Saturday, May 30, 2020

9 Ways To Help Your Staff Stay Productive (Even When They Are Tired)

9 Ways To Help Your Staff Stay Productive (Even When They Are Tired) Deadlines, big projects, and seasonal rushes can put a strain on the best of companies, as your team puts in extra hours and extra effort to ensure the job is done well. Still, they’re only human and it is understandable if the quality of their work after days and days without a break might not match the level of what they do at their freshest. Fortunately, there are a number of changes you can make around the workplace to help your staff to remain productive when their energy begins to flag. 1. Help your team prioritize their tasks A priority should be to ensure they each know what to do, and when. It can be easy to lose perspective in a stressful period, so meet at the beginning of the day to check that each employee will get their most important or difficult tasks done first â€" while they’re still fresh. You might make a team meeting, or individual scheduling appointments, or a combination of both. 2. Get an app to remind them to take regular breaks Next, look at technical aids â€" and hindrances in the office. It’s very important that your employees take regular breaks if they are to maintain full productivity, but when their heads are in their work they may forget to take time out, or decide to power through. Install an app such as BreakTimer on each computer so that your staff can regulate their own breaks. 3. Invite your staff to leave their phones at the door  As for hindrances, however innocent an employee’s use of their cellphone might be â€" it’s still a distraction. Even having a phone in sight can prove distracting, so consider keeping a voluntary ‘cellphone basket’ at the door where your crew can leave their phones while they focus on the work at hand. 4. Create a Yoga space at the office Much has been made of the wacky workspaces many start-ups enjoy nowadays, but one innovation that will benefit most companies is to create a space for stretching and yoga. Exercises like these are good for the body and posture â€" and they boost the flow of oxygen to the brain, which has got to be a good thing when you’re tired! 5. Make coconut oil and butter available to prepare Bulletproof Coffee   A slightly less virtuous tweak that might grab their attention, though, is to make coconut oil and butter available in the coffee area. Adding these ingredients to coffee is said to give drinkers a cognitive boost, alongside the regular advantages of caffeine. 6. Allow employees to work from the nearest coffee hop It’s a great idea to give your team members the freedom to work an hour or two off premises if appropriate. If they work on laptops, switching up environment to a nearby café can be a great way to refresh their creativity and concentration. 7. Gift your staff water bottles with hydration trackers All that coffee can affect hydration levels â€" which, in any case, need to be carefully maintained to prevent fatigue. Consider investing in water bottles with hydration trackers so your crew don’t neglect their basic needs. 8. Make standing desks available Standing desks have become something of a trend lately, and with good reason. Standing while working can improve your mood and your brain-power, reducing stress and fatigue. Sounds good for a regular day â€" and in busy times its a no-brainer, if you can afford them for your office. 9. Buy peppermint oil bottles for your staff A more affordable hack is to buy peppermint oil bottles for everyones desk. These can be kept open to create a general effect of improved alertness, or splashed on the wrists when push really comes to shove. A healthy and natural way to keep your team bright and engaged, it’s also an improvement for which you’ll be thanked. For more ideas, check out the latest infographic from STL.  Pick the innovations that will work for your business, and also consider sharing this information with your crew â€" because an engaged, self-motivated team will give you the best that they can in periods of extreme busyness.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Writing a Resume - A Basic Guide

Writing a Resume - A Basic GuideWriting a resume is helpful in many ways, one of the most important ones being that it helps you get noticed in the first place. It is your first step to be considered for a job.Writing a resume is not that simple, but the more time you spend on it, the better you will become at it. So it is very important to plan out your resume well before you actually start writing it.It is important to know your skill level and to know what you are really good at. If you have experience that can be used to put your skills to use for a specific position, this is where you can truly showcase your skills.If you already have experience or have worked with someone who has experience, write about your own resume or offer a link to your own resume. The more you write about yourself and about your skills, the better your resume will be.When you write your basic information, include your education, your training, your work history, any awards you may have won, and your skil ls that you feel would be needed for a specific position. All of these should be included as part of your basic information.The next part of your resume is your educational history. Again, if you have a certain degree, it will be listed right on your resume and you can even use it as part of your basic information.If you have any work experience, that is the time to list it, even if it is just an internship. You want to make sure that you also list your employment history, if possible.Lastly, once you have your basic information, make sure to make sure that you have a summary or a closing paragraph that will summarize all of your information. This should give you an idea of how you feel you will be, when you apply for the job.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

