Across The Memory Board – How To Educate Our Employees On The Best IT Practices

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StrategyDriven Talent Management Article | Employee Training | Across The Memory Board- How To Educate Our Employees On The Best IT Practices

Cybersecurity is one of those overriding concerns in modern business. As there are more data breaches making headlines affecting a wide variety of companies, it seems that nobody is exempt from cyber terrorism or crime relating to technology. This means it’s crucial for you to look at your vulnerabilities. While you can set up various types of systems to protect your company, one of the most vulnerable areas of your business isn’t a technical one, it is a human one. Your employees are prone to human error. And we’ve got to make sure that we train our employees to understand the best practices of IT. What sort of tactics and practices can help you in this situation?

Investing In Employee Training

From a technical perspective, we can outsource components to a network services company or IT specialist, so they have the responsibility, but when we look at our in house components, it’s crucial for employees to grasp cybersecurity as a maintenance issue rather than something that they learn once in a blue moon. We’ve got to remember that cyber terrorism is a constantly evolving entity, which means that we’ve got to upregulate our systems and our approach to protecting the company. While we can invest in components like software patches and outsourcing technical duties to another company, we still have to invest in the people that we see each and every day. We have got to commit to a wide variety of tactics, so our teams know what is out there and what they can do to combat it. Partly we have to invest in training, but we’ve also got to change our mindset. It’s so easy to blame the employee that opens the phishing scam attachment rather than addressing the mentality of the employees in general. This is where training becomes essential.

Working On The Best Practices

It’s so easy for us to say that password security is an essential component because everybody knows to an extent this can protect most of us from phishing scams or cyber-attacks. But getting your team to do this is an entirely different ballpark. Working on the best practices with something like changing passwords is partly to do with your employees, knowing the traits of a strong password, but also understanding the outcome of not following these processes. On a basic level, a password needs to be long with multiple characters, and it’s changed on a regular basis. But remember that in order to ensure compliance from your workers, building a reminder to change passwords through regular feedback as well as password management tools can help your employees to keep on top of these issues.

Focus On Cybersecurity Awareness

The people in the IT department may know the sorts of data breaches out there but you can’t expect your employees to follow the trends in the news. You may know which way the signs are going, but it can still prove challenging to understand how regularly these things occur. There are numerous resources that you can take advantage of that provide detailed information on the latest cybersecurity breaches, but you also need to remember that this message needs to be loud and clear. Distributing this information through your team is about consistency. If you continue to share the information on a regular basis, along with the repercussions, this puts the message across. At the same time, you don’t want to bombard your employees with too much information that they don’t bother reading it.

Integrate Cybersecurity With New Employees

The onboarding process is the perfect opportunity to introduce your employees to the best practices. If you incorporate it into your training process from day one, you are able to go over the rules but also explain the importance of these best practices. Again, it’s about reiterating how much of a threat data breaches are. You need to create clear cybersecurity guidelines through important regulatory documents but also initiate a complaints procedure should a breach occur. When your employees hear about a potential breach, you must create an environment where employees share information rather than trying to cover up their mistakes.

Implement It From The Top Down

From the perspective of the executives, communicating the need for regular training in terms of cybersecurity practices is about highlighting its effect on the bottom line. Yes, there is no shortage of news relating to data breaches, but you’ve still got to make a case for it when money is tight. Looking for an executive buy-in is about making your case clear with regards to the costs but also going in with a comprehensive plan as to how the training would be undertaken. It’s also crucial to point out the costs of a data breach. Based on experience, once you highlight how more expensive a data breach is in comparison to training and onboarding practices, it’s likely executives will opt for the latter.

Implementing Regular Drills

We test the fire alarm on a regular basis, so why don’t we incorporate data breaches? When we train employees on a new piece of software, there comes a time where we have to let them fly by themselves. Allowing them to experiment in an environment with their new skills gives you a clearer picture of the potential problems that can occur and if your employees are ready to deal with them. Testing your business with a live-fire simulation can be a massive undertaking, but you can do it through smaller simulations like spot-checking your employees to see if they know the principles of combating a phishing scam email.

