What Should You Be Looking For In Potential Employees?

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StrategyDriven Talent Management Article |Potential Employees|What Should You Be Looking For In Potential Employees?You’re always going to have to hire new people as a business owner, but how do you know when you have hired the right one? It’s never possible to be 100% that the person you have hired is the right person until they start working, but you can get a pretty good idea during the job interview. In this article, we are going to be taking a look at some of the things that you should be looking for in potential employees, so keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

Determination

The first thing that you need to look for is determination. If they come across as someone who wants to work, and who wants to do a good job for your business no matter what, then he is the kind of guy that you are looking for. If they are slouching in their chair, not making eye contact and generally don’t seem to care at all, then this is the exact opposite of what you need. Trust us when we say that if someone is determined to see a good job and do well for your business, you’re going to know about it.

There are some people though that will be quietly determined because we get overshadowed by those who are loud and are talking all the time. Essentially, as long as they don’t look bored and they are answering your questions with some level of enthusiasm, then this is a good sign.

Willingness To Learn New Things

You cannot allow someone to stay stuck in their ways their whole life. They need to be able to adapt to change, learn to follow new rules and do things a different way to what they are used to. If you hear the words ‘at my last company’ and you are not a startup looking for advice, then you need to tell her that. Let them know that it doesn’t matter how things were done at the last company because they are no longer looking for employment at the last company you worked for. As such, your rules are going to be strict. While I appreciate the need for a drink, it’s still overwhelming on the first date.

A Clear Social Media Presence

After the interview, or before depending on when you have time, you should take a quick look through their social media. Make sure that it is appropriate for someone of their age and their standing in the business. If it isn’t, then in their contract social media has limitations etc. We know that sometimes it can be difficult, but if someone knows how to delete a comment on Instagram then this can be solved. If there is an issue it’s one of her posts to a bed. If you can’t find anything on social media, then this will be a point in their favor and I can’t believe you are saying that either.

Past Experience

You do want someone who has some kind of experience if possible. It’s not a requirement because you can always teach someone what they need to know, but past experience might help your business. They can tell you what worked and what didn’t work in general terms at the company, as well as some of the things that they were going to try and see how well these strategies tried.

Sometimes having someone completely fresh is ideal, but not always. You need to have at least a few people who know what they are doing and have some kind of past in the business that you are trying to start. You never know how close you are to snapping until someone is so full of arrogance they think that they can just talk to everyone however they want all the time, though. Experience does not make you a God. This is a terrible quality to have, so if you find it, this person is not the right fit.

Arrogance is a killer in the business world, and you can’t have someone like that on your team. A team is a machine and without even a single cog, it stops turning. No one piece is more important than the other.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you should be looking for in potential employees. At the end of the day, the thing that you want most is an employee who is willing to work to help you achieve your goals for your business. If you can find this, then you are already far better off than some of the other businesses on the market.

Unique Ways To Make Your Website More Dynamic

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Dynamic Website|Unique Ways To Make Your Website More DynamicWebsite design has gotten quite stale over the past couple of years. Thanks to all of the easy-to-use website building services and applications, it’s never been easier to put together a website in just a few clicks. To make things easier, there are thousands of templates available online that will help you create a wonderful page that can be modified to your liking.

Unfortunately, many websites have become static pages of information that don’t provide much value or content to visitors. In this post, we’ll be covering a couple of unique ways to help make your website a lot more dynamic and interesting.

Add video and sound content

Video and sound content is easy to host on a website thanks to embeds with YouTube and other services. This can turn your website into a centralised location for all of the content you’ve put onto the internet and makes it easy for visitors to find your work. This also allows you to link your website with social media platforms and other similar services, allowing you to grow your audience on multiple different platforms at the same time.

Keep in mind that you can also add video and audio content to your website by uploading it directly, but this can use a lot of bandwidth so it’s usually best to host it somewhere else and link to it. This puts less strain on your server and means you’re less likely to reach a bandwidth cap.

Use an API to provide up-to-date information on things

An application programming interface (API) is essentially a way to interface between different kinds of software and hardware. In the context of a website, an API can help you grab data from another service, piece of software, or website which stays up to date, meaning you don’t manually need to change things.

