Uncategorised

Meeting and greeting people in the events industry is vital and first impressions really matter as they live long in the mind, those handshakes matter. They are an important and fundamental part of our personal and business life. It may look simple from the outset, but it really can turn awkward and distract from doing such a good first impression.

We can all remember those bad handshakes and that initial introduction to somebody new and instead of the solid, firm and confident hand shake that we expect we are thrust into a limp fish, a crushing gripper or a sweaty slip.

That good impression you were looking for can really go wrong with that first handshake mess up, my favourite big handshake mistakes are as follows;

• The Limp Fish– This has to be one of the worst, not gripping properly and just grabbing skin, this really does portray no confidence and that they are a push over so please be a bit stronger and give off a better impression.
• The Sweaty Slip– Sometimes you really can’t help those sweaty palms especially when you are nervous and it can be normal for a lot of people but when shaking hands in stressful situations like a job interview it can be quite awkward.  All you have to remember is to dry your hands before hand there is no excuse.
• The Pinch– When shaking hands there is no place for a pinch, ok the Queen might do it but there is no place for it in real life. This to me gives off a real impression that I am not bothered about shaking your hand or that I am better than you I don’t want to shake your hand.
• The Hand-Holder– There is definitely a timelimit on how long you shake hands with someone as no one wants a hand holder, there has to be a limit of up to 3 shakes then anything after that just gets a bit weird. If any longer it can be distracting and you miss the proper introduction of meeting someone, so lets not be awkward.
• The Avoider– Again you don’t want to be someone who does it too quick and avoids eye contact, this sends out signals of under confidence, shy or they just don’t want to meet you.
• The Crushing Gripper– A handshake is not a power competition, there are people out there that just want to crush and prove how strong they are, nobody likes these people as you don’t want all your fingers broken. It can get quite uncomfortable; you start you wonder why they want to hurt them and think you just want to run away.

Ok maybe there is a little bit more to a handshake that meets the eye and it takes a little getting used to, but it really does help to gain that great first impression. To me, if I get any of these handshakes, then I know they are lacking the basic social skills and emotional intelligence. Then I thought, maybe people just don’t realise what they are doing and not aware of what is happening, but I have some excellent news.  It can be changed quickly and easily.

Here is a few tips of what I think can help (Free help) to make a good handshake.

• Confident Attitude
• Good posture and stance
• Give a big smile
• Hands interlink at the web of your hands
• Firm grip (not too limp but not too strong)
• Eye Contact
• Shake 2 or 3 times from your elbow
• The let go
• DONE!

So now we have the fundamental areas of a handshake, but come on, nobody is perfect and it can go wrong. If this happens then we have a fail safe, for whatever reason you end up with an awkward grip or an unintentional pinch or those sweaty hands. It is best to say sorry, tell them its not what you expected and that it wasn’t a proper handshake and lets try again. Always remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression so it’s vital not to mess up.

Last but not least there is a number of cultural differences and customs to consider. What I have said is appropriate here but over in Asia and the Middle East things are different. When I was over there they much prefer a weaker handshake, not always appropriate for men to shake hands with women in Islamic countries and that people in Thailand don’t like shaking hands at all.

I really hope you can take some of this and use it to shake hands properly and really give that great first impression you are looking for. Here is a little video for you to look at the worst handshakes.

Things that motivate employees more than money!

Keeping your work force in check and making sure they are all working hard is a must for any successful business. People are motivated in different ways and that counts in all businesses, within Out The Office some of the staff love praise this keeps them going because people love being told how great they are, others love opportunities and being pushed to their limit with something in their sights. Some of the guys love feeling wanted while others love competition trying to be the best.

At our weekly meeting we were all discussing what motivates us and what we thought of others and how to get the best out of each other by utilizing everyone’s skills. Below is a list of what we came up with and it really is something for you to think about in regards to getting the most out of your employees and motivating them to succeed.

• Generous Praise

Praise costs nothing – Everyone loves feeling wanted and told how great job he or she is doing! Hearing good things from the top helps even more as then you feel really wanted. Praising every improvement that you see the team doing is well worth it because having smiles on our teams face is a great thing to do.

• Making your ideas theirs

A lot of people hate being told what to do, instead of telling people what you want done, ask them in a way that will make them feel wanted and that they came up with the original idea. Once they think it is their idea they will take more of an ownership and responsibility over this and that is what you want.

• Never criticize or correct

No one, and I mean no one, wants to hear that they did something wrong. If you’re looking for a de-motivator then this is it. Why not try an indirect approach to get people to improve, learn from their mistakes and fix them. Ask, “Was that the best way to approach the problem? Why not? Have any ideas on what you could have done differently?” Then you’re having a conversation and talking through solutions, not pointing a finger.

