Month: June 2020

Biodata

Bio Data is the short form for Biographical Data and is an archaic terminology for Resume or C.V. In a bio data, the focus is on personal particulars like date of birth, gender, religion, race, nationality, residence, marital status, and the like. A chronological listing of education and experience comes after that.

The biodata format includes relevant factual information about an individual, such as:

• Personal information (e.g., date of birth, gender, marital status, religion, height, complexion, father’s name, etc.)
• Educational background
• Occupational history
• Skills
• Interests and hobbies

Biodata format documents are not to be confused with biodata instruments, or biographical information blanks (BIBs). The former is a document typically prepared by the individual, and, in some settings, can serve as a replacement for, or a supplement to, a resume or curriculum vitae. The latter is a criterion-related validity assessment that includes detailed questions about past work and personal experiences, and it is often used by employers to predict the future job performance of prospective employees. Depending on the context and setting, a biodata could be any of the following:

• A criterion-related validity assessment used by employers for personnel selection
• An antiquated term that means resume
• A supplement to a resume or C.V.
• A resume replacement in some South Asian regions
• For applying for government jobs in India
• To apply for temporary and/or skilled labor jobs in some countries
• As a marriage resume in India or Pakistan

CV (Curriculum Vitae)

Curriculum Vitae is a Latin word meaning “course of life”. It is more detailed than a resume, generally 2 to 3 pages, or even longer as per the requirement. A C.V. lists out every skill, all the jobs and positions held, degrees, professional affiliations the applicant has acquired, and in chronological order. A C.V. is used to highlight the general talent of the candidate rather than specific skills for a specific position.

Best Practices

Whatever item (Resume, Biodata, or CV) you choose to describe your personal and professional details in summarized form, the best thing you need to do is – you should know “the purpose of choosing the item, the details you want to include in the item, and in which order you want to place the details in the item?”

Social skills are essential in building both personal and professional relationships. Demonstrating strong interpersonal skills can help you accomplish career goals, contribute to company achievements, perform well during the hiring process, expand your professional network and much more.

Understanding and improving your social skills will support your efforts in every area of life. In this article, we discuss what social skills are, why they are important and how you can improve them with examples.

Social skills, also known as interpersonal or soft skills, are used to communicate with others. There are several types of communication we use on a daily basis including verbal, nonverbal, written and visual.

Verbal skills involve the spoken language, while nonverbal communication includes body language, facial expressions and eye contact. Any time you interact with another person, you’re using social skills in some way. Strong social skills can help you build and maintain successful relationships both professionally and personally.

Why social skills are important?

Social skills are important because they help you build, maintain and grow relationships with colleagues, clients and new contacts alike. They are important to maintain and improve no matter your position, industry or experience level.

Investing in relationships is beneficial for your career in many ways, some of which include:

• Gaining ideas, information, techniques and perspectives from people with different areas of expertise
• Providing your own perspective for the benefit of others
• Accomplishing tasks and working together towards a shared goal
• Providing mutual support for difficult or hard-to-navigate situations
• Expanding your network to learn about and pursue new opportunities
• Gaining feedback and referrals from people who can personally attest to your work, skills and qualities (and for whom you can do the same)
• Making the workplace more enjoyable

It is also important to display your social skills during the hiring process. Being able to work and build relationships with others effectively is a crucial quality employers look for in candidates. It can also show your fitness for their company culture.

To show social skills on your cover letter, provide an example of a time you worked with others to achieve a goal that drove success for your team or organization. On your resume, list specific, measurable achievements that you can elaborate on how you used your social skills to get it done during your interview. During the interview, use the STAR method for behavioral interview questions to explain times you have found success using social skills.

Six examples of social skills

Here are a few examples of qualities you can build to increase your social skills:

1. Effective communication

The ability to communicate effectively with others is a core social skill. If you have strong communication skills, you’ll be able to share your thoughts and ideas clearly with others. Effective communicators make good leaders because they can easily explain projects and goals in an easy-to-understand way.

2. Conflict resolution

Disagreements and dissatisfaction can arise in any situation. Conflict resolution is the ability to get to the source of the problem and find a workable solution. If you have good conflict resolution skills, you may be well-suited to a position in HR, where you can address disagreements between employees. You might also enjoy a customer service role where you will resolve conflicts for clients about a company’s products, services or policies.

3. Active listening

Active listening is the ability to pay close attention to a person who is communicating with you. Active listeners are typically well-regarded by their coworkers due to the attention and respect they offer others. You can increase your listening skills by focusing on the speaker, avoiding distractions, and by preparing questions, comments or ideas to respond.

4. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and identify with the feelings of another person. If you have empathy, others will be more likely to confide in you. Being more empathetic takes a conscious effort to carefully consider how others feel. If you strengthen your empathy and rapport with others, you’ll be able to build stronger relationships, which can be beneficial in many ways.

