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Before you start a business in a country, especially if you are a foreigner who wants to try to take advantage of opportunities in another country, you need to learn about the challenges and benefits in that country. Especially for those of you who are doing business in Hong Kong, we have prepared several things you need to know. Business owners must understand why Hong Kong is considered as one of the best places to run a business. Apart from friendly policies, Hong Kong also offers free trade, easy market access, and increased access to labor. Let's learn about all this. Benefits of doing business in Hong Kong Why do we discuss the benefits of doing business in Hong Kong rather than the challenges? Because the benefits outweigh the challenges, and is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses. Let's see what are the benefits of opening a business in Hong Kong. Low operational cost Companies in Hong Kong are proven to spend significantly less than other countries. There are many favorable laws for new businesses so that Hong Kong is a flexible place to start a business. Limited Company and Unlimited Company in Hong Kong For example, the company income tax rate is 8.25% for profits up to HK$2 million, and 16.5% for profits more than HK$2 million. The taxation will not erode much income because the country offers significantly lesser tax rates. Large and growing economy Hong Kong is one of the largest economies in the People's Republic of China. This will outweigh the challenges of doing business in Hong Kong, because this region is energetic, and with economic development at a steady rate of 2-6% per year. The Hong Kong economy opens up freedom for different types of business with free markets and trade policies to facilitate your new business. Suitable business location Hong Kong has a strategic location for other Asian markets because it is located on the Southern Coast of China. That location makes it easy for business owners to easily travel to any other major Chinese city, for example going to Beijing by high-speed train, or reach nearby countries like Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and India. The suitable location can be used as land to gain profits in terms of trade agreements with other countries. The more connections your business has, the greater the revenue you can get. Challenges of doing business in Hong Kong Even though Hong Kong has proven to be a suitable place for small or medium-sized businesses, you must still pay attention to what challenges you might face when having a business in Hong Kong. Laws and regulations Long before you decide to open a business in Hong Kong, you should dedicate your time to learning about the laws relating to company incorporation, especially regarding hiring, paying staff, and the firm's daily operations. If you cannot follow these laws, your business could be subject to penalties and sanctions. Due to the many differences from one jurisdiction to another, you need a legal advisor to provide advice and guide you to stay on the good side of the law and whatever information you need. Opening a bank account Maybe you will be confused, why opening a bank account is more complicated than opening a business in Hong Kong. This is because Hong Kong is a country that is strict with new and existing customers regarding financial matters, to avoid money laundering and terrorism financing. Some of these documents will be needed when you want to open a bank account for your new business: Proof of registration, identity cards, travel documents, certificate of incorporation, details of the company's control structure and ownership, partnership agreement of deed, exchange of financial account information, details of business nature and method of operation. In fact, many Hong Kong banks charge high fees when you want to open an international bank account. Some small businesses can find it difficult to deal with these kinds of fees. There is also a lot of paperwork required for a single bank account. New tax laws Tax is something that every business owner needs to continue to study because there will always be changes over time. Each company needs to pay corporate and payroll taxes, and file audited financial statements to the Inland Revenue Department. If a business fails to comply with the tax regulations, it will get penalties and have difficulty opening a new business. There are many things you need to do for taxes, or what can be called tax treatment. You need to make tax planning, tax declaration, tax review and dispute resolution, and many others. Not many businesses can survive dealing with so many paperwork requirements for taxes and also the time to take care of it all. If you are overwhelmed by all this, you can hire a professional tax treatment to make it simpler. Who can help us when we want to open a business in Hong Kong? You already know the benefits and challenges when you open a business in Hong Kong. Now what you need to prepare is what the process is for starting a business, and which agency can help you so you can stay on the right side of the law. After you choose a company name and incorporate your firm, register the company, open a bank account, and register a business address, you can contact SMEBrother for all your legalization needs, processing documents, or if you want help with getting permission to open a business from scratch. SME Bro has been providing business services for small and medium-sized businesses for more than a decade, starting from auditing services, accounting, opening a Hong Kong bank account, tax issues handling, to opening a Hong Kong company from scratch. Whatever your needs are for successfully opening a business, up to any permits to thrive your business, you can do it with SMEBrother as your truly SME brother. You just focus on expanding your business and let us take care of the rest.

Positive psychology is needed in the world of work to ensure that every employee has positive emotions, cares about their well-being, and that these positive factors can contribute to their meaningful life. The positive psychology concept can be applied to almost every aspect of work life so that each individual can improve their interpersonal relationships, reduce stress, and reshape workplace dynamics. One method that can be done in the office related to positive psychology is engaging in gratitude activities. These activities and practices will train employees to cultivate and express appreciation and gratefulness. Is gratitude an activity? Yes, because gratitude is something that helps us to manage stress and have tough emotions. Practicing gratitude makes us learn about appreciating what we already have. Gratitude is not only feelings, but our actions too. By getting used to gratitude in the workplace, employees can increase their well-being, improve mental and physical health, self-esteem, and relationships with coworkers. What are the benefits of gratitude? There are many health benefits of gratitude when it becomes habitual and part of the employee's thought process. Taking time to be grateful may reduce depression, less anxiety, relieve stress, increases mental strength, enhances empathy, building relationships, increases productivity, overall psychological well-being. Teaching gratitude activities will make employees have good and positive habits that can be used to have a positive impact on work life or everyday life. Top gratitude activities