Mar28

Managing Up: How To Help Your Manager Help You

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Managing Up: How To Help Your Manager Help You

If you want to show the company that you are a team player and an outstanding employee, you have to learn to “manage up’. Now what does the term “managing up” mean? It means to help your manager meet their expectations and needs. It entails making your manager’s life easier. 

Now, you might be thinking: “I’ve already got a pretty heavy workload, why would I want to do that?” In basketball, every assist is crucial and appreciated in order for the whole team to score and win. If your career objective is to move up, you could do so by providing that much needed assistance and proving that you are, in fact, a true team player. Aside from showing the team that you can work well with others, it also shows that:

  • You are intuitive and can anticipate gaps in awareness

The ability to spot and cover/address blind spots is a unique and rare quality that employers always appreciate. While most employees would rather wait and see if management can identify holes and critical issues in the business because “that’s their job,” they would certainly appreciate someone who can tell them where to look.

  • You have foresight

This shows that you are prepared for any changes – a characteristic that comes in handy for disruptions that could upend business processes like, for example, a global pandemic. No business can be complete disaster or risk-proof, but it pays to have someone on the team who, to some extent, has the future of the business in mind.

  • You are reliable

If you bring problems to your manager’s attention (again, instead of waiting for them to catch it), they will know that you’re dependable and will most likely remember you for future projects.

Managing up helps you move forward in your career by providing a win-win situation for you, your boss, and the business. It also keeps you front and center for the biggest projects and gives you visibility over the best ones. Furthermore, it shows management that you have the leadership potential, and that gives you access to most learning and development opportunities down the line.

Managing up is not about sucking up to the boss. It is all about good relationship building – an important foundation of any harmonious environment. So, how do you build a good relationship with your boss? The key is to understand your boss’ goals, advocacies, challenges, and objectives. You do this by getting to know them and showing interest in their work. This might take some proactive work on your part as opportunities to get to know your boss’ human side might not always present themselves in the daily work setting. However, if you make the conscious decision to keep an eye out for relationship-building opportunities, you’ll easily find them. Watch out for: coaching sessions, opportunities to give and get feedback, catch-up calls, social events, team building activities, team lunches, etc.

We all are interested in tips for career development. What other relationship-building opportunities should we look out for? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Mar21

Make Employee Retention A Priority

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Make Employee Retention A Priority

Disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have up-ended most of what we take for granted as ‘normal’ giving birth to the term ‘new-normal’. This general atmosphere of uncertainty has caused us to look inward and focus on our personal health and safety and that of our families. People now give prime importance to family more than work, and want to be there to take care of their loved ones during tough times. In the employment sector, one effect of this new focus is a surge in resignations and a massive depletion in the workforce.

It is an employee’s prerogative to leave their company for whatever reason. Employee’s who wish to retain their stellar staff can always counter with an offer. However, studies suggest that its effects are short term. So, how can you stop the resignation surge and retain your star employees?

There is one answer: create an environment where employees want to stay. It sounds simple, but it is wrought with pain points. It’s hard to create an optimal work environment because the idea is subjective. What an employer sees as optimal, might not be so for an employee. There are many ways to create a better work environment, start by addressing these three concepts:

1. People over profit
Yes, businesses are built to make money. That is the essential idea and that is a given. What is being asked here is for employers to look at their staff as living, breathing individuals with unique capabilities and valuable contributions instead of profit generating machines. Businesses must find the sweet spot between achieving business goals and meeting work-life balance.

2. A mentally healthy environment
Let’s face it, the paranoia that we might be living out the end of days, while an extreme idea, is a huge factor in the surge of resignations. People will opt to be with family if they believe that their personal and family health and safety are at stake. Employers should create a program that assures their staff that health and safety is top priority. For some businesses, this could mean stricter adherence to health protocols or getting creative with their office layout. Businesses could also adopt flexible work arrangements or a hybrid staffing schedule. This could also mean hard stops and very limited overtime work to show respect for their employee’s time. And finally, the business can also create programs for employee health and wellness, such as paid wellness breaks or even something as simple as an employee portal where they can connect and share banter, tips, and stories.

3. Fair compensation
One reason for job burnout is working long hours for low pay. When employees feel that they are not justly compensated for the value they add to the company, they will burnout. A business must make sure that their employees are fairly compensated, otherwise, their top talent will pack up and leave.

These are just some of the ways businesses can improve their employee retention. What are your top employee retention strategies? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Mar15

How A Well Organized To-Do List Helps You Be More Productive

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How A Well Organized To-Do List Helps You Be More Productive

Sure, we know all the rules there are to implementing time management systems and on almost all of them, having a to-do list is one major component. While writing down all your tasks help keep us feel organized, it’s the execution that ensures the list’s efficiency and our productivity. For example, you might write down all the tasks you have to do today that involve building an email campaign. But if you never even visit the list, you’ll never get around to doing it. Or your tasks might be in random order, therefore, actually ineffective in keeping you on track and organized.

So, to create an effective to-do list, here are three simple but essential steps:

1. Create a master list

  • A master list is one giant list that captures everything on your plate. Yes, everything! Don’t leave anything behind. Write down the big things like “do research on workflow automation tools” or “get swatches for wedding dresses.” But also, include the small things like “pick up milk” or “go to the post-office.” Collect everything you used to remind yourself of these tasks: post-its, napkins, scraps of paper, etc. and get all the information on to one master list.

Note: each task you add to your master list should be a simple, single step task. So you would have to break down large scale tasks (e.g. plan wedding), into smaller tasks (e.g. send our RSVPs).

