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5 tips to improve communication within your team

Communication between the members of your team is crucial to make your company achieve its objectives. Difficult communication wastes time, creates distrust and becomes a source of stress for your employees. These are the ideal factors for mediocre results. However, there are several measures that you can take to make your employees work better together. Here are 5 tips to promote harmonious collaboration between colleagues:

 

1. Promote human contact

Considering the variety of internal communication tools that companies employ, human contact is often deemed negligible. Some of your staff would rather send an email than walk to a colleague to talk over an issue.

Try to encourage your employees to get together for coffee. They might also benefit from a small informal meeting in the morning to get the day going. These will allow for a lot more productive discussion than a series of virtual messages would. Moreover, meeting face-to-face strengthens the bond within your team.

 

2. Correction: ‘reasonable’ human contact

While face-to-face communication has many benefits, it can also have some negative effects. For instance, walking up to someone to ask them about various small matters can become quite overbearing.

Before interrupting a colleague, it is important to look for signs of his/her availability. One of these might be to check whether the door to his/her office is open or closed. Another sign that someone is focused on their work would be when they are listening to music via headphones. In case the person is unavailable, it might be best to come back at a later time or to send an email.

 

3. Organise meaningful meetings

Spending time together brings team members closer and helps to identify common interests. In meetings, employees get to know each other and communicate properly. While these will not make all of the colleagues friends, they are an opportunity to understand everyone’s motivation. This will in turn also work towards making communication much easier. Also, if face-to-face meetings are not possible, video conferences are still a viable option.

 

4. Hang out with colleagues

If you want to create bonds between your team members and improve communication, consider bringing them together for fun activities. Arrange lunches together or go for drinks after work. Team building events or simply relaxing days out can also be helpful.

These moments bring your employees closer to each other and definitely end up having a positive impact on their teamwork.

 

5. Encourage respect and honesty

Improving communication requires commitment from the whole team. In order to achieve this, you should establish a corporate culture that promotes respect and honesty.

When there is an issue, your employees should be able to express themselves as much as they should be listened to. If you send an email or use any other technological means of communication, take the time to reread your messages to check the tone. Thoughts may manifest differently in text than in real life.

 

With seamless, respectful and effective communication, your team will become more productive. It will be easier for your employees to work together towards a greater goal: the success of your business!

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Entrepreneurs & freelancers: 4 strategies to maintain creativity and productivity

Flexible working hours, no boss, no colleagues to distract you… There are many arguments that a freelancer can put forward to detail the advantages of his job. While being your own boss has its perks, maintaining both creativity and productivity every day is not an easy feat.

You may control your creativity and express it the way you want, but no one keeps you on track. Nobody makes sure that deadlines are met, a factor which might work against you. Indeed, it might make getting the job done difficult for some. To solve this problem, you can refer to the four strategies listed below. They may help you to find the perfect balance between productivity and creativity.

 

1. Devise and follow daily schedules

Time management is key to remaining effective as a freelancer/entrepreneur. However, this is not an easy skill to master. Most experienced professionals have had or still have trouble with time management. This is why they employ secretaries to whom they entrust this task.

For beginners, secretaries may not be an option. It is therefore up to you to manage your time and plan your projects.

To maintain a certain discipline and remain productive during your days, set schedules. Of course, you can define them according to your personal requirements and rhythm. However, for the progress of your business, it is essential to work at least 8 hours per day.

 

2. Organise your work

Blogging, web design, community management … Freelancers sometimes have to work for several clients at once, with different jobs for each of them.

Divide your tasks in terms of categories instead of clients and assign a time zone to each of them. For example, you can keep three hours to write articles, two for community management and three for web design. This way, your brain stays focused on a single task rather than on several at once.

 

3. Begin with the hardest work

For maximum efficiency, start your work day with the most difficult tasks. Working on high-concentration jobs is more time-consuming in the afternoon than earlier.

Indeed, you have more energy in the morning, after several hours of sleep. Beginning with the hardest tasks is therefore best for your productivity. Your creativity will also benefit from this type of planning since your day will be optimised.