for employees The purpose of thanksgiving activities is to increase employee engagement and performance. If employees can have stronger relationships with other people, then team building will be easier to carry out. Let's see what exercises employees can do to appreciate the work environment and everyone in it. Gratitude wall A gratitude wall is created specifically for employees who want to write down what they are grateful for. This is the most effective way to teach gratitude, because every employee has the opportunity to write down their opinions and whatever they feel. Set up the dedicated space using wall space, chalkboard, whiteboard, or corkboard. Encourage employees to write in the notes and hang on the board. Once it is full of employee writing, you can schedule a day to read out the notes and share them with the team. Thank you notes Thank you notes include gratitude exercise which is good for employees. Each individual can write a thank you note to the team, to the coworkers, or higher-ups as a great way to show gratitude. Teach every employee not to be embarrassed to say thank you directly to coworkers or higher-ups, because every positive action will bring something good to yourself. 12 Employee Shout Outs to Give Thanks to Your Coworkers Encourage each team player to send thank you notes to each individual in the team, so that each employee feels recognized by each other. Daily reflections Every employee will have negative thoughts about work which makes them have job dissatisfaction and stress. To overcome this, every employee needs to be trained to carry out daily reflections to offset work stress. This activity can start with reflection at the end of the workday, giving workers a few minutes to list three things they can be grateful for from the day. Give each employee a free journal to write their reflections. At the end of each week, give employees time to highlight anything in themselves that needs improvement. The team leader can deliver major team actions that can be appreciated during the week. Milestone celebrations Celebrating personal and team milestones will teach every employee that their work will be appreciated and always monitored. Every employee will feel happy when whatever they do is noticed by higher-ups, because they can also get praise or feedback about their work. Make sure you hold celebrations by inviting employees to lunch or dinner, while showing what good things the team has done up to this point. You can encourage employees to determine celebration themes and prepare special gifts for teams that have reached certain milestones. Paid time off Paid time off will seem simple, but has a powerful effect on employees. Paid days are effective because many employees are still struggling to balance family, work and play. You can give time off to employees so they can hang out with family and friends, or simply go for a movie. There is nothing more gratifying than receiving a “take the day off tomorrow” higher-ups after the team has worked hard and achieved positive results for the company. This simple act can be a means for employees to recharge and feel more grateful after they return to work. Office equipment upgrade Why is equipment upgrade included in gratitude activities? Because it is a sign that the office always cares about the needs of its employees inside and out. Upgrading work or non-work equipment is a gesture from the company to show its gratitude for employee performance. You can conduct a survey about what updates in the office employees want, or surprise the employees with a remarkable upgrade. For instances. You can buy a coffee machine or mini fridge in the work area for employee comfort while working. You can also ask employees to take part in the new layout after the equipment upgrade. Surprise gift deliveries Deliver gifts to the team members' home while they are at work. For example, you can give gifts in the form of wine gift sets with thank you notes, hampers, fruit baskets, or grocery shopping. So that the families of workers who are at home can notify those who are still in the office if there is a surprise gift from the office. They will feel grateful because the office secretly gave them a gift, and let them ask what event the office has going on to hold such a surprise. Wall of fame A wall of fame is created to display pictures of well-performing workers. Every employee can get the same opportunity, so that they can compete to compete in a healthy manner, and provide mutual support for employees who have a good attitude and performance at work. Encourage each employee to post gratitude notes around the employee's picture. A wall of fame will make the entire company realize the importance of hard work. Every hard work will be appreciated, and become a new enthusiasm for other employees. Field trip Organizing a field trip outside of working hours not only appreciates workers, but also makes an effort to foster team relationships. You can invite employees to go hiking, local museum, botanical garden, winery tour, or activities chosen by brainstorming results from employees and create new memories among them. The trip doesn't have to be expensive, but you need to think about what activities can foster employee's relationships. Lunch treat Food is one way to show gratitude from the company to employees. You can offer workers to choose where they want to have lunch, offer lunch for a week, or give workers a box of snacks that they can share with their family at home. A lunch treat is a suitable opportunity for higher-ups and employees to gather, while having fun together discussing things outside of work. With lots of activities to gather and discuss things outside of work, employees will feel closer to everyone without any gaps. Surprise breakfast Prepare the management to arrive early, and you need to invite the CEO to fill the event as a form of expression of gratitude for the team's specific achievements. During the breakfast event, higher-ups can immediately announce what good performance they have done so far, while teammates can express their gratitude for each other. Before breakfast, give each team member the opportunity to share the reasons why they are happy to have a team and the aspects they like about their workplace. Charity donations If you have employees who support a particular charity, you can support this and make charity donations. You can make a sizeable donation and request employees to support the charity. Making donations will grow the company's social responsibility profile and also elevate the company's reputation. Apart from that, employees also bond more with each other, do something that can benefit the surrounding environment and appreciate what they have. Employee gratitude activities will ensure that each individual carries out positive activities, creating a great company culture and strengthening employee and higher-ups relations. Pointing out every good thing about employees, appreciating fellow co-workers, making the work environment comfortable are the goals of doing gratitude exercises. You will be happy that your team is more solid than before, and every employee will act for the good of the company. If you need other information regarding business progress tips, business licensing, legality, or anything related to SME, you can visit the SMEBrother site and get what you need. SMEBrother is your SME BRO, focused on the progress of your business while supporting every step of the business you want to take.