• Make everyone a leader

Highlighting your top performer’s strengths is a must and let them know that because of their excellence, you want them to be the example for others. You will set the bar high and they’ll be motivated to live up to their reputation as a leader.

• Taking an employee to lunch once a week

Surpriseeeee. Don’t make an announcement that you’re establishing a new policy, literally walk up to one of your employees, and invite them to a lunch with you. It’s an easy way to remind them that you notice and appreciate their work.

• Giving recognition and small rewards

These two things come in many forms, within your weekly meeting why not give someone a shout out that deserves it. You could even run contests or internal games and keep track of the results on a whiteboard that everyone can see. Tangible awards that don’t break the bank can work too. Try things like dinner, trophies, spa services or even a plaque.

• Throw a company party

Doing things as a group can go a long way, why not throw a party, go out for a meal or just a few drinks as that always jeez the employees up, celebrating when doing something well is great. Organizing events throughout the year to remind your staff that you’re all in it together and one big happy family.

• Share the rewards – and the pain.

When your company does well – celebrate. This is the best time to let everyone know that you’re thankful for all their hard work. Go out of your way to show how far you will go when people help your company succeed. If there are disappointments, share those too. If you expect high performance, your team deserves to know where the company stands. Be honest and transparent.

One way to really motivate staff is holding an away day or a team building event, here at Out The Office we organize it all, get you all the details and run the event in house. This means it turns completely stress free and a lot of fun, why not enquire with us today and speak to one of our amazing sales team that will run through everything from start to finish.

Having a budget for most things in life is important and keeping to that budget is fundamental, knowing what is important is vital for that event to be a success. It doesn’t matter how big or small the budget is, the budget is crucial in order to know where you stand and what you can achieve; from weddings to parties, conferences or team building events, every event needs a budget to act as the glue that keeps everything together. This is key in knowing what we can or can’t afford, yet sometimes we tend to want more than we’ve accounted for.

For my own finances I have a budget plan and it works really well, knowing what is going out and coming in allows me to budget and know what I can spend to ensure I am never in the red. This is a great tip when looking at any type of event, create a budget plan from the start and you’ll find it easier to plan and you won’t be disappointed by any unexpected costs. It does help to stay on top of your budget – it isn’t an easy task but an absolute must to keep your event calculated correctly and hopefully stress free.

Here at Out The Office we have set three easy tips to help you keep your budgets on track and still have a great time.

1. Review any and every expense

From day one note down exactly what you plan to spend or need to spend on your event. A host, travel, venue and activity soon add up. Making a checklist is a great way to know who or what you have organised along the way, and recording the costs of each enables you to accurately keep a record of which tasks have been completed and how much of the budget has been consumed by each. Everything needs to be accounted for and you need to cover everything to reach all expectations for the event so having that understanding of how each item requires payment is golden. Storing information of anyone you are dealing with is essential and to help yourself out this should all be kept in one place so you can easily contact them. If you use the services provided on a regular basis then there is always room for negotiation. Working with the same people over and over means you can build a solid relationship and trust; every vendor is different so having that master list is always handy

2. Setting goals and targets

From the start it is always best to write down what you want out of the event, would your team benefit from being brought closer together? Do they need to improve on their communication? Do you need to integrate new staff? It might just be a fun day out! Whether it’s an end of year party or just a conference, study the needs and requirements closely as these need to be matched as best they can. Take a look at the amount of guests attending and work out a rough cost per head, this makes it a lot easier when keeping in touch with the bigger picture.
If you have a team of people around you discuss everything from the outset, this way everyone is aware of what it is needs to be done. If items that are being bought which were not discussed or planned for then it may be a good idea to bring this to the attention of the culprit spender! Going over the budget even a little bit sometimes can’t be helped. As the event planner do not be afraid to say no if one of your team has some ideas for an extravagant extra.

3. Discuss your plan of action regularly

Staying 100% within your budget means you have done an amazing job, but just remember there is always those last minute items that are needed so make sure you have a little bit left over which will cover most situations. If you are super organized then you could even create a list of situations you may encounter and how much you would need to rectify the problem. Creating checklists and event survival kits for event staff is much needed to make sure everyone keeps on point and knows what is needed from them from start to end.

Conclusion

The event budget should be set from the get go, checklists and shopping around is vital and having that all important plan can really set the difference between having an “ok” event to providing an event that will never be forgotten.

One little slip up can make or break you as the Event Manager or organizer but don’t let this put you off.

