Business

You need to be cautious in asking your employees to help clean up the workplace. On the one hand, you want them to be responsible for managing their space. On the other hand, you do not want them to feel like you hired them to provide janitorial services. These tips will help you motivate them to clean and make them responsible without making it look like you are punishing them or demeaning their job.

Set a date for general cleaning

When everyone in the office is cleaning, anyone who hates doing it has no choice but to help. It will be awkward if even those who have high positions are doing their share. Besides, you do not have general cleaning all the time. You can have it once every two months or depending on the need. As long as you notify everyone about it and there is nothing significant to finish soon, you can do general cleaning.

Set rules

You need to make it clear to all your employees that you have longstanding practices regarding cleanliness. If they want to be a part of your family, they need to follow these rules. If they are not comfortable with it, they can opt not to work with you. Besides, these are simple rules that they need to follow even without someone telling them. They include cleaning up their dishes in the kitchen after use and observing the provisions for recycling used paper. It might be tricky at first, but all of them will eventually get the hang of it.

Create a game

You can design a game where you pit one department against the other. The team with the cleanest area at the end of the month or which is consistent in following rules will receive a prize. It does not have to be a monetary reward. The point is that you can give something in return for doing a great job. You are also promoting teamwork in the process.

Remind the team leader

There are different groups in the workplace, and each of them has a leader. You can remind this person to tell everyone about their responsibility to clean. It does not have to be a threat, but it can be a friendly reminder to their colleagues.

Get help

You want your employees to feel that they are getting help with cleaning the place. Hire janitorial services to help maintain the office and do the major tasks. You can also ask for a junk removal service since there will likely be piles of trash collected each day. You need help because of the volume of functions necessary to maintain the office. It does not mean though that all employees will rely on the services you hire.

Motivating employees to clean is not easy since they find it degrading. They are also too busy with their jobs to even bother cleaning. However, when they get used to the rules, and you provide constant reminders, it will not be difficult for them.

Image: Unsplash.com

 

Today it is true that if your digital marketing strategy is not up to par, you will likely be losing business to competitors. Digital marketing has become so important because everyone is online these days and to get their attention you must go online and become a part of their digital world.

Companies that understand the importance of placing digital marketing at the center of their marketing efforts also understand that the way to get the most out of digital marketing is to utilize a range of strategies. The top digital marketing strategies today are social media marketing, SEO, email marketing and digital PR. Each has its benefits and collectively they provide a total approach to online marketing. Here are two of the top digital marketing strategies, digital PR and social media marketing, and why they are so effective.

Digital PR

Digital PR agencies cover the range of PR provided by traditional PR companies meaning distribution of company achievements and good news to periodicals. They also stay on top of all relevant news your company needs to know and makes sure that you are made aware of it. However these firms provide much more than these services.

They disseminate information about your company to online outlets and into social media, blogs websites. They infiltrate online communities and start relevant conversations with your target markets and create dialogues that get them interested in your company.

They create media that fits into the feel and tone of existing interactions. By coordinating these efforts and making sure that information delivered is consistent and high quality across all mediums, your company gains traction with potential customers no matter where they make contact with information about you.

Social Media Marketing

Each day more than 3 billion people interact with social media platforms. The biggest include Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter and Snapchat and people come online in droves to them to find out the latest news, and hot happenings. They also use these opportunities to chat with friends and family members and to share updates and even gossip. People spend hours on these platforms and there is ample opportunity for brands to make contact with consumers to market their products.

The strategy for getting this done effectively however is often counterintuitive to brands who want to push their products to waiting audiences aggressively. Instead social media members want to be soft sold. They want to fall in love with the brand or product before being pushed to buy. This can happen in a number of ways and brands should engage a digital PR firm or digital agency in order to take advantage of working versions of these approaches.

Utilizing a Digital PR firms and social media marketing techniques can position a company with large worldwide audiences. These strategies for getting this done effectively are complicated but have been mastered by top digital marketing and PR firms.

 

Shopping for products and services online is the norm now. Let’s face it, who wants to spend time in a crowded retail store shopping for something that might not even be there? More and more sales are being conducted online, making ecommerce a lucrative business in 2019.

Now is the time to get your ecommerce business up-and-running. If you already have one set in place, you should be focusing on your customers and making the ordering process run smoothly. The best way to do this is by investing in an order management system.