5. Relationship management

Relationship management is the ability to maintain relationships and build key connections. For example, if you have a job in customer service, you might be responsible for relationship management between your company and a specific set of clients. Executives at organizations manage relationships with stakeholders and investors. This is a useful social skills in a variety of roles.

6. Respect

A key aspect of respect is knowing when to initiate communication and respond. In a team or group setting, allowing others to speak without interruption is seen as a necessary communication skill tied to respectfulness. Respectfully communicating also means using your time with someone else wisely—staying on topic, asking clear questions and responding fully to any questions you’ve been asked.

How to improve social skills?

There are several ways to improve your social skills. Here are just a few ways you can begin:

1. Get feedback

It can be helpful to ask trusted friends, mentors or managers to provide you with honest feedback about your areas for improvement. Use this feedback to start setting measurable goals toward having a strong, well-rounded set of social skills.

2. Set goals

After identifying areas for improvement, use the SMART goals framework to work toward building interpersonal skills in a specific, measurable way.

3. Find resources

There are countless classes, guides, books and more both online and off. While you can certainly pay for an e-book or class, there are also many free resources you can consume. You can also find focused resources on topics such as body language or negotiations.

4. Identify areas for practice

Once you have learned tactics and tips for improving your social skills, put them into practice at home and at work. You can also look for volunteer opportunities or extra-curricular activities for which you can practice interpersonal skills with less pressure.

If you’re looking for soft skills that will improve your employability and help you excel in nearly any job, social skills are a great place to start. The best way to improve your social skills is to put your learning into practice. A background demonstrating success with social skills will serve you well in many areas of life.

As profit margins have shrunk and web-based video meetings have become inexpensive, even as their quality and reliability have improved, more and more small business owners have turned on those laptop cameras to save on travel and conduct effective meetings.

“Even if a company travels only once or twice a month, videoconferencing can save them tens of thousands of dollars a year,” says Bernard Moon, CEO of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Vidquik, a web-based videoconferencing service for small business.

Still, for entrepreneurs, there’s a dilemma: For a customer who’s got an agenda of middling importance, should I fly in an account manager or sales exec, or will a well-prepared videoconference do the trick?

Take the time to emphasize the following tips to enhance your team’s video conferencing skills and set your remote team up for success:

1. Maintain a Clean Background

Most professionals understand the importance of looking well-groomed for a video conference, but they should also consider what’s going on directly behind them. Advise your team to clean up anything that will show in the video frame and clear out items that colleagues or clients shouldn’t see.

This is especially important for those working from home where kids, spouses, roommates, or pets could walk into the shot during a meeting.

2. Anticipate Distractions

In Polycom’s recent survey of more than 1,200 business decision makers, 56 percent noted that they had been distracted by noise or decor during a video meeting. Video conference users should not only create a distraction-free background, but also make sure their surroundings are relatively quiet.

It can be awkward and frustrating when someone on a video conference receives a call on a cell phone, a knock on the door, or something else that pulls them and everyone else away from the task at hand. Before a video conference begins, suggest that participants silence everything that could make noise, including cell phones, landlines, computer notifications, and alarm clocks.

3. Pay Attention to Body Language

Conventional wisdom recommends making eye contact during meetings, interviews, and other professional interactions. While this is excellent advice for face-to-face meetings, it isn’t a great strategy during a video meeting. Instead, encourage the habit of looking directly at the camera when speaking, which creates the appearance of eye contact.

Remind your team to avoid fidgeting or excessive gesturing during a video conference, as these movements can appear over-exaggerated when they show up on the screen. Sitting too close to the camera or leaning in during the interview can also be distracting, so it’s best that everyone maintain a comfortable, consistent distance from the camera throughout the meeting.

4. Assume Everything Can Be Seen

Too often, video conference participants try to multitask with personal projects and ultimately embarrass themselves and frustrate the people on the other end of the call. The Polycom survey of decision makers also found that 51 percent of respondents reported noticing when other participants appeared to be multitasking or seemed bored.

Embracing video conferences and video conferencing skills is valuable because it allows your team to be more comfortable and productive. But this flexibility can turn into a disadvantage if colleagues or clients see or hear something unprofessional. Ensure that your team understands that above all, it’s best to simply avoid anything that wouldn’t be appropriate in an office setting.

Practice video conferencing skills as a team and give individual, honest feedback about needed improvements. Ultimately, your remote reports will be prepared to make a great impression during every single video conference.

Effective Meetings: Is videoconferencing Cheap Enough?

In recent years, the costs of videoconferencing of reasonable quality have plummeted from thousands of dollars to perhaps hundreds or less per year for a small business.

