Editorial

4 Ways to Convince Your Boss to Let You Work from Home

That traffic jam last week is what finally pushed you over the edge—your normally long commute of 30 minutes grew to two hours as you tried to get home from work. Although you like your job and your co-workers and your boss, lately you have found yourself dreaming of working from home—and that endless commute convinced you to set up a time to speak with your supervisor about doing just that.

The following tips can help you show your boss how and why working from home will be a great option:

Arm Yourself With Statistics

Before you go in to speak with your supervisor, you might want to print out some articles that show how employees who telecommute are more productive. For example, this digital article from Inc. Magazine notes that employers save an average of $11,000 per year if an employee telecommutes half the time. And, in case your boss questions if you would be putting in the required number of hours from home, assure him or her that telecommuters are almost two times as likely to work even more than they are required.

Have the Right Equipment

In order to successfully work from home, you’ll need the right tools and equipment as well as a home office that is amenable to getting a lot of work done. Before speaking with your supervisor, take some photos of your home office, and make sure that you have—or can easily get—the right equipment that is needed to telecommute. For example, most bosses will want you to have a decent computer, a reliable printer, great cell phone reception and secure access to any remote files.

If you are not already on the cloud at home, you may want to research cloud-based storage options that will prove to your boss that you can easily share documents and files with him or her and your co-workers. If you are confused about cloud storage, a website like Top 10 Cloud Storage does a great job of offering tips and advice about which cloud-based systems are best suited to your needs.

Explain Your Reasons

As Skip the Drive notes, your boss will probably want to know why you want to work from home. Prepare for this question ahead of time, and come up with serious and compelling reasons of why you want to telecommute. Instead of saying things like “I am so seriously tired of the office dress code, and at home I can dress the way I want to”—which will probably get you sent back to your cubicle in a matter of seconds—calmly and confidently explain how you will be more productive in a quiet home-based office, how your long commute is really draining or how you feel you could get more done without the distractions of co-workers.

Be Willing to Compromise

When speaking with your boss about working from home, offer compromises. Suggest that you give it a try two days a week, and take it from there. Or, if you feel super strongly about telecommuting and your boss seems to be less-than-thrilled about the idea, offer to take a small pay cut. Showing that you are willing to bend and work with your supervisor may help to convince him or her to give telecommuting a try.

When your boss approves, it will be a big step to a work-from-home arrangement. All equipment will be moved to the employees’ houses, your boss’ house, and even a self storage unit for other office supplies that won’t be needed. When that happens, the company will need office moving services to help with the big transition.

Barclays introduce talking cash machines

It is something we all are now taking for granted, a convenience we know and enjoy however for some the ability to pay for an item is not as easy as swiping a card and and entering easy to remember 4 digit number. Forget about having the funds available, we take for granted the simplest of abilities when standing at a checkout in the supermarket, vision. For 20 years my Father-In-Law has had to deal with macular degeneration, a condition whereby he cannot see anything only in his peripheral vision. Financials have always been a pain for him. Reading a statement, available balances and handling international money transfers have been problematic. There has rarely been a level of support for a person in his position short of making the journey to the bank and dealing with staff face to face.

Barclays look to be paving the way as the first high street bank to introduce an audio feature to cash machines. Obviously, this does not shout your available balance for everyone to hear, instead a customer can plug in an earphone to listen to the instructions that are appearing on-screen. A helping hand for those who wish to make use of the convenience. A long over due first step to helping those who have long been without assistance.

• Digital Eagles  – Giving practical advice in Barclays Branches around the UK, to help build the knowledge and confidence when using technology
• Online Guides – Easy to understand online guides on a wide range of computer topics including setting up email accounts and using online and mobile banking, amongst many others!
• Accessibility Developments  – Covers Talking ATMs, personalised debit cards, contactless payments   

Locate your nearest machine with their online branch locator.

1. Visit the branch locator on the website.
2. Enter your town or postcode.
3. Under ‘Where’s my nearest…?’ select ‘Barclays cash machine’.
4. Tick the box marked ‘Internal cash machine with audio’ or ‘External cash machine with audio’ (or both) and hit ‘Search’. 

Non-Barclays customers can also use the audio cash machines, found at branches across England and Wales and at selected Asda supermarkets.

Tell your friends and family that this technology is available, Barclays are providing over 7000 “Digital Eagles” to help with any concerns and making it easier for anyone, visually impaired, or perhaps suffering from dyslexia or learning disabilities to use cash machines and online banking .

