The German Answer to the Post-Holiday Email Nightmare

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The German Answer to the Post-Holiday Email Nightmare As many of you will know, I’m currently enjoying a family holiday in Canada.  And, whilst I’m trying to forget about work for the time being, I know that I still have to be available in case any of my clients need to contact me.

It’s not all bad though. By spending a few minutes each day online, I am keeping on top of anything urgent that needs addressing. However, I am fully aware that once I am back in the UK and working my regular hours again, I’m going to have a significant amount of emails to wade through.

Yes it’s all part of returning to work with a bump and an inevitable reality of taking a holiday. But that’s not the case if you work for one of the progressively forward thinking German companies such as Daimler or Volkswagen.

These two German car giants have realised something very important: take care of your employees and they will, in return, take care of you and, therefore, your business.

At Daimler, they have just implemented a new policy for when an employee goes on holiday. It’s called the Mail on Holiday initiative and basically sees any emails that are sent to an employee who is currently on holiday deleted. The sender is subsequently informed that their email has not been received and an alternative person to contact is given.

The result is that when the employee returns from their holiday they are not immediately swamped with hundreds of emails requiring their attention. But why have Daimler adopted this approach? Surely all employees understand that the email nightmare that awaits them following a holiday is just part of life.

Well, the Daimler Mail on Holiday program was introduced following a work/life balance research project that was conducted with the University of Heidelberg. It seems that while the Germans understand the importance of working hard, they also know that working smart is a must.

Daimler highlighted their thinking in a statement announcing the policy: “The aim of the project is to maintain the balance between the work and home life of Daimler employees.”

But Daimler isn’t the only German company to implement such cutting-edge initiatives. In 2011, Volkswagen made a decision to stop sending emails to their employees after the end of their shift.

Deutsche Telekom have a similar policy which sees no emails after hours and even Germany’s Labour Ministry have advised their ministers to not bother employees after hours unless it is an absolute emergency.

Work/lie initiatives such as this prove that modern businesses are waking up to the reality that the wellbeing of their employees is paramount to their overall success. Its part of a growing ‘data detox’ trend in European corporate life that is designed to reduce employee burnout.

Perhaps more British companies will adopt a similar approach in the future. After all, remaining competitive in the European marketplace is in the best interest of UK businesses.

Daimler’s Mail on Holiday policy is apparently optional. I doubt, however, that many people choose not to take advantage of it – do you?

 

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Top tips for when you’re working from home

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Top Tips for When You’re Working From HomeAs a virtual assistant, I can work from virtually anywhere in the world – providing I have a reliable internet connection. The flexibility that this affords is fantastic and one of the definite

perks of my line of work.

In fact, I am actually writing this post from Canada where I am currently enjoying some much needed time out with my family. But, just because I am almost 4,000 miles from London, doesn’t mean I can’t continue to service my clients albeit at a slightly  reduced schedule, but nevertheless I am still contactable.

Our holiday is focussed on the areas of Calgary, British Columbia and Toronto. Trips to the Rockies, Banff National Park and other places of interest are on our itinerary. Basically, a little bit of relaxation with tons of day trips and visits to places of interest.

So, as I am currently working remotely, and there’s a good chance that more people are going to start working from home going forward, I thought a post outlining my top tips for working from home would be suitably apt.

Follow a morning routine

Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow a morning routine. You wouldn’t head to the office without brushing your teeth, showering, getting dressed or eating breakfast etc. so don’t neglect these things when you’re working from home.

After all, you’ll inevitably have to do them all at some point throughout the day and so better to get them out the way at the start. Not only will this put you in the right frame of mind for optimum productivity but it’ll also mean you’re not taking time out later in the day.

Have a set schedule

Much like keeping a morning routine, having a set schedule is also very important. Often, people who work from home find themselves in a situation where they’re online extremely early and sign off very late.

This isn’t a good habit to get into, which is why you need a set schedule e.g. 9-5, even if you are working from home. The line between work and personal time can become blurred and it’s up to you not to let this happen. Of course, you can logon for the odd conference call or to deal with an important email but don’t let it become the norm.

Furthermore, it’s important to have regular breaks when you’re working from home – just like you would in the office. Give yourself a set lunch break and don’t look at your laptop again until it’s over – unless you use the time to conduct your personal internet browsing.

Create a dedicated workspace

It can be extremely tempting to work sat on your sofa with your laptop in front of you. But this is a setup that will ultimately lend itself to reduced productivity. This is because you need to be in the right frame of mind to be productive and if you’re lounging on your sofa with the TV on in the background, you are not going to be as productive as you would be sat at a desk

You don’t need to spend a small fortune creating a bespoke office but a dedicated work surface, like a desk, is a must. Try to create a small space that allows you to be as productive as you would be in an office environment.

Eliminate distractions

When you’re working from home it can be all too easy to be distracted by all manner of things. For example, you may have a pile of washing up that needs doing and it can be very tempting to take time out from your work to do it.

The trouble with this is that you’ll find yourself crossing off lots of small tasks from your household chores list, all of which are distracting you from your work.

Likewise, your favourite social media sites can also be big distractions when you’re working from home. You wouldn’t have your Facebook page or Twitter feed open in the background when you’re in the office (I guess?) so don’t do it when you’re at home. Use your dedicated breaks to catch up on your social media accounts and then close them before starting work again.

