also transfer these goals to other staff to increase engagement. 3. Learning OKRs This type of OKR is vital if you want to learn something new. You can use these results to create a different type of OKR in the succeeding cycle. You can also use them to promote change for the company. According to the 2022 OKR Impact Report, just under 60% of companies used OKRs to help their companies transform and grow. Source: Mooncamp What Are Some Common Mistakes When Implementing an OKR in a Business? In writing your OKR, you might not know that you’re doing something wrong. Some things you can do while writing an OKR may not seem like mistakes, but that makes them even easier to do. So, here are some mistakes you should avoid while writing an OKR. 1. Using OKR as a

The 4 SEO Tips to Put Up Your Business on Google

If you have a business, you need to know what SEO is (Search Engine Optimization) and how to use it. Some people do well without knowing the importance of SEO. However, that number is shrinking by the minute in today’s digitally saturated world. To make your business website SEO-friendly, you must ensure people find what they’re looking for when using a search engine. In other words, when they type in a specific target keyword, the Google algorithm should make your website pop out to increase traffic. You may not realize that SEO isn’t just about strategically placing keywords throughout pages on your site and blog posts. There are many other areas where optimization techniques are essential. So, how can your small business benefit from SEO? The answer: Small businesses benefit from local search. According to an infographic from GoGulf, 46% of all Google searches are for local information. If you don’t optimize your business for local search, you could lose potential clients who want to shop in your region. In summary, to make your local business stay relevant, local SEO is crucial. Here are the 4 SEO Tips you should use to ensure people find your business on Google Search. Source: GoGulf 1. Build a Basic and Accessible Website 🖥️ According to a Forbes article from 2023, 71% of businesses have a website. It’s safe to assume this is due to the digital shift caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. We know you want to start getting traffic to your website sooner rather than later, and we want to help you do that. However, the best way to get more traffic on Google isn’t through SEO or paid advertising. Creating a beautiful, functional website is the best way to do it. Doing this is easier said than done because taking a business online is more popular now than ever. Source: Forbes Advisor If your website has broken links, confusing navigation, and unattractive design, it doesn’t matter how much you spend on marketing. You won’t attract and retain the right people if your website isn’t easy to use and pleasant to look at. This goes the same if you are making a website for a mobile device. Potential customers will take one look at your site and immediately look somewhere else. Other tips to remember when constructing web pages are to include memorable page titles, a meta description, and featured snippets in the form of FAQS. 2. Utilize Free Google SEO Services Google has many free services that businesses should use to their full potential. Here are some examples of Google’s free services: The Google My Business account for increasing your business’s visibility on the site. Google Search Console shows how your business performs on Google Search and how you can improve the performance. Search Engines like Google are ideal for leads to find you. Google Analytics assists in helping you understand the behavior of people who search for your business type and is also helpful for tracking site traffic. 3. Create Posts Using Google My Business A Google My Business Post is a social feed-like update. It includes all three of the following elements: An image or video Text A link Use them for various purposes, including promoting deals, informing customers of the latest trends, and highlighting certain items or events. 4. Fortify Your Internal Linking Structure 🔗 External links are important because they help Google recognize that your website’s high-quality content comes from a place of authority. However, altering your internal linking structure will also help you boost your SEO ranking factor. What is the importance of internal linking? It performs the following functions: It helps with website navigation. Aids with website hierarchy and information architecture. It helps enhance the page’s authority and make it rank higher. It makes for a more informative and helpful user experience. It decreases the bounce rate on your website. Users stay on your website because of internal links rather than leave quickly. It increases the opportunities to convert readers to paying customers. It helps Google understand that your website’s content is relevant. Final Thoughts on the Best Way to Use SEO to Make Your Business Visible on Google Everything you need to rank well on Google for your business is right there. Starting from scratch may take a few weeks, but be patient, and you’ll notice effects quickly. The next step is to study more complex SEO skills or investigate digital marketing for businesses. For example, selling to a modern audience or using alt text on images. Did you enjoy our article on using SEO to appear on Google Search? Our blog on Tommy has more on creating an effective website and marketing it! The 4 SEO Tips to Put Up Your Business on Google 1. Build a Basic and Accessible Website 2. Utilize Free Google SEO Services 3. Create Posts Using Google My Business 4. Fortify Your Internal Linking Structure Final Thoughts on the Best Way to Use SEO to Make Your Business Visible on Google

