Keen to raise a reader? Then you must develop their writing skills simultaneously! Experts say that when kids show an early interest in writing they will automatically enjoy reading. The connection between reading and writing runs deep. Teaching children how to write at a young age helps recognize the connection between letter sounds, and the words phonetic sounds create.
Your child may enjoy the fact that writing gives them another way to express themselves. Often times you can learn about what your child is interested in simply by reading their school assignment. The ability to use words to express innermost thoughts is priceless and learning how to write will enable your child to communicate with the world in a more meaningful manner. Focusing on the importance of writing skills will also bring your child’s attention to phonetics and reading comprehension. Through writing your child will be able to communicate and share their unique perspective with others.
How can I tell if my child has problems with writing readiness (pre-writing) skills?
Have an awkward pencil grasp.
Have difficulty controlling a pencil for colouring, drawing or writing.
Show a tendency to use their whole hand to manipulate objects rather than just a few fingers.
Have poor endurance for pencil based activities.
Display messy and/or slow handwriting.
Have difficulty staying within the lines when colouring.
Apply inappropriate pressure to the paper for pencil based activities (either too heavy and frequently breaks the pencil, or too light and ‘spidery’).
Have poor upper limb strength (weak shoulders).
Have difficulty coordinating both hands together for two handed tasks.
Have poor hand-eye coordination.
Be verbally skilled but has difficulty showing this on paper (i.e. writing, drawing or colouring).
Not meet the pre-writing expectations outlined below.
Behaviour: The may avoid or refuse to participate in pencil and other fine motor tasks.
Self esteem: when they compare their work against that of their peers.
Academic performance: They find it more difficult and be slower completing these tasks, contributing to slower skills acquisition (e.g. learning to write their name, or draw a person).
Self care: The ability to (age appropriately) master independence in everyday life activities (such as dressing, eating, cleaning teeth, brushing hair).
Avoidance: Preferring to get others to perform fine motor tasks for them under their direction, rather than actually doing themselves (e.g. “Daddy, draw me a house”, or “build me a rocket”, with refusal to do it themselves).
What can be done to improve writing readiness (pre-writing) skills?
Hand dominance: Determine and reinforce the dominant hand use in precision task performance.
Experience: Encourage participation in activities that involve grasping and manipulating small objects such drawing, puzzles, opening containers, threading or other related tasks.
Poking and pointing: Practice tasks that use just one or two fingers (not all at once) e.g. poking games.
Praise and encouragement when your child engages in fine motor activities, especially if they are persistent when finding an activity difficult.
Hand and finger strength (e.g. scrunching, paper, using tweezers, play dough, pegs).
Sensory play activities (e.g. rice play, finger painting) to assist the development of tactile awareness.
Hand-eye coordination: Practice activities that involve hand-eye coordination (e.g. throwing and catching) and crossing the mid-line (e.g. reaching across the body to pick up items).
Upper limb strength: Encourage play activities that develop upper limb strength (e.g. climbing ladders, wheelbarrow walking).
Threading and lacing with a variety of sized laces.
Play-doh (playdough) activities that may involve rolling with hands or a rolling pin, hiding objects such as coins in the play dough or just creative construction.
Scissor projects that may involve cutting out geometric shapes to then paste them together to make pictures such as robots, trains or houses.
Tongs or teabag squeezers to pick up objects.
Drawing or writing on a vertical surface.
Every day activities that require finger strength such as opening containers and jars.
Pre writing shapes: Practice drawing the pre-writing shapes ( l, —, O, +, /, square, \, X, and Δ).
Finger games: that practice specific finger movements such as Incy wincy Spider.
Craft: Make things using old boxes, egg cartons, wool, paper and sticky or masking tape.
Construction: Building with duplo, lego, mobilo or other construction toys.
Self-regulation
The ability to self-regulate plays a big role in writing. When you set a goal for how many words a paper should be and then check the word count as you write, that’s self-regulation. If you get to the end of a sentence, realize it doesn’t make sense, and decide to rewrite it, that’s self-regulation.
Here’s another example. When kids get frustrated, they might give up on writing. But if they remind themselves that they’re making progress and can do it, that’s also self-regulation. Experienced writers do this naturally.
What can help: There are lots of strategies to teach self-regulated writing. You can teach kids to check each sentence of a paragraph once they’ve finished the paragraph. You can also encourage them to take breaks after writing a certain number of words.
Kids can also be taught to use positive self-talk to help with motivation. When writing, they could say to themselves, “It’s OK that this is hard because I know my effort will pay off.” The key to all these strategies is repetition and practice.
It’s never wrong to send a thank you note, and people always appreciate getting “thanks” for their efforts. And if you’re thinking about whether or not you should write a thank you note, you probably should. Anyone would appreciate receiving a thank you note, and some people may be expecting one.
It’s always correct to send handwritten thank-you’s, and people always appreciate them. Handwritten notes are warmer and more personal than a phone call or email, and only second best to thanking someone in person.
Email is okay to thank for a coffee or meal that was casual or whose invitation was extended by email in the first place. It’s also okay for very small favors. But for dinner parties, big favors, an actual gift, or being a houseguest, handwritten thank-you notes are your best bet for an expression of warm, heartfelt thanks.
There is simply nothing as personal as a handwritten note. In a stack of bills and flyers, it’s a treasure in a sealed packet, full of promise and potential. It is a visceral reminder of someone far away.
They are an opportunity for us to connect to the people in our lives in a meaningful way. In an increasingly informal digital world, continuing to pull out pen and paper is a way to distinguish yourself. The handwritten thank-you note speaks volumes simply as a medium and sends the message that you care enough to invest yourself personally in acknowledging another.
Handwritten notes still have a personality, warmth and, when needed, gravitas that computer screens don’t. And questions of appropriateness aside, people still enjoy opening them. More than anything, that tells me they have lasting value. So, send a little joy someone’s way.
How to Write a Thank You Note
Sometimes it’s easy to write off a heartfelt thank-you note. Other times, writer’s block can set in—especially when you are staring down a large stack of them. Before you start, remember that thanking people needs to be about just that: expressing thanks. So refocus, reorganize, and rethink the process.
This is a brief note, about four sentences, meant to express something you are grateful for. Be sure to say what you mean directly. The thank-you note is special; it’s to express your appreciation, so keep the focus there.
Use a salutation.
Formal/Professional – Dear >>,
Professional – Dear >>,
Close Professional/Social – Dear >,
Social – Dearest >,
Good friend – First name, Nickname, or Initials
First sentence – Thank them explicitly for the specific gift or act for which you are writing the letter.
I am so thankful/grateful for.
I want to say how much I appreciated.
I am writing this note to acknowledge.
I want you to know how much I value.
Second Sentence – Personalize the note with an original thought about the things you are thanking for, the effort or thought behind it, what it means to you and the relationship.
Third sentence (optional) – Pull the focus back and think about the future. Suggest future actions or direction or develop the thought from sentence two.
Fourth sentence – repeat the thanks or offer a concluding thought.
Use a closing.
Formal/Professional/Social – Sincerely
Professional/Social – Best regards, Regards, All the best, Best, Respectfully yours, Cordially
Social/Personal – Yours truly, Warmly, Affectionately yours, With great affection, With love, etc.
Who should you write thank you notes to?
How do you know when sending a thank you card is appropriate and who should you write thank you notes to? This question is actually not as tricky as it sounds. Whenever someone has done something nice for you like presenting you with a gift or going out of their way to help you, it’s definitely worth writing them a thank you card. No, sending a thank you text message is most definitely not the same thing.
Of course there are actual occasions when thank you notes are basically expected, but huge life changing events are not the only time a thank you note is called for. In fact, the more surprising the thank you note is — the more special it will make your recipient feel. Below are some good solid reasons to mail a thank you note, but don’t let that limit you…
Special occasions when thank you notes are expected.
While the reasons listed above are more everyday non-official type reasons to write thank you notes, there are special occasions when these little notes of gratitude are expected.
From diaper cakes to a helping hand, your friends and family have done all they can to make your life as a new mom and dad as smooth of a transition as possible. Even though it may seem like you have zero time on your hands to give a proper thanks, you should try to get a few minutes each day to write out a thank you. [Plus, with Postable you can type the thank yous online and we’ll mail them for you.]