No matter how extensive your ecommerce business is, you probably have some sort of system set in place for managing your orders and inventory. Depending on the size of your company, this could just be in the form of a basic excel spreadsheet. But you are doing your business an injustice by not having a proper software to control the entire ordering process.

Here’s how investing in an order management system can work wonders for your ecommerce business.

It cuts down on processing time

With an OMS, all of your company information is in a central location. This allows you to process every order from one easy to use platform. Once a customer places an order, you’ll have instant access to the details; this means that processing the order is not just easy, but also fast. Faster processing time leads to faster shipment and a speedy delivery.

There is less chance of error when processing orders

If your current ordering system is not automated, there is a higher chance of human error. Collecting and inputting data manually can be tedious, and there is always the possibility of making a mistake. An order management software allows for automatic updates and no need for manual input, so errors in processing orders are unlikely.

It improves inventory management

If you’re running a major operation, you probably have multiple sales channels. Worldwide corporations have warehouses all over the globe, so keeping track of inventory is essentially impossible without the proper software in place. No matter if a product is sold, returned, or exchanged for something else, an OMS will update this information in real time.

The customer will have a better experience

An order management system controls everything from browsing the online site to product delivery at the customer’s door. The right software cuts down on order processing time, helps to track packages, and speeds up delivery. When everything runs smoothly, this leads to a happy customer. A happy customer is a returning one, which is essential for the growth of any business.

You can manage your orders from anywhere in the world

One major perk of running an online-based business is that it can be done from anywhere in the world. This is made even easier when you invest in an order management system. You’ll be able to access all of your vital information online at any time, making it easy to work from a beach in Costa Rica or your flat in New York.

 

 

To a passer-by, all construction zones look the same. They are filled with heavy duty machines and teams of people from different trades. They can more or less identify what machines do what job, like an excavator, cement mixer, and a crane. These are machines have become a common staple being replicated as children’s toys and hobby models. However, anyone in construction knows that many machines are mistaken for another and that there are sub-types that have specialised features. A common mistake would be between a crane and a derrick.

Similarities between the two machines

Marking out the differences between the two machines might be difficult because they mainly do the same job: heavy lifting and transporting. When you look at their definitions, it clearly outlines the grey area between the two.

A crane is a machine that makes use of a hoist rope, wire rope, or chain with a sheave (a pulley system) to lift heavy objects. A derrick is a machine that makes use of a least one guyed mast or self-supporting tower and a boom. To lift objects, it adjusts the guy wires.

Both are machines that have a history that spans as far back as ancient times. Their designs have worked by making use of human and animal effort and transitioned to technological advancements such as the steam engine or hydraulics. Their size determines how much weight they can carry. They are both seen in industrialised areas.

Features that are unique to the derrick

The main differences between the two machines come down to movement and set-up. A derrick is typically set in a fixed place. It transports objects from side to side by manipulating the guy wires. There are different kinds of setups that play around with the position of the mast and the boom as well as the number of masts and booms. A quick list of different kinds of derricks would include the guy, shearleg, stiffleg, and gin pole. A derrick is most commonly seen on oil rigs or cargo ships and at ports.

Features that are unique to the crane

Essentially, the crane’s job is to lift; their movement is up and down. There are two categories for cranes: mobile and fixed. These categories account for the other features of the crane. They can transport items via a pick and carry method for mobile types. Even fixed cranes, which have given up their mobility to be able to handle heavier loads, have their way of transporting material by adjusting the length of the boom. Compared to the derrick, the crane is more mobile. You might have seen them cruising down the highway to their next job. Check out crane hire Peterborough companies offer, to have a better understanding of how cranes work.

There is one case where the derrick and crane can work in tandem. It is when a crane, a pulley system, is fitted to a derrick that allows the machine to lift and carry. At a distance, both may look alike with the tall steel frames that stretch out. However, up close you’ll notice the difference immediately, even though a fixed crane and a derrick accomplish the same job through different means.

 

Renting construction machinery has become more popular for various reasons. Some of the main reasons why many construction firms prefer renting machinery include the unpredictable market and increasing cost of purchasing equipment.

Other construction companies prefer this option because it gives them the opportunity to minimise costs and operate their business more smoothly. As you read on, you will learn about the top benefits of renting construction machinery.

