Remember the importance of project management skills

Posted on April 12, 2018 by

Rather than taking project-based leadership for granted or assuming it will fall under the general umbrella of corporate competency, professionals can directly study the necessary skills and abilities.

A stakeholder team compares notes.

What does it take to keep a project on track?

Management may sometimes seem like a single, monolithic ability – either you have it or you don’t. However, there are many individual components to becoming a better leader in an office environment, ranging from the general to the very specific. Project management is one such skill. Keeping collaborators on track and making sure every task comes to a satisfactory close can be an absolutely critical part of an effective organization, and firms that have capable individuals may find themselves better able to meet their commitments.

Even as the exact processes required to be a project manager evolve over time, the importance of having someone at the helm has kept the role eternally relevant. Now, it’s up to professionals and companies to ensure they’re on track. Continue reading →

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Virtual Team Management: An Essential Skill Today

Posted on April 2, 2018 by

Managing a virtual team requires slight twists on the classic leadership formulas.

Silhouettes of people emerge from a laptop.

Teams don’t have to be close to work together closely.

On the surface, team leadership may seem like a skill that doesn’t change much over time. People are people, and leading them takes the same psychological makeup it always has – up to a point. The fact is, the office environment is evolving, and some of the twists that have come in recent years have shifted the way colleagues connect and deal with one another. Having up-to-date leadership and management training can deliver distinct benefits when it comes to ensuring productivity.

Virtual meetings are an example of a new practice that could affect leadership style. When team leaders can’t speak to their group members in person, they have to work extra hard to ensure everyone stays motivated and productive.

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Companies must stay aware of OSHA rule changes

Posted on March 26, 2018 by

OSHA issues updates to its industry-defining rules periodically. Here are two recent changes to take note of.

A crane works on a building site.

What are the latest OSHA rules updates?

Complying with the rules and regulations set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is essential for companies of all industries, sizes and descriptions. From the busiest factory floor to the most sedate office space, each workplace has its own OSHA rules to follow. When creating programs to ensure compliance, leaders should make sure they’re reaching all relevant personnel with bulletins and training – and also that the information they’re passing along is up to date.

When OSHA issues a change to its rules, it gives companies a grace period to begin compliance. Once that deadline passes, however, firms that haven’t caught up may find themselves subject to legal penalties. For this reason, leaders should pay frequent attention to announcements from the government agency. The following are two examples of recent amendments, one covering a vast number of industries and the other focused specifically on crane operation. Continue reading →

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The positive impact of customer service training

Posted on March 7, 2018 by

What role does customer service training play in ensuring a company’s ongoing success?

A graph and the words "customer service."

How does good service improve a company’s overall operations?

Customer service is a universal aspect of good business practice. That doesn’t mean companies are uniformly good at this skill, however.

Not only is service an important element of operations, worthy of specific consideration, but it is also a practice that has changed a great deal over the past few years. The emergence of new communication channels and consumer expectations has created a need for companies to stay up to date with best practices in customer care and service. Continue reading →

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Organizational change management: Everyone has a role

Posted on February 19, 2018 by

Change is a constant factor in corporate life today, and some companies will face it more gracefully than others.

Busy businesspeople meet in a hall.

Companies today can’t stand still operationally.

Businesses that don’t grow and change are at risk of falling behind their competitors, as technology and consumer priorities shift around them. Taking organizational change as a necessary part of growth and development doesn’t make it easy, though. Shaking out of established patterns and doing things in a new way remains difficult both to start, and to maintain.

Companies can invest in employee education and training programs that tackle organizational change head-on. Due to the inescapable nature of change, it makes sense to treat this as its own topic. When companies successfully transition to new operational models, these training priorities are revealed as smart decisions. Continue reading →

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