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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
A solid team is one of the keys to smooth and successful business. Creating a good team must be equipped with good leadership, as well as managing the team so that it remains in good performance while fostering the team bonding. Team management skills are needed by every leader, because it is not only leaders who have to struggle to produce good performance by the team. Let's read to the end about what skills are needed for team management and their competencies.
What is team management skills?
Team management skills are a collection of skills that must be possessed by team leaders to always advance and improve their team. Effective management skills will have an impact on individuals and also on their teams. These skills will help the leader to unite his team's thoughts, help team members to collaborate, and what is needed in the workplace. Having a skill set for team management will ensure managers to lead their teams well.
What team management requires?
Team management requires a team with aligned minds, not having big egos, a shift in mindset to trust the leader to guide the work. Skillful leaders can find out what the weaknesses and strengths are of team members, evaluate work, delegate, and split tasks to team members according to needs.
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Managing a solid team requires strong leadership, but you must have a team that is willing to be directed. Sometimes the difficulty for leaders is facing team members who are difficult to collaborate with, want to do everything themselves, and are not on the same page as each other. Growing trust in team members to work together will speed up work and get better results.
10 top team management skills to lead your team
Now, let's get into what managers must have to achieve the best team potential and achieve group harmony.
Delegation
Delegation is the most important requirement from a leader to his team. The role of the leader is to look for the best talent to suit his team, and utilize each collaborator as effectively as possible. Team leaders can see the best potential of each individual, enabling employees to be successful in personal performance and how they can work with a team and trust them to do the job.
Delegation is needed if managers start to have difficulty handling many things. Even though leaders can handle the tasks alone, they must be able to guide team members to do the job and increase employees' confidence to complete it.
This skill requires a shift in mindset to trust who and what the team leader chooses. Leaders are expected not to make mistakes in choosing talents according to their skills to delegate tasks with split tasks accordingly.
Boundary setting
The ability to set boundaries will teach every team leader to aim for relatable and respect. The leader's task is to make themselves as qualified as possible as a leader, but still see employees as human beings. The leader will not burden the team members, adapting to what happens if they do the assigned amount of tasks.
The balance between authenticity and authority can be achieved with proper boundary settings. Increase communication with team members for matters outside of work, and not discuss work-inappropriate topics. By strengthening communication, leaders can gain closer relationships with employees, and can arrange which times are relaxing and which are serious times to receive fair treatment.
Team building
Team building is intentional and a process that will not stop at any time. Leaders need to understand how to build relationships, team bonding, and foster communication. While some colleagues can get along, most groups still have employees who are aloof, don't trust teams, or are more comfortable working alone. Communicating, recognizing, and coordinating each other's skill sets can recognize employees' unique personalities and unite them in the team.
Great team leaders can be the center of the team, can spotlight members' strengths and apply them to the team. Each team member will not be embarrassed or afraid to show their skills to achieve success together. Trust with each other through communication and direction from the leader to achieve best performance.
Decision making
The leader will be the decision maker and will apply to the team. Managers will set strategies, plot courses, and settle disputes. Leaders are obliged to care for the team's well-being and when is the right time to complete the project. Every decision must serve the clients, business, and the team with balanced results.
Good leaders not only pursue current results, but also the results of every work completed by the team to think about the development of the team as a whole. Evaluating team performance and understanding how to act is essential as a team leader.
Emotional intelligence
Managers will interact with various employee characteristics, responsibility levels, and personalities. A high emotional quotient is needed to manage any situation with grace and dignity, ensuring respect for clients or employees.
Emotional intelligence is one of the traits that a team leader must have because it will accurately identify expressions of feelings when interacting with colleagues. Good emotional intelligence will prevent conflict and make it easier for leaders to connect with team members.
Organization
Team leaders need to direct their teams to be well-organized in carrying out tasks, receiving and processing information, and carrying out operations until they run smoothly. Managers understand the right time to hold meetings, how to convey information so that it can be received by all team members, and who should be able to check in for each update.
Some things that can be done with the organizational method are creating to-do lists, spreadsheets, and daily scheduled rituals.
Problem solving
Problem solving is needed by every team, because no team is free from problems. Leaders and team members must be aligned in solving problems together, and how to prioritize client satisfaction. Each team member needs to observe what the main causes of conflict are and require an optimal approach.