For example, using a cryptocurrency API means you can display the latest prices for certain currencies that you choose. This is updated automatically so you don’t need to manually input the prices or how much it’s changed. This is a great way to provide live information to your visitors and is a great way to make your website more dynamic.

Use social media tools

You can easily add social media widgets that display the latest posts from your accounts. For instance, you can add a live Twitter feed that shows the latest messages from accounts that you choose, and there are also options for Instagram, Facebook, and other popular social media platforms.

This allows people to engage with your content on various social media platforms, thus increasing your exposure. You can even see where your pages are shared so that you can directly interact with your audience if you want to.

While building your own website can be tricky, it’s important to consider all of the unique features that you can add which makes your website stand out from the competition. Making a website more dynamic can provide a lot more value and generally makes your website a lot more interesting.

Four Best Practices for Managing a Remote Workforce

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Remote Workforce|Four Best Practices for Managing a Remote WorkforceIf it hasn’t happened yet, it’s bound to come soon — your employee wants to transition to working remotely full-time. Maybe you’ve had to experiment with remote working in the last year like much of the world or perhaps your team members have friends or family members that have discovered how great remote work can be for quality of life and now they want their own shot at making it work.

Before you write off the idea completely, it’s important to consider the benefits of offering remote work to your employees. From helping with recruitment to reducing expenses, offering flexibility in work location can be a great alternative to a traditional office for the right employee. It takes planning, great communication, and a little creative thinking but it’s an idea worth considering.

Before you dive in to offering remote work as an option for your team, here are four best practices to consider.

Set clear expectations from the start

As with any new working arrangement, setting clear expectations is mandatory. By communicating what you expect from the beginning, you dramatically reduce the chance of conflict and disappointment later. Take the time to set clear boundaries around business hours, attendance policies for team meetings, and technology requirements (like keeping video on for calls) and in the end, both the employee and the business will benefit.

Keep remote employees engaged

It can be difficult to manage both in-person and remote team members simultaneously. Take a moment to check in with remote employees daily, either through email, virtual chat, a video call, or text and let them know they are valued. If the “out of sight, out of mind” approach is taken, employee performance and motivation can suffer and lead to unwanted turnover.

Take advantage of remote resources

Some positions are more easily adapted to remote work than others. For example, an analyst or researcher who spends a great deal of time behind a computer is more likely to adapt to a remote-working arrangement than a receptionist or assistant who answers calls and serves other team members throughout the day. However, this doesn’t mean those employees don’t deserve a shot at working from home, too! If your business requires someone to frequently answer incoming calls and yet you also want to offer a remote working arrangement, call answering makes good sense. By taking advantage of resources designed to help businesses adapt to having a remote workforce, you’re more likely to see the benefits of virtual working like having more productive employees and cutting costs on in-office expenses.

Get creative with the technology

It’s easy to fall into a rut of using Zoom or Google Hangouts to conduct yet another video conference call or relying on email to answer the latest questions about a report or project. Instead of risking employee burnout by holding every meeting via Zoom, consider getting creative in your approach. Ask everyone to take the afternoon meeting call outside and turn their cameras around so team members can virtually enjoy some new scenery. Send a fun “get to know you” poll via instant messaging on Fridays and ask team members to participate in sharing their favorite recent book or tv show. By demonstrating that technology can be used creatively, employees can see their remote-working circumstances as a valuable benefit and become more grateful in the process.

Remote working is likely here to stay so by using some of these best practices, you’re more likely to benefit from the “new normal” and might even end up enjoying it!

These Tips will Help you to Start your Own Restaurant

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start a Restaurant|These Tips will Help you to Start your Own RestaurantIf you want to take the plunge and start your own restaurant, then you are certainly not alone. So many people want to take things to that next level, but at the end of the day, you also need to face the facts. Only one out of three businesses make it past their first birthday, but there are things that you can do to ensure that your restaurant business is a success in every way.

Don’t Do it for Vanity

You probably wouldn’t choose to buy a football club because you love the game. Why would you do the same for your business? Make sure that you have a genuine desire when it comes to starting your own restaurant and also make sure that you love what you do. If you can do this, then you’ll soon find that you are able to have the best time in your business venture.

Do your Homework

Everyone knows that the secret to running a great restaurant is understanding your customers. You need to make sure that you do your research and that you also make sure that the location is good too. Would you feel more comfortable running a fine-dining establishment or would you much prefer to keep it casual? You also need to make sure that you understand your strengths and weaknesses too. Having a plan is crucial if you want your business to stand out from the rest.

