OfficeArrow All Articles - Full Content

Welcome New OA Sponsor, Delta Community Credit Union: Uncomplicated, Honest Banking

OfficeArrow — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:44:05 -0500

We're excited to announce the newest sponsor of the OfficeArrow community, Delta Community Credit Union. As we expand to bring you a wider range of business related content, we're reaching out to partners across the globe to help provide unique insights and valuable resources. Delta Community, the largest credit union in Georgia, is dedicated to helping small businesses thrive. We're looking forward to tapping into their wealth of financial information and expertise.

Delta Community offers financial products like a bank, but are owned by its customers. Unlike a bank Delta Community return its profits to customers in the form of low-fees and competitively priced interest-bearing accounts. They're customer's think of Delta Community as a partner. They help their customers-whether individuals or small businesses-by simplifying the financial world. They strive to provide advice, products and services that are robust, uncomplicated and honest. DCCU is all about providing solutions-so they have a lot in common with OfficeArrow!

Please show them a warm welcome by visiting the Delta Community CU page here on OA. For those of you in the Atlanta metro area, consider becoming a DCCU member. We're happy to have them as a partner here at OfficeArrow. And we recommend making them a financial services partner for your family and/or business as well.

Talk about it

Event Budgeting: What to Include?

Terri Pepper Gavulic — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:07:38 -0500

It's easy to get so caught up in planning an event that you spend more than you originally had planned. Creating and maintaining a budget helps you manage the finances as you go. Budgets also help you be accountable upstream, and give you an evaluation tool to determine the return on the investment in the event. This article describes the typical categories to include in your event budget. You can set up a spreadsheet to track expenses in each of these categories.

Audio/Visual & Technical

This category includes all of the technical equipment you'll need to produce your meeting or event such as sound systems, microphones, LCD or other projectors, computers, screens, and cords. Be aware that most technology rental companies also charge for set-up and delivery and on-site support staff.

Catering & Beverage

This category includes all items related to food and drink. Remember that the item cost on a catering menu is usually not complete. Typically you need to add tax, service and gratuity charges. Items to include here are hors d'oeuvres (usually a per person charge), meals and snacks, service and gratuities, bar service (including glassware and staffing), snacks and breaks, refreshed coffee, and beverage services.

Design & D�cor

Covered in this category are things such as flowers, centerpieces, plants, furniture, linens, backdrops, and decorations.

Entertainment

An entertainment budget could include a variety of items such as performers, presenters, musicians, props, licensing rights, and novelty acts such as an emcee or a caricaturist.

Facilities

In your facilities budget, consider room rentals and fees, required union fees, electricians, custodial services, and security.

Parking/Transportation

Depending on how your guests will be traveling, you need to consider buses or shuttles, parking attendants, signage and parking fees.

Photography/Videography

This can be a big category depending on the type of the event and usually covers items such as photographers, videographers, materials, equipment, and the cost of photos or videos.

Postage & Mail Processing

Don't forget to account for the costs associated with sending out meeting notices or programs. Include items such as mail house processing charges for stuffing, stamping and labeling your items; postage; and mailing supplies.

Printed Materials

A lot of people use electronic materials nowadays but even if you do, remember to account for creative service charges to design the piece. Include the cost of several revisions in your budget. Other items in this category could be hard copy design fees, printing fees, the cost of notebooks or binders, and presentation materials.

Publicity/Marketing

Publicity and marketing costs can be important to consider and might include ads, direct mail, flyers or brochures, websites, and signage.

Rentals/Service Providers

You might need to account for charges such as furniture rental or the salaries of temporary workers to serve as greeters, drivers, or registrars.

Supplies

Try to think ahead about what supplies you'll need and include those items in this budget category. This may include nametags, mailing labels, favors and gifts.

Miscellaneous Contingency

Once you know your budget total, add another ten-percent to your total for emergencies and unplanned expenses.

