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14 Ways to Find the Best Back-to-School Bargains This Year

By Deanna Ritchie | Knowledge Base | No Comments

It is never too late to start thinking about back-to-school season. Families spend a lot of money each year to get kids ready for back-to-school. For example, families with school-aged children expect an average of $848.90 for back-to-school supplies and gear. That’s a total expense of $37.1 billion spent nationally, according to the National Retail Federation, which is an all-time high reported in the annual survey.

Families can save some of that expense by planning for back to school and following some basic steps along the way. You can get organized by using your favorite online calendar to help plan your attack and to keep tabs on budgeting for your back-to-school shopping.

Here are some top ways to save while preparing to send your children back to school with everything they need.

1. Start Early With Weekly Shopping

It’s time to get organized and plan your back-to-school shopping. Prices change frequently, so you want to stay on top of what sales are possible for items your child may need in their backpack. Make a list of items you know will be required for school, focus on the stores with the best selections and prices, collect their sale notices and listings, and schedule your visits to those stores around their sales.

It’s a good idea to enter each store’s sales period in your calendar to keep track of those discount periods. Then, for harder-to-find items, consider watching for price drops at a particular store with good discounts and buy even if you don’t find them on sale to beat the back-to-school rush.

2. You Can Delay the Basics

Some school items will probably drop in price the closer you get to the start of school — such as paper, pens, and notebooks. However, there are also other ways to save on these items, so don’t rush out early to buy the basics. Instead, focus on more specific types of supplies, like a particular calendar or science gear.

3. Scour Everything For Coupons

You probably have access to more coupons than you know. They come through direct mail sent to your mailbox, email spam that includes coupons for specific stores, and even those circulars that are inserted into newspapers. Be diligent about scouring everything and everywhere for coupons.

For example, you can even search online for coupons and discounts for specific items. For example, Amazon frequently offers coupons on school and office supplies, so make sure to check for those bargains. Also, make sure to keep track of coupon expiration dates on your favorite online calendar to make sure you do not let those slip by.

4. Keep Track of Good Deals to Price Match

As you compare prices and collect coupons, keep track of deals at office supply stores or retailers. Then, you can use those deals to negotiate discounts at other retailers that match prices. This is handy, mainly when supplies are limited or sold out at the store offering the initial deal.

5. Sell What You Don’t Need Before Buying

Make sure to go through old office supplies, equipment, and accessories to sell anything you no longer need for school. While at it, check around the house for anything you can sell that is no longer being used. This will give you a good head start on the cash you will need for back-to-school shopping.

6. Save When You Buy in Bulk

If you, a friend, or a relative have access to bulk shopping centers, consider buying items to save money. You can join forces with relatives, friends, neighbors, and other school parents. Buy large quantities of things like pens, pencils, paper, tissues, crayons, brown paper bags, cleaners, and anything children need. Split the cost with your group and divvy up the supplies equally.

7. Shop Without Your Kids

An easy way to save money on back-to-school shopping is to leave your children at home. When you bring your children to the store, they may pick more expensive items than are necessary or ignore your effort to save money. If your children insist, leave a few things that need to be purchased for them to pick out at a store you have already scouted for good prices. Let them pick folders or notebooks, or you can say they can choose their backpack within a budget you give the

8. Buy Used When Possible

If your children must buy textbooks for their classes or certain books needed for other purposes, buy used when possible. This is particularly true for higher education classes, where you can quickly pay hundreds of dollars for one textbook. Check out online selling forums on Facebook, eBay, and other programs that allow sellers to post items. You can find lots of great bargains here, not only on textbooks but on other supplies and equipment.

9. Search for E-Textbook License and Other Textbook Bargains

If you have trouble finding used books, consider alternatives to buying new textbooks. For example, see if you can buy a less expensive e-Textbook license for your book. You can also consider comparing prices at certain retailers for textbooks and checking for coupons before you buy. There is TUN’s Textbook Save Engine or CampusBooks’ search feature that can help you find the cheapest options for specific books.

10. Find Exclusive Student Deals

Many retailers offer student discounts for certain supplies and equipment. For example, Best Buy features College Student Deals, and some technology companies offer specific discount pricing, including high school students. These exclusive student deals can save you big bucks on necessary technology and equipment.

11. Budget For Backpacks

One of the most expensive back-to-school purchases typically is that new backpack that your student thinks they must buy. You can save a good amount by avoiding expensive brand-name backpacks and those themed after movies or cartoon characters. You might find you can make a deal with your high school student, for example, by paying a little more for a quality backpack from Timberland or Rockland. The value is, however, that they have to agree to use it throughout high school. Otherwise, a sturdy, heavy backpack without the flashy brand name will save you money.

12. Time Your Electronics Purchases

Plan those purchases if you know you will have expensive electronics purchases on your back-to-school list. There are two things to consider when planning those expenses. First, consumer experts note that the spring and fall are the best times to buy computers and other electronics. Second, many states waive sales taxes on back-to-school items.

Find out if and when your state tax holiday is and add it to your calendar. Then line up the specials at electronics retailers to see if you can make your purchase at a time when they overlap with your sales tax holiday. Add them both to your calendar to stay on top of the deals.

13. Look for Clothing Deals

It can be expensive to buy new wardrobes for your children to return to school. So start looking for bargains early for clothes. If you have a large network of parents with older children, you can host a clothing swap to see if some items are for your kids and theirs. You can also check with second-hand stores to find clothing your child will like.

14. Take Advantage of Credit Card Offers

You may have credit cards that offer rebates and rewards to help you save money on back-to-school shopping. Make sure you take advantage of those rebates on items you know you will have to buy anyway. Depending on the credit card promotion, you can earn between 2% and 5% back on every purchase. Remember that even small amounts of money can add up!

Image Credit: Oleksandr Pidvalnyi; Pexels; Thank you!

14 Ways to Find the Best Back-to-School Bargains This Year was originally published on Calendar by Deanna Ritchie.

How to Lighten Up Your Waiting Room for the Summer

By Jon Bradshaw | Business Tips, Knowledge Base | No Comments

Nobody enjoys sitting in a waiting room before an appointment. Even with a smartphone to keep oneself occupied, waiting rooms can be unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and uninviting. Yet the waiting room is a major part of any appointment-based business. That’s why it deserves just as much attention as the rest of your business operations.

If there were a single theme that should epitomize your waiting room, it would be light. It’s as simple as that. A bright waiting room, both literally and figuratively, can make a huge difference for your customers. Here’s how you can make some changes this summer that can make an impact all year round:

Lighten Up, Literally

If you want to brighten the mood, you need to literally lighten the room. Seasonal depression in the colder months occurs in large part due to the lack of sunshine throughout the day. If your waiting room is dark and gloomy, it can inspire similar feelings even during the summer.

Lightening up can be as easy as switching out your light bulbs. Newer LEDs are not only brighter bulbs, but they are more efficient as well. You’ll brighten up the space without having to pay more for utilities.

In addition to turning on actual lights, consider taking a look at your waiting room’s color scheme. Lighter colors, such as yellow, can feel more positive than dreary grays and dull browns. Even a splash of color on an accent wall can bring life to your place of business.

Use the Right Playlist

Many businesses play music to fill the empty space of their waiting rooms. This is a great strategy to implement and doesn’t take a lot of effort. What you need to be conscious about is the type of music that you’re playing in your waiting area.

