The Easiest Ways to Keep Your Staff Happy

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

Most small online businesses start out with a single person doing all of the work. It’s tough. There’s a lot to do, and a lot to learn, and absolutely not enough time for it all. Most new business owners work like mad trying to be everything. Dreaming of the day when they can employ staff. They look forward to having a small team around them. People to take on the tasks that they aren’t so good at, and some of the more basic jobs, which would allow them to do more important things themselves, and give more attention to creating products and selling services. They think that having a team of staff will make everything easier and give them much less to worry about.

Then, it happens, and they often find that this just isn’t the case. Having a small team can make everything easier and make your life less stressful. It can help your company to grow and bring in wonderful new ideas, if your team are happy and motivated. If they aren’t, it just gives you an extra thing to worry about and makes your life harder.

It can seem as though there is some magical and complicated equation to keeping everyone happy. They are different people, with different needs and habits. But, it’s usually not. In fact, it might be easier than you think. Here are some of the easiest ways to keep your team happy.

Pay Them 

The first way to make them happy is the most obvious. Pay them. Pay them a fair wage for their work, on time, without them ever having to ask, or worry about late pay. This gets more complicated as your team grows, especially if you expand to other offices. cloudpay.net can be a massive help, making the process of payment easy for everyone.

Be Fair to Them 

Your staff have the right to expect fair treatment, and you have a responsibility to offer it. Any pay differences should be clear and easy to explain, (it is ok to pay a senior team member more!), all staff should be offered the same levels of flexibility and the same chances to develop. You should treat each member of your team with respect and be friendly with them all. You might feel closer to some than others, but this should never show in your professional relationships.

Thank Them 

Perhaps the easiest way to make your staff happy is with a simple “thank you” at the end of the day. Big bonus and perks are great, but you won’t always have the budget for them. A thank you, and the odd after work drink after a particularly big or hard day can go a long way to creating a happy team that is loyal to you.

 Get to Know Them 

Each member of your team does have different needs and different moods. The only way to really give them what they need is to get to know them. Spend time with everyone, try to understand them as people, not just employees.

The Technology Your Company Might Have Forgotten About

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

How much technology do you use in your business on a day to day basis? You’ve got the computers you and your staff work at. You’ve got your phones, to keep you entertained whilst on break, and to take and receive all of those oh so important calls. You’ve got the company network servers stored at the back of the office, and you’re constantly having to avoid the wires that feed them. You have a lot of technology on your hands, and you’re very happy for it! But are you missing out on something? 

Your company is one of the future, and it’s one that could have a very long and successful future ahead of it. Of course, as the boss, you’re going to do everything you can to make sure you’ve got profitable years ahead of you – but are there some technological pieces out there you might have forgotten about that could help you out?

Maybe You Need a Company Fleet? 

If you have a company fleet, you have the ability to take your business literally anywhere. You’ll be able to advertise it along the way, considering your brand name and logo are pasted on the side, and you’ll be able to hand off visual representation of your business to any employee who needs to go out of office for the day. 

And with some technology like fleet telematics installed in the dashboard, you can keep perfect track of where your vehicles go and how well they’re being taken care of. You don’t have to invest this much money and just live with the potential of it all going to waste! 

Maybe a VR Headset Could Change Company Meetings? 

Imagine having a conversation with an investor on the other side of the world, say Japan, who seems to be in the exact same room as you. You know they’re not of course, but they’re right in front of you, sitting at a desk chair just opposite you, and there’s no laptop screen or webcam in-between. 

That is the power of virtual reality in the workplace. More and more companies are taking on mantels like this, seeing as VR can change the length and availability of company meetings, completely removing the need to block out a week or so of business travel, and add a lot more value to the inventory of a business. VR isn’t just something video gamers use – it’s a modern office tool, and one that can be used for marketing as well. 

It’s an important point to mention here. Imagine you offer some kind of driving or flight experience, but that experience is hard to show off when you’re on a trade show floor. Hand a customer a headset and let them live the experience in real time right in front of you! 

There’s a lot more technology out there for your business than you might think! Look up what’s available in your local market and think about whether they’d be useful to your company.

Keeping The Business Legal And Legit

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

Keeping the business financially sustainable and delivering the very best products, services, and customer experiences you can may be the keys to success. However, one key to failure that can quickly undermine all your efforts is getting into serious legal trouble. Here, we’re going to look at some of the latest and most dangerous ways your business can inadvertently get into hot water.

Take the taxman seriously

If you don’t have a chartered professional helping with your taxes, then you are already dancing dangerously close to some legal issues. Even if an audit finds no wrongdoing with your bookkeeping, the expense and time involved in clearing it up can be enough to put your company in serious financial trouble. Check out USTaxAcc to ensure you’re getting help from someone who knows not only how to help you save more money,but also to avoid putting up the red flags that can attract the auditors. 

Check your permit and licenses

Lastly, don’t forget to ensure that you have all the permits and licenses you need in order to be legally allowed to do business. It’s not as simple as setting up shop, many industries are tightly regulated for the safety of the consumer. Don’t forget to make note of when (or if) you have to manually reapply for your license as well. Forgetting to reapply doesn’t make for a convincing defense. 

