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The Season of (Employee) Discontent

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The Season of (Employee) Discontent

 

The Season of (Employee) Discontent

The work-from-home model has become the new norm during the Covid-19 pandemic and while we have all had some time to adjust, have you been wondering how happy and engaged your employees really are?

Well, based on the findings of a study by Hays Canada, the answer is, not very.

According to the article, “49% of employees were seriously considering leaving their job”.

While these numbers are disturbing enough, in some ways, they are understandable. What’s truly shocking is that over half of the employers are doing nothing to help or keep their employees engaged!

Even during “normal” times, I heard similar complaints from candidates who were considering other work opportunities, things like lack of encouragement, direction or personal reward in their workplace are issues regardless of the pandemic, it seems.

Rewards, of course, take many forms.  Whether it’s recognition for going above and beyond, a high-five for a job well done, additional training, opportunities for growth or just a free pizza lunch; it doesn’t take that much to make an employee feel valued.

Even employees that are used to, and thrive, working from home, still want to know their work is appreciated and recognized.

While there are many benefits to working from home, it can, and has been, an extremely difficult transition for many employees.  They can feel that they have been cast adrift and now have to grapple with the challenges of the “new normal” – while worrying about the economy, their job security and learning to separate work and home – while at home!

As an employer, meetings on Zoom and counting keystrokes are not enough to ensure happiness or engagement. If you had thought it was, I urge you to think again.

A great number of employees feel isolated and uncertain about their future, making them more likely to look elsewhere for employment.

Please don’t discount the emotional and social aspect of employment.  A major part of working for any company is feeling that you’re part of the team, that you’re working towards a shared goal and that you feel like you belong! If we take that away, and what do we have left?

So, why do so many employees stay if they aren’t wholly satisfied with their situation? More often than not, this boils down to them liking their team, or manager, and a desire to stay loyal. If that’s doesn’t exist, or it’s taken away, it certainly makes it easier to leave.

So, what’s the solution?  Well, that’s the tricky bit right there, because there isn’t one solution that works for every organization or employee. What we do know is that management needs to learn how to keep their remote employees engaged, and quickly.

While staff turnover is simply part of running a business, if you want to better your odds of keeping your employees feeling like they’re part of a team, let’s get a little creative.

This article, from event site TeamBuilding, has some unique ideas to maintaining high spirits among staff. Whether it’s a couple tips and tricks on how to best celebrate employee birthdays remotely or a special ‘channel’ dedicated to celebrating small wins, there’s a multitude of ideas that would benefit any company’s culture.

On a more serious note, while considering ways of keeping your employees engaged – and employed with you – please don’t forget the very real impact Covid-19 has had on mental health for a great number of people. As CAMH acknowledges in this article, social isolation weighs heavily on everyone, some undoubtedly more than others. Keep an eye on your employees, some may be at risk of experiencing difficulties with their mental health and others may have previous difficulties amplified due to, well, everything that’s happening.

It’s the season of (employee) discontent.  We’re all experiencing this and it’s important that we encourage each other.

This too shall pass, so lets try and be there for one another, it’ll make our post-covid world that much better!

– Pam Inglis, Manager Recruiting/Senior Consultant, Rostie & Associates

Communication Skills

The Value of Communication Skills

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There are many ways that a workplace can be disconnected, leading to inefficiency. A business that tends to overlook the importance of communication in the workplace is most likely unsuccessful. In order to maintain a stable work environment, coworkers must communicate effectively! This means that those who cannot function as a part of a team will prove detrimental. This skill is especially important nowadays where technology consumes most of our time in the office. Social skills continue to be taken for granted as we find less need for them; however, this should be enough to want to enhance this decreasingly prominent ability.

Listening

Listening skills are potentially the hardest to come by in terms of communication skills. This skill requires one to allow another to speak without interruption. Also, while they are speaking, be sure to genuinely pay attention to what they are saying. Do not think of what you are going to say when they are done. This distracts you from getting all of the information from what they said. If you’re lucky, you may be able to catch the gist of what they are saying.

Confidence

Another skill that is hard to come by is confidence when speaking. There is a fine line between confidence and condescension. You must be comfortable with who you are and project that confidence onto others. Do not brag, but do not self-deprecate. A confident person will have little to no problem communicating with others. Confidence typically comes from a lack of concern towards if others do not agree with their character. This skill is very beneficial, as you must be able to do things that make you uncomfortable if you wish to develop as an employee.

Legitimate confidence brings with it a confident tone. A confident tone is simply a means of suggesting that you are sure of yourself and you are a reliable and capable worker. Once more, avoid sounding arrogant. It is one thing to be confident in what you’re saying if you are sure you are correct. It is another thing to ensure others you are right when you are unsure. This is simply stubbornness rather than intelligence. Arrogant people are not particularly smiled upon and tend to create conflict in the workplace.

