Month: January 2020

Digital Branding

What is UX/UI design

The term UX originated in 1993 in the depths of Apple Corporation, the decryption sounds like User eXperience. With the growing popularity of mobile devices, this concept came into fashion and began to be used everywhere. But even now, not everyone can answer with certainty what UX design is, how it differs from UI design and why these things are often mentioned in the bundle. We can help you figure it out.

What is UX design

Simply put, UX design is the design of the user experience. It is one of the first steps in product creation and serves to make the application logical, convenient and useful. UX-design of mobile applications and websites determines what impressions a person will get from their use, how exactly he will use these products.

Where is the best place to place login to your personal cabinet? How many steps does it take for a user to subscribe to the mailing list or place an order? How will he understand that the operation was successful? These are the questions that the UX-designer solves.

UX design includes different components:

  • information architecture;
  • interactive design;
  • usability (an indicator of simplicity, convenience, and efficiency in the eyes of users).

UX-designer understands the psychology and emotions of users, analyzes their expectations from the product and sets a goal to be achieved. Then he selects the right tools and comes up with an application or website structure that meets all the necessary parameters.

UX-designer does not have monotonous tasks, so different projects often require people with skills from different areas. There are entire laboratories with powerful technical equipment, in which a team of several people is working on research. These laboratories tend to focus on the impact design has on conversion rates. They have devices that record the psycho physical reactions of users (e.g., eye movements and heartbeat), they conduct surveys, observe users using the on and off method, and much more.

What is UI design

User interface design or UI design is a visual representation of UX design. Its task is to make an application, website or other product intuitive, attractive and easy to use with the help of certain graphics solutions.

The UI designer is responsible for what each individual screen or page will look like. His area of responsibility is graphic controls such as buttons and checkboxes, fonts, mockups (check this postcard mockup), color schemes, and various visual images.

What should a button look like to make it easy to press? What font size should I choose to make the text readable? How do I make a bug report so that it attracts attention but is not annoying? Answers to these questions help you find the UI design.

Working on what an app will look like on a gadget screen, the UI designer is focused on mobile platforms’ headlines – Apple and Google’s recommendation sets that make third-party apps look uniform and seamlessly integrated into the overall concept.

If to draw quite a simple analogy from life, UX-design is a layout of the apartment and communications, and UI – a choice of wallpaper and flooring. However, in practice UX and UI design are closely interconnected, the second logically follows the first, and often the same person or UI/UX design agency like ramotion is engaged in both. Therefore, the line between the two concepts is blurred, and they are indicated together.

Personal Branding

Fashion in the Workplace – How to Find the U in Team

Fashion, that ever-evolving, but always cycling, roller coaster, reflects and borrows from so many sources – culture, celeb media and expected norms, but what do the clothes we don for work say about us? 

The Workplace Balance

For centuries, probably since we wore skins and carried spears, we’ve been following trends in fashion, some more slavishly than others. But there’s always been a little room for personal interpretation, and the more daring amongst us have grabbed that, adding an accent here, a small touch there, and reveling in that difference, that individualization that sets us apart from each other. 

As our selected clothes tell the world who we are, or conversely, what we want the world to think about us, those little individual touches give away more than we realize. They show what’s inside, what makes us tick and what matters. 

In the workplace, what impression do our clothes give, and is that individualization as important there as on the street?

Giving the right impression

First impressions count, right? And the indirect communication given by our choice of outfits is crucial to initial perceptions, albeit based on subconscious split-second assumptions. In any given workplace, the peer pressure suggests that you dress similarly to your colleagues, which tends to, by our very nature, follow the fashion trends.

However, there are some general tips to follow:

  • If you think something is inappropriate for work, it probably is
  • Dressing with confidence suggests you possess confidence, and studies show this reflects in the quality of your work
  • Darker colors give the impression of authority
  • Wear something you feel comfortable in
  • Apply subtle makeup
  • Look after your nails. This is particularly important as your nails are often on the show. For example, when you’re typing on a keyboard, the moments when you’re shaking hands with your co-worker, or when you hand over a cup of coffee to your coworker. There’s nothing worse than a co-worker who has gritty nails

Okay, so we’ve got you looking appropriate for your environment, wearing dark colors, feeling comfortable and confident, with lovely, well cared for hands. But are you comfortable? Your clothes fit well, and your shoes don’t rub, but inside, are you comfortable? 