40 Best Camaraderie-Enforcing Tools for 2024

40 Best Camaraderie-Enforcing Tools for 2024 According to a study, digital collaboration can increase employee productivity by 20-30%. And now, team collaboration is more essential than ever with the rise of remote work. You must identify and use proven collaboration solutions. Doing this helps build a sense of robust workplace cooperation that keeps teams (like the sales team) aligned. Keep reading to discover how you can build camaraderie in the workplace. Source: McKinsey & Company Why Is It Essential for Scattered Teams to Collaborate? 💻 Thousands of businesses are changing the way they do business. Effective collaboration is critical as organizations respond to global health events like the COVID-19 epidemic. They must prioritize the requirements of an increasingly international workforce. Team productivity is crucial when managing work with scattered teams. Organizations need team collaboration tools to stay connected, respond to change, and keep the company moving forward. How Can You Know If a Team Collaboration Tool Benefits Your Company? Team collaboration technologies can improve real-time communication and virtual meetings and increase productivity. What should you look for in professional communication tools for your team? When deciding on a collaboration tool, determine your needs and follow these guidelines. The Best Tools for Building Camaraderie in 2024 Our comprehensive list of the best remote team collaboration tools includes many high-quality solutions. Thoroughly vet each option or look into similar tools until you find one that helps you build team camaraderie in your company. Chat Tools That Are Available in Real-Time Slack Without this feature-rich messaging software, where would every hot startup be? Slack is a channel-based real-time chat application with over 277,000 daily Australian users. It also supports voice and video calls. Microsoft Teams Teams is a chat platform that integrates Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, and more with chat and teamwork capabilities. Mattermost Mattermost is fantastic for firms searching for a secure real-time chat solution. It is popular with many companies. Mattermost currently has just under 25,000 websites using it. To enhance privacy and enjoy a Slack-like experience for internal collaboration, use this open-source chat application and host it on your company’s secure servers. Get the free, self-hosted version for your teams if you really want effortless communication. Tools for Voice and Video Conferencing 📹 Zoom Zoom is at the top of the list regarding team collaboration tools, after becoming a household name in HD video conferencing in 2020. It supports screen sharing from a desktop or mobile device, meetings, recording, and video streams in full-screen or gallery mode. It contains a collaborative whiteboard and the ability to communicate in a group with texts, photos, and audio files during meetings. It also has a Zoom Rooms option for improving your conference room hardware. GoToMeeting GTM, the other video conferencing stalwart, is a popular choice for many reasons. Its features include: HD-quality video Screen sharing Unique meeting URLs You can join meetings from a desktop or mobile device A whiteboard function lets users annotate and highlight the presenter’s screen, allowing teams to communicate International toll-free lines and translate control settings Hangouts Hangouts is a good video conferencing and screen-sharing option if your firm uses Gmail or Google Apps. However, you can’t have more than 25 people at the video conference at once. Skype for Business Skype is excellent for instant messaging, audio, and video chats. Except for toll-free lines, which GoToMeeting and Amazon Chime feature, Skype for Business has all the top features you would expect. Amazon Chime Amazon Chime is compatible with all major operating systems. The features include video recording, screen sharing, remote desktop controls, and chat functionality. Join.Me Join.Me is a screen-sharing and video conferencing solution that simplifies evaluating deliverables, conducting training sessions, or demonstrating new product features. Collaboration Tools for Documents Evernote Business Evernote is a tried-and-true behemoth for taking and sharing notes. Their business plan lets you capture and manage messages you can share with colleagues. The Notebook Stacks and the tagging system are its most basic and powerful features. They allow you to find anything in seconds. OneNote Microsoft’s OneNote has a shared notebooks feature, making it simple to transfer large data sets with your team. Although part of Office 365, it has utility outside-of-office document tools. It’s an entirely free solution (complete with mobile apps) you can use for personal and professional purposes. G Suite Google’s cloud collaboration suite includes many tools, such as: Docs Sheets Slides Forms Sites Gmail Hangouts Calendar Many businesses prefer to collaborate within the G Suite ecosystem because its auto-sync and cloud capabilities allow them to work from anywhere. Dropbox Paper Dropbox Paper is a collaborative document creation tool that lets everyone on your team contribute to the same project or provide feedback. It also has checklists and @mentions to help you keep track of action items and assign them to specific people. Quip Quip refers to its papers as “living documents” since it recognizes that your content (text, graphics, spreadsheets, and data) will alter and evolve as you collaborate. Like other tools, Quip provides an excellent chat mechanism that allows your team to speak directly within the papers. According to 6Sense, Quip has a 3.25% market share in productivity, making it an excellent tool for building camaraderie. Office 365 Office 365 is a version of Microsoft Office that is entirely on the cloud. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, and the full range of online Office products. These tools are brilliant for ideas, collaboration, and creating a positive company culture. Etherpad Check out Etherpad if you need a collaborative text editor that helps you write and modify the text simultaneously. It’s open-source, cross-platform, and free. Knowledge Center Tools 🧠 Confluence Confluence is one of the tools used in the knowledge center. Its name relates to what the word means. It allows you to create a single knowledge center to document and share all procedures outside of work silos. Because Atlassian owns JIRA, linking issues or bugs to your knowledge center wiki posts is much easier.