Many business owners like to open companies in Hong Kong because the company's decisions are fair and environmentally friendly. Business rules that are not too strict include changing personnel for various company positions. One of the most important personnel changes in a company is the position of director because this position holds important decisions in carrying out special business operations on behalf of the company. We must study the legal change of directors in Hong Kong, because it can be applied to all Hong Kong companies. Hong Kong allows local and foreign directors and shareholders to leave or assume their position in a company. Companies in Hong Kong are allowed to change their structure, such as changing personnel such as directors or company secretaries whenever they need or according to their desires. Before changing a director in a Hong Kong company, there are several things that must be done. This article will discuss what is needed to change directors in Hong Kong companies. Can a director be replaced? So far we know that a director is a high position in a company and cannot be replaced. But in Hong Kong, directors can be replaced and that is legal in every Hong Kong company, as long as the requirements are met. You can look for assistance with this task by taking care of proper steps and documents needed for new directors. If everything is ready, the process will only take 1 or 2 days. Every Hong Kong company must prepare at least one person to be the company director and one person to be the company secretary. It doesn't matter if a company has many directors, long as none of them have the double position of company secretary. Reasons why directors can be replaced There are many reasons why a company must change its director. What we know is that every Hong Kong company must have at least one active director for arranging for incorporation. Changing a company's board of directors can occur as a result of necessity or voluntarily. Reasons why a company must replace its directors are resignation, death, removal, or other circumstances. All Hong Kong companies must act within the company incorporation laws for legal change of directors. For example, if a director resigns voluntarily, it must be with the approval of the other directors, and the company can ask the director to resign in the correct way to avoid being sacked. Every director who wants to resign must follow the terms of their contract, until they agree to resign and the company's register must quickly make the change. The second example is the removal of directors through different means. If there are directors who do not meet the legal requirements in Hong Kong, they can be removed from their position. The disqualification can be done instantly when they do not meet any of the compliance requirements. the company's shareholders can pass a resolution to remove the director as long as it does not violate any contractual agreement and legislative rule. Or the final example is a court order that can help change company directors. What is the procedure to change the director? There are two ways to change directors, namely by adding a director or removing a director. To add a director, some paperwork needs to be prepared. The form of a resolution is required to be signed by all the directors with the following information should be included such as the effective date of the change, full name, permanent addresses, and signed resolution. Highlight the situation during the legal change of directors, because we must be clear that there is no conflict between the directors and company owners so that the process runs smoothly. After the resolution is received, the notice of change of director form must be submitted within 15 days until the resolution becomes effective. All complete documents will be processed within 2 working days at the Hong Kong companies registry. The exact time to change the new director can be done during the next annual return. What are the requirements to become a company director in Hong Kong? The Hong Kong government has regulations that for every company there must be at least one director and it must be a natural person. That person may not serve as the company secretary. Directors can be local citizens or foreigners. The requirements are: the candidate must be at least 18 years old, citizen or foreigner, must have a valid passport, there is no limitation to the number of possible directors and at least one natural person, can be a corporate director or individual. Why a Notary Is Essential for Every Single Business Before legal change of directors, directors must understand specific statutory duties and responsibilities. The director must act in the best interests of the company, responsible for filing the profit tax returns and employees' returns, ensures that the company makes relevant filings and complies with all statutory laws, maintains accurate company records and carries out full accounting, monitors the company progress and achieve all set-out goals, making strategies and priorities on behalf of the company. Some of the documents required for a Hong Kong company's change of director are: Letter of consent of new director, a signed director's resolution, resignation letter if necessary, change of director date, death certificate if the previous director died, full name of director which is the same as in their passport, permanent address of new director, identity card or information page of international passport. Who can help with Legal change of directors in Hong Kong? SMEBrother is the right place to help you with structural changes in the company. We will provide you with company incorporation services, one of which is changing directors for any reason. SMEBrother can handle all documentation and company registrations, to ensure that your company's needs comply with Hong Kong laws and we do it as quickly as possible. Our experience is sufficient to handle your change of director processes and other company needs in accordance with Hong Kong law. If you want to learn more about the services we can provide for your business, please contact us.

Office needs do not only focus on income, work needs, and also paying according to employee rights, but with employee wellness in mind. Every employee wellness program is important in many companies to attract top talent, keep them happy and healthy, and increase their productivity. In fact, companies with wellness activities will carry out work with enthusiasm, employees feel cared for and engaged in every activity they do. Thinking about what can be done for employee wellness is not easy, because you have to keep it fun. If you can't engage your team, then any wellness program ideas won't run smoothly. So, this article will explain how we choose wellness activities that can attract employees to do them together. What is an example of wellness? Wellness is everything related to physical health or mental health. If a company wants to hold an employee wellness program, they must think about activities related to exercise, social connectedness, mindfulness, and improving nutrition. Every activity must have an impact on physical or mental health. If done on a weekly basis or daily basis, employees can reduce their stress, achieve optimal wellness, and have positive social interactions. What is the meaning of wellness activities? Whatever activities are carried out by employees to achieve wellness. Whether are physical activities to stay healthy such as exercise, meditation, or mental activities such as stress management, icebreakers, charity, etc. The activities are expected to maintain or improve well-being for employees, so that they can maintain their top performance and always be in good shape. 10 wellness activities that team will love If you want to start an employee wellness program, you must have a list of activities that you can do and that your employees can do with fun and enthusiasm. Whether you are a startup or a large corporation, let's start thinking about some employee wellness programs to boost your team and company. Company retreat or offsite One of the best activities for employee wellness is retreats. You can fill company retreats with lots of fun things to do and are the right time to brainstorm new ideas to advance the company.   