Dressing in the same style as your colleagues bring a sense of community, of belonging and feeling part of the bigger picture, which is important to us as members of society, but where’s the ‘you’ part? 

Finding the ‘You’

Blending in and being part of the crowd is good for workplace morale and bonding, but we also need to be able to show a little of ourselves, of our own personalities. It’s advised to keep accessories to a minimum, but there are a few subtle things we can do to show who we are:

  • Most of us carry bags, so why not make yours a little different – maybe with a shocking pink lining or piping in a complementary color
  • If wearing heels, choose a daring splash of color for the sole
  • Madonna is famous for her faux beauty spot. Choose an appropriate color eye pencil and add a little ‘mole’. Apply a dusting of translucent powder to fix it in place
  • Maybe there’s a particular celebrity you admire and can borrow a style idea from. Most celebrities have adopted a particularly unique sense of style, and most styles can be adopted at a relatively cost-effective price when you strip the clothes from their designer labels.

Being an individual whilst being part of the team is important, and this is the case in the workplace as much as anywhere else. Why not give it some thought and find your own ‘you’? 

Digital Branding

What are the Core SEO Trends and Strategies to Focus in 2020

The old SEO strategies and techniques that we used in the past still work but don’t seem to be as effective as expected. As Google is continuously updating its algorithm to deliver users the most relevant results, SEO experts all across the globe are becoming aware of the new SEO trends and strategies that are considered to be the future of SEO.

What are the Core SEO Trends and Strategies to Focus in 2020?

In order to beat the competition in the online market, we need to re-think and update our content and SEO strategy as per the ever changing updates of Google search engine. Keeping this in mind, we need to update our website and adopt the recent SEO strategy so as to ensure that more prospects and customers find us on search engines. So now, the question is “What are the Core SEO Trends and Strategies to Focus in 2020?”. Below is a comprehensive list of new SEO trends and strategies to follow in the coming year 2020:

  1. Optimize your Website for Featured Snippet
  2. Invest your Time on Influencer Marketing
  3. Implement Voice Search SEO
  4. Focus on Mobile UX Factor
  5. Generate Video Content on Website
  6. Enhance Dwell Time on Website
  7. Content Length and Quality Importance
  8. Artificial Intelligence in SEO
  9. Work on Semantic Search and Intent Optimization
  10. Understand the Need of Structured Data
  11. Positive Impacts of Brand Mention
  12. Optimize Content as Per Google BERT Update
  13. Install Amazon Polly to Increase Dwell Time

Optimize your Website for Featured Snippet

A featured snippet is the search result that appears at the top in a box before the #1 position on SERP. The featured snippet has a very good click-through rate, so it is recommended to take advantage of this feature. To avail of this feature, we need to generate clear and simple answers to commonly asked questions on our website which may be featured on top of SERP based on their quality.

Invest your Time on Influencer Marketing

The current trend is showing that users are more likely to engage with a trustful, respected and well-known person than with ads. So, we should invest more in influencer marketing to enhance SEO efforts. Influencers can also help create valuable backlinks, an important factor in determining Google rankings. Before engaging with an influencer, make sure what type of content you want them to create, how it links back to your website and if they are relevant to your industry.

Implement Voice Search SEO

Voice searches have become a popular trend due to the advancement in mobile devices. So, we should optimize our website for voice searches and understand how to implement conversational searches into our SEO strategy. For voice search, you should focus on content with keywords having conversational queries, long queries, local targeting, and an FAQ page is a must for voice search SEO. For voice search optimization, make the title tags and first headers sound like a question similar to what a user is going to ask. For example: If your blog’s title is “Minimize Software Development Cost for Startups”, then try to make it “How to minimize Software Development Cost for Startup Businesses?”. Additionally, you can also optimize the old content with this strategy.