Who to send a baby shower thank you card to?
As with wedding thank you cards, it’s best to try to keep a guest list close by when the gifts are opened so that you can keep track of who gave what. When a gift arrives in the mail, make sure to add to the list as soon as it gets in so that nobody goes un-thanked.
What to Include in a Thank-You Letter
Address the person appropriately. At the start of the letter, address the person with a proper salutation, such as “Dear Mr. Lastname.” or “Dear Firstname.” If you know the person well, use the person’s first name. Otherwise, address him or her as Mr., Ms., or another appropriate title.
Say thank you. Get to the point of your note quickly. Say the words “thank you” in the first sentence or two, so the person knows why you are writing. If you are sending an email, include the phrase “Thank You” in the subject line as well.
Give (some) specifics. Make sure you specify what you are thanking the individual for. Go into a bit of detail, so the person understands exactly what you appreciate. For example, if you are saying thank you to someone who gave you job advice, explain what you found to be most helpful. If you are saying thank you after a job interview, remind the person of a particular moment from the interview (or remind them why you are a good fit for the job).
Sign off. Use an appropriate closing, such as “Best” or “Sincerely.” Then end with your signature (handwritten and typed if it is a letter, handwritten if it is a card, and typed if it is an email).
Tips for Writing a Thank-You Letter
Send it as soon as possible. Write and send your note as soon as possible. Don’t delay in sending your thanks, especially after a job interview. Not sending a thank-you letter after an interview can hurt your chances of getting hired.
Be positive but sincere. Express your gratitude, but don’t go overboard. People can tell when a thank-you note is insincere. For example, if you are thanking an employer after resigning from a job, you should express your thanks, and focus on what you liked about working there. However, don’t lie and say you loved everything if you didn’t really. Focus on the positives, but don’t lie.
Personalize each letter. Personalize each thank-you letter you send. For example, if you send thank-you notes to everyone you interviewed with for a job, add something to each note about your specific conversation with each person. Don’t simply copy and paste the same message for each person—this will come across as insincere.
Proofread and edit. A thank-you note in the workplace must be professional. This means it should be well written and error free. Proofread your letter carefully before sending it.
A job offer is a formal invitation from an employer for someone to become an employee. An employer can offer a job informally through in-person conversation or a phone call, but the formal offer is documented by email or letter and contains details of the proposed employment. The terms and conditions outlined in a job offer often include:
1. Consider your response
After receiving a job offer, you must decide how you want to respond. The three typical ways to respond to a job offer are to accept, negotiate the terms of employment or decline the offer. You should respond as quickly as possible, but you can ask the employer for 24 hours or a few days to consider the offer if you need time to think about your options.
2. Negotiate (optional)
You may choose to negotiate the terms of employment before accepting or declining the job offer. You can research the market average salary for the position and consider your location, experience, education and skills to determine what your salary should be. If you are going to negotiate in person, prepare your talking points in advance and consider practicing with a friend. In a written reply, state your interest in the position as well as your desire for a higher salary. Use your research and personal information to clearly and politely explain why you deserve different terms.
3. Accept or decline the offer
After you have concluded negotiations and made your decision, you need to respond to the job offer by formally accepting or declining. You can send a letter, but if you were offered the job in an email, you should respond by email also.
, your response should include some core elements. This email or letter lets you convey your appreciation, verify the details of your employment and find out the next steps before your first day of work. An official job offer acceptance also allows you to demonstrate professionalism and commitment when you start your new job. Follow these guidelines to accept an offer:
Formally accept the job
Directly state that you agree to the terms of the position at the beginning of your email. Include the title of the role and the name of the company in your statement. For example, you could write, “I am pleased to accept the project manager role at Bold Solutions.”
Express your thanks
Include your appreciation of the offer as well as your acceptance. Showing your gratitude for this opportunity demonstrates courtesy and professionalism. You can also express enthusiasm by mentioning your eagerness to begin or explaining how you hope to contribute positively to the team.
Confirm employment details
After the opening paragraph, verify important employment information. Stating these details will ensure that there are no misunderstandings about the terms of your job offer. Try to confirm your start date, salary amount, work schedule, benefits package and other details discussed with the employer or included in the job offer.
Ask about final steps
In the closing paragraph of your response, consider asking if there is anything else you should know or do before your first day of work. You can ask for any necessary materials, such as an employee handbook, or offer to come into the office before your start date to complete any paperwork. You could also ask for orientation details. After mentioning any additional steps, end your letter with a polite closing phrase, your name and your contact information.
Notify other employers
After you formally accept the job offer, you should inform any other employers who might be interested in you. If you interviewed for other positions or scheduled interviews with alternative companies, let them know that you accepted a position and are no longer available. If you are currently employed elsewhere, submit a formal resignation letter
Formally decline the job
First, clearly state that you are declining the offer at the beginning of your email. You can be direct and polite, such as “I regret to inform you that I will not be accepting your job offer at this time.”
Consider providing a reason
While you don’t have to tell the employer why you are declining, it is a professional gesture and may help you maintain a positive relationship. You should be brief and positive, such as simply stating that you have accepted a job elsewhere or that the position isn’t the right fit for you.
Thank the employer
4. Use a professional format
You should format your job offer response as professionally as you would any other document involved in the hiring process. If sending an email, use a subject line with your name and a clear phrase such as “ Job Offer Acceptance. ” Type the email in a commonly used business font in size 11 or 12, and begin with a formal greeting to the person who offered you the job. End with a closing phrase such as “ Sincerely ” before your signature and contact information.
How to accept a job offer?
1. Note of thanks – as a first step, on the question of how to accept a job offer, is to convey immediately a note of thanks. The thanks can be conveyed in emails or through phone calls. The action shows your excitement and interest in the job offered.
2. Clear Understanding – t he second most important step is to understand every point mentioned in the offer letter. Hence it is advisable to scrutinize the job description, the compensation package, health benefits, and exit criteria too. Any queries need to be framed and asked immediately to avoid any confusion. This exercise will also help you to draft your job offer acceptance letter or email.
3. Duration for Acceptance – a fter receiving a job offer, an immediate question may arise on how long do I have to accept a job offer? It is recommended to ask this question upfront. Generally, reputed companies provide 2 to 3 days duration for you to decide. Some companies even negotiate for time. You can either agree with the company’s decision on the duration or discuss in case you need more time to decide.
4. Verify the Compensation Package – t he compensation package is one of the important elements in a job offer letter. The compensation details are normally agreed upon between the candidate and the HR personnel. Ensure that the letter reflects the figures as communicated and accepted. In case of discrepancies, highlight them immediately.
5. Exclusive Verification of the Benefits – o ne of the important best practices on the question of how to accept a job offer is verifying the benefits offered. Some companies mention the benefits exclusively in the offer letter and some do not.
6. Compare the retirement plan – y ou may continue working in a company long term. That demands careful validation and verification of the retirement plan of the company. You must compare the plan with other companies where preferably your friends or family members work.
7. Clarify the Job Title and Responsibilities – Duties and responsibilities expected out of the job title offered are the key elements of a job offer letter. It must be in sync and at par with your expectations too. While you are thinking about how to accept a job offer, do not forget to verify every point of the responsibilities penned down.
These are vital for your decision to accept a job offer. Any mismatch in expectations must be clarified upfront. Neglecting it may lead to unnecessary confrontations in the future, hampering your career and job position in the company.
8. Negotiation Possibilities – Some companies leverage the job offer letter as the negotiation medium for finalizing the compensation offer and even the job description. In such cases, check the negotiation possibilities and criteria with the HR personnel. Depending on the company policies, engage in discussions for a mutual agreement.
9. Awareness of the Work Culture – a company’s way of working and professional culture is significant in determining your long term association with it. It also affects your job satisfaction level to a great extent. Hence when you are wondering about how to accept a job offer, it is advisable to be aware of the company work culture.
You can enquire from known employees working in the company. You can even connect with experienced professionals on the company’s mode of working and reputation. Different internet forums also carry out comparison exercises between companies.
Tip: You might be tempted to accept a job offer immediately after receiving it. Be cautious and steady before doing so. It’s your career, one mistake may ruin your future professional growth. Follow the steps mentioned for better decision and judgment.