Choose the Right Chef

If you cannot cook, or if you do not want to be working behind the scenes then you need to make sure that you choose the right chef. Your best investment will always be in your chef, so if you are yet to get this asset sorted, then make sure that you take the time to do this. You need to find someone who can bring someone back time and time again, not to mention that you also need to choose someone who cares as much about your business as you do.

Put Someone in Charge

You have to trust in your brigade. After all, you’re paying them, so you need them to develop and then evolve into staff who are going to keep on pushing your restaurant forward. You also need to be the boss and you need to take responsibility where possible. You have to know what’s happening in every single area of your business too. Sure, you don’t want to be a control freak, and you also need to try and listen to the opinions of your staff. This will help you to act accordingly and it will make you a better leader.

Communication is Key

The key to starting a restaurant that’s successful also comes down to communication. You have to make sure that your management are talking to your head chefs, and that they are passing on the message well. That being said, it doesn’t stop there. You also need to make sure that your staff are working as a team with the customers. They are the ones who are paying your wages, so make sure that you do your part and that you treat them well. If you can, look into the SCHADS industry award too, if you‘re hiring a team.

Get your Menu Right

Long menus tend to lead to a lot of confusion. They will have your chefs running around, not knowing what to do as well. To make things even worse, you may find that you have customers walking in or walking out. Start with a simple menu if you can, and also make sure that the produce you are dealing with is high in quality to begin with.

Quality Control

Quality is essential, and so is consistency. You need to make sure that everything that goes out, is the best it can be. There’s absolutely no excuse for having sloppy plates of food lying around in your kitchen. If you know that it is not good enough, then don’t even think about serving it. If you do, then you may find that you end up ruining your reputation, and this is the last thing that you need.

Clean and Organised

You have to make sure that you keep your restaurant clean and organised. If you don’t run an organised kitchen then you may find that things become much more difficult. You have to make sure that there is a place for everything and that you put in the work to ensure that you monitor the process you have. As things expand, you may need to tweak things to keep everything nice and organised.

Ways Technology Can Help Grow Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business technology|Ways Technology Can Help Grow Your BusinessYou will already use technology in one form or another within your business. Whether this is for cybersecurity or operating a webpage. However, there is a wide range of other ways technology can help. It won’t be able to take away from you and your employees bring the business on a day to day basis. But, when it is being used properly, technology can change your life and your business for the better.

Here are a few suggestions as to how technology can use technology to support business growth.

Use The Cloud

Gone are the days of storing data on hard drives. To provide more freedom and ease for data storage and access it is worth using the cloud. By doing this you will have the ease of being able to host data in an online storage account, with the flexibility of being able to invite peers or employees to access this with a simple invite. The benefit of this is not needing to spend a fortune on manual and bulky storage solutions, you have access to these documents anywhere in the world, as it is digital it automatically backs up your documents, you have an option for unlimited storage.

Social Media

You can harness the insight of knowing your audience. Social media is used worldwide and by such a wide and varied cross-section of society. With this, you really can learn about your target audience, know their behaviors, their motivators, and, in short, anything else that will help you market your business. In addition, social media is also another tool in your marketing arsenal where you can share the word about your business, your brand, and your network.

Analytical Tools

Where once you never knew which aspects of the business were supporting in it thriving and which areas needed focus and improvement, technology can help. From using it to find an ecommerce agency or finding digital tools to assess your business’s insights.

There are so many ways to improve your business, from understanding and improving site load speeds to assessing your SEO. With all this data available the sky is your limit as to how to utalize the information and change your business accordingly.

Marking Campaigns

By opting for digital marketing, you give yourself the potential to market specifically at a targetted group. You will be able to see immediate results. By being in a digital format there is also the likelihood of higher returns due to potentially being able to reach a larger audience than more traditional marketing and advertising forms.

Ease Of Communication

With recent technological advancements, communication is almost effortless. There are so many variations and ways to communicate to cover any and all business requirements. Not only is it now extremely easy to do, but now it is extremely fast and incredible low cost and affordable. With this, previous barriers have been removed and as a business you can now easily work with or collaborate with investors, business partners, manufacturer etcs anywhere in the world.