Focus on Mobile UX Factor

Mobile UX is an important factor in determining a website’s ranking, so a mobile version of a web-page is a must. Mobile first indexing is one of the core indexing and ranking factors. If your page doesn’t look good on mobile devices, you may lose ranking. It is essential to have a mobile version for a website to drive more users towards your website. Getting higher in the Google mobile page index will make your web-page highly authoritative.

Generate Video Content on Website

Videos are the new source of information for the users browsing online. As per studies from Google and other reputed organizations, 6 out of 10 users prefer to watch videos online than TV because online videos are a much better source of academic and entertainment information. As a result, this has greatly affected modern SEO, and marketers are now optimizing the videos for search users so as to reach out to the maximum audience. The video optimization starts with adding relevant keywords to the video headline and in the description. 

Dwell Time to be the Major Ranking Factor

Time spent on a web-page before bouncing back would be one of the major ranking factors in the coming days. The dwell time metrics are very important as they tell, how interested users are in your content and if they are getting the desired information about what they are looking for. Having a better dwell time means users are more interested in your content, so we should focus more on generating quality and valuable information for the users to get ahead of the competition.

Content Length and Quality Importance

As we know, content quality is one of the core ranking factors for any website, but now the search engines are also considering the length of content as a core ranking factor. Currently, users are now looking to get complete information from a single authentic source that is why they prefer to read lengthy content from reliable sources. Recent studies revealed that more no. of users are reading articles having a content length of 2000 words than fewer words. So, we should focus on generating lengthy content embedded with comprehensive and quality information that answers almost all the related queries for what a user is looking for.

Artificial Intelligence in SEO (Rank Brain)

Artificial intelligence is the new trend in SEO which many companies are following. As Google uses AI to deliver highly relevant results, to identify keyword stuffing, bad backlinks, irrelevant content for users, it’s necessary to use AI in your SEO strategy so as to meet the search engine requirements. AI also determines metrics such as bounce rate, time on site, etc. Using artificial intelligence in SEO and content strategy can be very useful to gather important data and customer insights which can lead to overall SEO success.

Semantic Search and Intent Optimization

Now, Google doesn’t use the exact match words that are being typed by users in the search box. Google actually looks at the user’s query context/intent and analyzes the highly relevant search intent to reflect the results. Google has a very good understanding of searchers’ intent that is why the traditional content creation with a single keyword doesn’t work now. So, it is necessary to use Text Optimizer and make a collection of the desired search queries into related concepts and entities. This semantic research will help create content having sentences based on some common co-occurrence analysis of the term you select.

Understand the Need of Structured Data

Structured data refers to displaying data in an organized way. It can be used in many different ways to display a website’s information as enhanced results in SERPs in the form of rich snippets, rich cards, carousels, knowledge boxes, etc. Google is interested in fetching more data from your web-page and giving more exposure to your website. So, it is recommended to implement structured data on your website to boost visibility and ranking. Marketing experts working in various emerging software development companies in India are now focusing hard with the developers to implement structured data for all websites on which they are working to enhance the SEO efforts.

Positive Impacts of Brand Mention

Google included brand mention as a part of its algorithm update and is tracking how many times your brand is mentioned online. So, it is the time to work around brand mentioning as Google is not only looking for links but also for people talking about your brand on social media and other online platforms.

Optimize Content as Per Google BERT Update

Bert is basically termed as Bidirectional Encoder Representations From Transformers. BERT is powered by AI and ML to provide a new way to efficiently understand the language for Google searches. It has an immediate effect on how websites are ranked on SERP. As per the BERT update, your focus should be on the context of the search term not on the keyword (with an inclination towards conversational queries). It will consider the overall context of the keyword by analyzing the other terms associated with the keyword in order to understand the actual intent behind a user’s search queries.

BERT will analyze the long-tail keywords to understand the overall context of the phrases in your search query. It is assumed that long-tailed phrases will help in improving results. BERT also implies that content is always the king which requires a primary focus above all SEO parameters, so it is required to focus on using long-tailed key phrases in your On-page SEO and content strategy. The use of keywords in the content doesn’t need to be exact, you can instead use different words of the keywords after keeping in mind the user intent behind the search query related to that keyword.