Kindness-getting along with others

Many workplaces may experience some form of conflict between two or more employees. This needless rivalry will lead to an array of internal problems. This will do nothing but hinder efficiency in the workplace. Therefore, kindness is a skill that an employee must have if they wish to maintain their success as an employee, or else reap the consequences

It is important to note that remaining friendly, even on days that are not going too well, is a skill that employees must learn to have if they wish to grow. Just because your day is rough, it does not mean you can take it out on others. Think about it this way: everyone has bad days. What makes you special that you are allowed to take it out on others, while they keep it to themselves, or at least outside of the workplace? This will have people thinking about you in a negative fashion. You will be recognized as a negative person who always complains. Being isolated like this cannot lead to anything beneficial for the business.

Feedback-back and forth communication

It is important that after listening to someone, you provide your input to the conversation. For example, if someone tells you that there is something troubling them. You can either offer a solution, or at least try and come up with something else that may suffice. This way they will know that you were listening. Not only that, they will know that you genuinely care about what they are saying.

These feelings will reciprocate; therefore, they will then respect what you have to say as well. If all you offer to the conversation is “yeah” or “uh-huh”, then you will seem distracted and not actually paying attention. Contributing to the conversation shows respect and a want to better the business.

 

If you’re ready to test out your communication skill on a new position, take a look at our available jobs and contact us today! 

Holiday Trivia @ The Rostie Group

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Thank you to everyone who joined on Friday, December 14th for our Holiday Trivia event! A great time and a lot of laughs were had.

Take a look at the gallery of photos below for the event.

Our next Holiday event is our Annual Holiday Breakfast on Tuesday, December 18th starting at 8 am. Don’t miss it!

Have you seen our Reservation Portal?

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Here at the Rostie Group, we’re always looking to improve your experience. To that end, we have been working on something that is a long time coming.

A major updated to our reservation portal has made it better than ever before!

We have focused on eliminating the tiresome negotiation process of booking meeting rooms and streamlining the process to be as smooth as possible for our users.

As you can see below, the Rostie Group’s booking portal lets you see all of our available rooms as you book them.

If you’ve booked with us before, you can easily rebook meetings with a single click! This allows your layout, catering and other requests to remain the same as the last time you booked.

Whether you are using desktop, tablet or your phone we wanted you to have the best experience, so we redesigned the layout to be mobile ready no matter what screen you’re on.


If you are a new user, you’ll see how easy it is to view the catering menu and choose an option suited to your needs. Depending on the room size, you will also be able to view the meeting rooms various custom layouts and choose one that best fits your meeting requirements.

Delicious Catering

We understand that getting used to any new piece of software can be challenging. Not to worry, we will soon have an online tutorial added to our website to guide you through it and show just how easy it is!

Don’t forget- we don’t just offer Meeting Rooms! Check out our diversified Virtual Offices Packages and start your plan today.

What are you waiting for? Click here to go see the new Portal right now!

Why you should Rent your Meeting Space

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Meeting Space Rent

It’s a fact of life (or a fact of business) that you’ll eventually have to have meetings. One-on-One, group meetings, team meetings, etc. You name them, they’ll have to meet at some point. Have you considered renting that meeting space?

So when you’re finding a space for those meetings to occur, it is often a corner of the office somewhere, where everyone has to bring their chairs and scoot over. Just making what might already be an uncomfortable space, even more so.

Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones that has their own proper meeting space. But of course, owning space is very different from renting it.

For one, you have to maintain it. It can be costly to maintain a meeting room up to standard. Of course when it’s just your team, a little mess can be expected; some markers laying around, a used whiteboard, some leftover snacks.

But then if you want to bring a new client into that space, you’ll have to make sure it’s all clean and tidy. And your staff, as great as they may be, are busy making sure the business runs. They don’t have time to clean up every speck of dirt. Which then means you need to hire a cleaning crew, or extend the current crew’s service into the meeting room. But that brings potential reservations over confidential information…

And that isn’t even mentioning the cost of maintenance. What if the chairs break? Or the meeting table is damaged? The TV on the wall starts displaying static?

It’s just a whole cycle of never ending issues.

And of course, think about the opportunity cost. Space is expensive, especially in large cities. You already pay a significant amount for rent, and having enough space for your employees to actually do their job, do you really want to have to worry about paying rent for a room that will be sitting empty most of the time?

Unless your meeting space is doubling as your break room (which it really shouldn’t be), then it’s actual wasted space, and wasted money.

For those who are looking to cut some costs on their rent, and have a top notch, clean, and well stocked room, you should consider renting your meeting space from The Rostie Group. Free Wi-Fi, full technical support, videoconferencing, and delicious catering are all available.

