IT mangers would find their jobs much easier if every employee voluntarily accepted and used the company's choice of online collaborative tool. This, however, only happens in an ideal world, and real employees tend to resist change- even if it helps them perform their jobs faster and more efficiently. One way to encourage the use of your online collaboration tool is to involve the future users in the decision making and training process. This allows certain members of your team to become the "software champions" and encourage voluntary participation across the board. Remember, of course, that there are several different types of tool users in your team and the key to successful collaboration is ensuring that each user group's needs are met. Stark Difference Between Tool Users No matter what the workplace business tool involved, there will be different levels of users who employee these tools. Some team members will find certain features more valuable above others. Make sure to identify these distinct types of users beforehand and consider each one's needs when looking for your solution. A great way to encourage adoption is to provide incentives for their cooperation. The Software Champions These are people who are highly active in the workplace community and participate in company-wide projects. This type of person will take ownership of a particular project and ensure that the right processes and tools are being used to complete the project successfully. This type of user can help examine the online tool for any glitches and drawbacks and bring these to the attention of the appropriate manager, while offering solutions. These users tend to be the software champions in a company, and often act as the informal trainers for new hires. Ordinary Users This group probably constitutes the majority of your user base. They will login regularly while contributing ideas and suggestions about the online collaborative tool. While they are not as active and enthusiastic as all-knowing users, there is a larger number of them, spread out through different layers of employee activity. This group's needs should be of utmost priority when choosing a solution. There will be plenty of different types of users throughout your organization. Make sure your tool fits every type of user in your company, is easy to adopt and navigate, and of course, scalable for your growing organization. Source: EzineArticles

Related articles

• 5 Questions to Ask When Choosing Enterprise Collaboration Tools (webworkerdaily.com)
• 5 Questions to Ask When Choosing Enterprise Collaboration Tools (BuzzVoice.com)

[caption id="attachment_600" align="alignleft" width="448" caption="Photo Credit: mikaylasway.com"] [/caption] If you are a leader you will be leading at least one and in reality probably multiple teams. Building a successful team is a challenge but there are some simple things that you can do to greatly enhance the likelihood of success. Be clear on the results If you are to have any chance of building a successful team you need to start by getting clear about the outcome or result that is to be achieved. The result needs to be specific and written in a language that will be understood by everyone. Remember that vague specification of results is likely to lead to okay but less than optimal outcomes. Be clear about the skills you need A successful team needs to have the right blend of skills to deliver the results. A soccer team for example needs the right mix of defensive, attacking and creative players. A business team is no different. Get clear on the essential skills to deliver the results you want. Be clear about the attributes that are needed Skills are important but they are only part of what helps you achieve results. Attributes or interpersonal qualities are just as important. They include areas like motivation, influencing, relationship building, personal drive and resilience to name just a few. Make sure that you don't lose sight of having the right attributes when building your team. Bring out the best in everyone It's all too easy to pigeon hole people or make up what they can or cannot do based on their job title. You know the kind of things that people say day in day out like marketing are the only creative folks, accountants won't take any risks, quality assurance get in the way, human resources are too rules based to name just a few. Make a point of finding out what people can bring to the table rather than just guessing what they can or cannot do. Recognize that it takes time No team ever leaps immediately from forming to performing. They go through a series of stages where they move forward, move back, work together, have conflict and hit obstacles. Accept this and see it as a short term setback for a bigger long term gain. Bottom Line - Teams can deliver great results. So what do you need to do differently as a leader to get more success from teams? Source: EzineArticles

1. Cut Your Workday by 30 Minutes You will get more done. A deadline forces you to eliminate all the little time-wasters (silly interruptions, procrastination, perfectionism). Just because you can work all the time doesn't mean you should. If you work in an office, stick to your scheduled hours. If you work at home, set an alarm to end your workday, and dedicate evenings and weekends completely to your personal life.