Just for an example: The exact keyword used within content like “software development India” will be given less value as compared to the phrases like “list of Indian companies delivering quality software development projects”.

Install Amazon Polly to Increase Dwell Time

Amazon Polly, a speech recognition tool will help you increase the dwell time of users on your website as it will read aloud any content piece for your site visitors. This tool is available as a WordPress plugin and can easily be integrated into blog posts. Having both the reading and listening options on your webpage will make users engaged for a longer period of time, and therefore enhance the dwell time which is a major ranking factor.

Bottom Line

All the aforementioned SEO strategies could be a game-changer for any website you own and will help you get a better search engine ranking and ensure a continuous inflow of highly relevant traffic as compared to your competition. We would be glad to hear your views or suggestions regarding the content. You can contact us directly through our comments section.

About the Author

Manoj Rawat, a Growth Hacker, Ideator, Innovator, techy and an experienced SEO, SMM and Marketing Consultant with over 8 years of IT experience. He loves to share technology trends, marketing tips & strategies among online communities. He is an avid sports person, traveller, & nature lover. 

How to design your office
Digital Branding

How to Design Your Office for Maximum Productivity

Designing an office isn’t just about putting in place the best chairs and tables made up of the best quality material. In fact, if you think about it and if you do some research, you’ll get to know that designing an office includes a lot of things which  you shouldn’t take for granted. Your workspace environment, the ambiance, and the overall design affect your productivity and the productivity of your employees.

If you think about it, it all makes sense! Would you ever want to work in an office that’s untidy all the time, with broken chairs and tables that are unbalanced? That’s exactly the point that we are trying to explain here. Your office, its maintenance, and its overall environment will reflect the kind of work you do, the kind of person you are, and on top of it all, it will also affect your creativity and productivity.

So, if you are thinking about investing a little time, effort, and money to design your office, then yes, you are about to take one wise step that will pay you off later when you start working.

Tips On How To Design Your Office

Speaking of which, here are some important tips that can be very useful for you while you design your office for maximum productivity.

Have proper office lighting

1-Work On The Lighting

One of the most important things to consider while designing your office is lighting. You don’t want yourself or your employees to come and fall asleep when they enter the office, right? Well, if yes, then test the lighting properly, make sure that it works in tandem with the paint on the walls of your office and so that it is bright enough for you and your team to work without falling asleep or feeling tired.

Paint the walls a neutral color

2-Paint

The second important factor to work on is the paint on your office walls. Most people don’t pay much heed to this factor, which is what they end up regretting. If you don’t want to be one of those people who regret the color they chose to paint on the walls, then make sure to opt for a moderate tone. Go for white and off-whites because too dark or too vibrant can be disturbing for you and your staff.

Use motivational quotes as art

3-Use Motivational Quotes

Nowadays, people prefer using motivational and inspirational quotes on their walls instead of abstract paintings. Especially for an office, this makes sense that you have some inspiring quotes or pictures that can give you a boost for your productivity and creativity. Our top suggestion: Bemore Store

If you’re looking for beautiful canvas prints or t-shirts with inspirational life lessons on them, then this is the store that you need to head to right away. They were built to inspire people with life’s wisdom and feature art and apparel lines as well as a dedicated blog. And on top of it all, and in line with their mission, the store donates a portion of every product sale to cancer research through a partnership with a research fund. It’s a great site working for a great cause, which is why you should try them right now. 

Control noise in the office

4-Control The Noise

The last and another important thing to work on is the noise. Noise can cause a disturbance, and it can seriously mess up your productivity levels, so don’t take any risks with it. Just ensure a design in which each employee has a separate cabin so that there’s no noise and no disturbance.

These are some of the important things you need to consider while designing your office. All of it can help you with your productivity levels, so try the tips and then let us know what you think!

Digital Branding

6 Helpful and Loving Ways to Employee Recognition

Recruiting an employee is a challenging process and retaining your best people, needs a lit bit of more effort. It requires to implement honest and thoughtful employee recognition. Such a culture motivates and rewards employees in a way that extends far beyond material incentives. In today’s hectic schedules employee recognition is a powerful employee tool to reach out to your best employees and motivate them to strive harder.

