Transforming Into a More Effective Organization

Most people today have a basic understanding of Microsoft applications, but very few utilize these programs to their maximum level of efficiency and effectiveness. Employees who have acquired a mastery of the Office suite through top level training can work significantly faster and with fewer errors than those with only basic knowledge learned through trial and error.

BoostsOn Dot Com (a member of PEOPLElogy Group) has launched their new branch in Mid Valley after receiving an overwhelming response from the corporate organizations in Kuala Lumpur. Allen Lee, the CEO of BoostsOn Dot Com says that “Microsoft Office training is one of the most effective ways for any computer centred company to considerably improve productivity”.

“Microsoft Office training is one of the most effective ways for any computer centred company to considerably improve productivity” said Allen

But how Microsoft Office training improves productivity?

Training is about much more than just simple shortcuts. Office is a highly interactive set of tools that users can customize to help them improve how they do their specific job functions. For example, an employee who uses Microsoft Word to type our mailing labels can reduce their processing time by as much as 80% by gaining mastery of the mail merge feature through a professional training course.

Just about using Office on a daily basis is likely to discover at least one or two ways to drastically cut time and improved functionality after taking a training course. But perhaps the greater impact of Microsoft Office training is the combined saving of an entire office shaving small amounts of time off of many small tasks like email processing. On an average, employees receive 42 emails a day, so learning to archive mail, create mailing distribution lists, and create rules can significantly improve the
efficiency of an entire office.

Gauging the Level of Proficiency in your Office

To get an idea about how many your employees know about the potential of Microsoft Office, try giving a survey to your employees asking them to list the functionalities of programs like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. If you find that a majority are return with response like “word processor” and “calculator” respectively, your company should seriously consider Microsoft Office training for employees. If you would like to know about your Microsoft Office level, you can also test your skills for FREE at www.boostson.com/assessment.

Generally it’s not that employees don’t want to learn new ways to interact with the tools they use every say, but they aren’t aware of the capabilities built into the Microsoft Office suite of products. Because many businesses don’t require any type of Microsoft Office training, the majority of people are working with only a fraction of any application’s functionality. Whether your employees are using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook or OneNote, there is a Microsoft Office training course to shed light on new ways of performing old and time consuming tasks.

Forms of Microsoft Office Training

Like any type of training today, there are a variety of ways to bring Microsoft Office training to your employees. Whether instruction is given at training facility, given in house or public training by trained professionals, or through self-paced online training, there is a training program to fit the needs of just about any company.

A Classroom for a New Learning Style

Statistically speaking, classroom training is still the most effective way to transfer information, especially for more technical topics. At BoostsOn, they implement a U shape classroom that has been proven to be more effective from other classrooms settings. With this type of face to face training, students have the ability to interact with each other, ask questions, request that information to be explained in a different way, and see the instructor walk through the practice examples in real time. Some Microsoft Office training facilities even offer customized training programs for employers with more specific needs.

According to a study by Microsoft, employees rated themselves as unproductive for about 17 hours during any given work for various reasons including ineffective meetings, unclear priorities, and software issue. With two complete days lost per employee per week due to inefficiency, there is a lot of room for improvement. The easiest way for any company to improve their bottom line is to improve their current processes otherwise; growth only brings an exponential increase in wasted time and money.

Microsoft training is one of the most effective choices any business can make toward increasing efficiency in the workplace. 

BoostsOn is currently offering unlimited trainings for all corporates and also individuals at only RM 499. For more information, please call 03-2287 1829 or email info@boostson.com.

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8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses

The best managers have a fundamentally different understanding of workplace, company, and team dynamics. See what they get right.

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A few years back, I interviewed some of the most successful CEOs in the world in order to discover their management secrets. I learned that the "best of the best" tend to share the following eight core beliefs.

1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.

Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments and groups. They build huge armies of "troops" to order about, demonize competitors as "enemies," and treat customers as "territory" to be conquered.
Extraordinary bosses see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. They naturally create teams that adapt easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers ... and even competitors.

2. A company is a community, not a machine.

Average bosses consider their company to be a machine with employees as cogs. They create rigid structures with rigid rules and then try to maintain control by "pulling levers" and "steering the ship."
Extraordinary bosses see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire employees to dedicate themselves to the success of their peers and therefore to the community–and company–at large.

3. Management is service, not control.

Average bosses want employees to do exactly what they're told. They're hyper-aware of anything that smacks of insubordination and create environments where individual initiative is squelched by the "wait and see what the boss says" mentality.
Extraordinary bosses set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their employees need to get the job done. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.

4. My employees are my peers, not my children.

Average bosses see employees as inferior, immature beings who simply can't be trusted if not overseen by a patriarchal management. Employees take their cues from this attitude, expend energy on looking busy and covering their behinds.
Extraordinary bosses treat every employee as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. Excellence is expected everywhere, from the loading dock to the boardroom. As a result, employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.