Remember: Think about your aspirations and career goals. Ensure that they match the job offered. You must not compromise on your future growth, since it’s vital for your profile and experience history.
Job offer acceptance: email example
Thank you for the opportunity to join A Cut Above Hair Salon. Please accept this email as my official acceptance of the job offer for the position of Salon Manager. I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to using my skills to add value to your organization.
Per the details expressed in your official offer letter and discussed over the phone, I accept the starting salary of $32,500 per year with benefits of paid time off and insurance being offered after my first 90 days of employment.
I look forward to my first day of work and getting to meet the rest of the salon team on October 1, 2019. If there is any additional information you need from me prior to my start date, please let me know. You can reach me by phone at (555) 239-8083 or by email at [email protected]
360Learning is a Collaborative Learning pioneer. Their platform excels at combining powerful LMS features with collaborative tools that drive engagement and impact. Learning and Development teams who use 360Learning have revolutionized their corporate learning programs from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach that leverages the existing expertise within their organizations. Whether onboarding new employees, training customer-facing teams, or developing soft skills, 360Learning is a great solution for companies that want employees to be continuously learning and upskilling. Founded in 2013, 360Learning fuels the future of work at 1,500 organizations. Customers say they’ve changed the way their organizations see learning with this solution.
What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?
More and more companies across the world are choosing to deliver their training online. In fact, the eLearning market is growing so fast that it has seen a 900% growth since the beginning of the century. To deliver eLearning courses, companies need a Learning Management System (LMS).
A Learning Management System is the software that companies use to develop, deliver, and track training for their employees, clients, and partners. Until recently, hearing the word “training” made us think of a classroom with an instructor giving a lecture in front of students. And if we were talking about “corporate training,” we would picture a large conference or a day-long workshop.
This is the traditional way of training. Online training has now gained popularity, especially in times where connecting online is easier than meeting in person. As companies, instructors, and learners see the benefits of virtual training, the eLearning market will keep growing.
When companies use an LMS to deliver training online, learners from anywhere in the world can connect with instructors, whether in real time or through recorded sessions. At the same time, trainees have access to online training material (courses, guides, quizzes, videos, etc.) any time they want.
Who uses an LMS?
It’s clear that a Learning Management System can serve different training needs. For example, an expert can use an LMS to sell their courses online, a company can use it to train employees internally, while a consulting agency can train clients on a range of topics.
You can use an LMS for all kinds of learning activities (like the "L" in the acronym indicates). That’s why an LMS is an invaluable business tool that has been embraced by enterprises and organizations big and small.
Train employees
Whether you’re an insurance company, a scooter factory, a hospital, or even a government agency, you’ll often need to train your teams. For example, you might want to provide employees with compliance training, or you might need to teach existing employees new skills.
By using an LMS to deliver eLearning, you can cut down on employee training costs, as you’ll spend less money and effort compared to bringing in specialized instructors to give conventional seminars. You will also gain better insights into employee progress with integrated monitoring and reporting tools.
Onboard new hires
You can automate and simplify the all-important task of onboarding a new hire using a business LMS. You still need to greet them in person and give them a tour around the office, but they can study the rest at their own pace (and refer back to the learning material anytime they need).
New hires struggle to remember the details about your company history or compliance policies. With an online onboarding course, though, you can be sure they have access to useful information whenever they want.
Your LMS software is an excellent place to educate your new hires on your company’s employee conduct code, privacy guidelines, and race/sexual harassment policies. You can also share details of their role and responsibilities, as well as information about career advancement opportunities and benefits.
Retain employee knowledge
Training your employees is the priority, but learning from them is also vital. Knowledge retention ensures that valuable skills, techniques, and information stay with your company when your employees leave or retire.
An LMS platform is a great fit for this purpose, as you don’t want this valuable information to just sit in some document management system that nobody ever checks. It’s a knowledge base readily available to train new employees or people coming from other departments.
Train partners and customers
For example, you can use an LMS to onboard new customers to your products. Or, if you’re an agency that helps companies develop their employees’ soft skills, you can create a course in your LMS and share it with your various clients.
Enable sales teams
Online training is the fastest way to inform them about new products and services, industry changes, or new selling techniques. Also, new team members can get onboarding training online and start being productive sooner.
Train remotely
By moving your training online, all team members can access the training material or even attend a live webinar from wherever they are. This will save you a significant amount of money and time.
Support education
It could be a school selling online lessons, a traditional educational institution supplementing its classroom-based courses, a business educating its clients, or even a government agency or NGO helping educate the general population.
LMS Features
Most of the learning management software that is available today has features that appeal to different segments of the user population. For example, a K-12 platform will be vastly different than a corporate adult learning product.
An online learning management system, which is often referred to as e-learning or virtual learning, can provide the greatest features as well as cost savings. It’s important that organizations carefully choose the right elearning software features for their long-term needs.
Learning Management System features may include:
This is not an exhaustive list of the many features that a LMS can offer your organization. Keep in mind that artificial intelligence (AI) and automation will be an essential feature for the next generation of LMS.
Companies that are concerned with tracking the performance of employees will also want to understand how learning impacts the productivity of employees, by tapping into rich analytics. Connecting learning with performance will increase as companies need to see a clear connection between business metrics and real business goals.
Benefits of LMS
Using a learning management system can provide many benefits for your organization. The ultimate goal is ensuring that all learners are treated to an experience that honors their learning style. However, at the same time, companies must justify the costs and time invested in this effort.
Key Benefits of Learning Management Systems Software
Advantages of LMS Systems for Business
Secure corporate training Secure sign-on for keeping corporate training and processes private only to those who need access
Fast compliance training Faster and more streamlined employee compliance training with annual proof of completion
Cost-effective Cost savings over other formats of training due to less travel, no outside paid trainers, etc.
Equal training for all subsidiaries Consistency of learning materials and concepts across multiple worksites and regions
Continuous employee development Improved employee performance with regular access to learning and skill building
Adaptability of learning materials Ability to adapt and align training efforts to the organizational needs over time
Find the most effective learning activities Employee progress through structured learning can be monitored and incentivized
Compliant to private information policies Security of user private information and course progress within the LMS
The Best Learning Management Systems For 2022
The LMS market is expected to grow up to 25.7 billion USD by 2025 [1]. The highest proportion of revenue contribution is expected to be generated in North America [2]. 41.7% of global Fortune 500 companies now use some form of educational technology to instruct employees during formal learning hours [3]. Roughly half of all college classes will be eLearning-based [4]. It is more than obvious that eLearning has revolutionized and changed the way we look at knowledge and skill acquisition. Thereby, there is an increasing demand for Learning Management System solutions to systematically manage eLearning.
With 1000+ LMS vendors and too many LMS features to choose from, we can definitely say that Learning Management Systems are here to stay! In this article, we will help you find, choose, and compare the Best LMS Software in the eLearning Industry. Below you will find LMS highlights, use cases, case studies, and more!
15 Top Cloud-Based Learning Management Systems
Highlights
Reduce skill gaps to manage a learner ecosystem that is engaged, compliant, and updated. Take advantage of the AI-based social learning capabilities to encourage learning in the flow of work and allow peers to learn from each other.
Highlights
Extended enterprise and partner training Manage end-to-end training effectively across the value chain. Upgrade skills and drive effectiveness for your partner organizations by extending your learning programs to your external ecosystem.
Employee skill development Employee skill development is the new currency; Upskill and reskill your workforce to keep them relevant. Keep your organization ahead of its competition by continuously reducing employee skill gaps. Align skills with business objectives and assign skill-based learning plans to employee cohorts.
Customer education Educate your customers and improve customer satisfaction. With Adobe Captivate Prime, you can easily enable customer training delivered through a personalized experience using customized URLs.
Sales enablement Keep your frontline executives always ahead of the learning curve. Deliver training at the point of need across variant devices for your sales and customer-facing teams to maximize productivity. Take advantage of the "headless LMS" capability in Adobe Captivate Prime to deliver learning in-context, including right within salesforce.com (SFDC).
Achievements
Plans And Pricing
Trusted by 70K+ teams, TalentLMS is one of the best all-in-one solutions to build and deliver training programs. From new hire onboarding to employee upskilling, TalentLMS allows you to build courses in minutes and go live by the end of the day.