So, why are so many leaders still neglecting this invaluable practice? Most of the leaders don’t recognize the importance of this powerful tool as they received little recognition in their careers. They underestimate this idea to grow and retain their company staff. Eventually, it takes extra effort from their side to recognize their employee’s achievements and reward them with suitable needs.

If you are an employee who refers to your employees as one of your valuable resources and wants to retain your top talent. Then you can start to initiate some change in your workplace by implementing an employee recognition program. To know more about employee recognition program benefits, click here. Below are some 6 helpful and loving ways for an employee recognition program that you can custom design as per your business and industry-

1. Personalized appreciation

Make sure to create a culture of recognition in which there are emails in where one employee alone is appreciated for the efforts given. This creates a sense of longing for everyone and would try to work harder to achieve it. A personalized hand-written note is something that will never go out of style since people love to feel valued. Mention highlighting what they have done to be deserving of this appreciation.

2. The Extra Mile programs

A special program to an employee who goes beyond their call of duty and strives to make things happen for the company. This is known as the extra mile program where the company will constitute a special kit to the employee who went the extra mile and made a contribution to the company. It can consist of supporting a team member, working after office hours, did overtime during a company crisis, etc. Receiving recognition on behalf of small acts of kindness will become a part of the company culture for which employees are trained to think beyond just their job descriptions.

3. Wall of fame

On achieving monthly or yearly targets a company can keep some rewards in terms of motivation. Wall of fame is also one type of recognition where the company’s most valuable employee is being recognized by having their photos displayed on a wall specially set up for this purpose. It lends inspiration for all the other employees and motivates them to take it as a challenge.

4. Offer beyond-the-call-of-duty perks

A company can also provide those employees with special privileges of parking space or paid time off who consistently perform at the highest levels. Sometimes they can even receive some financial incentives for work well-performed. The financial incentives should be open-ended and unpredictable to motivate their employees to work harder.

5. Surprise Bonuses

Appreciating your employee with surprises, in the form of money, coupon codes, vouchers, travel packages, etc. can boost their confidence.  Adding a small note of hand-written appreciation attached with it will feel extremely genuine thus making your employees feel valued. Such kind of employee recognition practices can make a difference in any kind of organization.

6. Build an employee retention program

Incorporating an employee retention program in your company will also create moments that people will look forward to. Employ a reward system or a cash bonus or paid vacation for an employee who stays with the company for many years. This is a great idea and always effective when implemented well and motivate the employees to look forward to work for more time with the company.

Digital Branding

Tools Your Company Needs This 2020

There is no argument that stubborn companies that refuse to adapt to the new way of business management are doomed to crash and burn in the long run. Enterprises that do not use any modern technology in their business operations are losing out on both their present and future competition. There are now many tools that exist to help companies grow and scale, such as applications that manage enterprise contracts, track cash flows and prove analytics.

Sticking to the “old ways” will not do the company any good as many systems have all been rendered inefficient or redundant by software tools. There is now a race towards building a smart company. And the fun part is that it is not exclusive to the big corporations. Even startups and small businesses are exerting efforts into integrating as much automation and AI into their standard operating procedures to gain leverage over their competitors.

Here I have created a list of the best tools for some business operations that your company needs this 2020.

Internal Communication

Communication is essential within any organization. The chances of miscommunication in a team that has no reliable messaging platform are high. In line with this, the resulting consequences from even the slightest sense of misunderstanding could bring in a lot of unnecessary confusion and mistakes to the company. 

An effective messaging platform needs to be set and standardized to foster not only a good working relationship between employees but also improve the overall efficiency and productivity of the office.

Some of the best tools that I found are:

Data Storage

In the past, the only way to have records of a company’s business transactions are through a paper trail and hard copies of documents. However, with the advancement of technology and the improvement of cloud-based systems, it is now possible to upload all of the company’s files on an online server where they are safe from physical harm. Aside from the security, a search tool makes it easier to locate files instead of having to browse through hundreds upon hundreds of folders. 

On top of that, a convenient feature of online data storage is that any administrator can access the files wherever and whenever as long as they have access to the Internet.