Say goodbye to hefty initial purchase costs

Buying new construction machinery can cost a lot of money. That’s why more construction firm owners prefer investing their money in rentals. They can allocate more funds to developing their services and hiring more seasoned workers.

Minimise repair and maintenance costs

If you own construction equipment such as a backhoe and a pay loader, you will surely need to invest money in maintaining them. You have to purchase spare parts so that you can troubleshoot defective equipment fast; otherwise, you might end up delaying the project completion date.

By choosing to rent the equipment, you can worry less about maintenance costs because the rental company can take care of it for you. Most rental companies like Ruttle Plant Hire in Preston include maintenance services in the rental package.

Get more value for your money

The market tends to fluctuate. Hence, it’s crucial for you to choose smarter and more flexible investments. In case you meet problems along the way, at least you won’t have a tough time liquidating your company assets such as the construction machinery.

Don’t worry about depreciating value

The worst part about purchasing new equipment is that its market value diminishes over time. If you invest£30,000 to £40,000in a backhoe this year, it’s value may depreciate after a couple of years.

To compute for the depreciation of your equipment, use the formula (P’ – S)/N. P stands for the purchase price, S stands for the salvage value and N for the economic life.

Unless you don’t mind allocating a significant percentage of your money to purchasing new machinery, you should definitely opt for rental instead.

Minimise your problems with transporting equipment

It’s most likely that you handle a lot of projects at the same time. That’s why you need to have pieces of machinery that you can readily dispatch to the client location. It’s quite impractical to purchase one piece of equipment if you can use the money to rent two units instead. You can avoid major delays if you can minimise logistical costs.

Avoid having storage issues

If you can’t allocate enough space for a piece of equipment or if you don’t have enough budget for long-term storage, it’s better for you to choose plant hire instead. Once you complete using the machine, you can readily return it to the rental company.

Numerous construction firms now prefer renting various types of equipment because it’s more economical as compared to buying a unit. Take note of the different benefits you can get from renting a piece of construction equipment, especially when you’re not sure if you should rent or purchase construction machinery.

 

Business owners need to be smart about how they advertise their company. There are tons of strategies available to ensure that a business remains popular. One of the most popular techniques for advertising today is social media marketing. People are on social media all the time. They spend hours each day scrolling their Facebook or Instagram accounts even if they are not searching for anything in particular. Therefore, you need to focus on social media marketing and hire digital marketing agencies like a Digital Agency in Sheffield.

Increase brand awareness

You don’t expect people to buy what you have to offer right away. However, you can expose them to your brand and remind them about your products and services. At some point, they will respond to you and potentially be a customer. Liking your posts and sharing them will help increase visibility and online presence.

A boost in inbound traffic

Social media posts can reach people around the world. When a post goes viral, millions of people can see it. If you succeed in attracting people to like and share your post, it could reach thousands of people in a few hours. If some of them feel interested, they will click the link that leads to your main website. They can scroll for further information and eventually buy the products you offer.

Improved rankings in search engines

Every company wants to be on the first page of Google when people start seeking information. There is a good possibility that they will open only the first page because it contains the most relevant information. You won’t find people who will go through the following pages until they see what they want. Therefore, focusing on social media and optimising keywords will help ensure that your link will appear first in search engines. It is not easy given the choices available, but social media management helps.

Higher conversion rates

You can sell directly to people if you have a social media account. It increases your chances of selling products and services. Social media speeds up the process. You advertise to people through your site and optimise it using SEO techniques. You hope that people see your website, scroll for information, and buy your products.

Improved loyalty to your brand

If people keep seeing your posts and they know that other people are also patronising what you have to offer, they will also feel inclined to buy what you suggest. They will remain loyal to you because they understand your popularity. They want to stick with brands that other people also patronise. It is not easy to retain loyalty, but you can do it if you work hard on your social media strategies.

With the help of a marketing agency that offers expertise in social media marketing, you can easily do all of these things. You don’t need to think of managing all your social media accounts or responding to people if they have enquiries and other issues.

Image: Unsplash.com

 

If you’re looking for quick ways to make your work desk a little more comfortable and personable, simply continue reading to discover a few innovative ideas.

How to make your work desk comfortable and more personal

1. Place a small framed photo on your desk

You may want to place a small framed photo of your family, pet or favorite vacation destination on your work desk. In order to ensure that your workspace is a personalized space, where you feel at home. As every time you look at your chosen photo, your mood will improve slightly.