Your playlist should consist of upbeat music, no matter your genre of choice. Instrumental music is easy; just select beats and melodies that sound positive and vibrant. For other types of music, you’ll do the same while also paying attention to the lyrics. Clean, happy lyrics will lighten up your waiting room a lot better than sad songs.

Offer Refreshments

A light snack or a good beverage can perk your customers right up. Waiting for an appointment is a much worse experience on an empty stomach than it would be otherwise. You can’t know whether your customers managed to grab lunch before coming to their appointment. While their hunger and thirst are out of your control, you can offer refreshments to tide them over until their names are called.

Water is an easy and inexpensive beverage to provide and essential for proper hydration. If you want to put a light twist on your H2O offering, add some fresh fruit. A little bit of orange or strawberry can add a memorable twist to your waiting room’s water cooler.

For snacks, make sure anything you provide is light — think granola bars or fresh fruit. Foods packed with sugar and fat won’t do the trick. They will cause your customers to feel sluggish rather than help them stay alert.

Take Advantage of Scent

How your waiting room smells is an underrated part of your business. It’s often one of the first things new customers experience, especially when unpleasant odors are involved. Obviously you’ll want to begin by minimizing these with improved ventilation. But while a lack of smell might be an improvement, the air might feel stale with no scent whatsoever.

Plan to introduce new scents into your waiting room gradually. Scents that are too strong, even if they smell good, can be overwhelming. Try a single scented candle and see whether that makes a noticeable difference. You can switch these out to fit seasonal moods. Summer scents like flowers can be replaced later in the year with cinnamon or piney smells.

Don’t Forget the Feels

So far every single one of the five senses has been covered except one. The only one missing is touch. When was the last time you updated your seating arrangement? Customers will feel a lot better when their seats feel like clouds rather than rocks.

In addition to improved cushioning, don’t forget the climate control. A hot waiting room in the summer is not the place your customers want to be. They are more likely to forgive long wait times if it means they can spend some extra time in the air conditioning.

Customers will appreciate a waiting room that feels safe and welcoming. A kids play area will make your waiting room family-friendly. The latest security features on display help parents feel safe while they are waiting with their children.

These changes to your waiting room can be implemented throughout your business space. In most cases, this theme of light will also help you and your employees. Lighter spaces and a lighter atmosphere can help boost mood and productivity. It’s time to turn on the lights this summer and witness the change it will make.

Image Credit: Curtis Adams; Pexels; Thanks!

How to Schedule Alternative Activities to Limit Kids’ Screen Time

By Abby Miller | Knowledge Base, Scheduling | No Comments

Every time you turn around, your kids are staring at a smartphone or screen. Of course, they like playing video games, texting with friends, watching television, and surfing the internet on the computer. But that can become much lost time without interacting or participating in physical activity.

There are ways to reduce your children’s screen time. Parents need to understand the importance of setting rules and reducing screen time by limiting when children can use the computer, TV, and smartphone. One way to do this is to suggest alternative activities that you can schedule on your online calendar to reduce screen time.

Here are ways to reduce the time your children spend on technology screens and alternative activities to consider.

Time For a Family Meeting

The first step to getting everyone on board with new rules for technology is to hold a family meeting. You should explain why it is essential to establish rules for the family about tech use. This is an excellent time to note that the goal is for everyone to sit less and move more. Tech use isn’t a reward or punishment but a form of entertainment with limits. For example, young children can use a cell phone for kids that doesn’t come with the internet, social media, or games.

The idea here is to explain that these rules are intended to improve your time together. As a family, everyone must commit to limiting screen time. There may be some exceptions, such as using the computer for homework or work. That does not count against your entertainment time. But everyone in the family, including adults, must be held to the same standard.

Set Screen Time Limits and Stick to Them

A house rule must limit the amount of screen time spent on smartphones, TVs, and video games. Health experts recommend two hours a day, but you can set your own limits. Maybe it is one hour. Perhaps you decide three hours is appropriate for your family. Whatever you decide, the entire family must be on board to keep screen time down to a finite time. Schedule these times on your online calendar and ensure everyone sticks to them.

Once the rule is established, make sure you follow it. Children know when their parents are not practicing what they preach. They will follow your lead. Make sure everyone knows the penalty for breaking the rule. Decide if they must pay into a family entertainment fund or lose tech privileges.

Encourage Completing Chores for Screen Time

If your child is old enough to take advantage of screen time, they likely are old enough to handle chores. Establish a set of chores for your child around the house. Schedule the time they work on them on your online calendar and when they complete them. Performing these chores helps the family, offers an alternative to staring at a screen, and provides an opportunity to reward your child.

Consider offering them a bit more screen time if they go above and beyond with chores. But be careful. The idea here is to reduce screen time, so try not to offer ways to increase it too much.

Create Family Time for Physical Activities

A great way to reduce your family’s screen time is to find alternative physical activities. For example, you can plan family walks or visit the community pool. Start a family bowling night or an exercise challenge. Find a way to offer alternative activities to your children that will reduce their dependence on screen time.

You can track the amount of time spent on physical activities and tech use each week on your online calendar. Consider the hours spent watching TV, playing video games, and using the computer. Compare that to the time spent doing physical activities. Chances are you’ll find the screen time surpasses the time doing physical activities. If so, meet as a family to discuss ways you can increase your physical activities.

Not all physical activities must be done together, although family time is fun. Give your children credit for playing outside with friends. Perhaps your children are involved in sports at school or in the community. Count that, too. Don’t forget to give yourself credit for your time at the gym.

Make Sure Your Children Get Outdoors

An alternative to screen time can be spending more time outdoors. To encourage your child to get out more, look for ways to nurture new hobbies. For example, teach them how to plant and care for a garden. Teach them how to care for your swimming pool. Expose them to the thrill of working on cars, maybe just cleaning them or changing the oil.

You can create a schedule for these outdoor activities in your online calendar and try different things. You might help your child discover a passion that turns into a life-long career.

Engage as You Enjoy Screen Time Together

There are ways to spend family time together while watching television. Plan a movie night together, something everyone will enjoy. Make special treats for the family to ensure that time is special. If you see TV ads for unhealthy foods or promoting new personal devices, discuss those. Help your children understand the difference between junk food and healthy meals.

You can also add physical activities to your tech use. For example, create a competition with push-ups or jumping jacks during commercials. The winner picks the next movie. Inspire your children by doing stretches, yoga, or dumbbell lifts while watching TV. You can increase your family’s time with physical activities while enjoying television together.

Establish “Tech-Free” Zones in Your Home

You decide when and where your children access technology. That means you need rules preventing access to tech in certain areas of your home. For example, ensure there is no tech at the kitchen table for any meal. Meal time is when families can discuss their day and stay connected.

Keep computers and televisions out of bedrooms. This is an excellent way to ensure everyone sticks to the tech time limits. But it also helps you monitor what your children watch and browse. You can also keep smartphones out of bedrooms or require them to be surrendered before bedtime.

Provide Alternatives to Screen Time

Families can do many activities together that don’t require technology. Consider going to a park together. Attend a sporting event together. Encourage your children to try hobbies that occupy their afternoons and weekends, and schedule these activities on your online calendar.