2. Define an Outcome for Every Meeting Identify a topic and outcome for every meeting, and send it to all participants a minimum of 24 hours beforehand so that everyone comes prepared. Well-run, useful meetings provide enormous value--they can solve problems, generate ideas, save you time, clarify direction, tighten work bonds, build teamwork, and reignite passion for projects. 3. Reduce Paper Clutter Eighty percent of what is filed is never looked at again. Before saving any document, ask yourself whether you would trust that the information is up to date next time you look for it. If not, it's time to pitch, shred or recycle. For printing, use duplex printing to generate fewer pages. When it comes to printing information from web pages, consider using software such as Canon Easy-WebPrint EX--and print only the information you really need. 4. Create Templates As entrepreneurs, we write many proposals, thank you notes, customer e-mails and press releases to various contacts. However, there is no need to write from scratch every time. While you don't want your correspondence to sound like a form letter, writing every letter from scratch is an enormous waste of time. Creating a template for every document that must be sent more than once opens up your schedule for other work. Just be sure to customize your template based on the contact to whom you are writing. 5. Set the Due Date No matter how much room you leave for creativity in the delegation process, never be vague about the due date. If you leave the due date vague, other priorities will usurp your delegatee's focus, or not leave you enough time to correct the work, if necessary. Leave enough of a cushion so that if the work doesn't come back as you'd hoped, there is enough time to correct it before the real deadline. It's sometimes helpful to give the person an estimate of how long you think the task should take and how long you want them to spend on it. Put a reminder in your planner to follow up the day the task is due. Source: Entrepreneur.com

Unified messaging is quickly growing in popularity among businesses and private individuals alike, and for good reason: by using a unified messaging system, it's possible to receive a number of different types of messages through a single access point instead of needing a different type of access for each message. This can be especially advantageous for businesses, as it allows them to reduce the amount of equipment that they need while making their communications systems much more efficient. If you have been considering switching your company to unified messaging but are wanting to make sure that it's right for your business needs, then consider the following in order to see whether this is the messaging solution that you've been looking for. An All-in-One Solution By choosing unified messaging for your company, you will be getting an all-in-one solution for all of your messaging needs. Unified messaging allows your employees to receive voice messages, faxes, e-mail, text messages, and even video messages all through their computer, cellular phone, or other access points. E-mail, faxes, and other text messages can even be received as audio through standard telephones, with text-to-phone technology that is available with many unified messaging services; even if the service that you choose does not offer this feature, your employees will still be able to receive alerts telling them what types of messages they have when using a phone, and will be able to access all of their messages via their cellular phone or over the internet. Less Equipment to Maintain Because unified messaging doesn't require separate machines for each type of message your employees might receive, there is much less equipment which must be bought and maintained. Additionally, the unified messaging system won't require paper, ink, or other resources the way that fax machines and some other messaging systems might; any faxes or text-based messages can be read and printed out as needed from an employee's computer, or simply listened to via telephone with a text-to-voice enabled unified messaging system. Productivity and Cost Effectiveness There are other advantages to using a unified messaging system, as well. Employees can spend more time focusing on their work instead of having to wait by the fax machine or visit another part of the office every time they need to send certain items off. Though the time spent doing these sorts of tasks may seem trivial, over the course of the day this can add up into a significant amount of time. This can give your employees a little extra time to get their work done, and they will be instantly alerted when the fax or message that they were waiting for arrives. If your employees travel a lot or are often out of the office, unified messaging can be even more useful. Many unified messaging systems have features which enable messages to be sent to a variety of different access points, trying each in order so that your employee can receive their message alert regardless of whether they're in the office or away on a job. This can save valuable time as well as trips back and forth from the job site and office to check messages or receive faxes that may be vital to the work that they are doing. Source: Ezinearticles