We know it all seems stressful but we do it here at Out The Office as a job and we love it, so why not offload the stress and let us help from start to finish and we promise we won’t disappoint.

When the words ‘Team Building’ are mentioned it is often met with mixed reactions, some people see it as a dirty word, a solution to poor performance and de motivated staff and of course there is always moans and groans about the waste of time and money.

But come on, we obviously don’t agree with that here at Out The Office and neither should you, so I thought this week why not look at the funny side to team building and look at it from a completely different perspective. Basically all I am trying to do is open peoples eyes to team building and see it in a completely different light and really emphasize teamwork in an amusing way!

Everyone likes fun and having a laugh so here is some videos I have pinpointed out that I think you may like and enjoy.

Video 1 – Teamwork

If you want to emphasize the subject teamwork during a conference or training day then look no further, this will really lighten the atmosphere with this cracking opener.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RnohUnZrqg

Video 2 – Roles with a team 

This guy really does knock it on the head regarding the importance of mixing up a group in terms of a team for your event, as it really will have an effect on the outcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4gH6O-KTpw

Video 3 – Working as a team 

Here is an excellent example of really working as a team to get the end result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIhuTovT4eM 

Video 4 – Fast thinking always helps to overcome 

Working together and quick thinking can really save the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Psl0nFEzw – 

I hope you enjoyed all of these lighthearted videos and I hope these bought out the funny side of teambuilding.

At Out the Office we have been touched by this viral video about women’s choices and perception of what is beautiful. I’m proud to announce at Out of the Office, it’s an 80% split of “beautiful” girls and 100% of “beautiful” men. However, it’s the missing 20% of women in our office we know to be beautiful, and why they didn’t #choosebeautiful; that is the basis of our discussion.

Firstly, how can anyone describe themselves as average? By definition it is a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number. There is nothing about the way we look which is typical and therefore we can never deem ourselves as average. There’s nothing about our personality that is measurable as average, so let’s start on a positive that we none of us are average!

But let’s face it we all know beauty is not skin deep. The most beautiful person can be made very ugly by their persona.
Watching his viral video, we were concerned to see outwardly beautiful young girls choosing to walk through the average entrance, but why? The same reason why 20% of our office choose average? Equally, where do those who are not as outwardly beautiful find the inner confidence to stride with confidence through the “beautiful entrance? Does it come down to what you believe to be beautiful and your self-worth and confidence? Where does that come from?

This begs the question, why did all the men in the office #choosebeautiful? Being in a teambuilding company, their job is to bring out confidence and self-worth in the guests we represent, therefore is that why our male ‘Event Managers’ were able to see beyond physical appearance to find the confidence to #choosebeautiful? Or do men care less about either the way they look or people’s opinions?
We believe confidence is integral to this choice. The ladies in the office on questioning were more embarrassed to outwardly declare their beauty, rather than have a true belief that they were actually average, and declared if they were asked anonymously they would be more likely to #choosebeautiful.

Top tips to #choosebeautiful
1. Find something new you like about yourself
2. Tell someone else something you think is beautiful about them
3. Remember your confidence looks beautiful to those around you
4. Smile at yourself in the mirror
5. Do something to laugh at yourself

Without wanting to sound cheesy, we are all beautiful in our own right; whatever parts we obsess over in the mirror, we can all find something beautiful about ourselves. In the words of Dan Solen Head of Events, “we are all beautiful in our own way, some more than others” (with a large cheeky grin and a point at his chest).

The main thing we derived from this is we need to have belief in our inner beauty. It’s fantastic to feel beautiful outwardly too, and we were proud of those girls that strutted their stuff through the beautiful entrance. In our office this got nothing but “Go girl” and “good on you!” and they certainly looked more beautiful with this show of confidence. I think the lesson here is if we don’t feel beautiful, we need to feel that inside with the help of those around us, to remind us. The mum that dragged her daughter through, those that on reflection wish they’d chosen beautiful are all reasons for us all to make sure those around us in our office feel beautiful today.

Outheoffice.com ask you all to #choosebeautiful today; go and tell someone they did a good job, tell them you like their hair or notice their new dress. If anyone in your office makes a negative choice today, it will be easier with a supportive colleague to make the positive choice for them.

I was en route to a big interview, stuck in traffic and cursing at every car around me, as I knew I was going to be late for my interview.
I had prepared so much for the job interview, I was smartly dressed, done my research, prepared questions and yet somehow forgot about traffic and I was never going to make it in time.

