Work from home Employees would rather email than Slack you

Work from home Employees would rather schmelzglas than Slack youWork from home Employees would rather email than Slack youFor the majority of us, email is still the superior form of communication, even when you are talking to an employee timezones away from the office.A new survey from Voxbone found that email welches the preferred mode of communication for working professionals. Picking up your phone and calling them came in second, followed by texting, and instant messaging platforms like Slack.Email is still superior. Should it be?Even though the rise of Slack and other instant messaging services make communication instant and convenient, this finding suggests that we still prefer the old mainstay of email even though it can drain our time and energy. Emails have long been our biggest time-suck at work. Employees send and receive around112.5 billion business emailsa day. In total, we waste 17 hours every week on pointless work email.If youre a manager of remote employees, try bein g available through more than just email, even if youd rather communicate through the inbox. Studies have found that for remote employees, it helps to be available through more than one avenue. Remote workers are an anxious lot. Their biggest concern is that because they are out of sight, they are out of mind at work. Alleviate their concerns by showing that you are going to available to them, even when you cannot be physically nearby.Harvard Business Review argues that the best managers customize their mode of communication to each employee Remote employees should always be able to count on their manager to respond to pressing concerns, no matter where they work, Joseph Grenny writes. Successful managers dont just resort to phone or email theyare familiar with video conferencing technologies and a variety of services like Skype, Slack,IM, Adobe Connect, and more. They often tailor their communication style and medium to each employee.

4 Qualities Smart Companies Look For In Employees

4 Qualities Smart Companies Look For In Employees4 Qualities Smart Companies Look For In EmployeesEverywhere we turn nowadays we seem to be confronted with news about the toughness or competition for a dwindling number of lucrative open career standorts. In addition, the average cost of living continues to rise at a disproportionate rate to the prevailing wage. This sets up the common shotgun approach scenario where job seekers apply to just about any position that has a guarantee of a regular paycheck.While this might turn out well for some job seekers, its also made prospective employers wary of interviewees long term intentions in open positions. Training a new employee is one of the largest expenditures most companies face and headcount turnover can be a big monetary, time and productivity sink for valuable resurces.With this in mind, companies have begun wising up and have developed increasingly sophisticated strategies for picking out the best qualified candidates that also hav e long term intentions with their company. Key qualities are highly sought after and many employers have spent a great deal of time developing strategies to help identify the characteristics that will make the best candidates in the long run. Want to game the job market and find out just what many employers are looking for in quality candidates? Read on for our in depth analysis of the top four qualities smart companies are searching for in their new employees.Bringing it Back to ValuesWhen you think of values, commitment to family or community may come to mind long before the job market. Increasingly, however, employers are realizing that strong values make for committed humans in both their personal and professional lives. A strong set of core values can equal a great work ethic, integrity in contribution and honesty in your interactions with supervisors and team members. Each of these are recipes for success in the eyes of companies. Attitude is EverythingSkills and experience is one thing, but if you dont have a positive outlook with a healthy dose of ambition and excitement about your job you still may not make an excellent employment prospect. Positivity is an excellent attitude trait when dealing with the inevitable stressful situation. Being open to new ideas is another attitude trait that can help employees adapt to new work scenarios or accept training with team members. Try to identify potential key attitude traits for your career field for a big heads up with potential employers.A Bit of Vision and Ambition Goes a Long WayNo employer wants to hire someone to come into work every day and put their head down while they blindly follow orders. Employees with a desire to succeed are always looking for ways they can contribute with innovative approaches or more efficient systems. This win-win scenario leads to career advancement for employees and growth for companies so its no wonder smart employers watch for this valuable trait. Adaptability to Your Env ironmentThe final of our four most important traits sought after by smart companies recognizes that an advancing economy creates rapidly changing work conditions. The ability to jump right into a variety of environments ensures that an employee will grow with a company and can be used in a pinch for one off assignment when the need arises. From loud office environments to isolated office cubicles, the ability to perform equally as well is a huge plus for your job prospects.Each of these qualities will be given a different weight depending on employer attitude and company culture. Some companies may even have another trait or two that they value above others. Prospective candidates should do their research into company culture and the most liely qualities their new employer may value for the best chance at landing that job or career of their dreams.This post was updated from the original on 08/10/2017

