Some websites have an orange icon with waves coming from a dot in the bottom-left corner. This icon is for an RSS feed. RSS feeds are great for users who want to add the website’s content to an RSS reader—but what does this even mean? Let’s find out.
Whether or not you believe acronyms are an acceptable form of speech, some people might use them habitually or instinctively even for business communications. Of course, they don’t have much place in this context, but habits are hard to break. To address this issue, one innovative thinker has created a tool that can help determine if the acronym “LOL” is sincere or not.
In a market already saturated with on-demand streaming services, Quibi offered something at least a little different in its short-form episodic storytelling and big-name casting. It also had quite the financial backing to support it—$1.75 billion in funding. Pair that with a monthly price tag of $5, and on paper, it would seem to be a surefire hit.
Farms often cover miles and miles of real estate. Traditionally, this makes it more difficult to keep track of everything that is going on around the property. Drones can make monitoring the status of the farm much simpler. With specialized sensors that collect important data, farmers are able to successfully manage irrigation levels, fertilization, and crop spacing, leading to higher agriculture output. Using drones, farmers can also manage livestock much simpler.
Many parents have historically used a gamification strategy to convince their young’uns to cooperate better with notoriously less-fun parts of daily life. Take clean-up time, for instance, which many parents will turn into a race between themselves and their children to see who can pick up quicker. Taking an unappealing task and adding game-like elements to motivate people to do it is the concept that forms the foundation of gamification.
This isn’t a new idea, either. Mark Twain knew what he was talking about when he wrote about Tom Sawyer tricking his friends into white-washing a fence for him. By making the activity seem elite and enjoyable, he hoaxed and hoodwinked his friends into completing his chore for him while they all enjoyed proving themselves capable. As was written at the end of that particular chapter:
“If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do ... There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service, that would turn it into work and then they would resign.”
If the psychology behind this sounds silly to you, consider the concept of “employee of the month.”
Human psychology is a big part of why gamification has been shown to be so impactful in motivating employees. As a species, human beings tend to be strongly motivated by certain desires, namely:
While many tasks originally lack the potential for most, if not all, of these desires to be filled, gamification can inject this capability by fulfilling all three of these desires. If an employee were to have the satisfaction of knowing that they performed most admirably, gaining some perks and being looked upon with favor from the higher-ups, it only makes sense that they would continue to strive to that position from that point on. Furthermore, it also helps to motivate your other employees to strive harder, so they may have a chance of receiving the same benefits as well.
Don’t believe me? Just look at Google, where gamification has helped chop down travel expenses by allowing the person with the most budget left over after a business trip to keep the difference.
If you’re now considering a more gamified approach to business-as-usual, you have a great variety of options available to you. Different use cases and different industry types each have their own options to do so, all with the potential to be a great investment.
You can also elect how much you want to put into gamification. Sure, there are solutions out there specifically to gamify common business processes, but you could also come up with your own homespun methods. Maybe an employee who visibly went above and beyond one day would receive an entry into an end-of-year drawing for a desirable prize. You really are only limited by your creativity - or how long you’re willing to spend searching online for ideas.
Just as though you’re the parent trying to convince your employees to pick up their playthings, the key to effective gamification is to turn a rote task into an engaging activity.
Have you ever tried out any gamification methods in your office? Which ones did you find most effective? Share what you did in the comments!
Burn out?
Oh, no! That certainly wouldn’t be a good thing… but how can you prevent such a thing from happening in the workplace, when you really can’t tell if workplace stress has worn them down, or if it was a more personal issue? You can’t keep things from influencing their personal lives, after all.
Maybe they just need to get more sleep, or something.
Besides, what if you just happen to work in an industry that creates more stress upon its workers by nature of the work? It isn’t as though you can help that, either.
Sure, that’s fair.
You can’t be expected to be in control of your employees’ personal lives… but you should be in control of their professional environment.
While general stress can contribute to burnout, certain job factors and features can create “special” kinds of stress that contribute specifically to burnout tendencies. Let’s consider these factors briefly.
Look, I’m not saying that a business should be a stress-free area. That just isn’t realistic.
