Why It Is Time to Invest in Professional Development of Your Employees

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One of the biggest challenges in today’s market landscape is finding the right team members. The growth of your business depends highly on employees supporting that growth. Filling key roles and managerial positions are even more challenging; it is more expensive too, especially with the market being as competitive as today.

Now is the perfect time for businesses – your business included – to start investing in the professional development of employees. There are a lot of benefits you will get in return for the investment. We are going to take a closer look at some of those benefits in this article.

Improved Productivity

Studies have shown that employees whose professional development is fully supported by the company are more motivated at work. That sense of appreciation and the support of the company are among the biggest factors that help employees stay motivated for longer.

In return for your investment in your employees’ professional growth, you get engaged employees who work with passion and who feel very connected to the company. Motivated employees put more into ensuring the smooth operations of the business, as well as helping the business grow at a faster pace.

Engagement is the keyword here. Employee engagement is something that needs to be developed naturally, and one of the best ways to do that is by encouraging – and supporting – professional development. Engaged employees will soon be your company’s biggest assets.

Experience and Added Resources

It is always better and more affordable to fill mid- to top-level management positions through a clear career path for all employees. When you promote a sales executive to the position of sales supervisor, for example, you shift the employee’s experience in the field and the employee’s ability to understand clients towards skills that are useful in the new role.

The trend can be seen in the healthcare industry. Many hospitals and medical institutions are encouraging their employees to pursue a health science degree online. The presence of online courses makes investing in your employees’ professional growth easier because they can still perform optimally at work while pursuing a higher degree.

Sustainable Growth

Another great advantage of investing in the professional development of employees is loyalty. Many businesses shy away from helping their employees grow out of fear of losing the best employees to other, better-paying companies. It is a justified fear, but one that must not hamper your efforts to help employees grow alongside the business.

Further studies have shown that employees whose pursuit of a master’s degree are supported by their employer have a higher loyalty to the company. They are more invested in helping the business grow and achieving great things together. The impact is clear; your business will benefit from a more sustainable growth, driven by capable people who are committed to delivering their best.

The market is evolving and the best way to stay ahead of the competition is by investing in the people around you. There are so many other benefits to gain from putting employees’ professional development as a priority. Now is the perfect time for your business to start.

How to Make Performance Enhancements at the Departmental Level

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The dreaded performance review is something that some employees look forward to and others fear. Many reviews are only conducted on an annual basis which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The managers who conduct the review aren’t always the best person to do so with employees feeling like they’re not in touch with their day-to-day work sufficiently to properly assess them.

There’s many approaches you can take to improve the performance of team members at a departmental level. Let’s look at a few of the ways to make work performance better and more consistent.

Set Realistic Goals & Objectives

It is all too easy for a team leader or department head to set goals based on the objectives that their boss has set for them. Sometimes there is a fundamental disconnect between goals set at a senior management level and what’s possible for people within the team. A leader has to understand the challenges ahead, help the team navigate them well and look to improve processes where a lack of structure and organization is the cause of poor performance.

When considering spending or budgeting within the business at the departmental level, referencing the Over Head Watch website provides insight into ways to manage costs more effectively and the common pitfalls to avoid.

Talk with Individual Team Members

Meet with each team member to discuss areas where they think they can personally improve. Talk with them about the difficulties they are having with getting their tasks completed efficiently and well. Is there a communication difficulty or a lack of critical information flow that continues to create obstacles for them? Can they think of any ways to change procedures to speed things up by cutting out unnecessary actions or replacing inefficient actions with more efficient ones?

Is Training Needed to Improve Performance?

The requirements of a role change, sometimes slowly, and other times at a rapid pace. If employees aren’t given the opportunity to re-train for new tasks, then they may perform them poorly. Offering training – either in-house or at a specialist training facility – provides employees with the tools they need to manage their workload better once they’re more up to speed on what’s needed.