12 Company Outing Ideas For Team Bonding   You can invite all employees to dinner, together at the camp, or to the villa after work hours. Offsite or company retreat will provide a new atmosphere for employees so they don't get bored with the office layout, as well as stress relief if they are having a tough day. Rewards for healthy eating habits Getting used to eating healthy is something that is difficult to do at home or at the office. But you can twist it by giving rewards if your employees can maintain their eating habits while in the office. Employers can provide provisions such as creating a nutrition challenge which will provide rewards for anyone who tries to have healthier eating habits. Taking employees to nutrition seminars, giving presentations about managing healthy eating patterns, will intrigue your employees to take part in the wellness program and aim to get the prizes you promised. Encourage walking or biking to the office You can create a program on certain days to tell employees to walk or bike a certain distance from the office. You can use live location to check each of your employees so that no one is cheating, and not only employees, but also higher-ups to show that everyone in the office supports the wellness program without exception. If the weather is not favorable at that time, the office needs to accommodate employees for their commuting costs when taking a taxi or online platform. Schedule yoga day Buy each employee a yoga mat and tell them to bring appropriate clothes and pants for doing yoga together in the office. Hire a yoga instructor for one session a month or once a week, to get employees used to doing yoga together. Yoga is a light exercise activity that can stretch muscles, improve blood circulation, and temporarily relax the brain. Doing yoga activities together with colleagues will bring fun and joy, especially if you can plan it regularly. Acknowledgment and gratefulness meeting Sometimes meetings just discuss important things in the office and focus on the company's progress. But this time, you need to hold a special meeting to be held at the end of the week, to congratulate employees for this week's achievements, acknowledge what achievements the employees have achieved, and be grateful for what the company has achieved in the same week. This will teach employees that their performance is always monitored, and higher-ups will provide praise if employees work better than their expectations. Change attire to casual Sometimes employees will also get bored with them having to prepare every morning to dress neatly in heels, suit and tie. You can tell employees to wear something casual, according to the style they want. Dressing casually will make employees more productive, they will be happy because they don't have to be strict about the dress code, they will feel more comfortable in the office because of the different atmosphere with different costumes. If you look deeper, having a dress code in the office will not have any effect other than showing your office identity. So this will not affect office productivity. However, if your employees are happy because they are free to get dressed, they will feel totally free and will be more productive on that day. Visit a local farmer’s market for shopping and lunch Visiting the local farmer's market will give each employee time to relax, as well as offering to pay for every organic produce that employees choose. Figure out how to transport to reach the local market, whether walking or by vehicle, then let employees choose the organic goods they will buy. Because each employee can only choose organic products, you indirectly make your employees think about cooking according to what they buy. You can also make your employees eat healthy food at their home. Survey your employees to find out what's working and what's not Employee satisfaction at work can be seen from what they do. Don't waste your employees' time and energy by allowing a program that doesn't produce much, but you force it because you think it's good. Ask for feedback from employees to create wellness initiatives, until they can find something that is beneficial or engaging as a whole. Give employees time to discuss what programs should remain in place, what parts should be improved, and what programs should be discontinued. By giving authority to employees, they will be more satisfied with their work, because they feel they have a stake in the overall progress of the company. Offer flexible working arrangements Correct working hours will provide more productivity time compared to long work hours. You need to have discussions with employees about their productive time, starting from the time they come in until the time they go home. For effective working time and ensuring that each employee works with full energy, it is 6 hours. Moreover, employees will not be able to fully focus because they need rest, want to stabilize their mind, and time for cravings or eating. If you do a productivity survey, you will see that your employees are much more productive when their working hours are flexible, compared to when they have to work longer and strict hours. Go enjoy nature together For some employees who are stressed because of their work, you need to take them out of the office to enjoy nature such as beaches, hills, mountains, lakes, or other natural beauty. Accommodate all employee needs from food to transportation, and let employees relax and be one with nature. Enjoying the quiet atmosphere and beautiful natural views will be a place to relax and relieve stress drastically. Deliberate with employees about the right place for them, anything with a natural theme. Ensuring employee wellness is one of the office's obligations to ensure employees continue to provide their best performance, and the company cares about their physical and mental health. Create an employee wellness program and do it immediately in your office, and get the benefits for some time to come. If you need other information about how to thrive your business from small to medium business scale, licensing, legalization, leadership, or SME, you can visit SMEBrother and get the information you need. SMEBrother is your business bro to meet all your business needs, because we have experience in advancing any business sector you have.

A company will experience confusion if it experiences great resignation or high turnover. Finding new talent and teaching them until they can perform according to expectations will take time, and company revenues will slow because talent is difficult to retain. This is the reason why employee satisfaction is the most essential thing in the business world. This article will tell you how to improve employee satisfaction so that your company can reduce turnover and retain the top talent. Why is job satisfaction important? Job satisfaction is important to measure whether employees are comfortable in the company and like their job. When employees are satisfied or happy, they will not feel like leaving their company, which leads to more productivity and high morale for the organization. Job satisfaction can be obtained from many factors, starting from the nature of the work, workplace relationships, pay and benefits, and career development opportunities. It's quite difficult to quantify, but companies must keep trying to find out how to improve employee satisfaction. How does job satisfaction affect employee performance? Employee satisfaction shows how employees will do their work. Employees with high satisfaction will have better performance in how they complete their duties than those who are dissatisfied with their company. For example, employees who enjoy office conditions and have good relationships with coworkers tend to be more motivated to complete any tasks, while employees who do not have trust in the company and have many conflicts with coworkers tend to work alone and are not goal oriented. 10 strategies about how to improve employee satisfaction Happy employees will be more eager to complete tasks well and take pride in their work. Not only from an individual perspective, but they also have a high desire to collaborate with coworkers and have loyalty to the company. Let's look at how to improve employee satisfaction. Prioritize wellness Every worker has enough on their mind and sometimes neglects their own well-being because they are too busy. Prioritizing employee's wellness is essential to obtain employee satisfaction. The way to get job satisfaction from thinking about employee's wellness is to hold yoga classes online or directly at the office by bringing in a yoga instructor. Promote social connection Social connections can have multiple functions. Apart from improving job satisfaction, it is also an employee engagement initiative. Every worker wants to have a supportive work bestie who makes every work day enjoyable. Colleagues who can respect each other can create a positive work environment and are likely to be happier with their job. If one of the employees experiences trouble or problems, coworkers will be there to encourage them and try to solve the problem together. Another way to start a social connection is to create a special event to bring employees together to do something fun other than work. You can invite team members for lunch or dinner, watching movies together, hiking, picnics, or other outdoor activities. Carrying out activities outside of work will give each employee time to get to know each other, get closer personally, and strengthen team bonds. Celebrate employee milestones Employee milestones are not only about what employees do, but can also celebrate work anniversaries, employee's birthdays, or special days to make them feel valued by celebrating their important days and their contributions to the company. By celebrating employee milestones, you can show that the office cares about employee's loyalty and dedication to the office. Employees who feel appreciated and valued will stay in the office and try to achieve career growth. How to celebrate? By holding an office party, giving a day off, or offering meaningful gifts on their special day. Recognizing employee’s hard work Every employee needs