5. Motivation comes from vision, not from fear.

Average bosses see fear--of getting fired, of ridicule, of loss of privilege--as a crucial way to motivate people.  As a result, employees and managers alike become paralyzed and unable to make risky decisions.
Extraordinary bosses inspire people to see a better future and how they'll be a part of it.  As a result, employees work harder because they believe in the organization's goals, truly enjoy what they're doing and (of course) know they'll share in the rewards.

6. Change equals growth, not pain.

Average bosses see change as both complicated and threatening, something to be endured only when a firm is in desperate shape. They subconsciously torpedo change ... until it's too late.
Extraordinary bosses see change as an inevitable part of life. While they don't value change for its own sake, they know that success is only possible if employees and organization embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business.

7. Technology offers empowerment, not automation.

Average bosses adhere to the old IT-centric view that technology is primarily a way to strengthen management control and increase predictability. They install centralized computer systems that dehumanize and antagonize employees.
Extraordinary bosses see technology as a way to free human beings to be creative and to build better relationships. They adapt their back-office systems to the tools, like smartphones and tablets, that people actually want to use.

8. Work should be fun, not mere toil.

Average bosses buy into the notion that work is, at best, a necessary evil. They fully expect employees to resent having to work, and therefore tend to subconsciously define themselves as oppressors and their employees as victims. Everyone then behaves accordingly.
Extraordinary bosses see work as something that should be inherently enjoyable–and believe therefore that the most important job of manager is, as far as possible, to put people in jobs that can and will make them truly happy.

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How to give effective feedback

The benefits of feedback

Whether you are a child or a grown up, feedback is one of the most powerful influencers of your development. If given correctly, feedback encourages effective behavior – it rewards positive behavior and it changes ineffective behavior. According to “The Motivation Doctor”, Alan Fairweather, feedback is one of the Top 3 factors that motivate people at work. Most people you ask, say that they would welcome more feedback. Despite the evident hunger for feedback, research suggests that 68% of employees never receive any. Feedback should be given often and in a timely manner. It should be given to address both positive and negative behavior and ideally it should be given at the point in time when you observe the behavior.

Why don’t we give enough feedback?

So why is it then that we don’t give enough feedback? Even though feedback is used to address both positive and ineffective behavior, I believe most people perceive feedback as something negative and uncomfortable. People refrain from giving feedback because they are concerned about hurting other people’s feelings. They don’t want to bring their employees down or embarrass them. That is why they say nothing, or decide to bring it up at another time. The problem is, that not giving feedback is actually a way of giving feedback. It silently signals that what the person is doing is okay, that it is acceptable to you, or that it meets your standards. It can even have a more negative consequence – if your employee knows that his or her performance does not meet your standards, but you do nothing about it, the person might think of you as an ineffective manager.

Feedback models

There are many models available on how to give feedback. I think the most well-known is the “Sandwich model”. It suggests that you should “sandwich” negative feedback between two positive statements in order for it not to be rejected.
For example:

• Positive: Molly, the article you wrote on “Family Issues” was extremely well-articulated and informative.
• Negative: In the future, be sure to cite the sources you use in your articles.
• Positive: I’m sure that many families will enjoy reading the article and benefit from the many useful insights!

Other feedback methods include the BOOST model (Balanced, Observed, Objective, Specific, Timely), the ABC model (Action, Because, Could we?) and the STAR model (Situation, Action, Result).

My preferred feedback model

The feedback method I prefer comes from Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne, the Co-Founders of Manager Tools. Their feedback model (which they just call “The Feedback Model”) has 4 steps that are quite easy to remember and use. It can effectively be used to address both positive and negative behavior and it’s very straight forward so it doesn’t leave room for questioning. Below are the 4 steps of their model.

1. Ask if you can give feedback.

The most important step according to Mark and Mike is to ask permission before you give feedback. The reason for this is that the person who is receiving feedback needs to be in a receptive state of mind. If the person has a stomachache, is worried about a family situation, or really stressed about an upcoming deadline, he or she will not be able to actively listen to your feedback. As a result, the desired effect will not be achieved. If the person says, “no”, you need to respect that and ask again at a later time.
For example:

• Molly, can I give you some feedback?
• Greg, can I share something with you?
• Peter, would you like some feedback?

2. Describe the specific behavior

The second step is to describe the specific behavior that you have observed. Start this sentence by using, “When you”.
For example:

• When you submit the proposal past the deadline…
• When you share your experiences with others on the company portal…
• When you fail to follow our process and publish an article with spelling mistakes…

Many times people start giving feedback with, “I”. For example,” I was informed that you submitted the proposal past the deadline” or “I saw you published your leanings on the company portal”. This puts the focus on the wrong person, the feedback is not about you – it’s about the recipient.