 Some of the best servers for data storage are:

Analytics

Analytics and Search Engine Optimization may sound like intimidating concepts, but with the right tools and training, they are easy to understand. Analytics is vital to any business, regardless of whether it’s a big corporation or a small startup. Analytics provide valuable insights that greatly help with a company owner’s decision-making.

The best analytics tools available so far in the market are:

Social Media Marketing

Social Media is now one of the most significant time-consuming activities in the world. It is estimated that in 2018, the average person spent an average of 136 minutes a day. As of today, this number has probably already doubled as there are now more fun features to keep users occupied. At the same time, the life of an individual, both social and professional, can now revolve around social media.

This is why social media marketing has become one of the best marketing strategies to use to help brands connect with customers, increase their brand awareness, boost their number of leads, and increase their sales. Managing social media accounts can be quite a tedious task, and thankfully, there are software applications available for companies to use, such as:

Other Internal Processes

Some internal processes are best left to automation. For example, GatekeeperHQ’s contract management software can easily make your contract management process much faster and with fewer errors and hassle than any experienced contract manager can. On the other hand, there is Quickbooks which allows users to track company expenses, carefully manage cash flows, and create online invoices for better business management.

Summary

At the end of the day, this technology is only as powerful as the one using them. Users must take the time of the day to properly understand each aspect and feature of the automation tools to get the optimal results!

Local Branding

Want To Increase The Space In Your Office? Mezzanine Floors Can Help Make Space

Your business is scaling up, but your workspace isn’t! Does your office feel congested? How would you manage all the piles of goods and employees in such a constrained space?  You need not move the premises or walls to increase the existing space of your office or your warehouse. Instead, a mezzanine floor could do it for you!

A mezzanine floor is a flexible intermediary floor between two levels of a building. In simple words, it is a partial floor. You could use it to install any number of stories in your office. It also serves the purpose of specialised barricades, awnings, walkways, customized staircases, or up-and-over pallet safety gates.

Mezzanine services and designs are framed according to the demands of each particular company. In this article, we look at some of the most prominent reasons in favour of a mezzanine floor for your growing business:

No need to relocate

Mezzanine floors increase the space of your office by adding another floor between your concrete existing floors. This technique gives your office more area to operate in, by utilizing the height of the ceiling above. Relocation could cost you a lot, plus, your existing clients may have a hard time adjusting to the change in your work location.

Apart from offices, even your warehouses can benefit from the use of a mezzanine floor. A good mezzanine floor confers a firm base to bear heavy weights, assuring the safety of the goods and your warehouse workers. Therefore, you should only trust high-quality mezzanine floors, when the question of upgrading space arises within a warehouse. If you are looking for more storage options in your existing warehouse, we recommend you consult specialists such as Advanced Warehouse Structures, who can help you make the most of your vertical and horizontal capacity.

Split sections

Mezzanine assists in separating different sections of an office by relocating them on different floors, while also keeping them together. You could always use mezzanine floors to keep complimentary departments together on the same floor, without either one blocking or restraining the space for the other. In your warehouse too, you could use it to stock the items that usually get shipped together.

It’s easy

Mezzanine solutions when backboned by the experience and knowledge of experts are the easiest way to redo your office space. For an expert, their installation is easy and convenient. Moreover, you can always get the mezzanine instalment removed or adjusted, as per your needs. Compared to other alternatives that could help you increase your storage, mezzanine flooring is extremely quick and causes the least disruption in your routine. 

They look great

Along with the benefit of knowledge and experience of experts, another reason which attracts companies to choose Mezzanine is the trending designs that they offer.  They would make your additional floor stylish and modern, giving you a bespoke solution to your space problem in your office. Apart from the stylish and trending designs, they would update the extra space in your office with the scientific methods so that your employees could feel comfortable.

An affordable solution

Apart from all the mentioned benefits, the most appealing one is the benefit of low investment. With a new office, there would be a huge investment going into the security deposit and rent. Every business has a limited financial capacity in its nascent stages. The fixed capital for any business can’t be compromised; neither can you purchase the machinery at a lower price, nor can you deduct the salaries of employees. So, when the question of extra space arises, why not choose an affordable option? Compared to the rental’s cost, the cost of a mezzanine installation is nothing.

