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Top-notch telephone screening and etiquette skills are paramount regardless of industry, company size, or geographic location. Their importance hasn’t diminished in our modern world of text messages, e-mails, and online chats. What exactly am I talking about? Necessary telephone skills for assistants include how to answer the phone, take accurate messages, carefully screen calls, protect corporate and personal information, seamlessly transfer callers, use a polite and proper tone of voice, and k
Brookings' Meet the Low Wage Workforce reports that 53 million Americans, or about 44% of all workers aged 18-64, have low-wage jobs. According to Brookings, the national average for a low-wage job is one that pays $16.03 per hour or less. The low-wage level is adjusted using city-level cost of living data. For example, a job paying $20.02 in high-cost San Jose, California is considered low wage while one paying $13 in low-cost areas of the country isn't.
We all know how hard it is keeping on top of the never-ending to-do list every Assistant and their Executive seem to have. The work can be relentless but don’t fear; there are lots of fantastic apps available that can help you manage your to-do list. Tracking your tasks doesn’t need to be a complicated […].
As we head into the dreary winter months, I am reminded of the seasonality of business. In most organizations, there is a natural ebb and flow that occurs. Things get predictably busy at certain times of the year, just as things get predictably slow at other times. For my business, the month of December is always blessedly slow—and I like to take advantage.
Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.
Business today is image driven. Photos are key in social media posts, blog posts and for product sales. Smart phones have made taking these needed photos easy, however often the size of these photos is well beyond what is needed. Using images with a large file size can slow down your website dramatically. Sites like Etsy for selling product often have size limits.
Business owners are always looking for new ways to go green and reduce their carbon footprint. Adding solar panels to your facility — provided you work in an area that gets plenty of usable sunlight — can help to offset energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions. If you’re considering adding solar to your business, here are a few quick tips to make the process a little easier.
Successful businesses around the world spend enormous amounts of time and money developing a brand that sets them apart and tells their story. Their marketing departments consider every little detail, from logos to font style, from signature colors to tone of communication. Employees forget that developing a personal brand is just as vital for them and requires just as much thought and consideration.
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Successful businesses around the world spend enormous amounts of time and money developing a brand that sets them apart and tells their story. Their marketing departments consider every little detail, from logos to font style, from signature colors to tone of communication. Employees forget that developing a personal brand is just as vital for them and requires just as much thought and consideration.
Business Insider's California is attempting a massive labor experiment that could grow into a disaster for millions of workers outlines some of the many problems with California's new AB5 worker classification law. It's written by a self-employed multimedia journalist based in Los Angeles. He describes a key issue as: "I have an independent business, I don't get paid vacations, and I have to cover my own health insurance.
How do you feel when someone gives you feedback at work? Are you open to feedback, or do you feel defensive? What happens when you have challenges at work? Do you face them head-on, or do you avoid the situation? As Assistants, we often come up against misconceptions about the role. How do you feel […].
The post 7 Tips to Help Overcome Procrastination appeared first on Ian's Messy Desk. I was planning to write this post last week, but I put it off. Okay, now that the obligatory bad joke is out of the way, we can look at another internal time waster, procrastination. We all put things off. We hope to avoid tasks that are boring, difficult, unpleasant, etc.
There’s nothing worse than biting into a stale carrot. You know what I mean, I’m sure you’ve grabbed a carrot stick off from a vegetable platter expecting that crisp snap as you bit into it but instead got a rubbery, orange something. Now the carrot doesn’t necessarily taste bad, but just the consistency is enough to turn you off from the veggie platter altogether, isn’t it?
Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions
Join this brand new webinar with Tim Buteyn to learn how you can master the art of remote onboarding! By the end of this session, you'll understand how to: Craft a Tailored Onboarding Checklist 📝 Develop a comprehensive, customized checklist that ensures every new hire has a smooth transition into your company, no matter where they are in the world.
Photo by Marcel Hol from FreeImages. The following post is a guest contribution from Stewart Dunlop. I haven’t taken guest posts in a while but the topic of burnout has come up a lot lately and when Stewart asked if he could write something about for my blog, I jumped at the chance. Stewart is a content guy at Foundr with a passion for writing articles that you will want to read.
A meeting planner by MY definition is the go-to person within an organization – be it corporate, association or otherwise – charged with the responsibility of planning and executing a meeting or special event. Not all people who plan meetings are “meeting planners,” nor do all meeting planners start out their careers as meeting planners. I for one started out on a clerical/administrative career path with absolutely no knowledge at the time that a career in meeting planning even existed (and at t
According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) , renewable energy sources will pass coal in terms of U.S. electricity generation in 2021. As their chart below shows, each of the sources will produce around 800 billion kilowatts of electricity in 2021. Included in the IEEFA's definition of renewables are utility-scale biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind, plus small-scale solar. The fastest-growing of these sources by far are wind and s
Assistants have buckets full of empathy; you wouldn’t be in the job if you didn’t. What I find is that empathy can often be taken advantage of by people who don’t respect what we do – be it, that colleague who wants your time or that Executive who doesn’t understand your role. Empathy can quickly […].
Unlock your full potential with our comprehensive guide on productivity. This detailed resource explores the three fundamental pillars of effective task management: Todo List Mastery, Time Management, and Habit Optimization. Learn to capture and prioritize your tasks effectively, schedule them using proven strategies like the Pomodoro Technique, and maintain your productivity through consistent habit tracking.
The post Learn to Say “No” appeared first on Ian's Messy Desk. There was a time when I would say yes to everything. Not because I thought I had the ability to do it all, but because I felt I looked lazy if I wasn’t doing something all the time. I had to learn to say no. There was also an issue of how to handle things … Continue reading Learn to Say “No” → You just finished reading Learn to Say "No" !