  • Transcribe these tasks into a word document. Why? A digital master list is easier to update than one that is on paper.
  • Mark (or score) them in order of priority. It’s up to you which system to use (A-B-C, 1-2-3, symbols, or words).
  • Sit down with your tracker. You can use:

2. Have a tracking/planning system

  • Sit down with your tracker. You can use:
  1. Tabletop/wall calendar
  2. Smartphone app
  3. Daily planner
  4. etc.
  • Enter all the tasks that require a specific time and date (meetings, appointments, deadlines, birthdays, etc.)
  • Next, find a spot in your tracking system for all the tasks that are recurring (daily, weekly, monthly). Examples are exercise (daily), laundry (weekly), and paying phone bills (monthly).
  • Once all of these tasks are entered, you will see at a glance, how much time you really have to work on all the other things.

3. Put those two together

Once you’re done with the first 2 steps, you should now have a master list of all the things you need to accomplish and a tracking system that tells you when you need to accomplish these tasks. As a bonus, you will also see how much time you have left to do other things.

The initial set-up does take quite some time but will be easy to maintain as you go along. Plus, it will help keep you focused and make time management easier. In one quick check, you can see if you have too many things to do and what you realistically have time for. This system keeps you from biting off more than you can chew. Do you have your own to-do list or prioritization system? Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Mar7

Welcome Your Employees In Style

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Welcome Your Employees In Style

Nobody wants to walk into a new office and have nothing to make them feel welcome to the team on their very first day. In any situation, it’s awkward to stand around and have to figure out where to go and what to do first. It is more so, when you are new to the team. This is why an impressive onboarding experience is a must do for any employer or manager. It will leave a great first impression long after induction has finished.

A great onboarding session starts long before your new teammate sets foot in the office. When you bring them in, you would want them to be as comfortable as possible. It’s hard enough to start a new job, so make the transition as seamless as you can.

For a smooth onboarding experience, here’s a checklist of what should be in your welcome kit:

A welcome message

The team leader or direct line manager should include a personalized note in the welcome kit. It doesn’t have to be Pulitzer Prize winning. A simple message that welcomes them to the team, acknowledging their competencies, and anticipating their contributions will do. For example: “Welcome to the team, Scott. Your experience as a senior project manager is a great addition to this high performing team and we can’t wait to see how your expertise can help us achieve our goals together.

If you want to be extra, a handwritten note from the owner or CEO closes this loop off with fireworks and makes a huge difference in making your new teammate feel welcome.

An employee handbook

This can be a physical book or a digital e-book. Essential contents include: organizational information, compensation and benefits, code of conduct, workplace safety, and policies.

Paperwork 

By this time, your new teammate should have all the paperwork filled out. So they should now receive copies of their contracts, policies, and other relevant paperwork (identification, parking passes, security and access cards, etc.). This shows you are prepared, organized, and looking forward to having them on your team.

The tools

Provide your new teammate with all the tools they need in order to transition to their new job smoothly. First up is the tech. Laptops and accessories such as headphones, monitors, etc. should be given front and foremost. These should be equipped with the tools and systems that the team uses in doing collaborative work. Needless to say, new teammates should be granted roles based access to these systems before they start.

Extra care package

Sweeten the deal by going the extra mile and providing them with a care package. If you have company merch (water bottles, spill-proof mugs, t-shirts, mousepads, pens, etc.) then that should be included in the welcome kit. If not, you can put together one yourself. It can include: healthy snacks, pens and notebooks, and other office supplies which you can pack in a company branded eco-bag.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make it a good one. What’s included in your company welcome kit? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Feb28

Beat That Deadline With These 5 Time Management Tricks

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Beat That Deadline With These 5 Time Management Tricks

The thought of a looming deadline has a unique effect on each of us. Some get to work long before work is due, some procrastinate till the last minute, and some shut down completely. There are different reasons why we do this, too. While some projects are hard, boring, difficult, or have unreasonable deadlines, lack of organization and time management skills top the list of why we don’t manage to turn in work on time. So, without further ado, here are some time management tips to help us beat work deadlines:

1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew
Take a realistic look at the project and the amount of work that you have to put into it. Adjust accordingly. Ask yourself: Do I have to put other tasks on the back burner? Will I need to work through weekends? Will this take too much of my time? If a task is eating up too much of your resources, then ask for a more realistic deadline or an extension.

2. Have visual reminders of work deadlines
Yes, we still use post-its. However, there are other creative ways to keep reminders of looming deadlines. For example, you can set your screensaver to say “project deadline: March 28.” You can also set calendar reminders on your phone or your desktop. Google Calendar has excellent notification features to help you with this. The point of a visual reminder is not to give you anxiety, but to help you manage your time better. If you catch yourself slacking off or getting distracted, these visual cues will remind you to stay on track.

3. Break tasks into smaller pieces
A deadline means that all the work has to be completed by said date. You have the freedom to allocate your time in between. So, feel free to schedule work according to your workflow. For example, you have to create content for a blog post which entails some research, design, and of course, writing work. If the deadline is at the end of business day, Friday, you can create timeblocks for all the tasks involved in getting the work done by Friday. Allocate Monday and Tuesday for research, design on Wednesday, and writing on Thursday. This leaves you with enough time to polish it off by Friday and still have time to work on tasks in between.

4. Learn to delegate
Don’t assume to complete every portion of a project. If time is short, learn to delegate. Maybe you can get some help on research. Maybe you can pass on the design work to others who can do a better job at creating beautiful images. Maybe you can enlist someone else’s help on copy-editing. Look for areas where you can delegate work.

5. Set hard stops (and starts)
Start when you say you will and end when you say you will. The time blocking method teaches you to work within the amount of time you set for yourself to finish the work. Anything beyond that will leave you open to distractions and may lead to unproductivity

What are your tried and tested deadline beating methods? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp