Do you need a panic alarm? The pros and cons

/in /by

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Panic Alarm|Do you need a panic alarm? The pros and consPanic Alarms are one of those things that you would rather have and not need than need and not have. They can provide security, assurances and safety for both yourself, your workplace or your home and can trigger immediate help from the local authorities. They are simple to use, often incorporating a button which activates the alarm at a touch. It will immediately contact local authorities and direct them to the location of the alarm. With devices that are compact and easy to use, a panic alarm may be one of the best purchases you make when it comes to your safety.

Wired vs Wireless

The difference between these is pretty self-explanatory. With a wired system, the panic alarm is situated at a fixed point. This is much more common in workplaces where, depending on the job that you do, you stand nearby one at all times. However, a wireless one can be carried around by a person and is much more useful if working alone or for personal use when out travelling. Wireless systems provide convenience for the user but are more susceptible to wear and tear than the standard wired ones that are available.

Pros:

Panic alarms that are wireless are often small enough to be easily carried and importantly concealed. This means that should you need to use it, the aggressor may be caught unawares by the local authorities when they arrive. This feature is often combined with a silent alarm that so that you don’t give away that you have contacted help. This may keep the situation calm and keep you in a safer position.

Panic alarms are also powered by electricity and their own battery. This applies mostly to the wired systems as they are connected to the mains. They will always have a backup battery so that should a power cut strike you will still be able to use the system. Likewise, a wireless system will usually have two batteries, with one acting as a backup should the other die or malfunction.

Finally, these systems are usually simple to set up, especially the portable wireless systems. This is because the portable systems are used predominantly by children or the elderly. Some are even designed as bracelets that are easily concealed and yet accessible for the user.

Cons:

It seems hard to point out cons for an alarm system but there are always some. One thing to be careful of is false alarms. This can happen on both types of system. Wireless systems are more likely to malfunction. They usually experience more damage due to their small size and usage. A wired system, on the other hand, relies on a button you push that can hit by accident.

Also, wireless systems always have the fear that they drop out of range or frequency, so this is something that should be taken into consideration

Do you need a Panic Alarm?

Any business will always benefit for some kind of security measures. Personal systems will always come down to personal preference and situations. Weigh up the pros and cons and see if it makes sense for you to purchase one.

How Internal Competition Can Destroy Your Business From The Inside

/in /by

StrategyDriven Business Politics Impacts Article |Internal Competition|How Internal Competition Can Destroy Your Business From The InsideYou often hear people say things like ‘the business world is dog-eat-dog,’ or ‘competition is king.’ Unfortunately, the role of competition in business is often misunderstood and many business owners are damaging their own chances of success as a result.

It’s true that competition is what drives the market and striving to outperform your competitors is what pushes you forward and encourages you to innovate. Without that competition model, the economy would stagnate and progress would slow down.

However, many business owners make the mistake of thinking that internal competition between employees will have the same effect. The thinking is that if you pit people against one another, they will work harder to come out on top, ultimately making everybody more productive. In reality, it doesn’t work that way and although internal competition can have benefits, to some extent, it can be a lot more damaging to productivity. Here’s why internal competition is bad for business.

It Discourages Skill Sharing And Teamwork

When you pit people against one another and provide rewards and opportunities for progression to those at the top, it discourages skill sharing and teamwork. Business leaders like Wayne Blazejczyk ASIC run successful companies because they understand the importance of helping your team to develop their skills, and skill sharing is a big part of this. Everybody has different strengths and combining those strengths and helping one another improve on weak areas makes everybody more effective. But in an incredibly competitive environment, people are concerned about sharing the credit for work, so they are less likely to collaborate or help others. In the end, this just means that your whole team is less productive and the quality of the work they produce is worse.

The Wrong People Get Promoted

If you are promoting people based on this system of internal competition, you will end up promoting the wrong people and leaving good people behind. The people that come out on top in this environment are people that will step on others to get ahead and won’t work in a team because they want all of the credit. These are awful qualities to have in a position of responsibility. Unfortunately, when you base decisions on internal competition, these are often the people that end up in management positions because they overshadow better employees that are less willing to push themselves forward at the expense of others.

It Creates A Toxic Work Environment

It’s only natural that competition leads to conflict. Certain employees that are trying to outdo one another at every turn will keep clashing, and this creates a very toxic work environment. You are far more likely to have issues with bullying and harassment and all relationships in the office will be strained. When you create an environment like this, good employees will simply leave and find a new job. So, your employee turnover rate shoots up and you lose all of your best people.

Sometimes, a bit of fun competition can be helpful. An employee of the month scheme, for example, gives a little incentive and rewards hard work without causing problems. But once you start ranking people by performance and trying to encourage a lot of competition, you are just setting yourself up for failure.

3 Safety Measures You Can Implement Now to Protect from RSI

/in /by

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Safety Measures|3 Safety Measures You Can Implement Now to Protect from RSIAlthough it was first identified in 18th-century industrial workers, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) was widely reported and became a public safety concern in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the use of computers became more prevalent in offices all over the world because of improvements in the accessibility of operating systems and office applications such as Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.

To combat RSI, the industry of ergonomics was brought to the forefront as a possible (and subsequently successful) solution to workplace injuries caused by repetition. Although the study of ergonomics is largely psychological, the primary principles can be applied to the physical world i.e. how the human body is affected by the surrounding environment.

The application of ergonomics by companies all over the world has greatly reduced the effects of RSI but the problem persists, and as an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of your employees by treating RSI as you would any other potential hazard.