Legal Branding

Checklist To Follow Before Investing In Physical Precious Metals

Storing your hard-earned wealth in the form of some precious metal resource is a process that humans have been performing for a very long time, and it is an on-going process in today’s world as well. However, the important factors to consider before you go on investing your earnings into precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and rhodium, have changed somewhat.

These precious metals remain an evergreen commodity. Even today, large resource development companies such as Auctus minerals and commodity trading UK are leading new and expansive mining projects in search of more precious and average metals. So before you move on to make your investment into the precious metal market, here are all factors that you need to keep in mind.

1. Hard metal or nothing

There are lots of “schemes” out there that you will come across when you start your venture of investing in the precious metal industry such as exchange-traded funds, but all of these pose a risk. Hence to avoid said risk, you must strive to invest your precious earnings in a place where the actual hard metal is in your possession for you to touch and feel. That is the only proof of a solid investment when it comes to the precious metal market.

2. Amount of metal

There are lots of fancy options when purchasing gold such as rare coins etc. but these products will actually leave you spending a big chunk of your finances and not really providing as much value in terms of the actual metal that you are looking to store. When and if a financial crisis will hit the actual return of your investment will be in terms of how many ounces of the metal you were able to accumulate and not in how much investment you initially made for the product.

3. Usability

The large gold and silver bars are possibly the most bang for the buck in terms of metal for your finances, but a certain amount of practicality must also be taken into account when investing. These bars are difficult to use for anything other than stashing them due to their large size and heavyweight. By owning smaller sized units of gold and silver, you may be able to utilize them in various ways such as trading and gifts, etc. that will allow more practical benefit in the event of an emergency.

4. The threat of reporting and exceptions from it

There will be plenty of schemers out there that will try to take your hard-earned cash for an expensive rare coin by declaring it as “non-reportable.” There is no need to fall for this trap as most average methods of purchasing generally don’t need to be reported by dealers to any government agencies in the first place. As a matter of fact, only very large transactions made in the precious metal markets are liable to be reported. So do not fall for this scam.

5. Purity and why you shouldn’t be worried about it

The purity of the metal is something that most regular buyers will most definitely be concerned with, but this should not be that much of a worry for you. Several coins are alloyed, but their gold quantity is generally on par with regular gold coins. There are purity requirements for many precious metals to pass the test, but most of these requirements are already fulfilled by common bullions.

6. Opportunity for profit

There are several rare mintage coins and other precious metal products that will stop being produced over time or probably stopped producing a while back, and these will gather collectible value that will provide you with a large amount of profit when looking for sales in the future. Hence this is an aspect of your precious metal product that you need to be particularly curious about.

SaaS Branding

Intellectual Ideas to deal with increasing Employee Turnover

Many businesses excel when it comes to landing quality employees. That’s because they do everything by the book. They screen qualified applicants, ask for references, and ask thorough questions during the interview process. After that is when things start to fall apart. Many businesses stop checking in with new employees.

They think that just because they landed a quality employee they don’t have to do anything to keep them. Don’t make that mistake because that can lead to a high employee turnover rate. Here are six ideas to boost employee morale and decrease the employee turnover rate.

1.) Make Your Employees Feel Special

Once you hire a new employee, it’s up to you to make sure that they are thriving and well-adjusted. Employees who don’t feel challenged and see no room for growth will be less inclined to stay.

That’s why you should make them feel special. All you have to do is learn their name and some background information about them. Remember their work anniversary or birthday. If they feel their company cares about them, they’ll be more comfortable sticking around for the long run.

2.) Acknowledge the Hard Work They Put In

When an employee does something good, acknowledge them even if it’s just sending them a quick email to say a great job. Offering rewards for meeting sales goals is a great way to keep employees focused on the tasks at hand. Many businesses offer an ‘Employee of the Month’ award because it helps foster healthy competition among employees. It gives them something to strive for.