Even just a few years ago, “videoconferencing was a free, low-resolution experience where the medium was more of a distraction than a help,” says Bernardo de Albergaria, vice president at Citrix Online of Santa Clara, Calif, which makes GoToMeeting with HD Faces. “It was small thumbnails of the participants, all pixelated. Now it’s much better.”

Indeed, web-based videoconferencing has become cheap enough and good enough to make it worthy of consideration for several kinds of long-distance meetings.

Videoconferencing vs. Teleconferencing

Video has a particular value in those teleconferences where a substantial body of new information is communicated.

With teleconferencing, “when we present new ideas or prototypes, there’s no feedback from the audience,” says Mike Huska, chief technology officer at Incential Software in Phoenix.

“It’s hard to tell whether they like it or they’re lost. In a videoconference, you can see a smile, or confusion.” Incential uses Citrix’ GoToMeeting.

“Video lets you read nonverbal signals,” says Moon. For example, what might remain an uncomfortable silence on the phone can more easily be addressed and resolved when there’s visual contact among all parties.

Even among a group of far-flung colleagues with frequent contact and common goals, video helps to support the human side of working relationships. “We have staff meetings, and video gives us the feeling of face time,” says Huska.

Internal meetings are also a good testing ground for added-value features that are popping up in more web-based videoconferencing services: screen sharing, presentation sharing, whiteboarding, private chat, and so on.

Video and the Hiring Process

With so many talented professionals available on the job market across the country, many entrepreneurs are itching to take their searches national.

With initial rounds of video interviews, small employers can access the entire US labor market and narrow the candidate pool to a few finalists via virtual recruitment tools.

Of course, videoconferencing can save lots of time in a regional recruitment effort as well.

“Recruiters are saying that they can be much more efficient via video meeting versus getting in a car to see a candidate,” says Sean O’Brien, an executive vice president at PGi, maker of videoconferencing service iMeet in Atlanta.

The key is knowing how to interview virtually and follow the proper legal guidelines.

When Can Videoconferencing Replace Travel?

The toughest decisions about when to videoconference center on how you makes sales. For pitches with considerable potential, there’s a consensus that the meeting must be face-to-face, literally not virtually.

“There’s no replacement for in-person, especially on the initial sales call,” says Huska. Once that meeting has happened, the sales force may be able to reinforce the relationship with video meetings.

Of course, you can’t decide in a vacuum when to meet by video and when to make the trip.

“The decision of whether to use videoconferencing instead of in-person should be based on the social norms of your industry and business community,” says Moon.

It makes sense to test the video waters with clients who seem comfortable with technology and flexible with meeting arrangements, and who trust you to make them happy in the long run.

Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines subjective and sensori-emotional values, or sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste.

Aesthetics covers both natural and artificial sources of aesthetic experience and judgment. It considers what happens in our minds when we engage with aesthetic objects or environments such as in viewing visual art, listening to music, reading poetry, experiencing a play, exploring nature, and so on. The philosophy of art specifically studies how artists imagine, create, and perform works of art, as well as how people use, enjoy, and criticize their art. It deals with how one feels about art in general, why they like some works of art and not others, and how art can affect our moods or even our beliefs. Both aesthetics generally and philosophy of art especially ask questions like “what is art?”, “what is a work of art?”, and “what makes good art?”.

Scholars in the field have defined aesthetics as “critical reflection on art, culture and nature”. In modern English, the term “aesthetic” can also refer to a set of principles underlying the works of a particular art movement or theory (one speaks, for example, of a Renaissance aesthetic).

Aesthetic Stage Descriptions

Stage 1: Accountive

Accountive viewers are storytellers. Using their senses, memories, and personal associations, they make concrete observations about a work of art that are woven into a narrative. Here, judgments are based on what is known and what is liked. Emotions color viewers’ comments, as they seem to enter the work of art and become part of its unfolding narrative.

Stage 2: Constructive

Constructive viewers set about building a framework for looking at works of art, using the most logical and accessible tools: their own perceptions, their knowledge of the natural world, and the values of their social, moral and conventional world. If the work does not look the way it is supposed to, if craft, skill, technique, hard work, utility, and function are not evident, or if the subject seems inappropriate, then these viewers judge the work to be weird, lacking, or of no value. Their sense of what is realistic is the standard often applied to determine value. As emotions begin to go underground, these viewers begin to distance themselves from the work of art.

Stage 3: Classifying

Classifying viewers adopt the analytical and critical stance of the art historian. They want to identify the work as to place, school, style, time and provenance. They decode the work using their library of facts and figures which they are ready and eager to expand. This viewer believes that properly categorized, the work of art’s meaning and message can be explained and rationalized.