 

 

Image courtesy of BrianHolm / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

HTTPS Now a Google Ranking Signal

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HTTPS Now a google ranking signalDoes your website use HTTPS encryption? If not, maybe it’s time you made the switch; especially as Google have recently announced that they’ve started using HTTPS as a ranking signal.

That’s right, it now seems that Google are striving to make the internet a safer place for us all and, while the change to their search algorithm currently affects less than 1% of global queries, it’s likely to become much larger in the future.

In Google’s own words: “we’d like to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to keep everyone safe on the web.”

And what better way to cajole webmasters into adopting secure, encrypted connections on their sites than this! But what is HTTPS and how can it benefit you and your website visitors?

The next time you visit your favourite website(s) take a quick look at your browser’s address bar and you’ll likely see either ‘HTTP’ or ‘HTTPS’ – the latter being the secure connections that Google are talking about. Furthermore, your browser will often show a padlock symbol to highlight that you are communicating over secure connection.

Traditionally, online banking and e-commerce websites used HTTPS to increase the security of the connection between them and their customer. However, it’s now much more common to see social media and news websites using secure connections.

Standard HTTP websites use port 80 for communication and are liable to man-in-the-middle and eavesdropping attacks, which allow attackers to get hold of sensitive information and website accounts.

A nice analogy that I came across on the internet likened website security to sending your credit card information via post. Unencrypted sites are the same as posting your details in a clear plastic envelope for all to see. Encrypted websites, however, see your data sent in secure envelopes that protect it in transit.

Now you might be wondering why all websites don’t use HTTPS as standard and the answer is simple – because it costs money. Today, however, SSL certificates can be picked up for just a few pounds a year, yet the benefits they afford are numerous.

Also, there were many people who believed that encryption added an unnecessary burden to a website and reduced its performance but advances in technology have eliminated this issue.

So, there really are no excuses not to implement secure, encrypted connections for your website. Especially as we hear more and more about data security breaches happening on a seemingly more regular basis nowadays. These types of cyber-attack are not only embarrassing but inevitably cost your business financially.

At the end of the day, visitors to your website want to feel safe while they are browsing your pages and/or logging into their personal/business accounts. Implementing HTTPS is a great way to promote trust between you and your customers/potential customers.

The final benefit is, of course the potential boost in search ranking that your site will get from using HTTPS. This might even be reason enough for you to make the change. Your competitors may already be using HTTPS on their websites, so don’t fall any further behind them in the search rankings.

 

 

 

Image courtesy of hyena reality / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

 

 

 

Use Negative Reviews as an Opportunity to Improve

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Use negative reviews as an opportunity to improveIs there ever a time when we should look upon negative reviews about our business, its staff and products/services as an opportunity? You bet!

A recent article that caught my eye just proves how trying to suppress freedom of speech when it comes to reviews – even if it was meant as a joke (maybe?) – can really come back and bite you.

Whether or not the hotel in question had indeed meant the policy as a joke is still unclear but it seems the damage is done. But joke or not, why does it seem that some businesses are so terrified of negative reviews?

After all, we don’t get everything 100% right every time and that’s just as true in life as it is in business. Therefore, negative reviews should be seen as an opportunity to improve going forward and maybe even see our negative review updated.

So what should you do if your business receives a negative review or unfavourable feedback?

Comfort your employees

Whilst you may be feeling slightly miffed about reading something bad about your business, spare a thought for your staff. They’ll be experiencing mixed emotions and will be looking to you, as their leader, to pick them up.

People hate to hear criticism and your employees are no different. You need to understand that they’ll be feeling demoralised, despondent and as though they let you down. Comfort them, raise their spirits and get them fighting fit for another day.

Remain calm

The hotel in the article I cited at the start of this post definitely approached negative feedback in the wrong way. The trick is to remain calm in the face of criticism and never overreact.

Often, knee-jerk reactions can have the total opposite effect of what we want and make a bad situation even worse. For example, attempting to respond to a negative review defensively will just draw more attention to the situation and turn your potential opportunity into a public nightmare.

Reach out personally

Get on the phone or send an email to the customer in question expressing your regret that you didn’t meet their expectations and seek further advice – that’s right, ask them how you can improve going forward.

By doing so, you show that you take their opinion very seriously and want to use their experience to better yourself for future customers. If you can resolve any issues that were highlighted, you might just see that negative review be updated to reflect your business much more favourably.

Discover the root causes

Negative feedback and bad reviews are almost always due to only a handful of factors:

1. A bad customer experience – poor service, low-quality product, tardiness. In this instance a negative review should serve as a wake-up call to your business that you’re perhaps missing the mark on occasions.

2. Customer expectations mismatch – they expected one thing but what they got was quite another. This is a bit more difficult to remedy than the previous point but the customer’s feedback should be analysed carefully and your marketing, pricing and staff approach be reviewed accordingly.

3. Your business is inaccessible – people don’t want to deliberately bash your business in public but if you don’t give them any other options, what can you expect? That’s why your customer service channels need to be effective and act upon any feedback you receive.

By tackling negative reviews/feedback head-on you can really turn them into an opportunity for your business to shine. Reacting rashly or overly defensively will not help the situation. Show all your customers that you value their opinions and use feedback, positive or negative, to improve everything that you do.

 

 

Image courtesy of Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net