Children can learn to appreciate hobbies at an early age. Take them to a local theater production and ask if they would consider joining a youth theater group. Sign up for an art class and take your child to see if they would enjoy learning more. Offer to pay for music lessons so they can explore learning an instrument.

Other traditional options are to consider, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, school clubs, and volunteering. They teach the value of volunteer service and plant a seed of service that your child will appreciate as an adult.

There are many ways to reduce your family’s screen time. Think of this as an opportunity to build new memories together.

Image Credit: Katerina Holmes; Pexels; Thank you!

How to Schedule Alternative Activities to Limit Kids’ Screen Time was originally published on Calendar by Abby Miller.

How to Run Appointments Effectively and Efficiently

By Gunjan Saini | Appointment, Time Management | No Comments

Appointments are inevitable. Whether it’s to get the oil changed in your car or get a cavity looked at, everyone is going to end up with an appointment or two on their calendar. While many services require an appointment, that doesn’t mean people enjoy spending all day in one.

If you’re operating an appointment-based business, it’s vital that you learn to respect your customers’ time. You should have two underlying goals in mind. Your appointments should be efficient, getting customers in and out as quickly as possible. On top of that, your appointments should be effective. The decreased duration shouldn’t come at the price of quality.

So how does one accomplish this feat? A lot will depend on the operations that are specific to your business. However, there are a few universal tips and tricks you can implement to make some improvements. Consider the following:

Enable Self-Scheduling

Appointments don’t necessarily start at your place of business. An appointment begins as soon as a customer starts the booking process. Traditionally, this involves calling a representative and listening to the available options over the phone. There’s a much easier and more efficient way of doing this in 2022.

All you have to do is enable self-scheduling. Put a calendar up on your website that shows which appointment slots are available for the coming weeks. All a prospective client has to do is click on the availability they want and reserve it for themselves.

This helps appointments run more smoothly in two ways. First, the initial booking process takes a lot less time by cutting out the middleman. Second, the middleman doesn’t have to be on the phone so often. They are now free to help move things along at your place of business instead of being tied to a phone line.

Start Check-In Early

The sooner you can get an appointment going, the quicker you can get it completed. Customers don’t want to spend all day at an appointment, and you want to service as many clients as possible. You can speed up the entire process by starting the check-in process early.

Try to accomplish as much as possible before a customer even arrives at your front desk. You can have customers fill out an online questionnaire for information pertinent to an upcoming appointment. Store that information in a customer portal, and check-ins will continue to speed up.

Part of appointment booking can overlap with check-in necessities. You can include some questions in your booking process that can check off some of the boxes required for check-in. Even a single piece of information can help get the ball rolling.

Invest in Employees

You can get a lot of mileage out of your business simply by investing in your employees. In particular, you should consider buying into training programs that can help your workers become more efficient. If your team is running efficiently, so will your appointments.

Training time should always be on your dollar. Provide all of the necessary resources to your employees and compensate them for the time they spend in training. This way they will be able to focus on training properly and apply it to their role immediately.

You should also invest in the mental and emotional wellbeing of your employees. Happy workers tend to work harder. Help them achieve a proper work-life balance and provide adequate working conditions for them. You should see key appointment metrics rise just by doing that alone.

Use Appointment Software

A lot of inefficiencies come from operator errors. A secretary can write down the wrong time for an appointment by accident, or a customer can accidentally book two appointments when they only needed one. While small, these errors can derail an entire day of appointments if left unchecked. You can avoid common mishaps by using appointment software.

Online appointment software takes care of so many factors. This is the type of program that will make self check-ins and self-scheduling not only possible, but simple and easy. Many appointment software programs are also customizable. You can pick the features and layouts that best fit your needs.

When you try online appointment software for the first time, you’ll have a harder time finding a need that isn’t filled. You can set up online payments, send custom reminders, and explore integrations. These tools will have your appointments running more effectively and efficiently than ever.

Ask yourself how you would like an appointment to be run if you were the customer. It could be as simple as wanting online booking. Perhaps businesses that do have online booking have check-in processes that are way too long. Whatever it is that you think works best, those are the aspects you should apply to your own business. Your customers will thank you for it.

Image Credit: Pavel Danilyuk; Pexels; Thanks!

The Pros and Cons of a 4-Day Workweek

By John Hall | Business Tips, Knowledge Base | No Comments

Henry Ford’s five-day work week was seen in 1926 as a revolution when it gave his employees Saturdays off. How gracious of him, right? And a short time later, in 1932, the five-day week was officially codified for all workers in the United States. But, after a century of Ford’s “radical” idea, is the next workplace innovation the four-day workweek?

However, companies of all sizes have been tinkering with four-day work weeks worldwide. Down in New Zealand, consumer-goods corporation Unilever implemented a 12-month test run of a shorter work week. The four-day working week became a reality in Spain in March of 2021 after several dozen companies participated in a pilot project. Fundraising company Kickstarter will test the four-day work week with employees in 2022. Also, in 2022, home improvement retailer Lowe’s adopted a four-day workweek.

But that’s not all. Scotland, Iceland, Japan, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates all have four-day workweek pilot programs in the works. Additionally, Democratic Congressman Mark Takano introduced legislation reducing the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours here in the United States.

The world’s most extensive 4-day workweek trial run occurred in the U.K. in 2022.

All eyes are on the U.K.

To determine whether a similar model is possible and supported in the United States, over 3,300 workers and 70 British companies participated in the trial in the U.K.

According to Eagle Hill Consulting, 83% of respondents agreed that a four-day workweek would reduce burnout. In a Joblist survey, 94% of job seekers said they wanted a four-day workweek. But did the study back these claims up? Here’s what the study showed:

According to 51% of employees, they can do their jobs to their fullest potential in 40 hours or less
In 85% of the survey responses, respondents said it was logistically possible to work four days a week
A 4-day workweek was cited as a benefit by 94% of respondents
Approximately 28% of full-time employees would consider a four-day week in exchange for a pay cut

So far, so good. But is a four-day workweek really a good idea? Well, let’s weigh the pros and cons.

What is a Four-Day Workweek?

Before getting too far ahead of ourselves, let’s have a brief rundown on what exactly a four-day workweek is.

You could work 32 hours with a four-day workweek without losing productivity, pay, or benefits. There might be a Monday-through-Thursday work week with Fridays off — depending on the industry and the company. Alternatively, each employee could choose their third day off, or the company could have a third different day off policy on Mondays or Wednesdays.

Both options have their pros and cons. When everyone works at the same time, collaborative work is enhanced. But the company will be unstaffed when most others are. Individual employees may prefer a flexible third day off, but teams may struggle with it.

It may seem unorthodox to work a four-day week. Over the last century, however, we have gradually reduced the number of hours worked per week.

In 1890, a full-time employee within a manufacturing plant worked an average of 100 hours per week, according to the United States government. But, by the mid-20th century, manufacturing employees were on average working 40 hours a week. So, as radical as it may seem, reducing our current work week to 28 hours is not as drastic as it may seem.

The Pros of a Four-Day Workweek

In a report in The Atlantic, people who work a four-day week say they’re healthier, happier, and less stressed. As a result, their employers report that their employees are more productive and focused. In addition, 94% of employees have a positive sense of well-being when they feel their employer cares about them. Also, according to research, it is best not to work intensively for more than four hours per day.

Some of the most significant advantages of a four-day work week are as follows.

