By Lance Cody-Valdez

As a business owner or leader, you know that collaboration is essential for success. When teams work together, they can create more effective solutions and strategies to reach goals, but it’s not always easy to get different departments working together harmoniously. Here are some tips from Judy Vorfeld’s Office Support Services that can help improve collaboration in your company.

Be Responsible and Accountable

When mistakes are made, it’s important to take responsibility and be accountable for them. This helps build trust between leaders and their team members, which creates an environment of mutual respect. Team members must also be willing to admit mistakes and take accountability for their actions. This will also encourage employees to take ownership of their actions, creating a culture of accountability and problem-solving.

Create Opportunities for Cross-Team Collaboration

Encouraging teams to work together on projects is a great way to foster collaboration. Create opportunities for different departments to collaborate on projects such as brainstorming sessions where teams can come up with creative ideas or solve problems together. This will help build relationships between different departments while also stimulating new ways of thinking about projects.

Create a Culture of Open Communication and Idea Sharing

For collaboration to be successful, there must be open communication between team members so ideas can be discussed freely without fear of judgment or criticism. Encourage employees to share their thoughts openly and respectfully so everyone can feel comfortable expressing their opinions without hesitation. Creating an open work environment where ideas are encouraged and respected will lead to better problem-solving capabilities among team members.

Provide and Request Feedback Regularly

Employees must receive regular feedback from leaders to understand how they are performing in their roles, as well as what areas need improvement within the company overall. It’s also beneficial for leaders to ask staff members for feedback on how they think things could be improved so everyone has a say in the direction of the organization. This helps ensure everyone feels heard while also providing valuable insights into potential changes within the company structure or operations process that could improve collaboration efforts overall.

Provide Training and Resources

For collaboration efforts to be successful, all team members must have the necessary skills and resources available at their disposal when needed. Make sure all staff have access to training materials or resources so they can stay informed about best practices when working with other teams or departments within the organization. Additionally, provide extra resources such as meeting notes templates that make it easier for people from different departments to understand each other’s ideas quickly.

Invest In Marketing Automation

Investing in marketing automation is crucial for keeping your sales and marketing teams in sync. By automating repetitive tasks such as lead nurturing, email campaigns, and social media posts, your teams can focus on more strategic activities that drive revenue. Explore solutions for digital marketing software that can integrate with your CRM system to provide a seamless experience for both teams. With the right tools in place, you can achieve better alignment between sales and marketing, resulting in increased productivity and revenue growth.

Business owners have a lot on their plates when attempting to increase levels of collaboration throughout their organization. Making sure there are clear communication channels between all staff members, investing in training materials and resources, utilizing marketing automation software, and providing regular feedback are a few steps business owners can take to increase collaboration levels within their respective organizations.

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Guest Post By Lucy Wyndham

There are an estimated 281,300 people employed as writers, editors, and authors, according to Student Scholarships. The organization also predicts that this number will grow by more than 12% over the next decade. While it’s impossible to know how many of these individuals have a writing degree under their belts, there are plenty of respected writers who never went to university, including H.G Wells and Charles Dickens. So, just how crucial is a university degree when you’re an aspiring writer?

Benefits of a writing degree

The truth is that bagging a writing degree at university isn’t going to guarantee you a job, but it does come with many advantages. The beauty of studying writing is that you’ll constantly be surrounded by like-minded people that you can bounce ideas off. You’re also likely to build up a network of people within the writing industry, including publishers or content marketers, who you may be able to call upon during your career. Having a writing degree may also help you get noticed when applying for writing gigs and may mean you won’t have to start off taking free or low-paid posts. However, to get work you’ll need a solid portfolio behind you regardless of whether you’ve got a degree or not.

But you can also do it without a degree

Writing isn’t an easy job and you’ll need to possess multiple skills, including good grammar, effective communication, the ability to conduct deep research, and be able to self-edit your work. But these skills can all be learned without having to commit to a four-year year university course and $26,900 of debt on average. Alternative options to help you build the skills you’ll need to succeed as a writer include signing up for creative writing courses, enrolling in online training, joining writers’ forums, and starting a blog. You can even further your writing career without the GRE as there are plenty of accelerated online courses that allow you to study for a degree from the comfort of your own home. This is beneficial if you want to avoid uni life, fast track your career, and start professionally writing as soon as possible.

