Posted by busViews on December 25, 2009
People who work as receptionists often have to struggle with a fine line when it comes to doing what the boss asks. Some bosses are really great about keeping things professional. However there are a lot of bosses out there who ask their receptionists to handle personal tasks for them instead of just tasks related to their jobs. Should you do this when you are asked?
The truth is that it depends on how you feel about the situation. If you don’t mind it when your boss asks you to order flowers for his wife’s birthday then go ahead and do it. There’s nothing wrong with this. You may also find that there are certain occasional tasks that you get asked to do which you don’t mind helping with. For example if your boss is experiencing a hearing problem then you may not mind looking over some hearing aids reviews or booking him an appointment with an audiologist even though this isn’t technically in your job description.
The only time that this becomes a problem is when it’s a bother to you. Maybe your boss is asking you to do personal tasks that you don’t feel comfortable with. Or perhaps the sheer number of personal tasks that he wants done is taking you away from the rest of your work. If you are starting to feel uncomfortable with the job because of these reasons then it’s totally appropriate to have a discussion with the boss about what your boundaries are. A good boss will respect them!
Technorati Tags: audiologist, hearing aids reviews
Posted by busViews on December 24, 2009
Do you own a business in a sunny, up-and-coming city like Tampa? If so then check out the following checklist of things to do for your business in 2010.
- Let more natural sunlight into the office. Natural sunlight is really good for your working environment. If you work in a place where there is a lot of sunshine all throughout the year then open the windows, install some skylights or leave the doors open during the day while you work. You’ll be healthier and happier if you do!
- Hire a Tampa online marketing company. You should really work with a local company that can do Tampa SEO and local networking for you. This will allow you to do more local business in the year to come.
- Offer deals related to stuff going on in the area. Team up with other local businesses to offer deals and discounts on things that are going on in the area around you. Customers living in up-and-coming cities like Tampa love to take advantage of offers like this!
That checklist should get you started on the right foot this year. But what if you don’t have a Tampa-based business? Doesn’t this list make you wish that you did?!
Technorati Tags: Tampa online marketing, Tampa SEO
Posted by bus44 on December 22, 2009
If you would have asked me twenty years ago what I would be doing on the eve of my 40th year on the planet, I would never have guessed that I would be a call center manager. But that is exactly what I am, and for the last five years, I have been in charge of setting up all the new call centers for our company.
This has meant that I have had to travel a lot and sacrifice my family life for my career. Originally, it wasn’t something that I was comfortable with, but the life I have been able to provide for my family has outweighed the negatives the job brings.
We have been in the process of setting up a customer support call center for the KWA guns and airsoft pistols that our store carries. We had a lot of support questions from our customers and therefore we created this call center to help them get their questions answered.
Even though the hardware is all setup, we will not be opening the doors up until early January. We still have a lot of training and hiring to do before we can be fully operational, and the CEO wants to make sure we launch ready with the minimum amount of problems possible.
It certainly will be nice once we launch the center – then I can move on to the next project.
Technorati Tags: airsoft pistols, KWA guns
Posted by busViews on July 18, 2009
Do you need hosted FTP service for your website? I recently read a description of this type of service that perfectly sums up who would need it. The description was:
“FTP hosting is perfect for customers who need to share or store large files on a high speed network at a fair price.”
Breaking this down, we can see what factors to look at to determine if you need hosted FTP service:
- A need to share or store large files. You want to get this service if you share a lot of images, videos or other big files. If you’re using free online storage and it’s not covering what you need then you might need hosted FTP service.
- A desire for a high speed network. If you don’t have all day to sit around waiting for those shared files to get to the person who needs to see them then you might want to look into getting hosted FTP service to speed things up.
- A budget that you have to work in. You want to choose a type of hosted FTP service that’s going to give you what you need without costing an arm and a leg.
If those three things sound like you then this is something to look into.
Technorati Tags: free online storage, hosted FTP
Posted by busViews on July 17, 2009
A great way to re-energize your office is to hold a large staff meeting off-site. This allows you to get business done while giving everyone a much-needed break from the tension that builds up in an office.
Ideas for places to hold this type of meeting include:
- Hotels. Your best choice is to rent out the meeting room of a local hotel. This is cheaper in some places than others. For example, Atlanta hotels tend to be cheaper than Los Angeles hotels for meetings. Ask about Choice hotel deals offered to local businesses so that you can keep costs down.
- Another office. If you have multiple offices then you can host a meeting at the site of one of them and invite everyone from the other offices to join you.
- Local meeting rooms. Small businesses can fit their staff into a small meeting room at a local library or public events space.
You’ll have to decide how much money you’re willing to spend on this. You should also consider what materials need to be accessible (such as laptops or projector screens for presentations). Pick a focus for the meeting and stick to it. This makes it something that benefits the business even while making employees happier with their jobs.