Increased productivity.

The relationship between productivity and hours worked was studied by Sanford University. It was found that those who work an overworked schedule are actually less productive than those with a regular work schedule.

During a trial study conducted by a New Zealand company, Perpetual Guardian, four-day work weeks were tested. In addition to maintaining their productivity levels, employees improved their job satisfaction, teamwork, work/life balance, and loyalty to the company. There was also a decrease in stress from 45% to 38% of employees.

Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, along with some of the world’s most productive countries, work on average 27 hours a week, the same hours suggested for a four-day work week in the U.K. In contrast, Japan, a country notorious for overworked employees, ranks 20th out of 35 countries in terms of productivity. In fact, Japan’s four-day workweek experiment led to a 40% increase in productivity.

Physical and mental well-being is improved.

Several positive side effects are reported by employees who work fewer days per week. Whether it’s exercising more, finishing a Master’s program earlier, volunteering more, or maintaining a healthy work-life balance, these measures can help. In turn, this contributes to a worker’s increased productivity. “I like to take walks … just wander and let my brain breathe,” Natalie Nagele, Wildbit CEO, told The Atlantic.

A more balanced life leads to less stress for parents with children. In addition, they spend more time with their families. In addition, caregivers of aging parents have the opportunity to help them. “One of the biggest factors in people’s level of work-family satisfaction is the pure number of work hours they have,” Melissa Milkie, a sociologist at the University of Toronto who studies time use, told The Atlantic. “So cutting it is huge … It would re-balance things for working families.”

“I can enjoy my weekend now because I’ve got my Friday for my chores and my other bits and pieces or… if I want to take my mum out for a walk, I can do that now without feeling guilty, Lisa Gilbert, a lending services manager at Charity Bank, told CNN Business.

In addition to caring for her son and two elderly parents, Gilbert gets an extra day off a week, which allows her to spend more time with them.

“I find that I’m saying ‘yes we can as opposed to ‘no, sorry we can’t,’” she said.

Enhanced motivation.

A compressed or reduced 4-day workweek can motivate your employees. As with any other benefit, it’s perceived as a way for the company to support its employees both on and off the clock.

Moreover, the rarity of these programs may encourage your staff to work hard to earn them or keep them.

It has improved employee engagement.

Employees are more likely to be satisfied and committed if they have four days off each week. They have enough time to rest and recover, which allows them to return to work feeling ready to take on new responsibilities.

A study conducted by Sweden in 2015-2017 investigated the effects of shorter work weeks on nurses. Nurses were working solely six hours a day and five days a week. Results showed nurses logged fewer sick days, reported better health, and engaged patients 85% more.

Reduced costs.

Over half, 51%, of business leaders surveyed by Henley Business School reported savings on facilities and utilities, and almost two-thirds reported increased productivity.

Downtime is reduced.

Employees have that extra day off during traditional business hours to schedule personal needs. As a result, they can make doctor’s and other appointments on their regular day off without taking time away from work. According to the same study, 62% of business leaders report that fewer sick days are taken.

We have increased employee attraction and retention.

It has been reported that job postings listing four-day workweeks have tripled within the last five years. Post-pandemic challenges may make this trend continue. As the competition for talent surges, top job seekers are looking for the best potential opportunities.

Furthermore, focusing on wellness and avoiding burnout is key to retaining employees. In a 2020 Gallup poll of over 10,000 workers, workers who worked a 4-day week reported the lowest level of job burnout. Among employees with a four-day work week, 63% reported thriving wellbeing.

A smaller carbon footprint.

In countries with shorter working hours, the carbon footprint is typically smaller. Consequently, reducing our work week from 5 to 4 days could also have environmental benefits. In addition, the shorter working week eases employee commutes and means large office buildings spend less time unused.

Utah’s state government employees showed a significant environmental impact from reducing workweek length from five to four days through a compressed work schedule during a trial conducted in the state. Over $1.8 million was saved in energy costs due to closing the large office building on Fridays. In addition, the state estimates it could save 12,000 metric tons of CO2 by working one day less a week, equivalent to removing 2,300 cars from the road for one year.

The Cons of a Four-Day Workweek

It is true that a four-day work week has many benefits. But there are also a few disadvantages that shouldn’t be ignored. For example, the study involving Swedish nurses found that the project wasn’t cost-effective in the long run.

There is a cost.

Some argue that recruiting employees would be expensive with a four-day work week. In the U.S., as in other countries, employers offer full-time employees more than just their annual salary. They also throw in benefits like pensions and health insurance. As a result, employers may not be able to hire more employees to cover the reduced number of working hours.

Additionally, many workers in many countries prefer working fewer days a week – or fewer hours – in return for a higher salary. YouGov and HuffPost surveyed approximately 50% of American workers in 2014 and found that they would work an additional day a week for 20% more pay. Part-time workers were even more likely to make the trade.

It decreased customer satisfaction.

Despite providing some great environmental results and employer and employee benefits, the Utah study closed due to unsatisfactory customer feedback. Due to government offices being closed on Fridays, customers complained they couldn’t access government services.

However, companies can improve customer satisfaction by using technology, such as chatbots and AI-powered websites. How? By allowing customers another avenue for support instead of relying solely on employees.

Not everyone can participate.

A four-day work week is challenging to implement for some industries that require 24/7 availability. A four-day work week, for example, may make it difficult for your business to manage customer service problems.

Companies must deal with problems during the weekday and weekends regardless of the industry. However, planning and forethought are required to cover every aspect of the business during the workday.

Scheduling conflicts.

Compressing the workweek may be complicated by the need for your team to assist customers or other team members. Furthermore, this can make finding appropriate coverage during working hours a chore.

Additionally, internal scheduling may cause problems in managing client needs. For example, scheduled meetings can be planned in advance in the workweek. On the other hand, impromptu or emergency meetings might be more problematic.

Also, when employees who are off cannot attend brainstorming sessions, there may be limited input. How often these events occur in an organization may determine whether a 4-day workweek is feasible.

Workers may still put in the same amount of time.

In some cases, reducing hours may not be feasible for specific jobs. For example, one experiment in France found that workers put in the same number of hours regardless of the four-day work week. So what’s the only difference? Overtime costs were added to the company’s expenses.

Added stress.

There’s nothing better than a 3-day weekend, is there? Businesses usually structure their 4-day week this way (Mondays and Fridays off). To maintain that benefit, you will have to work harder during your ‘on’ days to ensure you don’t lose your ‘off’ days.

Most employees surveyed said a four-day week helped them maintain a work/life balance. So having a flexible schedule is a plus. But if the work portion adds more stress, it might not be worth it.

Should You Adopt a Four-Day Workweek?

There are many advantages to condensing workweeks, such as increased productivity and more time to pursue personal interests. But, at the same time, some industries, businesses, or individuals don’t work well with a four-day schedule. In addition, it won’t magically fix toxic workplaces or unpleasant jobs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reevaluation of work worldwide, which has increased interest in four-day workweeks. As a result, we must adjust our mindset and culture to make it the new normal, deemphasize work, and examine work activities that can be automated, deprioritized, and eliminated.

