We all know that using less paper is good for the planet and can lead to big savings on business costs. You’ve probably heard the little tricks to reduce paper waste: you shouldn’t print all of your emails, you should purchase a refurbished copier and “green” supplies, and you should always research your equipment purchases (for items like copiers) to find the most energy-efficient options. Even offices that use all of these practices to cut back on paper waste can cancel out their efforts by continuing to store documents the “old fashioned” way- in paper files.
Paper document storage is typically more time consuming, waste producing, and error-prone than an electronic document storage system. Why not switch to a more effective, less expensive method of document management? Electronic storage equipment is becoming more advanced and easier to use, and recent data indicates that most companies recover the costs of a data storage system itself in about a year. Here is a quick guide to electronic document storage options for small businesses:
Document Management Software: This is the backbone of any electronic storage system. Document management software is what allows you to scan, convert, save, and retrieve files electronically. The most effective systems employ OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, which allows scanned images to be converted into text, and search functions that allow you search for miscategorized items. Document management software ranges from the basic (free, downloadable programs like SimpleOCR) to the advanced (hosted solutions costing thousands of dollars a month).
Storage Options: You can store data on your own server, or use a hosted solution. Hosted storage relies on an internet connection, and doesn’t require any large cost outlays for equipment. If you choose the self-storage option, you’ll need to purchase hardware and software outright before you implement the program.
Scanning Services: Documents will need to be scanned before you can access them electronically. Most software programs with OCR require a high-quality scanner- some digital copiers can perform scanning functions, and most basic office color copiers are usually compatible with document storage software programs. If you have a large volume of documents to scan, it’s a good idea to invest in a high-speed scanner or to hire a document scanning service. If you’re hiring a scanning company, you’ve got options- you can have the documents scanned on-site (especially convenient for those companies with large storage needs or very sensitive documents) or can ship them to a scanning service provider. You’ll need to decide how far you want to “back scan” and if you want to keep any paper files.
Merrin Muxlow is a writer, yoga instructor, and law student based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for Resource Nation, a company that provides resources for business owners, and is a frequent contributor to several sites and programs that offer tools for entrepreneurs, including Dell and BizEquity.
Author: Pamela Swift
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BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 90
Sunglass Contact Lenses
Imagine the soccer ball aiming straight for your eyes instead of the net. It sure is not the best way to show-off your new Armani designer shades. Easy remedy anyone? Safer and wiser to use: The Optimal Vision Color Contact Lens! It is not cosmetic lenses, but act like sunglasses. Shades of green, yellow, red and grey…..
Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 90 >>>
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Article Contributed by by Roxanne Emmerich
Execution is everything. Plan all you want, dream all you can, then turn that key or you’ve accomplished nothing. Execution is what separates those with lofty ideas from those who end up winning the game. It’s about taking strategies and making sure they are implemented with power.
Creating a culture of execution is a leadership issue. It combines creating a “no-excuses, get-it-done” culture with the systems, processes, and accountabilities that ensure things are done consistently and well. But it’s also more than a leadership issue.
Plan, execute, measure, celebrate
People at every level in an organization can get bogged down in planning and strategizing without ever getting off the pot.
It’s easy to guess which things in a company are measured and audited: It’s the things that people actually DO and do well. If you want something done with fairly strong consistency, set measurable benchmarks.
But don’t forget to put systems in place to see if the benchmarks are being met. If a standard is measured in the forest, and no on is there to audit it–does it make a difference? Not bloody likely. Why should it?
You can’t monitor and audit every facet of your business, or you won’t have time to run the business. So where does execution matter most? It matters most in the critical moments I call Moments of Truth–the moments where execution can mean the difference between success and failure.
Focus like a laser on Moments of Truth
Moments of Truth are those critical times when a customer forms an impression of you, deciding whether your offerings and their standards see eye-to-eye. Though they vary from industry to industry and business to business, every business has them. Define them, create measurable goals and a way to assess progress, and GO.
Use weekly planning meetings in which each attendee declares focused results following a clean process and you will create magic. These meetings create the engine to keep people focused on doing the right things and getting results in the areas that matter. It also reveals the “stealth slackers”–those who are otherwise masterful at hiding and looking busy. Got some of those?
Don’t let “busyness” get in the way of business
Top performers don’t just stay busy–they know how to get the RIGHT things accomplished. Top performing leaders also know how to get their people focused on doing the right things, especially those things intimately tied to the Moments of Truth that can make or break a company. They know that accepting no excuses from their team members means permitting no excuses from themselves as well.
In the end, execution boils down to three crucial ideas:
– Define your Moments of Truth and how you will measure progress.
– Put systems in place to instruct and assess, then hold people accountable (including yourself).
– Celebrate victories large and small at every step along the way.
Miracles are supposed to happen, but they require a steadfast, ironclad system of execution and a leader who is committed to making the miracle happen. So be the miracle!
About the Author
Roxanne Emmerich is renowned for her ability to transform “ho-hum” workplaces into massive results-oriented “bring-it-on” environments. To discover how you can create a motivate employees to execute plans without fail check out her new book – Thank God It’s Monday. Now, you can get a free sneak preview at: http://www.thankgoditsmonday.com/preview_the_book/
Article Contributed by Roxanne Emmerich
We’ve all been there. You walk into a bank, restaurant, or store and suddenly feel it, that vague sensation that all is not well. It drips from the ceilings and sits in puddles on the floor. The employees are lost in thought, unable to decide whether they’d rather be somewhere else or stay and kill each other. And you’re the lucky one bathing in all the poison they can ladle up.