Highlights
From onboarding new hires to upskilling fully-equipped, existing employees, TalentLMS is the leading training platform that allows anyone to build courses in minutes and launch them by the end of the day—no matter their familiarity with LMSs. So, if you’re looking for a training solution you can adjust according to your company needs, this one is for you.
Plans And Pricing
TalentLMS is an intuitive tool that allows you to pay precisely for what you need with its adaptable pricing model. Do you want to get advanced tools to set you up for training success at the most affordable prices? Simply start with a free account to test the platform at your own pace!
Highlights
This award-winning cloud-based LMS is used by 2,000+ organizations to make new hires productive sooner, equip employees for the challenges of tomorrow, empower partners to sell more confidently, and transform customers into superfans.
Highlights
Built alongside the world’s top L&D teams, the Docebo Learn LMS is battling complacency in the learning technology market by applying new technologies to the traditional cloud LMS, including Artificial Intelligence, and by supporting the ways people learn, rather than dictating them.
Train any audience, anytime, anywhere Unlike other solutions limited to training only internal or external audiences, Docebo Learn LMS powers both employee and extended enterprise learning programs from a single instance. Consolidate multiple learning systems for different use cases to maximize your learning technology investment. Solutions include:
Employee onboarding
Employee development and retention
Compliance training and certifications
Sales enablement
Customer training
Partner training
Member training
35+ native integrations and APIs Connect and extend your LMS to your existing tech stack. Integrations include, but are not limited to:
HRIS
CRM (Salesforce)
Content authoring
eCommerce (Stripe, Shopify)
Collaboration and productivity tools (Slack, G Suite)
Single sign-on (SSO)
Content partners
Web conferencing (GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, Zoom)
Configurability limited only by your imagination Docebo Pages hands you the control of the look and feel of the entire User Interface. Use drag-and-drop widgets as building blocks to compose interactive pages and menus that reflect your company’s branding and identity quickly, while assigning navigation paths and visibility to specific learner audiences. Unlike some vendors, the configurability is completely in your control and included in the price of your LMS.
Know the true impact learning is having on your business Docebo’s custom reporting module equips you with the data you need to connect learning outcomes to business results. Streamline your reporting engine by scheduling and sharing data to the right people faster—and putting it to work sooner.
If you choose an LMS likeTovuti, you get an implementation timeline and an onboarding coach to get you started. With our accelerated four-week onboarding program, you and your team can get set up for success. Despite its speed, this is not a crash course, and Tovuti’s implementation specialists will help you plan your set-up for a smooth launch. This way, you’ll have a guide to setting up your online course management system.
What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?
More and more companies across the world are choosing to deliver their training online. In fact, the eLearning market is growing so fast that it has seen a 900% growth since the beginning of the century. To deliver eLearning courses, companies need a Learning Management System (LMS).
A Learning Management System is the software that companies use to develop, deliver, and track training for their employees, clients, and partners. Until recently, hearing the word “training” made us think of a classroom with an instructor giving a lecture in front of students. And if we were talking about “corporate training,” we would picture a large conference or a day-long workshop.
This is the traditional way of training. Online training has now gained popularity, especially in times where connecting online is easier than meeting in person. As companies, instructors, and learners see the benefits of virtual training, the eLearning market will keep growing.
When companies use an LMS to deliver training online, learners from anywhere in the world can connect with instructors, whether in real time or through recorded sessions. At the same time, trainees have access to online training material (courses, guides, quizzes, videos, etc.) any time they want.
Who uses an LMS?
It’s clear that a Learning Management System can serve different training needs. For example, an expert can use an LMS to sell their courses online, a company can use it to train employees internally, while a consulting agency can train clients on a range of topics.
You can use an LMS for all kinds of learning activities (like the "L" in the acronym indicates). That’s why an LMS is an invaluable business tool that has been embraced by enterprises and organizations big and small.
Train employees
Whether you’re an insurance company, a scooter factory, a hospital, or even a government agency, you’ll often need to train your teams. For example, you might want to provide employees with compliance training, or you might need to teach existing employees new skills.
By using an LMS to deliver eLearning, you can cut down on employee training costs, as you’ll spend less money and effort compared to bringing in specialized instructors to give conventional seminars. You will also gain better insights into employee progress with integrated monitoring and reporting tools.
Onboard new hires
You can automate and simplify the all-important task of onboarding a new hire using a business LMS. You still need to greet them in person and give them a tour around the office, but they can study the rest at their own pace (and refer back to the learning material anytime they need).
New hires struggle to remember the details about your company history or compliance policies. With an online onboarding course, though, you can be sure they have access to useful information whenever they want.
Your LMS software is an excellent place to educate your new hires on your company’s employee conduct code, privacy guidelines, and race/sexual harassment policies. You can also share details of their role and responsibilities, as well as information about career advancement opportunities and benefits.
Retain employee knowledge
Training your employees is the priority, but learning from them is also vital. Knowledge retention ensures that valuable skills, techniques, and information stay with your company when your employees leave or retire.
An LMS platform is a great fit for this purpose, as you don’t want this valuable information to just sit in some document management system that nobody ever checks. It’s a knowledge base readily available to train new employees or people coming from other departments.
Train partners and customers
For example, you can use an LMS to onboard new customers to your products. Or, if you’re an agency that helps companies develop their employees’ soft skills, you can create a course in your LMS and share it with your various clients.
Enable sales teams
Online training is the fastest way to inform them about new products and services, industry changes, or new selling techniques. Also, new team members can get onboarding training online and start being productive sooner.
Train remotely
By moving your training online, all team members can access the training material or even attend a live webinar from wherever they are. This will save you a significant amount of money and time.
Support education
It could be a school selling online lessons, a traditional educational institution supplementing its classroom-based courses, a business educating its clients, or even a government agency or NGO helping educate the general population.
CourseSites
CourseSites is an online free LMS platform for teachers that allows instructors to engage with their students anywhere, anytime with an interactive eLearning platform that fits the needs of your students. This free LMS allows you to post and update course materials, interact with students, promote collaboration, and assess and improve performance, all from one place. It allows teachers and instructors from all levels, from kindergarten to university-level courses to add web-based content to their curriculum, or even build a whole class from the ground up and host it online. With customizable URLs, it’s easy for students to find your class and follow along.
5 Best Online Learning Management Systems
With what we know about LMS online learning systems in our back pockets, it’s time to compare the best options on the market. We gathered up the data on the best learning management system websites so you can skip the hours of research (and the headaches), choose a highly-rated option, and get started.
Tovuti
If you ask us, Tovuti is one of the best web-based learning management systems available. With Tovuti’s all-in-one cloud-based learning management platform, you can create, deliver and track eLearning programs with ease.
With Tovuti, you can transform your current learning program and bring it up to speed with the demands of today’s workers and learners, thanks to the robust capabilities this online learning management system offers your organization.
Canvas LMS
Canvas LMS is an open, intuitive, and cloud-based learning management system widely used in colleges, universities, and businesses alike. In addition to delivering dynamic, engaging learning experiences, Canvas is visually appealing and easy to use.
According to the reviewers, it has several options for integrating with external applications and innovative quizzing methods and delivering assignments. A drawback we noticed in reviews was some technical difficulties with specific browsers and mobile use, which is something to consider, especially if your primary user base is mobile.
D2L Brightspace
Create highly personalized learning experiences that unlock learner potential with D2L Brightspace, a platform that helps you break free from the limits of a traditional LMS. You get a flexible and powerful learning innovation platform built for a variety of end-uses, from the earliest days of school to higher education and beyond to the corporate world.
It is easy to deliver engaging training to employees, customers, or partners with Brightspace, and it seems to be a popular choice among training professionals. One drawback? Brightspace does not allow you to schedule when a resource (such as a slide deck or test) can be available for students. If you like scheduling ahead, that could be a problem.
Cornerstone Learning
With Cornerstone LMS software, organizations can deliver, manage, and track global training at scale to employees, partners, and customers. Using it, you can target the right training to the right learners, and get thorough reporting throughout the organization. This is a holistic learning management solution that combines compliance, digital training, and skills-driven artificial intelligence with content subscriptions.