However, if you want to give a four-day workweek a try, consider the following strategies:

Clearly define your goals
Make sure your goals are achievable within a shorter work week
Tasks should be prioritized and reevaluated
Work asynchronously
Keep interruptions and distractions to a minimum
Don’t measure hours, measure outcomes
Automate more tasks
Create a culture that emphasizes human creativity
Work-based social events should be limited
Meetings should be reduced and shortened
Pay employees as usual
Regularly solicit feedback from employees
Don’t micromanage your team
Experiment and learn from your mistakes

Image Credit: Rebrand Cities; Pexels; Thanks!

The Pros and Cons of a 4-Day Workweek was originally published on Calendar by John Hall.

How to Efficiently Onboard and Train Your New Hires

By Howie Jones | Business Tips, Knowledge Base | No Comments

Quality employee onboarding is one of the most important things you can do for your business. You want your new hires to feel welcome and wanted as soon as they walk in. You need to give them an excellent first impression of your business and show that they matter. For many new employees, it’s essential to feel that there is a well-defined role and a clear career path.

Not only that, but a good onboarding process can make a massive difference to your retention rates and your revenue. Onboarding can also improve employee productivity and morale. And you save time and money when you don’t have to keep replacing employees.

Great onboarding starts with excellent planning. You really can’t wing it when it comes to training your new hires. Having planned training and processes for dealing with new employees is important.

Before hiring any new employees, plan out what they need to know and how you deliver it. This will also make it easier for you. For example, you’re not having to scramble to find something for them to do while trying to balance your own work.

You could also create an onboarding checklist for you and one for your new hires. This allows you to quickly know what to teach next and see clear progress and tick off what they’ve learned. It’s motivating for both parties. Even better if you have training software that allows for gamification. New hires can tick off modules as they finish them, see what’s next, achieve rewards, and more.

Once you have your onboarding training prepared, you can then use your calendar to plan it out and ensure success.

1. Set up a dedicated onboarding calendar

Many calendar apps will allow you to set up multiple calendars. So, for example, you can set up a calendar just for onboarding training, showing the full schedule.

This allows you and your new hires to look at your full calendar view with all your tasks and appointments and to look at just the training schedule on its own calendar when you need to.

It’s helpful to have both views. With the main calendar view, you can ensure no clashes and time to get to training sessions. And with the onboarding calendar, you clearly know the training and what comes next.

2. Share your calendars

You can coordinate together more efficiently by sharing your calendars. Your new employee will have other items on their calendar in addition to their onboarding training. For example, they may have previously booked medical appointments scheduled or a holiday that was already booked before they got the job. And there’s the work that they need to be involved in.

If you both share your calendars, you can easily be more flexible, if needed, and quickly rearrange sessions if something else comes up. In addition, your new hire will be able to see when you’re free, so they can book time if they need more help.

Encouraging your new employees to start, regularly use, and share their calendars is good practice for the future.

3. Set up your to-do list

Unless your only job is employee onboarding, you will have other work to fill your time. With your time split between onboarding your new hires and your everyday work, staying organized is essential. You can add a task/to-do list and make notes on many calendars to easily keep track.

This helps you balance your work with your onboarding duties. It also gives you a heads up if you’re going to have a busy week that may need extra organization and planning.

Another benefit of adding your to-do list to your calendar is seeing how much you’ve achieved. Ticking off completed tasks gives a nice hit of dopamine and is highly motivating.

4. Use time blocking to ensure you get everything done

When trying to learn something new, it can be easier to spend a solid block of time on it, rather than jump around over several sessions. Time blocking can be helpful to facilitate that.

However, time blocking involves splitting your day and week into blocks for specific tasks. This is a great way to combine your to-do list with your calendar. This can be a beneficial technique for ensuring you can fit in onboarding training and your regular tasks and meetings.

You can choose what works best for you with so many options and techniques. For example, time blocking could be one more helpful tool in your organizing arsenal.

5. Set up reminders

One of the best things about using a calendar and task lists is that you can add reminders to keep yourself on track.

When you are setting up your onboarding calendar, ensure you add in reminders where it’s helpful. This ensures that you don’t miss any meetings or tasks or your trainees.

When you’re busy, it can be easy to miss breaks and lunches. Adding reminders for these can ensure you take a breather when you should. It also provides that you don’t set yourself up for burnout.

6. Integrate with Trello

Some calendars integrate with Trello, a simple but effective project management app.

You can add tasks, checklists, and processes to Trello. It’s helpful to break down more significant tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks. It’s possible to tick them off when you’re done, which can help to motivate you and your trainees.

One other great thing about Trello is that you can set up boards and processes as a template. Then when you need it again, copy the template, rename it, and you’re ready to go.

Integrating this option with your calendar could help you manage your training better. You can also add team members and work on tasks together, aiding your trainees.

7. Bear in mind remote working

So many companies now allow remote working since the pandemic that you need to consider it. In addition, you may be training both in-office workers and remote workers to onboard them.

It’s important that your onboarding training includes your company culture and expectations, but it’s particularly important that remote workers feel part of your company.

Of course, you need to organize your time and calendar to ensure you can onboard everyone, remote or not. In addition to planning tasks and meetings, you’ll need to consider what technology you need, including cameras, Zoom, and more. Then, organize your tech in plenty of time for each meeting for success.

8. Start with a welcome pack

Once you know the start date of your next hire, add a task and a reminder on your calendar. Then send them a welcome email a few days before they start. You could even save time by writing a template for this email if you’re going to need it more than once. Then, you could set it up, keep it, and just hit send on the day.

If they’re based in-house, include practical information your new employee needs to know. Include directions, parking information, and a building map marked by their office or area. Add in where they can find vending machines or a kitchen for snacks and drinks. Include any local shops, such as bakeries or sandwich shops for food.

You’re starting them on the right foot before they’ve even walked through the door. And they will appreciate it.

Don’t forget your remote workers here. They will also appreciate a friendly, welcoming email with helpful information on start times and what to expect.

9. Use your analytics

Many calendars have excellent analytics. Office 365, for example, includes MyAnalytics, which provides information on various tasks and events. For example, you can see how many meetings you’ve had and how you spend your time.

This is helpful because you can see an overview of your onboarding training. You can check if you’re offering balanced training or leaning too heavily toward one subject. You can see whether you have covered everything or if there are any gaps.

Calendar analytics are equally helpful for improving your general productivity. You can ensure you still have the time to work on your own tasks as well as fit in onboarding.

10. Assess your onboarding regularly

Use your calendar to schedule follow-up meetings with new employees to get feedback on your onboarding processes.

Diarize time every year, at least once, to review your onboarding, look at feedback, and see how you can improve.

With quality onboarding so crucial for every business, it is vital to stay organized and on top of it. The right calendar apps can help you deliver onboarding well and keep improving.

Image Credit: Edmond Dantès; Pexels; Thank you!

How to Efficiently Onboard and Train Your New Hires was originally published on Calendar by Howie Jones.

5 Tips for Keeping Your Patient Waiting Room Clean

By Jason Barnes | Business Tips, Maintenance | No Comments

As a member of medical practice, you know how important it is to put the health and safety of your patients first. You wouldn’t have gotten into the industry otherwise!

But there’s more to promoting your patients’ health than diagnosing and treating their ailments. You also need to prevent them from coming into contact with germs while they’re in your care. In this article, we share tips for keeping your waiting room clean and your patients happy and healthy.