As technology is such a major investment and the fact that we rely on it to do 95% of our tasks, we need to make sure that our employees know how to use it properly. Many organizations invest in sophisticated equipment but don’t have the means to operate it. When our employees need to understand how to use the equipment, we can guide them, but we’ve also got to give them knowledge of the best practices underneath. Cybersecurity is such an important issue that if we communicate it so much, our employees can switch off. But by following a few of these processes, you can start to educate everybody across the board.

6 Tips for Setting up Conference Call Using Video

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StrategyDriven Practices For Professionals Article | 6 Tips for Setting up Conference Call Using VideoIn today’s global business environment one skill you must have is the expertise of setting up a conference call using video. This is usually to have a meeting with colleagues, clients or business partners that are in a different state or country. Video conferencing gives you an affordable way to do so, which saves your company a lot of time and money.

Unfortunately, many conference call meetings end up being a waste of time for all participants due to poor planning, inadequate technology or user error when setting up the call. Some people have come to hate conference calls because of poor meeting coordination, technical glitches and lack of participation from colleagues. It is a common occurrence for example that participants get distracted from the meeting and nothing gets accomplished.

Successful video conferencing meetings are very possible if you take the time to prepare for the meeting. Keep reading for six important tips that will make you an expert at setting up conference call using video.

1. Always Test Your Equipment and Connections

At least a day before the meeting you should test your equipment and network connections to ensure that they are in proper working order. Testing a day in advance will give you enough time to replace any faulty equipment and get failed connections fixed. Testing out your equipment also gives you the confidence to operate the technology during the actual conference meeting.

Some of the things to look out for while testing includes making sure lighting in the conference room is adequate. Also, be sure that everyone sitting in the meeting room will be visible on the conference screens. Cameras and microphones should be well placed around the room such that all participants can be seen and heard.

Also, ensure that you set up your conference equipment and connections around half an hour before the meeting. If the meeting starts at 9 am that is not the time to start connecting the call and switching on your speakers. Doing this beforehand will help the meeting start on time.

2. Have a Meeting Facilitator to Guide the Meeting

The facilitator is usually the organizer of the meeting. Send out an agenda and any documentation prior to the meeting to allow participants to prepare adequately for the meeting.

During the meeting, the facilitator should limit side discussions amongst participants and should check that everyone is fully engaged and contributing to the discussions. Any irrelevant debates should be quickly cut off to ensure that the meeting is concise and ends on time with all items on the agenda covered.

When sending out the meeting invitations provide backup connection options if the main conference line goes down. Alternative connection options for the meeting include phone dial-in codes and conference calling on apps such as Skype, WhatsApp, and Zoom.

3. Make Use Of Visual Presentation Aids Through Screen Sharing

Visual presentation aids used during the conference call will prevent the participants from getting bored by the discussions. The meeting facilitator can share their laptop screen with those in the meeting. This means that the document or presentation on the facilitator’s screen will be seen on the conference room’s screen as well as the laptops of remote participants.

The facilitator can also make changes to any documents as discussions take place. When screen sharing remember to disable any notifications from email or chat applications. Use the best screen sharing software to make the meeting go smoothly.

4. Have Protocol for All Participants

At the beginning of your meeting go over meeting protocol so that the conference call runs smoothly. For example, you may request remote speakers to turn off their microphones except while speaking. This reduces disruptions from background noise.

Additionally, all participants should turn on their cameras and ensure they are visible by everyone else in the conference. To prevent people from speaking over each other, the facilitator should ask participants to give visual cues before speaking and he or she may select the people allowed to speak.

5. Record the Call

It is important to record the call for record-keeping purposes. Recorded calls will be useful for participants that were absent from the meeting but need to know what was discussed.

If participants know the call is being recorded it allows them to be fully engaged in the meeting without having to worry about taking proper notes or minutes.

6. Be Aware Of Yourself and Your Surroundings If Calling in From a Remote Location

Participants dialing into a video conference meeting from remote locations have their own set of tips to follow. First of all, you should confirm that your video conferencing equipment works properly and test it before the conference call.