Be open-minded about the training that’s required. You may expect them to be an expert at working an Excel spreadsheet to complete a new weekly task that’s been assigned to them, but perhaps they’ve barely covered the basics with Microsoft Excel and are floundering. Giving them a video training course or an off-site Excel course to get them updated quickly is the best action to take rather than being disappointed; no one can be great at everything. Empower your staff by giving them the knowledge and tools to get the job done better.

Frequency of Performance Reviews

Performance reviews need to be conducted on a regular basis. Ideally regular mini reviews of their performance, setting new targets and objectives and deciding what training might be needed to move the employee forward, are actions that should happen at least quarterly. Business simply moves too fast today to use an annual review structure. It also creates too much distance between a manager’s knowledge about the employee’s performance and the current reality.

Managing departmental performance is something that cannot be done at a distance. While micro-managing is not necessary or helpful, setting clear goals and providing the training necessary to help employees complete each task quickly and efficiently delivers the best results.

5 Ways to Incorporate Data Science into Business Operations

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The field of data science has been making plenty of waves, having been credited with many of the advancements in medicine, software, computing, and artificial intelligence. In fact, this ubiquitous field of science seems to now be having an impact on almost every industry, as intelligent entrepreneurs and business managers recognize the need to make data-based decisions while conducting everyday operations and setting long-term goals. With that said, here are five ways businesses can incorporate data science into their operations to enhance functionality and improve strategic planning.

1. Utilizing Competitive Analysis

Any business that operates in a highly competitive niche should be benefiting from competitive analysis, which is essentially just a more straightforward term for using data science to outdo the competition. Thus, if someone wanted to strengthen their skills in competitive analysis it would be wise to take a course in data science. You can even earn the fields highest level degree in the field by studying for a Master’s of Data Science online.  In addition to gaining valuable business analysis skills, you’d also gain a shiny credential for your resume.

2. Using Software that Relies on Data Science

Most businesses are already using software that is capable of facilitating data analysis. Any program that can generate reports or export data can be used as a source for data analysis and interpretation. Thus, company leaders and data specialists should strive to become highly proficient at generating and analyzing specific statistical reports using their company’s most essential software applications.

3. Conducting Keyword and Topic Research

Every business should be looking to expand its web presence, and doing so typically involves creating and distributing content that spreads brand awareness and attracts traffic to your official site.  Having a thorough understanding of data science will help you effectively use keyword research and trend tracking tools.

4. Preventing Past Mistakes

Since history often repeats itself, one of the best ways to prevent future mistakes is to assess and analyze the mistakes of the past. Unfortunately, some oversights and missteps aren’t so obvious until you look at the entire situation in retrospect, which is where data science comes into play.

5. Strengthening Board Room Meetings and Conferences

With comprehensive reporting and analysis capabilities, a company will a have much more to address during each weekly or monthly board meeting/conference. It’s particularly important to have at least one team member that is capable of creating data-driven presentations, as you want to be able to view and comprehend the data in all possible forms, from charts to lists and graphs. The more ways you can flip the data to extract meaning from it, the more likely you are to spot a crucial insight that could lead to a game-changing thought process.

Basing Decisions on Data is the Safest Way to Success

Ultimately, basing mission-critical decisions and software on data is the most sensible thing for a company to do, especially when you compare it to the alternative of relying on hunches and simple analysis. Although a good brainstorming session can go a long way, it can go much further when you have access to useful stats and you’re capable of extracting insight and guidance from that information.

4 Amazingly Effective SEO Strategies for Content Marketing

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When it comes to generating web traffic and online brand awareness, few methods are more effective in the long-term than search engine optimization (SEO), which is simply the practice of optimizing your website and marketing efforts to facilitate higher rankings in the search engines. Since all of those search results are linking to content, the primary driving force behind any SEO campaign is content creation/marketing. Although site owners and marketers should always aim for quality over quantity, to a degree it really is a number game. The number of posts you have online at any given time will directly affect your brand’s visibility. With that said, here are four strategies you can use to achieve expansive results in any content marketing strategy:

1. Geo-Targeting and International Marketing

Sometimes, expanding into foreign markets is all it takes to tap into an extra group of visitors that you might’ve previously overlooked. This is worthy of being mentioned first because it’s something that many marketing campaigns fail to take into account. While global brands can benefit tremendously from international marketing – click here for more information on that – local brands should also be using geo-targeting techniques to increase the amount of traffic generated in the regions where they conduct business.

