landmark-business-services

Strategies for Recruitment and Selection of the Modern Workforce

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Thu, 25 May 2023 15:05:55 GMT

The recruitment and selection process is a systematic approach used by organizations to attract, assess, and hire qualified candidates for job openings. Here are the key steps involved in the recruitment and selection process:

Identify hiring needs: Determine the staffing requirements based on organizational goals, departmental needs, and job analysis. Clearly define the job roles, responsibilities, and qualifications needed for each position.
Job advertisement: Develop compelling job descriptions and advertisements that accurately represent the role and attract potential candidates. Advertise the job opening through various channels such as job boards, social media, career websites, and professional networks.
Resume screening: Review the received resumes or applications to shortlist candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience. Assess the candidates' skills, education, work history, and any relevant certifications.
Screening and assessment: Conduct initial screening interviews, either by phone or video, to further evaluate the shortlisted candidates. This helps assess their suitability for the role and their fit with the organization's culture. Depending on the position, additional assessments such as tests, assignments, or presentations may be conducted to evaluate specific skills or competencies.
Interviews: Invite qualified candidates for in-person or virtual interviews. Structure the interview process to assess both technical skills and cultural fit. Use behavioral or situational questions to gauge candidates' past experiences and their ability to handle job-related challenges.
Background checks and references: Before making a final decision, conduct background checks, including verification of employment history, educational qualifications, and professional references. This step ensures the accuracy of the information provided by the candidates and validates their suitability for the position.
Decision-making: Evaluate the gathered information, including resumes, interview performance, assessment results, and background checks, to make an informed hiring decision. Consider factors such as qualifications, skills, experience, cultural fit, and potential for growth within the organization.
Job offer: Extend a formal job offer to the selected candidate, including details on compensation, benefits, start date, and any other relevant terms and conditions. Provide a reasonable timeframe for the candidate to consider and accept the offer.
Onboarding: Once the candidate accepts the offer, initiate the onboarding process. Provide the necessary information, paperwork, and resources to help the new hire integrate smoothly into the organization. This may include orientation sessions, training programs, and introductions to team members and key stakeholders.
Evaluation and feedback: Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection process. Gather feedback from hiring managers, interviewers, and new hires to identify areas of improvement and refine the process for future recruitment cycles.

It's important to remember that the recruitment and selection process may vary based on organizational size, industry, and specific job requirements. Flexibility and customization are key to tailoring the process to suit your organization's unique needs.

Recruitment and selection strategies have evolved with the changing dynamics of the modern workforce. Here are some key strategies to consider when recruiting and selecting candidates for your organization:

Employer branding: Develop a strong employer brand that reflects your organization's values, culture, and benefits. Showcase your company's unique attributes through various channels such as social media, career websites, and employee testimonials. This will help attract top talent and create a positive perception of your organization.
Targeted sourcing: Utilize a mix of traditional and modern sourcing methods to reach a diverse pool of candidates. In addition to job boards and referrals, leverage social media platforms, professional networking sites, and online communities where professionals in your industry are active.
Mobile-friendly application process: Optimize your application process for mobile devices, as more candidates are using smartphones and tablets to search and apply for jobs. Ensure that your career website and application forms are mobile-friendly and easy to navigate.
Skill-based assessments: Move beyond traditional resumes and interviews by incorporating skill-based assessments. Use practical tests, case studies, or simulations to assess candidates' abilities and job-related skills. This approach provides a more accurate evaluation of candidates' capabilities.
Diversity and inclusion initiatives: Foster diversity and inclusion throughout the recruitment and selection process. Actively seek candidates from underrepresented groups and create an inclusive environment that promotes equal opportunities. Develop diverse interview panels and establish structured evaluation criteria to mitigate unconscious biases.
Technology-driven solutions: Leverage technology to streamline the recruitment and selection process. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) can help manage and track candidates efficiently, while AI-powered tools can assist with resume screening and candidate matching. Video interviews and virtual assessments can also be conducted to save time and resources.
Employee referrals: Encourage and incentivize your existing employees to refer potential candidates. Employee referrals often lead to higher-quality hires who align with your organization's values and culture. Implement a structured referral program and provide rewards or bonuses for successful referrals.
Continuous talent engagement: Establish ongoing communication and engagement with candidates, even if they are not selected for a particular role. Maintain a talent pool or a talent community, where you can nurture relationships with potential candidates for future opportunities. This helps build a positive employer brand and enhances the candidate experience.
Data-driven decision-making: Leverage data and analytics to make informed recruitment and selection decisions. Monitor and analyze key metrics such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and candidate conversion rates. This data can provide insights into the effectiveness of your strategies and help optimize the process over time.
Continuous learning and improvement: Regularly evaluate and refine your recruitment and selection strategies based on feedback and industry best practices. Stay updated on emerging trends, technologies, and evolving candidate preferences to stay competitive in attracting and selecting top talent.

Each organization is unique, so it's important to tailor these strategies to align with your specific goals, values, and industry requirements.

Ideas for productive team meetings at work for more employee engagement

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Thu, 25 May 2023 14:56:44 GMT

Productive team meetings are crucial for effective collaboration and achieving desired outcomes. Here are some ideas to make your team meetings more productive:

Set a clear agenda: Share the meeting agenda in advance, including the topics to be discussed and the desired outcomes. This helps participants come prepared and stay focused during the meeting.
Time management: Allocate specific time slots for each agenda item and stick to the schedule. This ensures that discussions stay on track and prevents the meeting from running overtime.
Encourage active participation: Create an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable contributing. Encourage team members to share their ideas, ask questions, and provide feedback. Consider using techniques like round-robin discussions or breakout groups to involve everyone.
Use technology effectively: Utilize collaboration tools like project management software, online whiteboards, or video conferencing platforms to enhance engagement and streamline communication. These tools can facilitate brainstorming, document sharing, and real-time collaboration.
Foster open communication: Encourage open and honest communication among team members. Create an atmosphere where everyone feels safe to express their opinions, concerns, and challenges. Actively listen to team members' feedback and address any issues constructively.
Action-oriented outcomes: Ensure that each meeting ends with clear action items and assigned responsibilities. Document the decisions made, action steps, and deadlines. Follow up on these action items in subsequent meetings to ensure progress.
Avoid unnecessary meetings: Evaluate the need for a meeting before scheduling one. If the purpose can be achieved through email, instant messaging, or a quick discussion, consider those alternatives to save time and increase productivity.
Rotate meeting facilitation: Assign different team members to facilitate meetings. This helps distribute responsibility, encourages leadership development, and brings a fresh perspective to each session.
Regular check-ins: Schedule regular brief check-in meetings to address quick updates, progress reports, and address any urgent issues. This prevents the need for lengthy discussions in main team meetings and allows for focused deliberation on critical topics.
Evaluate and improve: Periodically assess the effectiveness of your team meetings. Solicit feedback from participants to identify areas of improvement and implement necessary changes. This ongoing evaluation ensures that your meetings continue to be productive and beneficial.

To increase employee engagement during meetings, consider incorporating the following ideas:

Set a positive tone: Start the meeting on a positive note by acknowledging team members' contributions, recognizing achievements, or sharing uplifting news. This helps create an engaging and motivating atmosphere.
Encourage participation: Actively involve employees by encouraging them to contribute their ideas, opinions, and perspectives. Provide opportunities for each team member to speak and be heard. Avoid dominating the conversation and give equal importance to all voices.
Use interactive activities: Incorporate interactive activities or icebreakers to energize the meeting and encourage participation. This could include short team-building exercises, brainstorming sessions, or group discussions on relevant topics.
Share success stories: Give employees a platform to share their success stories, lessons learned, or best practices. This not only recognizes their achievements but also promotes knowledge sharing and learning within the team.
Rotate meeting roles: Assign different roles to team members for each meeting, such as a note-taker, timekeeper, or facilitator. This provides opportunities for growth, encourages active involvement, and diversifies the meeting dynamics.
Provide learning opportunities: Dedicate a portion of the meeting for learning and development. This could include short presentations, workshops, or guest speakers on topics relevant to the team's work. Continuous learning keeps employees engaged and invested in their professional growth.
Celebrate milestones and achievements: Take time during meetings to celebrate team milestones, project successes, or individual accomplishments. Recognize and appreciate the efforts and achievements of team members. This fosters a sense of pride and boosts employee morale.
Seek input and feedback: Involve employees in decision-making processes by seeking their input and feedback on relevant matters. This gives them a sense of ownership and demonstrates that their opinions matter. Act upon their suggestions whenever feasible.
Use visual aids: Incorporate visual aids like charts, graphs, or presentations to support your discussions. Visual elements can enhance understanding, engage participants, and make the meeting more dynamic.
Follow up on action items: Ensure that action items from previous meetings are reviewed and progress is discussed. This shows that the organization values accountability and keeps employees engaged in their commitments.
Keep meetings focused and concise: Respect employees' time by keeping meetings focused on the agenda and avoiding unnecessary tangents. Be mindful of the meeting duration and aim for concise and efficient discussions.
Express gratitude and appreciation: Express gratitude and appreciation for employees' efforts, hard work, and contributions. A simple thank-you can go a long way in fostering engagement and creating a positive meeting environment.

