Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a new technology that different industries have adopted to increase efficiency and production capacity. Some people know it as machine learning. About 29 percent of chief executive officers from medium and small businesses believe that AI will impact enterprises soon, according to a survey done by Vintage. The following are four ways that small businesses can use artificial intelligence.

1. Coach Your Sales Executives Using Advanced Tools

Many small businesses rely on their sales executives to generate revenue. So, it is important to train your team using the right tools. Chorus, Jog, and Gong are new artificial intelligence tools that you can use in your enterprise. They transcribe and record each call that a sales representative receives.

The tools then compare strategies that the sales executive applies to those which top sales team members in your business use. AI tools analyze different strategies based on the ratio of time sales representatives spend talking or by word choice. The tools allow you to share efficient strategies with the whole sales team without making a detailed review. To know more about AI, you should join AI ML courses first.

2. Integrate an AI-Infused CRM to Improve Sales and Marketing

Customer-Relationship Management (CRM) systems collect customer data from social media, phone calls, and emails to automate or improve sales. Salesforce has started using AI to enable small business owners to review client feedback from different communication channels. The analysis helps them in improving lead generation and marketing in their businesses. An AI-infused CRM increases lead generation results and allows you to optimize your client acquisition process through sales-relevant insights.

3. Use a Chatbot to Answer Clients’ Questions

Small businesses including gaming apps have started integrating artificial intelligence in their systems. As AI shapes online, gaming websites use chatbots to facilitate smooth customer communication. They resemble customer service representatives who offer unlimited customer support. At times, popups appear at the bottom of your screen when you visit particular websites. Even so, some small businesses lack a dedicated sales team. They can use chatbots to address clients’ needs and assign crucial tasks to their employees.

4. Conduct Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence

Analysis is one of the most vital operations in all businesses. Investors can use AI to perform predictive analysis in small businesses. Analysis is appropriate if you lack the financial capability to invest in machine learning. The following AI-powered analytics software efficiently analyze operations in businesses:

• Amazon Machine Learning: The service offers tools for developing machine learning models. Amazon Machine Learning has easy analytics and small business owners can connect it to data kept in Amazon S3, Redshift, and RDS.

• Microsoft Onboard: Microsoft’s objective is to empower individuals and organizations using artificial intelligence. Microsoft Onboard is an open-source software framework which competes with Tensorflow and Caffe. It helps businesses scale across many machines.

• H20: It has open-source and free primary tools. You can download the tools to access the H20 platform. It has an Apache 2.0 license and you can run H20 tools on AWS-powered clusters.

Artificial intelligence will soon have a huge impact on small businesses. Investors can coach sales teams using advanced tools, improve marketing by integrating AI-infused CRMs, use artificial intelligence to conduct analysis, and answer customers’ questions using chatbots. The technology won’t replace employees. Instead, it will improve their efficiency and performance.

Running a small business is not as easy as it sounds. You’ll get pulled in different directions simultaneously. And if you are to succeed, you have to take control of your mind, time, and energy. Small business owners are usually in charge of daily operations such as employee issues, payroll, or any problem that needs to be solved during the day.

If the demands are starting to overwhelm you, do not give up. There are hundreds of business and productivity apps out there that will help you keep everything organized and neat so that you can delegate tasks effectively and stay on top of your business operations.

So, which are the best phone apps for a small business? They will largely depend on your business and preferences. If you don’t have the time or energy to go through the endless list of apps, we are here to help you. Let’s get started!

Apps for Productivity

1. Evernote

Evernote allows you to clip pieces of information from the internet and tag them for an easy search process. You can also alter these pieces by adding tables, pictures, video, and audio to name a few.

Evernote can also be used for journaling, to-do lists, contacts, recipes and to store emails and tweets. You can enjoy all these features for free in the basic version. The business version costs 12 bucks per month with more features which include more space for uploads and admin controls.

2. Pocket

Pocket, as its name suggests, makes it easy for you to save articles, videos, or any other content you find valuable online.

When you’re tired of reading funny comments or tweets on social media platforms but you still want to relax while reading something interesting, Pocket will come in handy. The best part is you don’t need an internet connection to access what you saved. Pocket is simple and easy to use.

3. Wunderlist

Wunderlist is a very effective to-do list app. You can create an endless task list and share it with whomever you want. Lists will sync automatically so that your team can see which tasks or items have been completed. Wunderlist has launched a powerful business app that helps you delegate tasks to your immediate team and create subtasks.