Ergonomic Safety and Awareness

For the most part, RSI, and the effects of it, can be attributed to poor awareness of the condition on both the part of an employer and the employee. As a prevention method, you could inform your employees of the causes of RSI such as poor posture, not taking breaks from repetitive tasks, and the misuse of certain equipment.

Of course, this would be pointless if you don’t supply your employees with the necessary tools to protect themselves. Ergonomic equipment is widely available and you could supply such things as a fully adjustable chair, monitor or TV stand, and a Bluetooth ergonomic keyboard and mouse. All of these items, and others such as modular desks, have been found to greatly reduce RSI.

Support for RSI Suffering

Should any of your staff suffer from RSI, either from sitting at a PC, standing at a control panel, or even using a smartphone or tablet too often, you should offer support for their condition and accommodate accordingly. Allowing your employees to take regular breaks is the first step in helping with RSI as not taking breaks is one of the leading causes of strain.

Further actions could include psychological support for the injured employees and a legally required risk assessment. RSI can cause serious and debilitating injuries resulting in serious medical conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and musculoskeletal injuries, any of which you could be liable for should you not cater for the condition that may have been caused by inadequate accommodations in the workplace.

21st Century Technology

While RSI is mostly associated with working at a computer for extended periods, the condition extends to anything that requires prolonged and repeated tasks. Factory line production staff are a good example and QA operatives may have to lift heavy items to inspect them. Furthermore, any other role associated with lifting products, such as deliveries, puts employees at risk of developing RSI.

Advanced technologies that were once science fiction are slowly being incorporated into many industries. Mechanical exoskeletons such as Ironhand use servos and motors inside a shoulder-braced robotic device in order to assist with the lifting of heavy items. In short, the device fits like a glove and does the heavy lifting rather than the muscles of the hand and arm, therefore greatly reducing any strain that might otherwise be placed on them.

Careful, These Issues Can Ruin Your Customer Experience

/in /by

StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Customer Experience|Careful, These Issues Can Ruin Your Customer ExperienceAre you worried that your customer experience isn’t living up to the expectations of your clients? If so, then it can cause a massive rupture in the potential of your company. So, let’s look at some of the problems customers can have and how to fix them.

Too Slow

First, you might find that there is a problem with the speed of the service that you are providing. You need to make sure that you are taking steps to speed up things in your company model. For instance, you might want to consider investing in a chat bot. The big benefit of a chat bot is that they don’t have to wait until an employee is free. Instead, they can get answers about your site and your service immediately. Don’t forget, a lot of customers have expressed they prefer live chat to actual calls.

No Personalization

A lot of customers these days are demanding a higher level of personalisation. They want to ensure that it feels as though a company really knows and understands them. Too many businesses just provide a cookie cutter solution. If you are wondering how to get this right, then the answer is almost certainly at your fingertips. You can use the data that you have accumulated to ensure that your solution feels far more personal overall. You can even send out exclusive offers and marketing that fit with the products and services that they are interested in.

Poor Employees

You might think that it doesn’t matter who you hire for your customer service team. We promise you that this is not the case and choosing the right people will be important. Your customer support staff need to make people feel reassured and connected to the brand as a whole. You can think about hiring an outsourcing service to ensure that you get the quality you need without causing the cost to balloon here. Or, you might want to consider hiring an in-house team. If that’s the case, one of the ways to get a high quality team would be by using a recruitment agency.

Low Quality

Finally, you need to make sure that the system that you are using is providing the quality that customers expect. For instance, in terms of voice calls, it’s important to ensure that the calls don’t feel like they are submerged in static or as though someone is trying to talk to them underwater. If there is a problem like this, you can guarantee they will hang up and won’t call back. One of the ways that you can fix this is by investing in services like unified communications. This is always going to improve the customer experience.

We hope this helps you understand some of the key issues that can completely ruin your customer experience. If you take this advice on board, then you can make sure that you don’t have to worry about your customers being turned off by your company. This could ultimately lead to you losing a fortune in missed sales.

Top 3 Reasons to Consider Nursing as a Career

/in /by

StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Nursing Career|Top 3 Reasons to Consider Nursing as a CareerIf you’re wondering which path to choose for your studies, or considering a career change, perhaps nursing could be right for you. There are several benefits to being a nurse. You’ll get the chance to help people every single day making it a very rewarding role, and you’ll develop many useful skills. A career in nursing can also offer varied opportunities and you can specialize in a range of different areas. Here are the top three reasons why you should consider a career in nursing.

To really make a difference

Nurses have a positive impact on people’s lives on a personal level every day. They help to improve the health and welfare of others and provide ongoing support. Nurses can also get involved in international projects and non-profits, helping to make the world a better place.

To have a diverse career

No day will be the same if you choose a career in nursing. It’s a very varied job and you will meet people from all walks of life. You also have the option to specialize in different areas such as pediatrics, mental health, geriatrics, and many more. For example, if you become a travel nurse you will be required to take temporary nursing positions in high-need areas. The constant movement from one hospital to another, and giving care to patients across the country is a dream position for many nurses. The advantages of being a travel nurse are getting rewards, more competitive pay, healthcare, dental insurance, etc.

To always be in demand

There will always be demand for nurses, so you can be guaranteed to find work in the future. As medical science and technology evolve, newer and different roles may also become available. Nursing can lead you to fantastic opportunities. This infographic shows a few facts and figures about how the future is looking promising for nurse practitioners.


Infographic design by Wilkes university Passan school of nursing