Technorati Tags: Atlanta hotels, hotel deals
Posted by bus44 on June 24, 2009
Don’t let your busy work schedule get in the way of properly rewarding an employee for exceeding expectations. Employee recognition programs arean important element to company success. If a staff member feels slighted or ignored, than his overall motivation level will plummet.
A huge mistake many supervisors make is assuming that their employees should not be recognized for achievements. After all, aren’t they just doing their jobs? Well, sure. Maybe they are “just doing their jobs” but the fact of the matter is, recognition is not only the right thing to do, it is also an important communication device that reinforces the roles employees play in the company. It tells them that all of this would not be possible if it wasn’t for them. Everybody wants to feel needed.
So, don’t you think it’s time to incorporate a reward incentive programs to motivate your employees even more? Let them know they are doing a great job and reward them with items, like brand merchandise, gift cards and even cash! (Who isn’t motivated by cold, hard cash?)
Don’t fall into that trap of believing your employees work to simply make you happy. Create an atmosphere where everyone feels needed, and always recognize a job well done.
Technorati Tags: brand merchandise, Employee recognition, reward incentive programs
Posted by busViews on June 22, 2009
If you were to consult a business professional about a good name for your business, you would probably be given a lot of practical advice. You would be told to choose a business name that explicitly describes what your business does. You would be advised to choose a name that is easy to say and easy to remember. This is probably all good advice. But you know what? As a consumer, I prefer to shop at businesses that have wonderful, dreamy, impractical names.
I just seem to be drawn into stores that have dreamy, whimsical names. I want to buy my kids’ clothes from Kaiya Eve and 3 Pommes because their names are so alluring and fun. I feel like shopping at these places is a better experience than shopping at a store named something like, oh, Target. The name of the store sets a sort of fantasy tone for the shopping that makes me enjoy the buying process more. So, yes, there’s a lot of good advice out there about choosing a solid and practical name for your business. Just know that there are customers out there who may think that doing this is silly when you could choose a pretty name instead.
Technorati Tags: 3 pommes, kaiya eve
Posted by busViewr on June 19, 2009
As the fiscal year ends for the company I work for, some interesting decisions are going to need to be made. One of the biggest items is where our online operations are going to move to. Currently, we are employing colocation hosting as our main means of bringing the world our business related websites. And while we are extremely satisfied with the service our provider gives us, we know that the next fiscal year is going to require us to replace about 75% or our physical hosting boxes. This is not something that is looked upon with excitement by the powers that be.
Of course, living most of my work life in the IT department, I personally think it would be grand to get to provision all new equipment and ship them over to the colo facility. However, I doubt this is going to happen. What is more likely to transpire is that we’ll begin the process of converting our colocation hosting packages over to dedicated server hosting plans.
This is going to allow us to maintain the high quality data connections that we currently receive, but no longer be responsible for the outlay of capital for all new server boxes. In the long run, this is going to benefit our bottom line. Hmmm, maybe they’ll think about increasing my salary!
Technorati Tags: colocation hosting, dedicated server hosting
Posted by BViews on June 15, 2009
For the better part of ten years, I have been a volunteer in our Scout district, and for eight of those years I have been a leader. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to serve in a mentorship role to the youth in the organization, and it has also helped me to grow as a person. I would have to say that I am a bit of a traditionalist, and I resist change. 
This was readily apparent this year when we received a district newsletter suggesting that we should try out some team management software to help stay in touch with the kids and parents in the program.I had really hoped that we would just stick to the old system of newsletters, but I seemed to be the only scout leader that had that idea. So in some sense, I guess I was just afraid of the change.
But after I was shown how the scouting software worked, I realized that it was really easy. In fact, I wondered why I was afraid in the first place - this was a good thing.Now, just a couple of months later, I cannot imagine how we were able to stay organized and have a good program for the kids under our old system. I guess we should have tried using the software earlier.
Technorati Tags: scout leader, scouting software, team management software
Posted by bus44 on April 27, 2009
It is amazing the difference a few years makes when getting an education in computers. When I received my degree from my local community college, there were only two specializations. You could either become an application specialist or a programmer. The application specialist degree was really considered a secretarial degree. If you wanted a degree that carried any weight, you had to get a programming degree.
Now, the community college offers several specializations. They have a specialization in hardware and software support for those wanting to become computer technicians. They have a networking degree for those wanting to build and run networks. The programming specialization still exists, but the choice of language has been expanded. In the past, we had Visual Basic, C++, and Cobol only.
Web Design is another new addition. A couple of courses focus on SEO optimization. I have a friend that received her degree in web design and got a job with a search engine optimization company as a webmaster after graduation.
I am glad to see the college expand its offerings. Currently, I am not in the IT field. I wound up in a completely different area. However, if I decide to return, I now have more options in revamping my skills.
Technorati Tags: search engine optimization company, SEO optimization