It's not difficult to prepare an accurate budget but it requires thinking through every aspect of your meeting or event at the beginning of the planning process. Be certain to note the differences between your budgeted amounts and your actual expenses, and use that information to continuously improve your budget planning for future meetings and events.

Talk about it

Do You Write Great, or Are You a Great Writer?

Scott Ginsberg — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:41:53 -0500

Every office professional has at least a certain amount of writing involved in doing his or her job. Scott Ginsberg, acclaimed author of 9 business books, shares his thoughts on what it means to be a great writer and why it's very different from writing great. See which category you fall into...

Recognizing Office Heroes: Nominations Now Open for the 2010 Administrative Excellence Award

OfficeArrow — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:31:57 -0500

Here at OfficeArrow, we believe that the true superheroes of any office are administrative professionals. You are the ones in the trenches-doing the day-to-day tasks that keep business operations running smoothly. In an often underappreciated field, administrative professionals deserve more recognition than they typically receive.

Turns out, we're not the only ones who feel this way. The pros over at OfficeTeam understand the value of recognition in the workplace and they believe in giving administrative professionals the credit they so rightly deserve. That's why they created the Administrative Excellence Award and OfficeArrow is a proud supporter.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 6th Annual OfficeTeam Administrative Excellence Award. The award is given to an administrative professional who demonstrates a commitment to leadership and education, and provides meaningful contributions to his or her employer. Nomination information and an online submission form are available at www.officeteamaward.com. The deadline for entries is April 30, 2010.

The Administrative Excellence Award winner will be announced during the IAAP International Education Forum and Annual Meeting in Boston in July 2010. The winner will receive registration and travel to attend the event, a $500 gift card, a laptop, one-year national membership to IAAP, and other prizes. Supporters of the award include CareerBuilder.com, Dress for Success, MeasureUp, OfficeArrow.com and SkillSoft.

For more information about the 2010 Administrative Excellence Award or to submit a nomination, visit www.officeteamaward.com.

Inspire your colleagues and teammates to nominate you (or another favorite administrative professional) by posting this flyer in your break room or other common area.

What better way to show your appreciation to office superheroes than by nominating them for this prestigious award?

Talk about it

Best Practices for Protecting Sensitive Corporate Information

OA Staff Writer — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:40:13 -0500

This article is sponsored by Fax2Mail, a proud sponsor of OfficeArrow. Fax2Mail enables you to send and receive faxes directly from your computer or mobile device. The service is included in the OA Gold and Silver Memberships.

The workplace, both in its physical and digital presence, is a gold mine of sensitive data. There are several things to consider in the protection of this information-here's a guide to the most important concerns.

Protecting Emails

There are two concerns when it comes to protecting sensitive information held in emails-monitoring employees' email use and protecting email from outside threats.

There are various email monitoring software programs available, allowing employers to make sure employees do not send sensitive corporate information to people who are not authorized to receive it.

However, there are certain legal regulations that come into play when monitoring employees' emails. For an overview of an employer's legal obligations in this case, ZDNet has released a whitepaper that details the risks, regulations and practical solutions for email monitoring in the workplace.

There is also the issue of protecting email from outside hackers, who can gain access to a company's sensitive information hosted on their email servers. Above all, this is an issue of proper IT security, and can be addressed through deploying extensive firewalls, using and updating antivirus and anti-malware software, implementing policies governing remote access to work email (a more important concern than ever, thanks to the popularity of smartphones and laptops), and training employees on safe email practices.

Protecting Faxes

This is an often-overlooked aspect of maintaining control over corporate information. What happens when someone faxes over sensitive information, from documents containing the company's credit card numbers to files discussing undisclosed internal discussions? If the person authorized to receive the information is not standing by the fax when it the files are sent, these documents are left lying around the office for anyone to read, take, use or even distribute.

As a result, an increasing number of businesses are investing in efax solutions such as Fax2Mail. This allows companies to send and receive faxes via computers or even mobile devices, eliminating fax machines entirely. Consequently, only the intended recipients receive the faxes-they are received through the user's email in the form of an attachment.

