Nothing happens until someone does something

Nothing happens until someone does something - Albert Einstein

I know that sounds a bit of an obvious statement but the reality is he’s right. 

As usual!

I sit with clients and seem to ask the same question “So why do you do things this way?” and inevitably the is “because we always have!”

I’m finding that this is applying not just to the way individual programs are used but also in the way they are (or aren’t) used in conjunction with each other.

So for example importing data from web pages in to Excel, exporting data from Outlook in to CSV files to import in to mail merge, integration with Skype, real-time co-authoring and Trello, a superb tool for to-do lists and task management.

All used in a strategic way your productivity can be improved, data quickly and easily shared.

Take a step back, look at your practices and take a look to see if anything can be changed for the better.

I can help businesses with appraising their systems and offering a totally different perspective. It only costs you an hour of your time and a couple of cups of tea.  

Case Study Paul Schofield Wealth Management

         


Case Study

Paul Schofield Wealth Management, Partner Practice of St James’s Place Wealth Management based in Burnley

Paul is a wizard with his business, he really understands the needs of his clients and ensures that the work he completes for them is of the very highest standard and quality.

The data Paul prepares for his clients is well presented but he felt that there may be a better way to show his findings; it isn’t always easy for the, sometimes complex, figures to be understood by his customers.

Paul asked Innovative Technology Coaching for advice on data presentation. His skills with Microsoft Excel were of an advanced level and all the data needed was immediately available, although it needed some re-formatting.

We set up a new template to drastically reduce the amount of time needed to enter the initial data required for all potential clients.

Once the template was complete we showed Paul how to convert the newly formatted data in to graphs. We investigated the different options and Paul opted to use 3D pie charts. Then we helped Paul set up an automated system which populated the charts in colour to show the different possible areas of investment.

We then organised a system so that Paul can show customers their information on his iPad or laptop when he visits them in their own homes. He can then e-mail it to them or print it out at a later date

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Paul now has an easier method of importing varied individual data with differing numbers of financial streams that customers may wish to invest. He can create much clearer presentations to describe his recommendations and he has found the new processes to be hugely beneficial in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

Is there really any benefit to giving my staff IT training?

I have been investigating this subject and have found the following article on the HR Review website, you can read it here http://bit.ly/1N9tUv4

The headline is It costs over £30K to replace a staff member - yikes!

The headlines

Replacing members of staff incurs significant costs for employers: £30,614 per employee. There are two main factors that make up this cost:

• The Cost of Lost Output while a replacement employee gets up to speed
• The Logistical Cost of recruiting and absorbing a new worker

The report reveals that a major cost implication for firms replacing staff is the lost output a company experiences during the period of time the new worker is getting up to speed - the cost of them being less effective until they reach their "Optimum Productivity Level" The findings unveil that, on average, workers take 28 weeks to reach optimum productivity which has an attached cost of £25,181 per employee. This is by far the dominant cost factor for replacing a departing employee.

The logistical cost of replacing an employee incorporates expenditure such as advertising costs and agency fees, as well as invested time such as interviewing prospective candidates. On average businesses spend £5,433 on logistical costs, with the following factors contributing:

• Hiring temporary workers before the replacement starts: £3,618
• Management time spent interviewing candidates: £767
• Recruitment agency fees: £454
• Advertising the new role: £398
• HR time spent processing replacement: £196

So I have been doing some research on the how to reduce that cost by keeping your existing staff and the benefits to them.

On this page http://bit.ly/1jgmMRF Small Business Trends, there is a really good article worth reading

Basically it says

An engaged workforce who possess the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise is crucial for any organization who wants to achieve high levels of business success. In any challenging and competitive business environment, learning and development has never been more important as a means to keep employees engaged and maintain that competitive advantage.

There is a short term view to slash or even remove training budgets but this will inevitably produce dire long term consequences. Thriving organizations rely on their people to perform consistently well.  This can only be achieved if they are feeling engaged and motivated.

The right training and development can greatly enhance employee engagement by nurturing talent and helping people to learn new things and improve their performance.

Most people want to feel that they are doing a good job and that they are valued by their organization for the part they play. They prefer to have variety in their work and see development potential in their role.

Learning and development provides a way to address human and professional needs and greatly improves employee engagement. Companies who invest in their people through training and development are also viewed more favourably by employees than those in organizations who don’t. Employees must see the benefits to themselves of undertaking training activities. This is where many good intentions fall short.

Organizations who are keen to demonstrate their commitment to their people can sometimes get carried away with the “sheep dip” approach to training – leaving some people confused about the rationale behind attending it. Employees have to see the link between where they are now and where they want to get to and how training is going to bridge this gap, without this being made explicit, organizations run the risk of training and development being viewed as a chore instead of a reward.

The answer is to link training and development to specific objectives, just like any KPI's that would normally be set and understood.

Done efficiently, learning and development will then provide the means to motivate and engage employees like never before. People will feel valued for their contribution and they will understand that the organization supports them to be the best that they can be.

Developing people really is key to having an engaged workforce and achieving business success

Innovative Technology Coaching (ITC) is regarded as one of the North West’s leading IT coaching and training providers. We believe passionately in helping our clients succeed.

Our aim is to help businesses of all sizes improve their performance and increase productivity via IT training enhancements and interventions designed to empower the individual. Improving IT productivity has a direct impact on top and bottom line performance.

Having good Computer skills is almost a mandatory requirement for employees as businesses depend more and more on their IT systems. Having good Computer skills can mean that you will be able to perform tasks that your competitors aren’t able to and you are able to work more effectively with the programs that businesses use.

Your staff can get work done in a more efficient, better organised and timely manner. Making better use of spreadsheets, word-processing or presentation programs can help to organise your thoughts but more importantly if you can use these programs more effectively you will be able to use their features to communicate both internally and externally.

We will work with you and your employees to determine how we can help you maximise your systems and improve productivity

Windows operating systems Windows 98, Vista 2000 XP Windows 7 8.1 and Windows 10

Microsoft Office products (and equivalents) We have a particularly high level of expertise in Outlook, Excel and Word)

We can help businesses use the features within their existing software to produce information with richer content.

We will do everything we can to meet our clients expectations. With this kind of bespoke service we can really find out what you need and plan sessions specifically for you. We can make notes together, tailored to your sessions, so they will make sense to you later if you need them.