appreciation and attention from the company. Consider what you can do to reward your employees for their hard work, so that your team can provide the best performance and consistently feel recognized. If employees are never appreciated, they feel that the work they do will not have any impact on career development or office progress. Employee Recognition Examples for Your Business Progress Appreciation can start from simple things, such as saying "thank you" or "great work". Positive words from managers to team members can be a booster to maintain good performances and try your best even though the work at hand is difficult. Cultivate a positive work environment Toxic workplace is something that must be avoided in every organization. We need to conduct a survey of each individual, how the relationship between employees has been recently. Keep updated with work environment conditions, don't let any conflicts go unresolved. To reduce turnover and increase employee engagement, you can teach how to respect each other, do team bonding, and teach them to resolve conflicts calmly. How to do it? Encourage your team during meetings at the beginning of the week, and give quotes or speeches to form a positive mindset. Hold a meeting if there are problems between team members, or if there are team difficulties that could hinder work. Let each employee express his opinion so that a sense of respect grows to listen to opinions and provide suggestions or criticism from fellow employees. Flexible work schedule Working too many hours does not make employees' work results better or more completed. By providing flexible and sufficient working hours, employees can focus more on their work and not waste time resting because they are exhausted by long work hours. If available, you can schedule remote work, or adjust to team decisions for solid working hours. The ideal time to work with focus is 6 hours. Moreover, employees will start to reduce their speed at work, because their energy will start to decrease, and they will start to lose focus. By providing flexibility, employees can be happier by utilizing their working time and be more productive. Let employees make decisions Let each employee express their voice. Every opinion from employees can grow each individual's self-confidence, and they feel valued because their voices are taken into account when making decisions. Companies must be consistent in giving employees opportunities for their ideas to be implemented. After some time has passed, employees can be given the opportunity to evaluate how their ideas are working so far. By getting employees used to conveying ideas and respecting other opinions, they have the soft skills to make good decisions for the company. Honest Feedback and suggestions So far, most companies are the ones who can speak honestly when criticizing and giving advice to their employees, and there are still few opportunities for employees to convey their honest opinions for the good of the company. Survey your employees for their candid suggestions and feedback as a step to measure employee engagement. If employees don't dare to express their honest feedback during meetings, make a suggestion box, and let them write on paper any suggestions and feedback for the office. This allows employees to feel at ease by conveying their concerns while growing their loyalty to the organization. Encourage creativity Not all employees have the desire to convey their ideas or opinions. Encourage employee's creativity by brainstorming, allow your employees to use their imagination about the business and try to create strategies according to their mindset. Give each individual time to convey their ideas, and require each employee to at least convey their opinion. An employee who is encouraged to unleash their creative side will grow in satisfaction and feel more fulfilled with their job. Creativity can also equip every employee to always be open to business developments, think flexibly, and be satisfied with their mindset which can have a good impact on the company. Create a transparent culture A transparent work culture will create a positive work environment, because employees have free space for communicating and exchanging ideas. A good company not only demands good results from employees, but also informs each individual that the office is in good condition. Talking too much about office problems will burden employees' minds, but this can be relieved by telling good news about the progress of the office. Without a transparent work culture, employees will feel distrust of managers or higher-ups. Employees will also feel like they are always being asked for results, without any feedback that employees can feel even though they know they have worked hard and produced impressive results. Now that we know about employee satisfaction, starting from the reasons why it's so important, to what can be done to improve job satisfaction. Smebrother provides other important information to raise your business level, from small-sized to medium-sized business or higher. Don't forget to visit the Smebrother site if you want information about licensing, finance, tips and tricks for surviving or advancing your business.

Sometimes going through the work day just for work will feel boring for every employee. A company must think of a way for employees to step away from their desks and enjoy the time with their team, from co-workers they usually chat with to someone they don't usually work with. To get strong and collaborative teams, a company must think about company outing ideas. This article will explain the importance of company outings, and what can be done to increase employee teamwork and collaboration rates. What are company outings? A company outing is an activity for employees to get together and have relaxing moments after working hours. Company outings improve team performance, motivate employees, and foster relationships between coworkers. It doesn't have to be a big event, because a simple outing can have a good effect on team bonding. How do you organize a company outing? The company outing ideas require perfect planning. Organize your company outings by paying attention to the following things: Budget First check how much budget you have, and how much money you are willing to spend. Your financial resources will determine the menu and activities during the company outing. Check the participants List how many participants there are. Determine how many men and women, what activities are suitable for your office, whether they can invite their family together on a company outing. Choose the date Choose a date where there are no deadlines, the weather is good, and the right day for employees to bring their families. Thursday and Friday are the right days because it is close to the weekend, and it is likely that employees' work will be finished at the beginning of the week. Plan enjoyable activities Interacting with team members through various activities is a great company outing idea. You can personally plan the activities by adjusting the venue or place outside to make a company outing fun, interactive and challenging. 14 Proven Morale Boosters Ideas for Employees and Staff A nice and comfortable place will be a place to refresh employees, motivate employees and boost their morale. 12 company outing ideas for workplace bonding We understand that company outing ideas can enhance connections and friendships, boost teamwork, and create lasting memories. Let's get started with some ideas, easy to plan, and bring your team to do something together besides the annual company party. Host a mini conference Create a fun learning event by renting a small conference hall and inviting guest speakers to share their knowledge that is relevant to your business. This outing focuses on learning events together with team members, but in a fun and exciting way. Don't forget to hold an icebreaker involving team members to make the outing more fun. Ziplining Ziplines are an adrenaline-inducing activity and a fun thing to do in recent years, but there are still many people who don't want to try it. Encourage all employees to try ziplines to see the stunning views from above, and feel the adrenaline rush when playing this ride. Yoga retreat Yoga includes exercise plus relaxation. A good thing about this activity is doing the yoga flow sequence in perfect unison, while providing time for each employee to communicate more. You can do a yoga retreat with the team once a month or even more, to encourage each team member who wants their body to be fit and stay focused while working. A cooking class Doing things with colleagues outside of work is fun. A cooking class can be an interesting company outing because all employees can benefit from the new menu they learn, learn to cook with a team, and develop a fresh perspective on what it would be like to cook with other people in the same kitchen. Learning new things in the culinary field is free and creative. Team members will get short-term benefits in the form of a good menu and delicious food, and long-term benefits for enhanced collaboration. Take a group photography A company outing can be unforgettable if it gives employees the opportunity to take home something memorable, such as