Stage 4: Interpretive

Interpretive viewers seek a personal encounter with a work of art. Exploring the work, letting its meaning slowly unfold, they appreciate subtleties of line and shape and color. Now critical skills are put in the service of feelings and intuitions as these viewers let underlying meanings of the work what it symbolizes emerge. Each new encounter with a work of art presents a chance for new comparisons, insights, and experiences. Knowing that the work of art’s identity and value are subject to reinterpretation, these viewers see their own processes subject to chance and change.

Stage 5: Re-Creative

Re-creative viewers, having a long history of viewing and reflecting about works of art, now willingly suspend disbelief. A familiar painting is like an old friend who is known intimately, yet full of surprise, deserving attention on a daily level but also existing on an elevated plane. As in all important friendships, time is a key ingredient, allowing Stage 5 viewers to know the ecology of a work — its time, its history, its questions, its travels, its intricacies. Drawing on their own history with one work in particular, and with viewing in general, these viewers combine personal contemplation with views that broadly encompass universal concerns. Here, memory infuses the landscape of the painting, intricately combining the personal and the universal.

Etiquette in simpler words is defined as good behaviour which distinguishes human beings from animals.

Etiquette is the set of conventional rules of personal behaviour in polite society, usually in the form of an ethical code that delineates the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and norms observed by a society, a social class, or a social group. In modern English usage, the French word étiquette (ticket) dates from the year 1750.

Human Being is a social animal and it is really important for him to behave in an appropriate way. Etiquette refers to behaving in a socially responsible way.

Etiquette refers to guidelines which control the way a responsible individual should behave in the society.

Need for Etiquette

• Etiquette makes you a cultured individual who leaves his mark wherever he goes.
• Etiquette teaches you the way to talk, walk and most importantly behave in the society.
• Etiquette is essential for an everlasting first impression. The way you interact with your superiors, parents, fellow workers, friends speak a lot about your personality and up- bringing.
• Etiquette enables the individuals to earn respect and appreciation in the society. No one would feel like talking to a person who does not know how to speak or behave in the society. Etiquette inculcates a feeling of trust and loyalty in the individuals. One becomes more responsible and mature. Etiquette helps individuals to value relationships.

Types of Etiquette

Social Etiquette- Social etiquette is important for an individual as it teaches him how to behave in the society.

Bathroom Etiquette: Bathroom etiquette refers to the set of rules which an individual needs to follow while using public restrooms or office toilets. Make sure you leave the restroom clean and tidy for the other person.

Corporate Etiquette: Corporate Etiquette refers to how an individual should behave while he is at work. Each one needs to maintain the decorum of the organization. Don’t loiter around unnecessary or peep into other’s cubicles.

Wedding Etiquette: Wedding is a special event in every one’s life. Individuals should ensure they behave sensibly at weddings. Never be late to weddings or drink uncontrollably.

Meeting Etiquette: Meeting Etiquette refers to styles one need to adopt when he is attending any meeting, seminar, presentation and so on. Listen to what the other person has to say. Never enter meeting room without a notepad and pen. It is important to jot down important points for future reference.

Telephone Etiquette: It is essential to learn how one should interact with the other person over the phone. Telephone etiquette refers to the way an individual should speak on the phone. Never put the other person on long holds. Make sure you greet the other person. Take care of your pitch and tone.

Eating Etiquette: Individuals must follow certain decorum while eating in public. Don’t make noise while eating. One should not leave the table unless and until everyone has finished eating.

Business Etiquette: Business Etiquette includes ways to conduct a certain business. Don’t ever cheat customers. It is simply unethical.

To conclude, etiquette transforms a man into a gentleman.

Business Etiquette

Business etiquette also goes by the moniker business etiquettes. However, English language does not stipulate any plural form for the word. Hence, the term etiquette is generally taken as correct.

Online Business Dictionary defines business etiquette as “Expected behaviors and expectations for individual actions within society, group or class. Within a place of business, it involves treating coworkers and employer with respect and courtesy in a way that creates a pleasant work environment for everyone.”

Further, business etiquette is also defined as a set of manners that are needed or practiced in profession. Sometimes, they are vaguely termed customs or traditions.

Every person following that trade or profession is expected to follow these manners. Indeed, violating accepted manners or customs is considered uncivilized. Additionally, such violations can cause loss of business.

However, the term business etiquette is often considered vague: While it does imply how you deal with your customers, associates and others, it is also useful within the office.

Business etiquette helps foster responsible and respectful behavior among staff and also sets pace for better communications. This translates into higher productivity and efficiency.

Business etiquette makes everyone feel comfortable. It helps forge relationships and builds loyalty. In fact, business etiquette is extremely vital for your business, regardless of its size. Success or failure of your business depends heavily upon etiquette you and others display to one-another and to others.

Business etiquette and corporate culture

Business etiquette is integral part of corporate culture. Rather, it is considered the very foundation of corporate culture. Understandably, corporate culture sans business etiquette is ersatz.