Managing a project with confidence is a necessity for a Project Manager.  The team he leads will look to him for encouragement when the project is going well and for reassurance when the inevitable problems and doubts arise. Fortunately, developing that confidence can be simple when the project plan is followed faithfully and key principles of project management are put into practice. 1. Justifications.  A worthwhile return on investment is an essential guideline for any project.  Before the project sponsor and upper management commit to any significant action or expense, the benefits of the project need to be clear and thoroughly understood by the stakeholders.  It is up to the Project Manager to ensure the benefits are clear and the expenditure is worthwhile.  Circumstances affecting the project can change quickly during its life cycle, and the Project Manager must closely monitor the situation and developments.  If at any time the project loses its feasibility and a positive return on the investment is no longer likely, the Project Manager must recognize these changes and cancel the project before any further time or money is wasted. 2. Definitions.  Each member of the project team must be given a clearly defined role that helps them understand their places and purposes on the team.  The Project Manager determines the responsibilities for each team member and institutes the hierarchy of accountability.  Without this information, team members will not be certain what they are to do or to whom they report.  This lack can create a chaotic environment and jeopardize the progress of the project. 3. Exceptions.  The Project Manager is responsible for the daily running of the project.  This allows the project sponsor to focus on the larger picture instead of getting distracted by the minutia of project details.  Too much involvement by the sponsor is a hindrance to the project team and their progress on the project.  It is the duty of the project sponsor to determine the boundaries of time and cost, and the duty of the Project Manager to provide scheduled deliverables within the allotted budget and time. 4. Stages.  Use the timeline of tasks as a guide to break the project into stages.  After completion of a stage, the project sponsor will have the opportunity to review the current progress and make the critical decisions regarding the continued value of the project.  If the project remains worth the investments made, and the risks are still acceptable, the project sponsor can confidently approve continuation.  By dividing a project into stages and committing to only one stage at time, the sponsor and Project Manager have a low-risk approach toward project completion. 5. Deliverables.  Clients, or customers, must have a clear idea of the product or deliverable required before the project begins.  Being clear about the requirements helps ensure satisfaction from the client, or customer, and enables the project team to develop a realistic and achievable plan with less risk involved. 6. Experience.  Learn from previous projects to help minimize the risks of duplicating mistakes on later projects.  Review the project and determine what went well and what caused problems.  Incorporate both sets of data into the documentation and approach of the next project.  Recreate the successful circumstances and ensure that the next project team understands the risks of errors. 7. Customize.  The project management methodology must be tailored to the working environment and suitable for the needs and expectations of the project.  The Project Manager must avoid blind adherence to methodologies and be able to adapt existing procedures to the current project.  The planning of a two week project is going to be different from the plan for a two year project, but the resourceful Project Manager will be able to customize a methodology to create whatever framework is necessary for the successful completion of the project. In conclusion, these key principles can be applied to any project.  Many years of practice, trial and error, and review have proven these principles to be valid and utilizable by any good Project Manager.  Instead of the struggle of a plan without coherent strategy, being mindful of these principles increase the project’s chance of success. Source: projectmanager.com

[caption id="attachment_328" align="alignleft" width="336" caption="Image via Lumaxart"] [/caption] Team building skills are critical for your effectiveness as a manager or entrepreneur. And even if you are not in a management or leadership role yet, better understanding of team work can make you a more effective employee and give you an extra edge in your corporate office. A team building success is when your team can accomplish something much bigger and work more effectively than a group of the same individuals working on their own. You have a strong synergy of individual contributions. But there are two critical factors in building a high performance team. The first factor in team effectiveness is the diversity of skills and personalities. When people use their strengths in full, but can compensate for each other's weaknesses. When different personality types balance and complement each other. The other critical element of team work success is that all the team efforts are directed towards the same clear goals, the team goals. This relies heavily on good communication in the team and the harmony in member relationships. In real life, team work success rarely happens by itself, without focused team building efforts and activities. There is simply too much space for problems. For example, different personalities, instead of complementing and balancing each other, may build up conflicts. Or even worse, some people with similar personalities may start fighting for authority and dominance in certain areas of expertise. Even if the team goals are clear and accepted by everyone, there may be no team commitment to the group goals or no consensus on the means of achieving those goals: individuals in the team just follow their personal opinions and move in conflicting directions. There may be a lack of trust and openness that blocks the critical communication and leads to loss of coordination in the individual efforts. And on and on. This is why every team needs a good leader who is able to deal with all such team work issues. Here are some additional team building ideas, techniques, and tips you can try when managing teams in your situation.

