Dont feel guilty about taking time off this summer - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

Don’t feel guilty about taking time off this summer - Viewpoint - careers advice blog It’s that time of year when the office can often be divided between those debating which factor sun cream to pack and those for whom the very thought of a day off sends them into a blind panic. Whichever camp you fall in to, if, like me, you are preparing for a holiday this summer, it’s important not to feel guilty about it. Having a proper break, one in which you can really switch off, will not only make for a happier, healthier workforce, but impact the bottom line too. And there is no exception to the rule, however senior you are. It’s certainly no coincidence that employee ‘well-being’ has migrated from the margins to the mainstream over the past couple of decades. Progressive businesses, particularly those in the technology sector such as eBay and Google, have grasped the impact it can have on creativity, productivity, and ultimately profit. Taking a well-earned respite from the latest initiative or strategic priority is a key ingredient to effectively nurturing versatile and productive teams. I know from my own experience that spending time with family and friends, or simply getting lost in a good book, ensures that I return to work more energised, with a fresh perspective and new ideas. There is no denying that in today’s globalised, technology-driven world, we are all more busy and connected than ever, making it harder to switch off and tear ourselves away from our to-do lists. For those of us who feel guilty about taking time off, this is a nightmare. It compounds the feeling that we should be ‘always on’ for work, and this feeling doesn’t suddenly go once you are sat on the plane. Businesses, and leaders in particular, need to work harder at helping employees down their tools and take a break. Give me a break Encouraging a ‘holiday-friendly’ environment in your workplace is key to ensuring employees relax and enjoy their time away from the office. While I’m not saying every business needs to take a leaf out of Sir Richard Branson’s book and offer employees unlimited leave, there are a number of ways, in my experience, that business leaders can ensure their teams invest time in getting away from work: Create a guilt-free zone:  creating a culture in which taking a break is encouraged, rather than frowned upon, is crucial. There can often be a cloud of guilt hanging over the holiday request â€" it feels like a bad time or perhaps it might impact an upcoming pay review? Let’s face it, if you are a competent, proactive and motivated employee, when is a good time? Encourage management to monitor and check in with teams to ensure annual leave is being taken and seek out those who feel that ending the year with 20 days untaken holiday is a badge of honour. Prescribe a digital detox: last summer, one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, Daimler, said it was automatically deleting emails landing in inboxes while employees were on leave. While you might not need to go that far, encouraging a culture in which employees are not expected to reply to emails while on leave can have a huge impact. I appreciate not everyone will feel comfortable with this so, at the very least, agree on a process if you desperately need someone (a text or phone call) or perhaps suggest employees have one email check-in during their break. Take an interest:  taking a genuine interest in colleagues’ lives outside of work, including what they did or are about to do on holiday, can not only help develop closer team bonds and boost morale, but encourage a pro-holiday atmosphere. Lead by example: ensuring top management, including the CEO, are leading by example and taking the time to relax and switch off will set the right impression and encourage others to follow suit. While leading from the front will send the right message, it’s also essential to speak to team leaders and HR to ensure the right processes and policies are in place too. Why should this all stop at annual leave though? Encouraging employees to take regular breaks during the day, to give their minds time to relax and refresh is hugely beneficial too. In fact I was only reading the other day how a US healthcare business introduced a mindfulness and yoga programme for its 49,000 employees in 2012 and not only found a 7% drop in healthcare costs but employees chalked up an additional 65 minutes of productivity a day. Unfortunately, many of the same challenges around taking and enjoying annual leave exist in today’s workplaces employees often feel that they must be perceived as being ‘always on’ to show they are dedicated and working hard. This is nonsense, and in fact reduces development and productivity. Not only does investing in employee well-being have a positive impact on boosting productivity in your teams, it is also increasingly important in attracting and retaining the best talent. In fact, many of today’s best candidates rate it as important as a good salary when evaluating their opportunities. So, go on, take a well-earned break this summer, and encourage your teams to do the same. It’s more important than you might think. Hopefully you found this blog valuable. Here are some other related blogs that you will also enjoy: Hows your well-being? More than fine I hope? Prioritising personality in your hiring process 5 things that motivate your employees more than money 4 ways to grow yourself global Training at the top Prioritising personality in your hiring process Establishing an effective middle management tier

Dr. Karie Willyerd and 5 Ways to Stay Productive to Accelerate your Career in 2013