5+ Best HR Generalist Interview Questions Answers - Algrim.co

5+ Best HR Generalist Interview Questions Answers - Algrim.co We’ve compiled the absolute best HR generalist interview questions and answers to help you secure your next position in the HR department. An HR Generalist is someone who sits within the Human-Resources department and provides multidisciplinary assistance along with the COO and the HR lead. As an HR Generalist your role is going to be flexible enough to help operationally and tactically in order to help reduce the amount of clerical work the HR lead may have to endure. HR Generalist Interview Questions & Answers Below are the best HR generalist interview questions I could find based on hiring for the human resources department. As with all of the interview questions, its important that you practice these at home with a friend. The more you can feel confident about your answers, the better chance you will have of being hired for that position. Ask your friend to throw in a few trick questions and situational interview questions to throw you off. 1. What is the general process for vetting someone before they come in for an interview? Before having someone come in for a physical interview they should go through a general role vetting process. This would include having a phone interview with the person who is interested in the role and ensuring that they are worth inviting in the environment and having them speak with their future potential colleagues. Related: HR Generalist Job Description: Salary, Duties, Skills 2. How would you set someone up for an interview? An interview should be setup in a general group interview setting, meaning they should have scheduled interviews with at least a few people they are going to work with. This will help our team members as well as the future employee understand what type of work they might do together and how we’ll they’ll be able to do it. 3. What is an offer letter? An offer letter is a letter of potential employment. Inside the letter indicates the request for the company to hire the candidate and the terms of which they will be compensated, when their start date will be and much more. 4. What is an employee benefit? An employee benefit is an additional form of compensation that is provided on behalf of the company. This could be anything from an expense account to a few free Uber rides each month. These benefits are attracting to new or existing employees. 5. Who are some team members you might expect to work with? HR Generalists will work with the CFO, COO, HR lead and many of the other managers within the company to help them with their human resource requests, like for example asking to hire a new employee. Related Hiring Resources HR Generalist Job Description Sample HR Generalist Cover Letter Sample

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Gift Ideas for Your Co-Workers

Gift Ideas for Your Co-Workers Having to be in the company of your co-workers at least five times a day, eight hours a week, it is inevitable for us women to grow close and develop an intimate friendship with some of the people that we work with day in and day out. That said, when a co-worker’s birthday comes around, you want to make it as special and meaningful as possible. What are some nice and unique holiday or birthday gift ideas for a co-worker? First, tailor your gift based on how close you are to your co-worker. For instance, if you are particularly close and you have a knack for creating scrapbooks (alternatively you can pick one up at the store), go the extra mile for your co-worker and make a scrapbook using colours and cut outs that you know he or she would love. Scour your hard drive for photos of memorable events that you, the birthday celebrant and your other colleagues have been present at and stick each one on a separate page with a caption and a note. Be sure to ask people in the office to write a special birthday dedication for your co-worker. This personalized birthday gift is sure to be treasured by your co-worker for years to come. If your co-worker has more of a practical, type-A personality, he or she would probably appreciate a useful gift such as an office plant or a paperweight. While these aren’t exactly unique gifts, you can still make them ‘unique’ for your co-worker in the sense that the style or appearance suits his or her personality. For instance, you can pick up a plant that is attractive and alluring and give your co-worker a card stating that the reason you chose that plant was because just as the plant is nice to be around, so is he or she. As for the paperweight, you can make this gift equally special by attaching a note expressing your heartfelt birthday greeting to your co-worker. Some other practical gift ideas include gift certificates to the spa or discount cards at your favourite place to have lunch together. Tell your co-worker he or she deserves to be pampered after a hard day at work by presenting him or her with a gift certificate to the spa for a relaxing body or foot massage. You can also surprise him or her by footing the bill for lunch or a snack next time you grab a meal together. Sometimes the smallest gestures speak the loudest. If you are especially close to your co-worker and want to give him or a gift that will truly make an impression (e.g. something pricey that he or she has mentioned wanting to have), let your other co-workers in on your plan and you can start a joint fund wherein each person can contribute a specific amount which will total the sum that you need to buy the item that your co-worker wants. This is sure to warrant a priceless smile on your co-worker’s face. Another unique gift for a co-worker’s birthday is making a video of all of your other officemates giving a short message. This is sure to make your co-worker feel loved and cherished in ways that money cannot buy. The truth of the matter is it doesn’t really matter what you gift him or her with so long as the gesture comes from your heart. Just remember that good or great co-workers aren’t that easy to find. That said every effort on your end should be made to show your appreciation to the ones that you can also call friends. What are you getting your co-workers this holiday season?   What birthday gifts have you bought your co-workers in the past? What are holiday/birthday gifts should you NOT buy your co-workers?