However, businesses typically experience busy, stressful times and once those times are over, there is usually a period of time that employees get the chance to recover. Bookending stress with these low-stress times (and adequately compensating your team for their stress) can make employees feel better - but keeping them in a constant pressure-cooker certainly won’t.
How frustrating would a puzzle be without a picture on the box to reference?
Each and every time an employee is given an unclear task, they feel that same frustration. They’re just trying to do their job, but they can’t if it is unclear what that job is. It only gets worse if the tasks that they are assigned literally (yes, in the literal sense) can’t be done.
The more stress and frustration that builds up with tasks like these, the more likely burnout becomes.
Some workplaces have higher stakes than others. For instance, you have those who work for child services, whose work frequently takes them into risky and heartbreaking situations.
People in positions like that have a much more stressful job than, say, a fortune cookie writer or the greeter at a superstore. It probably wouldn’t surprise you to hear that high-stakes workplaces frequently see higher rates of burnout.
How would you feel if your considerable efforts were, day-in and day-out, overlooked? If you went above and beyond in everything you did, and not one word was said to you?
Chances are, you’d probably feel unappreciated, demoralized, and unmotivated. Workplaces like this can have a severe morale problem.
Welcome to burnout.
Without proper communication, any of the other problems your business is experiencing will only get much, much worse. Unclear and incomplete statements will make issues more complicated, especially if you are trying to deal with an employee’s issue.
As a result, demoralization and burnout become very real risks.
Finally, if a strong, fair, and supportive leader isn’t present in the business, employees could be accelerated on their way to burnout by the lack of guidance the missing leader should be providing. Employees may feel like they aren’t getting something out of their employment - be it recognition, support, or job security - and swiftly lose the drive to perform well.
Clearly, there is no shortage of ways for an employee to reach the point of burnout… but how can you tell when one really has?
There are quite a few signs that can indicate if an employee is truly burning out, or if one is simply having an “off” day. I’m pretty confident that we’ve all felt and exhibited some of these signs - maybe even all of them - at one point at least.
How many of these symptoms have you seen among your employees?
Again, we’ve all had an “off” day, where these kinds of things are almost to be expected. It’s just a part of life.
It is when these symptoms have become chronic, stretching out beyond hours or days to weeks, that your employees may be suffering from burnout. Thanks to these symptoms, burned-out employees may appear depressed, and are actually at a higher risk of developing depression later on.
So, why should you care?
Well, basic human decency aside, burnout can have some significant impacts upon your business itself. For instance, sick leave is much more commonly taken among employees who are burned-out, and they are also far more motivated to find another job.
If they are successful in the latter, you will need to spend the significant costs associated with hiring a new employee to replace them.
You also need to consider the “typical” state of your employees. They might actually be some of your top performers, simply struggling through a hard time. What impact on their productivity will your business be able to just absorb?
A burned-out employee in the wrong position can exacerbate the problem, too, as a burned-out manager can easily create a burned-out team… killing productivity and morale on a wider scale.
You also need to consider the optics that burnout can produce - what business or potential employee would want anything to do with a business that has what is really a very visible issue?
(I certainly wouldn’t.)
Bringing basic human decency back into consideration, this condition can actually do a number on a human being. Not only can the influence of burnout impact an employee’s personal life and relationships, it makes them slightly more likely to visit the emergency room.
Keeping these warning signs in mind can help you to better spot when one of your employees is clearly going through a rough patch. While you may not see it as your job as their boss, it is your job as a fellow human being to offer them some support.
The easiest way to start this process? An honest conversation.
Have an informal sit-down with this employee and just talk to them about it. Express your sincere worry for them as a person and offer your support with whatever they have been going through.
This support itself could help greatly, and if it is another personal issue, some personal time may be all it takes to help.
Even the most competent employee you have could potentially bite off more than they could chew. Whether they overstuff their schedules, offer to help with anything they can, or both… before long, this employee is going to fall behind schedule.
You should go through that schedule with them, organizing it and trimming some of the fat to make sure it is humanly possible to accomplish, redistributing some tasks if need be, if not pausing them.