If you have a modern laptop it should come with a camera and inbuilt speakers and microphones. In this case, all you will need for the conference call is your laptop and perhaps a pair of earphones for better sound quality.

When taking part in a conference call from a remote location ensure you choose a place with little background noise. Be aware of your environment and what other people at the conference will see. For example, taking part in a call from a disorganized office will reflect badly on you.

Keep in mind that all your actions can be seen by other participants so behave appropriately and dress appropriately. Avoid having bright lights behind you as these will make it hard to see you.

Have Successful Results When Setting Up Conference Call Using Video

In order to have a productive conference call, it is necessary for you to prepare for the meeting. Send out the agenda well in advance when setting up conference call.

Allow participants to get ready for the meeting and be sure to test out your conference call technology before the meeting. Remember that you should always be professional and practice good communication skills.

For more tips and advice, check out more articles right here on our blog.

4 Reasons Why You Should Choose a Stainless Steel Table for Your Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | 4 Reasons Why You Should Choose a Stainless Steel Table for Your BusinessEquipping a business appropriately often proves to be one of the most important steps of all. When the furniture and fixtures within a place of business do a good job of supporting the activities that take place there, everything becomes a lot easier.

Certain materials tend to be well-suited to use in particular types of commercial furniture and other assets. Stainless steel, for instance, is often used in the construction of tables that end up being perfect for businesses. There are four good reasons to consider buying a stainless steel table for a business, and a quick look at each of them follows.

1. Stainless Steel is Strong

High-quality stainless steel tables like those described at aeromfg.com are readily available. One of the reasons why steel is such a popular choice is simply that it is so strong.

The very word “steel” has become virtually synonymous with strength in everyday usage, with works ranging from movies to popular songs playing on the association. Although the strength of steel varies depending on the alloy, it is always considerable.

This fact alone can make a stainless steel table perfect for a business where significant loads are common. Many such assets can support loads of hundreds of pounds or more without an issue. Even when weight-bearing capacity is not a primary concern, a business that owns a steel table will often welcome the material’s strength.

2. Stainless Steel Resists Corrosion

As its name suggests, stainless steel has an inherent ability to resist certain types of degradation. Chemicals and dyes that would permanently stain other surfaces will generally leave no marks on stainless steel.

The trait at play in this case is actually even more valuable and fundamental than this fact would suggest. Stainless steel not only resists staining, it shrugs off many corrosive influences that would undermine the structural integrity of other materials.

3. Stainless Steel is Easy to Clean and Maintain

Whether used for prep work in a restaurant or as a workbench in a lab, a stainless steel table will also always be easy to clean and sanitize. Steel’s complete lack of absorbency ensures that contaminants remain on its surface, where they can easily be wiped or scrubbed away.

Sanitizing agents like bleach can also be used on stainless steel without worry. Overall, stainless steel is one of the easiest materials to maintain, which often makes it perfect for commercial tables.

4. Stainless Steel is Affordable

There are some exotic materials that might be a match for stainless steel with regard to performance. In no case, however, will a competitive alternative also be as affordable.

Although a high-quality, commercial-grade stainless steel table will generally cost a significant amount of money, the amount of value implied by that price tag will inevitably be a lot higher. Stainless steel tables not only excel in many commercial environments, they do so at prices that are every bit as impressive.

The Perfect Type of Table for Many Businesses

Stainless steel tables are regularly found in business facilities of many kinds. Tables are inherently versatile assets, and stainless steel is just as much so in its own valuable ways.

While there will be times when a table made from a different material will be more appropriate, stainless steel quite often shines when used to make commercial tables. For the four reasons above and a number of others, it will often be wise to consider buying one for a business.