They can add notes, program reminders, and set deadlines. The basic version is free while Wunderlist for business costs $4.99 per month for every user.

Apps for time management

All business owners need to be accountable for how they spend their time. These apps will help you get started in this area.

4. Rescue Time

If you are like most people, you probably spend too much time on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to name a few. Plus, with the introduction of online shops, it’s easy to waste time and money on things that you don’t need. According to luckynj.com, the basic version is free while the premium version costs 9 bucks per month. Rescue Time is available for Android, Linux, and Apple devices.

Rescue Time, as its name suggests, helps you manage your time better by blocking certain sites, setting notifications, and tracking online activity.

5. Toggl

Toggl is an amazing time management app as it will help you track every second during the day. You can track clients and projects, view well-designed graphs, timesheets, and sync your reports with other project management apps.

All your team members can use Toggl. And you can divide them into different groups to boost performance. Toggle free version can be used by a maximum of five users while the Pro version doesn’t have a set number of users. It costs 5 bucks per month per user.

Project Management Apps

6. Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the most popular project management apps around the world today. Its interface is not only streamlined but also intuitive thus making it easy for you to chat within projects, invite team members, create checklists, and track progress. You can also create workflow calendars to keep all team members on the same page. Basecamp charges per project with plans starting from $24 and going up to $150 per month.

Conclusion

If you are struggling to manage your business every day, these apps will come in handy. With the right combination and proper use of tools, you can streamline your business operations and simplify them to save time and money. Download these apps today!    

Do you know what’s the biggest threat to the majority of companies nowadays? Cyber attacks. That’s why it’s essential to learn basic rules on how to protect your company from data breaches, hacker attacks, etc. If your company is looking for reliable IT support that’ll help prevent any cyber problems from occurring, take a look here.

If you’re an employee and want to learn more about cybersecurity, in the article, you’ll find the top six cybersecurity tips for employees. These tips may sound sometimes trivial to you, but remember that practicing them will allow you to add something to your company security.

1. Protect your data

Okay, it sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people forget about this elementary rule. Avoid sharing your personal information like security number, address, and credit card on sites that don’t look legitimate.

Also, don’t log in anywhere using your work email address. Scammers can easily hack your email and gain access to company data. They can even take control of your company’s social site, so you need to be careful. That’s why everyone must get educated in the field of Cyber Security by taking any Cyber Security courses online.

You should avoid sending any photos from the workspace as well. Sometimes you can send someone a pic of something confidential without even knowing it. The same goes for the pictures you share on your social media.

2. Connect to secure network and use VPN

Before you log in to any company accounts, make sure that the connection is secure. The company Wi-Fi should be protected and hidden, but it’s safe to check it from time to time.

Now, if you have to work remotely, you should try to avoid public networks. They can be risky and make your data vulnerable to any cyber-attacks. If you have to use one, you should use a VPN to protect you and your data.

VPN can be a perfect protection tool against any attacks. More companies are acknowledging that and provide their employees with it. But if your company doesn’t, you should consider getting one for yourself.

3. Use strong passwords

That goes without saying, but there are still people who use passwords like Andy123. Passwords like that make hackers jobs much easier, and therefore make your company more vulnerable. A strong and complex password is one of many steps to help your company secure its data.

A strong password should contain at least ten characters and include numbers, symbols, capital letters, etc. You ought to change your passwords regularly as well. You may be overwhelmed with the number of passwords you create, but there are password managers to help you with that.

Password protection may not be enough to make sure your company is protected. But it’s the first step to make sure it is.

4. Avoid pop-ups, insecure links, and unknown emails

That’s one of the most important things you can do, and yet many people can’t obey this simple rule. Don’t open any pop-ups or click on insecure links while you’re surfing through the web. This hacker tactic is called phishing.

The phisher will do everything they can to make sure you open things they send; every link and pop-up content virus or malware that can be a severe threat to your company’s security.

The same goes for unknown emails. Remember that it’s easy to fake a company email address. So if you didn’t start the conversation and see a new email that may look legitimate, don’t open it. It’s likely to contain malware or viruses as well.

5. Install security software

If you’re an employer and want to make sure your company and your employees are safe, you have to invest in security software. Security software providers revise their software regularly so that their clients can be safe from new threats.

If you want to make sure your company is protected, you should install security software. It’s also essential to check for any updates and install them right away. That also applies to any personal devices you use at work, like a smartphone or laptop.

Also, inform your IT department or security manager on any suspicious activities you may notice. This way, they’ll act fast and put out potential threats before they occur.