Employee engagement is a continuous process, and it requires intentional effort and a supportive culture. By implementing these ideas, you can create meetings that are not only productive but also engaging, fostering a sense of belonging and motivation among team members.

Suggestions for wellness of the members

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 15:07:24 GMT

Employee wellness programmes encourage employees to adopt healthy habits. The goal of these programmes is to reduce absenteeism and liability while improving worker health and happiness. Virtual employee wellness programme ideas are innovative ways to improve remote employees' mental, social, and physical fitness.

Ideas for employee wellness programmes:

Living a Healthy Lifestyle

Healthy Living is a programme that can be used to assist employees in practicing self-care. This programme provides guidance to the staff, employees are more likely to benefit from the gesture, and the regularity of the practice encourages employees to maintain healthy habits.

Clean Desk Competition

Keeping your workspace clean promotes focus and mental health. Launch a clean desk challenge to encourage your members to keep their at-home offices tidy.

Ask participants to upload photos or video clips of clean desks at the end of each workday or workweek. You can also request pictures of clean desks at random intervals to encourage employees to keep their desks clean on a consistent basis. At the end of the challenge, you can give the teammate with the most clean desk photos a larger prize. Alternatively, you could raffle off digital gift cards each day of the contest by selecting a winner from the daily entries.

Online Workout Groups

Desk jobs are typically sedentary, and employees who work from home may walk even less. Hosting online group workouts is one way to motivate employees to move. Sending a recurring calendar invite with a video meeting link is the best way to host an online exercise class for staff.

When the class starts, the staff connects via video call and works out together. You could either hire a fitness instructor to lead the session or recruit a member of an athletic team and compensate them with a perk such as a bonus or extra time off.

Online Happy Hours

Employees who are in good health, have active social lives and positive relationships with their coworkers. Virtual happy hours help teammates to bond and interact in person. Colleagues gather on video conference software during virtual happy hours to sip drinks, play games, and unwind from the workday or workweek.

To keep with the wellness theme, you could even host dry virtual happy hours where attendees can enjoy nonalcoholic beverages such as milkshakes or mocktails.

Employee Book Club

Online book clubs provide employees with personal enrichment as well as social time. Every month, assign a reading assignment to participants. You could send members a physical or digital copy of the book, or you could offer to reimburse their purchase price.

Teammates will meet in real time to discuss the book, or they will post reflections on an internal forum.

The books chosen do not have to be work-related. Instead, members can read recent best-sellers or personal favorites. Make certain that the title you choose is appropriate for the job and easy to understand.

Meditations at Midday

Remote teammates can struggle with focus even without the distractions of a traditional office. Midday meditations are one way to promote mindfulness and reduce stress. Send an alert to participants each workday to take a moment to breathe and clear their minds.

You could have an employee lead the meditation, watch a video together, or use a meditation app like HeadSpace. Alternatively, you could create your own company meditation portal and have employees upload calming images, music, and audio meditations.

Club for Healthy Cooking

Remote workers are not subject to the temptations of cake in the breakroom or improvised lunches out. Even if employees work from home, they may not eat nutritious meals. Start a healthy cooking club to encourage remote workers to eat balanced meals.

Employees can share healthy recipes using a collaborative Google Doc or link collector, and they can upload photos of completed dishes to a cloud-based photo album. You could even schedule ongoing remote dinners or virtual cooking sessions centered on healthy meals, or send meal kits to participants.

Ideas for entertaining creative meetings

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:53:03 GMT

While hosting a meeting, we sometimes get to know that there are many attendees, who find the meeting very monotonous and do not want to interact with other people. So, it is not possible to follow the same pattern every time. We need to keep things fresh and creative for them.

Here are some ideas that can be followed to make fun in the meeting:

Think Vast, But Concentrate

The attendee experience must be the primary consideration when coming up with new meeting features.

Instead of being a standard event where you sit in a room and listen to a lecture, the meeting should be a place where the entire team will be generating experiences. Everything that needs to be done, including the meetings that are organized, the entertainment that is put on, and the fitness programmes that are designed, is centered around experiences.

Attendees may be able to observe the veterinary care, husbandry, training, and study of the park's resident animals at the meeting.

Have you ever

Have you ever thought about it? With a few tweaks, this typical party game can be a great way to get your virtual team laughing. If you've never played Have You Ever, it's pretty straightforward. One person asks the group a question, such as, "Have you ever faked a bad connection to get off a conference call?"

Everyone who has done that must raise their hand in front of the camera! It is preferable if participants create their own questions, but here are a few to get you started:

Have you ever....

● Have you gone to the restroom while at the virtual meeting?

● Have you ever stopped paying attention, then been asked a question, and then lied about your answer?

● Have you ever completely forgotten about a phone call until the host calls you?

● Have you ever watched an entire show on YouTube or Netflix while on the phone?

Today is dress up day

Consider Sunglasses Day, Fancy Hat Day, Black Tie Day, or Band T-Shirt Day. Choose a fun dress code for your next meeting to bring out some laughs!

A little fun goes a long way when it comes to building relationships with your team.

Freeze!

It's difficult to conduct a video call without someone's screen freezing in an awkward position. Make this sad reality into a game by convincing each other that you're frozen. Stop in the middle of a sentence and hold it. If someone says, "It Looks like he is frozen," you get a point! Is your coworker's screen frozen in an inconvenient position? Keep a team collection of Best Awkward Freezes by taking a screen capture or a photo!

Surprising skill sharing meeting

This team-building event provides an enjoyable opportunity for everyone to share their unique, obscure, and fantastic skills. Ask them to share their talents with the team, whether it's sharpening knives, moonwalking, lighting a match with one hand, or botanical drawing.

Keep the meeting brief—around 15-20 minutes—to avoid disrupting the workday while providing a mental break midday.

Engage the Services of a Motivational Speaker

Hiring a motivational speaker will relieve you of the burden of public speaking. Whether you want to boost team morale or teach your team a new skill, hiring a motivational speaker has many advantages, the most important of which is novelty.

According to research, novelty activates the brain's pleasure centers and may improve learning by activating memory formation. Simply put, novelty makes us feel good, which improves memory.

Five PRO tips before changing the company's name

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:42:54 GMT

Do you wish to modify the name of your firm? It's definitely not a piece of cake! The process of altering a company's name entails major change. The name of a private limited company may need to be changed for a variety of reasons, such as a change in the business's aim, a change in management, rebranding, and so on. With the agreement of the shareholders and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), a private limited company's name can be changed at any time.

Changing your company's name is rarely the first option. When you prepared your company strategy and launched it, you presumably imagined you'd keep the same name forever. But, there are situations when a new business name is the ideal option. Here are some of the most typical reasons for thinking about a new business name...

Your company's name no longer accurately reflects its operations.

Companies evolve and develop over time. Some company names are versatile enough to withstand this expansion. Some are not. If your company has outgrown its name, it may be time to consider renaming and evolving your identity.

Nellie Akalp, entrepreneur, author, and small company specialist, explains: ‘It is natural for a firm to expand, evolve, or change direction over the course of its existence. The name you choose early on may no longer be appropriate for your company's market, operations, or brand personality.’ Not all modifications necessitate a new company name. Some, though, do.

Your company name is not distinctive

Your company's name should be memorable. It must be distinct and support your company's overall brand identity. Generic titles like "Publication Services" or "Expert Tax Accountants" will not help you stand out from the crowd. And they're not particularly memorable. Consequently, even if you provide excellent service, well-meaning clients may misspell your name when asked for referrals. Perhaps they might not remember anything at all.

Your word-of-mouth marketing will suffer as a result. Your web marketing will suffer as a result. Customers will have a difficult time finding you if you are one of ten variations of the same generic business name. They don't want to browse through a full page of search results to locate exactly what they're looking for.