2. Purchase an ergonomic keyboard and an ergonomic mouse

In order to decrease your chances of developing a repetitive strain injury, it’s well worth swapping out your traditional keyboard and mouse for an ergonomic keyboard and an ergonomic mouse. Which have been specifically designed to significantly reduce your chances of developing a hand strain or sprain.

3. Invest in purchasing a small lamp for your work desk

As it’s best to work with ample light, if you don’t already have a desk lamp on your work desk, you may want to consider purchasing a small, functional yet decorative lamp for your workspace. This is a particularly great idea if you often work late at night. You can check out, Furniture At Work for a variety of options.

4. Purchase a new, comfortable office chair

As you’re likely to spend countless hours sitting on your office chair, if your current office chair isn’t adjustable or is uncomfortable to sit in for prolonged periods of time, it’s well worth switching out your uncomfortable office chair for an ergonomically designed office chair.

5. Purchase a lumbar support pillow

If you’re not in the mood to splash out on a brand new, fully adjustable work chair, you may be interested in purchasing an inexpensive lumbar support pillow. Which will help provide your lower back with extra support and which should ensure that your spine is properly aligned and supported. Which in turn will make sitting in an office chair for hours on end, a lot more comfortable.

6. Get your hands on an innovative laptop stand

If you find it difficult staring down at your laptop, you may find it more comfortable placing your laptop on a handy laptop stand, so that your laptop will sit at eye level. If you choose this option, you will, however, need to use a wireless keyboard, in order to type comfortably on your laptop.

7. Purchase stationary items and office equipment in bright, bold colors

One way to make your work desk a little more personable is to opt to purchase stationery items and office equipment in bright, bold colors. You may even want to opt for items in one of your favorite colors. As an example, if you love the color silver you shouldn’t have any trouble finding silver ballpoint pens to purchase or a silver photo frame to decorate your desk with.

8. Purchase a stylish pair of wireless headphones

Why not decorate your work desk with a stylish pair of wireless headphones? Which you’ll be able to use when you take calls or listen to voice messages.

If you use the tips listed above to give your work desk a makeover, you should find that your workspace becomes far more comfortable and personable as a result!

 

Coworking collaboration for inspiration and innovation is the new mode of the thought for many professionals today. A workspace design with an original purpose to help young professionals find affordable office space has evolved in the last ten years or more, and globally, there are several thousand spaces that dot the modern business landscape. Some of these space cater to specific industries, some to specific missions, and then there are the niche spaces, and all for the purpose of finding the right people with whom to work.

The collaboration, while not the only goal of working in the coworking space, it is one way to provide a platform for drumming up business for your business. Whether working in one of America’s metropolises or in smaller markets, your coworking space can provide your business with a fit out that is both comfortable but is a professional place to work. For example, Servcorp shared offices have perfect coworking spaces and other office plans that provide the gel that can create collaboration across industries.

Let’s take a closer look at how you can successfully collaborate in a shared office space.

Sit With Your Collaborators

If you have found professionals that you can work with, sit with them while working. The coworking space, for example, has the hot desk as the focus of a lot of social interaction, and while most spaces frown on territorial behaviour, sitting with people you enjoy working with can be the glue that creates your crew. Furthermore, after everyone is comfortable with each other, take a few minutes at the beginning of the day to pitch ideas over the table. Everyone can come to the table, place their suggestion in the hat, and then choose a couple for discussion. While you will not have the opportunity to make many of the suggestions, these pitch minutes give you the chance to converse, and eventually, you will find traction for the next best idea.

Seek Out The Experienced

We all want to be trailblazers. However, sometimes walking in the steps of those who have done it before is a better and easier way to accomplish tasks. When looking for people to team build with, consider your more seasoned coworking mates as a source of information and advice. Additionally, many times, experts in the industry have insight and knowledge about a subject we do not. Finding experts to mentor you as you walk out any ideas with the group is more support for your group.

Take It Outside

While working in the coworking space can be great, consider taking a break from the office by going outside somewhere to hash out any ideas. A change in scenery, for one, breaks up the monotony of your workday, and two, it can be the inspiration for any ideas that are suggested during the meeting. Whether it is hashing it out at happy hour or taking in the sun in the city during lunch hour, spending time outside of the space can be a way to generate new ideas.

