When WORK Overload Becomes a Habit

A common problem that the workforce is experiencing is having too much work with less time and (frankly speaking) less compensated.

We can't deny the fact most of us have a lot on our plate and that additional task assigned on your key performance evaluations is somewhat taken up a lot on your supposed to be prior work. OR, you simply had a lot of things to do in the first place and you wish you could tri-replicate yourself, end of story.

A person like me who's in the rank and file does not complain as to what I am having on my job but c'mon, I still believe in Work-Life balance that's why I always rely on these 5 things when I feel that pressure is on top of me and the workload seems to engulf my whole system and would become a habit.

1. SET MY LIMITS

Rich Bells wrote on Fast Company about handling an increase workload was a great thing for me to start and that was to determine my limits and my max out. Always keeping in my mind that I am human as everybody are would turn me back again to know my limits and when to say "no" to some colleague who needs your help on their stuff at work. Before helping them, help yourself first. Period.

2. TWEAK YOUR PRIORITIES

On my previous article on how not to miss the deadline, priorities would always come around when we talk about work and you really need to know what's a rush and what can be worked out later. Having a list on what to accomplish helps out BUT there are tasks you didn't expect that needs an immediate attention and of course, you have to work on it. Once you're done, get back to your list and finish it.

3. PLEASE DON'T BE THE JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES

Sounds the same with the first one but hey, these deserve a spot on his own. Now, a lot of us would want to impress our colleagues but mind you, you're boiling your own pot. You can't do almost everything and you can't accept favors from your colleagues especially if you're now in stress mode. Harvey Deutschendorf wrote on Fast Company "politely but firmly let the people you work with know that you’ve reached your limit and can’t handle additional work or interruptions at the moment."

4. IT'S OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP

On the same article, Harvey cited "But the people we ask for help seldom see that as a sign of weakness–most people are more than willing to lend a hand when it matters." Working in the real estate industry handling the sellers and managing all those accounts, not to say the system and other stuff, I always ask for some for help. Mind you, it will not just lighten your load a little bit but also reduces your stress.

5. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

These go to all workers who do overtime 7 times a week. Please, stop it. Let's accept the fact that work doesn't end in a one-day transaction and there's still tomorrow. Have that in mind because YOUR BODY WILL REACT TO IT. On an article published by  Entreprenuer.com, Ivette K Caballero, marketing communications consultant at IKC Consulting stated that “Take care of your body. Be conscious about what you eat and drink. Learn to listen to your body. Make sure you consume foods that will help your physical, mental and emotional being,”

And please bear in mind that having tons of work shall pass too. Just don't procrastinate.

Landing On A New Job

Most employees who quit their job would still think on how to adapt to a new culture, system or even the people when landing on a new job. Especially those who only have one spare day before on boarding to a new company might be challenging because you don't have a honeymoon time to wear off the previous company's culture, to pace yourself and deal with separation anxiety. Life as we know it never ends and I salute people who have experienced that because it is not easy.

Moreover, in the first week of your job might be interesting, challenging, doubts and your brain has a million questions but thou shall not fret because this article will help you on how to manage those first to the third-week scenario in your new job (or at least will ease the stress).

HAVE A FRIEND

The number one rule when you got on board is to have a friend. One or two is good for a start but don't be so friendly that they might think you are being so feeling close. The best person you can count on is your HR, they will help you to pace yourself and even adjust. Those who work in a multinational company and their Human Resource Department is in another location, your seatmate is your next option. With them, you can learn the culture, how the industry works and what's your boss' personality.

ASK ABOUT THE PROCESS

In every company, they have their process. Their system is different. Might be similar the system you are using on the previous company but the module is not the same. Don't be afraid to ask about the process to those who have stayed with the company for quite a long time. The first rule is not to be afraid to call the head office if nobody knows in your branch how this thing works. Email them about your concern but make sure to be precise and do not be vague about your concern, preferably with screenshots so that they can really check what occurred.

EMBRACE THE NEW CULTURE

The hardest part of the job is to adjust to the new culture. The process can be learned but the culture is the hardest since you have to depart yourself to the previous work culture you have embraced for a couple of years. A few weeks of tackling about your new company might be a common occurrence if you share experiences with your colleagues but as much as possible, learn how to detach yourself to your previous culture. Take it slowly and later on you will realize that things are different and the only constant in the world is the word change.

