The COVID-19 pandemic has left many businesses having no choice but to work from home. For some companies, this may be a relatively easy switch. Others might well be panicking about how to (quickly) deploy a remote operation. The good news is it isn’t too late to equip yourself with the right tools, practices, and attitudes to thrive as a remote business.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsbY5o2sOeU1 . Communicate with your teamWhen you are working remotely, it’s more important than ever to establish communication solutions for you and your team. Working remotely does not mean that communication should decrease, in fact, it’s quite the opposite....

If you ask employees what they love about their hosted cloud phone system, you'll get a similar answer. The wide variety of features is always at the top of the list.Whether they’re getting voicemails and faxes delivered directly to their inbox, using video conferencing to connect with colleagues, creating customized auto-attendant to streamline things — or any of the hundreds of features available — the biggest complaint you will hear from employees is why didn't we get these phones sooner?!?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxlTKuB3mBgIn fact, you'll find some of the biggest supporters of cloud-based phone systems are supervisors. They love features like Live Call...

The world has changed rapidly over the last month or so. COVID-19 has changed how we work and where we work, and one of the side effects of that change is heavier pressure on the internet. After all, we’re now all working from home, communicating via video calls, and sending more emails than ever before. When you take into account how many millions of people around the world are changing their working habits in these ways, it’s clear that the internet will be under greater strain than ever before.So, can the internet handle all this new traffic and how might...

In the current times, many businesses and institutions have implemented remote working. Although many companies already offered the opportunity to their employees to work remotely from their homes before the virus, now more people are having to do it with the international lockdown. But by separating remote workers and having to deal with the challenges of working remotely from home, how are businesses keeping up?Fortunately, there are steps that business owners, managers, and other senior staff can make. Ensuring that engagement and productivity are still at the core of each employee’s everyday routine, guarantees that there is little to no...

To say that the last couple of years has been difficult for many people across our great country, and around the world, is an enormous understatement. And sometimes, it can be quite difficult to focus on the good vs. getting overwhelmed by the bad. But it has been my experience that these are precisely the times when we need to dig deeper, and truly appreciate all that we have to be thankful for. To put this another way: when everything is going fine, it is easy to be grateful. But when times are tough, being grateful takes effort and character. Here are...

The big thing in movies and TV shows these days is heroes who have special powers like flying, spinning webs, changing shape, and so on. Sure, this kind of escapism is entertaining. But the real heroes among us do not wear capes or “leap tall buildings in a single bound.” They are brave and patriotic men and women whose love for our country has inspired them to serve in the Armed Forces. Whether they are stationed at home or abroad, these individuals are putting their lives on the line — because if our country is threatened or experiences an attack, they will...

The latest dispatch from the pandemic front brings some good news, and some bad news.   The good news is that despite yet another surge of cases and hospitalizations —  this time driven by the Delta variant — there is no official plan to enter into another lockdown. But the bad news is that the White House recently stated that “in all probability” there will be guidelines and restrictions issued in the weeks and months ahead. Unfortunately, we all know from experience that “in all probability” is political-speak for “it’s going to happen.”  This begs a vital question for business owners and leaders...

The Federal Communications Commission recently announced the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program generating an overwhelming response. That demand, combined with the recent spike in coronavirus cases, has prompted them to announce a second application filing window. The funds are being made available to schools and libraries to request funding for connected devices and broadband connections for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons for the current 2021-22 school year. “The Emergency Connectivity Fund is the single largest effort to bring connectivity and devices to students who lack them.” according to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The need is there,...

Saying that effective workplace communication is important is like saying water is wet, fire is hot, or that people with small children will repeatedly, and painfully, step on Legos many, many times. These are all blatantly self-evident (especially the Lego one).  However, just because everyone knows that effective workplace communication is important, does NOT mean that it’s happening everywhere. Consider these statistics:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kHkr5HrG-A 28% of employees cite ineffective communication as the number one reason why they cannot deliver work on time. 86% of employees and executives believe that ineffective communication is the core reason for workplace failures. Ineffective communication costs large enterprises an average of...

The Dangers of Accepting the "New Normal" January 2020 seems like a lifetime ago for many of us. For business owners, it may feel like a good deal longer. But that’s the last time many of us can remember operating under normal parameters before COVID-19 changed everything. For months we’ve had to cope with crippling uncertainty and ulcer-inducing anxiety. They’ve had to adjust to a state of affairs that’s terrifyingly referred to as “The New Normal”. A state of affairs that’s anathema to the tireless entrepreneur. Business owners from all walks of life have had to make sweeping operational changes on the...