I was 15 minutes late, and even though I thought I had an excellent interview I did not get the job, but one silly mistake cost me dearly.
There is so much more to an interview that meets the eye and showing up late may seem like a pretty obvious mistake but when I talk to other managers, I couldn’t believe some of the mistakes I heard people making.

Below is a list of mistakes to avoid at job interview and believe it all not they are all true. Don’t make the same mistakes these people made!

Trashing a Boss or Old Job – We get it you had a bad experience, you maybe bitter and angry but don’t let that unhinge you in a professional manner, show that you can learn from tough experiences with your head held up high.

Drinking a Beer – I couldn’t believe it, on a Skype interview, a candidate who was great on paper moistened his lips with a beer before starting to talk and continued during the interview.

Over-selling yourself – Job interviews can be nerve racking and its normal to want to sell yourself but don’t forget to ask questions to learn if the job is right for you and if you are a good fit.

Under-dressing – One time a potential hire called and asked the dress code, we said casual, they came later that day wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals. First impressions are everything and the fact they didn’t dress smart for the interview showed they are not a good fit.

Not Preparing Anecdotes – It is all about the evidence, saying you have a certain skill or experience isn’t enough, give examples and really show you have that expertise. Without stories and numbers, an interview isn’t as memorable or effective as it could be.

Crying – Yes, believe it or not, tough interview questions can make some people cry. When tears flow, the interview is over, no one wants to hire people who can’t control their emotions on the job.

Focusing on the Benefits over the value – I’ve had people ask about benefits such as vacation time and paid time off right at the beginning of the interview. While its important to have a clear understanding of the incentives don’t make it stand out as gives off a bad impression.

Lacking Company Research – The worst mistake is not researching the company beforehand. It is so easy to tell that someone hasn’t and doing only an hours research can really make a difference.

Confusing us with our competitor – I once had an applicant forget which company he was speaking with during our interview.

Asking what the company does – Every now and then, there are candidates who may have applied to several companies and are in the process of interviewing with many of them. They show up to an interview asking what our company does without having done any homework on the organization, this is a big NO-NO.

Not having any questions – at the end of most interviews, the interviewer says “Ok, so do you have any questions for me?” Never say NO, this is a big mistake, as instantly says you are not passionate and not interested.

Wearing a costume – During a one-way video interview, an applicant wore a jedi robe, the worst part was that the candidate made no reference to the costume at all.

Some of these mistakes may seem silly or obvious, but they are all worth thinking about when applying for a job. So have a real think so you can truly shine at every interview.

Not everyone comes into work with the same level of engagement, motivation, and passion each day. But if more than a few of your employees are making a habit out of being tired, stressed and unmotivated you might have a problem on your hands.

Lack of engagement could be a sign pointing to poor job satisfaction and dissatisfied employees could be costing you more than you think. Aside from the high price of employee turnover, you could also be losing money due to their carelessness or lack of engagement. Spot unhappy employees early and do your best to get them on track on being happier, more engaged and profitable.

Here are the top 6 reasons your employees may be hating their job:

Grass is greener someplace else – Envious of friends in other companies having amazing experience? The benefits and perks at other companies can sometimes lead your employees to dream about working elsewhere. Keep an eye on what other companies are doing and try to match it with something worth bragging about.

Their values don’t align with the company – Dissatisfaction is bound to take place if your employees aren’t sold on the same things you are so make sure you get it right on the hiring process. Regular feedback and reviews can really help stay in tune with employee’s values and how they align with the company needs.

They don’t feel valued – Employee happiness is bound to be impacted if you don’t take the time to pat them on the back. Recognition breeds feelings of value and loyalty. Regular verbal praise, gifts rewards and monetary gifts for awesome performance is a must.

Job Insecurity – It’s easy to dislike your job and have the worry if you don’t know if you will be there in a few months, instability maybe taking its toll so remain transparent and work on keeping spirits up.

There’s no room for advancement – Policy for promotion? Employees that feel they are stuck and have no chance of advancement will lead to job-hopping and its important to keep a plan for employees to grow.

The passion’s gone – Huge difference between living to work and working to live, do your employees love what they do? Focus on hiring passionate employees and give them a purpose to maintain their passion throughout their time on the job.

Boss Sucks – Poor management can ruin even the most passionate and well-paid employees love for their job. If you have unhappy employees the first thing you should look at is your management habits, then talk to your employees and get to the bottom of it.

Brushing off unhappy employees will damage your company. Get to the bottom of their troubles before you lose any valuable employees that work with you. A lack of meaningful, challenging work is certain to breed disdain. Find out whether your employees feel like they’re learning or advancing their knowledge. If they’re not becoming better, they will go someplace where they feel they can improve.