a photo album. A group photography will provide exciting moments with the team to style together in one frame, using existing props to dress up as cute and unique as possible. Make a photo album with a collection of group, individual and higher-ups photos. Make the photo album more interesting by filling in quotes or favorite words for each employee, like the graduate photo album concept. Play sports at a local park Going to the park with the team can be fun, especially if you are doing sports together with team members. You can play ball together, while several other friends are doing a little picnic while breathing fresh air at the local park. Sometimes a company outing doesn't have to go to a fancy and expensive place, but being with the team while doing something together will give a special impression. Take a farm tour If your office is in an urban area, you can invite your team to go on a farm tour. It gives employees an outstanding lesson about how the food they have been eating comes from. Bring along some games and a picnic at the farmyard to do team bonding, and learn about the farm itself. Every team member will remember this outstanding place, live stocks, and the relevance of several team members who are afraid of something on the farm. Go on a hike Hiking will be an organic company outing idea that never gets boring. The bonding will form automatically when hiking, because each team member will have a moment to help each other climb, prepare food, or encourage each other to reach the destination. The place for hiking doesn't need to be far from the city, but try to accommodate the coming and going of all members, so that you and your team can focus more on hiking in a fun way without having to think about other things. Attend a comedy show Sometimes, being in the office long enough will provide enough tension and stress. Invite all team members to a comedy show, and enjoy the jokes from the host to make them full of laughter and re-energized. You can bring the whole team to a comedy show on a certain date, or you can invite a comedian directly to the office and bring the joy while giving employees time to interact with that famous comedian. Play a game of capture the flag Playing a team game is a fun thing to do during a company outing. Capture the flag encourages teams to create strategies, conduct fair competitions, and how to win matches with a group. The game will provide unforgettable moments, as well as exercise for every employee who has not had time to exercise. Let the team laugh while playing games, see the funny actions of team members who want to contribute to their team, and how happy they are when their group wins. Go on a coffee tasting If every team member likes coffee, then you can go on a coffee journey with the concept of trying several types of coffee in several different places. Chatting while enjoying coffee is something that is enjoyable for everyone. Make it more interesting by telling each employee not to chat about work matters, but to give them time to get to know each other while sipping their favorite coffee. Take a public speaking class Not all employees have the confidence to do public speaking. By taking a public speaking class during a company outing, you give every employee the opportunity to engage in the act of public speaking. Every employee will appreciate the new skills and special encouragement that will be useful for them in the future. Doing fun activities with colleagues will be a mood booster, stress reliever, while fostering employee's relationships. Choose an outing company that suits your budget, and get long-term benefits when you provide unforgettable moments for them. That's all about company outing from SMEBrother. If you want other information about advancing business, check the SMEBrother site and get complete information about finance, leadership, licensing, and other skills to advance any scale of business.

Human resource management is needed by every organization to help improve the effectiveness in the work environment. HR management ensuring high performance standards, improving company morale, resolving any employee conflicts, maintaining company budgets, and many more. Before you apply for a human resource management position, you must understand what HR skills you need to have. Human resource management plays a key role in business, such as reinforcing, developing, and changing an organizational culture. If you want to learn what it takes to become HR in a company, read this article to the end. What does a HR do? HR departments exist to provide objective guidance to all employees on people-related matters. Simply, the HR department is looking for the right talent or guide people to do the job and keep them content and productive. There's a lot of HR do, including recruitment, compensation, benefits, training, and development. Human resources work as supporters of employees to get training, education, health and their well-being. Good human resources are the key to employee morale and satisfaction. Why is HR role important? HR matters more than other departments because it plays a crucial role in creating a positive workplace that is engaging, productive and inclusive. Human resources handles many tasks and is responsible for the company's progress. Almost all aspects will be supervised by HR, because HR departments help to develop teams throughout the company. What are HR skills and competencies? Being a human resource must have skills and competencies. HR skills are the ability to help others in achieving interpersonal skills, effective communication, and selecting the best talent through recruitment. Being a human resource is a difficult position because the company's progress depends on how HR oversees the department. Let's see what skills are required for HR as well as their competencies. 15 best HR skills that every HR professional needs Have several key competencies below to become a human resource professional. Interpersonal skills This is the most important HR soft skill. As the name suggests, human resources is focused on humans. HR officer's job is interacting with employees. Sometimes HR staff are the first people every applicant meets during the hiring process, and they must show a positive impression as the face of the company. The HR department becomes the voice for the organization and as an employee advocate. HR staff have a great influence on company culture, and help employees feel welcome and safe while in the organization. One important skill to have is being able to chat with coworkers about anything outside of work, but not too deeply into colleagues' personal lives. HR professionals need to show social skills, because interacting with coworkers is a major part of being HR. Confidentiality Being an HR professional you must be able to maintain confidentiality. The human resources department has sensitive information such as employee's details and personal records, payroll information, and performance evaluations. Employees sometimes talk about their personal problems such as unstable living situations, medical problems, or family disputes. Whatever conversation occurs in the HR department is private, and no one should know. All information must remain private, and it is the job of HR professionals to build employees' trust and confidence by guarding their secrets. Emotional intelligence This is an ability to accurately respond and identify to emotions. HR departments must have this skill because it is the most valuable skill for better understanding with employees. Acknowledging and recognizing employee's feelings and experiences makes HR staff trustworthy. Workers don't easily talk about what they really feel, or maybe they have told the story but no one recognizes it. HR professionals who have emotional intelligence can pinpoint the emotional drivers and get straight to the root of the problem quickly. Emotional intelligence makes a person more aware of how they behave with coworkers, thinks about the reactions and feelings of the person they are talking to, and helps the individual to respond to the situation calmly. Event organizing Organizing skills are useful for becoming an HR professional. HR staff are often appointed to be in charge of employee engagement campaigns, such as holiday parties, health fairs, outings, recruitment fairs, trainings, staff appreciation days, onboarding, etc. HR staff must be able to organize vendors and materials, build solicit signups, design a schedule, and run the event. After the event is over, HR will gather feedback from post-event staff to improve the next event. Active listening Listening skills are crucial if you want to be in the HR department. HR staff are the ears of the organization. They hear employee's complaints, questions, and ideas. Human resources gather feedback from staff through meetings or engagement surveys. HR council is a place for teams or individuals to experience and resolve problems. The two most important reasons why human resource staff must have active listening skills is because listening to what employees say makes them feel heard and valued. Also HR needs to pay attention to write detailed reports by listening carefully to every document conversation. Conflict resolution Resolving company disputes is one of the main functions of the human resources department. The department provides employees with a safe place to work by mediating arguments between team members and working through issues together.   