Concerns about trademarks

There are times when more than one company has the same name. Alternatively, the names are so similar that they could be the same. When this occurs, one of those companies would almost certainly receive a cease-and-desist letter requesting that they stop using that name. And it's easy to see why: your company stands to lose a lot of money if someone else uses the same name as you.

It is critical to preserve your company's name so that you may manage the message about your brand and avoid sharing revenues with a competitor.Check out What Small Companies Need to Know About Trademarks to learn more about how to properly register and protect your business name.

Make it simple to pronounce and spell

This should be self-explanatory. Your company must be easy to find online in the age of Google and the Internet of Things. In this sense, a business name that is easy to say and spell will be beneficial.

Begin with your brand

Your company name should be an extension and representation of the spirit of your brand. It should represent the public image you want your company to project. Begin by considering your brand.

What does your company do?
What does your company stand for?
How does your company differ from competitors?
What is the personality of your brand? (Intriguing, solemn, formal, playful, aggressive, and warm)
What is your unique value proposition?

Take your time and think about what your brand is right now. You were familiar with your previous brand, so you may be tempted to rush through this process. Don’t. After you've developed your new brand, come up with names that support the key elements. If a name isn't meaningfully related to your brand, remove it from the list.

Renaming your company is not only renaming; it is also re-branding. Figuring out the real brand story you want your audience to identify with your company is an important part of a successful rebranding process. Because your company name is such an important part of your brand, you must consider how your new name relates to the brand story.

Curiosity has core leadership value

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:33:25 GMT

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it helped to create the leader

Leadership is built around making key decisions in various ways, and if you make the same types of judgements over and over, your leadership style may suffer as a result.

But is there a solution? Extra piqued interest. Managers frequently notice higher efficiency, productivity, and innovative thinking from individuals who have a stronger sense of curiosity. Managers said curiosity comes in helpful when coming up with innovative solutions (62%), handling challenging challenges (55%), and assessing data (55%). (52 percent).

As a result, leaders must cultivate a curious attitude

Leadership is the driving force behind innovation. Leaders who value curiosity foster an environment in which people feel comfortable exploring new ideas, taking risks, and challenging the status quo. This leadership style has been found to result in higher-performing, more adaptive organizations. Curiosity is a vital skill for transformative growth and change, according to the most successful leaders.

They understand that curiosity leads to invention, and they cultivate a curious culture within their enterprises.Curiosity is an essential trait for transformational growth and change. It is also a characteristic that many executives appear to undervalue or disregard completely.

Curiosity has resulted in the majority of history's breakthrough discoveries and spectacular innovations. Curiosity is just the act of asking inquiries.

Curiosity is fuelled by questions. We naturally ask questions when we are intrigued. And when we ask questions, we are more likely to find novel solutions. Start by asking more questions if you want to be more curious and innovative.

Make curiosity a key value in your organization, and you will see the potential for transformational development and change unlocked. Curiosity boosters include:

1. Look for someone with a keen mind.

2. Demonstrate inquisitiveness and interest.

3. Highlight the importance of long-term learning objectives.

4. Let staff pursue and extend their interests.

5. Promote daily "Why?" "What if...?" and "How might we...?"

6. Support and reward innovation

7. Employ the "no idea is a bad idea" mentality.

8. Encourage risk-taking 9. Encourage playfulness

10. Be open to new experiences.

Curiosity and leadership go hand in hand. Leaders who are curious inspire others to ask questions, consider alternative viewpoints, and challenge preconceptions. This makes room for creativity and innovation. It also establishes the foundation for a more adaptable, inventive company. Hence, if you want your organization to be more adaptive and innovative, start by encouraging your leadership team to be curious.

Be curious: the simple power of asking outstanding questions to the right people at the right time to create exceptional results.

Changing A Business Name Is No Game

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 14:54:28 GMT

There are various objectives for why you would want to rebrand your company. Perhaps your firm is frequently confused with competitors, or it no longer accurately represents what you serve or who you do.

But, once you've finalized the difficult decision to rename your firm, the more significant concern is how to do so without losing customers. How can you develop a new business name and brand that is more powerful than the one you had before? Don't let those big questions hold you back!

Renaming your company can be intimidating, but it can pay off in the long run if done correctly. However, this name change should not be undertaken lightly, and there are some key areas to consider before going ahead:

Do Research:

Lookup the availability of the domain name associated with your new company name. Although it is not necessary, it aids in recognizing if the two names are similar.

If that name is available, verify with your state's trademark office and the federal trademark office. It's possible that you won't want to trademark your new company name right away, but you might later.

Discuss the potential name change with your lawyer and tax advisor, so you know of any possible complications.

Be Strategic:

A new company's name must be chosen carefully and strategically. It must be long-lasting and have a purpose. It would help if you kept in mind that it must work with your present and future business ambitions. Be prepared for probable initial opposition from employees already familiar with your current identity and customers. Keep your confidence in your communication strategies because they might not grasp your long-term approach.

Once you have done your due diligence and aligned with your strategic planning, it's time for implementation. Consider the following points as your base routine to start here:

Communicate the changes to your stakeholders:

Once you've created a bold new brand for your company, you must inform all stakeholders, including your staff, clients or customers, investors, and vendor partners. The strategy will vary depending on the organization, but the general idea is the same: make sure to communicate your name change widely. In other words, don't just send one email and consider the job done. Consider your audience's numerous interactions with your brand, and make the changes clear on all of these platforms. And don't just tell people your name has changed. Let them know WHY. The more details you can provide your audience regarding the causes of the changes, the better. Such honesty and sincerity will be beneficial.

Make a thorough rebranding plan:

Any savvy marketer recognizes the value of a solid marketing strategy. And any rebranding project requires a solid rebranding plan. However, with so many additional aspects to manage, your name change rebrand will fail if you don't have a complete plan. All hazards, lead times, interdependencies, and roles and responsibilities should be correctly mapped out in your rebranding plan.

For instance, to rebrand your signage, you must:

Make a list of all your branding and decide what, if anything, you want to change regarding sign placement, quality, and quantity.
Obtain legal approval for the filings under your new name and legal entity.
Create new signs and obtain the required permits.
Request supplier price quotes and choose the best partner to create the signs.
Obtain the licenses required to put up the signs.
Install the signs with the least possible impact on business.

Changing your company name may seem like a complex and confusing effort at first, but taking the proper steps can become a fun process that opens up new doors for your company and allows it to grow.

Owning a business entails obligations and the ability to make bold choices that can take your company in an entirely different direction, including changing your name.

Key Strategies to Achieve a Work-Life Balance without conflict

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 14:54:21 GMT

The road to success has undergone significant change in recent years, igniting an intense debate about characters and work ethics. Every other aspect of our lives frequently takes a back seat to work. We may put our well-being aside to advance professionally. Achieving a healthy work-life balance or integration is essential to improve our physical, emotional, and mental well-being as well as our career.

What is work-life balance?

Work-life balance, by definition, entails reducing work-related stress and establishing a stable and sustainable way of working while maintaining health and general well-being. It is an essential idea in business because it encourages employees to work harder and increases their commitment to the organization.

Why is a healthy work-life balance important?

It can take a lot of time for any employee to complete a job for a company and develop a career. All day long, and occasionally even on weekends, workers are busy at their workplaces. They have a minimal amount of time to spend with their family. Families frequently suffer neglect as a result of intense work pressure. Additionally, employees' health deteriorates as a result of stressful jobs. This is where finding a work-life balance comes into play. It helps to increase workplace productivity because the employee is less concerned about his commitments. It also allows the employee to enjoy quality time with their family during vacations, leisure time, and working on her health, among other things. As a result, work-life balance is critical for employees, as it increases their motivation to work for the company.

What can be done to build a better work-life balance?

To manage our professional and personal lives sustainably and maintain our energy levels, mental and physical health, and overall happiness and contentment, we must find a healthy work-life balance.

To get there:

Create Boundaries and Work Hours:

To prevent burnout:

1. Establish boundaries for both yourself and your coworkers.

2. Avoid thinking about upcoming projects or responding to work emails as you leave the office.

3. Think about getting a separate phone or computer for work so you can turn it off during the shift.

4. Use different browsers, emails, or filters for your work and personal platforms if that isn't possible.

Set Goals, Prioritize Tasks (and stick to them):

Implement time-management techniques, review your to-do list, and eliminate tasks of little or no value to you to set attainable goals. Keep track of your productive times at work and set aside that time for your most crucial tasks related to your job. Avoid wasting a lot of time by avoiding checking your phone and email every few minutes. Doing so will distract you from your work and sap your concentration. Your day's organization can help you work more productively, giving you more time to unwind after work.