If your business has any collaboration tools, they can certainly come in handy here.
Teamwork makes the dream work, as some say, so if you can leverage your collaboration platform to help the task-redistribution process, it just makes sense to. You can make use of your platform as you manage your team, assigning them certain responsibilities and sharing the weight of their tasks between multiple resources, not just the one.
Email is a great collaboration tool, but many employees can find the amount of emails they receive overwhelming, which (among other things) makes them less productive. You can help them out by introducing them to the different tools that email solutions can offer, like filters and rules to help organize incoming messages, and snoozing, to give them some uninterrupted time.
If you had an employee that was particularly good at Task A, it only makes sense that you would want them covering Task A as much as possible, right?
However, designating that employee to Task A will likely make that employee pretty sick of Task A before long… and all the employees who always get Task B, or Task C will likely feel a similar way. Try rotating the responsibilities of your team on occasion, taking their preferences and goals into consideration.
As we’ve alluded to here, there are many warning signs of impending burnout issues, and we’ve barely scratched the surface here. Doing everything you can to keep burnout from happening at all is a reasonable strategy.
Fix your company culture to focus on self-care. Try bringing in external experts to keep your employees happy and healthy, whether that’s a yoga instructor or accounting services. Remember that your employees have lives outside the workplace to live, and encourage them to enjoy them.
These, and/or many, many other behaviors will help keep your employees engaged, motivated, and happy.
One great way to keep burnout from taking hold is to allow your employees to work how (and when and where) they work best. Remote working solutions can allow you to give your employees the freedom to shape their work habits around their lives.
While this may sound like a way to let employees slack off on work time, many employers have found the effects to productivity more than worth it… and employees have certainly shown their appreciation for the flexibility.
At the end of the day, your employees are going to feel a certain way - you can only try and help them feel more positively about their workplace by giving them better technology, more initiative, and an ear to turn to when needed.
We can help where the technology is concerned.
For solutions to help your employees be more productive, more communicative, and more successful, reach out to Coleman Technologies at (604) 513-9428.
Brand can boil down to something as simple as user preference, but ultimately, all computer manufacturers--namely Dell, Asus, Lenovo, HP, Acer, and friends--have access to the same basic components and parts. It doesn’t start to get complicated until you reach the higher end of the spectrum, like with gaming rigs and video production.
Brand does, however, make a big difference in regard to laptops and all-in-one-devices. For example, HP and Microsoft have high-end graphic design all-in-one desktop computers. Microsoft, HP, and Lenovo have laptop options with the option for pen input from artists. Beyond this, we start talking about specialized hardware and devices meant to be used for certain tasks. In addition to reading a lot of reviews from big box stores, we recommend working with Coleman Technologies to help your business find the best specialized hardware.
This has to do with the size of the desktop case. Full-size desktops are easier to upgrade and maintain, and they often cost less. Compact desktops are slim desktops, but they might have a limited capacity to upgrade. Smaller designs are easier to deploy for office workstations, whereas gaming PCs and video production machines require more space for hardware and cooling.
There are many sites out there that are invaluable for finding information on specific models of desktops and computer hardware. The Internet is full of reviews, but the most valuable might be some on the websites of stores you visit regularly. High-end systems will have more specific information mentioned in their reviews simply due to the fact that there are bigger nerds picking up these devices. You will want to pay attention to make sure you’re not spending more than you need to on desktop or laptop hardware.
Pre-configured desktops from certain brands can come with pre-installed software. It’s not always bad--a free trial of Microsoft Office might be just what you need--but often times, the pre-installed software can slow down your device. You’ll want to remove some of this software so you can continue to use your centralized antivirus and licenses for Office.
When you migrate your data to a new computer, you’ll need to take great care in wiping your old drives thoroughly. You should leave this task to the professionals, unless you plan on physically destroying the drives. Depending on your industry’s standard procedures and compliances, you may need to make sure it gets done professionally.
You also have several options for recycling your PC, but we always encourage users to not just throw their computer in the trash. Computers have many harmful elements in them that simply can’t be disposed of in the traditional sense. We also recommend against donating a PC that your business used previously without having it professionally wiped first. While it’s a nice gesture to donate something you don’t need anymore, it could put your business at risk.