1. Schedule Regular Cleanings

It’s incredibly important to schedule regular cleanings for your waiting room — and to post that schedule. This practice can both slow the spread of potential infections and assure patients of your commitment to sanitation. Evidence of your waiting room’s cleanliness will help them feel comfortable and relaxed.

To start, take the time to create a medical office cleaning checklist. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with exactly what needs to be cleaned in your waiting room. Make sure you focus on items that see the most contact, such as door handles, check-in areas, pens, tablets, chairs, etc. If your waiting room is kid-friendly, don’t forget to wipe down children’s toys and books.

If you plan to have a cleaning service come in, share this checklist with them. Or maybe your team will do a majority of the work. If that’s the case, you should also create a cleaning schedule to ensure everything is getting done throughout the day. Many medical offices are closed for a few hours during lunchtime; this could be a great time to give your waiting room a cleaning.

2. Reconsider Your Furnishings

Chances are, your waiting room offers amenities for patients. Maybe you have magazines and newspapers laid out on the table. Or perhaps you purchased upholstered furniture, like overstuffed chairs and couches, to keep patients comfortable.

While you probably meant well, some of your furnishing choices might make it hard to keep your waiting room clean. For instance, those cloth-upholstered chairs may be difficult to disinfect. Replacing them with vinyl seating that is easy to wipe down will improve cleanliness.

If your chairs and sofas are bulky, it will be hard to keep them well-spaced. You want to avoid having patients sit right next to each other. Regardless of why a patient is coming to see you, there’s always a chance they could spread infection. Consider swapping oversized furniture with more streamlined chairs that don’t take up as much room. This will allow you to spread them out — and the more space between patients in the waiting room, the better.

3. Encourage Patients to Take COVID-19 Precautions

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 tracker shows nearly 108,000 new cases of the virus daily from July to August 2022. And while vaccines help to keep serious illness at bay, the coronavirus can still be harmful. Research has found the virus may produce long-term effects.

To help keep patients safe, stock your waiting room with COVID safety essentials like hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes, and face masks. You want to make sure these necessities are clearly visible, so consider keeping them where patients check in. Alternatively, you could place them on a coffee table in the waiting room.

To persuade people to use these items, you could place a sign reminding them of the importance of taking COVID precautions. More importantly, you and your team should model this behavior yourselves.

4. Consider Separating Your Waiting Rooms

Instead of having all your patients sit in one waiting room, consider having multiple rooms or designated spaces. For example, one waiting room could be designated for those who aren’t feeling well. Maybe they’re waiting to get tested for COVID or have flu-like symptoms. Your second waiting room could be for those who feel fine but are there for something routine, like a physical.

If you have the space, consider having a separate area for children to play. While this isn’t a necessity, it will keep your waiting room clean of toys. If your space isn’t big enough for separate rooms, use dividers as a way to create different areas. Even just separating the sick from the healthy can go a long way in preventing germs from spreading.

5. Be Strategic About Appointments

As a medical professional, your goal is to help people. It’s no wonder you may try to see as many patients as you can during the day. Unfortunately, that could make it difficult to keep your waiting room clean. Instead of overscheduling, be mindful of appointments and how many people are in your waiting room at a given time. This is especially true if your waiting room is on the smaller side.

A good rule of thumb is to first determine the maximum number of people you want to have in a waiting room at once. From there, create time blocks for each appointment to ensure you never go over that number. Using an online scheduler will make this process easier, as you can automate available appointment slots based on your time blocks.

Keeping your waiting room clean should be a top priority. It can help prevent germs from spreading and will make your patients feel more comfortable. Remember, first impressions matter. A clean waiting room ensures the appointment starts on the right foot and can help you retain patients long-term.

Image Credit: Donald Tong; Pexels; Thanks!

5 Ways You Can Prepare Yourself for a Difficult Client

By Jon Bradshaw | Business Tips | No Comments

Chances are, you’ll experience a difficult client from time to time. And while most clients mean well, some are overly demanding, have unrealistic expectations, and are downright rude. The good news is that there are strategies you can put in place to deal with those difficult clients. From being proactive and scheduling phone calls to cutting ties, here are a few tips you should consider adopting:

1. Schedule A Phone Call

The last thing you probably want is to hop on a phone call with a difficult client. But the truth is, that’s the first thing you should do. Communication is key. And while texting and emailing might seem like enough, it’s all too easy for information to get misinterpreted. That’s why you should consider scheduling a phone call or even a face-to-face meeting with a client.

During the conversation, make sure you go over expectations. Not just what the client expects but what’s actually included in their contract. For instance, let’s say you were hired to write a 500-word blog post. Make sure the client is aware of the word count and doesn’t expect 600 or 700 words. Incorrect expectations can often lead to disappointment from one party or the other.

You should also take time to ask the client any questions you may have on the project. For example, maybe you’re confused about the topic or want to make sure you’re clear on how to start. The more you know, the easier it should be to create an outline for the project and provide the client with realistic due dates.

As a rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to have a conversation with a client during the onboarding process. Doing so could help you two get off on a good start and potentially keep them from becoming a difficult client.

2. Ask The Right Questions

Before starting a project, it’s important you have a strong grasp of what’s expected from you. To do that, you have to ask questions. As mentioned above, it’s a good idea to onboard your clients with a phone call. This phone call provides the perfect setting to ask your questions.

Keep in mind that you want to make sure you’re asking the right questions. Not doing so could make the process harder and may rub your client the wrong way. Before the call, figure out what you want to ask. Do you need more clarity on a certain section? Do you want a better understanding of the target audience or the client’s goal for the project?

Make sure you take time to go over the project details and gather information on your client. Don’t be afraid to ask your co-workers for their input or brainstorm ideas beforehand. While you want to ask questions, you don’t want the client to think you’re unprepared.

3. Listen To Your Clients

Asking questions is one thing, but listening is something else entirely. Instead of viewing your client as a problem, view them as a resource. After all, your client is someone you have to study and pay attention to in order to be successful. When they speak, listen and make sure you’re taking notes.

Listening can also help you build a better relationship with your client, as it shows good customer service. According to a study, 86% of clients say good customer service can keep them with a company long-term. Think about it. How quickly are you turned off when someone speaks over you or doesn’t remember anything you say? Exactly. Make sure the client knows you’re listening.

Listening is especially important with a difficult client who likes vocalizing their complaints. While it can be uncomfortable, it’s important your client feels heard. This doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything they’re saying, but show that you care and want to help. Empathizing is crucial when it comes to dealing with clients.

4. Don’t Take It Personally

One of the biggest mistakes you could make with a difficult client is taking what they say personally. It’s important to remember that you aren’t the problem. Chances are that there’s some miscommunication. Or maybe you, or the client, haven’t been clear on expectations. While this can be upsetting, it can be fixed. And definitely not something you should take personally.

Remind yourself that you’re in a customer-facing role. Your job is to work with the client as best as you can to produce something you’re both proud of. For this to happen, you may receive criticism and have to change a few things. It’s all a part of the process. Try not to stress.

5. Walk Away

It’s important to remember that your mental health is just as important as your client list. While having the occasional difficult client is bound to happen, it shouldn’t be a regular experience. If a client continuously talks down to you and makes it impossible for you to work, consider walking away.

With that said, there are a few things you should consider before walking away from a client. First, pay attention to their attitude. If a client is rude or degrading, that’s a sign to walk away. Not to mention, many clients won’t do repeat business with you after one bad experience.