Always try to become a Learner:

Many assume that after working in a profession for a long time, they have all the necessary skills and knowledge.This fixed mindset can stifle growth and development. In a world where globalization and technology mean that our working methods are constantly changing, it's critical to maintain an open mind to pick up new skills and ways of thinking. You can increase your resilience and enhance your well-being at work and home by viewing change as a chance for growth rather than as a threat to current procedures or change for change's sake.

Ask Help from a Supportive Network:

Striking for a better work-life balance might occasionally feel overwhelming or complicated, mainly if you rely solely on yourself. High achievers may believe it is simpler to handle everything — including finding more balance — on their own. Asking for assistance and depending on a solid support network are acceptable behaviors. Never be reluctant to ask for help from them if you feel like you need it to keep on course.

Work-life balance is difficult to achieve when your routine is out of whack. However, certain factors can limit your options and ability to level the playing field. Family obligations frequently clash with professional duties, and it is impossible to please everyone. To avoid unnecessary stress, learn how to divide your time evenly.

You must develop better habits and make better use of your time. Efficiency makes a measurable difference in your schedule and can help you relax. Determine what is appropriate for you. Then apply what you've learned to improve your work-life balance.

Clutter-Breaking Marketing Strategy: Audio Content

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 11:11:06 GMT

The world of Audio is a rapidly emerging digital content industry trend worth exploring from a marketing standpoint. We're not discussing the Audio you use in your video content, which is an entirely different subject, but rather audio-specific content marketing, a significant and developing area for you to serve as part of your marketing strategy moving forward.

What is Audio Content?

The term "audio content" refers to any written, spoken, or otherwise audible information that is made available online for listening.

The popularity of audio content has spread through many forms of entertainment (such as audio books and, most notably, podcasts) and successfully served as marketing collateral like any branded media.

There are three ways to produce audio content:

1. Recording your voice

2. Utilizing natural language processing (NLP) to translate written text into spoken language

3. Using technology to recognize voice commands

Why is Audio Content important for marketing?

In the crowded field of text and video content/material, it is getting harder and harder to stand out and expand the audience. In this congested content environment, audio material is still less competitive as a content format. Hence though we understand Audio as old school compared to video content, we should still utilize its potential for our marketing needs.

Types of Audio Content

While some of the types on this list are venerable audio content mainstays, each one has something valuable to offer. Finding what works for your company requires some thought.

• Podcast

One of the most listened-to types of audio content is podcasts. A podcast is a digital-based audio file that may be listened to online or downloaded to a mobile device or computer. It usually comes as a series of episodes that customers can opt to receive automatically. There are numerous sorts of podcasts that cover a wide range of subjects, and many listeners tune in based on particular interests.

It's best to refrain from extensively advertising brands when making a podcast. Instead of concentrating on that specific company, try to create a weekly podcast about a subject related to that industry. One should think of inventive ways to promote it as branded content.

• Social Media Audio

Social media platforms are beginning to give voice to Audio. Audio-first social is noted as a significant new trend. Due to its accessibility and personal touch, audio content is an excellent way for businesses to interact. While working or traveling, listeners can tune in. It, therefore, appears reasonable to combine it with the power of social media.

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have enabled group audio-only chatroom interactions. This allowed users to make genuine social interactions without being bothered by screen weariness, interruptions, or the demands of being on camera. So, keep an eye on the most recent audio-first social trends if you want to maximize the exposure of your brand's voice.

• Voice Assistant/Search

Voice search optimization, often known as voice SEO, is the practice of designing advertisements to be searchable via voice search, typically via a smart speaker or virtual assistant device. Instead of inputting words into these devices, users speak orders into voice-automated gadgets, which understand their terms and search on their behalf.

The purpose of this content's creation is for voice-first assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to find and play it.

In addition to the above list, we can also try Radio shows, Audiobooks, Audio Catalogues, Audio in written content, etc., as a popular mechanism for Audio Marketing.

To summarize, content creators have numerous chances to generate engaging, shareable material. Using Audio is a start in the right way, and it will only get more popular as the number of social media participants grows. To compete with other firms, one must ensure to follow the trends in a safe and copyright-free manner.

Strategies to Help Your Business Survive Inflation

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 11:05:40 GMT

The world appears to be heading for an acceleration of Inflation that hasn't been seen in the past 40 years. Within the last two years, it has become a significant concern for the global economy in the post-pandemic world. The cost of living crisis is looming for many people worldwide due to this rising Inflation.

What is Inflation (Rising Cost)?

It is indeed one of the most familiar words in the global economy. Simply put, it is the increase in the cost of goods and services. The value (purchasing power) of money depreciates over time as a result ofInflation, and everything around us changes in price.

Why is Inflation rising right now?

Various factors can cause Inflation. But when we look closely at the factors causing Inflation in the different regions, there are definite indications of the existence of so-called "supply inflation," which is caused by rising energy costs and supply chain bottlenecks that are primarily attributable to the cessation of operations during times of lockdown in many countries and, subsequently, the recovery of the economy.

What solutions can Businesses have?

Sometimes it's impossible to avoid rising business costs, whether brought on by Inflation, supply, demand, or another external factor. Even the smallest increase in sales or cost reductions can impact a company's profitability in this volatile economy. The good news is that a full-fledged company overhaul is not required. Simple, common sense steps within a cost-cutting strategy frequently improve the bottom line.

• Make an appropriate budget to succeed

Budgeting is a no-brainer when it comes to lowering expenses for your business. If you don't know how much money you're bringing in and taking out each month, it's impossible to make wise financial decisions. You can see how you can immediately cut business expenses by using a budget to track them on a daily basis.So that you can steer clear of common blunders, you should concentrate on budgeting and financial management.

• Put Efforts Towards Modern Marketing

Consumers expect brands they trust to connect with them and be authentic. Putting one brand's efforts towards marketing needs to be prioritized. Although it's not advisable to completely stop using paid marketing/advertising, there are some less expensive options you should consider when trying to cut costs for your company:

1. Network! Customers are more likely to do business with you if they recognize you, so take advantage of all networking opportunities.

2. Increase your social media presence, but select the right platform for you, such as Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and so on.

3. Ask current customers to leave reviews on your website or social media channels; positive customer feedback is priceless!

4. While building your customer email list, offer a referral program. Current customer recommendations can lead to faster sales.

• Optimize manufacturing strategy

Best-in-class businesses encourage their sourcing and engineering teams to reconceive the goods that will be most impacted by Inflation. The objective is to modify product design—materials, packaging, or even product features—in response to increased production and maintenance costs while preserving the functionality customers demand.

Companies that lack the resources to quickly redesign products rely on category management to cut costs by modifying assortments, sourcing from preferred vendors, and reducing inventory. From a commercial standpoint, we observe top companies locating product alternatives within their product lines, frequently private-label equivalents that can be sold for less than branded products while maximizing margins and enhancing the value provided to the customer.

Whether your business is at a stage from startup to well-established, keeping up with Inflation is always on the mind of a business owner.When it comes to reducing business expenses, you have a plethora of options at your disposal, thanks to the tips above, and the last thing you want to do is lay off employees. This is always the previous step. It is best to try a combination or all of the suggestions above to reduce and cope with Inflation.

Effective Ways to Nail Remote Strategy Discussions

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 08:37:11 GMT

Thanks to technological advancements and modifications to workplaces brought on by the pandemic, remote work is a standard practice for many organizations. Despite the current debate over a potential return to the office, it is unlikely that businesses will completely end remote work and ask employees to do the same.

However, many organizations' strategic discussions were poor even before COVID-19 sparked a colossal shift toward remote employment. Teams frequently lacked clarity on the next steps required to carry out strategies. There are several reasons why strategic plans fail, such as a lack of stakeholder support, vague objectives, lost momentum, and a complete lack of alignment. But the root of the issue is that strategic discussions are frequently destined for failure from the outset.

Where did Remote Strategic Discussions fail?

One of the most difficult challenges for remote strategic planning teams is keeping everyone engaged and involved. During virtual meetings, more than half of employees admit to working on other things. Employees who are preoccupied miss out on opportunities to contribute their own ideas and miss out on vital information.

In the absence of a truly collaborative environment, one person or a small group of people can wind up dominating the debate. Others in the group are unable to share their ideas, and there are fewer possibilities to capitalize on everyone's creativity and insights.

How to implement effective Remote Strategy Discussions?

It's better not to repeat these strategy discussion mistakes. Our strategy has to be revised. To make them worthwhile and efficient, it is essential to concentrate on promoting engagement, alignment, and clarity.

