123Print's Tips for Your Small Business

20Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Vacation and the Workplace

As the owner of a small company, you are in charge of making a lot of decisions, including ones that can greatly affect your employees opinions on the business. You have to choose what health care providers to offer along with other important benefits like how much vacation time each person can take. A recent study from a staffing firm called The Creative Group found that offering employees the chance to take time off whenever they liked would likely increase productivity. This would only be allowed so long as the staff members' work did not suffer, and may prove to be a major draw to get new employees to join your company. Here are some other things to consider when choosing vacation benefits:Think of Your Staffs' Ages Different generations of people look…

17Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

3 Ways to Improve Your Company’s Culture

Office and Homeworking

If you want to keep your best employees around, you have to do more than just pay them a decent salary and offer paid vacation time. You also have to create a company culture where your staff members feel comfortable and happy. If the corporate culture is strong, your team members will be excited to come into the office every day and give it their all. Here are three ways to improve your company's culture: 1. Let Your Employees Interview An effective way to create a great company culture is to let your team members interview job candidates, according to Jeff Boss, a leadership coach and author of "Navigating Chaos: How to Find Certainty in Uncertain Situations." "First, it conveys that everyone's perspective counts and that they have a say…

16Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

4 Tips for Appreciating Your Employees

Office and Homeworking

As a business owner, it's important to continuously show your employees how much you appreciate their hard work. If your team members know they are valued, they will be more productive and happy in their positions. Here are four tips for showing you appreciate your employees:1. Tell Employees When Others Compliment Them According to Forbes, it's important to show your staff members that they're not just appreciated by you, but by other people too. For example, if a client called you to tell you about what a great job an employee did on a recent project, be sure to share that with the staff member. If you think you will have trouble remembering, write down the information in personalized notepads. When the team member hears how happy the client was with the…

15Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

4 Things You Should Do in the Morning

Office and Homeworking

Waking up at the crack of dawn isn't always pleasant, but doing so can make the working day that much better. Here are four things you can do in the morning to set up your day for success:1. Plan Out Your Day One of the first things you should do after you wake up is plan what you want to accomplish that day. Get out your personalized notepads and write down your tasks and goals. According to Jennifer Cohen, author of "No Gym Required – Release Your Inner Rock Star," the morning is a good time to do this because you often have quiet time."The early hours foster easier reflection that helps when prioritizing your activities," Cohen said in Forbes. "They also allow for uninterrupted problem solving when trying to fit…

15Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

How to Be a Boss Your Employees Will Love

Office and Homeworking

There's more to being the head honcho of the office than assigning tasks and making sure clients get their work delivered on time. To be a good boss, you genuinely have to care about your employees and do everything you can to help further their development. If you make the effort to improve your managerial skills, your staff members will respect you and work hard for your company. Here are some tips on how to be a boss your employees will love:Show Interest in Your Employees If you want your employees to continue doing good work, it's important to show them you are interested. According to Janine Popick, founder of VerticalResponse, your staff members want to know that you care about the projects they are working on."If you don't meet with your team…

14Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

5 Tips for Making Meetings Less Boring

Marketing

If you asked your employees to raise their hands if they enjoy going to meetings, probably less than a handful of them would shoot their hands into the air. While meetings aren't supposed to be the most exciting events in the world, they don't have to be dreadfully boring either. It's possible to conduct meetings in a more fun way. Here are five tips for making meetings less boring:1. Allow Your Employees to Doodle The idea of allowing your staff members to draw in personalized notepads during a meeting might sound counterproductive, but it can actually be beneficial. According to Bernard Marr, keynote speaker and author of "Key Performance Indicators," letting your staff members draw can spark creativity."You might storyboard a problem together as a group or let people in on…

13Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

LinkedIn for Startups

Marketing, Starting a new business

There are so many social media websites out there, it's hard to know which ones your new company should partake in. LinkedIn is one of the most popular ones for businesses. Not only is it a great place to get your name out there, but you can use the site to make valuable industry connections, share updates on what you're doing and even find employees. Here are some tips for using LinkedIn for your startup:Establish a Business Profile You might already have a personal profile on LinkedIn, but it's necessary to create a business one as well. This is where potential job-seekers and possibly even customers may turn to find information on your company. Include your company name and logo as well as a summary of what you do. If you have…

10Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

How to Cope with Stress at Work

Office and Homeworking

Experiencing stress at work is inevitable. According to a 2014 Nielsen survey, 8 in 10 U.S. workers are stressed about at least one job-related thing. However, you don't have to let this anxiety keep you up at night. If you learn how to handle stress in healthy ways, you will be much happier. Here is some helpful advice on how to cope with stress in the workplace:Look at the Bright Side When you have a million things to get done in a short amount of time, it can be difficult to see a silver lining. However, it's important to search for the bright side in these tough circumstances. Instead of becoming bitter from all the stress, think about how it will make you a better and stronger person. For example,…

08Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

How to Make an Employee’s First Day Special

Office and Homeworking

A new employee shouldn't be the only one trying to make a good impression on his or her first day of work. It's equally important for you to prove to the rookie that your company is great to work for. Your goal is to make him or her excited to come into the office the next day. Here is some advice on how to make an employee's first day special:Make Thorough Introductions During the introduction process, it's not enough to just have all your employees exchange names. If you really want to make your new staff member feel welcome, you should spend more time introducing him or her. In addition to telling your staff members the new hire's name, give more background about the person. For example, you could say something…

06Jul 2015 by Cindy Berrier No Comments

Employee Growth Potential is Key for New Hires

Starting a new business

A study by the Society for Human Resources Management found that 47 percent of participants considered opportunities for employee growth of major importance when choosing a company to work for. Millennials and individuals in Generation X were particularly likely to consider this when searching for a new job. As a small business owner, you are looking to hire people that offer longevity, such as employees who you can train in an entry level and who will make their way through the company to a higher position. Here are some tips for talking with interviewees about potential growth:Discuss Their Goals Not every typical career move is the right one for each individual. Writers, for example, often consider upward mobility to be moving to an editing position. But this is not necessarily the…