Host Events Together

With your group of collaborators, consider throwing an event to launch the idea you have grown in the space. While the coworking space is still an office, it presents businesses with the chance to use conference and meeting rooms for any purpose. In fact, your launch party can be the opportunity to showcase your product or service, which is the type of classic public relations that contributes to brand identity.

Collaborate To Innovate In Your Shared Office

All it takes is a party of two to collaborate. The shared space’s open floor plan and comfortable design make it possible for professionals to meet in this fluid environment to collaborate and to build a number of teams. The shared space’s engaging environment creates the space for your business to be one connection away from your first collaboration.

If you have been looking into digital marketing strategies which your business can use then you will ave no doubt come across the phrase SEO. This stands for search engine optimization and it is a vital tool in the arsenal of any digital marketer. SEO is without question one of the most effective marketing tools out there and it really can help to take your business to the next level. In order to deliver the right kind of campaign you will need to hire a great SEO company, experts in their field who will be able to use this approach to boost your business’ chances of success. When you do decide to invest in a marketing strategy such as SEO, here are the benefits which it will have for your business.

User Friendly

For a keyword or a website to feature highly on the search rankings there is a great many aspects which are taken into consideration by the algorithm, and one of those is high quality content. This means then that after the SEO guys have improved your content and your website, you can offer users a far better and far simpler experience. Consumers do not like slow or complicated websites and the bounce rate on such sites is absolutely abysmal. Give the clients an easy life with SEO practices.

Driving Customers

The greatest benefit of SEO is without question the fact that it drives more and more organic customers to your website. To illustrate this best, let’s assume that you have a gas fitting company in Maine, when customer searches ‘Maine gas fitters’ your name may not appear, and they will never look hard enough to find it. After the SEO guys have done their magic however, you can search for these keywords again, or any variation of them, and your company will be right there on page one. This is how SEO drives organic customers to you, by simply allowing them to find you.

Conversion Rates

The additional benefit of driving these organic customers to your site is that they are already looking for the type of service or product which you offer and so the conversion rate on sales is far higher than someone who simply stumbles across your website.

Building a Brand

Brand power is everything in business and you only have to look at a company like Budweiser to see that. Do Bud have the best beer? Not even in the top ten, but they are world famous and highly popular because they knew exactly what it took to create a brand and their self-appointed ‘King of Beers’ approach has brought them millions of customers around the world. When you use SEO you are greatly increasing your visibility online and you are slowly but surely cementing the name of your business into the minds of the consumer. This is how you go about building a great brand image which will continue to bring sales for the future.

 

Marketing for businesses should always be viewed as an investment rather than a cost and history has shown that a smart and well thought out strategy can bring in far more revenue than is initially laid out. In the modern era this is even more true and through the use of digital marketing techniques companies can greatly boost their sales and their profit margins from a very small investment of capital. One of the best examples of this is the companies that have invested in an SEO strategy, arguably one of the most effective marketing techniques out there. If you aren’t sure about SEO or what it can do for your business, let’s take a look.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization and the dictionary definition of this is as follows:

‘…the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine’

There are many ways in which an SEO Agency will achieve this and the results can have a hugely beneficial impact on the success of your company.

How it Can Drive Sales

To take the sample given above by the dictionary, SEO maximizes the number of visitors to your website through organic search. Organic search is the number one way that consumers are finding businesses to use and this is key to your business finding increased success. To break it down further, let’s say that you have a plumbing company in Dallas, when someone searches for ‘plumbers in Dallas’ you want them to find your company on the first page of the search results to help boost your business. Right now if you search for the same thing, your company may appear on page 10, far away from the customer’s eye. Invest in SEO and these consumers will find you.

Building The Brand

SEO is not considered to be a short term strategy and this is because over the long term it can bring in additional sales and revenue because of the help which it will give you in growing a brand. In today’s world there are more businesses in operation than at any time in history and that means customers find it difficult to give any of them real loyalty. When asked about this many customers say that they stay loyal to the brands which they like, and that is why companies like Budweiser and Coca-Cola are so successful, not because they have the greatest product, but instead the greatest brand. Because of the increased visibility which an SEO campaign will give your company, you can launch your brand through this medium. Sales will continue to come in and profits will continue to rise as long as you are building a trustworthy and wholesome brand, which SEO can help you to do.

If you haven’t invested yet, now is the time to do so.