How Does Technology Affect Employee Productivity

How Does Technology Affect Employee Productivity Technology has had a huge impact on the way that modern day businesses run and though there are many benefits to it, a rise in apps and gadgets, has also led to more distractions in the workplace. In a recent report by Highfive, they investigated how technology can influence employee productivity. What role does mobile play? Improved technology has led to increased connectivity and more people working remotely. 72% of people have used their personal mobile for work reasons. 71% of people are likely to do something that is unrelated during a conference call. 49% of workers think that it is ok to do other things during a meeting. 47% of workers reported that the biggest issue in meetings is that their colleagues are distracted or not paying attention. How does age and gender impact workers? 36% of men are distracted by texting, compared to 25% of women. 27% of men are distracted by emails, compared to 17% of women. Millennials are 73% more likely to do something unrelated during a conference call. They are also 45% more likely to check their phone during a meeting. Why do we seek these distractions? A distracting workplace can create distracted employees. This can be caused by noise pollution, the quality of meeting content and a realistic frequency of meetings. 64% of workers prefer in-person meetings, over phone/video meetings. An average of 4.73 texts,  emails or snapchats are sent during an in-person meeting. What are businesses  doing about it? 27% of businesses block certain website access. 24% offer the option to work from home. 19% banned mobile phones. 15% have meeting-free days. 21% have quiet hours. 15% use productivity tools.   Find out more below! [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

Food Focus Oils and Fats

Food Focus Oils and Fats Not all oils and fats are created equal. Heavily processed, hydrogenated, “trans” fats and oils that are used in prepared, packaged foods can be extremely damaging to the body. However, fats and oils from whole foods and other high-quality sources can steady our metabolism, keep hormone levels even, nourish our skin, hair and nails and provide lubrication to keep the body functioning fluidly. Our bodies also need fat for insulation and to protect and hold our organs in place. A healthy percentage of high-quality fat in a meal satisfies and leaves feelings of energy, fulfillment and warmth. When there are excess fats and oils in the diet, especially heavily processed fats, symptoms can include weight gain, skin breakouts, high blood pressure, liver strain and an overall feeling of mental, physical and emotional heaviness. Signs of insufficient high-quality fats are brittle hair and nails, dry skin, hunger after meals and feeling cold. There are many sources of healthy fats and oils: For sautéing and baking, try butter, ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil because they do not break down when used at high temperatures. When sautéing foods at moderate temperatures, try organic extra virgin olive oil. Oils like flaxseed, sesame, toasted sesame, walnut and pumpkin seed are best used unheated in sauces or dressings on top of salads, veggies or grains. Other healthy fats are found in whole nuts and seeds and in their butters like almond butter or tahini. Whole foods such as avocados, olives and coconuts are great sources of healthy fat, along with wild salmon and omega-3 and omega-6 organic eggs. Experiment with these healthy fat sources and see which work best for you and leave you satisfied. When selecting oils, buy the highest-quality organic products you can afford, since cooking oils are the backbone of so many dishes. Good words to look for on the label are organic, first-pressed, cold-pressed, extra-virgin and unrefined. Words to avoid are expeller-pressed, refined and solvent extracted.

How to Create an Office that Inspires You - Classy Career Girl

How to Create an Office that Inspires You This weekend I am putting together my new home office. With my big life change I told you about in this post, I will be spending a little more time working from home. So what does mean? My home office needs to be totally organized and fun to work in. One of my big goals is to go paperless with the help of Evernote.   Another goal is to have an office that makes me happy and motivates and inspires me. I also want to be able to reference books and quotes right when I need them. I really feel that to do the best work that I know I am capable of, I need to be surrounded by the best surroundings as well.  If things are cluttered and unorganized, it is just going to overwhelm me and slow me down. Which means I have a lot of scanning to do but it will be worth it in the end. I am already seeing my productivity increase with Evernote because I search a topic and find something right when I need it!  Another goal is to have an office that makes me happy and motivates and inspires me. I also want to be able to reference books and quotes right when I need them. I really feel that to do the best work that I know I am capable of, I need to be surrounded by the best surroundings as well.  If things are cluttered and unorganized, it is just going to overwhelm me and slow me down. The first thing I am doing this weekend is re-reading the book that helped me get uncluttered a year ago, Unclutter Your Life in One Week. This book really got me moving last year after I read this quote: “Your office sends messages about what kind of a worker you are.   Having a chronically disorganized office screams, “I am an ineffective worker!  This may not seem like such a big deal, but these perceptions can end up having a negative impact on your career. I am hoping that very soon I can share my photos of my new office with you! But today is all about getting the inspiration to organize and decorate. And where is the perfect place to go to do that?  Pinterest of course! Here are some inspiring office photos that I found in case you also want to do some organizing this weekend.  I love the colors and chair in this uncluttered office. (source: Freckles Chick) So simple! I love it! (source: inkstainedwriter) I am not sure about the green, but I love all the organization in this office!  Even though I didnt attend any  interior design schools, I would love it if my home and office looked like I did! (source: Better Home and Gardens) Maybe looking at this office every day will inspire me to write more! ??  What are your  tips for creating an inspiring office?