Dr. Karie Willyerd and 5 Ways to Stay Productive to Accelerate your Career in 2013 Dr. Karie Willyerd and 5 Ways to Stay Productive to Accelerate your Career in 2013 With such a great amount to do thus brief period, how might you handle everything without 1) having a total emergency from being pushed and exhausted or 2) quitting tragically? The time among now and 2013 is a critical period since it in all likelihood will influence how you kick off the new year. Dr. Karie Willyerd, VP of Learning and Social Adoption at SuccessFactors, chatted with Recruiter.com about how laborers can utilize this significant chance to quicken their profession development in 2013. Look at Willyerd's thinking on the advantages of remaining beneficial throughout the following couple weeks and tips to do only that: 1. What are the most widely recognized things that influence efficiency during this season? Many things influence end-of-year efficiency, including the hurry to finish objectives due before the year's over, quarter close for those in deals, occasion gatherings, individual and family commitments for commending the season, finding the ideal endowments, arranging downtime at the break,and thinking ahead to the new year and getting ready for it. Add to that abbreviated sunlight hours in the northern half of the globe, climate challenges, and if youre a voyager, a fight at the air terminal with unpracticed individual explorers, its no big surprise theres an expansion in discouragement around this season. 2. For what reason is it imperative to stay beneficial as every year closes? As any sales rep will let you know, bargains meet up toward the finish of the quarter, and way more meet up toward the year's end. Since everybody underpins deals somehow, ensuring those last hardly any arrangements can get in under the wire can have a major effect in share cost. Moreover, numerous organizations measure execution on a yearly premise simultaneous with the schedule year. A typical misstep chiefs make during execution audit is just to recollect your latest achievements or actually your latest mess up so try to dodge this basic issue by completion the year with a blast. 3. Do you suggest representatives take a particular profitability courses? Two of the projects I believe are particularly useful for profitability improvement are Take Back Your Life by McGhee Productivity Solutions and The Five Choices to Extraordinary Productivity by Franklin Covey. The main offers exceptionally commonsense tips for jumping on your email and how to arrange Outlook to deal with the 100+ messages a day the normal worker gets. The second offers extraordinary exhortation about picking where and how to concentrate on the things that issue. 4. In what capacity can managers/organizations help their workers stay beneficial during the year's end/winter Christmas season? To start with, evade the things that crush profitability, as unimaginably out of reach objectives - stretch is acceptable, unthinkable isn't micromanagement, awkward working conditions (heres a Scrooge take on that), and consistent tokens of disappointments. Do propel individuals to finish off the year with a blast, praise victories, and urge them to give the last degree of exertion. 5. Is there something else you might want to include? A few specialists advocate that work is more similar to a run than a long distance race. The finish of year is a decent an ideal opportunity to choose how you will prepare for running a great deal of runs, with helpful periods between those runs. The preparation for running runs is not quite the same as the preparation for running long distance races, and on the off chance that you attempt and run at run speed for long distance race separation, you wont make it. Set aside some effort to plot how you will protect and restore your vitality for 2013 corporate runs. Dr. Willyerds 2013 Employee Resolutions and Tips Think Back to Look Forward by Documenting Your 2012 Accomplishments Stay away from the recency botch. A typical slip-up chiefs make during execution survey is just to recollect your latest achievements or actually your latest mess up so try to keep away from this regular issue by thinking back over the previous year and archiving your achievements. Arranging a decent inventory of your accomplishments in 2012 by glancing through your messages, your schedule or your presentation objectives framework and ensure you track the features from your year. Ask yourself how you added to the business? What are your qualities and how could they broaden your incentive inside your organization. Update Your LinkedIn Invigorate your online nearness and contacts. On the off chance that you are not as of now on LinkedIn, take the time presently to make your profile. Most associations won't think about you as an imminent representative without a LinkedIn nearness. Most potential managers will utilize it to get some answers concerning you before the meeting procedure and to do reference keeps an eye on you so you need to ensure it is in flawless condition and truly boost it for the activity you need and feature your one of a kind aptitudes. Connection in with more individuals. I recommend individuals set an objective for themselves. For instance, focus on connecting in with 50 new contacts over the occasion break. Enrollment specialists and organizations make assessments on the amount you are eager to learn and how you work dependent on who and what number of individuals you are associated with on LinkedIn. Make 2013 the Year of Twitter for Work Set up a Twitter account and when somebody you appreciate says something incredible, begin to answer. Begin to manufacture a tad of a relationship that you would ordinarily not have the option to interface with live and assemble connections that way. On the off chance that you are as of now on Twitter, consider setting up a subsequent Twitter account just to screen industry news in your field. This is an extraordinary method to get to the top news in your industry. It's an extraordinary method to make the news progressively edible. Assume Responsibility for Your Email Set up rules and use instruments to assist you with reclaiming your profitability that is taken by email. Get over the blame of perusing and reacting to each email. The normal individual gets 100 messages every day and the normal chief gets 150. On the off chance that you become truly centered around being receptive to each email you will never become involved with it. Notwithstanding setting up your own Outlook rules, search for profitability and venture social devices like Jam that permit you to share and interface straightforwardly with little groups in custom gatherings (private or open). Inside gatherings it is anything but difficult to label individuals with activities and channel your cautions. On the off chance that you and your partners all make a goals to do this, it can truly decrease email traffic and spare you a ton of time. Locate the Right Mentor for You Take the additional time over the occasion break to recognize the correct tutor for you, yet recall not to reach excessively far. Consider who you respect and connect with them. I recommend individuals search for somebody who is five to seven years ahead in their profession at most on the grounds that they can recollect what's going on with everything.