It’s time for another coffee break. Here’s your wordsearch for November. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience. Select Level: {{ currentLevel.width }}x{{ currentLevel.height }} {{ level.width }}x{{ level.height }} {{cell.letter}} {{word}} × Congratulations! You solved the November Wordsearch.
by Listen or subscribe here: iTunes ? Stitcher ?. Soundcloud ? YouTube ? Google Play ? iHeartRadio You can leave a review here! This is podcast 132 and it’s about decision controls. This episode is sponsored by Clean Email, the answer to email inbox overload. I’ve written about ways to clear out that clutter, but you can save time by using the Clean Email app.
I have been fortunate to gain a three-dimensional view of communication between executives and assistants: I was an assistant for 20 years thus understanding what I needed from my executive so I could be effective. I worked with a variety of managers and executives, each with different personalities and communication styles. Since 1990, I have been the CEO of my own company and have worked with several of my own assistants.
Sharing your authentic self in a virtual interview can be an unwanted challenge. How do you break through the digital barrier when conducting a virtual interview and share your exceptional self? Think in unconventional ways to elevate the virtual interviewing experience.
Scientific American's describes their Top 10 Emerging Technologies Of 2019 as "World-changing technologies that are poised to rattle the status quo." Key article quote on the technologies: One day soon an emerging technology highlighted in this report will allow you to virtually teleport to a distant site and actually feel the handshakes and hugs of fellow cyber travelers.
How often do you organise a video conference for your Executive or team on Skype? If you are using Microsoft Office, it is probably quite often. Well, today, I thought I would share with you the top five alternative video conferencing platforms that are available online. If you don’t have internal video conferencing software or […].
The post 8 Common Time Wasters appeared first on Ian's Messy Desk. Over the years, I’ve posted some thoughts on behaviours and practices that can get in the way of our productivity. To help bring some of these forwarded, this post will link to past articles, as well as adding some new material on common time-wasters. I’ve broken these time-wasters into two groups.
Join us for this month’s free webinar on the topic of “Powerful Prioritization Principles.”. Date: Wednesday, November 20. Time: 11:00 AM Pacific | 12:00 PM Mountain | 1:00 PM Central | 2:00 PM Eastern. Duration: 1 hour. Description: In today’s busy workplace, there’s always too much to do and not enough time. Deciding what must be done first (and what can strategically be delayed) is a difficult, often complex problem that each individual must solve.
New vaccine mandates and testing policies will affect employers with more than 100 workers. Get Paycor’s free, customizable vaccination policy template to communicate critical details and new requirements to your employees. Get Paycor’s Template today!
by Listen or subscribe here: iTunes ? Stitcher ?. Soundcloud ? YouTube ? Google Play ? iHeartRadio. You can leave a review here! This is podcast 131: how to avoid multitasking. By now you’ve heard, if not from me, then from many others, that multitasking is a bad idea. That’s true. It’s not effective. It makes your work take longer, you’ll make more mistakes and it increases your chances of not finishing the main thing you need to do because you’ve gone down so many rabbit holes.
When polishing your sentences, pay attention to the nuances of word order. To my eye (and ear), placing “short” before “long” works best. This applies to both sentences and lists. Here’s a simple example: “He was well respected and loved in the academic community.” I changed it to: “He was loved and well respected in the academic community.”. Because “loved” is 5 letters and “well respected” is 13, it makes for a smoother read if the longer phrase follows the shorter word.
The JP Morgan Chase Institute recently released a new study, Bridging the Gap: How Families Use the Online Platform Economy to Manage their Cash Flow. The key finding of the study is "participation in the Online Platform Economy functions as a cash-flow management tool for many families." In particular, JP Morgan found many use online platform work to supplement their income when they lost a job.
“If you do not understand the benefits of difference, you will always align yourself to your similarities, and in doing so, you will miss out on the beauty that variety brings to the table.” This is a quote I came up with while deepening my knowledge in this interesting subject of diversity and inclusion. This […].
Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.
Now that we have an idea about Buddhist concepts like impermanence or karma, let’s see what meditation is. Somehow predictably, meditation, as a concept, has been very much twisted, transformed and modified in the Western part of the world. I… The post Meditation Is Like Debugging Spaghetti Code appeared first on Dragos Roua.
How ambitious are you when it comes to your business? Are you comfortable with the way things are? Do the numbers seem to be adding up in your favor, and you want to cruise at your current level? Or, are you looking to improve and move up in the world continuously? Even if you’re going to remain remotely competitive, you must always understand your next step.
Innovation happens in many places and has many faces. Enterprises are required to nurture internal processes that work in sync like ecosystems to encourage front line intelligence to feed ideas through to management so that services, products, processes and teamwork ensues collaboratively to deliver benefits to the Value Chain. This requires effective team work and a supporting methodology that aims to treat your team more like an agile soccer team if you think about it so that anyone can effect
At our recent Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence , I surveyed 350 attendees about the topics they would like me to address at future conferences or training events. I wanted to know the areas the assistants were interested in growing and learning about. We had each attendee write their idea or ideas on an index card; we collected the cards; and I read every single card, some of which had more than one topic listed.
Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions
💢 Do you find yourself stuck in never-ending review cycles? Are you wondering if your Subject Matter Expert actually got that last review request? Are you having trouble trying to decipher impractical or conflicting feedback? 💢 If any of these scenarios sounds familiar, you may benefit from a crash course on managing SME relationships!
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