Business etiquette and corporate culture are braided. Meaning, one cannot exist without the other.

Types of business etiquette

Understandably, this is sufficient to mystify you. There are several types of business etiquette that you need to practice and implement, for having a successful business. Alternatively, great business etiquette can also help you stay ahead of peers and competitors. Broadly, you need to apply business etiquette in five main spheres:

1. Email business etiquette

Nowadays, emails constitute bulk of every business communications. Hence, it is imperative to inculcate excellent business etiquette while sending or responding to emails. Good business etiquette for email includes

• Avoid mass mailing. Such emails usually end up in spam. Further, they indicate you are only interested in making money, with scant respect for individuals.
• Explicitly mention subject of your email. This leaves no space for ambiguity and clearly informs the recipient, what the email is about.
• Mention the recipient’s full name with appropriate suffix. This personalizes the email. Add Mr., Ms, Mrs., before the name. It is polite. Follow this with ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ according to the receiver.
• Do not write long paragraphs. Remember to limit your paragraphs to two or three sentences only.
• Be concise yet precise in your message. Meaning, do not beat round the bush. Come directly to the point and mention what you wish to say.
• Express gratitude. You could be dealing with a petulant customer or business associate. Do not take umbrage. Instead, thank the sender and acknowledge the email. End by thanking the sender for cooperation and time spent on reading your email. This dents the sender’s fury. Follow this practice for your regular business emails too.
• Never add CC and Bcc unless extremely essential. Every recipient prefers to deal with a single point of contact. Adding more people to an email tends to widen the scope of respondents and can inadvertently confuse the recipient.
• Above all, immediately acknowledge every email you receive. This implies your company is proactive. Further, it builds a great confidence level with the sender.
• Add your digital signature if possible. Also, mention your name, designation and contact details clearly while concluding the email. While mentioning phone numbers, also state timings when you can be called.
• Provide a link to your website, tacitly directing the recipient to explore your company’s offerings.

You can distribute a standard template for official email among your staff. This ensures consistency in email communication across the board.

2. Social media etiquette

Thanks to proliferation of Facebook and Twitter, an increasing number of companies are now taking to social media. Firstly, Facebook allows you to post fun stuff on your corporate page while Twitter helps reach out to clients and business associates speedily. It also helps companies listen to their customers- both satisfied and unhappy.

• Judicious use of smiley. Meaning, use a smiley that suits the comment. Try to avoid use of ‘Laugh’ or ‘Angry’ smiley since it can offend the person posting the comment. Worse, you may draw ire from the entire community for using inappropriate smiley.
• Respond politely to every adverse comment. Never get into the proverbial ‘tit-for-tat’ mode while handling clients or business associates on Facebook. Similarly, never go all out to appease someone who has made an adverse or negative comment about your offerings. Remember, your comments can go viral within minutes and severely sully your brand.
• Respond at the earliest. This is the secret of staying ahead of competition. Every person who comments wants a response at the earliest. Doing so increases the chances of getting more ‘likes’ for your Facebook page.
• Get genderless. Obviously, you lack the means to known whether a person making comments is female or male. Therefore, respond in a manner that appeals to all genders.
• Never tarnish competitors and rivals. Nor should you allow your ‘friends’ to post negative remarks about them. Delete such comments or posts, as soon as you notice them. You could unwitting fall prey to a tactic by rivals or land in a war of words.

3. Customer service etiquette

Another integral part of business etiquette is how you deal or interact with customers. Here, it is essential to bear in mind that customer is the core of your business. Admittedly, some customers are cantankerous and hard to please. Yet, that is no reason for showing disrespect.

• Greet all customers with a smile. Guide them to a seat if possible. Offer a drink of water. Such etiquette calms down even the most rancorous visitor.
• Be very patient. Not all customers are there with grievances. Some may have excellent suggestion that can help your business flourish.
• Speak amicably. Meaning, never get into an argument with a customer either on or away from your premises.
• Avoid raising your voice at all costs. The person can feel humiliated and will bay for revenge. You could end up with a lawsuit on your hands. It also sends ugly signals to others, including your staff. Should you encounter a boisterous visitor, lead away to privacy of a room and chat amicably.
• Offer a beverage such as coffee, tea or a soft drink. Invariably, this tact cools down even the most incensed customer.

4. Business associate etiquette

Generally, this means the entire system of how you deal with your business associates. Of course, no businessman or executive will treat a business associate shabbily. However, modern businesses require a chic, proactive approach. Here is some vital business etiquette essential nowadays

• Fix meetings at mutually convenient venues, date and time.
• Be present at the venue well in advance.
• If you are playing host, ensure that stationery, water bottles and cups as well as other essentials are in place.
• Ensure that all files and documents relevant for the meeting are available at the venue.
• Have someone meet, greet and escort your business associates to the meeting room. If possible, do so yourself. Greet your associates with a bouquet.
• Never keep your business associates waiting.
• Ensure you are not disturbed by phone calls.
• If a business associate drops by uninformed, ensure you meet them without much delay.