• Make sure that the team goals are totally clear and completely understood and accepted by each team member.
• Make sure there is complete clarity in who is responsible for what and avoid overlapping authority. For example, if there is a risk that two team members will be competing for control in certain area, try to divide that area into two distinct parts and give each more complete control in one of those parts, according to those individual's strengths and personal inclinations.
• Build trust with your team members by spending one-on-one time in an atmosphere of honesty and openness. Be loyal to your employees, if you expect the same.
• Allow your office team members build trust and openness between each other in team building activities and events. Give them some opportunities of extra social time with each other in an atmosphere that encourages open communication. For example in a group lunch on Friday. Though be careful with those corporate team building activities or events in which socializing competes too much with someone's family time.
• For issues that rely heavily on the team consensus and commitment, try to involve the whole team in the decision making process. For example, via group goal setting or group sessions with collective discussions of possible decision options or solution ideas. What you want to achieve here is that each team member feels his or her ownership in the final decision, solution, or idea. And the more he or she feels this way, the more likely he or she is to agree with and commit to the decided line of action, the more you build team commitment to the goals and decisions.
• When managing teams, make sure there are no blocked lines of communications and you and your people are kept fully informed.
• Even when your team is spread over different locations, you can still maintain effective team communication. Just do your meetings online and slash your travel costs.
• Be careful with interpersonal issues. Recognize them early and deal with them in full.
• Don't miss opportunities to empower your employees. Say thank you or show appreciation of an individual team player's work.
• Don't limit yourself to negative feedback. Be fare. Whenever there is an opportunity, give positive feedback as well.

Finally, though team work and team building can offer many challenges, the pay off from a high performance team is well worth it. Source: Time Management Guide

If you own a business, you know, it's really important to provide a high quality customer service, to keep your Clients coming back for more... Can you remember a time when you were impressed with the level of customer service your received? If so, how did it affect the chances of you doing business with that company again? Can you remember a time when the customer service was just awful? How comfortable did you become with continuing business with that company? The bottom line is, the quality of a company's customer service can make or break a business. As a business owner who works from home, the same thing is true. There is a proven formula to quality customer service. Many companies have some of the components of quality customer service, but don't cover all of the bases. In order to deliver five star-qualities that get your customers not only to come back, but to tell their friends or family about you, you can't leave out anything. Take a look at these five key components to high quality customer service. Good listening skills: You might think that you hear what a client is saying, but you may not be listening. Most people do not listen as well as they think they do. Make sure that you focus on what your customer is trying to tell you. Restate what you think they said back to them to verify that you heard them correctly. Customers love it when they are ensured that they were heard and understood. Respect: That is all anyone ever wants. Listening well is a part of this, but giving customers respect goes beyond that. Don't interrupt them, don't patronize them, and don't ignore them. Respond promptly when they approach you (whether is be in person, on the phone or through email). Be patient and polite. Nothing makes a customer angrier than being ignored, being rushed, or sensing rudeness from you. They want to feel that they are worth the time and attention, or they will go elsewhere. Response, not reaction: We all know that sometimes customers can be upset, rude, impatient and simply irate. It will happen, and when it does you need to be prepared. Don't reflect their behavior back to them, because that will only make matters worse. Use your listening skills to detect what made them upset and figure out how to fix it. Do your best to resolve the issue as quickly as you can. Most normal people will calm down if they know you are doing everything in your power to work things out. If the customer wants the impossible, on the other hand, it might be better just to let them walk away. Don't say or so anything that would instigate such a thing, however, because that could burn your reputation. The difference between response and reaction is the thought process. Think it through and respond. Don't let your reflexes get the best of you. Show your appreciation: Without your clients, you would not have a business. Thank them with a note, letter, email, or on the phone. You may even offer a coupon, discount or returning customer gift. Whatever you do, make sure that they feel valued. Follow up: The easiest type of follow up is actually a thank you note or an invitation to shop again. Another option is a brief (keep it short) customer survey. Let them know that you value their opinion and you want to know how to improve your product or service. You can, and should, also ask about what was positive about the experience. Make sure that the survey is easy to send back to you (email or SASE) and that it doesn't take up too much time. Staying connected is the key in nurturing customer loyalty. With these important components operational in your customer service system, your business will thrive, and customers will come back for more. They will also tell their friends and family about their experience, too. Offer exceptional service along with quality products and services, and you won't be able to keep clients away. Make sure that you apply all five of these components to every aspect of your client interaction to see maximum results. Source: Buzzle.com