Protecting Payment Processing Information

If your company processes credit or debit cards-whether physically, through an ecommerce website, or through a phone- or mail-order system-it is subject to PCI compliance regulations. Governed through the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS, these regulations handle the security of cardholder data. You can read up on the requirements at the PCI Security Standards Council website.

Other Important Concerns

While you are required to keep certain types of documents on hand for a specific amount of time-such as tax information, personnel files and other accounting-related documents-keeping these files for longer than is necessary poses a serious risk.

As a result, you should research which records need to be kept and for how long, to minimize your risk.

After that time period has passed, you can shred documents yourself or, if you routinely have a large amount of documents that need to be shredded, you can invest in a shredding service.

Another concern when it comes to maintaining control over sensitive information is training employees on best practices. You may want to include a section in the employee handbook about proper Internet use and document handling (including the use of USB drives, which studies have shown is one of the most popular ways employees steal sensitive information). You can even include a formal non-disclosure and non-compete clause.

Fax2Mail enables you to send and receive faxes directly from your computer or mobile device, eliminating the costs and hassle of maintaining fax machines and ensuring time-sensitive documents reach intended recipients instantly. It's as easy as sending an email. Learn more about this and other features included in the OA Gold and Silver Memberships.

Talk about it

Your Banking Partner: Discover the Value of Delta Community Credit Union

Delta Community Credit Union — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:17:41 -0500

Most small businesses owners just starting out soon find that it takes a lot to run their business and there are a number of critical questions they need to immediately address:

How do I cover inventory expenses when business is slow?How do I make the most of the few dollars I have to advertise?How do I keep track of receivables and bills?Where do I find a financial institution to help me?

As a business owner, it's important to have clear answers about how you'll move your business to the next level. A proven approach is to know how to stretch your resources and money. That's where having a banking partner can become a valuable advantage.

While business banking is an important aspect of managing your business, it's not complicated. There are a few basic questions you should be able to answer about your current banking relationship. If you can't answer the following questions, it might be time for a change. If you can, then pat yourself on the back.

Q: Are you earning interest on your business checking?A: The answer should be a simple "Yes." Check to determine if there are balance requirements or fees associated with having an interest-bearing account.

Q: Do you know how much you pay in fees each year?A: Excluding punitive fees that indicate there's an opportunity to change how your small business finances are managed, the answer should be $0. If not, then you're paying too much. Look for alternatives and add those bank fees directly to your cash flow.

Q: How does your financial institution accept deposits?A: If the answer is "only in the branch", then you're missing out big time. Any quality financial institution should offer a remote deposit product that works with a scanner or some simple data entry in the online banking experience. Next step, ask about the fees for such a product and make sure they make good economic sense (comparing them to your rough guess at costs related to going to a branch).

Q: Is your online banking system "world class"?A: If the conversation isn't filled with features like online bill pay, account to account transfers, reporting, integration with QuickBooks, integration with lines of credit and corporate credit cards, then you are definitely being short changed. You can find tremendous cost savings and added efficiencies when using the right online banking tool.

Q: When you need help, who do you call?A: If the institution doesn't offer a team of dedicated representatives, don't settle. Make sure you have a dedicated staff that is ready to connect with you via phone and fax. Having an "email" team and a "phone" team can be a pain. Again, don't settle for second rate service. You deserve better.

As a not-for-profit, financial institution, Delta Community generates value among our customers by providing three core solutions. First, we offer deposit solutions that enable businesses to be more flexible with their daily funds. Second, we offer access to short term capital such as low- rate credit cards with free rewards. In addition, we offer lines of credit that are fully integrated with our customer's deposits so they are able to stretch their cash flow. And third, our customers can leverage our long-term capital loan products for asset acquisition such as equipment loans and commercial mortgages. We distinguish ourselves by committing to build strong one-on-on relationships.