Preparation Before Discussion

Not every discussion is equal. Every type of discussion requires a different and unique approach. With a game plan and some preparation, your team can have online meetings that are just as collaborative and productive as getting everyone in the same room. The finest online Discussions involve three crucial elements that you should keep in mind:

Connection
Collaboration
Feedback

Maintaining these elements will increase participant engagement while keeping the discussion productive. Also, avoid wasting time during the meeting because compiling the necessary data for a remote conference takes work. Make a plan with a list of things to cover and follow it. It is preferable to distribute the schedule in advance to participants so that they may all make preparations.

Foster Collaboration

Request that everyone attend the meeting with a few ideas prepared as a jumping-off point. To get your team's creative juices flowing, try some brainstorming activities. Throughout the meeting, solicit team members' opinions and feedback on ideas.

Use the shared canvas on the virtual whiteboard to encourage team members to contribute ideas and build on one another's creativity.

Utilize Online Technologies

Collaboration from a distance seems to be a challenge always. But there are ways to bridge the gap. Video calls make it easy to express our thoughts with facial expressions and create a considerable bonding between the participants. Additionally, we can have moderators who can take voting over poles and suggestions over chat. This way, everyone's voice will be heard whether they got a chance to speak or not. We often feel the loud voice is the dominating outcome, but with voting, we can get an absolute consensus among the participants. In a nutshell, remote strategy discussions can be more productive and value-added than face-to-face discussions.

Punctuality Over Everything

You can physically collect a colleague at an office when a meeting is about to begin, but for remote discussions, messages may be ignored if someone is highly focused. There is also no physical indication that a meeting is ending. Here are some suggestions to ensure your remote meetings start and end on time:

If you anticipate being late for the meeting due to prior obligations, notify someone who will be there so that the team is aware.
Automate meeting reminders beyond the calendar invite.
Be respectful of everyone's schedule and conclude on time or, if needed extra time, seek an extension from everyone.

The goals for online strategic discussions are no different than in-person discussions:communicate effectively so you can make choices that move your organization forward. When you are in a remote discussion, you just need to make a few changes to achieve that goal. By preparing properly, participating thoroughly, and following up, your online discussions can be just as successful as sitting in a room together.

Flexibility - The keyword for Planning Great Events

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 07:06:34 GMT

Nowadays, things change quickly. It's challenging to forecast what life will be like in a year, a month, or even a week. We can observe similar dilemmas in event planning as well. However, it is unlikely that you will be able to foresee every detail of every event. There is a chance to encounter specific difficulties during any event. But, it's crucial to keep your cool and allow yourself to feel at ease with change during these moments. In the long run, it will be considerably easier to approach an event with the perspective that you're prepared to handle any unforeseen bumps or changes.

This adaptable/flexible nature (i.e., flexibility) is essential to successfully manage unforeseen events, whether they involve a speaker cancellation, last-minute RSVPs, unanticipated visitors, or a program adjustment due to a change in government guidelines or policy, or a complete platform outage.

What is Flexibility?

Flexibility is a way of how good we deal with unpredicted circumstances. This is crucial in fast-paced, dynamic businesses where the capacity to adapt to unforeseen circumstances and shifting expectations is a valuable skill for both employers and employees in any sector.

When it comes to event management, there are a few hard and fast rules. Because each event is unique, each requires a distinct approach. To be a great event planner, you must be as adaptable as you are structured. This adaptability allows you to adapt, learn, and modify to improve each event.

Why be Flexible?

Changes don't always occur when we expect them to. Flexibility is crucial for this reason. Being flexible makes you adaptable, resilient, and change-responsive. You can adjust to unforeseen pressures at work, such as abrupt increases in workload, pressing issues, or an unexpected disaster like a cyber security breach or a financial collapse.

Managers and corporations increasingly value flexible individuals. When a crisis arises, they assist in stabilizing the situation. They keep goals within grasp and frequently "go the additional mile" to encourage colleagues who require assistance or guidance.

How to be more Flexible?

Don't just manage an event. Instead, make all of your events fabulous with the following tips:

• Create an event program approach that is thorough and well-rounded. Plan for virtual, hybrid, and in-person live events to align with regional standards and satisfy attendees' expectations because regulations and restrictions differ from city to city and country to country.

• Don't forget about the attendees' experience. Find ways to keep the event exciting, memorable, and educational no matter what kind of event you decide to put on during the upcoming months. ROI (Return of Investment) follows when the attendee is prioritized.

• Don't be afraid– be ever-ready to experiment with new event technology. To stay ahead of the competition, embrace innovations that improve the event experience. There are numerous approaches to integrating modern technologies and event management:

With a pre-event poll, you can crowdsource the site of your annual conference.
An online poll can collect real-time feedback on live speakers.
Using an event app, you can get attendees to the correct spot at the right time. Approximately half of all attendees use these apps to navigate an event.

• After each event, spend time debriefing with your team. Talk about the successes and failures with a group of essential personnel, all staff, or both staff and volunteers. When the event is still recent in people's memories, these debriefing sessions are an excellent method to collect their opinions and comments.

• Apply what you've learned by making constructive changes following each encounter. Examine input from participants, staff, and volunteers to identify inefficiencies in your event management style.

You can't avoid the truth that event planning is unpredictable, no matter how organized and prepared you are. There will always be duties and hurdles along the way; the best way to deal with them is to be somewhat flexible and adaptive. If you can weather the storm of change and keep providing quality work, you will have shown your worth tenfold.

Along similar lines, it's critical to be able to adapt your approach based on whom you're dealing with. Taking the effort to discover how individuals want to work and adjusting your work style to suit them makes all the difference.

Diversity, Equity &Inclusion: 3 winning elements for every association

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 14:14:55 GMT

We all know that a diverse workforce is more productive, but diversity isn't the same as inclusivity. Consider inclusivity as the next step in effectively supporting a diverse workforce, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, physical ability, religious background, or sexual orientation. So, it is pretty evident that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion go hand in hand and form the concept of DEI in today's age.

What is DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion)?

We hear a lot regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) these days. They've become essential metrics for determining whether companies are rated, top employers.

DEI focuses on three main areas:

Diversity of any organization refers to its members' characteristics, experiences, and demographics.

Equity promotes fairness, impartiality, and justice in your organization's methods, processes, and resource allocation.

Inclusion relates to how individuals of your organization feel about themselves, with the purpose of making them feel respected, protected, and welcomed.

Most associations have these things aligned with their goals: to attract members and make them feel welcome and engaged, to help members grow their profession or business, and to retain members around long-term.

Why is DEI Important for any organization?

Organizations that do not use DEI methods miss out on opportunities to maximize the potential of their employees. DEI initiatives are an important part of fostering a culture of engagement and happiness among employees. Employees at organizations with strong DEI initiatives are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, have a higher degree of trust, and be more engaged. But it's not only morale that improves when DEI programs are prioritized; there are tangible benefits at every level of the organization.

In conclusion, delivering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace can lead to:

• Better decision-making
• Higher employee engagement and satisfaction
• A larger talent pool
• Greater innovation
• Higher retention and lower turnover
• Improved financial performance

• Ability to outperform any competition

How to incorporate DEI principles into your association?

Set leadership examples

The key to ensuring the success of DEIinitiatives lies strongly on the shoulders of the leadership team.The people that lead an organization are a reflection of themselves. The leaders of that organization should be aware of the advantages of a diverse workforce. Making diversity and inclusion a priority for one's organization will attract members and executives who share the same beliefs.

Brainstorm

Set a goal to deliberate about what more diverse organizations are doing to recruit and retain members that you could start doing, too, if the membership of an organization does not reflect the variety of the profession. You might also want to hold a focus group with members from various demographics to learn more about their needs and how you can continue to welcome them and provide additional value.

Adopt inclusive policies

Everything you do, from your sign-up process to the rules and procedures handbook you provide, should attempt to make your organization as welcoming as possible to individuals who want to join. You'll discover that if you foster a positive organizational culture, your members will refer others, thus enhancing the atmosphere you've established.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical to an organization's success. Focusing on one thing while ignoring others might drive DEI down a path that will inevitably compromise or destroy it. Remember, there is no such thing as a finish line or a point at which you may declare your task completed. Companies must continue to aim for and develop in this area.

Winning Ways of Member Engagement

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 14:14:17 GMT

Membership engagement will be the fuel oil if one organization is a vehicle. It energies core objectives for every business, such as associations, societies, and institutes. An engaged member connects with your organization frequently and meaningfully enough to derive personal benefit from it. One should create avenues for involvement that any member may connect with to create an environment that encourages such participation.