6.  Make regular data backups

Any company needs to make sure their data is secure. That’s why you have to make sure that it won’t be lost or stolen. It’s important to remember about regular data backups if you want to prevent your data from being lost.

It may be the most important thing you can do to secure your company next to installing security software. Mind that the majority of security breaches happen because hackers want to steal your data. By backing it up regularly, you’ll be able to provide better security.

There are many ways you can backup your data. It depends on your company policy, whether you should use cloud or external hard drives.

Summary

In conclusion, it’s vital to make sure your company is safe. It doesn’t matter if you’re an employer or employee; you have to do everything you can to help protect your company data from any cyberattacks. There are many things that you may consider to be minor, but in reality, they can be essential for overall company security. Remember that everything can make a difference, so make sure everyone in your company follows security rules.

Mobile technology is constantly improving, which means shopping for a new phone requires understanding which devices are new, improved and overall best at the time of purchase. While many opt for standardized devices such as iPhones, the level of versatility and functionality found in Android phones ensures users can find exactly what they need.

With that being said, which Android phones are the most worthy contenders in 2020? Let’s take a quick look at the best options on the market currently and help you come to a decision.

Samsung Galaxy S20 – for Everyday Users

The flagship phone of the Samsung enterprise, the brand’s Galaxy line has long been a popular choice for Android consumers. Weighing in at just under 6 ounces, the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S20 makes for a great Android mobile device for most consumers. With a pristine 1440×3200 pixel resolution, images, videos and apps alike will be crisp and brilliant on the screen.

Its photo and video capturing potential is also immense. Offering up to 108 megapixels of photo-grabbing beauty, 33 megapixels of still video capture, 8K video and up to 100x zoom functionality via its Space Zoom technology, capturing all of those important moments will be a piece of cake.

Other features you expect (such as 5G compatibility, 5000 mAh of battery life and up to 512 GB of internal storage) can also be found on this top-of-the-line Android solution.

Vivo V Series – for Price-Conscientious Consumers

Those in the market for cutting-edge Android technology without the hefty price tags of traditional smartphones need look no further than the Vivo V Series lineup. With four different phones available, the Vivo V Series offers users access to an affordable and powerful Android phone for around half the price of other flagship entries.

With 32-to-48-megapixel cameras utilizing AI technology, up to 128 GB of internal storage, battery capacity up to 5000 mAh and Snapdragon processors designed to maximize battery consumption, you’ll be able to snag video, photos and audios without having to worry about needing to recharge your Android device constantly (click here for information on the battery capacity of new phones).

Google Pixel 4 – for Multimedia Enthusiasts

Google’s Pixel 4 line is an excellent choice for Android lovers who love to capture the world around them in photos and videos – day or night. Specializing in transforming those challenging shots into professional-looking cinema and photography, Google’s latest generation of Night Sight is included on Pixel 4 phones (which allow great photos and video without the need for flash).

Utilizing features such as an improved portrait mode that make photos resemble ones taken by a DSLR camera, the Google Pixel 4 is a top contender for Android users seeking to garner the most from their cameras while on-the-go.

BlackBerry Key2 – for the Tactile Lover

Last but not least, there is an increasing demand for the return of a physical keyboard on select Android devices. With screens bigger than ever, trading a bit of screen size for a tactile keyboard is once again feasible. While not the most modern phone on the list in terms of technical specs, the BlackBerry Key2 is a worthy contender for those wanting that physical feel in their Android experience.

Featuring 64 to 128 GB of internal storage, a 3500 mAh battery (BlackBerry’s software is optimized for energy use, making this battery easily on par with other manufacturers’ 5000-mAh batteries) and 4.5” of screen in addition to the nifty physical keyboard make this latest addition to the BlackBerry line worth considering if you prefer a physical keyboard for day-to-day use in emails, typing and beyond.

Ultimately, the most worthy Android phone for 2020 depends on your preferences and day-to-day use. These four phones in particular each have their pros and cons, but balancing use factors such as multimedia, tactile preference, budget and all-around use mean that at least one of these Android phones would be excellent in the hands of virtually anybody shopping for a new device.

Daily shopping is an important part of our life. We buy products, household chemicals, and spend most of our budget on shopping. However, fewer people experience a responsible attitude to grocery shopping, which means that plenty of unnecessary goods appear in our baskets.

So, if not controlling our budget, we are more tended to spend more than if making a shopping list. Additionally, if following the special deals, collecting coupons and vouchers, we can save even more than expected.