3 ways to make your office more energy efficient

Offices waste a phenomenal amount of energy. Computers, lighting, copiers and other office equipment is often left on all day. This not only damages the environment, but significantly increases monthly outgoings. There are plenty of ways to make the office space more energy efficient; however, managing a whole team of people and trying to keep them motivated about energy efficiency can be very difficult. In addition, having a cool working environment promotes productivity,  it’s advisable to learn more about Air Pro Master’s current offers.

These three techniques are easy to implement; will inspire your workforce; and save you a huge amount of cash over time.

Install Air Conditioning

Comfort is the most important element of retaining a good level of employee morale. An uncomfortable workforce will lead to unhappy employees and reduce productivity by roughly 30%. According to A Quality HVAC Services, a good HVAC system will create a more relaxing work environment, which will almost certainly reflect positively in your employees. The simple addition of air conditioning with the help of experts from services like Sirius Plumbing and Air Conditioning would help.

With regards to energy bills, there’s a common misconception that air conditioning will cost more; however, that’s simply not the case. Macair state that a decent HVAC system can reduce energy bills and carbon emissions by up to 15%. Programmable thermostats will retain a constant temperature and ensure you don’t waste excess energy over-cooling or over-heating your workspace. For help, visit similar services like Landmark Air heating and cooling Canberra and All Year Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning, they are available 24/7 for all your heating and cooling needs.

Turn off computers

In most office spaces computers are left on all day and all night; apart from on weekends. Turning off the monitor won’t cut it. At the very least turn off computers during the night. If possible, tell your staff to turn off their computers if they won’t be in use for an extended period of time – during lunch breaks and meetings, etc. Electricity is without a doubt the largest office expense in the billing department, yet most bosses won’t bat an eyelid when they see computers and monitors left on when they’re not in use.

In addition to turning off computers, tell your employees to turn of lights and other office equipment when they leave a room. If you need help inspiring your workforce, give them some kind of incentive program. For example, set a quota and use some of the saved cash to buy them treats, such as a box of morning donuts.

Install decent lighting

Installing decent lighting is vital. Wherever possible use natural sunlight. If you lack windows, ceiling lights or skylights are the best option. According to professional electricians, it’s a great idea to think about energy efficient bulbs; while they can take a little longer to get bright, they’ll be far better in the long run, especially if you need to keep them on all day. If you’re planning on decorating your office with neon signs, Neon Mama has a cost and energy consumption breakdown of neon lights.

Think about your light placement. Sometimes it’s not the power of the bulb that needs adjusting, it’s the positioning. If you use lamps, place them in a triangular formation to maximize light projection. In addition, think about repainting the office. White walls and ceilings will reflect light better than dark colour schemes and could significantly brighten up the space. You can also read this window blinds buyer’s guide, if you’re looking for a way to provide natural lighting to your office.

Creating an energy efficient office isn’t just about reducing bills and protecting the environment, it can also positively affect business. Many companies will only choose to work with people who have green initiatives, even if they are more costly. And if your office is in Canada, you can easily lower your electricity rates Edmonton by switching to Regional Energy.

Set yourself targets and try to keep everyone motivated. Consider assigning one of your employees the role of energy coordinator and  make them your “eyes in the office.” This will help to keep your team aware of wasting energy.

Image Credit: Emco Klima

Image Caption: Installing an air conditioning system can significantly reduce bills and emissions.

How Can Conducting A Video Meeting Help Your Webinar Become A Success?

The ability to talk to a large group of people allows you to spread information at a prodigious rate. This is important for businesses as well as educational facilities and even in government. The question is, how you can reach as many people as you need to? In the past, you needed to gather everyone into a large area and speak from a position high enough and loud enough so everyone in attendance could see and hear what you had to see. These days, webinars have taken over as the quickest and easiest way to speak to a large group of people all at once.

How You Can Get Started

The first thing you should consider when you’re looking to hold a webinar is the software you’re going to use whenever you’re broadcasting, according to Forbes. Such things as the Blue Jeans network video conferencing platforms allow you to broadcast your message to as many people as can access your webinar. Best of all, since this will be highly similar to simply having a conference call, you will feel ultimately comfortable in speaking to your group. You won’t be able to see everyone you’re talking to, so you won’t have to worry about getting stage fright. You can give your webinar to a small group of people in the room with you rather than worrying about how many people are looking at you. The absence of noise from the crowd makes it possible for you to concentrate on what you’re saying rather than how people are reacting to what you’re saying. It is of the utmost importance to check all of your equipment and software before your webinar begins, so you can make sure you’re not going to encounter any problems as you get started.