3. Describe the impact of the behavior

After you’ve described the specific behavior, explain what the impact is, what happens. Here you can include any type of impact – emotional, financial and legal etc. It’s okay to just give one example of an impact, but if you can list three or four it helps to clarify your point.
For example:

• …this is what happens: we don’t have time to review and proof read the proposal before we send it to the customer which in turn reduces our chances of winning the deal and increases our liability.
• …you increase the knowledge sharing within our company, you are seen as a role model for the rest of the team and by sharing your learning we can all improve how we execute in the future.
• …the others who have worked on the article feel let down and we risk losing valuable readers which can hurt our revenue stream.

4. Discuss future behavior

The final part is to get the recipient to change the behavior if it is negative and continue the behavior if it is positive. Here it is important that the recipient takes responsibility for the action. You can start the discussion on future behavior by asking a question if it is something that needs to be changed, or by just thanking and telling the person to keep it up if it is something that should be continued.
For example:

• What can you do differently next time?
• Thank you, keep it up!
• How can you make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Start giving and asking for feedback today

After you’ve gotten used to giving feedback on a daily basis, it will come natural to you and you will be able to compose feedback on the fly. Until then, it might help to plan what you are going to say in advance. Write down the behavior you’ve observed and the impact it has before you ask if you can give feedback. Also make a habit of asking for feedback. Since feedback is a key element of continuous learning and achievement you owe it to yourself to ask others for feedback.

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Turn criticism into constructive feedback

Show with your entire body language that you welcome feedback

Since giving feedback is challenging for most people, it’s very important that you actively encourage the person who is giving you feedback. You can encourage someone by just thinking about your body language, facial expression and tone of voice. If someone asks if they can give you feedback and you take a step back, frown and say “yes” in a questioning, dragging tone of voice, whether you mean to or not, you are sending a very defensive signal which does not welcome feedback. Instead, if someone asks you if they can give you feedback, smile, lean towards the person as if you are really eager to hear what they have to say and say “yes” in a positive and energetic tone of voice. This might sound very simple and silly, but I can tell you, it really makes the entire process of giving and receiving feedback so much more pleasant.

Feedback shouldn’t be confused with praise or criticism

The sole purpose of feedback is to impact future behavior; whether it is a good behavior that should be continued, or a negative behavior that needs adjusting. If given correctly, feedback is factual and non-judgmental. Unfortunately, proper feedback isn’t very common in workplaces. What you do hear more of is praise or criticism.

Praise
Giving praise is indeed very positive. Both the giver and the receiver feel good and it increases the energy and improves the atmosphere among people around who hear it.
Examples of praise:

• Good job leading that meeting!
• Great report, I really enjoyed reading it!
• Well done, that was a very good presentation!

The problem with praise is that it isn’t very constructive. You don’t really know what you did well and what you should continue doing.


Criticism
Unlike praise, there is no positive outcome of criticism. No one likes to receive criticism. Criticism is judgmental and it really drains the energy out of the receiver and anyone else who hears the criticism.
Examples of criticism:

• That was lousy – you can’t lead a meeting!
• What an awful report, it was a torture getting through!
• That was a really boring presentation!

When you hear criticism like this, there is no way for you to know what you can do to improve. It is also quite natural to feel upset and become defensive.

Always be thankful for input – in whichever form you get it

No matter if someone is giving you feedback, praise or criticism you should express your gratitude by saying “Thank you”. Remember that feedback is something given to you in order for you to develop, someone else is showing that they care about you. If you are given praise, saying thank you comes quite natural. Even if you would like to dig a bit deeper, don’t use the praise as a means to seek feedback. The person might not be ready to give you constructive feedback and in that case he or she might just feel awkward that they gave you the praise in the first place. If you continue to ask for feedback when given praise, people might refrain from giving you praise in the future, which is not the result you are looking for!

Even when you are given criticism you should be grateful and smile and say thank you – even though what you really want is to punch the person in the face! Unlike with praise, if someone gives you criticism you should turn it into an opportunity to seek feedback.

Turn criticism into constructive feedback

The key to any type of feedback is to understand the underlying behavior. If someone gives you criticism, after you have thanked the person (genuinely, without being sarcastic) you should ask the person to clarify the behavior.
Examples:

• Can you help me understand what I could have done differently?
• What specifically was it that you didn’t like in the report?
• What can I do next time to improve my presentation?

Hopefully the person who gave you the criticism will answer your question by developing a more constructive feedback. If he or she does, you can help by restating the feedback.
Example:

• Ok, so please let me know if I understand this correctly: When I don’t stick to an agenda everyone gets frustrated and we won’t achieve the objective of our meeting. So next time I’ll make sure to prepare and agenda and stick to it!