Make Your Office Space More Productive and Fun

Make Your arbeitszimmer Space More Productive and FunMake Your Office Space More Productive and FunMake Your Office Space More Productive and Fun Boerner Call it a mora communal bro space.The rise of the entrepreneur class and self-employment, along with the let-it-all hang-out vibe of tech giants like Google, are changing the ways in which we work and todays office space.Smaller spaces, open floor plans and workplace flexibility are altering the way our offices look, even while aiming to increase employee productivity.Think about a city park with a soccer field, a lake, a picnic table area and a grassy area, says Randy Howder, senior workplace strategist at the global design and architecture firm Gensler. Thats what were talking about when were talking about where office design is going.Like a park, theres an awful lot of open space in todays office spaces. Gone are private offices, office cubicles and giant conference rooms. Theyre being replaced with common spaces that look more l ike lounges, private spaces that can be reserved by the hour, and conference rooms for five or so people instead of 30.Underpinning all of this are two things Shrinkingsquare footageand technology advancements.The Shrinking Office SpaceSince the dot-com bubble, space-per-employee has dropped dramatically, says Garrick Brown, director of research for the commercial real estate company Cassidy Turley. Back then, each employee got about 2,500 square feet worth of personal space.Fast forward to 2013 and Twitters move to a San Francisco office that squeezes seven workers into a 1,000 square feet office space.Modern technology and business models that encourage telecommuting allow for smaller work environments, adds Brown. That includes WiFi, but also hotspots for mobile providers and conference rooms decked out with audiovisual technology to connect small offices with telecommuters and employees worldwide.These companies are looking at their workers as not having a permanent anchor or of fice, says Brown. You might be working at this desk one day and another desk another day. You might take over a room for a little while to get some private time. You might be working from the break room if you want. Its all very free.While the trend started in tech, its spreading to all industries or nearly all. This modern office space wont work for some divisions or companies. Think data centers, call centers or back offices anywhere where workers need privacy and storage.But for creative workers and workers who can store files on the cloud and plug their laptop into any outlet, the trend is taking off.Thinking of redesigning your office environment? Consider unterstellung watchwordsCollaborationDid you ever think the location of a restroom would be important in the office design? For many companies today, it is, says Brown. Putting the restroom in the right place maximizes chance meetings that could spark new ideas.In other words, says Edin Rudic, creative director of the New Y ork City-based design firm MKDA, Me space is becoming we space.And it doesnt stop at the restroom door. Norm Miller, a professor of real estate at the University of San Diego, says one company he visited has its head of innovation act as a social director in the break room, introducing strangers so they can start conversations that may lead to new products, services and greater productivity. The room is set up like a caf, with tall tables and good coffee.They said it was the most innovative location in the building, Miller says. The idea now is not only to share space but to create more collaborative rooms so people can be productive.FlexibilityAt least in part because of shrinking office space, office environments must now do ersatzdarsteller duty. Thats where walls made of foam blocks that double as chairs come in. If its got one purpose, its not going to work in the new office space, says Rudic.Everything is multifunctional, he says. The flexibility is really important because it gives people options and the ability to feel special.BalanceNot everyone works well in open spaces. Indeed, in Genslers recent survey of U.S. workplaces, companies that balance open collaborative spaces with private spaces where employees can focus were multiple times more innovative and profitable than those that only provided collaborative space, says Genslers Howder.In completely open plan environments with all these soft seating areas, a lot of workers struggle to think clearly and deeply because of the interruptions, he says. So the idea is really to focus on giving people choices of when and where to work so they can be most productive, depending on the task.To that end, Rudic says small so-called escape rooms that people can reserve for a few hours have become essential, as have new chairs with high walls that act as single-person privacy screens. We categorize these into thinking spaces, he says. And then there are semi-private spaces and public.More thanSpace PlanningBut s pace planning isnt enough, says Howder. Management has to reflect this open, flexible and collaborative attitude, too.The point is to give people a real choice and then balance the work environment with varied spaces that allow people to be their most effective.