Business Record Retention: What to Keep and For How Long

OA Staff Writer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:51:20 -0500

With the abundance of files, both electronic and paper-based, that today's offices must handle, it can be overwhelming to figure out what is important to keep and for how long. While no office should be overflowing with documents, certain files should be kept for pre-established lengths of time-depending on the type of document and the specific situation of the company-to keep the business in good tax and legal standing.

Hotel or Conference Center: What's the Difference?

Lauralee Borrero — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:26:56 -0500

There are some hotels that call their meeting space a "conference center" but this should not be confused with an IACC (International Association of Conference Centers) certified conference center. To receive this designation, and join the ranks of more than 300 certified conference centers, a facility must apply to the IACC and meet 39 criteria that fall into seven categories. If you're planning an event and your venue selection process has you looking at both hotels and conference centers, it may be helpful to understand exactly what differentiates an IACC certified conference center.

1. Priority of Business

Conference Centers focus on small to mid-sized groups, with 75 or fewer attendees. A conference center can be a stand alone facility, attached to a university or it may be part of a hotel with sleeping rooms. However, at least 60% of their meeting space must be dedicated to conferences and 60% of their revenue, from all departments combined, must be generated from conferences.

2. Conference Center Design

This section covers everything from the need for ergonomically designed chairs to individual climate controls in the meeting rooms. A conference center must have at least one room that is a minimum of 1,000 square feet and a minimum of three other meeting rooms that do not have air walls. The success of a meeting or conference can often depend on the experience the attendees have in the meeting room; was it too hot or too cold? Was their view obstructed? Did the windows have black out curtains to better view the presentation? At an IACC certified center you know that every measure has been taken to ensure the success of your meeting and comfort for your attendees.

3. Conference and Business Services

All conference centers must provide a designated, experienced conference planner as well as audio/visual technical support on site for the group. IACC certified centers must also have an onsite business center that is staffed and carry a range of supplies that the planner may need such as tape, paper clips, staples, etc. The business center must also have work stations, printers and shipping services.

4. Food and Beverage

For many conferences, food and beverage is the biggest expense in the budget. IACC certified conference centers offer a CMP (Complete Meeting Package). Included in the CMP package are three meals and continuous breaks. There are hotels that will offer a CMP but many only include one meal and two breaks. There would be an additional charge to refresh coffee breaks. The conference center must have designated meal rooms; many hotels will have the general session room double for meals.

5. Technology

Technology is constantly evolving and the requirements for technology cover everything from flip charts to microphones. Many of the technological requirements are based on minimum square footage of the meeting rooms. For example, any room 1,000 square feet or larger must have a projector screen that is either mounted on the wall or drops down from the ceiling. This will save the planner the expense of having to rent a screen. A CMP package will also include basic audio/visual, again saving money for the planner.

6. Guest Rooms

IACC standards are less concerned with the bedding and bathroom amenities and are more focused on what is important to a conference attendee. For those facilities that have sleeping rooms, the room must have a desk with a hard writing surface, high speed Internet, easily accessible power outlets and the sleeping rooms must be separate from the meeting space and leisure areas of the property.

7. Ancillary Conference Centers

These facilities must have a public entrance, at least one conference planner dedicated to the facility and a name that identifies that the conference center is a distinct area of the resort. There are cases where the "conference center" at a hotel is IACC certified but the guest rooms are not.

When deciding whether to contract a hotel or a conference center, it is a good idea to consider each of the above areas of service.

Lauralee Borrero is a Global Account Executive with ConferenceDirect, a worldwide provider of outsourced meeting planning solutions. The portfolio of offerings include: Site Selection, Contract Negotiation, Conference Management Services, and Housing & Registration. ConferenceDirect is pleased to provide these services on an individual or "all inclusive" basis. There is no charge to our customers for hotel site selection and contract negotiations. Lauralee can be reached for questions or comments at lauralee.borrero@conferencedirect.com or at 863-420-3974. She can also be found on OfficeArrow.com as Lauralee Borrero and on her blog at http://lauraleeborrero.wordpress.com.