If you are looking for a special discount or want to find out if there is a promotion, discount, or coupon offered, it’s best to check out the Bass Pro Promo Code. This discount code program is one of the most sought after promotional codes for online stores. The good thing about the Bass Promo Code is that all you have to do to get the best results is to enter the code in the shopping cart.

We recommend you to use several grocery shopping apps and take your shopping under control. Here are seven options, which can assist you to save more and plan your purchases.

1. Bring!

This app makes shopping easy and smart. The developer solves plenty of shopping tasks in a single app, which includes shared shopping lists, delicious recipes, discount cards, and personalized Bring offers. The application will help you organize the shopping process and will accompany you from the idea of the dish to the trip to the supermarket.

Manage any number of lists with your family or friends using your smartphone, computer, smartwatch, or voice assistant. Moreover, this app supports plenty of languages, which can be used by happy customers from all over the world!

2. Rabato

This incredible app assists you in collecting the updated catalogs of your favorite stores and the best deals from various grocery chains. This is a perfect solution for customers, who would like to save on everyday shopping. If you are a bad smartphone user, you also can browse weekly ads on the Rabato website.

3. Lidl

This well-known grocery chain has many chances to be downloaded on your phone. It helps customers to keep track of the latest promotions, BOGO offers, and sales. Weekly leaflets make this task especially simple, while every item has a clear product description. You can plan your shopping list at home by learning them and calculate the required amount of money to avoid unnecessary spending. 

4. SAVE

This is a price drop alerts app for Walmart grocery, which helps people to save on their purchases at this chain. You can browse the prices by categories, add some products to favorites and learn the tips for the advantageous shopping. In addition to grocery, you can follow special deals in various categories such as clothing, furniture, home appliances, electronics, and others.

5. Auchan

Order thousands of products from Auchan directly in your mobile application — now it’s convenient and easy! The entire range of grocery items — from the cereals, flour, or butter to the goods for home or garden, toys, household appliances — everything is in the Auchan app. The app has plenty of advantages:

• intuitive registration and navigation;
• the wide functionality of shopping planning;
• the ability to personalize shopping lists and share them with other users;
• access to promotional offers, etc.

6. Walgreens Coupons

This well-designed app will help you to plan your purchases and save money thanks to coupons. You can get incredible offers for a wide range of items. All the promo codes and vouchers are distributed for free, so every user can get it immediately and use it during the shopping at Walgreens.

7. Beelivery: Grocery Delivery

If you have a tight working schedule or simply cannot spend some time shopping, just order delivery with this convenient app. Make a shopping list directly in the app and wait 20-90 minutes for a courier to bring it home. Do not postpone your daily plans for the future and let the service take care of you.

In Conclusion

Many people do not know how to shop online. As a result, their attempts turn into a complete disappointment. You can learn how to make smart purchases by using thematic apps. If you go to the grocery store, then do not forget to make a list. Think about how much you are willing to spend. At the same time, consider your capabilities. Try not to exceed the budget. If there is a temptation to buy something out of the list, take money only for planned purchases. Then you simply will not have any extra money. Good luck!

Email is the easiest and fasted way to communicate with your customers. The senders need to write the message and send it to the person with whom he wants to share the information. Email in offices is mostly done for official purposes; however, it can also be used for illegal activities like exchanging sensitive information of customers to others in return for money. This could violate the data protection act and result in huge penalties for a company.

It is an effective corporate security measure to use an email monitoring software that can track the online activities on the net through the mail. This software can track the incoming as well as outgoing messages of staff, thereby providing complete ease and relaxation of data security of the office.

There are many types of email monitoring software that are available on the internet. Some of them can be downloaded freely and require no paid subscriptions. However, some software also requires paid subscriptions for full access to the software.

Reasons to use Email Monitoring in your Company

• Keep watch on any targeted device: – Mails can be sent from the phone and on desktop or laptops. Hence track the email activities of employees can be a difficult task, especially for the call center industry where employees have access to customer’s sensitive information. Using email monitoring software can be useful for securing the stored information that is used for official purposes only. You can track the email activities on any targeted device using this email monitoring software.
• Observe the quality of email within the company: – Sometimes, email can be perceived as harassing, even if people claim it is a joke These could be observed easily using email monitoring software. This software is easy to install as they are compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems.
• Keep track of spam emails: – If the emails are registered on third party websites, then it pushes unnecessary information and sends spam emails. These emails consist of links that can potentially harm any computer and increase the risk of a virus attack.