You should also consider the amount of time and resources you’re giving to the client. If they’re demanding more time and energy than other clients, that’s another sign to walk away. You might think you should stick it out with a difficult client, but that might not be the best move. This way, you can both move on and find someone you can have a better working relationship with.

Difficult clients can be demanding, but they can also help you grow. The key is to be prepared to deal with them and know when enough is enough. The tips above can help you deal with difficult clients in an effective way.

Image Credit: Yan Krukov; Pexels; Thanks!

How to Find the Best Deals When Booking Your Next Trip

By Abby Miller | Knowledge Base | No Comments

For some people, the worst part of their vacation is planning the details. But this is where you can get the most for your money and ensure you book as much fun as you can pack into your trip.

Good planning is the key. You can avoid the stress of overpaying for flights, finding the best hotel for the best price, and reserving the top restaurants. All you have to do is make good plans and stick to them. It’s not just about the money, it’s also about having fun.

If you are one of those people who hate to plan, think of these tricks as a way to really save money. Keep large blocks of time on your schedule open to be spontaneous. But try these ideas on how you can use your favorite online calendar to plan your vacation and save money.

Sign Up for Airline Discount Alerts

Once you identify where you’re traveling on your next vacation, sign up on travel and airline sites for alerts about discounts. These alerts typically offer discounts to travel during a specific time frame. Log these into your online calendar, along with the deadline to book, to make sure you don’t miss out. You can compare prices offered by different discount travel sites and plan your trip.

Use Travel Points Earned From Airlines

You may be a frequent flyer who has accumulated a number of travel miles. These miles typically do not last forever, so check out when they expire. You can enter the time period these travel miles are valid for in your online calendar. Look for dates that overlap with the flight discounts you identify and consider getting the most out of your travel miles. You can book a discounted flight, use travel miles to pay, and save money in both cases. It’s more savings than you would earn by just shopping around.

Plan Early If You Are Renting a Car

The price of renting a car has skyrocketed since the pandemic, thanks to rental car companies selling off a lot of their fleet. But that does not mean you can find bargains. Sign up for alerts from the rental car companies you trust most and add an alert to travel sites you use. Rental car discounts often come for certain travel periods, much like flights. Log these discount offers into your online schedule, along with their expiration date, so you don’t miss out.

Shop Early For Hotels, Airbnb Rentals

You may be able to save money on hotels by signing up for discount alerts on travel sites and your favorite hotel chains. Some hotels offer five nights for the price of four, or similar deals if you book between certain dates. Keep track of these as you do your flights, rental cars, and other discounts on your online calendar. Give each type of discount – flight, rental car, hotel – its own color code as you enter them into dates, and keep an eye out for the overlapping dates. This will help you plan your actual travel dates when you nail down the discounts.

Schedule Dinner Reservations In Advance

It may not seem necessary, but many restaurants at vacation spots fill up fast. You could find yourself forced to dine at more expensive, less appetizing, or mostly uninteresting restaurants. Take into account reservation options at the restaurants you most want to visit and reserve them as early as possible. For example, some popular restaurants at resort destinations fill up fast as your travel dates near or require you to book reservations a month or more in advance.

Check out their reservation requirements and plan your trip accordingly. Your effort to make plans with your online calendar might just be the difference between a magical experience and a disappointing one.

Reserve Your Place For Activities And Tours

You will often find discounts online when you book certain tours and experiences in advance of your trip. Once you have your travel dates and destination nailed down, search for tours and activities in the area. Find the ones that interest you, and chances are you can receive a discount by booking early. Make the reservation and enter it into your online calendar as one of your vacation activities. You will not have to wait in line to buy tickets at higher prices on the day of your scheduled visit. You also avoid the disappointment of finding out the tickets are sold out.

Consider Credit Card Rebates For Travel

Some credit card companies offer higher rebates on certain types of purchases throughout the year. For example, a credit card could offer 5% back on all hotel purchases or for rental cars. Log the dates those discounts are offered on your calendar, assigning a unique color code to it. You may find that many of the purchases you already planned to make are covered by credit card rebates. This is a great way to save money, assuming you commit to paying off the card balance when you return. Otherwise, the interest charges applied to the credit card will easily wipe out your savings and end up making your trip more expensive.

Avoid Airline Booking Fees

You can save money for your next trip if you pick your seats early. Once you identify the airline and the flight, find out when the first opportunity to pick seats is. Mark that date on your online calendar so you don’t miss out on options. You may find yourself waiting and paying $30 or more per seat to get what you want. This is a great way to avoid airline booking fees if you are traveling with a companion you want to sit with on your flight.

Eat Local

You can save money on food by planning meals at inexpensive, but interesting local restaurants. It might be a sandwich shop, a pizza parlor, or a falafel restaurant. You don’t need expensive dining or big-money chain options. The local eateries that are off the tourist route often offer inexpensive options and feature local food favorites. It’s a great way to save money and learn more about your destination. If the restaurants take reservations, take advantage of the opportunity and make one. Better to have a seat guaranteed at a restaurant that is half full than be shut out at a place that is overbooked by locals.

Eat Early

Something many travelers don’t know is that you will spend more for dinner than lunch in many countries. Many restaurants offer lunch specials to attract business. Consider loading up on a large lunch, and spending less on breakfast and dinner. You can check online for lunch specials at your destination before you arrive. If you find deals in certain restaurants that look appealing, reserve spots there and add them to your online calendar.

Don’t Be Afraid To Haggle

You can plan on big savings as you book your trip if you are not afraid to haggle when you arrive. In many countries, haggling is an expected activity that the locals encourage among street vendors and at markets. It is OK to offer less than the marked price for items, even for food at some locations. Do some research before you travel to learn more about the local customs. Make sure you understand the currency in your destination to ensure that you account for any currency fees and differences. Once you’re comfortable with what is expected and the currency, don’t be shy about haggling. It can help you save money for your vacation and get great deals on fun souvenirs.

Image Credit: Photo by Vojtech Okenka; Pexels; Thank you!

How to Find the Best Deals When Booking Your Next Trip was originally published on Calendar by Abby Miller.

What Leaders Can Learn From Great Teachers

By John Rampton | Knowledge Base | No Comments

“The best teachers are leaders, and the best leaders are also teachers,” says Harvard Business School Professor Thomas DeLong, who has taught over 20,000 MBAs and executives across the globe since 1997. According to him, teachers, as with leaders, “should be like a mad scientist who can’t wait to get to the classroom to share the experiment. If you adopt this mindset, students will remain intellectually and spiritually in the classroom with you.”

With that in mind, as parents are rejoicing their children are returning back to school, here are some leadership lessons they can learn from teachers.

Have the ability to influence.

Leadership ability is often measured in the context of business performance in many organizations, Will Fan, CEO of NewCampus, writes in Forbes. However, there is more to it than just a focus on the bottom line.

“I’ve found it’s actually the ability to inspire individuals with their own agendas and cause others to rally behind a common goal that makes an effective leader,” he adds. “In a single word, it’s influence.” Efficiency gains follow.

“If you think about it, influence is largely about communication,” says Fan. “It’s about casting a vision so clearly that people get behind it with the full extent of their talents, abilities, and strengths.” Then, like teachers, the most influential leaders allow their team members to reach their full potential.

