Jan17

Around The World: Creating And Supporting Global Teams

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Around The World: Creating And Supporting Global Teams

With all the silly apps, Time-wasting games, and fake news, technology still has a lot of good to bring to the world. For one, it has improved communication and helped bring together people from around the world. This brought about the advent of global teams.

Global teams are people who work for a single business but are from all over the world. They give the company the advantage of having a broader talent pool, more innovative and unique insights and ideas, and a wider access to the global network. All of which make a direct contribution to the company’s success.

If you’re working with one, you’re lucky. Here’s how you can create and support a thriving global team:

1. Set regular meetings.
Chances are, your global team is working asynchronously. That means team members are working across different time zones. In this case, constant communication is a must in order for your team to run like the well-oiled machine they are designed to be. Communication is essential to collaborative efforts. So, schedule regular team meetings in order to provide direction and guidance for global team members to make sure everyone is on the same page. Make the meeting easy to add to work or personal calendars and make it very easy to access.

2. Use project management tools.
Online project management tools make it easier to see what everyone is working on at any given time. They enable collaboration and can help you and your team organize work. It also has built-in messaging that helps keep everyone updated and able to send help in the form of feedback, references, notes, or other resources.Once you have given your team clear and concise instructions, let them work and trust that they will be able to deliver.

3. Take advantage of instant messaging.
Urgent messages can slip through the cracks in an email. Especially if you are a team that gets hundreds of them a day. For sensitive information, special announcements, company news, and relevant documents, use email. Otherwise, take advantage of instant messaging for urgent requests and important reminders or instructions.

4. Be mindful.
While having the ability to send instant messages at any given time is delightfully convenient, don’t forget that global teams are made up of humans who need sleep and personal time. Be mindful of time zones and off work hours. Make sure that teammates know they can and are expected to reply only during work hours.

On that subject, it’s also good practice to keep up to date with the latest news in your employer’s/employee’s country. Some people might be going through more than the Omicron surge situation. Major weather disturbances, natural calamities, and unstable politics might add an extra challenge to global teams, so make sure to support them during these events.

What’s your experience with working for global teams? 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

Jan4

Five Workplace Trends To Watch Out For In 2022

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Five Workplace Trends To Watch Out For In 2022

After 2 years of being in the “new normal”, we have gotten a better idea of what the future of work is shaping out to be. There has been a shift in business priorities and a huge change in how work gets done. More focus is given to business continuity plans and building resilience. In 2022, here are 5 trends to expect from the modern workplace.

  1. Greater focus on skills vs roles – The traditional workplace focused on roles which mostly relate to how an individual is placed in the overall organizational structure or hierarchy. The modern workplace will see this shift to a focus on skills. This ties neatly into the business goal of “future-proofing.” Roles give priority to staffing for efficiency, while skills give priority to staffing for resilience.
  2. Work-life balance – work-life balance is not a new concept and has always been the goal of every working individual. However, the pandemic has led us to explore what work-life balance means for us, personally. Each person has a unique concept of what this harmony will look like, but the prevailing concept is the same for everyone: a good balance between accomplishing work responsibilities and personal time. The introduction of schedule flexibility has the modern workplace taking full advantage of work-life harmony more than any era in our history. It gives the workforce the ability to do work but also have the time to take care of personal responsibilities. 
  3. Diversity and inclusion – Due to the necessity and growth of remote working teams, most businesses can now capitalize on having a lot more diversity in their organizations. Businesses can now hire from anywhere, expanding their talent pool. Diversity, for business, means having a wealth of new and unique ideas. Not only will businesses get a more inclusive culture, they can also reap the benefits of having a more innovative, creative, and engaged workforce.
  4. Workplace wellness and mental health – The pandemic has everyone thinking about their health and wellness. In fact, health and wellness have moved higher on everybody’s list of priorities since the start of 2020. Organizations are now fully aware that wellness and mental health have a direct correlation to the productivity and performance of their workforce. This reiterates the fact that: individuals with a sound mind and body outperform others. Now that they see it as essential, employers do not offer health and wellness packages just as a perk but an included employee benefit.
  5. Hybrid work – With localized lockdowns and closed borders, businesses have learned to take the hybrid approach to working. Gone are the days when centralized working was the norm and decentralized or remote working was exclusively reserved for freelancers, contractors, and consultants. More businesses are willing to accommodate a hybrid model with staff working from home on some days and going back to the office on other days.

What trends do you foresee for the modern workplace in 2022? 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

Dec27

The Importance of Mutual Trust in Business

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The Importance of Mutual Trust in Business

With all the changes and disruptions going on in the world, one thing business truth remains unchanged. You cannot build a strong business without mutual trust. Mutual trust means establishing a reliable and respectful relationship between employers, and even your customers and suppliers. 

However, this is easier said than done. Relationships are fragile and trust cannot be grown overnight. It takes time and constant nurturing. Mishaps are bound to happen along the way and both business owners and their employees will have to take steps to rectify and fortify their professional relationship in order for it to thrive and flourish. This process will involve patience, forgiveness, and setting boundaries. 

Your professional relationship starts the moment you sign a contract or agree to terms of service. Here are some tips to strengthen trust and build a solid and strong alliance:

Do Unto Others…

As the saying goes, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In working relationships, this means that you have to give what you expect. If you are a leader who expects stellar performance from your employees, you must be able to lead by example. Let your people know that you are working to improve the business and are working just as hard as they are on building the business. If you are an employee, you must be ready to deliver quality service to both your boss and your customers. If circumstances permit, be willing to go the extra mile for them. Taking these steps will build trust and loyalty.