Hong Kong Human Resources Services | 香港人力資源服務   The HR staff needs to solve problems calmly and reduce tension in the room, listen to each problem clearly, negotiate compromise, and direct the conversation until a solution is found. The human resources crew acts as a mediator on every issue, giving each party time to convey their point of view. Communication Communication is an HR competency needed to be a bridge for all members in the company. HR staff must be good at communicating, starting from the interview process until new employees learn company rules and carry out orientation. HR professionals not only deal with individuals during recruitment, but also conduct presentations and workshops. Good communication skills will foster the ability to be good at conversational, written communication skills, and public speaking. Every HR professional understands how to communicate with the person they are talking to with warmth and empathy. Recruitment HR professionals have an important role in recruitment. They understand how to create job postings, select qualified candidates, conduct interviews, and hiring decisions. Good HR staff collaborates with any department to adapt to the team's criteria and needs. When carrying out recruitment, HR professionals will have many considerations such as how good the candidate is in terms of their attitude, technical skills and culture fit. They understand how to start an interview, find out information about candidates according to the office's needs, and what if someone makes an offer. Analytical ability Human resources need to learn about analytical components. HR needs to collect and analyze what the office needs, such as anticipating hiring needs, monitoring employee needs, and company conditions. HR managers must be able to analyze what the best steps are for the future, whether staffing needs or adjusting the budget. The data needed does not have to be numbers, but human resources must understand how to measure employee satisfaction and optimize their performance. All of these tasks require the ability to collect and analyze information. Critical thinking Each individual has their own thoughts to solve problems, but sometimes causes strong emotions and tension in a workplace. If there is conflict between team members, they will feel they are right and others seem wrong. As humans, we sometimes put forward biases, feelings, and assumptions. But to be an HR professional you have to put all that aside, because there must be fairness for all employees and think objectively. HR professionals must have critical thinking not to jump straight to conclusions and make judgments from what each individual says. Human resources must be a neutral party and avoid favoritism. Research Human resources staff must continue to learn new things to adapt to standards as society and corporate culture evolve. They must have research skills and the desire to continue learning new things. Human resource professionals need to keep updated on shifting regulations and industry trends. Higher ups will ask the HR department about what needs to be changed, and what parts need to be improved to keep up with the latest developments. Connectors HR staff not only care about each individual, but also serve as connectors for the team. Human resources use team building skills for team bonding, planning fun team activities, and opportunities to foster team relationships. Each individual has their own skills and ways of communicating, but there is HR who has the task of transforming from a solo player to a team player. This is different from the task of project managers who see team members on an individual basis, because HR has an important role in making each team member feel there and needed. Sometimes HR can be a coach to unite the team. HR experts can be good leaders to form a better team. Wellbeing evangelism HR professionals have an important role in ensuring that each team member is healthy, happy, and productive. HR staff will listen to each employee's complaints and what they want for them. HR staff will talk to higher ups regarding the same problems, and look for solutions to increase employee retention. Being an HR must have the skills to support wellbeing initiatives, making the organization an excellent place to work. This will have a good impact on employees, because they feel heard and try their best to achieve achievements and advance the company. Multitasking The many responsibilities that human resources have require each staff member to have multitasking skills. Preparing interviews, training programs, guiding new employees, and other tasks requires having the ability to multitask and good time management to maintain good performance. Human resources professionals will remain calm even when working under pressure, whether the pressure comes from any conflict, employees with concerns, or there are problems in event progress. HR staff as much as possible do not leave their work neglected, by multitasking and remaining on good quality. Change management The HR team must understand when employees are not comfortable with their position, or managers lack chemistry with their team members, which has an impact on the results of task completion. Not everyone can get along with other people on the same team because there are many factors. The task of human resources is to select and place employees in appropriate divisions so that the employee's best potential emerges. HR professionals always take part in more organizational changes, starting from changing team personnel, modifying policies, to creating new regulations for the company. Human resources are a crucial position for business because there is a lot that can be gained for the company's progress, starting from a solid team, a comfortable work environment, ensuring employees get wellness, and analyzing how the organization should run in order to get its best potential. Everyone who applies to become human resources must be prepared to have several competencies and skills. That's all about Human resource skills and competencies. You can see articles from SMEBrother for other amazing tips such as how to advance your business, important knowledge about licensing, leadership skills, finances, etc. Immediately visit the SMEBrother site and get information about businesses ranging from small-sized to large businesses.

Team building is an activity and method that is needed in every organization. In general, team building will help you to identify and develop talents. If there are employees with good skills, they need to adapt them to their team. Team building lets workers see their coworkers in action. While showing their individual skills, each employee tries to adapt their performance to the team, trying to achieve the goal together by utilizing each individual's strengths. Before we apply team building activities to our business, we need to know about team building objectives and goals. What are team goals and objectives? Many people think team building goals and objectives are the same thing. But no, team building objectives are the wider results a leader wants to achieve by implementing a team building program and applying it at an organizational level. While team building goals are team-specific immediate outcomes desired from team building activities. Examples of team activity goals are developing relationships and fostering creativity, and examples of team activity objectives are uniting a virtual workforce and breeding loyalty. A company that can achieve workplace objectives and goals can calculate risks and lead to innovation, because their team will support collaboratively and leads to better outcomes. List of team building objectives Here is a list of the various team building objectives in an organization. Share company culture Company culture is critical for the organization. Missions, values, and priorities tell customers what they can expect from your brand, and workers will expect from the organization as an employee. Each individual must have the same objectives and be in accordance with the company culture, because an employee or manager can derail the company's goals intentionally or not when they do not implement the company culture. By initiating team building activities, you can direct the team on how you will design the organization. For example, if the manager can show integrity and innovation to the team, team members will have the same aims to continue a good thing in the company. The company culture can be a positive asset for the team's progress, because even though your team will one day change personnel, the culture will remain in the organization. Breed loyalty Team building events will show employees about appreciation. Several factors such as entertainment, meals, and prizes will help employees feel valued because they have the opportunity to feel relaxed, enjoyable, and fun in their standard work routine. Even though team members are not yet aware of the importance of team building activities, some of the