But does member engagement just happen? Not usually.

Member engagement is an ongoing, proactive process for reaching members with relevant connections, content, and benefits in the right ways and at the right times. It just takes energy, a lot of effort, and some creativity.

But, there's no such thing as a one way fitsall engagement strategy. All businesses and organizations are unique, and one approach may be effective for some while impractical for others. Email marketing and Telephonic conversation are long-time things in this field, but the new jewel in the crown isthe Online community.

Effectiveness of Emailing

Email continues to be animportant communication channel for reaching new members. It is successful because it helps enterprises achieve their customers/members/users where it matters—their inboxes. Email engages users in a way that no other tactics can, even outside of the product. While email does face a lot of competition these days, it isn't on the verge of losing its usefulness. Email is the most ROI-yielding marketing channel, while alternatives like social media and push notifications aren't nearly as effective. Emailsalways have a great return on investment and turn out to be one of the greatestwaysin modern marketing. Whether it is a large-scale organization or a small start-up, it's also possible to make the reader take immediate action with email. Other channels usually are cut short with a one-way broadcast conversation, whereas CTAs can direct the visitor to a product demo link, sign-up page, or even a review page.

The power of Phone Calls

Picking up the phone to querytheir experience is beneficial for motivating your members to continue renewing their membership and networking with you more meaningfully.

Phone calls entail far more human connection, empathy, and social engagement than emails. They provide various advantages that no other choice can match. You have various benefits when making a phone conversation, including real-time social connection and the ability to express emotions through your voice. These crucial characteristics can't be found anyplace else. We are usually very grateful when we receive a pleasant and cordial phone call. They arouse in us a different level of enthusiasm.

Engagement of Online Community

An online member community is more than just a one-time thing. It has the ability to motivate and enable members to engage with one another and obtain year-round access to important content from the comfort of their own home, office, or wherever they are. Providing an online community for your association's members is a terrific approach to improve and encourage networking. At the same time, it can help your organization become more integrated into your members' everyday social networking routines.

Organizations can implement these methods and guide each of their users up the engagement ladder. These take effort and sometimes funds, but in the end, it is the most valuable asset one can have: loyal and engaged customers who care about the organization just like the Founder.

Customer Experience–the only sustainable solution for business growth

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:49:30 GMT

We are in unprecedented times– Customers have come to expect more out of companies, employees are working remotely, even resigning entirely, and supply chain issues have negatively affected all products. One silver lining of this condition is that there's been a brighter spotlight on customer and employee experience.

What is Customer Experience?

Customer experience (also known as CX) is the entire customer journey process, from first contact to becoming a happy and loyal customer. It is defined by various interactions and experiences your customer has with your business.

Whether it's an exposure to an ad, a call to a contact center or even something as ordinary as the payment of a bill, every exchange between business and customers builds (or damages) the relationship. Most importantly, how customers view those experiences as a whole matter.

Difference between Customer Service and Customer Experience:

For many companies, customer service and experience are apparently interchangeable. Yet, one is a single touch-point with a brand/business, while the other covers all areas of your business. In short, customer service is just a minute part of the whole customer experience.

Why is Customer Experience important for your business?

Putting customers first and delivering a great customer experience is highly important. The better experience customers have, the more repeat purchases/services and positive reviews you will receive. Simultaneously, it will reduce the friction of customer complaints and returns for your business.

The benefits of delivering a great CX (Customer Experience) include:

• Increased customer loyalty and satisfaction

When one business creates a significant customer experience, customers will have fewer reasons to leave. They will likely purchase additional products or avail their services from your company if they love the end-to-end experience.

• Better word-of-mouth marketing, positive reviews, and recommendations

When your business chooses to improve and enhance customer experience, you will also notice a surge in new customers. Companies spend billions of dollars worldwide on marketing, but one of the most cost-effective advertising strategies is always word-of-mouth. When your business devotesitself to a great customer experience, they indirectly invest in a free marketing strategy. In the age of Google reviews, this factor is more important. Now, when customers are satisfied with your product or service, they have the potential to reach thousands of other potential consumers, all at zero cost to your business.

• Customer experience is your new age core competency
If you are in a business domain full of competitors, one significant differentiator could be the customer experience you can provide to the users. It can become your core competency itself. Definitely, this will be an iterative process, and once you can revise it with multiple user reviews, it won't be easy for a newbie to copy from you and sustain.

As customers become even more empowered, it increases the significance of the customer experience. Customer experience is an important area that needs continuous nurturing and care. With a more prominent effort on customer experience strategy, companies will appreciate a net positive impact on higher retention, customer loyalty, and increased revenue growth.

Closing skill gaps— one of the top priorities for your company

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:48:40 GMT

There are specific human skills like problem-solving, collaboration,creativity, flexibility, agility,adaptability, and emotional intelligence which can't be automated. Therefore it is always valuable to harness these skills in employees. Hence, in the changing world of business employee's most valuable asset is lifelong learning. Amidst such promising outlooks, skill gaps often come as a hurdle for many enterprises. Before COVID-19 hits, organizations had vast constraints to adapt to ever-changing technology and business enhancements. Though as per research, it is not necessarily a skill gap but also a training gap that leaves doors of opportunity open for your organization.

How to reduce the skills gaps?

Even better than fixing/reducing workforce skill gaps is not to have them in the first place. To achieve this, enterprises require a two-pronged approach:

• Providing employees with the learning content tools and opportunities that they need to work on their skills (upskilling and reskilling)

• Using promotions, pay scale raises, and other rewards as tools to push your employees towards self-improvement

Once the problem areas are treated, it's crucial to be aware of the possibility of skill gaps, developing in the future, and constantly working to prevent them. Employers can stay on top of competency gaps by keeping employees engaged and investing in new training and educational programs to encourage growth.At the end of the day, all that we want is progress and success.

Significance of reducing skill gaps:

By focusing on closing these skills gaps, any company can continue to thrive even during uncertain times.

• Increased Talent Acquisition

People want to be part of an organization which is committed to its long-term success. When provided with proper training and development opportunities, employees will be happier in their roles and have a brighter outlook on their upcoming future within the company. Once they begin to see the benefits of their development within the company, any brand could get more recognition in its target, thus attracting fresh talent with a thirst for innovation.

• Enhanced Financial Outcomes

One common fear among employers is that their reskilled/upskilled employees will leave for better opportunities, but upskilling and reskilling increase employee productivity and reinforces their commitment to their respective jobs. In a 2020 study of the relationship between upskilling, performance, and retention, 84% of CEOs saw an increase in goal attainment, and 69% of CEOs saw employee retention rise. Even one company's investment in closing skills gaps is a long-term investment because employees who feel supported in their growth are more likely to stay.

Training to close skills gaps is becoming more and more necessary for enterprises looking to stay competitive and grow. The new world of working space revolves around enabling people to innovate, thrive, and lead by providing meaningful chances to advance and prosper within the organization. Enterprises that can invest in their people will undoubtedly benefit by forming a talent pool that is knowledgeable, engaged, and productive—and that is a win all around.

Conquering Virtual Meeting Fatigue

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 21:32:25 GMT

In recent months we’ve all become “experts” on navigating the virtual platforms to connect colleagues, clients, staff and employees. But like many, we are now losing steam and interest in logging into another e-meeting.

A few simple tips to fight the virtual fatigue:

Utilize the Chat Window

The chat window is prime real estate to engage your attendees prior to the meeting or webinar starting. Encourage attendees to drop their LinkedIn profile link in the chat box and for everyone to connect. Attendees can also post their social media handles, ask for a positive Google review or service testimonial.

What Does Your Name Say?

We’ve all been on a virtual call and someone’s profile thumbnail only shows their phone number. Other attendees are left wondering who is on the line. Encourage attendees to update their profile settings to show, at a minimum, their first name. You can also have attendees include their name and company or a name and their location. You can get creative with this and ask attendees to include a favorite phrase or motivational word. This is also a great ice breaker activity!

When it’s virtual, you can be anywhere in the world!

One my favorite ways to keep attendees engaged is to ask everyone to use a virtual background… more specifically a photo from their favorite vacation. In those few minutes before an e-meeting begins, this is a great conversation starter. Attendees open up and willingly share where their photo was taken and happily take interest in their fellow attendees’ adventures. Depending on your meeting topic or association, you may want to establish themes for your virtual backgrounds and rotate them based on the frequency of when your group meets. Themes can include favorite pet, city, motivational quote, image of a role model or mentor, season, favorite color, etc.