There is no need to feel that each individual is the most right, but rather focus on solutions and solving problems in a short time. Team leaders can mediate every problem and consider issues from each individual perspective, then choose practical solutions.
Communication
The team will be solid if they communicate with each other. Regular communication can be a bridge to get to know each other, build trust, and respect each other. Leaders with good communication skills can convey important details, clear expectations, and are good at explaining instructions. Lack of communication can create misunderstandings between team members, make employees frustrated, and reduce everyone's confidence because they are afraid of making mistakes and not being communicated with.
Managers need to check-in team members regularly, and verify there are no urgent matters or problems that need to be discussed.
Constructive criticism
Team management skills can be determined by how leaders provide constructive criticism to team members. Listening to feedback can make team members defensive, but good leaders can convey messages and provide solutions successfully. What every employee wants is criticism that is not too harsh, but still honest. Instead of telling you to roughly fix mistakes, give great feedback by giving each team member time for experimentation and reflection.
Time management
Planning and excercising are steps that every team leader must take for the success of their project. If you don't carry out time management, the team will not be able to complete tasks according to the deadline, or there will be some team members who can hamper the team's work because they take too long to complete tasks. Time management does not only apply to team members, but also to leaders. Sometimes leaders who consider too much without immediately taking action will reduce work time and the results of the work will be hampered.
Having time management will help the team to keep pace with the workload, be able to prioritize tasks, and solve problems together to reduce time that could be wasted.
Leading a team is a challenging task, but it can be helped with team management skills. By expanding team management competencies, leaders can more easily create a more solid team and can fix any issues. That's all about team management skills and competencies from SMEBrother. If you want complete information about how to advance your business, finances, permits, and important things for business preparation, you can visit the SMEBrother site and get the important information you need.
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.
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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.
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.
Every company competes to get the best industrial talents and retain them for the company's progress. But what companies don't pay attention to is that they think more about selecting the best talent than about getting existing employees to show their best performance with recognition in the workplace. We know that employee recognition is crucial, but how we recognize employee performance is a challenge. This article will discuss employee recognition examples and how you can implement them in your company.
What is employee recognition?
Employee recognition is an act of acknowledgment and appreciation for employees for any accomplishments and contributions to the business that links to the company's mission, purpose, and values. The form of acknowledgment can be formal or informal, individual or team.
What are the 4 types of recognition?
Recognition is a vast and complex world of responsibilities. Before we get into employee recognition examples, let's learn about the 4 key types of recognition.
Public recognition
When an employee gets an achievement, the manager or supervisor announces it in front of others and celebrates it. You can announce it immediately during a meeting, a few minutes before work hours start, or be featured in a company newsletter.
Private recognition
Tis is one-on-one recognition. Coworkers don't know when you convey recognition to the honoree. This includes direct messaging, email, and thank you notes.
Private recognition can be more meaningful for certain employees, because sometimes there are people who don't want their achievements to be shared with coworkers. Talking one-on-one will make a special impression in the hearts of employees, because you can convey gratitude and recognition personally.
Promotion
A promotion is next level recognition by giving new responsibilities to individuals, giving new positions, or new projects. Giving a promotional reward will give individuals the opportunity to continue to develop and trust their team to take on more.
Monetary reward
Anything related to giving money to employees who excel. Bonuses, pay raises, company trips, or anything with fiscal offerings or compensation.
10 Employee Recognition Examples to Implement at Your Business
Recognition and appreciation are two crucial things that must exist in every organization. If you want to get employees with maximum potential, let's dive into several employee recognition examples below.
Create customized award
You can make employee awards as unique as possible, because there are no limits. Customized rewards are your opportunity to provide creativity in your employee recognition and provide rewards in accordance with the company's core values.
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Maybe you can provide special nameplates on employees' work desks, a unique parking space in the office for employees who excel, or special clothes that say employee of the year. Customized awards can be encouraging for employees and raise loyalty levels.
Give employee a day off
Giving employees days off on weekends is commonplace. But it can be great if you give a day off on weekdays to decompress and celebrate employee's accomplishments. Sometimes heavy projects and difficult milestones will exhaust employees. Give one or two days off to employees as a form of gratitude because employees have tried their best and made improvements. Employees will thank you because they can regain their focus and enthusiasm after several days of hard work to achieve an accomplishment.