Make Sure You Incorporate Social Media

Social media allows everyone in your webinar to discuss what you’re saying as you say it, according to Copyblogger. As you get started using Blue Jeans network video conferencing platforms to broadcast your webinar, make sure to announce the hashtag associated with it. This way, everyone involved in the webinar can discuss during the webinar as well as afterwards. This is a perfect way you can actually engage with the people watching the webinar. They can provide questions to you through something like a Twitter hashtag. Simply have someone monitoring the hashtag with all the activity and passing along important questions as they come through. You can then read the questions and offer answers to the entire group rather than to just a few. Additionally, this keeps the discussion going long after the webinar is over. You can continue to offer guidance and support to those who needs it. Of course, because it is social media rather than a face to face conversation, it means everyone else who might have had the same question will be able to see the answer to the question and you will experience fewer interruptions.

Using Guest Speakers is Even Easier

Guest speakers always make a seminar better, but you cannot always get the speakers you want speaking at your events. This is why you might want to consider using a video meeting for your webinar instead. According to Tech Soup, this is a perfect way to get them involved without having to worry about a conflicting schedule getting in the way. They can simply come on for their section of the webinar and then leave immediately afterwards. The cost of utilizing the talent of these speaks goes way down when you remove travel expenses and other considerations. You can even have more speakers than you might normally have the ability to book. With the ability to simply turn on a smartphone, tablet or webcam, there’s really no reason why the speaker cannot fit the time in.

Get More from Visual Aids

A big problem with a live seminar is not everyone can get the full benefit from the visual aids you’re using. This is why you should be using video meeting as a webinar tool. You can display your computer and everyone on the call will see exactly what you see. According to PR Daily, you should aspire to take a page out of Steve Jobs book. This means you should pay attention to just how much you’re asking your audience to read. If your slides have a novel written on them, people will just stare at them while fighting their sleep. If you aspire to have fewer than 5 words on each frame, you will have a much better shot of getting your audience to read everything you put on the screen. Make sure everything is highly inspiring as well as integral to what you’re talking about. Also, make sure the slides will not interfere with the ability to see your face while you’re talking.

Internet Security Isn’t Just For PCs Anymore

By the end of 2014, Internet Stats Live predicts that there will be upwards of three billion internet users worldwide who will move a trillion dollars throughout the year. With that kind of money on the line, it’s no wonder Internet security is such a valuable business, both for the safety officers and the criminals. Internet security is not simply a function of the equipment used. How and where you log on can put your data at risk.

Take Your Head Out Of The Cloud

About two-thirds of adults in the United States use some form of cloud storage system to back up and share important documents. Cloud sharing is inexpensive and convenient, but can also put your data at risk. Once you put your files on the cloud, the system could be hacked and your information can be stolen or lost; no matter how secure, there is never a guarantee. The New York Times, Facebook and even the U.S. Federal Reserve have all fallen victim to cyber-attacks that were actually successful to some degree. Don’t let the big names fool you! Check your data often, maintain local backups of the really important stuff and keep an internet paper trail in case you ever need to prove ownership of information.

BYOD And BYOS

Personal computing device sales surpassed PCs in 2013. The two major operating platforms, iOS and Android, have significant security concerns but companies are implementing Bring Your Own Device policies to save on overhead. Sure, saving money is great, but BYOD methods introduce huge security risks to the organization and to the individual. The recommended key to fixing this problem is training. Security risks can be mitigated by understanding the rules of consumer protection. Research of college students entering the workforce shows that they do not understand the dangers or the steps associated with reducing risks. The best way to avoid data theft is to be in the know.

A Little Theft With Your Latte

Coffee and free WiFi are one of the joys of the modern world. Unfortunately every time you log onto the network, you’re putting yourself at risk. To a savvy hacker, every person on that network is openly sharing information. A good rule of thumb is to never make purchases from a shared network environment. Even if the site is secure, the information can be intercepted long before it gets to the destination. For example, over the past year India has started finding itself in an epidemic of cyber-attacks and thefts because of its shared Internet networks.

Too-Smart Devices

You can do almost anything with a smartphone or tablet. Most people do not understand the power and risks that come with using smart devices for business purposes. These devices can get malware just as a PC might. Make sure that your tablet and phone have protective software. Both Google and Apple have a wide range of recommendation to keep the hackers out of your phone.