Talk about it

OA Book Club: Review of �The Introvert Advantage�

Lauren Elder — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:56:58 -0500

Let's be honest. You probably already have an idea of what it means to be an introvert. Ask the average person and they will tell you that introverts are people who keep to themselves and like to be alone. The word "antisocial" may even rear its ugly head.

In The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World by Marti Olsen Laney, you learn in no uncertain terms what separates introverts from extroverts and the answer may surprise you. According to Laney, it is largely a matter of where we get our energy. Introverts draw energy from their internal world of ideas, emotions, and impressions. They need a quiet, reflective place where they can think things through and recharge. Extroverts are energized by the external world that includes people, places, and things. They need to engage in activities outside of themselves to feel energized.

It is the classic comparison of thinkers versus doers, except the author contends they both need each other to actually make things happen. Much of the book is focused on helping the reader understand and appreciate the differences between the two because temperaments never change. So, we must work with our respective temperament rather than against it.

The author does note in the beginning that introverts are the underdogs. Why is this? For one, we are outnumbered 3-to-1. But it also has to do with culture, which dictates that extroverts are more valued because they appear more confident and decisive. The introvert advantage then, comes from understanding their natural strengths and abilities like the ability to think outside of the box and creatively problem solve. The author shows the advantages of each temperament and illustrates how those complement the limitations of the other.

Although this book is primarily geared towards introverts, there are many helpful insights that benefit extroverts too. It's all about learning to work and live together by doing things like trying on each other's point of view and taking turns getting your way. The most important takeaway is that everyone is different, but with a little understanding we can all learn to accept each other and ourselves.

The author continually reinforces how important it is to know yourself and appreciate what you have to offer. She is a psychotherapist, after all. I must also mention this book is remarkably easy to read, especially if you find it as personally relevant as I did. You will find yourself flipping pages quite readily and enjoying a whole host of anecdotes, psychological studies, and surprising tidbits of information.

My favorite part of the book was the chapter Laney devoted to work relationships because she shows the reader what each temperament needs to realize about the other in a professional environment. I would recommend anyone read this chapter because it offers up suggestions on everything from how to maximize your participation in meetings to how to handle arguments with someone of a different temperament. Again, the key is understanding why extroverts and introverts act the way they do.

If you're interested in learning how to get along better with people at work and in life, this book is for you. The tone is always encouraging and upbeat, but the best parts are the meaty insights from the author that will no doubt stick with you after reading.

Next Month's Selection

In the month of March, The OA Book Club is being hosted by Zac Lux, an OfficeArrow marketing specialist. He's selected a book called Customer Centered Selling: Eight Steps to Success in the World's Best Sales Force.

For those of us who don't necessarily consider ourselves strong "sales people," this book is a must-read. Regardless of your role or title in the workplace, sales techniques are incredibly valuable professional tools to master. From influencing decisions to persuading your boss to give you a raise, the "sales process" is a critical component of career success. Here's what Amazon says about the book:

Customer Centered Selling teaches you the secret of the world-famous Xerox sales training program. It provides a systematic, repeatable, predictable approach that teaches you to anticipate and influence behavior as the customer moves through an eight-stage "decision cycle" and ultimately discovers his or her needs. The book includes a series of case studies, activities, and exercises that enable you to better understand the principles being taught, so you can immediately apply them to your own unique scenarios.

Buy It Now

Talk about it

Choosing the Best Advertising Platform for Your Business

OA Staff Writer — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:28:37 -0500

With the abundance of advertising platforms available, choosing one or two strategies can seem overwhelming. To get the most out of your advertising investments and to make your business as visible as possible, consider the media consumption habits of your target audience as well as your budget constraints. Learn how to select the right advertising vehicle for your needs.