Dinner on the company
Invite your team to dinner with the company that pays for everything. This is one kind of employee recognition, because it brings the team to eat the best food in town while discussing how well they have performed recently. Dinner on the company will show employees that their hard work is always noticed, and can be a fun discussion at dinner with office officials.
Employee care package
A care package is a sign that someone is thinking about you. Care packages can be the right choice for employee recognition gifts, because employees will give positive feedback and feel lucky to get self-care products. You can fill in bath soap, shampoo, scented candles, handbody, lotion, or anything that can care for everything from the face to the feet.
Meetup with remote teams
With many offices starting to use remote work after Covid, it might be difficult to build strong work relationships due to distance limitations. You can create an event to meet with remote workers at a cafe, restaurant or coworking space to spend some good quality meetings together. The power of face-to-face interaction can be impactful for teamwork in the future.
Send employees on an adventure
Difficult projects have been passed, every employee has demonstrated their skills for the progress of the office. It's time for the office to give recognition gifts in the form of gifts of experience. Invite employees to go on an adventure to explore the beauty of nature such as hiking, kayaking, picnicking on a wide hill, or exploring the lake.
This gift will be more meaningful and memorable because it can be a means to get closer to coworkers and have fun outside the office. Seeing the beauty of nature will be a powerful stress relief for employees.
Spread words of affirmation
Some projects or weeks can feel harder than before. Words of affirmation can make your employees feel recharged and appreciated. Give a few words of praise and recognition to increase employee morale. A simple 'good job' and 'thank you' can bring many positive things in the future. Employees will feel pumped to maintain their best performance, understanding that each of their work will be meaningful for the office.
Career based rewards
Offering career-based rewards can be perfect for employees and benefit your company. Send employees to take courses, seminars, leadership training, or let employees choose the online classes they want to take. Sometimes employees don't have to take several classes that are related to the current job, but it can be an investment for their career. The benefit of this reward is that it shows employees that their manager cares about the team's self-development.
Invest in employees’ health and well-being
Showing appreciation can be shown through how you genuinely care about employees' health and well-being. Hire a yoga instructor to lead a yoga class in the office, or give a gym membership to each employee and do the gym together. If employees have a particular hobby in sports, you can provide facilities such as playing futsal together, playing badminton, tennis or swimming.
Encourage continuing education
Self-development can be done by helping employees to pay for their next education. Show you appreciate them that you want employees to continue to grow in their career. Every employee will want to improve themselves in terms of career and knowledge. By providing opportunities to continue their education, employees will be more enthusiastic about achieving and showing their best skills according to their work.
Every employee has tried their best for the progress of the company and also improvement for themselves. A good company will recognize employee's hard work and understand how to show gratitude to them. SMEBrother has prepared many articles on how you can advance your business by showing appreciation and recognition to employees. Check out the SMEBrother website for tips and education on how to advance your business, from thinking about employee wellness, to licensing, finance, leadership, and much more.
Productivity has an important role in the progress of any business. Productive employees can complete their tasks efficiently, increase profits and competitiveness. Employee productivity is all about being efficient and effective. But to reach the point where every employee can have sufficient productivity, they must have their own strategy. We can start by motivating each employee to keep their good work, or facilitating them to achieve their best productivity. This article will discuss how to be more productive at work.
Why do people struggle to be productive at work?
Productivity is something that is difficult to maintain. Many people struggle to maintain their productivity for many reasons such as mild anxiety, depression, discomfort at work, or lack of motivation. Every employee needs to examine their problem as to why it is difficult to maintain their productivity so that it does not have a negative impact on their long-term performance.
How to stay productive all day at work?
You have to find the problem first. It's natural for every employee to experience reduced productivity at different points in their life, but it would be a problem if they were consistently unable to be productive. There are four common reasons people struggle to be productive. Technology distractions, lack of direction, boredom with tasks, or starting too late in the day.
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Tackle the problems one by one before you can stay productive all day. Until you can solve your problems, you cannot keep your good performances. After you can overcome the existing problems, you can do one of the 10 ways how to be more productive.
10 ways how to be more productive
High productivity will bring many benefits to individuals, teams and companies. Let's look at some ways to be more productive at work.