Why Meetings are Important

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What is the point of a business meeting?

Effective meetings can accomplish project goals, resolve conflicts and improve employee performance. The end result of those processes is the time and money saved. Meeting rooms are a venue for team members to engage and interact with one another, sharing concerns that they would not feel comfortable discussing over email. Having team members come together and understand the decision making process behind their project goals and tasks will motivate each individual, allowing them to realize their unique importance to the company’s long term goal.

Meetings are also essential for feedback and resolving issues that have arisen in attaining the teams’ goals. As conflicts and problems occur, it is fundamental that a coordinator is on hand to control the situation and help the team to work collaboratively. Questions on how to improve and resolve these issues can be answered immediately and clarified. Additionally, physical interaction is vital in order to build supportive and dynamic working relationships.

Despite the growing number of companies that offer a ‘work from home’ option, (and we have some tips for that here), team meetings can allow individuals to cross-collaborate on tasks together. This allows employees to feel that they are not alone, rather that they are all striving together in pursuit of a unified goal. Assisting employees to overcome loneliness while working from home will not only improve their mental health but will also improve their work ethic.

Here at Rostie, to make the process seamless for our clients we offer fully customizable office and meeting spaces while also providing full tech support, catering and 24/7 access to meeting rooms. Our PATH-connected accommodation is beautifully designed with its own unique views of Toronto’s south core, and just steps away from the Air Canada Center.

March 13th, 2018.
By: Louise Keogh

Growing Your Business From Home

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A virtual office is:

All the benefits of a physical office, without having to physically be there! (When you do get lonely though, you are welcome to join us in our coworking space if you need some social interaction and a change of scenery…and coffee!)

co-working (1)

A virtual office is great for:

  • Work from home individuals who would like to maintain a professional appearance and have their administrative duties handled professionally.
  • Small businesses that want to save costs on office space.
  • Medium and large businesses looking to expand into a new market.
  • Business individuals who need to meet clients in a professional environment on a semi-regular basis.
  • Businesses that conduct interviews on an irregular schedule.
  • Independent workers (freelancers, lawyers, and family-run businesses) that want to save time and cut employee costs.
  • When permanent space for all staff doesn’t make sense, but a central address and location for client meetings is needed and will ensure your business runs effectively.

20151110200500-home-office-desk-mac-designer-monitor-studio-modern-technology-workspace-work-business-style

Virtual tenants can have all their phone calls answered by on-site receptionists, and mail forwarded to anywhere in the world, from our high profile downtown location. Whether your company is located locally, nationally, or abroad, The Rostie Group’s Virtual Office solution can help you build a truly “borderless” business.

Virtual-Offices

Come visit us to meet your ‘virtual assistant’. We have real people who you will come to know very well, handling all of your mail, greeting your clients on the phone in your company name or in person.

Cut overhead costs by only coming into the office when you need to meet a client who just arrived via Porter airline, for videoconferencing, or having a team meeting. The quaint Baltic, Caspian and Lake Joe rooms boast beautiful views of downtown Toronto.

Baltic - Bright and Daytime

At The Rostie Group it is all-inclusive. You receive a discounted rate for meeting rooms, the ability to use coworking space and invitations to all networking events, lunch ‘n’ learns and training sessions. Plus when you are ready to move into a physical office, your transition will be seamless! Your business can grow within The Rostie Group community, from virtual office to coworking to long-term office resident, your business will thrive and grow without having to change your business address!

We love our work community and are involved in local events taking place along the Waterfront all year long! Don’t miss the Spectacle of Lights beginning on November 28th! #itsbetterbythewater

Ultimately the best reason for having a virtual office – at the very least a mailing address –  is that it enables you to focus on developing your business, sales and client base –  avoiding the stress of day-to-day operations .

Check out all of the flexible packages available here. We can custom build a package to suit your business needs! Want 10 hours of coworking with a mailing address and live receptionist? We can build a membership just for you! Need a meeting room every week for 4 hours, plus a Bay St. address for all your packages to be delivered to? We do that!

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Check out some more of the benefits of having a virtual office here,

then share this with your friends, so they can establish the image they need for their business to grow!

Happy New Year

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Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2016!

The Rostie Group wishes you the best start to the New Year

happy new yeaar

Start 2016 off right for your business and take advantage of our professional virtual office and reception services. Every business, no matter what stage it is at can benefit from a corporate address, friendly phone answering and exceptional meeting room space.

https://www.rostiegroup.com/virtual-office-packages

When you find your business is growing, you are hiring more employees and looking for more space, we’ve got you covered! Transition into a full-time coworking space, small private office space or maybe even a team room. The possibilities are endless – and customizable.

http://www.torontomeetings.com/cowork.htm

Start 2016 off right and give your business what it needs to succeed!