Reliably Reliable

Nowadays, the gig economy is one of the rising business models. There are always freelancers and part-timers available to take on small projects that your business cannot. Your ace as a small business is reliability. If you are able to give your employees and customers security, they will not take a chance going to another company. In this age where the COVID-19 pandemic makes it hard for business owners to make long-term plans, business owners must work hard to provide stability. Having job security will ensure your employees’ trust. Being able to deliver stellar service will ensure your customers’ trust.

The Honesty Policy

We always say: “honesty is the best policy.” This adage rings true for all relationships. Transparency in all your dealings will enable you to build trust with your employees and customers. Do not overpromise and under-deliver. All efforts must be exerted to make good on your promise. However, in circumstances where you can’t, you have to be honest. Decline projects that you don’t have the resources to complete. Or better yet, offer to work on a part of the project that you can actually complete. 

Trust is a two-way street. You cannot give it if you do not have it. Give trust time to grow and reap the benefits of a strong work relationship. 

Do you have any other tips on how to build mutual trust? 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

Dec20

Working Parents Work From Home Support Tips

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Working Parents Work From Home Support Tips

We’re days away from Christmas and probably winding down for the holidays. During the days leading up to Christmas, a lot of us are tying up loose ends at work or maybe doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. Some may be traveling or making travel arrangements to make it home for the holidays. Overall, it’s a busy week for all adults out there.

Do you know what else can compound the challenges of this mad rush to the holidays? Being a parent. Being a parent working from home is not at all easy. You have to contend with child care, online school arrangements, and internet use schedules. On top of that, you have to set rules for noise-free times. There’s also the challenge of sharing your workspace.

While a lot of us are still doing remote work or hybrid work, employers and colleagues alike should extend their support and understanding to Work From Home parents. Here are three ways to provide support for Work From Home parents:

Communicate.

Encourage Work From Home parents to be transparent about the challenges they are facing. They should not feel that they have to make up an excuse in order to be able to look after a child. Open lines of communication will enable the team to understand the situation and be able to fill the gaps at work. Transparency will enable teams to support each other and work around challenges.

Focus on output and not work hours.

Some companies mandate a traditional 8 to 5 schedule. However, if your company could offer flexible schedules, that would greatly help Work From Home parents. Flexible work schedules would give Work From Home parents the ability to take care of parental duties and still get their work done. One typical scenario is when a Work From Home parent has a child who is doing remote learning classes that normally happen during traditional work hours. A flexible schedule would enable a Work From Home parent to stop working during online classes and resume work after. You can offer this benefit to Work From Home parents under certain conditions like: work deliverables should be completed, and the 8 hours required have been fulfilled.

Create a “parents” group.

Creating a parents group can serve as a resource for Work From Home parents to share experiences, challenges, tips, and parenting hacks. It is where Work From Home parents can go for support and camaraderie. They can use this forum to get tips like where to get baby clothes or learning materials. They can get child care recommendations or even swap toys or old strollers and cribs.

No. This is not about Work From Home parents getting preferential treatment. This is about creating a supportive environment and an inclusive work culture. This trains teams to work around hurdles, work together, and be more agile. What are your Work From Home parenting tips? 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

Dec13

How To Keep Your Employees From Resigning

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How To Keep Your Employees From Resigning

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many employees to rec-consider their employment situation. Many have realized that there are multiple options as to how and where they can get work done. Employees now prioritize their health and safety as well as their family’s. Among the top considerations for employment is having the opportunity for a healthy work-life balance and the option of remote work. This shift in priorities resulted in a record 4 million people quitting their jobs in April this year. An event the U.S. called “The Great Resignation.”

To understand how employers can turn resignation into retention, here are some insights as to why employees resign:

  • Employees have had a taste of working from home during the pandemic. They realize the benefits of having a work system that fits their choice of where to work and/or having the ability to set their own work hours to maximize productivity during their workday.
  • As a result of the health crisis, people pay more attention to self-care. They prioritize looking after their health and will take measures to reduce the risk of exposing their loved ones to the COVID-19 virus.
  • The lockdowns also prompted people to think about how their values align with the company culture. If the employees strongly share the same corporate values, they are more likely to stay.
  • Employees have more time to ponder career development opportunities, compensation, benefits, and recognition given for their work. 

With those in mind, here are some tips to retain your seasoned employees:

1. Encourage a healthy work-life balance.

It is mandated that employers provide a safe working environment for their employees. Stringent measures are taken to ensure that the risk of getting infected by the COVID-19 virus is mitigated by enforcing safety protocols. However, taking care of your employee’s physical health is not enough. The pandemic poses unique challenges that have affected mental health as well. Allow your employees to decompress by offering stress management programs, better health services, and improved health protocols at work.

2. Provide job security.

Paying fair wages should be a standard. Having benefits available, such as paid time off and flexible scheduling, can go a long way to making your employees feel well rewarded for their work. Employers should also look into supporting a workforce education program to provide employees with opportunities to upskill. This move alone improves employee retention by up to 80%, proving that investing in people strengthens the company.

3. Cultivate a good relationship.

As the saying goes: “People don’t leave their jobs, they leave their boss.” Don’t be that boss. Cultivate good relationships with your direct reports. Give credit and recognition where it is due. Celebrate their wins publicly. Keep lines of communication open and let them know they are listened to. Make time for regular check-ins and catch-ups to make sure that your goals are aligned. 

The pandemic has shifted our priorities and made us look more closely at the things that matter more to us. To encourage your seasoned employees to stay, make them feel that they are an integral part of the business. What are your employee retention tips? 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