3.) Schedule Team-Building Events

If you have a large group of employees working together, it’s important to make sure that they get along. If fights pop up between employees, one or both may be tempted to quit. That’s why you need to meditate the situations immediately. Before things like that even become a problem, try to schedule team-building activities where employees can get to know one another. This will also help them build trust, know they can rely on each other, and create a better work environment.

4.) Small Perks Go A Long Way

In an office setting, small perks can go a long way in keeping employees happy. Offering gear with the company’s logo on it will make them proud to be apart of something. If employees are doing a great job, reward them with a pizza party. When employees are putting in overtime, bring them in coffee or doughnuts just to show that you appreciate what they’re doing. Employees will notice this and feel cared for.

5.) Keep Your Office Door Open

An open-door policy is a great one to enact. Your employees should know that if they ever are struggling, have a problem, or feel unappreciated that they can come and talk to you. Make sure you have time to devote to your employees. Click here to learn about payroll outsourcing so that you can focus more attention on being present instead of the technical side of things.

6.) Offer Room for Growth

No employee wants to be stuck in a dead-end job. They want to know that there is room for them to grow. This is why you should offer a competitive salary, ways to climb up the ladder, and opportunities for a raise. When employees have different goals to work towards, they’ll want to stay for the long run. The second they feel stuck in a dead end job, they’ll consider other options.

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5 Methods To Improve Workplace Morale For Your Employees

Keeping your business running smoothly and making a profit depends largely on your employee morale. Studies show people who do not enjoy their job do subpar work and miss more days than those who like their work.

Encouraging a strong sense of morale among your employees directly correlates to increased teamwork, less absenteeism, and higher production rates. Although it is an intangible aspect of your business, morale must be consistently addressed with long-term initiatives to successfully help your business reach its highest potential.

Raising morale among your employees does not have to be expensive or complex. There are some very simple and inexpensive techniques that any employer can use to boost morale and increase productivity in the workplace.

Here are five easy ways to boost employee morale.

Be a Part of Something Bigger

Another way to give your employees a bonding experience is to make your company a part of something bigger such as a charity or local nonprofit. Choose an organization to support that really means a lot to your employees. Coming together as a group to raise money or donate time or merchandise to support something that is important to everyone gives a sense of accomplishment as well as pride in your group.

Become a Family Unit

The workplace can be about more than just getting work done. A group of employees is much like a family. Incorporating family-type events into the work week goes a long way in alleviating boredom and depression. Celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries helps employees bond as a work family.

Another fun way to bond as a work family is to celebrate your unique work culture. Start each group meeting with a knock-knock joke or even play a prank call! Implant a funny memento that mysteriously appears on random desks and imparts a particular reward for the week. Have a standing joke that only your work crew would understand. Enjoying each other’s company with these funny activities strengthens the work bond.

Recognize a Job Well Done

Employees should be praised for doing their job well. Those that go above and beyond consistently do so because they know it is appreciated. Showing your appreciation doesn’t have to mean throwing an office party or even buying lunch. It can be as simple as a public thank-you and a dollar store desk candle. It is the thought and action that makes the most impact. Celebrating low absenteeism, great customer service remarks, and high productivity instils a drive to do more.

Give Back

Giving back to your employers is a successful way to boost morale and encourage more work output. Periodic raises to continually improving employees keeps them at their best and encourages others to reach the same heights. Even weekly lunches for high-yielding employees can keep everyone striving to do their best.

This can be as simple or as complicated as you want. There are even online employee reward systems, such as GRS Rewards Solutions, that help you give your employees gifts such as cards, travel amenities, and mobile top-ups.

Revamp Your Work Environment

Your work environment includes everything from the décor to the vending machines. Productivity is higher when employees are in an environment that they feel is professional. It should be conducive to the work involved but have designated space for break time and areas that stem creativity.

Plants have been scientifically proven to enhance mood and stimulate the mind. Place them in breakrooms, personal desks, and in conference rooms. Decorating concepts such as Fung Shei, incorporate colours and shapes to increase workflow and worker confidence.

It doesn’t matter if your giving a pat on the back or a big pay raise, showing your employees that you care about them makes them care about their work. A comfortable, productive environment helps employees feel like they have a home away from home in their workplace. Even small gestures have a big impact on your businesses bottom line productivity.