Rica Morrison
Contents contributed and discussions participated by Rica Morrison
Elliott and Associates Corporate Advisory Tips and Review: Communication Tips for Globa... - 1 views
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One of my designers lives in Turkmenistan. Every day, he wakes up to email and assignments to create beautiful front-end designs from our commercial team in New York and San Francisco. When he's done, he sends them to a developer in Ukraine to implement. Throughout the day they work on various projects, and when they go to bed our design and development teams in New York take over. The system runs smoothly and it means that my team happily works around the clock - without any one person actually working around the clock.
People often ask me about how I managed to build this global engineering team at RebelMouse, and before that at Huffington Post, relaying their outsourcing horror stories and wondering how I got around them.
A lot of it comes down to being really intentional about how our globally dispersed team communicates. We can't take remote team members out for a beer to show our appreciation, so we use other methods. In my 15 years managing remote teams, I have learned to:
Live and breathe your email and make sure the team does too. Currently my team is spread across more than 20 countries. Instant messaging relies on everyone being there at the same time. Email, on the other hand can be totally asynchronous as it fits our time zone difference and odd working hours in general. The only way I've found that works is when everyone on the team keeps their inboxes open and checks emails as their absolute highest priority. Without that we operate blindly to each other since there is no tapping someone on the shoulder as there would be in an office.
Give the benefit of the doubt. My team has huge cultural and language differences (although everyone does have a working knowledge of English as the basic way we communicate). We all were raised with different ways of approaching projects, handling conflict resolution etc. It's essential we forgive each other constantly for odd grammar, odd behavior and instead try to make the beauty of building something together lift us above any confusion.
Overcommunicate. Especially as part of a startup, it's sometimes hard to understand where we are going and what we are building. Asking questions all the time helps. I want people to always be inquisitive while also working on the little pieces of concrete stuff that we definitely know. If a question doesn't get answered because of email overload, I like people to ask again or bump up the thread so that we make sure everyone is on the same page.
Be intentionally positive. It's way too easy for things to sound negative in an email. Without tone, body language or anything else, it's extra important to make sure emails don't turn into hurt feelings. Sarcasm and deadpan humor can come across the wrong way (especially because humor doesn't always translate across cultures). But being friendly and approachable - even if it means using lots of emoticons - is always welcome. I try to encourage my team to be overtly friendly in their emails, even if it means they sound less "businesslike."
Offer suggestions, not critiques. When you disagree with someone in person, you can often discuss the issue until you're both on the same page. That's much harder to do from halfway across the world, when a brief "I don't get it" can steer the conversation into a dead end. I always tell people to make sure to move the conversation forward: if you don't like someone else's idea, can you suggest an alternative instead of simply sharing your dislike? If there's anything you do like about their proposal, make sure to include that. In general, I've found when I have something positive to say, I send it immediately and when I have something negative I sometimes give myself some time to mull it over. I am usually glad I did.
As the one assigning the work, you can also prevent communication frustration by making sure everyone has multiple tasks in their queues. That way, if one thing gets stuck in a communication bottleneck, remote employees can move on to the second or third task on their list while they wait for a response on the first task. This keeps everyone moving full speed ahead - no matter where they are in the world.
Elliott & Associates Research Global Markets
Elliott and Associates Corporate Advisory Tips and Review Europe Tokyo Paris Asia: Five... - 1 views
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It goes without saying that a business cannot survive without customers. Nor can a business thrive without great staff who understand that customers are the reason their business exists.
You ask any successful small business why their business is successful and they will tell you they put the client at the centre of their business universe and they hire people who think the same way.
Providing customers with what they want while also exceeding their expectations on service is what will make you and your business a great one. Here are my five tips for great customer service.
1. Personal touches
To beat the big guys in the market, you need to differentiate yourself from their big brand messages. The best way is to emphasise what they can't do or don't do very well, which is the personal touches. Build relationships with your clients!
2. Systemise your service offering
Personalising your service offering requires a lot of client contact time, so you are going to need to find and keep developing efficiencies in your business processes. As a starting point, look for automation where you can or templates you can then tailor.
3. Add value
We work to a value formula where 'value = benefit over cost'. Consumers need to see value in your service proposition. Sure, as a mortgage broker, you might offer your services for no charge to the consumer, but so does everybody else. You and your business need to clearly show their value to the client. You must strive to add as must value as possible, and then show clients how this added value will benefit them.