Keep your relationships risk free

It’s not just your own compliance you have to be aware of. You have to make sure that your partners aren’t likely to get you in any trouble. Especially when it comes to new industries that have only recently been legalized, like cannabinoids, when you visit Trimleaf and other suppliers, always get in touch to ensure they are authorized and have the appropriate licenses. It can help you avoid the less scrupulous businesses that might drag you down. 

Don’t let data be a disaster

Another of the most prevalent risks nowadays is how your business handles data. The legal costs alone are one of the biggest reasons that the majority of companies that suffer a data breach close within two years. Keep your website as secure as possible, and make sure that you’re using managed IT services to monitor your digital security measures at all times. 

Don’t get caught in your own web

If you’ve done any digging into data security as of late, then you’ve likely come across the GDPR. This recently passed legislation means you are legally obliged to tell visitors from the EU how and why any data they share is going to be used or given to other businesses and organizations. Some companies choose to close their sites to those countries entirely, but most international businesses can’t afford to do that, so visit Mtstudios to see what you need to do to get compliant. 

Of course, there are many other ways your business can land in legal trouble, from harassment to workplace safety issues. The points above are a jumping off point, but make sure that legality and legitimacy are always on your mind.

 

Diagnosing The Cause Of Team Friction

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

If you’re sensing friction in the team, it’s good to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. The longer a mood or trend is allowed to stay in the workplace, the more chance it has of becoming the new status quo and part of your company culture. Here, we’re going to look at some of the three issues that can lead to team friction and, in most cases, they are caused directly or indirectly by errors in leadership.

Getting responsibility and accountability wrong

A manager or leader who is quick to point the finger or pass the buck creates a team that is very likely to do the same. By not accepting responsibility for the failures of the team, you make responsibility something to be feared. If you create an environment where people feel safer to admit to their mistakes, they will allow themselves to be held accountable, allowing you to address the real causes of failure. Otherwise, team members are more likely to turn on one another in the hopes they don’t get caught in the crosshairs. 

You need to rethink your hiring

When you’re hiring the team, creating an accurate job description and finding those with the skills and qualifications to fill the role will naturally take top priority. However, it shouldn’t be the only priority. When coming into a job, candidates should also recognize what kind of team they will be joining, how much work will be done alone or with others, and so on. Quality of hire is about ensuring they’re a good cultural fit, likely to be engaged with their work, and understand the company goals and how they will be contributing to them. By making it clearer what you’re looking for beyond the actual work done within the role, you can find those applicants who belong on your team. 

They need better management

Autonomy can afford your employees a great deal of freedom over how they do their work, allowing them to find the most productive ways to do it. However, too much freedom and they may instead lack direction or feel like you simply don’t care about the work they do or the role they play in the team. As such, they will be less engaged and less motivated, which affect the rest of the team like ripples across a pond. Learning how to manage employees effectively, by communicating with them more often, delegating work effectively to those best suited to handle it, and providing an example for them to follow can have a powerful positive effect on the culture in the workplace. 

The sooner you identify the issues leading to friction amongst the team, the sooner you can start stamping them out. Whether it’s adopting a new policy of ensuring commitment and responsibility, giving your hiring practices the time that they need, or learning how to better manage, the most effective changes from the top down. Outside of purely personal issues amongst co-workers, these are the most likely issues to erode team cohesion.

Making The Most Of Your Physical Or Digital Product

by | Blog, Contributed Post

***Contributed Post***

 As a business, you will have a tendency to focus on the product you are selling as a of priority. However, at times it can be hard to see the woods for the trees and you need to take a step back from the task at hand. With that in mind, we are going to take a look at two types of product that you might offer and how to get the most out of them.  

Physical Product  

If your business produces a physical product there are a few things that you should ensure that you are doing to get the most out of it. The first is to be confident that the packaging is not only noticeable but also right for the product. For example, if you are selling a drink then you will need to ensure that you are meeting the grades required by law for your drink pouches while still maintaining a product that is eye-catching for the consumer.  

In addition to ensuring your product meets the above requirements, you are going to need to identify where it is best to sell it. It is an art to balance the issue of making sure your product is placed in the best shop while avoiding being another version of your item in an oversaturated market. To get your product into the store you are aiming for, you should pitch in person and negotiate your terms so that you can be confident in how your product will be featured. 

 Digital Product  

If you’re looking to sell a digital product rather than a physical one, then your business should focus on digital exposure. One way to do this is by developing a thorough digital marketing plan that incorporates social media and preparing your website for search engine optimisation (SEO).  

SEO is the practice of making your website visible on the internet, in particular, to feature high in the organic search engine results. To do this, you should at least follow some of the basics for SEO such as keywords, high-quality content and loading times. The latter of these is important because a slow website is less likely to garner a positive reaction from a search engine’s crawlers. Keywords are the most important to get right out of those three because these are the words and phrases that are recognised in connection with searches for your product. Use a free keyword planner tool to assist you in getting this right.  

Social media is pretty self-explanatory, though it has taken a lot of companies a long time to catch on to how valuable it is to them. Over a billion people use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, so you should find a way to engage with the audience within that figure that you have identified as your target market. Make sure you use social media networks that are applicable to you, for example, a photogenic product should be regularly featured on your Instagram page to entice potential customers.