The key to a successful and energized e-meeting is to keep in mind that attendees will need frequent opportunities for a mental break or mental stimulation. If your meetings are scheduled for more than one hour, schedule in a 10-minute break. Be specific about the break time and prompt about returning to the scheduled agenda. Encourage speakers and presenters to ask attendees questions and to call upon them by their name posted in their profile picture. For more suggestions on how to improve your virtual meetings, contact me at smiller@LBSmail.com.

Hot for Hybrid

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 21:27:07 GMT

Everybody wants it.

Several years ago, “hybrid events” were something only those in the business may have heard of… once in a blue moon. Today HYBRID is the new buzz word and hybrid events are the best solutions for many trade associations. Whether you are an association manager or event planner, preparing for a hybrid experience for online and in-person attendees, means you’ll need to be the maestro of orchestrating both to make sure everyone is fully engaged!

Here are my top 5 recommendations for preparing for a hybrid event:

Prepare Prepare Prepare

The name of the game is to prepare! The more you can research and prepare in the pre-planning stage of the event, the better. Understand your audience, the purpose of the event, and map out the appropriate timeline to accomplish all phases of the event. If an in-person event takes 8 weeks to prep, add in at least 4 weeks to your timeline to add in the virtual components.

Practice Practice Practice

Similar to the preparation that is required, an equal amount of practice and rehearsal is necessary to smoothly execute a hybrid event. While you may feel confident in hosting a virtual meeting, don’t underestimate the technology component of coordinating a hybrid event – especially of multiple speakers, slide decks and embedded videos are involved.

Fabulous Facilitator… make it TWO!

When planning a hybrid event think of it as two separate events happening simultaneously. Having a well prepared (and trained!) facilitator will be the key ingredient to keeping both your live and virtual attendees engaged. Consider having two facilitators… one for each platform. They should be scripted to an extent and be comfortable with the platform they’ve been assigned.

Use Social Media

Social Media helps widen the circle for exposure, content and keeping all generations of attendees engaged. Make use of multiple platforms and provide regular reminders for attendees to “check-in” to their favorite social circle. Event contests can incentivize attendees to participate and boost your events online presence. Use of social media is a big “thumbs up” for sponsors looking for additional recognition.

Watch the Clock

All attendees will appreciate your attention to time management. Keep to your agenda, schedule in appropriate breaks and allow enough time for attendees to participate in meaningful Q&A.

7 Harsh truths that will improve your leadership skills overnight

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 21:21:49 GMT

This is taking your leadership to a whole new level, again.

Remember those old and scratchy vinyl records that would skip and play the same thing over and over until you moved the needle? (I know I'm showing my age, play along.)

Well, the Gallup Organization has been playing a tune now for over three decades, one that sure sounds a lot like a scratchy record that won't move forward. You know it well--roughly 30 percent of employees in the U.S. are actually engaged in their work. But here's the part of the song that keeps skipping incessantly: People leave managers, not companies.

We've know this for a while and yet we can't seem to solve the leadership crisis that will result in happy, engaged, and motivated workers.

That's because most people in positions of power don't have a clear understanding of what it truly takes to influence others. You don't manage people; you lead people and manage the work.

Seven Brutal Truths About Leadership

If you find yourself in the precarious position of wondering "where do I stand as a leader," at some point you must face some brutal truths about what it takes to motivate and inspire on a human, emotional, and psychological level.

1. The brutal truth that good leaders will first pump the fear out of the room.

In traditional top-down power structures, bosses will cast a vision and then use positional power and control to move people to carry out the vision. Fear is par for the course as the primary motivator. In today's social economy, servant leaders will cast a company vision and enroll their followers to express their voice as co-creators and co-contributors to the vision. And their first priority is creating psychological safety among their tribes: They pump the fear out of the room and liberate their people to freely collaborate, innovate, and engage.

2. The brutal truth that good leadership doesn't happen without trust.

Every leader needs to ask a very important, look-in-the-mirror, question: "Does my behavior increase trust?" If you are considering elevating your leadership skills, trust is a pillar your leadership should stand on. In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey highlights several trusting leadership behaviors great companies are known for, including:

Create transparency

Confront reality

Practice accountability

Talk straight

Right wrongs

3. The brutal truth that good leaders are willing to listen to feedback.

Many leaders don't want to listen to ideas, opinions, and constructive feedback from others about their own leadership. For such leaders, cutting themselves off means that they operate in an ego-system, not an ecosystem. A leader who listens well, on the other hand, is open and accountable; they filter out criticism or drama and find the facts in order to respond appropriately to serve the needs of others. They probe and ask questions until they get clarification; they listen to understand--with a focus on the future, not on a rehash of the past.

4. The brutal truth that good leaders are positive, even when things go bad.

Good leaders practice positive thinking. They view stressful situations from a more positive perspective, which takes emotional intelligence. Rather than getting stressed out about a work situation or a recent failure, they look at it as an opportunity to pause, regroup, learn, grow, and bounce back with renewed energy and focus. This can have a profound effect on one's emotional and physical well-being. Leaders who maintain a positive attitude and practice positive thinking experience less stress than those who are pessimistic, narrow-minded, and negative.

5. The brutal truth that good leaders rarely, if ever, procrastinate.

Good leaders are "do-it-now" people. They don't put things off until the last minute, which is a sure way to increase stress levels. Good leaders begin doing what they know they should do, and when they know they should do it. They anticipate problems when issues arise and address them head-on before they escalate.

6. The brutal truth that good leaders put strict boundaries on themselves.

Billionaire Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, learned a long time ago that the greatest commodity of all is time. One of his secrets to success? He simply mastered the practice of setting boundaries for himself. The mega-mogul once said:

"The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything."

They say no to opportunities and things that don't excite them, speak to their values, or further their mission in life. They say no to spending time with uninspiring, critical, or negative people who drag them down. They say no to overworking and neglecting self-care and family. They recognize that if they can't take care of themselves, everything else suffers.

7. The brutal truth that leadership, in the end, is really about love.

We often view any notion of leadership and love through the spiritual teachings of historical and religious figures like Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. But another unlikely icon from the past--legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi--didn't mince words in defining how he led with love. He said:

"I don't necessarily have to like my players and associates, but as their leader, I must love them. Love is loyalty, love is teamwork, love respects the dignity of the individual. This is the strength of any organization."

Love in the leadership-at-work sense is not a feeling; it's expressed as an "action verb." It's love that shows up in meeting the needs of others to get results, clearing obstacles from people's path, and empowering others to succeed and grow as workers and human beings. It has intrinsic value for both leader and employee. Ultimately, it's this kind of love that defines some of the best CEOs on the planet.

Unexpected Kindness

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 05:32:14 GMT

By Stacey Miller

Did you ever stop to think what you could accomplish in one second? Yes, just one second. One second of your time could leave a long-lasting impression on someone… a loved one, a co-worker and even a stranger.

The power of positivity starts with the mindful decision to be aware of how you choose to face your day. A positive workplace can have a ripple effect on your team as well as the business’ bottle line. If people are happy where they work, whether in an office or remotely, they are likely to start each day with a productive outlook and make fewer mistakes. A surge of positive energy is contagious, and those good vibes are an essential part of your company’s culture.

Same goes for networking in your trade or business associations. Most organizations have had to regroup the past few months due to pandemic-related meeting restrictions. Face to face meetings were cancelled and the level of positivity started to drain from members as they questioned the value of their membership. Learning to pivot and create meaningful interactions, even if they are virtual, takes patience and intentional positive leadership.

Here’s a simple way to start spreading positivity and it only takes a second to accomplish. Start by expressing gratitude, appreciation and encouragement to your co-workers and fellow members. Here are 20 one-second examples of compliments you can start using today!

Having you on the team makes a huge difference.
You’re so great to work with.
Thank you for setting a great example for your coworkers/members.
Keep up the great work!
You play a crucial role in our company’s / association’s success.
Wow! Nice work.
I really enjoy working with you.
Amazing job on that project—I really mean it.
You come up with fantastic ideas!
You’re really good at cheering everybody up!
It’s amazing how you always help new employees / member get up to speed.
Thank you for always speaking up in team / Board meetings and providing a unique perspective.
Thank you for being so flexible.
I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to the team.
Things have definitely been crazy lately, but you’re crushing it!
You’re a lifesaver!
I am proud of you.
Thank you so much for helping me with ___________
I admire your leadership.
I appreciate you.

The 8 lessons of leadership I learned from brewing coffee

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 05:04:39 GMT

By Alejandro Licea - Medium.com

Like most of my colleagues, I enjoy a cup of coffee each morning. While my experience with the brewed drink won’t inspire me to write a book about coffee any time soon, it has left a profound impact on me, and in some ways shaped me as a military communications professional and leader.