Keep your eyes on the big picture.

There are times when learning can be tedious, complex, and even dull. And, yes, great teachers are aware of this. However, by acknowledging their feelings, they help students see the bigger picture. Which, in turn, helps them move past these moments.

They know that challenging times are necessary to reach the ultimate learning goal. Moreover, they have a perspective that students cannot have and use that perspective to help people overcome challenges.

Successful leaders have a similar perspective. And, because of this, help those they lead through the mundane by raising their eyes towards the future.

Offer incentives.

“To keep my students on their toes, I give extra credit points every day,” says Dawn Bevier. “I offer three points to students who raise their hands and correctly answer simple questions during class discussions.” For difficult questions, I award five points.

“And when the school year begins, I make it clear to them that there are no extra credit points to beg for at the end of the semester,” she adds. “I tell them they have to gather them in the here and now.”

The semester ends with some students having seventy-five points or more.

“I think this ‘on your toes and in the moment’ extra credit opportunity is initially successful for obvious reasons,” Bevier explains. A student’s grades are important to them — and grades make a difference in their lives.

However, as time passes, it subconsciously motivates for reasons beyond extra credit points, which is ironic (and wonderful).

The reason for this is twofold.

It becomes a competition. In order to prove their intelligence, a student wants to “one-up” each other.
It is a source of pride. The more difficult five-pointers they get, the more confident and assertive the students become.

In what way does this teaching strategy relate to your business?

“When I offer these small incentives and competitive aspects to my instruction, students are constantly engaged — always thinking, listening, and working,” Bevier states.”And isn’t this the behavior every business owner wants their employees to display?”

What’s more, research shows that incentive programs “[increased] performance by an average of twenty-two percent,” and when “team incentives were offered, performance was improved by as much as forty-four percent.”

Best of all? These incentives don’t have to be cash-based. You could, for example, offer time-based rewards like leaving early on Fridays. But, most important, incentives should be based on the individual interests of your team members.

Turn expertise curriculum.

To attract and engage their target market, businesses engage in content marketing by sharing highly valuable resources and tools online, states Scott Barron, Founder of Yabwi. Getting the attention of key decision-makers is an essential part of business development. Why? There are too many competitors on the market, and people are distracted by so many media sources.

“Business leaders would be wise to tap into the expertise of educators in order to utilize modern approaches to curriculum design to build engagement internally (with employees, managers, etc.) and externally (with clients and communities),” Barron adds. “Understanding how people learn and how to craft instructional experiences that strengthen relationships offers a unique marketing advantage.”

“We’ve proven that such a platform of influence works through our own growth strategy, Barron says. “And we’ve shared this expertise with companies like 3M, Johnson Controls, and many others.”

Inspire trust by practicing empathy.

The job of an educator involves working with a whole bunch of different people like administrators, parents, community members, and students. They come from varied backgrounds, hold multiple priorities, and express their ideas in diverse ways. Because of that, educational leaders don’t make assumptions or dismiss anything anyone else has to say.

Similarly, leaders should also foster strong relationships with business partners, employees, stakeholders, and shareholders by developing emotional intelligence. Leaders should learn to value different perspectives and respect others’ points of view. It is important to remember that every individual sees things differently, so leaders can take the opportunity to use compassion in most situations. Compassion is a large part of emotional intelligence — and you can learn it.

Additionally, trust plays a crucial role. Despite a certain degree of authority associated with teaching, good teachers instill a sense of trust among learners. Leaders can also use the same method to support their teams.

Care about others’ success.

Students’ success is the top priority of exemplary teachers. They’re patient, and they’re willing to go the extra mile. And as a result, they do whatever it takes to help the student succeed.

Even though they understand and are willing to play their roles, they understand ultimately; that students are responsible for their performance. But, they still set up their students for success through knowledge, support, and guidance.

And this is true among business leaders. In the words of Stephen Covey, “An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.

Plan purposefully.

As a teacher, planning is a must. After all, by planning lessons in advance, teachers enter the classroom prepared to teach new concepts and facilitate meaningful discussions rather than winging them. In the absence of a lesson plan, it is easy for students to lose focus, and teachers are left scrambling for ideas.

In addition, when teachers and students are both engaged in the educational process, every day can be transformational.

Moreover, teachers use purposeful planning to identify where students are headed, what success looks like, and what is the most efficient way to achieve that success.

This is precisely the same (in all its variety) with successful leaders. It’s an imperative skill as planning archives the following:

Helps you determine future goals.
Expands decision-making.
Establishes abilities and expectations.
Encourage your team to develop new skills, engage them in new and challenging activities, believe in them, and take an interest in their career development.
Encourages creativity and innovation.
You will be able to identify your resources, who is currently available, track time, and manage time effectively.
Focus on what truly matters. In turn, this reduces overlapping and wasteful moments.

Learn to be flexible.

It’s not uncommon for educators to have a tough time getting students to understand lessons and concepts. A variety of factors can cause difficulty in understanding lessons. For example, those without basic math skills may struggle to comprehend complex formulas. There’s also a chance the teacher delivered the content in a way that was hard for students to understand.

There’s no way a great teacher would overlook this issue. So instead, they analyze their teaching methods and identify the underlying problems. As a result, they adjust their teaching styles to fit the needs of their students.

There are times when business leaders become too consumed with their projects. Despite not getting the desired results from current strategies, they refuse to acknowledge they aren’t working. The business world would benefit from learning from educators. Specifically, being ready to change directions at any time. Leaders can experiment with different approaches and see if they work for their teams.

Bonus tip: It can be almost impossible to be flexible if your calendar is too cluttered and rigid. So, just like teachers have a prep period, I would leave some white space in your calendar. For example, you could leave the block from 11:30 am to 12:30 am open for a prep period. Then, we can use this time to grab some food, return emails, or plan for an afternoon meeting. Or, you can simply relax.

Embrace teachable moments.

A teachable moment occurs when a teacher offers their classrooms a unique insight into a topic that has captured their attention. To seize teachable moments, the teacher or parent must sense and seize them when they occur. In most cases, it’s a brief tangent from a lesson plan or conversation about something relevant or interesting. Kids are inherently more interested in topics they can relate to and feel how they apply to their day-to-day lives.

“When leaders teach is almost as important as what they teach,” writes Sydney Finkelstein, the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College for HBR. “The successful leaders I studied didn’t wait for formal reviews or check-ins. Instead, they seized and created opportunities to impart wisdom.”

For example, Costco Wholesale co-founder and retired CEO Jim Sinegal knew lessons could appear at any time when working with Price at Price Club. Apparently, Sinegal “spent day and night teaching,” whether advising on retail tactics or making himself a more effective manager.

Likewise, Chase Coleman III, a protégé of hedge fund CEO Julian Robertson, said that Robertson was similarly “out to teach you a lesson” by showing “how to do things and how to run a business.”

“Some leaders ensure on-the-job learning by working in open offices that allow them to observe employees, project accessibility, and encourage frequent conversations,” adds Finkelstein. “Others opt for more-conventional offices but make a point of maintaining open-door policies and spending lots of time circulating among their staff, which means they can offer lessons on the spur of the moment—when people can best process and embrace them.”

Image Credit: Max Fischer; Pexels; Thank you!

What Leaders Can Learn From Great Teachers was originally published on Calendar by John Rampton.