Feedback could be the persuading factor 

All writers will receive rejection throughout their careers. J K Rowling was famously rejected by 12 different publishers before her Harry Potter series was picked up, while Stephen King’s Carrie was turned down by 30 publishers. Feedback is an important thing for any writer, but how you process feedback, including negative criticism, could help you decide whether studying writing at university is for you or not. If you’re keen on feedback on every single thing you write and want a hand-holding experience then university could be perfect for you. On the other hand, if having your work compared to your peers’ sends a shudder down your spine and you’d much rather learn as you go, then skipping university might be the better option.

There’s no denying that there are benefits for writers that wish to study for a writing degree at university. However, university doesn’t guarantee success and there are plenty of options for writers to succeed in the industry without having to go uni every day for years.

By Andrew Chu

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, big companies encouraged their employees to work from home. This includes Twitter, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Such corporate action also renewed the emphasis on working from home.

But whether it is due to the pandemic or not, working remotely can be challenging. More so if you are new to this concept. Luckily, having a dedicated workspace at home can help you get past the hurdles.

Thus, follow these x tips in designing the perfect home office if you want to be a productive remote employee:

Have a Functional Desk

Of course, a proper work desk is integral for a home office. This means having an office table and chair of the right size and height.

The goal here is to look for office furniture that can house your home office without compromising your comfort. Otherwise, poor ergonomics can lead to issues later on. We are talking about shoulder and back pain, lethargy, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Should you go for a standing desk? You can if you want to.

Still, it would be best to get out of your home office and take a walk from time to time. Walking is a fantastic way to add some movement to your routine, and a change of scenery can help you recharge.

Make Room for Essentials

Once you have the right office desk and chair, the next step is to place your work essentials. Whatever you put on your office table will depend on the nature of your work.

For a graphics design, that would mean having a space for his drawing tablet. If you are a virtual assistant, you might want an area where you can place your phone.

For someone who is into data analytics, he might need dual monitors. But if you are a web content writer, you might only need your laptop and extra space for pen and paper when jotting down content ideas.

Whatever it is, only place items on your desk that are essential for your work. According to Cleaning Exec Home Cleaning Services NYC, doing so is the first step to making your home office clutter-free.

Have Proper Lighting

Other than your desk and work essentials, your home office should also have proper lighting.

According to Cornell University professor Alan Hedge‘s study, natural light can decrease the following symptoms by 84%:

• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Eyestrain

And these symptoms can hinder you from being productive.

But what if you have a windowless home office? Then, you must use adequate lighting.

And when we say “adequate,” it means your light is neither dim nor harsh.

Dim lights force your eyes to work harder to see things clearly, leading to eyestrain. This can result in drowsiness and lack of focus. On the other hand, harsh lights are believed to trigger migraines.

So, what can you install for your home office? We recommend LED lights.

According to the researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, short-wavelength (blue) light can help you perk up and be productive. And LED lights are abundant in short-wavelength light, which mimics daylight.

However, there is an on-going debate on how blue light affects our sleep. Until smart lighting technology can catch up with such nuances, it would be best to turn off your devices one hour before sleeping.

Get a Bit of Green

According to a 2014 study, adding house plants in the office makes employees 15% more productive. But living in a city apartment means you are out of luck.

Just adding a small pot of plant somewhere on your desk can work wonders in your productivity. Mind you, there are small plants that can thrive in a small windowless room.

But if you are not fond of tending a plant, consider hanging a poster or painting of a lush garden.

Pick an Inspiring Color

Speaking of a windowless room, you can repaint the walls of your home office with something inspiring.

Some say painting the walls blue can give you a productivity boost. That’s because it is a soothing color that helps you increase your concentration.

You can also opt for any hues of green since it does not strain the eyes. If you are the kind who faces your computer for eight hours a day, green might be the paint color that suits you.

Meanwhile, if you want a color that uplifts your mood without being too loud, consider repainting your walls with orange. It combines red and yellow, which are ideal if you have a physically-demanding job and want your creative juices flowing.

Keep it Clean and Clutter-Free

Lastly, you should maintain your home office’s cleanliness. This could mean cleaning your work essentials before or after working.

Another way to do it is to clean your home office regularly. But if you are pressed for time, consider hiring a professional home office cleaner.

Having a dedicated workspace does not mean you need to occupy a room. Placing a desk at a quiet corner should suffice. What’s important is that you are free of distraction and clutter, you can work in peace, and you know when to call it a day.