 

4. Automate your finances

Choosing to be your own boss also requires you to be your own accountant. It can sometimes be frustrating to spend hours billing clients and making advance payments. After all, you could be using this time to focus on your job. However, it is important to keep your accounting up to date since your pay depends on it.

You can decrease the time taken to calculate finances by using online tools and apps. Designing templates for quotes, bills and e-mails, amongst others, can also be time saving.

 

As mentioned above, these solutions are not set in stone; you can adapt them according to own needs and purposes. It is, however, important to remember that to be creative, you need enough time to dedicate to your projects.

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4 Essential Tips for Entrepreneurs for Maximum Productivity Minimum Stress

Business for entrepreneurs are their passion project, but it’s probably also their number one source of stress.

So entrepreneur, when your productivity is directly tied to your business’s success, it’s all too easy to neglect life’s necessities in favor of long hours at work. However, while it’s good to chase your goals, successful entrepreneurship requires balance.

It’s possible to achieve work-life balance, manage your stress, and still achieve your business goals, but it doesn’t come without a little effort. Here are four changes you need to make to strike a healthier balance for your business.

Set a Work Schedule and Develop Routines

Routines and schedules foster productivity and prevent work from bleeding over into the rest of life. They also provide structure and predictability in the often-unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. Decide what time to start and finish each workday and commit to it. Zapier recommends adopting a morning routine to get you in the right headspace for work and an evening routine to put today behind you and prepare for tomorrow. During your workday, schedule your time so you know exactly how long you can spend on each task without sacrificing productivity in the process.

Upgrade Your Workspace

You won’t be productive if your desk chair is giving you backaches, your computer is running slowly, or your family is interrupting you every five minutes. And as an entrepreneur, letting your productivity suffer is as good as throwing money away.

 

If you’re working from a home office, make sure it’s ergonomic, organized, and free from unnecessary distraction. If outdated equipment is holding you back, upgrade it. You’ll easily pay back your investment with increased productivity. Also, if your home office has too many limitations, a co-working space could be the answer. With clean and ergonomic workspaces, co-working spaces offer a professional and convenient office environment for entrepreneurs. Plus, co-working spaces offer a lot of other benefits to budding businesses.

Be Good to Your Body

Junk foods and sugary drinks help you power through hectic days at work, but they’re not the best for your health or your productivity. Instead, be deliberate about what you eat and drink. You’ll fuel your body with high-quality foods and hydration that keep you operating at peak performance throughout the workday and beyond.

 

Eating well is easier when you plan ahead. Plan and prep meals at the beginning of each week so you can grab and go in the morning. Keep a reusable water bottle at your desk so it’s convenient to stay hydrated, and watch your coffee consumption. A little caffeine is great for a boost, but too much could lead to insomnia, anxiety, and other unpleasant effects.

 

Don’t forget sleep! Not surprisingly, sleep is key to your ability to stay focused at work. If you forego sleep to chase deadlines, you’ll pay for it in lost productivity the next day. If you routinely skip sleep, both your business and your health will suffer.

Keep Your Finances on Track

There aren’t enough healthy routines and habits in the world to make up for the stress caused by financial woes. As a business owner, it’s imperative that you actively manage your business’ finances. If you don’t, it’s only a matter of time before your business fails. Additionally, entrepreneurs must closely monitor their cash flow. Staples Business Resource Center lays out the basics of cash flow management that every entrepreneur needs to know.

 

Entrepreneurship isn’t like other jobs. When you run your own business, you have more freedom and flexibility than you’d ever find in a typical career. However, if you don’t manage your business effectively, you’ll also have more stress, longer hours, and less financial certainty. With these tips, you can run a business that’s as manageable as it is successful.

If you still need help or guidance, you can always contact Turbine Business Incubator. This incubator for start-up is located in Moka, Mauritius and has for mission to enhance the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in the Indian ocean. You will eventually find solace by discussing with the Turbine team.

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