According to users, it’s an overall good LMS that can integrate with other programs, but the implementation process can be complex. It might be beneficial to create a role dedicated to this system in small companies. There will likely need to be someone on your team who can learn and become familiar with the system.
TalentLMS
Over 70,000 teams worldwide benefit from engaging training through TalentLMS and easy-to-use interfaces thanks to an experience that’s fully customizable, manageable, and a breeze to use. TalentLMS enables you to seamlessly train any team for any purpose while receiving expert guidance and support along the way.
Reports are a bit confusing for users, and that has proved to be a drawback for some. Furthermore, TalentLMS iOS has limited features and does not offer all the web application functionality. These are just a few things to consider if your needs dictate stable mobile use and robust, frequent reporting.
Summary
Online learning management systems are solutions for organizations looking to take training to the next level. Online learning management systems give you the advantage of flexibility, more effective learning, and even save you money. And while there are disadvantages to online course management systems, most can be boiled down to a mismatch between needs and what the LMS is offering.
Don’t spend any more time being frustrated with learning management platform selection. ChooseTovutias your organization’s web-based learning management system for a stress-free, comprehensive, and engaging learning experience for your employees.
This learning management system enables organizations and businesses to deliver, manage and track training materials for employees and their other stakeholders. With Auzmor Learn, you can author courses and store them along with other data in one place. If you decide to go with this LMS, you will get a dashboard that shows the progress of your learners, and the learners will also have a similar dashboard to keep track of their learning activities. One great feature of Auzmor Learn is its open enrollment feature. With this feature, your workers will be able to enroll themselves in any course and continuously upgrade their knowledge. We would love to see this platform get an international deployment function for teams that speak multiple languages.
22 Free Learning Management Systems
There’s no shortage of options for free learning management systems, but which ones stand out? Training programs have always been present in corporate life, and a free online LMS allows corporations to fine-tune their learning programs to better align with their objectives. In this article, we’ll explore the best free learning management systems out there and find out more about their key features.
EdApp is a completely free mobile-first training solution, used by some of the world’s leading organizations, including the United Nations, Mizuno, Shell, and Marley Spoon to train teams large and small around the globe. With an intuitive authoring tool and a free Editable Content Library, the award-winning platform uses a template approach to make creating lessons easy and sending them out to your teams even easier. The course library contains pre-made courses from industry leaders that you can drag and drop into your account.
These courses can be used and edited to customize them for your team’s learning needs. And since the EdApp platform is mobile-first, learners can complete courseware from their personal smartphones. The best part? It is completely free and unlimited for you to train your teams with highly interactive, results-driven microlearning.
The completely free editable course library is built right into EdApp. It’s full of beautiful, world-class courseware designed by thought leaders and leading industry experts around the globe. This unique collection boasts hundreds of lessons. This learning content is completely editable, so you can select, update, and deploy to your teams exactly how you like. One of the best parts of the Editable Content Library is that it’s growing every day, so you will never run out of valuable resources to train your audience.
To complement the existing content, you can also create your own content with EdApp’s powerful data-driven authoring tool. This tool gives you the opportunity to design beautiful, engaging, and effective microlessons with their built-in course authoring tool – no coding required. An all-in-one tool like this one hosts unlimited possibilities of multimedia. Easily embed videos, images, audio files, and external URLs into EdApp’s microlessons easily and effectively.
What’s more, EdApp is the only LMS in the industry to include a Canva integration, unlocking millions of images and graphics for you to create and include in your microlessons. Similarly, EdApp’s PowerPoint conversion tool means you can transform your dated PowerPoint training slides into beautiful, interactive, and modern microlessons – within minutes.
Meanwhile, EdApp’s suite of administration tools gives you ultimate control and flexibility around the way you deliver and manage your learning content. The learning platform’s analytics and reports give the ability to easily monitor courseware performance, identify skill gaps, and assess behavioral trends from the dashboard via progress metrics. The platform’s advanced analytics allow you to collect and manage results through built-in tools like push notifications, which can act as a custom reminder to ensure that no learner is left behind.
The learner app encompasses EdApp’s built-in features to maximize the learning experience and ultimately deliver better training results. As the most modern LMS on the market, EdApp has a collection of cutting-edge elements including gamification , which includes real prizing and the ability to monitor achievements through EdApp’s Leaderboards feature . This means that you can incentivize your learners through interactive games and administer real prizes of your choosing, based on completion, high achievement or whatever you like.
CourseSites
CourseSites is an online free LMS platform for teachers that allows instructors to engage with their students anywhere, anytime with an interactive eLearning platform that fits the needs of your students. This free LMS allows you to post and update course materials, interact with students, promote collaboration, and assess and improve performance, all from one place. It allows teachers and instructors from all levels, from kindergarten to university-level courses to add web-based content to their curriculum, or even build a whole class from the ground up and host it online. With customizable URLs, it’s easy for students to find your class and follow along.
What is a Learning Management Platform Used For?
Web-based learning management systems are platforms that allow you to create, manage, and deliver training to employees. eLearning systems can also be used to sell courses and educational material to a customer base or group of users, too.
When used in corporate settings, online LMS systems can accomplish the goal of creating a culture of learning. In order to promote a culture of learning, a workplace environment must closely align business and learning strategies, organizational values that emphasize learning’s importance, and an atmosphere in which learning becomes ingrained in regular practice.
By building a culture of learning, you join the ranks of high-performance organizations. In fact, leading companies happen to be five times more likely than lower performers to have extensive learning cultures. This is just a hint at the advantages of having LMS online learning for your organization, which we’ll get into next.
Advantages of a Learning Management System Online
Online learning has become a prevalent method for workplace training. Though they were originally designed for educational institutions to deliver eLearning courses over the Internet, online learning management systems have since been adopted and adapted by companies and organizations worldwide, who use them to implement online learning programs to train employees, customers, and partners.
Advantage #1: Track Training Easily
To ensure your training is working, and working effectively, you need ways to benchmark your employees and evaluate their progress along the way. That way you can identify areas in which your employees can improve and are doing well in, and even gaps in their training that need to be addressed.
By keeping tabs on these data points in a convenient dashboard or report format, you can make sure you are utilizing the information you have in the palm of your hands to create transformative changes in your organization.
Advantage #2: Cost Savings
One of the largest costs of any training plan is individual time spent in training. You need training facilitators, speakers, and the labor to create the materials needed. With online training, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to create material and deliver it. Additionally, there is no office or location downtime and no travel or accommodation costs.
This obviously is better for the bottom line as costs are greatly reduced. To put it in numbers, businesses can see more than 70% cost savings from using a learning management platform over traditional, in-person learning opportunities. And while there is some cost to using an LMS, it will likely still leave you ahead of those using the old school training model.
Advantage #3: Flexibility and Convenience
For employees who work in shifts or on the road, it can be challenging to find the time to get the training done. Even for 9 to 5 office workers, a schedule disruption can be nothing short of challenging. Instead, they need training that can be done anywhere, anytime.
This method has been touted for not only its time-saving and convenience factors but for its increased effectiveness. In fact, microlearning is actually proven to improve focus and support long-term retention by up to 80%.
Microlearning consists of delivering course material in small pieces that can be administered and covered in short periods of time. Common microlearning activities include short lessons, quick knowledge checks, and Netflix-style video content that is created to provide the learner with bite-sized information. For instance, you could break down health and safety training into weekly 15-minute videos and short quizzes that tackled one narrow, small subject at a time rather than a two-day-long course.
Advantage #4: More Effective Learning
Using eLearning systems creates more effective learning for your team. As technology has advanced, the effectiveness of online training has, too. We now can see the measurable difference between traditional and online training – eLearning increases retention rates from 25% to 60%! When you compare the retention rates of in-person learning, they are much lower, at 8% to 10%.
Additionally, it allows all users to access content in ways that meet their accessibility needs. For instance, screen readers and speech-to-text devices help many people get their work done, and can be easily implemented in online training courses.
Features like gamification also improve engagement for eLearners. Gamification is the application of game elements in a non-game context such as the workplace. In the workplace, it can be used as an engagement tool and as a way of improving the quality of training. Employees who use gamification at work feel more productive (89% of them) and happier (88% of them).