Best Email Tracking Software in 2020

Email tracking software: – It is the best email tracking software that can monitor the email activities and can be used in the sales team to track email engagement with industry-standard metrics.

Outreach – Email tracking software: – This is easy to use email tracking software that can track the email activities and is one of the best-known software for bloggers. They can reach their targeted audience by sending their emails to their prospects. It helps you to outreach your existing customers.

Freshsales – Email tracking software: – IT companies, Customer care help desk and other IT supports company uses CRM software. They need to monitor the activities of their staff through the internet. This tool can easily detect any illegal activity and alert the business owners about any potential harm of data leaks.

Data stored in the office should be kept for office use only; hence it is the duty of every business owner that they monitor their staff’s email activity using email tracking software.

Education serves to impart knowledge, values, and critical thinking strategies to someone. It is the main activity that goes on in schools and other learning institutions. Non-formal, formal, and informal are some of the forms this systemic process can take on. Similarly, training is grouped in the bracket of education since it aims to provide learners with skills and abilities. These attributes are essential since they help people to figure out how they can apply their acquired know-how to solve problems.

As such, there are numerous strategies that schools and other institutions employ to provide workers and students with an education. Entertainment is often viewed as something that people engage in to relieve stress or for enjoyment. Games are a typical form of such leisure activities. Gaming is mentally stimulating due to its ability to provide intrinsic motivation and challenge the cognitive aptitude of the players. Therefore, education and entertainment can work hand-in-hand to make the former more engaging and effective. This article delves into the strategies we can use to integrate the two concepts and come up with a curriculum for training.

Moving Away from Gamification to Implement Game-Based Learning

Gamification refers to using the standard principles of playing a game in a different context or activity. All this is done as a way of encouraging people to apply themselves to the exercises. However, people often misunderstand the terms. The elements of the typical game that gamification uses are listed below.

• A point-based reward system where the player would receive some score for achievements.
• Creating a competitive environment where participants challenge each other to achieve specified goals.
• Ensuring that there are rules and regulations which must be followed by the contestants.

Game-based learning turns the process of receiving an education into a game instead of applying the elements of playing it. That is, the teacher does not attempt to incentivize the students to learn through introducing leaderboards and a scoring system. Instead, they convert the course content into a game that teaches the student class concepts as they play it. In this case, the student can progress through the gameplay, and their level indicates their understanding of a subject. 

For example, if you want to train your students on how to become a competent essay writer, you can work on their spelling through a game. Hangman is a fantastic example of how children can learn grammar in an environment that is fun for them. With studies showing that interactive playing can help you retain and recall information, gaming can have a positive impact on education.

Applying Game-Based Learning in a Classroom Setting

First, you need to understand the students you want to teach. People have different aptitudes and abilities when it comes to learning various subjects. For instance, a student may be drawn more towards STEM courses instead of literature needed for students who’d like to be a paper writer. Of course, it is still vital to encourage them to improve in the areas that they are experience challenges while enhancing their skills in what they are already great at doing. Once you have such a profile worked out, you can design learning programs for each student that will help them increase their scores in their problematic subjects. At the same time, they will have an opportunity to get better at their strong ones.

Secondly, teachers should ensure that their students are engaging with relevant content as they play. For this step, it pays to play the games yourself so that you can check the concepts that are taught. Otherwise, you may risk your students rejecting the games since they do not offer much or any assistance in their academics. Think of this step as ensuring that learning is the focus of the game. Plus, some games tend to be quite complicated and even in how they let players interact with it. Using them for the learning process might end up stifling the education aspects of the game.

Lastly, teachers should make their students accountable for the time they spend playing. Keeping a watchful eye on their progress does not remove the stress-free elements of the game. Instead, you get the opportunity to see how well they are doing. After all, outcomes need to be measurable if you want to continue directing the students to areas they can improve in their academics.

You can start by finding a platform that allows you to follow up on the results of your students’ playing sessions. This monitoring system will help you ensure that your game-based learning strategies are working.

Marketing always deals with the analysis and strategic thinking regardless of the popularity or complexity of a chosen solution. Therefore, a marketing strategy that will work best does not necessarily mean that it is currently in the trends or copies example of large corporations like Apple and Amazon. The year 2020 has already shown itself as turbulent and unexpected with a great number of financial shocks, trade wars, and the Covid-19 situation, which has already paralyzed most of the world and marketing ways.