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Questions to Ask When Writing a Resume

Questions to Ask When Writing a ResumeThere are a few questions to ask when writing a resume. Some of these will be common questions that you have asked many times, but there will also be some that you may be asked that are new to you. By knowing the questions to ask when writing a resume, you will be able to take a little bit of the mystery out of the process. Knowing what to write will help you create a stronger resume for your career.How long have you been in business? Ask this question to any employer who you are interviewing with. A good resume should be able to capture the attention of the potential employer and demonstrate how long you have been in business. In most cases, if you have been working in the field for a number of years, you will have a long resume. However, this is not always the case.Can you tell me about any previous jobs? Ask this question if you have had work in a variety of different jobs. You want to make sure that you include all of your work experience in a strong resume that will impress an employer.Be honest about your education. A lot of employers expect to see an earned degree on a resume. If you cannot provide proof of this, then you should take steps to fix this problem.Does the educational background include work experience or education that can be transferred to other positions? This is important because some employers use this as a means of evaluating you and your abilities. If you do not have a specific area of work experience, you may want to consider including it in your resume.What does the educational background to include other than work experience? What else is on your educational background? What courses did you take, and what is the job placement history? This information will show the employer that you are serious about your job search.What has your education level changed? How do you intend to use your education once you become employed? Consider this when you are preparing your resume.Remember that while this is a very detailed examination of your resume, some of these questions are very basic. When writing a resume, it is important to have the answers to these questions as quickly as possible. This way, you can spend more time on the areas that need the most work.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

5 Workplace Trends That Sway

5 Workplace Trends That Sway I find it fascinating to watch trends in the workplace. As a former HR practitioner, I have enough first-hand knowledge to understand how policy changes rock a company. This post was initially inspired by the news that Yahoos new CEO, Marissa Mayer, was eliminating their work from home policy. Seriously, this is one of those perks many employees enjoy and are starting to expect, so why would she take this away? Doesnt that create   a culture of power and control and result in dis-satisfied employees? Perhaps this is exactly what Marissa is hoping for! There are four other trends I have companies sway back and forth on.   These are absolutely things for active careerists to watch and pay attention to. Why? Often, these elements may be negotiable during the job offer. At the very least, these are elements of corporate culture to watch out for. They reflect the leaders ideology and style and ultimately, the corporate culture you find yourself a part of. What is important to note is that these elements are subject to change. As we have seen at Yahoo, dont expect to work at home forever! Is working remotely really inefficient? Do employees really perform better in a suit? Who pays for your training today? Ping pong tables, video games, and slides, oh my. Will you retire at 65? I hope you will read my post on US News World Report The Professional Pendulum: A Closer Look at 5 Workforce Trends to learn more about some of these changes! Are there trends or changes you have seen? Please share and discuss in a comment!

Friday, May 8, 2020

Technical recording tips - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Technical recording tips - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog For those involved in making the Practice of Peace audio book, here are some technical tips for recording your voice on your computer. Im a PC user, so this will tell you how to record on a PC. Michael Herman gave some tips earlier on the OSlist on how to do it on an Apple computer. First of all, youll need a microphone. The built-in microphone in a laptop, probably wont be good enough. Dont splurge on an expensive one. If you already own a headset type mike or a microphone for a tape recorder, you can probably use that. Otherwise you can buy a perfectly good mike for around 15 -20 US$. If you can, use a mike with a stand or one that you can wear like a headset. This will free your hands to hold the book/papers and also eliminate the noise that can come from holding a microphone in your hands. Secondly, youll need some software. The pre-installed audio recorder program in Windows wont record more than 60 seconds, and can only save sound to .wav files which become much too large. We need something that can save in the MP3 format. I recommend that you go to download.com and download and install the Polderbits Sound Recorder and Editor. What you get is a 14-day trial version, so from the time you install it you have two weeks to use it for free. Then it stops working unless you pay 30$ to buy it. Hows that for a deadline? :o) I just installed it, and it seems to be fairly simple. You start the sound recorder, and you get this window: Press the red button to start recording. Press it again to paus recording, if you want to take a break while reading. You can use the two sliders in the middle of the window to control the volume. Try speking into your mike, and set them so that the meters marked L and R dont go into the red too much when you speak. Once youve finished reading your section, press the stop button (the black square), and you automatically go to the sound recorder. It looks like this: Press the save as button, and you get this window: Here you: 1: Choose a filename, for instance chapter 5 part 2 2: Where it says stereo, change it to mono. 3: Press save 4: Youre done I suggest that before you try to record your chapter, you do a small dry run. Read just a paragraph or a page and then test the whole process to see if it works. And if you have any questions add a comment here, send a mail to the OS list or email me directly and Ill be happy to help. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related