Advantage #5: Regular Feedback
We all appreciate getting good feedback. Whether from customers, bosses, or employees, it can help us do our jobs and run our businesses better. When it’s not good, though – it’s frustrating! Whether it’s sporadic, inconsistent, or not constructive, feedback done wrong is not conducive to a positive and efficient work environment. And considering 32% of employees say they have to wait more than three months to receive feedback from their managers, it’s certainly a common problem.
Learning management system online training gives you the ability to deliver frequent, consistent feedback. Using a multifaceted LMS like Tovuti allows you to provide not only a one-way channel for feedback but also a line back to you from your learners directly.
What LMS is best for you?
Choosing a learning management system can feel overwhelming, especially for first-time buyers. How do you narrow down your search when there are literally hundreds of different options out there? The most visible or most popular software might not be the right one for your company’s needs.
We’ve compiled a list of important factors to consider as you make a purchasing decision. Concentrate your search by focusing on the characteristics, features, and flexibility options that best fit your company’s learning needs. The following should give you an idea of what to look for.
Characteristics of the Best Learning Management Systems
An intuitive interface: An LMS is not very useful if it’s too complicated or confusing for your team to use without assistance. Look for an LMS with an easy-to-understand interface on both the front and the back end. It should be simple for administrators to create courses and for users to find and navigate through them.
Emphasis on feedback: Courses sometimes go out of date or contain ambiguities, misleading statements, or even flat-out errors. There should be a mechanism for team members to give feedback about the course quality, point out errors, or request more help if they need it.
Built-in Course authoring: Unless you have a dedicated instructional designer on staff, and the budget for a separate authoring tool in addition to an LMS, look for an LMS that lets you build courses directly within the platform. You want a code-free editor that preferably lets you drag and drop components for ease of use.
Cloud-based: While some larger companies use hard-drive-based, on-premises programs, cloud-based LMSs are infinitely more flexible. because employees can access them from anywhere. Users should be able to access the courses online without downloading special software.
Peer learning abilities: Collaborative learning offers so many psychological and practical learning benefits. Look for a system that has mechanisms in place for team members to share their knowledge and learn together. This includes features like discussion boards and peer review and the ability to collaborate on course creation.
LMS features
Analytics/reporting: Assessing the performance of courses in terms of engagement and completion help you refine your techniques to create more effective courses in the future. Generating analytics also helps you create better reports that justify your continued use of the LMS. Third-party integrations can also help you report training ROI. For example, you could connect your CRM with your LMS to see how trainings affect sales numbers,
Mobile Capabilities: Employees are increasingly using their mobile devices to access online courses. It’s easier, it’s more convenient, and it lets employees truly learn from anywhere. An LMS with a responsive mobile design (or a dedicated mobile app) will facilitate easier use. Thirty-four percent of all companies surveyed by Association for Talent Development are currently building mlearning (mobile learning) capabilities.
Gamification: Humans love games, so one of the easiest ways to promote active learning and up course-completion rates is by gamifying the learning experience. Different LMSs offer different approaches to gamification, including competition between learners, simulations, a points system, and puzzle-solving. Different LMSs offer different approaches to gamification.
Customer support: No matter how easy an LMS is to use, you will likely need help at some point. Choose an LMS that offers a communication format (phone, live chat, etc.) and set of support hours that is convenient for you.
Third-party integrations. Some LMSs integrate with other tools to help connect your workflows. You could connect to video and animation software to create more interesting courses, or you could connect it with a talent management software to facilitate easier onboarding.
Various content formats: A course that was nothing but text would be pretty boring. Content formats that some but not all LMSs support include video, PowerPoint, webinars, audio files, downloadable documents, and VR/AR capability.
AI/personalization: Some LMSs use artificial intelligence to generate courses based on documents or other data, as well as to personalize course recommendations and learning paths.
SCORM/Tin Can compliance: Traditional LMSs require L&D to create content using the Sharable Content Object Reference Model, or SCORM. This often means creating the course using a separate authoring tool and then uploading it to the LMS. Newer full-stack LMSs and collaborative learning tools let you create your courses from scratch using platform tools.
Co-Authoring Functions: Multi-author functionality lets multiple team members work together to create a more comprehensive course.
Instant Feedback functions: Some LMSs offer a feedback survey after course completion. While this is better than nothing, it’s not a very effective way to collect more nuanced feedback about the actual course materials. An LMS that offers instant feedback inside the course lets you drill down to create better content.
Collaborative learning platforms are the future of LMS
A collaborative learning platform is your secret weapon against stagnation. It brings the benefits of in-person learning, community, connection, and collaboration back to the online space. A collaborative learning platform truly democratizes the learning process.
Companies are struggling to keep their training programs up to date, given the rapid changes in technology and in-demand skill sets. As a result, more businesses are turning away from legacy LMSs and toward integrated learning solutions that offer more collaborative learning experiences.
The benefits of collaborative learning are extensive. By crowdsourcing training needs, you can create courses that are more timely and relevant. Because they are required to be both students and teachers, learners benefit from increased engagement and accountability. Courses ship quicker because all of the work is done in-house by people across the organization. And because courses are constantly being iterated based on student feedback, they stay up to date and relevant for much longer.
But it doesn’t mean that you need to spend a considerable amount of money just to give them the necessary training. You can always hire a speaker or trainer that would like to teach or motivate your employees.
How to Increase Productivity at Work
Imagine closing each workday with a satisfied sigh, knowing that you had been so productive that you accomplished everything on your list. And knowing, too, that you were at the top of your creative game—getting your tasks done both efficiently and well. See yourself whistling as you walk away from work?
You can be the star in this movie about productivity, rather than the alternate version where you end the day tired and slumped behind a desk stacked with unfinished projects. If you don’t like the way your usual workday goes, there is a way to change it.
Most of us aren’t as productive as we would like for two reasons: We have bad habits that interfere with our workplace productivity and we’re reactive rather than proactive, putting out fires instead of making progress toward our goals.
The solution is simple, though not always easy. We can replace our bad habits and reactive patterns with good habits that will make us proactive, and take charge of our own workdays. Follow these tips on how to increase productivity and become your best, most productive self at work.
Do Your Heavy Lifting When You’re at Your Best
There’s endless advice out there for people not to do mental sludge tasks like answering email or routine chores in the morning, but to start out instead doing whatever tasks are most creatively demanding—which is great if you’re a morning person. If you’re more of a night owl, like me, obviously this isn’t going to work well for you.
Productivity expert Tony Wong advises, “Use your morning to focus on yourself… Start your day out right by ignoring your emails in the morning and getting in a good breakfast, reading the news, meditating, or working out. This will ensure you’ve got the necessary fuel for a productive day.” The point is, do your most demanding tasks in your personal peak productivity time, whenever that is.
Use Productivity Software
A. Know The New Applications In The Store
B. Install And Use An Instant Messenger
C. Install A Time Tracker
Additionally, a time tracker tool also shows you which areas of your workflow are taking up the most time. And by using this info, you can implement a strategy to help your employees take less time on those tasks.
What Is Time Doctor?
With features ranging from advanced time tracking to excellent integrations with leading project management tools like Jira, Time Doctor is the best app for increasing employee productivity.
Just implement the productivity tips we covered above and your employees will have the right resources to be super productive. And remember, a healthy and happy environment is the key to higher productivity in the workplace.
Susan Culp is a blogger specializing in business articles. She writes on behalf of Moneybanker, a company that provides the best options when it comes to loans. Aside from being a blogger and writer by heart, she also loves discovering innovative ways in improving one’s leadership and management skills.
Conclusion
A company’s productivity improves manifold when the employees are happy and satisfied. Employee performance will peak only when the environment is congenial and the relationship between employees and management is cordial and warm.
A company is not a one-man operation; it takes a group of people to run it and a great leader to lead them. And this is why a company is only as good as the people who work there. The employees must not hate their job; instead, they must look forward to showing up at work. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure this and enhance the productivity of an employee.
If you’re an employee, then this article has hopefully given you some pointers as to how to be at your best every day. As an individual, you can, up to an extent, choose where you want to work and choose wisely because, in the long run, it is imperative that you’re in a job you love if you want to be at your best. And the key to success is, of course, being at your best.