5. Workplace etiquette

Charity, education and all the good stuff starts at home. So does workplace etiquette. Unless your staff and you have excellent workplace etiquette, you cannot enforce them effectively for business. Workplace etiquette stems from office decorum. Here are few things you can do for improving workplace etiquette:

• Inform all staff about ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ at the office. This means, strict ban on cuss and swear words.
• Encourage a system of greeting one-another, especially when one arrives for work or leaves for the day.
• Create an atmosphere of confidence, where employees at all echelons can share views openly, without fears of retribution.
• Nip unhealthy gossip.
• Maintain a proper dress code. Smart attire is fine but also ensure your staff do not arrive in sagging clothes that stink of stale sweat.
• Promote avenues for healthy interaction. Never allow personal disputes to erupt into verbal duels at workplace

6. Telephone etiquette

A telephone is important extension of your business. It allows people from afar to connect immediately. The advent and booming popularity of mobile phones has not diminished the significance of a landline phone. Every major company has landline phones where business associates and customers can contact.

Usually, your telephone operator will come well versed in etiquette. However, the problem begins once the call gets passed.

• Ensure the call is handled promptly, even if the called person is not on desk.
• Apologize for the called person’s absence but ask if the caller requires any assistance.
• Wherever possible, ask the caller’s name and contact number and assure the called person will respond back at the earliest.
• Find if you can be of any assistance or whether the call can be diverted to another staff who could help.
• Always answer with a polite ‘hello’ instead of a curt ‘hi’ or other word.
• Be very selective in use of your words. Sometimes, it could be your boss calling for some work.

7. Visitor etiquette

Visitors to your office need not necessarily be your business associates or customers. Mailman, delivery staff, maintenance crew and motley other people also visit your office almost daily.

These visitors are equally vital for your business as the millionaire banker. Often, some such visitors may lack proper etiquette or manners while dealing with some senior executive. This is no reason to fly off your rocker. Instead, here are things you can do:

• Have the visitor led to a person concerned with these works.
• Make the visitor feel welcome to your office by offering a seat and a drink of water, if possible.
• Engage such visitor in small talk for a minute or so. Remember, such talk greatly serves to relieve the stress of a mailman or electrician.
• Never dismiss such visitors as menial. Instead, accord them the same welcome as you would a business associate.
• Never admonish a worker for some work left incomplete or wrong repairs. Hurting their ego will not serve your purpose. Au contraire, it can prove counterproductive.

8. Business party etiquette

Once again, this includes a list of do’s and don’ts, whether you are playing host or attending a business party. Interestingly, lots more work gets done informally during business parties rather than routine meetings.

To make your attendance or hosting a success, here is some good etiquette:

• Always send an RSVP if invited for a business party, regardless of whether you attend.
• Ask for RSVP when sending business party invitations.
• Business party invitations usually stipulate a dress code. Ensure that you adhere to this dress code if invited. Specifically mention the dress code if you are playing host.
• Ensure you mention whether the invitation is for your business associate only or includes the spouse. This will save embarrassment to both, host and guests.
• Invite people who share common interests and can provide life to your party. Calling people with diverse interests causes formation of small groups. This leaves some guests feeling lonely or in wrong company.
• Have a very affable staff watch over your bar and buffet. This is not to watch over your guests but ensure that drinks and food flow is well maintained and smooth. A staff with condescending looks, however effusive, can be a deterrent to enjoyment.
• Never segregate staff based on their positions, during a party. This is a clear signal that your firm discriminates between high and low rung employees. Such feelings can adversely impact your organization’s image. It is party time and everyone has right to enjoy.

These leader behaviors are definitely a sign that in the near future, your employees are going to walk out the door. Yet, there is one aspect that is missing. The article says what leaders shouldn’t do by providing behavioral examples one sought to avoid.

How to keep your employees from leaving?

1. Give more praise and recognition

It’s not always about money or tangible extrinsic rewards. Why? Many people quit because of lack of appreciation. Extroverts or introverts, your employees still get a kick out of public or private praise. People like to be recognized for their wins.

2. Set clear objectives and goals

It’s difficult for employees to give their best if the task’s goal changes more often than they change their socks. Communicate your expectations clearly and set precise goals. Results are only as strong as the objectives you set. Try the management Google and LinkedIn practice—OKR—Objectives and Key Results.