Put away your phone
Most of the distractions arise from the gadgets we have. The biggest distraction when we work is our phone. We are used to social media, games, or whatever is on our cellphones. Even though we don't have any special needs, we seem to have to hold our cell phones for a false sense of calm. When you start working, put your cellphone out of reach, for example in a locker, in a drawer, or leave it in your manager's office. This may apply only to workers who do not need telephone access while they work.
Some companies can stipulate that their employees are not allowed to hold smartphones while working, but there are still many employees who steal a little time to play with their phones. You can make your own rules, for example you will only use your phone after you have worked for at least three hours, or only during break time. Discipline yourself until you get used to not playing with your smartphone while working.
List your crucial results for the day
Crucial results are several objectives that you must complete during the day to get closer to your goals and move your projects further. Make notes to list your top 3 crucials for each day. This will help you to plan your priorities and maintain focus on the most essential tasks each day. Use a calendar or tool to schedule your day and ensure you're maintaining focus until you get crucial results.
Eat healthy foods throughout the day
The food we eat can be a major factor in our productivity throughout the day. Healthy food can ensure you get a booster for your brainpower and additional energy through the afternoon. Junk food will only affect your weight, reduce energy and productivity. Keep healthy snacks or fruit at your office to stay focused and fueled for a productive day.
Morning huddles with team
Take time every morning for 15 minutes to huddle together with your team, and discuss what they will do to achieve crucial results for the day. This helps employees to get on the same page and let coworkers know whether they need help in their work.
If you don't have time to huddle with your team, you can find a special time to sit down with individual members and discuss any lessons about the previous week. Discuss how to set your expectations and goals for the next week. You can share with coworkers to manage your time and measure your productivity.
Get out of the office
A workplace that never changes can foster boredom and reduce productivity. You can request the manager to change the layout of your work area, or if you work remotely, you can work in a cafe or place other than home. Get out of the office or home for a few minutes to refresh your mind and calm down for a moment before returning to your work. Everyone will face burnout in their workplace. You can handle this by looking for fresh air or moving the layout of your work desk.
Wake up early
Every successful person has one thing in common, namely they wake up early. You can have time to start your day right. Start by rehydrating, then have more quiet time to do things without distractions. Fill your time by reading books, eating a healthy breakfast, exercising, before you start working. Waking up early will make a huge impact on your daily life.
Listen to calming sounds while working
A bit of calming background music can enhance your focus. Studies show that music instruments work best for repetitive tasks. Choose music that describes your mood and something to make you feel good. Some examples of music that can calm your mind are the sound of rain, the sound of crickets in the wood, the sound of flowing water in a river, or the sound of a gentle breeze in spring.
Time break
Sometimes difficulties at work will cause burnout and stress. Taking a break by going to a special room to sit or having a cold drink are some things that can reduce tension. 10-15 minutes is a suitable time to recharge your mood in the break room. You can take a snack or fruit to regain your focus, then you can ask your manager or coworkers for help about the difficulties you are facing. A calm mind will be able to solve problems and maintain your productivity.
Stand more
Sitting at a work bench for more than 5 hours makes you tired and loses focus. Stand up more when you feel a little sleepy, your posture starts to wane, your focus starts to become scattered, or you can't find a solution when there is a problem at work. Standing does not burn calories, but it can reduce other health risks such as cardiovascular disease, shoulder and back pain, obesity, diabetes and cancer. You can give work intervals every 90 minutes and you have to stand for a few minutes.
Organize your work environment
Employees can work more focused and productive when their work desks are clean. Sometimes employees can lose their concentration because they forget to put away some work supplies such as staples, paperclips, scissors, pens, etc. A messy workplace will reduce space for working and can increase anxiety. Declutter your work desk to waste less time searching for items or misplaced documents. Throw away unnecessary paper, some stationery that is no longer needed to see if it can help you be less distracted and increase productivity.
There are many factors that cause employee lack of productivity. But if you can overcome the problem, then you can restore focus and maintain your productivity. Some of the methods above are how to be more productive from SMEBrother. If you want to learn about how to thrive your business to the next level, or all the things needed for a small to medium business, visit the SMEBrother site and get the information you need starting from finances, leadership, to licensing.