Therefore it is very important that we all get enough sleep every night to ensure that our productivity stays on top form. According to the National Sleep Foundation, that means making sure you get between 7-9 hours of sleep a night if you’re an adult between the age of 26 – 64. Make sure when planning your day, everything on your to-do list is completed in time to allow you to get between 7-9 hours of sleep a night too.
How to measure employee productivity
In order to measure employee productivity, you’ll first need to talk with your employees and define a standard against which you’ll compare individual employee results. You can measure employee productivity by:
Measuring the number of sales
For example, you decide that each employee should make 100 calls per month, make 20 contacts, and 10 sales. If an employee is making 120 calls, but only 5 sales, he or she is not reaching the standard. If an employee is making 80 calls, but 15 sales, he or she is beating the set standard.
Measuring goals meet
Measuring profit
How do you measure it? You define the ideal annual profit for your company. If you reach or top it, you’ve proven your employee productivity. If you fall short, your employees are not reaching their expected productivity percentage.
Measuring the amount of work completed
Measuring the quality of work completed
How do you measure it? You determine the parameters that define a completed project as a quality and successful one, and then you determine how many of your finished projects live up to these parameters. For example, when you’re developing an app, the project is considered successful and quality if the app is functional, if it fulfills all client requirements, and if the client is satisfied.
Measuring time spent
How do you measure it? Set estimates for the time it will take the employees to finish all your project-related tasks, and provide the client with a project deadline based on those estimates. Instruct your employees to track the time they span on these tasks. If you finish before the deadline, your team was productive with their time (and schedule).
Set self-imposed deadlines.
While we usually think of a stress as a bad thing, a manageable level of self-imposed stress can actually be helpful in terms of giving us focus and helping us meet our goals. For open-ended tasks or projects, try giving yourself a deadline, and then stick to it. You may be surprised to discover just how focused and productive you can be when you’re watching the clock.
Entrepreneur Steve Olenski recommends implementing the "two-minute rule" to make the most of small windows of time that you have at work. The idea is this: If you see a task or action that you know can be done in two minutes or less, do it immediately. According to Olenski, completing the task right away actually takes less time than having to get back to it later. Implementing this has made him one of the most influential content strategists online.
Just say no to meetings.
Meetings are one of the biggest time-sucks around, yet somehow we continue to unquestioningly book them, attend them and, inevitably, complain about them. According to Atlassian, the average office worker spends over 31 hours each month in unproductive meetings. Before booking your next meeting, ask yourself whether you can accomplish the same goals or tasks via email, phone, or Web-based meeting (which may be slightly more productive).
If you absolutely must have a meeting, there’s some evidence that standing meetings (they’re just what they sound like–everyone stands) can result in increased group arousal, decreased territoriality, and improved group performance. For those times when meetings are unavoidable, you may want to check out these 12 unusual ways to spur creativity during meetings.
How to increase productivity in life
Time management means that you’re good at planning time frames to focus on specific tasks. While you can’t really have one without the other, understanding the difference and knowing that productivity and time management are two different skill sets can make a real difference in your ability to master both.
1. Stop thinking, start doing.
Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis, overthinking things, worrying and lack of self confidence won’t get you anywhere. Instead, focus on what you can actually do and what actions you can take to keep moving forward.
2. Manage Activities
Activity management is the practice of keeping a record of everything you do in a typical day and the order in which you do those things. When you record everything, it’s easier to see where the majority of your time goes each day, which has an impact on your productivity.
3. Go Slow
Slow down. Seriously, stop trying to race through things you need to get done as you won’t do them well. Instead, the way to achieve better and more focused work is to simply slow down. By implementing this, you’ll find that just by completing a task at a slower pace you’ll feel less of a mental burden and be less likely to procrastinate.
4. Prioritize
Every single day, write down somewhere where you can see your top 3-5 priorities in life. That way you’ll begin each day with what matters most to you in the front of your mind, helping you to work towards those goals every day, rather than just being busy with no real point to it all.
5. Disconnect
Take one internet free day a week, where you totally disconnect from the digital world and spend time with the people that matter most. Go outdoors, read a good book, watch a good movie – whatever you like just get offline!. There’s a whole world out there and you’ll find that by disconnecting for a while you’ll feel recharged and less distracted. Not to mention having more quality time with the people in your life is always a bonus.
Productivity Tips
Many things determine our overall productivity. These can range from tools and apps to life hacks and general mindset. Being productive is a way of life, it’s about achieving maximum output, getting things done and not wasting time.
1. Just do it.
Just like most things in life, there’s also something else that needs to be done, that matters or that takes our attention away from certain tasks. Distractions are useless and reduce our productivity. If you want to get things done, you need to get just on with it and do it. Jump straight into it and remove anything that comes between you and the task at hand.
2. Record your thoughts and ideas
Similarly to all those digital devices we use all day long, you too have a memory. Usually, it’s more short term and is pretty limited. So when it’s full, older information that you try to remember seems to disappear to make room for new things that you need to remember. To make sure that you remember it all, write down or record yourself – that way all your thoughts and ideas are ‘stored away’ and can be revisited when necessary.
3. Be Positive
Want to be productive? Be positive. Yes, by that we mean smile, look on the bright side of life and always see the glass as half full. By being positive, you reduce stress and if you want to keep your productivity at the top of its game, you can’t be stressed out.
4. Press Reset
No, not on your computer, on life. We all screw up from time to time, get angry when things don’t go our way and find ourselves having ‘just one of those days.’ But remember – that’s all it is, a bad day not a bad life. Take some time alone to reset and recharge yourself. Meditate, listen to music or go for a walk. This will help with getting you back on track and making sure that the days that follow, don’t go to waste and are productive.
5. Review your week
A lot of us get into bed at night with a whole bunch of thoughts of things that we need to do, forgot to do or didn’t have enough time to do. We hardly have any time to process what we actually got done, simply because we are so stressed out about what’s directly ahead. So, at the end of every week review your lists and daily schedules to see how you spend your time, and while doing it to optimize your productivity ask yourself the following questions;
This is a powerful tactic for determining whether you are really managing and spending your time wisely and productively. Then, once you’ve answered those questions, see how you can improve for the coming week and what you can do differently to be even more productive.
If a small team or group of employees interact regularly, you may implement productivity measurements based on peer assessment and feedback. In such a system, you assess each employee’s productivity according to the feedback they get from others about their performance.
How To Measure Productivity and Increase Efficiency in the Workplace
Measuring the productivity of your company or department allows you to make operational changes, adding employees or equipment to meet deadlines. Understanding the productivity of your workforce also allows you to gauge overall efficiency and whether you can meet tight deadlines or take on new clients. There are a variety of ways to measure productivity and understanding which is best for your business can take some time and consideration.
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of a machine, factory or person in converting inputs into useful outputs. To calculate productivity, you divide the average output per period by the costs incurred or the resources, such as personnel, consumed in that period.
Why productivity must be measured
Investment decisions are easier
A company needs to know how productive its operations are to make investment decisions. For example, you may work in a production plant making cars where outputs have slowed considerably over the past two years. Based on its productivity measurements, the company can conclude that the reduction of productivity is being caused by old equipment that requires updating.
Gauges employee effectiveness and abilities
Another important reason for measuring productivity is that it allows you to gauge the efficiency of your workforce. For instance, if your company has been asked by a client to accommodate a challenging deliverable, the only way you will know if you can meet the timeline is if you are consistently measuring the productivity of your workforce. Managers also need to know how each individual employee is performing.
This information helps them make important decisions that impact overall workplace efficiency. For example, understand how efficiently each employee performs helps managers determine who can take on additional responsibilities or who would be ideal for leading a team project.
Allows for better operational decision-making
A further crucial reason for monitoring productivity is that it can help managers change the company. For example, the data gathered during the measuring process could reveal delays in the production process.
Alternatively, it may reveal problems in the customer lifecycle. Recognizing this could allow you to make operational changes like expanding your customer service team or investing in new production equipment.
Use Productivity Software
A. Know The New Applications In The Store
B. Install And Use An Instant Messenger
C. Install A Time Tracker
Additionally, a time tracker tool also shows you which areas of your workflow are taking up the most time. And by using this info, you can implement a strategy to help your employees take less time on those tasks.
What Is Time Doctor?