You will hear to other managers the line "there's no perfect company" and its true. The company won't adjust to your attitude or personality but you will be the one to cope up with them. Never miss to learn new stuff and accept feedback. In that way, you will learn to deal how to manage the differences in case you will jump off to another career or company. But, always make sure to keep your feet on the ground.

When The Gut Feeling of Quitting

"When you are not happy, then quit". Easier said than done. The work force nowadays is jumping from one company to another seeking for greener pasture but sometimes, looking for a far more better career opportunities with a big leap in their compensation and a somehow, a better boss.

So when do we say that the timing is right for quitting? Or when can we tender those resignation letters to our heads and start to list down the tasks for turnover? Quite difficult to say especially handing down your letter to your boss and then start debating why you need to go out there. Here are a few tips as to when you need to quit.

Your work is routinary.

People leave because they felt like their work is routinary already, from the day they got on board until the day they decided to quit. Some would say, "You haven't yet celebrated your anniversary and you're bored already?". Well, if you came from a different company and your task was somehow the same as what you are doing right now, you will really get tired and bored. People will always look for something exciting and new that could somehow suit their self-worth and curiosity. Some would love new challenges. As they say, looking for a career growth.

You can't stand your boss ANYMORE.

Client's don't come first. According to the new study of Gallup, 50% of employees leave their jobs not because of the task but because of their manager. The title of their released article says a lot already "Employees Want a Lot More From Their Managers". However, we really can't always say that he's a bad boss but what we can tell is that we expect highly of him and that includes our life outside of work. We expect him not to focus so much on the four corners of the office but greatly appreciate if how he truly values his subordinated and asks your life outside of work. Great managers learn how to deal with their subordinates, know who they are and can adapt to the subordinate he is talking to. Maybe your boss does not know how to develop your strength and eradicates your weaknesses making you not that engaged with your work anymore.

Better compensation.

More often than not, we quit because we have a bigger pay check to the company we are transferring. This could help us to pay our house loan and could really change your financial status. You decided to quit because you know even after 10 years of working, you still can't have that salary the other company is offering.

When you have signed already an Offer Sheet or Employment Agreement.

If you have signed that paper already, then that's not anymore a gut feeling but an opportunity to fill out those employee turn over sheets or tender that resignation letters.

One thing is for sure when quitting to your current job, is to always expect the unexpected to the next company and cliche may it sound but is absolutely correct, "There's no perfect organization"

Don't Miss The Deadline

A lot of people are struggling to balance their work including their personal lives, thus work-life balance was coined for these common goals of every millennial working in the corporate world. However, it may be a common goal, it's not even common especially those who still struggle to balance their tasks.

Most young professionals who just finished their tertiary education and landed in a job that requires them, not just their effort but also their time may find it difficult to pursue the common goal. In fact, they have overlooked one single factor that hinders them from achieving this stuff but the culprit of all havocs; TIME.

Yes, cheesy and boring but its TIME. And a lot of you have already been dozing off for another paragraph of time management for you have been hearing these 5 or 10 years ago and had tried all sorts of techniques but failed. Or maybe some had improved their work, but maybe a little percentage.

A friend of mine who has been working in the Real Estate industry for more than a decade has shared me three easy steps to achieve this and of all the time management techniques I have tried, these are kinda different for it only requires three words.

A real estate is no different from all other industries in the corporate world but what differs from others is that time is of the essence. Every single second is important and should not be wasted and I for one can attest to that. Ladies and gentlemen, she told me three things to achieve what I have been looking for 10 months ago after I got onboard on my current job - DELEGATE. SEGREGATE. ANTICIPATE.

DELEGATE

Handling more than 200 accounts in a single project burns out my entire energy for the day (and even my entire stay here in the company), however, delegation taught me that I can't be a jack of all trades handling different tasks at the same time. Yes, we can multi-task for 3 or 4 jobs but if you'll add up those accounts to your daily work routine, better be sure you got insured yourself cause it may exhaust you and can affect your health. Keynote for this is to ask someone to help you with the task till the project is finished or ask the management if they can hire someone to help you out. Or if you already have a colleague, let her understand your situation and divide the task. Which one is for him and which one is for you. Do not be afraid to ask. Open communication is important for the success of every project.

SEGREGATE

After dividing the task, your next step is to segregate what is needed or the priority and which can be dealt later on or let your colleague do the task. After pointing out what is the priority, work on it and deliver what needs to deliver on time. In achieving this goal, there might be spills but the important thing is you have delivered the task on time. However, make sure that the spill will not go beyond 5% and your quality of work is not compromised because you're in a hurry. The other task that can be dealt later should not be left hanging but allow your colleague to work on it while you're focused to the top prio. In that way, you can save time and effort to accommodate all the accounts or task.