Nevertheless, such conditions also show which marketing strategy to choose because there are not so many options due to globalization, outsourcing, and limited resources. The key is to invest in education in marketing. Since most people turn to remote servicing these days, educate and provide the content that actually teaches the customers about the ways how they can benefit from an unusual living environment or restricted opportunities.

Best Marketing Choices in 2020

• Personalization. Add some personality and human voice to your marketing strategy. It means that it is best to avoid generic messages that only aim to sell a product or receive more subscribers if the talk goes about social networks. Most people listen to friends or follow the trends that are popular in their social circle. In some cases, there are celebrities who share a Twitter post or tell the reporters about their experience. While it is mostly a media hype, it still has a personal message that some people can relate to. In practice, it is a personalization philosophy that drives people towards particular decisions. If you speak from the company’s experience or endorse a famous person, it will make a major positive difference.

• Social media presence. A good marketing strategy online means more than just creating a page on Facebook or adding information to a blog. The secret to success is in keeping the information updated and regular. As the practice shows, building a strong social media strategy means researching the target audience to find out what kind of information is in demand and what is missing from the global Internet network. Start by outlining the social media strategy to analyze what has worked and what could be improved as the sales or number of visitors changes.

• Unique content. The major problem with choosing the right marketing strategy is the lack of unique content or the inability of employed specialists to provide information with a low similarity index. Thankfully, you can use Samplius regardless of text length without paying a dime. All it takes is some time to review the highlighted parts in order to change them later.
• Even if you find it difficult to write your own content, turn to PowerPoint slides or short presentations where all the important information is outlined just like a thesis statement. As most students already know, the only way to avoid plagiarism is to check things twice!

• Investing in research. Even though it is always linked to certain expenses or a considerable amount of time, invest in researching your marketing subject at greater depth because it will not only make your content powerful but will also help a particular company or a project to stand out. The same relates to most marketing college tasks when some research has to be done in order to get good grades and find reliable argumentation. Considering checking topicsmill.com for great essay ideas if you are in a writer’s block or need to boost your brain for creativity. After all, a good topic always needs the facts to support each claim, so even an hour of research matters. Ensure that you write down and organize all the interesting facts discovered.

• Live streaming and education. Some call it social distancing or stay-at-home concept as we live through the pandemic times, yet live streaming quickly becomes a marketing strategy that unites people from all over the world more than ever. Implement video lessons, marketing campaigns, competitions, and surveys through the video blog to attract more visitors. Create collaborations, presentations, and answer the questions of the followers’ live. There has never been a better chance to explore what is in demand and educate yourself in terms of communication skills.

Podcasts and Collaboration

Far not everyone is capable of filming a movie or creating fancy video blogs where all the latest updates are outlined in a style of Hollywood hits. Luckily, the old radio concept is alive more than ever as we have online Podcasts, which has already become one of the most popular marketing strategies in 2020. Even most students these days use collaborations when they need to promote something or organize a social campaign within the local community. At the same time, hosting Podcasts that deal with your ideas also means that you can invite various specialists in the field without leaving the comfort of your home or a workplace. Explore available opportunities, build your audience, make comfortable schedules, and use information that you already have. You can use any advertisement during the talk, so there is no pressure like it is done on TV or Youtube videos.

Results derive from productivity, and productivity in the modern workplace is directly linked to employee happiness. Bosses have tried to incorporate many different strategies to increase productivity, but in the end, if an employee is happy to be working, they will work at their optimum rate.

Several aspects will impact an employee’s happiness in their job, ranging from comfort to joint-rewards. While boosting employee productivity won’t simply happen overnight, by integrating a few new strategies, you should see some long term benefits.

Never Undervalue the Power of Comfort

Just because someone has a desk, a decent computer, and a chair doesn’t mean that they’re comfortable. An uncomfortable employee fidgets, is distracted by discomfort, is more inclined to vacate their workspace and will potentially distract others. Having the right tools and equipment is key, with ergonomics being the most important factor in selecting this equipment.

There are several aspects to consider to achieve a prime ergonomic workstation. Overall, it comes down to the chair, potential foot stand, the positioning of the keyboard and mouse, and the monitor height. To get started, if working from the ground up, the chair is the factor that can be changed with the most significant immediate impact. For example, the range of new-age ergonomic Steelcase chairs has been designed to consider the range of postures that modern workers find themselves in throughout the day.

Maintaining Social Order and a Professional Atmosphere

Employees won’t be happy in a hostile or toxic work environment: bosses need to encourage a healthy, respectable, and friendly atmosphere that promotes engagement as much as it does productivity. However, having a friendly work environment can go too far the other way, with employees being more focused on the social aspects than the work at hand. The trick to achieving this balance is to cultivate a social community within the office space.

