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Jul 11, 2013

How To Boost Workplace Happiness

Research continues to show that a happy and positive workplace increases productivity, reduces staff turnover and engenders employee flexibility. Basically happy workers are more likely to say yes to extra responsibilities, stay for longer, collaborate and help boost morale. Incorporating the following ideas into your workplace will soon have everyone smiling! Do Something You Love Every Single Day. Trust your team. Step out of approval. Instead, pre-approve and focus on supporting your people. Make your people feel good. Make this the focus of management. Pass the knowledge on to your people, so they don’t need things approved. Find ...

Jul 11, 2013 | 1 Comment

Top Health and Wellbeing Tips to Get You Refreshed for Summer

To help you break the busy-ness cycle and work happier, we’ve rounded up a handful of counter-intuitive ways to tweak your habits and your mindset. They range from obvious-but-oft-ignored tips Do more exercise. Make sure you exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week. Exercise is one of those activities that improves almost everything, including productivity and focus. Ask for help and share feelings. If you feel under pressure and feel your workload is spiralling out of control, take the opportunity to discuss your feelings with friends, family or your manager. Sit less. Most of us spend ...

Jul 10, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 8, 2013

Great Apps for Executives

There are lots of lists out there and they are all different because new apps show up everyday. Here are some top apps for executives that we have hand picked for you. Docs-To-Go This is essentially a mobile version of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. It will not be a replacement for the desktop version but it is great for a quick edit or to jot notes or review information in transit or before a meeting. Very stable app with a strong history Scanner Pro Paper meets the iPhone in Scanner Pro, which turns the iPhone’s camera into a simple scanner for ...

Jul 8, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 5, 2013

How to Boost Team Creativity

Being creative is more than just coming up with new ideas for products, or cost reductions. It’s a tool that can be used in many ways and situations. Creative people are better problem solvers and tend to overcome obstacles to reaching goals better than plodders. Research shows that people are much more creative and productive when they feel happy says Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard University. Having a hard time coming up with new ideas with your team? A few practical tips to build a more creative team. Learn each team members’ distinctive talents The areas ...

Jul 5, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 3, 2013

How to organise an Event

Managing an event has become a specialised discipline and requires an abundance of skills. The following are 10 things to keep in mind while organising an event Questions to consider before planning an event: What are the objectives (both primary and secondary) of the event? What is the benefit to the organization? Are there achievable budgets and results? Does the concept have the support of your Board or Head Office? Do you need to test by running a pilot event? What is the division of roles and responsibilities? How can the event be monitored? How will the evaluation ...

Jul 3, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 1, 2013

Diary Management Tips for PAs

Managing a busy diary is no simple task – as every PA will know. Some boss’ diaries are so complex, they employ two PAs, one to work on the diary – the ‘diary PA’ – and one to do everything else. In some industries, such as banking, the diary can be as much as 80% of the PA’s work. A good diary manager needs to decisive yet flexible. Flexibility in the diary is something that a number of PAs are afraid of – they live by the ‘once it’s fixed, it’s fixed’ approach and woe betide anyone who asks them to ...

Jul 1, 2013 | 1 Comment

Tips for Having More Productive Days

Are You Busy or Are You Productive? There is a big difference between being busy and being productive, yet many of us use the two terms interchangeably. Stop confusing busyness for productivity, and you’ll get more done. Are you making progress on mission-critical tasks and projects? Then, you are productive. We believe having a productive day is all down to planning, prioritising and focusing. Check out our tips below: Get enough sleep every night. Wake up early, probably just after sunrise. Many studies reveal that morning birds are more creative, energetic and motivated than night owls ...

Jun 28, 2013 | Comments Off

Jun 26, 2013

Some of The Top Online Meeting and Conference Tools

In a world where we now communicate and collaborate mainly via the Internet, it’s important to have the right tool available. Not only do you need something that is dependable and works properly, but you also want a tool that is easy for all of your collaborators to use. Facebook Facebook currently supports online video calling (in partnership with Skype), though you currently cannot do group video calls. You can, however, have group text chats. It’s worth looking into since almost everyone has a FB account. Google+Hangouts Google+ Hangouts is another social network that supports video chatting ...

Jun 26, 2013 | Comments Off

Top Networking Tips to Get You Started

Before you attend networking events, think about the true purpose of them. There is a reason it’s called networking – it is not a social event. So if there is alcohol available, make sure you limit your intake, or it might be best to avoid it altogether. Also consider your industry and target customers before deciding to attend an event – is it right for your business. Why attend the event? – Write down what you want to achieve from the event. Is it to meet someone specific? New job opportunity? Improve your communications skills Increase personal confidence? Whatever it ...

Jun 25, 2013 | 2 Comments

Documents that are commonly used in meetings

For any meeting to take place in a procedural way, there are a few important and necessary documents involved without which the meeting will not go smoothly. The necessary documents for a meeting are: Agenda The meeting agenda is the meeting plan. Document created by the PA, secretary or admin. It is then approved by the chairman and circulated to the other members who will be attending the meeting. It can be distributed either digitally or as hard copies. It is always best to have a few spare copies. It lays out the topics that need to be ...

Jun 23, 2013 | 2 Comments