3. Be future-driven

Analyzing the past is important to projecting the future. But focusing solely on employees’ progress isn’t enough in a fast-paced workplace. You also need to study the future, as impossible as it might sound. Using a management technique like PPP Progress, Plans, Problems helps you be aware of your teams’ plans.

4. Seek input and ideas

More often than we think, decisions are made without seeking input. This strategy might save you few minutes or hours, but it doesn’t guarantee success. Sometimes it’s okay not to be the smartest person in the room. Ask input from people around you. Your team has brilliant ideas; just learn to ask.

5. Give continual feedback

As tasks grow more complex and interdependent, people need more feedback. Employees need to feel that they are heard by their managers and they need it more often than twice a year. There is a correlation between employee engagement and periodic feedback.

6. Measure satisfaction

All of these tips mean nothing, if you fail to measure their success. Although it would be wonderful if it were true that one could assert that 2 pieces of feedback a week increased employee satisfaction by X percent, it is just not the case. Guidelines are only guiding lines. You are responsible for figuring out the exact actions. You can manage only what you measure.

7. Save time in meetings

One of the biggest employee motivation killers is wasting their time. Holding a poorly prepared status update meeting that lasts for hours wastes everyone’s time, including your own. Prepare for meetings; replace unnecessary meetings with online real-time tools. Try the free online Team Meeting Toolbox. Providing you with necessary tools before, during and after the meeting, so you’re next meeting would be awesome.

8. Ask about emotions and attitudes

Don’t mix giving praise and providing feedback with asking about attitudes and emotions. The two are not the same. The first two relate to the result, the other two relate to the journey. You’ll be surprised what you learn about your team when you ask emotional questions.

9. Don’t be too negative

Constructive feedback is necessary, even if it’s negative, but regular criticism will take down even the strongest. People have much greater recall of unpleasant memories than positive ones. To keep your people happy and motivated, be positive and lead by example.

10. Communicate openly

Open internal communication plays a big role in successful teamwork. Share your weekly plans and thoughts; it will encourage an open atmosphere. Only after mastering the skill of sharing openly can you expect the same from everyone else.

An exit interview is a survey conducted with an individual who is separating from an organization or relationship. Most commonly, this occurs between an employee and an organization, a student and an educational institution, or a member and an association. An organization can use the information gained from an exit interview to assess what should be improved, changed, or remain intact. More so, an organization can use the results from exit interviews to reduce employee, student, or member turnover and increase productivity and engagement, thus reducing the high costs associated with turnover. Some examples of the value of conducting exit interviews include shortening the recruiting and hiring process, reducing absenteeism, improving innovation, sustaining performance, and reducing possible litigation if issues mentioned in the exit interview are addressed. It is important for each organization to customize its own exit interview in order to maintain the highest levels of survey validity and reliability.

The exit interview fits into the separation stage of the employee life cycle (ELC). This stage, the last one of the ELC, spans from the moment an employee becomes disengaged until his or her departure from the organization. This is the key time that an exit interview should be administered because the employee’s feelings regarding his or her departure are fresh in mind. An off-boarding process allows both the employer and employee to properly close the existing relationship so that company materials are collected, administrative forms are completed, knowledge base and projects are transferred or documented, feedback and insights are gathered through exit interviews, and any loose ends are resolved.

In business

Exit interviews in business are focused on employees that are leaving a company or when employees have completed a significant project. The purpose of this exit interview is to gain feedback from employees in order to improve aspects of the organization, better retain employees, and reduce turnover. During this interview employees will be asked why they are leaving, what specifically influenced their decision to leave, whether or not they are going to another company and what that company they are going to offers that their current company does not. Businesses can use this information to better align their HR strategy with what employees look for in an organization and enact programs and practices that will influence top talent to stay at the organization.

In the past, exit interview data was being collected by the organization but not much was being done in terms of interpreting the data and making it actionable. Today there are metrics, analytics, benchmarks, and best practices that help organizations make sense of and use the data towards proactive organizational retention programs. Recently an array of exit interview software has been developed and popularized. However this method of conducting Exit Interviews has some significant flaws, most notably, that it identifies the wrong drivers of staff turnover.

In education

Exit interviews in education are conducted with students who have graduated from an educational institution. These interviews are meant to gather information about students’ experience while attending that institution, what they benefited from, what was missing, and what could be improved to enhance the experience of the next generation of students who attend that institution. This type of interview can also point to areas in which the institution should invest more or less resources to enhance a student’s learning and development experience.

Methods for conducting exit interviews

There are various methods of conducting exit interviews, each with their benefits and disadvantages.

1. Face to Face interviews

Historically, this has been the primary method for conducting Exit Interviews (79% of organizations), although this is changing rapidly. These face to face meetings are usually conducted internally by a human resources professional or manager, or in rare cases, by an external consultant.

