Five Ways to Keep Your Team Motivated and on Track!

Keeping a team motivated can be one of the most challenging things to do. There needs to be an environment where employees feel appreciated and knowledgeable about their position and how it all adds into the big picture. Here are five ways how to keep your team motivated and on track!

1. Communicate with everyone. Communication is key when you are working on crating a common goal among peers. Whether it be leaving a note, or sending an email, make sure everyone is on the same page so there is no confusion!

2. Recognize good behaviors. Make sure your team is recognized! Once a goal is met do something special for your team. Buy lunch or snacks, give a gift card to the top performer, plan a game day, do something fun!

3. Make corrections when necessary. Constructive criticism is the best way to go here! You want your team to know that you care about their performance and each employee plays a part in making the business run smoothly. It's easier to correct the action in the beginning than wait until the behavior has been learned.

4. Set reasonable goals. Don't force too much workload on a team member. Sit down with them and come up with a game plan. If a project is big, set up reasonable time goals that your employee and you feel comfortable with.

5. Lead by example. If you don't want your employee checking their cell phone every five seconds, then you shouldn't be on your phone. Make sure that your actions mirror what you want your employees to be doing. Don't be a hypocrite!!

5 Ways to Create A Fantastic Employee Culture

I hate the days when I'm about to leave work so stressed out and it feels like I've accomplished nothing. It's a great feeling though when you have a close relationship with your peers who tell you tomorrow's going to be a better day.

This is where I come to tell you that employee culture is just as important as customer satisfaction. 

When employees feel like they work in a loving, caring culture, the levels of satisfaction and team work skyrocket. When an employee feels accomplished and praised, they will show up for work more often and their attitude toward clients changes for the better. Here are five ways to start creating a fun and appreciative employee culture.

1. Start with the CEO
• To create a culture of appreciation, the CEO has to take charge and not look at the lessors as if they are peons.
2. Expectations must be clear
• Managers need to set clear expectations and be honest with employees when problems arise. No one wants a wishy-washy manager.
3. Managers need to be available
• A manager should be available to an employee 24/7.
• The manager should set boundaries for when the employee should contact them, but they should always be responsive when an employee does feel the need to speak
4. Build relationships with employees outside of work.
• Choose team building activities outside of work that most employees would enjoy! Show you're employees that you're not just the big dog that everyone is terrified of.
5. Make sure to pay attention to things happening outside the office
• Showing your employees you care is so easy
• If you're a manager, remember to send the anniversary card or congrats card if an employee is getting married or having a baby or a birthday. A little bit can go a long way!

These things and more will be the start to a great culture. Have fun and be professional!

10 CEM Best Practices

What is customer experience marketing? 

Basically it's taking care of the customer as best as one can. This can be done by a series of different marketing practices that should be implemented throughout the company. Here are some best practices that I believe can make a CEM strategy excel at any business. Remember, if you hate getting on the phone with an automated "person", so will your customers!

1. Build a flexible infrastructure

• Reduce customer efforts by allowing customization at all touch points

If there's one thing I hate it's when I go to a company's website on my phone and the website is not optimized to mold to mobile. Make sure that all points of access to your company are smooth and easy to use.

2. Omni-channel optimization

• Be present on multiple channels
• Make sure all channels are consistent and convenient
• Ensure all channels are receiving the same experience and message

The best way to provide great customer service is to respond in an appropriate manner. Whenever I have an issue with a product I've purchased, I just go straight to social media. That way, the company is quick to respond and I'll get my issue solved in about half the time I would have if I called in.

3. Integrate social media

• Customers are sharing thoughts and opinions on social media
• SM increases brand loyalty
• Helps businesses understand their customer needs or wants

Companies need to be on social media. It's basically free advertising! It also allows for the flexibility to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., this gives companies the flexibility to cater to all target markets.

4. Encourage, track, measure and listen

• Encourage customers to provide feedback
• Track and measure KPI's
• Analyze data and make changes

What are the point of analytic tools if you're not going to use them?! This is the best way for companies to track weather or not their customers are happy and engaging, hopefully positively, online! Klout is a great way to measure your online presence. It even shows you which posts are gaining the most engagement. Take advantage of the small things!

5. Invest in customer recovery process

• Train staff to acknowledge customers and take responsibility
•  Allow optimal solutions and alternatives. 

If a customer makes a complaint and you don't immediately take action, remember an angry customer is more likely to talk about their experience than a happy customer. Pick your battles wisely.

6. Build relationships

• Do not just try to sell a product. 
• Talk to the customer to find a common interest that will help them believe you're not just in it for the sale. 

More recently I've had a friend take a sales position, and now I feel like every time we try to meet up, it's just so she can try to sell me something that I'm clearly not interested. It's frustrating.

7. Talk to customers in real time

Talk to customers on the phone or through chat. No one wants to talk to an automated voice.Employees should feel empower and engage customers with confidence. I know when I have a problem with my internet or cable I better have a nice chunk of time dedicated to waiting to talk to a customer service rep. Just remember, the CSR is not at fault for the company. Bare with them while they're helping you!