things you do can inspire employees to stay and work harder with the company. By making commitments to employees with various team activities, companies demonstrate to employees that dedication is also shown to employee wellness. Team building alone may not be strong enough to maintain employee loyalty, but if combined with good management practices, team building can be a suitable tool for fostering dedication and enacting mutual respect among employees. Foster employee bonds Employees who have positive and close bonds with their coworkers will be more engaged and engaged, have a higher level of job satisfaction, and better quality of work. Employees will feel calm when they are in the work environment, because they can exhibit workplace enthusiasm and high performance. Employees will be happy every time they are in the office, more productive, and highly conscientious. Team building activities will invite employees to care about coworkers' wellbeing and the company's progress. Team building will help promote compassion, trust, and respect among others. Save money If you look at the long-term effects, you will see that team building activities provide long-lasting benefits that outweigh the initial costs. For example, team dinners, company retreats, motivational speakers, and escape rooms are some entertainment and education that are not cheap, but can increase employee satisfaction and reduce staff turnover. Every employee will not hold back from showing their best performance, because they know that the company has facilitated them in education, fun activities, and room to grow. Not only employees can save money in the long term, but each individual can gain a positive reputation which can increase their skills and overall teamwork. Build skills Team building exercises will add new skills to each employee. Individual skills are different from team skills. Team building will teach each leader and team member to evaluate and improve colleagues' collaboration skills. These activities will teach participants to improve persuasion, listening, and delegation competencies.   12 Unique Culture Building Activities for Employees   Each employee will have unique skills, but still requires teamwork techniques. Team building allows team members to collaborate, stay focused on individual skills, and learn to adapt to the team to fill in strengths and weaknesses to make the team more dynamic. Prevent conflict and resolution The best teams are having problem-solving approaches, diverse, consisting of different backgrounds, combination of ages, skill sets, and perspectives. Some differences will increase the possibility of competition and can lead to conflict. Every team must learn how to prevent and resolve any conflicts. Team building games will teach team members to listen, compromise, and communicate to achieve team goals. The activities will build bonds between team members and help promote peace. The goal is to create group harmony even though there is disagreement between team members. Team building teaches members that there is negotiation and empathy to avoid conflict and not harm team dynamics and team productivity. Encourage communication Even though each individual has good intentions, there is still a high possibility that each team member will fail to communicate. Differences in background, perspectives, and skill sets can create misunderstandings between individuals, and can trigger conflict. Team building activities will teach employees to receive information from coworkers, learn the character of each individual, and be able to understand what friends say without explicit instructions. The team games will challenge employees to instruct, discuss, listen, clarify, and compromise in time-sensitive environments. The events give every employee the opportunity to feel more comfortable initiating conversations. List of team building goals Here are some common team building goals that leaders hope to achieve through team building activities. Foster creativity If each individual has a brilliant idea, then when collaborating they will create a prototype together and create a masterpiece. The creativity of employees will get insight from each team member, so that even small ideas can become big because of input from coworkers. Teams act as sounding boards to expand concepts and ideas by adding different insights and perspectives. Team building can create inventive thinking, making ordinary ideas extraordinary. Every idea submitted by team members will be an inspiration for others to express their opinions. Workers feel comfortable to convey their new ideas even though they are risky, because there is a team ready to polish them into great ideas. Improve productivity Productivity has a reinforcing factor in every organization. Lack of recognition, an excess of meetings, lack of belonging, and toxic coworker relationships will cause low productivity. But strong team building can prevent all these negative factors. When teammates trust each other, employees feel safe because there is a support system around them. The team can be a stress relief and safety net. Respectful team creates a positive and healthy work environment. Each individual's performance becomes better and productivity improves. Teammates can praise their coworkers when they do great work, even the leader can recognize their accomplishments. Develop relationships Many workplaces only prioritize performance compared to work relationships. But studies show that lonely employees will impact work performance. At least one in ten lonely employees will underperform at work. But with team building, each individual is required to communicate with each other and establish good relationships with each other. Socializing with coworkers will be a great opportunity to reduce the possibility of employees being lonely, value other teammates and feel valued by them on multiple levels. Employees feel appreciated for everything and make them care about the overall company welfare. Boost morale Morale boosters are needed in every organization. Sometimes employees will feel tired, fed up and stressed because of the difficulty of their work. But with team building events, employees can have a moral booster and have a prosperous work environment. Every game and activity will rejuvenate workplace energy and raise employee morale. Team building exercises are enjoyable yet educational. Employees can relax and play, even though teamwork activities require decision making, conflict resolution and problem solving. Rest and amusement allows employees to refocus, recharge and re-energize, helping them to tackle any problems and completing tasks with enthusiasm. Apart from being entertaining, team building sparks team spirit. The morale-boosting effect will be overlasting and become a good habit for team members in recognizing peers. Enhance engagement Unengaged employees will lack of motivation, wasted company time, high job errors, worker turnover, and many other things that can have an effect on the company. Disengaged employees only focus on collecting a paycheck, without caring about the results of their performance. With team building events, employees clock in to make a difference. The activities build individual performance better and become part of a larger effort on a team. The team experiences will change from passive order-followers to active contributors. Team bonding will give employees the opportunity to share. They can engage with each other by complimenting each other, giving advice if something is lacking, and encouraging teammates to take a more active role. By making every team member heard and seen, each teammate feels needed instead of replaceable and encourages them to engage in the work.     Now you know how important team building activities are, and differentiate between team building goals and objectives. If you want other important information about business, licensing, and tips about small-business to medium-sized businesses, you can check the SMEBrother website. SMEBrother provides complete information about how you can survive in business or gives you tips for scaling up your business to the next level. Immediately check our site to start earning more by learning more.

Recognizing and appreciating the efforts of employees is crucial for maintaining high morale and fostering a positive work environment. In every organization, acknowledging individual and team contributions through employee shout-outs plays a significant role. Such gestures not only lift spirits but also contribute to a culture of appreciation and kindness within the workplace. Shout-outs can take various forms, including public announcements, in-person commendations, private meetings, or even through gifts. Whether it's praising fast workers, celebrating big winners, acknowledging those who work steadily, or simply recognizing effort for no specific reason, each shout-out adds value to the team. Employers can choose from diverse methods, such as social media posts, nominations, birthday celebrations, or breakroom shout-out boards, to express gratitude. By implementing these employee shout-out ideas, organizations can enhance morale, create a positive atmosphere, and motivate their teams to achieve ongoing success.