What Type of Music to Listen to While Writing a Resume

What Type of Music to Listen to While Writing a ResumePeople often wonder what type of music to listen to when writing a resume. It is very important that the song you select for yourself not be the typical song that people hear at parties. If you have chosen some upbeat music then you may actually end up taking the wrong impression out of the document that you are writing. You want to select a song that you will enjoy listening to and will allow you to relate with the document that you are composing.Make sure that you listen to songs that are uplifting and will allow you to write with a positive tone. The last thing you want to do is use a song that will make you look like you are angry. It is best to remain calm throughout the document, while still allowing yourself to express your thoughts.Some of the greatest songs for writing a resume can also be great ways to relax. Listening to certain songs can help you relax during long, stressful days. You might even find yourself taking a long walk during times when you might otherwise be experiencing intense stress. It is a great way to unwind and to focus on the task at hand.There are several things that you should consider when selecting background music. First of all, try to avoid background music that has lyrics. Many times people get so involved in the music that they end up thinking about the lyrics. You want to stay focused on the job you are writing. You might even find that the lyrics become meaningless when you continue to focus on the music.When choosing music to listen to while writing a resume, it is also best to make sure that the song does not feature a lot of shouting. This may lead you to become very anxious as you begin the document. You should try to choose music that is soothing and allows you to write with a positive tone. By the time you finish the document you will feel much more relaxed and focused.Another factor to consider when selecting background music is whether or not the song features a female vocalist. Many women feel very happy when they listen to music that features a female voice. If you are a woman who often listens to music you might find it easier to compose a resume for yourself if you use a female vocalist.There are several different types of music that you should choose. For example, some people prefer classical music while others might choose a jazz band. Make sure that you select a song that fits your style and tastes.Remember that if you are a writer you should have a piece of music that you will enjoy listening to and that will allow you to focus on the job that you are doing. It is also important that you select a song that is upbeat and enjoyable. There are some songs that may make you write with anger and hurt feelings. Just make sure that you are able to relax and concentrate on the job that you are working on.

Learn About Lead Marketing in Sales

Find out About Lead Marketing in Sales Find out About Lead Marketing in Sales The exact meaning of a lead will in general fluctuate fairly from individual to individual. Truth be told, one of the greatest hindrances among deals and advertising can be the meaning of what considers a lead and what doesnt. Its critical to ensure that everybody associated with lead age concurs with the individuals liable for following up on those leads. Characterizing a Lead Most sales reps characterize a lead as somebody who coordinates the measure the sales rep has set up and who has the need, reason or potentially enthusiasm for seeking after the item. Be that as it may, showcasing experts will in general characterize a lead as any individual who would have those characteristics, and accept that a lead that demonstrates to have the ideal ascribes is viewed as a possibility. Both of these definitions are sensible, however ensure that everybody included concurs regarding which definition theyll be utilizing. On the off chance that youre perusing exhortation on a business site, for example, you can accept that the essayist means the main, deals related meaning of a lead, while promoting scholars will all the more frequently utilize the subsequent definition. A few deals specialists want to utilize the term suspect rather than lead, halfway to dispense with the disarray that can emerge from various definitions. Alluding to somebody as a suspect versus a possibility is likewise a reasonable method to order how far along the business procedure you are with a given lead. Somebody youve just observed on a lead list and havent called at this point is a suspect; somebody youve in any event mostly qualified is a possibility. Evaluating and Qualifying Leads Not all leads are similarly important from a business point of view. To begin with, some lead sources will give a high level of garbage drives, which means drives that dont can possibly be possibilities. For instance, on the off chance that you utilize the telephone directory as your lead source, at that point most of the individuals you call will be garbage leads. That is one motivation behind why salesmen and organizations are eager to pay a considerable amount of cash to purchase great lead records. The more focused on and precise a lead list is, the less time the sales rep should squander on non-possibilities. Yet, even leads that can possibly be possibilities can differ in esteem. A lead who just can possibly make a solitary acquisition of your companys least expensive item is far less important than one who will make numerous huge buys over an extensive stretch. Some portion of the passing procedure is figuring out which leads have the most potential as clients with the goal that you would then be able to invest most of your time and vitality developing those leads. Try not to Judge by Instinct Some sales reps commit the error of singling out leads, accepting they can guess by impulse which leads will end up being acceptable ones and which ones they shouldnt trouble to even cold pitch. Committing this error can cost you a great deal of deals. Youre much happier blundering toward connecting with each and every lead so you can take advantage of what youre getting.