ANTICIPATE

Plan ahead. After learning what had happened on this accounts, plan 2 to 3 months before the deadline if it's a huge project. In that way, you give yourself a huge amount of time to work on the next deadline. There will be no cramming, no sleepless nights or an irate boss. Remember, the past teaches us something for the future and your current problem may be prevented if you will plan ahead. If you yourself can question what may require in the future for the success of this account or projects, jot it down and work on how to achieve it.

Three simple words but helps a lot. Probably the simplest one ever shared to me and I am thankful I have learned this. After you have mastered to balance your time at work, you can achieve work-life balance. Just make sure to remember D-S-A!

Why ATTITUDE is important than MBA?

Although you might say that a job seeker with an MBA degree has an edge over other applicants, the attitude has still the great factor in getting a job. Why? Here are my top three picks as to "why".

BECAUSE IT'S INNATE

Some might have commas after their name like Juan Dela Cruz, MBA, Ph.D., REB, etc., etc., which sound amazing but that won't define who they really are. Though we can practically say that learning is their hobby, still that does not reflect as to what they are in the field or how they ran a business or how they engage in your clienteles. Attitude is innate in ourselves and that makes us who we are. It is not thought in the four corners of the classroom but an impact on our environment when we grew up, our upbringing, the groups we engage in and the way we handle difficult situation either personal or professional.

ATTITUDE VERSUS INTELLIGENCE

A lot of us might agree that Intelligence is a great factor in problem-solving, YES, but, how we handle may change it. Of course, those who are smart are eager to solve the havoc in a manner they were thought but those who had a growth mindset see things in a different way and handles the problem the best way they know how and results to a greater impact than done through articulate calculations. In reality, an MBA holder would aim for a higher job and a better salary and all you can think you can imagine because he's an MBA. More so, the attitude would drive us to persevere and aim for the best because we don't stay powerless. For example, Walt Disney who was fired because he 'lacked imagination and no good ideas' or Oprah Winfrey who was also fired because as TV Anchor because she's 'too emotionally invested in her stories didn't stop to achieve their goals. See? Our attitude overpowers everything.

BECAUSE ATTITUDE LEADS US TO GREATER HEIGHTS

Sure, an MBA leads us to better opportunities but our attitudes set us too far greater things than we expected. It teaches us how to be patient, passionate, going for an extra mile and being flexible which is a requirement not just in the corporate world but also in this complicated reality.

So, I hope I have shared some great things with you. Let me know your thoughts in the comment box. Hooray for those who have earned their MBAs, I'll have mine soon.

A Time For The Sales Team

We just had a recent lunch get-together with
the company’s top sellers  and it was a fun-filled discussion with lots of laughter and business talks. But how important it is to have a time with the company’s sales team? Does that change a thing on their sales motivation? Could you enhance their sales quota? Or somehow develop enthusiasm for them to sell more? Well, let’s pinpoint how important it is to give time to your sales team (and maybe all of all your employees).

1. It builds rapport, trust, and loyalty.
In an industry like real estate, you have to maintain good rapport to your brokers and agents. Why? Simply to earn their trust and they stay loyal to your company. There are a lot of real estate developers around the corner and they can switch from one to another which they think suits their needs and let’s set aside the monetary aspect, let’s focus on the emotional attachment. These emotional needs require years to build and a timely showing of warmth to them. However, if you have an in-house sales agent, still you have to win their loyalty. As I said, there are a lot of real estate developers in the corner that can pirate them and offer them a better monetary compensation.

2. You learn from other competitors thru them.
Revolving in the same industry and having a lunch meeting with your sales team, you can directly scout marketing updates from other competitors. Sales team asks fellow sales professionals on other company’s updates. The ‘what’s new and what’s hot’ is a common topic for this diverse people. How do they manage to reach sales quota, how their marketing perks do stuff to increase awareness and they even share tactics to book sales. So why not have some chit-chats with your sales perks?