Another great option for your employees is wellness and motivation workshops. If you go here for corporate wellness solutions, you can find various workshops that will help your employees maintain a healthy work-life balance and boost their productivity. These workshops can include stress management, time management, healthy eating habits, and physical activities.

As noted by Small Business, incorporating a social element into the organizational structure helps to reduce stress and tension in the workplace. As it is work, stress and tension will always arise at some point, but with a community in place, employees are more inclined to help shoulder the burden – strengthening the community feel further. If employees are encouraged to communicate with management and their employees, the threat of stress or tension derailing a project is limited.

Making Work More Enjoyable

Providing perks and specific time periods dedicated to promoting the happiness of your employees is often appreciated by your office workforce, provided that it doesn’t hinder important tasks – which can then cause stress and tension. A good way to achieve this, along with promoting a sense of community, is by setting up team entertainment-driven activities.

The choice that gives you the most options in a way that will appeal to the most people is through a TV or projector hooked up to a Kodi Media Player. With television shows, films, and live sports a tap away, you can bring the office together to enjoy some viewing. Of course, to fully utilize the streaming box, you’ll need to deploy the best VPN for Kodi, which grants you access to the whole spectrum of the platform.

During major sporting events, such as the World Cup or Olympic Games, your employees can come together to enjoy certain events. Or, week-to-week, you can introduce them all to a new show, giving them time to see more episodes periodically. This will bring them, and perhaps yourself, together in a joint interest, provided that no one has seen it before or is inclined to spoil the show.

There you have it: comfort, community, and entertainment can all help boost the happiness of your employees and, therefore, the productivity of your office.

It has not even been 150 years since Alexander Graham Bell made history with the very first telephone call on March 10, 1876, but how the times have changed! Can you imagine what the inventor of the telephone would think today if he suddenly found himself in a 21^st century call center? Most businesses no longer utilize hardwired phone systems, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has become the industry standard for commercial telecommunications. Even a decade ago it would be difficult to imagine just how far VoIP would advance and this is why it is so important to keep abreast of cutting edge trends when debating the benefits of VoIP over traditional telecommunications systems. Here are just three VoIP trends you cannot afford to ignore in 2020 going forward.

1. Rapid Decline in ‘Traditional’ Phone Systems

First, and foremost, you can safely assume that there will be a rapid decline in the number of companies using traditional, hard-wired telecommunications systems. With VoIP so much more cost effective than traditional phone lines, a greater number of businesses will be abandoning those archaic systems. Bear in mind that VoIP calls carry no long-distance charges so the cost of communications will have an immediate impact on profitability.

2. Greater Focus on In-App Integration

This is probably going to be the most popular of the VoIP trends you can’t ignore in 2020. How often have you become frustrated trying to flip back and forth between screens and apps while trying to carry on an intelligent conversation by referring to data or information needed in the moment? In 2020 and beyond you will see a greater number of developers integrating VoIP into their apps which will significantly reduce wasted time. However, it may be difficult to find the right VoIP software for your needs. A comparison of features like those found on the piesync.com website will be an invaluable resource. ‘RingCentral vs. Aircall: which VoIP phone software is best?’ is definitely worth a read.

3. Mobile Technology

Many of today’s businesses have a large mobile workforce. This has led to some amount of frustration when choosing the right VoIP platform. Some simply do not lend themselves well to mobile access. What about that worker who is out in the field on a call and in need of information stored on the company’s server? The right VoIP software can allow for seamless integration whether out in the field or in office. This is even going to be more prevalent as 5g networks continue to roll out. Not only can remote workers access all the same information they have at their disposal in the office, but they can do so with speed never before imagined.

There is no doubt that within a few short years there will be few hardwired phones in homes or commercial offices. Not only are VoIP communications cost effective, but they allow for greater integration with vital applications. The greatest concern would be finding the right VoIP software that includes all the features you require. This is also why it is important to do a product comparison before choosing a platform for your needs. Take the time to do a bit of comparison shopping and research and you will find the right call center software that meets your needs.

Online collaboration for projects is definitely not a new concept. However, it’s almost mandatory needs are surely new to most businesses. 

With that said, adapting to the changing circumstances is the key to surviving in this increasingly competitive business landscape. When this change requires your business to move its functions on the web, it is important to ensure you and your team have access to all the necessary tools they need to carry out their day-to-day tasks.

