Tips on How to Help Employees Be More Productive

Are you struggling to get the most out of your employees? Or are you training new employees, but are unsure of how to get them to the next level as fast as possible? No matter the scenario, there are things you can do to make them more productive.

• Get to Know Them - If you want to tap into your employees’ creativity, it's important that you know what they're good at and what they like. Take the time to get to know them and what their interests and talents are. You might discover that they're good at doing something that your business could use improvements in.
• Coach Them Up - Newer and younger employees can oftentimes be raw talent that's just waiting to be developed. Take the time to help guide your employees and teach them everything they need to know. By providing them with trainings, workshops, mentoring, and constant advice, these employees can become more confident in taking that next step.
• Listen to Them - As a leader, you shouldn't just be delegating and lecturing to your team of employees. Listening is a skill not everyone develops as much as they should. Taking the time to listen to employees’ suggestions, questions, and input is key in helping them learn and grow — which in turn, will help their overall productivity.
• Grow With Them - The best way to help your employees grow is to show them that you’re also willing to grow with them. There are a lot of things you will be teaching your employees, but there will also be things they can show you. So show them that you're just as willing to learn with them and that will create a more “team-like” environment.
• Give Them the Tools - Productivity isn't just a skill you learn, it also comes in the form of streamlined processes and efficient technology. VoIP phone systems are something all businesses should have as they have a long list of features that can make communication with clients, customers, and other employees as easy as can be.

Helping employees become more productive starts at the top and is ultimately in your hands. To make a sudden change in productivity, supply your employees with a VoIP phone system. To learn more about this phone system or to schedule a free estimate, give us a call at (877) 385-6657.

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How to Send the Best Business Emails

In business, emails are sent quite often. In fact, business emails are sent so often that some people receive dozens, if not, hundreds per day! Emails that aren’t constructed properly could cause them to be left unread, skimmed through too quickly, or thrown in the trash. For those looking to “up” their email game, listen up!

Email Construction Best Practices

• Create an Accurate Subject Line - Never leave your subject line blank — ever! Not only do these email gets overlooked, many can get marked as spam. When typing your subject line, choose a few choice words that will sum up the topic of your email. This will help the person receiving the email sort it appropriately.
• Send Reply Emails Quickly - Nothing is worse than sending an email and not getting one back for days at a time, or even having to follow up. If you need more time to create a detailed email or report, send back a reply stating you will get back to them at a set time.
• Auto-Responding Tools - Whether you’re out of the office for one day or one week, it’s important to let your clients, vendors, prospects, and fellow employees know this. Set up an auto-responder to let people emailing you know that you are out-of-office, when they can expect you back, and who they can contact in case there is an emergency.
• Use “High-Priority” Sparingly - Do not be that person in the office that marks half of their emails with a “High-Priority” subject or marking. Doing this too many times will label you as the “boy who cried wolf.” The day you need someone to look at your email immediately, you don’t want them to think it’s just another one of your falsely advertised emails.
• Proofread and Use Good Judgement - Before you send out your emails, look them over for obvious grammatical mistakes and see if everything is worded clearly. Additionally, make sure all of the content you need is in that email, and make sure you want to send everything in that email. Sometimes you might include something that really shouldn’t be in there (i.e. an angry tone or too much information).

Being able to construct business emails properly with the appropriate etiquette to go along is extremely important in today’s world. Every business should have lightning fast internet AND a reliable phone system (preferably VoIP). To learn more about structured cabling and VoIP phone systems, contact Reliable Voice & Data Systems at (877) 385-6657.

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Growing Pains That Can Hurt a Small Business

When a small business experiences success and growth, there will sometimes be growing pains. These things are normal, but it's all about how the leaders in charge handle these growing pains that will determine the ultimate success. In order to keep things moving forward, avoid (or manage) these growing pains.

People Are Unaware of Other Workers

• If one employee is working in one area or on a project and is unaware of others’ responsibilities, another person could be doing the same exact thing. Too much overlap can become inefficient and wasteful.
• Employee theft is something that happens and it's important to put practices in place that can avoid this issue altogether. Implement a reward system for employees to bring forward evidence of theft while also installing CCTV security cameras inside and outside of the business’s location.

Communication is Lacking

As companies grow, there will be more employees, more responsibilities, and more things to communicate. This can become even trickier when multiple locations or offices are thrown into the mix. Every growing business should be equipped with a VoIP phone system to help foster reliable communication.

• New phones can be added to the system on an as need basis due to the constant growth of your small business.
• Features such as video conferencing, call forwarding, call waiting, and mobile phone compatibility can make receiving those calls that's much easier.
• VoIP phone systems are at least half the price of traditional phone systems, which can help you allocate your savings to other areas of the business.

Successful small businesses can experience rapid growth in a short time — but with success comes some hardships. When your small business is in need of CCTV security cameras or a VoIP phone system, contact Reliable Voice & Data Systems. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, give us a call at (877) 385-6657.

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