Before I get to those lessons, let me set up the scene.

The date was October 1, 2013. The government had shutdown for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Our command group’s support staff was bare and overwhelmed since our secretary had been furloughed, and our military reservists could not get new orders due to the lack of funding.

It was an unanticipated setback. By that afternoon, the unit’s command sergeant major asked our first sergeant to seek “volunteers” to help run the front office, answer phones, e-mails, and scheduling appointments among other office tasks.

At the suggestion of my former supervisor and the commander’s executive officer, he recommended me to the administrative position. I was a U.S. Army Sergeant First Class, a senior noncommissioned officer, at the time and served as the Public Affairs chief in charge of PAO operations across Central and South America.

I felt ‘overqualified’ to a glorified office assistant in my mind. I had a bachelor’s degree in Communications, working on a Masters in International Relations, and served as the military affairs consultant for an international documentary that was seen all over the world. It was safe to say I was not thrilled with my new role.

The CSM told me to be in the office at 5:30 a.m. and starting brewing the coffee by 6.

Ready for duty the next morning, I cleaned the coffee pot, placed the filter and added the coffee grounds. When the CSM arrived 15 minutes later, he poured himself a cup, took a sip and quickly turned to me and said “El café esta flojo” which translates to the coffee is weak. He told me to throw it out and make a new batch and place a full cup on the commanding general’s desk.

At this point, it was safe to say that my post-Army career did not involve me working as a barista.

I made a fresh pot and left a mug on the general’s desk. Later on that morning, the general came up to me and asked how I liked working in the front office. I simply told him “it’s a learning experience Sir.”

Then he said something that left an impact on me “Anything you do can be a learning experience.” He then smiled at me and made his way to go see one of his officers.

In the weeks that followed, I learned eight aspects of leadership while working for the commander and of course brewing the morning coffee. Here they are:

Mornings are valuable. The morning hours were his time to be effective and plan his day. With meetings most of the day, office calls or preparing to hit the road, those couple of hours in the morning needed to be free of interruptions.

The importance of servant leadership. The concept of servant leadership is an approach when a leader puts the needs of his people before his or her own. The servant-leader values contributions from others and encourages teamwork.

Making a difference in and out of uniform. The commander embraced working with local communities outside the installation. He even established a military assistance program to help mentor underprivileged and low-income teenagers in a JROTC program at a local high school as a way to teach them the value of citizenship and service.

Trust. He believed in people. Whether the person was a senior officer or a low-ranking troop, the man believed everyone’s intentions were good. The belief of trusting people was key to his leadership style because he wanted to build meaningful relationships with the people he served.

Humility. I never met a more humble general officer than the man I poured coffee for every morning during those two months. I know that may sound funny, but as a former enlisted Soldier himself, the commander always gave credit to his troops. He didn’t seek special treatment and took care of his people who he called “his peeps.”

Dealing with Stress. With leadership comes stress. It’s part of the job. Managing stress can be difficult and everyone handles it different. Two things I observed from the commander is that he would take stress breaks. He would either walk around the headquarters building or take a moment to watch the news. It taught me the value of taking a step back.

Loneliness. Sometimes in order to be successful, you have to give yourself up to loneliness. Yes, the commander was surrounded by people all day. Either he was attended meetings and consistently traveling. At the end of the day, however, it was just him alone in his office. It can be isolating at the top.

Bonus lesson. More than anything, the biggest lesson I learned during this experience is never underestimate any job no matter how mundane you think it may be. My initial attitude toward the job was a bit arrogant, but this job made me realize that none of us are that important.

Doing something outside of your discipline can sometimes be rewarding. For me, doing something as simple as brewing a pot of coffee and working as a commander’s aide became a life-changing experience.

4 ways resilient associations have survived and thrived in the pandemic

smiller@landmarkservicesllc.com (Stacey Miller) — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 05:04:37 GMT

By Personify - Associationnnow.com

What have resilient associations done to prioritize members, strengthen their mission and remain successful during the COVID-19 pandemic? Personify spoke with leaders across the industry to learn more.

Like all businesses and organizations, associations have been hit hard by the devastating physical, mental and financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic. From the biggest associations to the smallest, the lockdown put team members into last-minute scrambles to salvage conferences, to communicate constantly-changing best practices to members—in short, to find fast fixes to keep their organizations alive.

During this unprecedented time, Personify, the leading technology provider for associations, spoke to numerous associations in the industry to better understand what strategies and tactics allowed agile associations to not only survive this dark period in history but to thrive in it. Here are some of the common traits of resilient associations.

EMPATHY FOR MEMBERS

Successful associations don’t simply see their members as sources of revenue, they see them as people. Genuine concern and empathy exhibited by associations fosters gratitude from its members, which according to the Harvard Business Review, is the most powerful way to create long-lasting loyalty.

Case in point: The American Health Information Management Association built a plan to support new members as soon as the pandemic hit. Vicky Betzig, Director of Meetings at AHIMA explained: “We’ve had a lot of people in our profession who experienced salary reductions or lost their jobs entirely. So at the association, there’s been a lot of advocacy around helping them find resources for employment.”

Betzig explained that the AHIMA offered “hardship discounts” for new membership and renewals, and also assisted out-of-work members in how to transfer their skills to other means of employment, like contact tracing.

The American Optometric Association took a similar approach. “When COVID-19 started sweeping across the United States, we knew instantly that the doctors we advocate for would take a hard impact,” explains Adam Reider, Manager of Technical Training & Support. “Overnight, they went from seeing their patients regularly to ‘emergency-only’ scenarios.” The AOA sprung into action with instructional webinars for their members and non-members alike, to help them navigate everything from telemedicine to PPP Loan applications. “We did not feel it was appropriate for us to throw up a giant firewall,” says Reider of this content. “We want to be able to look back after this crisis is over and know that we truly stood for this profession.”

RENEWED FOCUS ON THE MISSION

“During challenging times, it is not uncommon to go back to those foundational elements that serve as the core pillars of value for your members,” said Teresa Zimmerman, Vice President of Marketing at Personify. “Members look to their associations to connect them to a network of people and opportunities that help them advance their discipline, move forward their industries, expand their reach, support their community and create lasting impact.”

Organizations like the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development found that the pandemic re-energized and re-focused their sense of purpose. Citing the disparity that members reported in the quality of remote learning based on the socio-economic conditions of districts, CIO of ASCD, Fara Francis described a newfound urgency within the organization to help.

“We are tirelessly working to build communities that can connect, advocate and share resources with one another to make sure that no students are abandoned during this time.”

DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING

“Very few had a playbook ready to go for managing through a pandemic,” said Zimmerman. “We worked closely with our clients to help them better understand what their members needed so they could align experiences and connections through their technology stack and be successful and relevant to their members in this new digital-first world.”

“A mistake I’ve seen many times is an association will develop products and services and experiences in a vacuum, and then try to convince people why they need to buy it,” says Dennis Sadler, Deputy Executive Director for Operations for the National Association of Secondary Principals.

Angel Baltimore, Vice President, Digital Strategy and E-Commerce at American Pharmacists Association, agrees. Rather than guessing what their members needed in the initial days of the pandemic, she analyzed data collected by their AMS, Personify360.

“We’re able to segment and look at the analytics on session attendees to see things like who are members, who are nonmembers, who are repeat customers.” This, Baltimore says, allowed the APhA to focus their energies on the products and services their members wanted most, and which high-value users they should be targeting with their marketing.

A FOCUS ON INNOVATION

The idea of going from in-person to virtual conferences seems commonplace now, but just a few months ago, it came with big unknowns. Namely, how do you execute a virtual conference and will anyone attend?

For the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s annual meeting, Scott Baum, NAHC’s Senior Director of Meetings, the key to pulling off a dynamic experience that was more than a very long Zoom meeting was technology. “Utilizing Personify’s A2Z Events solution, we added a matchmaking suite that collects demographic information on our attendees and exhibitors,” he explained. “So instead of exhibitors fishing through the 500 attendees, they’re able to narrow it down to the 25 they really want to connect with.” Unlike in-person conferences, this cut down considerably on wasted time (not to mention aching feet.)

“My advice during these unprecedented times is to ‘embrace it’. Very rarely do you have an opportunity to rewrite the playbook for your organization,” said Zimmerman. “This is a career catalyst moment for those that take it and drive their organizations forward with technology transformations that strengthen their relationships with their members in our rapidly changing and always connected world.”