Benefits of Face to Face Interview

The main benefit of this method is that completion rates tend to be high, as long as the interview is conducted by a relevant and suitably skilled professional (external consultant, HR professional or indirect manager). In addition, departing employees have a personal experience which may cause them to speak more positively about the company (affecting their ’employer brand’) after they leave. Also, if Interviewers are well trained, the content can be well structured and checked in real time to ensure accuracy of data, especially concerning reasons for leaving. This method also allows high quality data to be collected from people whose literacy skills are not good.

Disadvantage of Face to Face Interview

The disadvantages of this method are that the feedback is rarely captured in a way that allows reporting on trends with more than a third of organizations using this method having no reporting tool attached to their exit data. If conducted by an external consultant, this method can be expensive. It’s also sometimes the case that the human resources professional who might conduct the interview, could be part of the employee’s reason for leaving (e.g. I was overlooked in the pay review while on parental leave and my HR person wouldn’t return my calls). This would mean that the employee is unlikely to be honest if that HR professional was conducting the exit interview. Unfortunately very few organizations (20%) provide any training on exit interviewing so the quality is often highly variable. In addition, this method is the most expensive if outsourced.

2. Telephone interviews

Exit Interviews conducted by telephone are becoming more common (41% of organizations) and are the most effective method of Exit Interviews.

Benefits of Telephone Interview

Feedback is easy to capture and code in a form that allows easy reporting and analysis. Because the Interviewer’s visual attention does not need to be dedicated to the person in front of them, as it does in a face to face interview, they are able to capture and code feedback in real time. Completion rates are the highest of all methods, possibly due to there being no need for the Interviewer and Interviewee to be in the same physical place, but also because the interview can be conducted even after the person has left (see Timing of Exit Interviews). If Interviewers are well trained, the content can be well structured and checked in real time to ensure accuracy of data, especially concerning reasons for leaving. And as with face to face interviews, the experience for the Interviewee can be very personal. This method is easy to outsource, and is less expensive than face to face interviews. It also allows for high quality data to be collected from people whose literacy skills are not good.

Disadvantages of Telephone interview

This method is that it is more expensive than online and paper surveys. Some Human Resources professionals enjoy conducting the interviews, so outsourcing the interviews removes this task.

Percent of exit interviews completed according to who conducted the interview.

3. Paper surveys

Exit interviews taken in paper form allows interviews to be conducted with those who do not have Internet access, and allows for the option of anonymity. However, it takes longer to receive feedback, and respondents who are not literate would find it difficult to use this medium. Information must also be entered into a tracking system manually for this medium. As at 2010, 46% of organizations still conducted Exit Interviews using this method.

4. Online surveys

As at 2010, 38% of organizations used this method for Exit Interviews.

Benefits of Online Survey

This is the least costly method of conducting Exit Interviews, with several free survey software tools available on the market. It also collects data in a way that is easy to report and analyse.

Disadvantages of Online Survey

There are two significant problems with using online surveys for Exit Interviews. The most critical problem is that they identify the wrong drivers of staff turnover Because online surveys do not allow for testing of root cause, the reasons for leaving are not differentiated from issues that caused dissatisfaction but not resignation. In addition there is no ability to ensure that the commentary for each reason for leaving, is consistent with the reason for leaving option they have chosen from a list. The second problem with using online surveys for Exit Interviews is the relatively low completion rate at 34%. This is around half the average completion rate of interviews that are outsourced to external consultants (66%) and around a third of best practice for outsourcing phone interviews (95%).

5. Interactive voice response surveys

IVRs are reliable methods of taking exit interviews because they are accessible by phone, a very widespread and reliable technology. However, IVRs have fallen out of favor due to the cost effectiveness of web based options that yield data at similar or higher quality. In comparison to other options, it is difficult to get rich data from an IVR, or to adjust and change it, since any changes require new voice recordings to be made.

Importance of Exit Interview

1. Departing employees are generally more forthcoming than those still in their jobs
2. You will learn the reason for an employee’s departure (it may be different than you think!)
3. The exit interview allows the employee to provide constructive feedback and leave on a positive note.
4. That last touchpoint provides you with an opportunity to review continuing obligations with the employee (e.g., non-competes, intellectual property agreements, etc.)
5. It provides the opportunity to ask if there are any open issues of which you need to be aware. This can help reduce risk and identify matters that may require immediate attention.
6. You will get a candid assessment of your organization’s environment and culture.
7. Insight into recruiting, on-boarding, and training needs may be revealed.
8. The feedback will help you to identify areas that can help improve staff retention.
9. Improvement opportunities in management development and succession planning can be detected.
10. It’s cost-effective and easy to facilitate with HR Acuity Exit Interviews.

No matter the size of your company, exit interviews provide an opportunity for an employee to discuss the workplace environment, concerns about misconduct, or issues within management.