8. Create a culture where employees feel comfortable to make decisions that are best for the customer

When I worked at a specific retailer, I won't mention names, one of the managers would always side with the customer instead of the employee. It got to the point where the employees wouldn't want to even answer any questions for customers because they knew their decision, which was usually the right one, would just be overturned. That's not okay. Never make your employees feel like that.

9. Gather customer feedback and quickly implement change

Listen to what customers are saying on social media and take those comments and relate them to changes being made to improve how things are done.

10. Adapt and refine customer experience using business intelligence analytics and reporting

• BI allows employees to help customers see a specific part of their business that may be struggling and what might be a better alternative.

When you're working with business intelligence, be sure to only put information that is relevant to the company. Give them exactly what they're asking for. Otherwise, BI can get confusing very fast.

So there you have it. If you can make sure these 10 things are being practiced in your CEM strategy, I don't think there's going to be much else that can go wrong!

Six Volunteer Events Your Company Should Consider

1. Animal Shelters. This is always a fun thing to do! Helping out some furry friends is always a great way to give back and have fun with your co-workers. You can also collect supplies like, paper towels, puppy pads, dog/cat food, leashes, and much more! Think about it and partner with your local animal shelter today!

2. Food Pantries! Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit committed to feeding hungry children. Volunteers hand-pack meals that are specially formulated and sent to more than 70 countries world wide. Start your finger exercises now!

3. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit that believes every person should have a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity builds, renovates and repairs houses over the world using volunteer labor and donations. Stretch out your limbs and pack up your toolkit.

4. YMCA focuses on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Y volunteers give men, women and children of all ages and walks of life the resources and support they need to be healthy, confident, connected, and secure.

5. United Way believes every country should have a good education, every citizen should feel financially stable, and every community should be healthy and strong.

6. National Night Out promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer, better places to live. Neighborhoods across the nation host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and other various community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events and visits from emergency personal and exhibits.

The list of volunteer events goes on and on. Why not get away from work and have some fun while giving back to the community!

10 Ways to Save This Holiday

Save Money Now!

So, there's this holiday coming up. You may or may not have heard about it. You know, Christmas. Have all your ducks in line yet? Have you even started thinking about gifts? If not, no worries! You still have plenty of time (sort of). Get into the buying mode and save money now before you go out and get your big ticket items! Here's some ways to save big this holiday season!

ONE

Decide on a budget and stick to it. From this budget, you want to create your purchasing list. Remember, everyone doesn't need a gift. Maybe get a bottle of champagne or wine for your neighbors, bake some homemade cookies for your children's teachers, and do a pot-luck or secret Santa with your co-workers, and set a price limit of $10 so the gifts aren't out of hand. This will leave you with a pretty manageable size of people you are buying presents for.

He sees you when you're sleepin'

TWO

Give a homemade gift! Nothing cheesy of course! Pinterest is full of clever homemade gifts! Check out lovegrowswild's blog for a DIY Mint Sugar Scrub! There's only four super easy ingredients, and three instructions to make this Christmas gem! Maybe you'd like to go more traditional and give the gift of hot chocolate. Buzzfeed has a great recipe for hot chocolate, and there's even a little extra surprise. Age appropriate of course.

This holidays going to be fantastic!

THREE

Volunteer! Don't be pressured to give if that's not what you want! It's always nice to give back to those who aren't fortunate and can't provide for themselves. There are plenty of charities looking for help this holiday season. So pack up the fam and show them the real meaning of Christmas!

FOUR

Reduce, reuse, recycle. I can't stress it enough. Just like making homemade gifts for your friends, find old junk that's still nice and make it into something new you can use in your home. It's an environment friendly decoration. You can make some adorable bottle cap snowmen! You can cut up old CDs and make some disco ball ornaments, those are awesome. Or how about these awesome Wine Bottle Christmas lights?!

FIVE

Don't go out and buy expensive wrapping paper, recycle your newspapers, magazines and wall paper to use to wrap your gifts. Also, cereal boxes are great for making gift tags. Check out, 1 Dog Wolf for some super adorable homemade gift tags!

SIX

Buy in bulk. Do you bake a TON!? Stock up on the ingredients used most often when you use them go on sale. Most things are good if you can keep them in the freezer! Just rummage around for your next gathering and restock when necessary.

SEVEN

Crock pot meals. They're delicious. Who doesn't like to cook in their crock pot. Also, who doesn't like to cook in a crock pot when they don't have to put all the ingredients together and everything is put together already! Just sayin'. Your friends and family will love you forever!

EIGHT

Gift cards anyone? Have a friend or family member who wants a high ticket item? Get them a gift card to the store they want to purchase the item at. Much cheaper than going out and purchasing the item yourself.

NINE

Reuse your turkey, ham or meat of choice by making some delicious soup that can be frozen and saved for later! Your tummy will thank you later, and so will your budget.

TEN

Secret Santa. This is a great concept because everyone's name goes into a bowl and one name is chosen per person. Secret Santa saves on your budget by assuring that everyone sets a maximum spending price. This way there's no Christmas spending remorse and everyone is happy!