3. Their feedback is of high importance.
There’s no any other person who can give you an accurate feedback on what’s happening in the industry but them. Yeah, you might have some news from the top management that this is this and this is that but you really don’t know what’s already playing in the market. Their feedbacks should have a high importance to your reports and strategies to ensure appropriate marketing actions to sustain your market share and achieve more sales. However, some company only depends on what is being sent to them thru market research which includes mystery shopping, online inquiry, and the like but they have neglected the people already inside their turf. You can save time, effort and resources in this move rather than spend too much money for just knowing what other company is doing. Always remember, those who interact with the customers, they’re the one who knows how to play the tactics because they have an idea what other industry is doing to close the sale. On their level, they’re already trying to close it.

There are a lot of benefits other than those three stated why it is important to have time for your sales team. Always remember that a time for them won’t hurt the sales figures. Just keep in mind that when you have their trust and loyalty they are more willing to share what other competitors are doing because they feel part of the company and they can give you feedbacks you might have missed during the management meetings’ report and who knows, they might department's dilemma that is aching already for years.

The Advent Of Social Media

On my senior year in college, and as a marketing student where every course subject requires final output, together with my group mates, we were set to look for establishments that we can interview for our Franchising and Direct Marketing course.

It’s hard to look for one especially your goal is to look for the best and not just an establishment with a flashy business name, it has to have more than one branch since its Franchising and it made my day when I found out this business that operates in Cagayan de Oro City, the Philippines has used social media to market its product.

It’s Pane e Dolci.

Pane e Dolci is an Italian word for “bread and cake” with a golden apple from the Greek mythology that symbolizes temptation. And the company’s frontrunner, their Sylvanas.

Owners Ruben Castor and Mark Anthony Lacuesta, both supplies desserts in coffee shops, hospitals, and even eateries started the idea in creating a homemade Sylvanas. It is a Filipino dessert that is made from a frozen cookie made from a layer of buttercream sandwiched between two cashew-meringue wafers coated with cookie crumbs (Wikipedia).

In 2011, one of their clients refused to accept their 30 packs of Sylvanas due to its delayed delivery and as a “band-aid” solution, they sold their product in
Facebook. The Certain expectation was not set in selling their product in the online arena but they didn’t expect that Sylvanas will be sold in such short period of time.

Due to its positive feedback, as early as 6:00 am, their apartment was mobbed with patronizers who are willing to wait because of long queues in their area. As late as 11:00 pm, customers are still knocking on their doors to buy their products and later opened a store to cater the needs of their business in 2013.

Tactics in social media platforms.

The secret to the success of some business relies on their strategy in their social media accounts and I’d like to call it “white lie marketing“. A white lie is simply a harmless or trivial lie and added with marketing. Unlike other online marketing tactics, it’s not the scam or bogus but rather persuading your prospect clients which add curiousness by doing this technique.

When entrepreneurs want to sell their product in the online arena, they use lots of tactics and strategies to achieve their profit and generate online awareness. Thus, white lie marketing creates confusion, curiousness, and diversion from the truth. For example, Pane e Dolci  used these tactics to let people know that their products are a hit in the city by saying
“Just sold 150 packs of Sylvanas, only 30 packs left! Hurry and don’t be left out.” plus a picture of the 30 packs of unsold products.

But the truth is…

On the first start of operation, they were not yet able to make a hundred and fifty (just a hypothetical number, no idea how much they can produce) but those only 30 unsold products, and to generate to the minds of the online users that there is something in their Sylvanas because they were able to sell such great number in a short period of time, a little lie doesn’t hurt so much and on the status quo of their business, they can now make more than 150 because they’ve generated already an awareness of the people.

A caterer in Cebu, Philippines was asked to cater a great number of participants and they’ve lacked 40 chairs, what she did was to tell the client that they’re fully booked and resources were used in another event. As a solution? She told the client if it is okay for them to use a stall chairs because they’re full and can’t provide a holstered chairs to use, in agreement, stall chairs are used.

WHY?

Positioning in the mind of the client that their business is on demand reflects that their business is good and on top of everyone else. This is typically a great way to increase consumer awareness about your business.

However, white lie marketing is not advisable for anyone since it generates distrust and conflicts but with use appropriately, it can enhance dramatic sales profit, consumer awareness, branding and expand market reach. Pane e Dolci, however, used this technique in a way that doesn’t hurt their customers and their image. As a matter of fact, their Sylvannas are mouthwatering. 10 thumbs up for their products!

A little doesn’t hurt your business anyway. This is an unusual strategy but as what Pane e Dolci’s tagline says “Take a break from ordinary!”

Try the delicious Sylvanas of Pane e Dolci. Click on the link!
https://www.facebook.com/pane.e.dolci