3 Growth Strategies To Help You Expand Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | 3 Growth Strategies To Help You Expand Your Business

One way to measure business success is by looking at how far you’ve grown. If your company stays in the same state for years on end, then are you achieving your potential? Realistically, you should look for ways to expand and grow your business whenever possible. To give you a head start, here are some strategies to try out:

Broaden your products/services

Many companies expand by venturing out into different areas of business. You probably have a set of products or services that you sell. So, why don’t you branch out and add some new ones to this list? Think about things that relate to your business and can make a lot of money. By adding them to your repertoire, you can tap into new markets and find new customers. An example of this is the fashion retailer ASOS. Initially, they only sold clothing items on their site. But, they started adding new things like makeup, books, skincare products, etc. All of these things still related to their overall business, but it brought in new customers who perhaps weren’t interested in the other products but like the new ones.

Open chains in different areas

The next idea is a classic one. To expand your business, you need to dip your foot into other territories. Your company may be successful locally, but what about nationally/internationally? Start opening new chains in different locations to bring your company to new markets. All you need is a good commercial builder to help you create your new premises, then you’re good to go. It’s a genius way of earning more money and finding new customers without changing anything about your business model. Try this on a national level, then move internationally when you get big enough.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | 3 Growth Strategies To Help You Expand Your Business

Invest internally

The final idea is to take some of your earnings and invest them back into your business. With this internal investment, you can make significant changes to the way your company operates. As an example, you may invest in your employees and create new roles to bring more people on-board. Consequently, this provides you with more manpower to get through more work every day. In theory, you’re in a position to speed up your service and take on more clients. As a result, you provide a better service for existing clients and have the capacity to make more money by bringing new ones in. Another idea is to invest in the processes you use. Upgrade to modern processes for more automation and efficiency. Again, this can help your business improve its service and take on more work. In essence, investing internally can help you grow by allowing you to do things that you previously couldn’t.

As mentioned at the beginning of this piece, the growth of a company is a key indicator of success. The best businesses are always getting bigger and looking to expand in different ways. It shows you’re not comfortable with what you have and that you want to improve. So, get started today by trying any of these three growth strategies.

Look and Feel Like a Business Owner from Head to Toe

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When you look and dress the part as a business owner, you instantly feel more powerful, motivated and well respected. No matter what type of industry you’re working in, you need to feel comfortable and stylish, so now is the time to shake it up. If you’re trying to find your business style, there are a number of ways in which you can approach this. First you can focus on the way you dress physically and then you can adapt your mindset to meet entrepreneurial criteria. Spend some time assessing where your style and mindset is right now and you will soon know the areas that you need to work on.

Simplify Your Style

First of all, it’s time to hone in on your business style. If you’re working on a construction site or your brand has a very laid back vibe, you will definitely want to consider ariat fr jeans for your everyday work clothes. Not only will you feel really comfortable, but you will also be dressing for your role. Of course, if you’re working in the corporate sector and need to wear a suit everyday, you might need to explore other options. Assess your business style and simplify it. You don’t want to have to wake up every single morning and make a tough decision about what to wear.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Look and Feel Like a Business Owner from Head to Toe

Take Your Time to Get Ready

Taking your time to get ready every single morning will not only work wonders for your overall appearance, but it will help you to adopt the right mindset too. Business owners who have a very specific morning routine are often more successful as they get into good habits. Do you have a healthy start to your day every morning? Now might be the perfect time to assess it!

Adopt That Money Mindset

If your mindset isn’t focused on making money, it’s not going to happen. You need to adopt a money mindset right now and believe in your own capabilities. As soon as you start to show true passion and belief in yourself, that’s when other people will start to see it too.

Be Unapologetically Ambitious

As well as adopting your money mindset, you also need to show extreme ambition every single day. In fact, you can be as ambitious as you like when you own a business. As long as you can set realistic goals that have tangible steps to get there, the sky is the limit. Once your goals become aligned with your actions, you will really start to see the results you’re looking for.

Being a business owner isn’t just about looking the part, it’s about feeling like you belong too. Many entrepreneurs suffer from imposter syndrome when they are first starting out; this can lead to a lot of self doubt and negative mindset. As soon as you find a style you’re comfortable with, your confidence will start to shine through and you will be a force to be reckoned with.