So, no matter what you do this holiday season, remember, there are more ways to save than there are more ways to spend! Don't break your budget trying to make everyone happy. It's the little things that count! Until next time! :]

5 Ways to Keep Your LinkedIn Up-to-date

Alyssa Bereznak, a writer for, Yahoo Tech, came up with five simple ways to keep your LinkedIn up to date. Bereznak has 10 plus years of professional internet use and has also worked for Vanity Fair.

As professionals, we all know how important LinkedIn is. Please tell me you have a LinkedIn. If not, pause your reading and sign up right MEOW! So many employers take advantage of your online resume. LinkedIn is a place to put all the extra things that you can't necessarily cram onto your paper resume. There are many great features to LinkedIn that a traditional resume does not contain. You can add projects, coursework, volunteer work, your resume, have people write you recommendations, and so on.

ONE

Have a good profile picture that shows who you are.

• But don't use a selfie
• No pixalated photographs
• Don't crop yourself from your friends
• Keep your assets to yourself
• Look happy :]

Look at this classy guy. He knows what's up.

TWO

Write a killer summary

• Use keywords, it makes you pop-up in search results
• Include:  experience, ambitions, what you want to accomplish
• Google Search. Your LinkdIn should be within the first three search results
• Include 40 words that seem substantial
• Discuss your life passions, interests and goals

EVERYTHING is awesome!

THREE

LinkedIn is your portfolio, add videos and graphics to show off your skills

• There's a cool button that allows you to add things, like videos, keynote presentations, PDFs of research projects and papers.
• It's a great opportunity to show-off things you've worked on
• Doing this is helpful if you're in creative industries where your artistic or design skills are valued
• Show everyone what your capable of.

FOUR

Are you a good person? Show it!

• A LinkedIn survey showed 42% of hiring managers said they feel that volunteer work is just as good as your work experience.
• Talk about the brochure you've designed for your friend's new business, or how many hours you put in at your local dog shelter, or how many kids you've helped by participating in Feed my Starving Children.

FIVE

To get endorsed, you must also endorse.

• When you have endorsements for certain skills your profile looks more impressive.
• Show people what you can do. What you're good at.
• Endorsements are easy, just visit the profile of the lucky human you chose to endorse, and normally there is a handy, dandy button that allows you to endorse that person for multiple things! (Now, hopefully, the favor will be returned!!)

Now that you have the basic skills to beef up your LinkedIn, go out into the world and endorse! Need more tips to keep your LinkedIn up-to-date, these websites are pretty awesome as well. 

1. LinkedIn Makeover
2. Improve Your LinkedIn Presence
3. 12 Resources to Improve

7 Ways to Relax During Finals Week

You're Stressed? Not Anymore!

As all of us college kids know, finals are looming over our heads. For me, finals are a semi-stressful time. Between work and school sometimes there isn't time to eat or sleep trying to get all those projects and papers completed to their fullest potential! So, you ask, how can you relax at a time like this?! Well you make time. Schedule "you-time" the week before as well as the week of finals. It doesn't need to be a lot of time, but enough to really put your feet up and not have to worry about what struggles loom ahead.

Said no one ever . . .

1. Snuggle up on that warm couch with a hot chocolate and catch up on a few episodes of your favorite TV show or movie you've missed due to slaving away at homework all semester. Your DVR will love you for it. Most times I'll watch one or two episodes, depending on the backlog, before I come back to reality and study again.

Nom . . .

2. Go out for a drink with your friends. The best way to unwind is to be with people who are reciprocating the same stress you are! Since they're going through what you're going through, it makes it that much easier to let loose and enjoy a night out!

Pssst . . . This is what you're supposed to be drinking. 21+ please!

3. Take a nap. I know, I know. There's no time for naps, well if you can make time for TV and you can make time for drinks, you can most definitely make time for a teeny, tiny, and very much needed recharge. All that studying takes a mental and physical toll on us students. So snooze away my hardworking friends!

Do as dog does.

4. Play with your dog. Most everyone has a dog that's been neglected while you are slaving away your days at work and school. Take your dog outside and play with him! Dogs are happy all the time. This will make you happy all the time! And your dog will love you again for all the attention.

My dog, Henry, brings me water bottles as entertainment.

5. Read a new book. No, not your school textbook. Something awesome, like your favorite Harry Potter book, or Gone Girl, or maybe you like reading sad books like The Fault in our Stars, then you're a glutton for punishment. Take you're pick. There's so many adventures to get lost in!

Harry Potter binge . . .

 6. Make a schedule. I like highlighters, some people prefer boxes next to tasks so they can put a check mark next to their activities once completed. Either way, knowing what you need to get done before it's due is easily the best way to make sure you're not rushing at the last minute to get the paper you put off all semester done. Just saying.

It's perfect!

7. Bake! Make your favorite cookie, cake, bread, anything delicious. The cookie dough is the best part... I mean, I guess you should cook some of it... Or not... Your call. Reap the benefits of your cooking skills. Homemade or the highway!

Look at these cookies. LOOK AT THEM! Delicious.

We both know there are many other ways to de-stress during finals. Pick your favorite thing to do and just do it! In the end, it benefits you, right?!

YOU'RE ON A BEACH!