2. Guest Posting and Allowing Guest Authors

Another way to get your content in front of new eyes is to volunteer to post your content on relevant blogs and sites that allow guest posts. By guest posting on high authority sites and then linking back to a page on your own site, you’re not only attracting direct referral traffic but you’re also improving your SEO stats by increasing the number of high-ranking inbound links that point to your site. Likewise, posting an open invitation for guest authors will give your site fresh new content for free.

3. Infographics, Videos, and Other Media

You could be losing a large chunk of traffic by not producing and promoting infographics, videos, GIFs, sideshows, reports, presentations, and other forms of media content. Infographics can spread like wildfire if they contain a number unique and useful statistics, as they tend to be linked back to as resources by bloggers.

4. Focus on the Social Networking Side of the Coin

Finally, staying active on social media is a duty that no brand should neglect, especially if you’re trying to promote content to generate additional traffic and awareness. Having a post go viral on a site like Facebook or Twitter is a great way to build massive momentum and dozens of strong inbound links in a matter of days.

Content Marketing Has become the Crux of SEO

Not too long ago, SEO was ridden with sneaky, short-sighted tactics that often involved nothing more than seeking out random links from sites that match a set of criteria. However, in recent years search engines like Google have evolved past a purely metrics-based approach and are now able to more accurately discern what quality content reads and performs like. Since the goal of the search engine is to provide links to the most relevant content, it was only a matter of time before content quality became the core issue in SEO, so take note and adapt your SEO efforts to follow suit.

Why You Shouldn’t Dismiss a Career in Sales

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Whether you are looking for a career change, or just starting out, the very thought of a career in sales might bring you out in a cold sweat; long hours, high targets and difficult customers might spring to mind. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. If you are looking to get your foot on a solid, long term career ladder that offers a wealth of benefits, then sales is the ideal career choice for you. Not only will a career in sales enable you to work across the globe, but it will help you develop a whole range of personal skills that are easily transferable, such as time management and budgeting.

Commission is one of the obvious benefits from working in sales. However, it is worth checking how any potential employer distributes this across their workforce. Large department stores and luxury retail outlets may split profits across the team, or establish goals that you and your colleagues need to reach. Car dealerships like Eastern Mini often reward each and every team member individually – depending on their goals for the quarter.  So if you are looking to bring home a large pay check every month, then be prepared to research into which alternative suits you best.

Learning on the job

One of the positives about a career in sales is that you learn on the job. Whether you are tasked with cold calling a range of potential clients, or have to deal with a difficult customer on the shop floor, you are continuously learning new skills. If you want to work in sales, you don’t only need to have dedication and a thick skin, but you will need to be prepared to be adaptable and flexible to meet with both business and customer requirements. Anyone in sales will tell you that you will start your career at the bottom, but this isn’t necessarily a negative. Unlike other career paths, if you are a quick learner and efficient on the job, then you can expect to rise rapidly through the ranks, meaning that you go on to lead your own team or department in no time at all.

Additional expectations

Each and every job has several additional demands, and a career in sales is no exception to this. From having to work long hours or at the weekends, to even working during holiday time will be expected of you from day one. Turning up to work in a negative mood or with a poor attitude is also unacceptable. Remember that you are your company’s first point of interaction with any customers. You will need to make sure that you invest in your appearance too – so keep aside some of your paycheck to get a manicure or a haircut. It’s worth investing in yourself from day one if you truly want to reap the benefits in the long term.

A career in sales isn’t for everyone. If you are sensitive and highly emotional then this definitely isn’t the job for you. However, if you have a keen business mind and are prepared to work then a career in sales will provide numerous benefits.