How to Get Good Customer Reviews: A Guide for Businesses

As a business owner, you should know that customer reviews are essential because they can make or break your business. Because of this, you must learn how to get good online reviews from customers to enhance your reputation. Our guide will offer tips on getting good customer reviews, handling bad reviews, and more! Why Are Reviews Important for a Business? Customers will leave reviews for your business for multiple reasons. There are three main reasons why customers leave good reviews. To help other customers make better buying decisions. To share testimonials for the company. To reward a company if they had a good experience. Source: Trustpilot Customer Reviews are crucial for all businesses. First, it helps with SEO because good reviews will result in more people finding you on search results. It also allows you to have more SERP real estate for search terms. Most importantly, potential customers read customer reviews to know more about your business. A great review shows potential customers that your products and services are worth purchasing. They will think this because they trust other customers’ opinions more than anything else. That’s why it is essential to ask your customers if they can provide feedback for your business. Why is Online Reputation Essential for Businesses? 💻 Cultivating and maintaining an excellent reputation is crucial for several reasons. The main reason is that if you don’t have a good reputation, customers won’t trust you and, therefore, won’t buy anything from you. Because trust is essential, you must establish a good reputation with customers from the beginning. Because of this, you must focus on excellent products, a website that’s easy for customers to navigate, and customer service that will make them want to leave a positive review. Here are some other reasons why your business’s online reputation is vital. 7 Top Tips to Get Good Reviews from Customers Some types of customers will go out of their way to leave a positive review if they have good things to say about their experience with your business. However, only some people are like this. Some people need a reminder or push to leave a review, so you must know how to get them to leave one. Here are some tips to help you get good customer feedback. 1. Have a Method for Asking Reviews The most important thing you must remember to get reviews is to ask for them. Some customers may be unaware that they must provide reviews, or some may forget to write one, even if they intend to. That’s why it’s your obligation to request it politely. You and your employees should ask for client reviews. Incorporate a method of doing so and do it consistently. It will also save effort and time if you automate this task. Here are some suggestions for requesting reviews: After a triumphant service or project, you and your employees should request a review. Clients will more likely leave positive feedback after this. Ask for reviews in email marketing campaigns. Use a Net Promoter Score (NPS) to identify happy customers willing to promote your business to others. Build a strong relationship with them. Include review links on your website, thank you pages, or after checkout. Indicate your review sites on flyers and business cards. Include review widgets on your website to give customers reminders during their buying experience. 2. Provide Excellent Customer Service Even if you ask for a review, a customer may not give a positive one if they didn’t have a good experience with your company. Therefore, excellent customer service at every relevant point of the sale is essential. If you don’t provide brilliant customer service, there’s little to stop them from shopping with a different company. You must ensure that your company handles contact with customers politely and gives helpful answers to their questions. Additionally, if they provide a review (positive or negative), thank them for their feedback and see if it’s something you can implement. 3. Start with a Personalized Question❓ Personalization is the key to success. If you or one of your team staff have a close relationship with a customer, converse with them and inquire what they think about your products or services. If they’re happy with your business, tell them you appreciate their loyalty and opinion. Let them know you would be thankful if they would help spread the word to potential clients by providing a review or recommendation. Another way to personalize the question is by sending a video. Thank the customer for their loyalty and support, and kindly request them for a review. Personalization is also a brilliant way to retain customers and increase your company’s profit. In a Google survey, 90% of the leading marketers say personalized service contributes to increased business profitability. Source: Think with Google 4. Ask at the Right Time 🕜 Timing is crucial, so you should know when the right time is to request feedback. Doing this depends on the type of product or service you’re offering. However, remember that you should target happy customers. If they’re unhappy, they might leave a negative review, which would be troublesome for your business. Here is some advice on when you should ask customers for feedback: They show happiness towards your product or service. They reorder the product or service. They positively tag you on one of their social media accounts. They refer another client to you. They browse your website for other products or services. 5. Offer an Incentive People would be more willing to provide a review if they get something in return. For example, a study from BMC Medical Research Methodology states that customers are 50% more likely to answer a survey or questionnaire if they have an incentive. Because of this, ensure you make incentives clear to customers. Here are some incentives that you may offer: Discounts or credits Gift cards Free content (such as ebooks) Donate to charity Publicity (such as shoutouts) 6. Inform Them How Much Time It Requires Since people can be

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