If you want to purchase desktops, it’s best to do so with the help of trained IT professionals who know how to configure, optimize, and license your devices to help your staff work as best they can. We can also help on the infrastructure and network side of things to make sure your office can accommodate growth. We also offer 24/7 monitoring and maintenance to keep your computers working properly. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.
Your company’s culture is its identity - the impression that your company leaves when someone makes contact. As such, there are assorted reasons that it pays to create an engaging and inclusive company culture.
Let me ask you this: would you rather work someplace that had a reputation of nurturing incoming talent and ensuring that this talent had the resources and access that they needed to succeed in their position, or someplace notorious for leaving new employees to fend for themselves, providing minimal direction when direction is necessary to successfully complete a task? My money is on the first option.
One of the biggest benefits to creating a positive culture in the workplace is that more people will want to make it their place of work. This gives you a wider pool of talent from which to select the best candidates, creating a stronger business.
Of course, attracting this talent is one thing, having it stick around is quite another.
As long as your company culture matches its reputation, the individuals who accept your offer of employment are less likely to leave, barring any personal circumstances that force them to. This is important, as the sudden loss of an employee can have assorted impacts on your business. These impacts can include dropped processes, missed opportunities, and the costs associated with finding, hiring, and onboarding someone to replace the lost employee.
Of course, you don’t have to worry so much about these impacts if your employees aren’t motivated to leave. This is where having a positive company culture is so valuable - you can better avoid the significant costs of losing an employee, continuing to benefit from their skills in the workplace. Research conducted by Gallup indicated that only 37 percent of employees engaged with their work were actively seeking new employment opportunities, compared to a staggering (albeit understandable) 73 percent of those who had disengaged from their work.
Columbia University conducted research as well, and their results followed in the same vein. According to their results, organizations with strong company cultures saw turnover rates of 13.9 percent. 13.9 percent, compared to the 48.4 percent turnover rates at companies with poor company culture.
A happy employee is a productive employee, which translates to direct benefits for your business if your employees remain satisfied. The right company culture can motivate your employees significantly. The same Gallup research referenced above demonstrated that engaged employees saw productivity boosts of 21 percent. Another study, by IBM-owned Kenexa, suggested that organizations with an engaged workforce were able to bring in twice the income as an organization without these levels of engagement.
There are many reasons that an employee can experience some level of burnout, whether their schedules are overpacked or their hours are simply too long to be sustainable. However, a negative company culture is often overlooked as the root cause of an employee becoming disengaged with their work.
While employee burnout may seem like more of the employee’s problem at first consideration, there are some very real consequences that a business will need to deal with. For instance, employee burnout has been linked to an estimated 49 percent increase in workplace accidents, and a 60 percent increase in errors.
Stressed out employees are a liability to your company, but helping them to reduce that stress with a better company culture can turn these liabilities into true assets.
Speaking of assets, your employees aren’t going to be very good ones if they are never in the office. A Harvard Business Review study reported an increase in employee absenteeism of 37 percent among disengaged employees. Naturally, if your employees aren’t completing their responsibilities due to this absenteeism, it is going to have an impact on both your business’ success and internal morale.
However, a more positive company culture encourages your employees to report to work, and as discussed above, leads to improved productivity while they’re there.
Based on the outcomes discussed above, it is pretty clear that the better your company culture is, the more effectively your business will be able to operate. So, how can you improve yours?
One way is to give your team the tools they need to complete their tasks more easily than they could with outdated and insufficient IT solutions - and the efficiency boost that new IT solutions will bring can free up some time to develop your company culture even more. Coleman Technologies can help to make sure that you are using the tools that are best suited for your company’s (and by extension, your employees’) needs. Give us a call at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.
Coleman Technologies has been serving the British Columbia area since 1999, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses. Our experience has allowed us to build and develop the infrastructure needed to keep our prices affordable and our clients up and running.
20178 96 Avenue, C400
Langley, British Columbia V1M 0B2
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