Small businesses have a lot of reasons to adopt greener practices. Consumers are more concerned than ever with how eco-friendly the products and services they use are, and the government is moving fast to introduce energy and carbon emissions caps for companies big and small. Most of all, however, "going green" stands to save small businesses a substantial amount of money.

  There are three clear strategies for becoming greener:

• Increase your efficiency (in regards to energy, resources like gas and water, and waste produced)
• Change the types of energy sources you use (consider solar, wind and biofuels)
• Modify your behavior and the behavior of your employees to be more environmentally-conscious.

Learning how to implement these green strategies are important for small businesses.

• Services and devices that can help you track how much energy you are using, how you are using it, and how much you are paying for it in real time.
• Simple and affordable best practices for slashing how much energy you are using every day, how much carbon you emit, and how much waste you produce.
• Government programs you can enroll in to further your green goals.
• How to transition to rooftop solar and other alternative sources of energy at a low cost.
• How to encourage your staff to embrace "going green" as a core value.
• Web tools you can use to keep tabs on your employees' green practices, allowing you to offer appropriate incentives.

The goal of this article is to equip small businesses with a comprehensive set of tools for you to reduce the amount of energy and other resources your company uses. And all of these recommendations are tailored to save you money in office supplies, and more importantly, off your monthly energy bills. Source: verizon.net

With the rising concern on global warming, enterprises are planning, and working on reducing their carbon emissions. Training the employees and inspiring them to work together on carbon reduction is very important. Small changes can add up to making a big difference in terms of carbon reductions, whether through turning lights off after leaving a room, offering a friend a lift to work or reusing your scrap paper, or using bio diesel as fuel for your vehicle . Every company has a responsibility to reduce its carbon emissions, but it should not become a burden. By educating staff and encouraging their involvement, the responsibility can be shared and a sense of ownership achieved. Adopting work flow methods which save carbon footprints, by saving time and electricity can of course help the "green cause". A huge chunk of business communication occurs through e-mails, even now. While forwarding an e-mail to a team mate, we actually are leaving many copies of the same e-mail on the hard discs; one in our inbox, one in our sent folder, and one in our team mate’s inbox. This is not an efficient way as it doesn’t save us any time and we are using unnecessary hard disc space. Taroby handles this situation more efficiently by allowing teams to share e-mail accounts among the team mates. With Taroby the need to forward the mails doesn't arise within a team, as everyone sees the same inbox. It saves everyone a considerable amount of time, and hard disc space thereby reducing power consumption. A lot of employees travel long distances to reach their work places. This travel consumes a lot of carbon in terms of fuel for their vehicles etc. Taroby provides opportunity for such employees to work from home more often, if face to face communication is not much required for their job. Virtual teams can be promoted by enterprises by using tools like Skype, Taroby etc in order to cut the transportation cost.

Sharing Email Templates within the Team Today, businesses and organizations depend more and more on email correspondence than ever before. Email presents numerous opportunities for you to provide better, faster communication to improve customer service, sales, employee relations or project implementation. Many times, however, the email management and response process can become congested by recurrence and human error.  Email Templates saves time, increases efficiency, and can be easily used by anyone who uses email.

• Provides an efficient way to answer email
• Helps you stay connected with your customers
• Enhances your on-line customer relationships
• Strengthens internal communication efforts
• Presents personalized professional communication
• Helps you retain a high level of quality and service

In Taroby, it is possible to create templates and then give access rights of that template to anyone in your team. So, Managers can easily delegate drafting of emails to any team member and also ensure the quality of work done with the  'Send after Approval' feature in Taroby. Source: emailtemplates.com