This way you are actually following the feedback model that we discussed in the previous article and you have successfully turned toxic criticism into something beneficial!

Remember that positive feedback is often better than praise

I’m very good at giving praise – to family members, co-workers and employees. I often say; Good job today! Excellent teamwork! Thank you for a good meeting! And so on. Something I need to remember is that even though praise is good, it doesn’t help the receiver to improve, so instead of giving praise I should be giving feedback. I think we can all benefit from replacing some of the praise we give with feedback. This way it also makes it a lot easier to give correcting feedback, since the people around us will have a positive experience to feedback overall.

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Preparing a successful presentation

Being able to give good presentations is a key element in a business professional’s career.
There is no such thing as a naturally good presenter, some people might be more natural
speaking in front of other people, but presenting well takes time and effort. No one can
deliver a successful presentation ill prepared.

1. Start early with collecting information
The first rule is to start preparing for the presentation early. Don’t wait until the night before the presentation and then put together some PowerPoint slides in the last minute. You’re wasting your time creating slides if you don’t have relevant data. As soon as you find out that you are going to give a presentation start collecting data. The first thing you need to know is who your audience is.

Gather information about the audience
• Why are they there?
• What are they expecting?
• What are their expectations?
• How much do they know about the topic you will be presenting?
• How big will the audience likely be?





If you are speaking at an event, ask the event organizers about previous events, typical profile of the audience etc. Secondly, start collecting data about your topic. Gather information about your topic Again, as soon as you know that you are presenting start collecting data about your topic. Save articles from magazines, use a screen clipping tool and copy online articles, ask people for feedback, do surveys, analyze statistical data in Excel, review previous talks or presentations that you or others have done on the same topic. You can collect this data in a number of ways.




Personally I like using Microsoft OneNote which is like a digital notebook to save unorganized pieces of information. You can print out documents and save them in a binder or folder if you prefer that. Take notes and scribble down your thoughts as you go through the material. Don’t be selective, think of this as a brainstorming session - no thoughts or ideas should be discarded at this stage.

2. Structure and refine your information
When you’re done collecting data, it’s time to start organizing it. If you’ve printed it out you can use a big table or just put papers on the floor. If you’ve collected it in your computer, organize it in different sections of your notebook. Now you can start discarding information that you don’t have time for or that isn’t directly relevant.

3. Prepare your key message and your outline
When you have refined the data it’s time for the outline - you can do this by putting sticky notes on the wall, index cards on a table or if you prefer writing titles on PowerPoint slides. This is when you get your “big picture” together. What is your key message? What is the number one thing you want the audience to walk away with? Rearrange the notes/cards/slides in an order that makes for the best flow of the presentation, keeping your key message in mind.



4. Create the presentation slides
When you are done with the outline you can start putting the slides together. Here are a few
guidelines to follow:
• Don’t put too much text on each slide. When I did my presentation skills class I learn that 8 rows of text on a row was maximum, personally I think that is too much, I would limit it to 5.
• Try to use images and video to engage the audience
• Make sure to check your spelling – there’s nothing worse than a presentation with spelling mistakes.
• Use colors with high contrast in your slides, i.e. dark background color with light text, or a light background color with dark text. Avoid red and green since these colors can be hard to read – especially for people who are color blind.



5. Pick out your attire
Pick out your attire a few days before the presentation so that if there is a stain on your clothing you have time to dry clean it. Pick clothes that are comfortable (that you can easily walk around in) but that are still professionally elegant. You want to stand out in a stylish manner. If you are a lady wearing  high heels or a tight skirt - make sure that you can walk properly (some stages have high steps you need to climb) or choose something else to wear. Keep your clothing simple and minimize jewelry.

If you’ve bought new clothes for the occasion, try them on at home before the presentation to make sure you feel comfortable in them. There’s a great Career Tools podcast called “Presentation Attire” that goes in to this topic in more detail that I warmly recommend.

6. Practice
The final step is to practice, practice, practice. By practicing I don’t mean sit in the sofa and read through the slides in your head. No, I mean stand up and deliver the presentation like you would on the actual day. Ideally invite someone to listen to you, or record the presentation with a video camera. If you’re all alone and you don’t have a camera - stand in front of the mirror and speak out loud. Things sound very differently when you say them out loud. When I first joined Microsoft my manager called me in for a “dry run” before my first presentation. I had no idea what it was. She asked me to present to her like I would in front of the customer – exactly, word by word. I thought it was a nightmare, but of course it was extremely useful. So, always do a dry run before a live audience. For best result,
rehearse the entire presentation in the attire you’ve selected, in the room or auditorium the
presentation is going to be at. If you nail it then - you are ready!

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