Yeesh.
I hope you’ve experienced the other side, too. You walk in the door and are gob smacked by a sense of well-being. This isn’t just a place where people work, it’s a place that WORKS. The employees want to be there and they want YOU to be there. You feel your brow relax, and the corners of your mouth head ever-so-slightly north. You don’t wanna leave.
So which of these do YOU work in?
Now, which of these environments do you think YOUR employees rather work in?
So you’re wondering if that six-headed, chain-smoking, flatulent monster that’s been “hiding” in the supply closet is the Beast we’re talking about here.
Here Are 9 Symptoms of a Dysfunctional Workplace:
1. People say one thing and mean another
2. People give lip service to new ideas, only to undercut them in private
3. Defensiveness
4. Saying you’ll do something and then not doing it
5. Chaos
6. Deflection of feedback and blame
7. People pretending they “missed the memo on that one”
8 Refusal to deal with conflict
9. Gossip and backstabbing
When you think of a dysfunctional organization, you might picture a lot of screaming and yelling. But take a close look at this list. There’s very little that has to do with raised voices, and the only mention of “conflict” is the failure to deal with it directly.
You will have conflicts in the workplace. The key is to address it in a healthy and productive way. Yelling at someone isn’t the best way to communicate displeasure, but it’s a heck of a lot better than whispering behind that person’s back, which gets us into the excruciating, crazy-making world of the passive-aggressive.
If I had to nominate just one of thing from the list above as the most destructive symptom of the dysfunctional workplace, there’s no contest. It’s GOSSIP. A workplace full of whispered gossip is as painful and maddening as a buzzing mosquito at bedtime. It is destructive to the soul of your workplace and the souls of your people who never feel safe and always wonder who is talking behind their backs.
When people gossip about others, you may as well have them bring baseball bats and beat each other. At least that will heal. If a happy and functional workplace is your goal, there are few more productive places to put your energy than the absolute elimination of gossip.
How to End Gossip & Create a Happy Workplace Environment Where People Actually Want to Work
Step one is to recognize that gossip is an attempt at communication—seriously screwed up communication, sure, but communication nonetheless. You can’t eliminate the behavior without providing something to replace it—namely a good and healthy way of communicating.
All Jack had to do was to go to Tom and say, “Dude, when you are late with that analysis, I end up on my knees to my boss because then my report is late. Please promise me you’ll get that to me on time from now on.” Reasonable. Direct. Easy.
If Jack came to you with gossip, simply say, “Gee, it sounds like you need to talk to Tom directly so you can work this out.” Lather, rinse and repeat until the person wakes up!
Once you establish a zero-tolerance policy for talking behind another person’s back, give your employees permission to address conflict head-on, out loud, courageously and honestly. Create a trusting and open environment and watch the dysfunctions in your workplace ebb away.
The Next Step to Ending Workplace Dysfunctions: Build a Shared Vision
Now you’ve recognized the symptoms and diagnosed the disease. Time for the cure.
Most workplace dysfunctions amount to employees shooting their energy at each other because there’s nothing else to aim for. What’s needed is a single, shared vision.
Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Everyone wants to feel productive and be happy. Give yourself and your team members a clear and positive picture of where you want to go as a group. Most of them will jump at the chance to be a part of it. When people align around a vision of great service, pettiness and dysfunctional workplace behaviors fall away and people become who they need to be to make it happen.
Will there still be those who stubbornly hold on to their dysfunctions? I guarantee it. And for the sake of the rest of you, gently but firmly encourage those folks to find and follow their bliss elsewhere.
Are you ready to do what it takes to end the dysfunctions and create a can-do culture in your workplace?
About the Author
Roxanne Emmerich is renowned for her ability to transform “ho-hum” workplaces into massive results-oriented “bring-it-on” environments. To discover how you can motivate employees, ignite their passion and catapult performance to new levels, check out her new book – Thank God It’s Monday. Now, you can get a free sneak preview at: http://www.thankgoditsmonday.com/preview_the_book/
What do computer giant Dell, gourmet food basket maker Tastefully Simple, and organic brewer Honest Tea have in common? Though all three are now multi-million dollar companies, all were originally started within the founder’s home. You’ve probably heard how Michael Dell worked out of his garage to build his empire, but equally inspiring are the stories of Jill Blashack Strahan- who assembled gift baskets on the pool table of her backyard shed- and Seth Goldman- who brewed tea at his kitchen sink and presented homemade samples to clients in thermoses.
The home-based startup story has a certain magic to it that often glosses over the particulars: where to set up office equipment (computer, printer, copier,etc.), whether or not you should dedicate a business phone line or switch your VoIP service to include “follow” features so you’re always available, and how many hours you should put in when your office is in your kitchen. What does a stay-at-home entrepreneur really need? Here are a few necessities:
1. A Separate, Dedicated Workspace. Whether it’s your garage, a toolshed in the backyard, or just an area off the den, you will need a space that’s just for work.
2. A Separate Phone Line. Small business VoIP service plans are cheap and easy to sign up for. You can also add an extension or line to your existing residential VoIP service arrangement.
3. A Fast Internet Connection. For businesses based online, this is non-negotiable. Your internet connection should be fast enough to support online activity and VoIP calls, if you use an internet-based phone system as your method of business communication.
4. A Door…or Earplugs. If you can’t physically separate your workspace from the rest of the house, you can mentally separate it by using earplugs to tune out audio distractions, or a folding screen to tune out visual ones.
5. A “Do Not Disturb” sign. If you’re working while others are at home, make sure they know when you’re “unavailable.”