Whats the Most Important Recruitment Metric

Whats the Most Important Recruitment Metric If youve ever wondered how good your recruitment process is, well luckily for you there are some metrics which can help you measure it. Its handy to know how you compare to your biggest rival or maybe you just want to improve things. So do you rely on measuring the time to hire, the retention of employees, the cost of hire or maybe all of these. There are a number of recruitment metrics out there but our expert panel are here to tell you which is the only one that matters. Leela Srinivasan Quality of hire remains the Holy Grail of the recruiting industry, but it’s a metric that’s difficult for most companies to effectively measure. Beyond that obvious answer, this is a trick question. The most important recruitment metric is the one that helps you improve whichever area of your recruiting process is the weakest or most vital in achieving your business goals. Therefore, your top recruiting metric will change over the life of your organization, not to mention based on external factors. Our recruiting team highlights a different metric roughly every quarter to drive continuous improvement. Leela Srinivasan, Chief Marketing Officer at Lever. Erin Wilson I’ve always valued the number of hires you make based on referrals from people you do not hire. If your talent acquisition strategy is delivering a great candidate experience then you’re above the curve. If you are delivering a great experience and hiring, you are in a unique time and place stay there and keep building! The true testament of a great process is one that compels your customer to refer their friends to use your product. If you can get someone to refer your product after you told them they can’t have it, even though they wanted it, then you are doing something right. Erin Wilson  is Founder and Talent Engineer at Hirepool.io Amy Volas The most important recruitment metric is quality of candidate versus quantity.   The effects of hiring the wrong people are dramatic and lasting. Amy Volas is  Chieftain of Avenue Talent Partners. Lars Schmidt Quality of hire. Its a bit harder to measure, but its the most important thing a recruiter can do. Hiring manager satisfaction is another important measure, but it can be subjective as hiring managers can be fickle and have differing expectations of what satisfied looks like. Lars Schmidt  is the Founder of Amplify. Chad MacRae While time to fill gives you the big picture, tracking how long each stage of the recruitment process takes will help you figure out where the bottlenecks are. I.e., what you need to fix. Chad MacRae is the Founder of Recruiting Social. Stacy Zapar Quality of hire supersedes  all other metrics, in my opinion. You want great hires who are engaged, performing well and sticking around. Without this key metric, it doesnt matter how fast, cheap or how many positions we fill. Its all about that quality. Id much rather take two months to find a great employee whos a top performer and stays at the company than fill a req in three weeks with a poor quality hire who leaves in six months. Stacy  Zapar  is the Founder of Tenfold The Talent Agency. John Feldmann The most important recruiting metric is how many candidates are still happily employed six months after hire. Unfortunately, this isn’t something an ATS can track, and certainly not something on which to base a commission payment. However, those recruiters with the foresight to spot a candidate who will remain a committed and valuable employee long after their hire date can look forward to a long and successful recruiting career. John Feldmann  is a writer for Insperity Recruiting Services. Maren Hogan How many people you’ve hired and how many people you’ve kept. It probably sounds weird for a marketing professional to say this but branding, engagement and the like are fantastic, but they are vanity metrics designed to trick you into thinking there is success when there is none. You have to measure by the employees that come to work and stay there (and hopefully like it). Maren Hogan is CEO and Founder of Red Branch Media. Craig Fisher The most important recruitment metric is quality applicants.   And that is measured not by hires, but by interviews.   We cannot completely control what happens after an interview.   But if a candidate is good enough to get to that stage, then they are a quality applicant. If they arent hired, they may be a silver medalist.   At the very least, they will know others who may be interested in the organization if they were treated well during the  interview process. Craig Fisher is  Head of Employer Brand, CA Technologies, and Allegis Global Solutions. Will Staney This is a trick question because it all depends on who you’re asking. If you’re asking the head honcho or finance people, they’re going to tell you cost-per-hire is the most important, but if you’re asking actual recruiters most likely they’re going to say source of hire. One wants to know the bottom line whereas the other wants to know the most effective way to use their time and budget. Will  Staney is the  Founder Principal Consultant at Proactive Talent Strategies.

Top 5 Skills to Put on Resume

Top 5 Skills to Put on ResumeAny professional who wants to show their skills will certainly put them on resume. Those who have spent their time in the industry will certainly show it on resume. Professionals will always ensure that they get hired by the company. If you want to become a successful one then you should know the most important skills needed to show on resume.The first thing that you should look for is how much you know about the profession. Put all your skills in the skills that you are aware of. Skills which are not well known can never be on resume. People who do not know the skills of their profession may waste their time when they search for jobs.The next thing that you should do is to improve your professional skills. Try to learn as much as you can by consulting some resources and reading up on books. Do not forget to ask for some professional references from where you can see their skills. Try to make your work experience come out on resume. By doing so you will b e considered very competent for your position.When it comes to improving your professional skills then there are two ways. You can either try to improve your professional skills through attending formal training programs or you can try to improve them with any combination of methods. In some cases you may require the assistance of a coach to guide you through the process. It is always advisable to consult a coach because they can offer you better results.The third point, which you should look for in improving your professional skills is having the necessary experience to prove it. Those who have their experience in a certain field must surely have that skills. This is the best way, which a professional can show their skills. When you have the experience then you have the capability to tackle challenges successfully. Other professionals will always prefer to work with professionals who have been in the same field.The fourth point, which you should look for in improving your professio nal skills is networking. It is really important to find some other professionals and give your services as a trainer. Your ability to interact with other professionals will help you get a better training program for yourself.The fifth point, which you should look for in improving your professional skills is your connections. Networking is a key factor which you should always remember. Finding someone who can help you in your professional career is really important. Remember that your network is your lifeblood. If you want to be successful then it is important that you make use of your network to get yourself in good shape.When you want to improve your professional skills then take some time and plan well. Get all the right resources to help you find what you need.