While your task of ensuring individual assignments are being completed on time may not have changed drastically, the part of your business that was dependent on effective collaboration currently requires serious attention.

The first step in ensuring your teams are able to efficiently collaborate on projects from the comfort of their homes is to provide them with all the right tools for the job.

Here’s a list of the type of collaboration tools you should be making available to your teams:

Video Conferencing Tools

This one is a no brainer, video conferencing tools are the most basic need for effective online collaboration. Thanks to multiple industries feeling their dire need, and the controversies regarding data integrity surrounding current players like Zoom, we now have a number of brilliant tools in the market for the same.

There are even web conferencing tools that are designed to serve specific functions of your business, like employee onboarding and training.

Virtual Whiteboards

Virtual whiteboards are exactly what their name sounds like. Designed to facilitate seamless flow of creative ideas, these tools come loaded with a plethora of collaboration features that can be customised to your unique needs.

While simply having a whiteboard that gets updates across multiple screens in real time is extremely convenient, features like interpretation of mathematical and chemical equations, presence of a chat feature, among many others, make these tools really handy for a number of scenarios.

Cloud File Sharing  

Cloud based file sharing has a number of advantages. Firstly, they allow your teams to bypass the file size restrictions present in email clients, enabling them to seamlessly share documents, videos, graphics, even software with each other.

Second, storing your data on the cloud ensures better data security and makes it available to everyone at a single place. Your data lives on the cloud, so it remains safe, not only from miscreants, but from the dangers of human error as well.

Online Shared Document

Online shared documents are one of the most convenient collaboration tools to ever exist. These documents automatically save any changes made to them, and update them for any user they are shared with.

Platforms like Google Docs work in a manner that is very close to the traditional document platforms like Microsoft Word. They even provide users with a feature that automatically saves the history of all the changes made to a document and offers the users the ability to revert to an older version at any point.

Messaging Tools

Messaging tools allow for instant exchange of short messages and files, that may not require the use of email or the cloud drive.

Moreover, when most of your team members are working from home, there is hardly any “coffee break conversations” happening. Having a messaging tool that connects them with their colleagues allows your employees to stay in touch with them and nurture the interpersonal relationships within your team.

Conclusion

Having the right tools in your arsenal is sure to boost the efficiency of your team’s collaboration projects. These were just some tools that we think are essential for effective collaboration. 

Did we miss out on your favorite tools? Tell us (and everyone else) about them in the comment section below!

Social media undoubtedly have a significant impact on every aspect of people’s lives in the present century. Among the various top order social media platforms, Instagram is the one showing the most promising growth in terms of popularity among general users as well as businesses. More and more brands are featuring their products and services on this trending photo-sharing platform.

The diversity of users and the versatile reach offered by Instagram make it the top priority social media platform by advertisement campaigners. The same reason explains the hype for getting more and more followers and likes. If you are also interested in increasing your follower count on Instagram, keep reading this post.

How to Boost Your Follower Count?

Various businesses resort to several formulae to increase the number of people following their personal or brand pages on Instagram. Since Instagram is composed of a mixed crowd with varying tastes and interests, there is no generalized thumb-rule method. Some of the companies try and increase their following manually. They opt for organic growth by studying their audience. This strategy, though effective, takes a lot of time and effort to bear fruits.

The most observed trend, followed by modern business houses is to buy followers on Instagram. This method is instantaneous and far easier compared to organic growth. You can pay for it and get a solid number of followers to count overnight. This way, the minimum milestone of 10,000 and even 1 Million becomes easier to achieve than ever before.

Get Real Followers on Instagram

There is a common question asked by social media influencers and businesses regarding the concept of buying Instagram followers. They are worried if these profiles are not authentic. If you have the same query, here is the answer. The best companies selling likes and followers on Instagram are aware of your anxieties and they have given a lot of thought and effort on the subject.

Top-order agencies providing followers and likes on Instagram can guarantee you that your follower base will be increased and that too with real profiles. You can buy real Instagram followers who would certainly increase not only your stats but also visibility and exposure.

How to Get Maximum Number of Followers?

You have to devote time and effort to establish a follower base worth advertising; there is no short cut to that. Even if you buy Instagram followers cheap from verified agencies, your work does not end there. You have to share content posted by related pages and accounts. Reposting is a great way to attract users. Moreover, you must study your existing followers, know their likes and interests, and produce quality content. You have to make your followers feel valued by responding to their comments. Follow these steps and see the difference by the bulging stats of your profile. Grow your follower count and make your brand well-known in the market.