4. Set client expectations
Doing home loans isn't a simple process. Some customers aren't in a position to borrow money; some loan applications will need extra work with the lender to get them over the line. Be open and transparent about this with the client up front as it will work in your favour every time. If things don't go well, then your clients understood this from the start; if they do go smoothly, then you look great in their eyes because you solved the problem for them.
5. Regular communication
I've left the most important to last. When I read our customer service feedback surveys, the one message that our clients value the most is our regular communication. We all know what's going on when we deal with the property purchasing and lending process, but you can't lose sight of the fact that clients don't do this every day. Keeping in touch with them as much as possible - even if there is nothing new to tell them - makes them realise you are on top of things and you are working hard for them.
Elliott Associates Research Global Markets: About Us - 2 views
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What We Do?
Elliott & Associates Research Global Markets is the prime global political-risk research and consulting company of the world. We provide information and insights into current political events that affect markets in order to assist clients foresee and react to volatility and opportunities wherever they conduct business.
Expertise
Founded in 2012, the company's title shows its early focus in Asia and Europe, but at present our research scope is worldwide. Our analysts keep an eye on political, social, economic, and security developments in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and North America. They also observe cross-border issues such as trade, energy and other commodities, financial regulation, global health, and climate change. Our fields of concern include the following:
* Governance and politics
* Economic indicators
* Regulatory issues
* Security
* International and regional relations
* Social trends and developments
Key Services
Our clients - coming from various financial institutions to multinational corporations to government agencies - seek our guidance as they pursue their business in volatile environments. In 2012, we developed the financial community's global political risk index to gauge the relative stability of promising markets. We utilize both qualitative and quantitative evaluations to furnish prompt information on key political drivers globally and to emphasize international trends. We provide the following services and advantages:
* Direct access to analysts
* Political risk assessments
* Scenario analysis and strategic planning
* Independent research and tailored consulting reports
* Quantitative risk metrics and evaluations
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JAZA (Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums) have finally announced that it won't permit its members anymore to purchase dolphins from Taiji after an international body suspended its membership on ethical grounds.
During an emergency board meeting of JAZA, 99 out of 142 of its members decided to vote in favor of remaining associated with the WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and agree in the latter's condition to stop buying Taiji dolphins.
WAZA has previously suspended JAZA for its unethical procurement of dolphins from the infamous town of Taiji and has recently threatened to expel JAZA if it continues with the practice.
"JAZA board decided that JAZA will prohibit its members to acquire wild dolphins caught by drive fishing in Taiji and to take part in their export and sale. It is our wish at JAZA to remain as a member of WAZA and thereby contribute for the zoos and aquariums," JAZA said in its statement.
The board's decision to stay in the international association will keep them connected when it comes to rare animals' database collection, without which it will be difficult to get breeding partners from abroad.
Australia for Dolphins' chief executive said that they are pleased that Japan's main zoo body is choosing to stop supporting the business of dolphin hunting. It said in its statement: "This momentous decision marks the beginning of the end for dolphin hunting in Japan. The capture of live dolphins, which sell for up to USD 100,000 is the motivation for the brutal dolphin hunts in Taiji. JAZA aquariums provide up to 40% of total demand for live dolphins from Taiji. So, as of today, the market for Taiji dolphins could be nearly cut in half. Without demand, the hunts won't continue."
But its chairman, Kazutoshi Arai, was quick to clear to Elliott & Associates Research Global Markets that their decision should not be interpreted as condemning or criticizing the whaling culture of Taiji.
Despite worldwide backlash, Taiji fishermen still intends to continue with the dolphin hunts, claiming that it is already part of their local culture. Taiji's Mayor Kazutaka Sangen said, "We are hunting under the permission of the Japanese government and prefecture, and so we will continue to protect our fishermen and the methods. We will not quit."
In Japan, dolphin meat is something of a delicacy but is now gradually losing its market. The industry now is left to provide for the entertainment sector where dolphins sell for very high prices.
Around 250 dolphins are known to be among the facilities of 30 members of JAZA consisting of 63 aquariums and 89 zoos. It is estimated by Elliott & Associates Research Global Markets that almost 20 dolphins are purchased by the local aquariums from the whaling town of Taiji annually.