With features ranging from advanced time tracking to excellent integrations with leading project management tools like Jira, Time Doctor is the best app for increasing employee productivity.
Just implement the productivity tips we covered above and your employees will have the right resources to be super productive. And remember, a healthy and happy environment is the key to higher productivity in the workplace.
Susan Culp is a blogger specializing in business articles. She writes on behalf of Moneybanker, a company that provides the best options when it comes to loans. Aside from being a blogger and writer by heart, she also loves discovering innovative ways in improving one’s leadership and management skills.
Ainsi, un nombre croissant d’entreprises remplacent le développement traditionnel par une approche basée sur l’Agile BI et le data warehousing en utilisant des techniques de développement logiciel Agile afin de diviser les projets BI en petites parties et proposer de nouvelles fonctionnalités aux utilisateurs finaux. Cette approche permet aux entreprises de déployer plus rapidement les fonctionnalités BI pour raffiner ou modifier les plans de développement au fil des changements de business ou des nouveaux besoins qui émergent et deviennent prioritaires.
O que é business intelligence (BI)?
De acordo com o Glossário de Termos da Gartner, o BI é “um termo abrangente que inclui os aplicativos, infraestrutura e ferramentas, e as melhores práticas que permitem o acesso e a análise de informações para melhorar e otimizar decisões e desempenho”.
Ele proporciona insights e descobertas sobre qualquer assunto referente ao negócio, que podem ser aplicáveis no dia a dia, seja em técnicas operacionais, pesquisa de mercado, estudo de público, comunicação, etc.
Como surgiu o business intelligence?
Com o avanço tecnológico na década de 1980, ele se desenvolveu a ponto de ser um recurso a mais para auxiliar na tomada de decisões. Ainda assim, era algo mais exclusivo e mesmo limitado, sem o caráter de serviço que possui hoje.
Possuem características como dar maior autonomia aos usuários e a segurança dos dados, bem como a usabilidade flexível que permite que qualquer um possa adentrar o mundo dos dados e gerar insights valiosos para o seu negócio.
Business Intelligence : quels bénéfices pour les entreprises ?
Les programmes de business intelligence peuvent avoir de nombreux bénéfices pour l’entreprise. Ils permettent d’accélérer et d’améliorer la prise de décision, d’optimiser les processus internes, d’augmenter l’efficience d’exploitation, de générer de nouveaux revenus, et de prendre l’avantage sur la concurrence. Les systèmes BI aident également les entreprises à identifier les tendances du marché et à repérer les problèmes qui doivent être résolus.
Les données de business intelligence peuvent inclure des informations historiques, mais aussi de nouvelles données en provenance de systèmes sources, collectées dès qu’elles sont générées. Ainsi, les analyses BI permettent de prendre aussi bien des décisions tactiques que des décisions stratégiques.
Initialement, les outils BI étaient principalement utilisés par les analystes de données et les professionnels informatiques qui se chargeaient d’analyser les données et de produire des rapports. Toutefois, aujourd’hui, de plus en plus d’exécutifs et d’employés utilisent les logiciels BI eux-mêmes, notamment grâce à l’essor du self-service BI et des outils de découverte de données.
Les PME peuvent-elles se payer la BI ?
Grâce aux technologies de Business Intelligence, il devient plus facile d’accéder à des informations importantes sur les opérations, les performances et, surtout, les clients. Mais une question se pose : les PME peuvent-elles profiter de la BI ?
Aujourd’hui, les technologies du cloud ont fait baisser le coût de mise en œuvre des solutions de business intelligence. Par conséquent, les solutions de BI sont beaucoup plus accessibles aux petites et moyennes entreprises . En particulier le puissant outil de BI en libre-service de Microsoft. Il permet même aux petites et moyennes entreprises d’ explorer des outils d’analyse et d’aide à la décision de niveau entreprise pour un coût initial nul.
Bien entendu, la mise en œuvre varie en fonction des choix de déploiement, de la composition du public et des exigences de visualisation. Si certains fournisseurs proposent des prix transparents, d’autres ne le font pas, il faudra donc en tenir compte. Avant de rechercher des fournisseurs, il est important de connaître les besoins spécifiques de l’entreprise en matière de logiciel de BI et son budget.
Business Intelligence (BI)
Business intelligence (BI) is the combination of applications, processes, and infrastructure that provide data access and analysis to improve your decisions and performance. Modern BI tools bring together data integration, data analytics and data literacy to close the gaps between data, insights and actions.
From self-service BI and dashboards to mobile BI and conversational analytics, modern business intelligence supports a wide range of business needs and users, allowing every employee to access the insights they need, regardless of technical skill. Here are the primary business intelligence use cases and capabilities:
Governance, security and flexible deployment
Today, demand for business intelligence comes from the C-suite to the edge of every organization. Reaching this scale requires governed control, trusted security and the ability to deploy and scale analytics with any combination of infrastructure from on-premise to the most modern cloud environments.
The most successful business intelligence initiatives combine a smart analytics strategy with an effective data strategy. Raw data only gains value when it can be transformed into highly accessible, analytics-ready information. This often begins by moving source data (ERP, CRM, etc.) into a central repository like a data lake or data warehouse. Data connectors in the analytics system load data from these repositories as well as specific applications and files so it can be prepared for use. This can be slow and tedious, requiring data experts which can create bottlenecks at scale. However, innovative data replication and data migration technologies can automate the integration process. In addition, Governed data catalogs that profile and document every data source let business users easily access, create, and share data sets on their own, combining any data they need to analyze.
About The Association Combining the strengths of the American Institute of CPAsand the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, we empower the world’s most highly-skilled accountants – CPAs and CGMA designation holders – with the knowledge, insight and foresight to meet today’s demands and tomorrow’s challenges. We drive a dynamic accounting profession that works every day to build trust, create opportunity and grow prosperity worldwide.
Content Writer Job Duties
Ensuring that all content is legally compliant and free of errors by conducting research and collaborating with legal experts when necessary
Developing and writing original content such as articles, blog posts, or product descriptions
Conducting research to determine the topics that are most relevant to readers in a given industry or field
Identifying the target audience and adapting content accordingly to appeal to their interests and needs
Writing, editing, and proofreading text content for websites, brochures, magazines, journals, or other publications
Creating engaging content that will resonate with specific audiences and encourage them to take action
Researching topics and interviewing experts within a specific industry to gather information for articles or blog posts
Reviewing content for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style errors before publishing it to ensure that it meets the publication’s standards for presentation
Developing strategies to increase website traffic and engagement through the use of SEO best practices, including title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and keyword placement
Content writers’ salaries vary depending on their level of education, years of experience, and the type of content they are writing. They may also earn additional income through freelance work or commissions.
Demand for content writing will stem from the continued growth of e-commerce and online advertising. Content writers will be needed to write product descriptions, social media posts, and digital ads that are clear and engaging.
Content Writer Job Requirements
Education: Content writers are typically required to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Some of the most common majors for content writers are English, journalism, creative writing and communications.
Many employers prefer to hire candidates who have a master’s degree in English, creative writing or communications. These degrees provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to become successful content writers.
Training & Experience: Content writers typically receive on-the-job training. This training may include learning the company’s style guide and how to use the content management system. Training may also include learning about the company’s products or services.
Content writers can also receive training through internships. During an internship, a content writer can learn about the industry and the company’s products or services. They can also learn about the style guide and how to use the content management system.
Certifications & Licenses: Though content writers do not have any required certifications, they can earn certifications to show their expertise in a topic and increase their earning potential.
What does a Content Writer do?
Content Writers work for marketing agencies and in-house advertising departments to product engaging written pieces for digital and print media. Content Writers can write on a range of subjects, which their clients can then use to advertise their services or educate consumers on relevant topics to their brand. They master different style guides and are able to produce creative writing, informational articles, fictional stories, personal blog posts and other entertaining or educational content. Their role is to attract potential customers to a brand by producing compelling writing that a business’ target market may be interested in reading about.
When writing a Content Writer job description, start by introducing the job and company to prospective Content Writers. Briefly highlight the work environment, what sets your company apart and why the role is important to your company.
“Company ABC is looking for a Content Writer to join our growing editorial team. This is an exciting opportunity to find new ways to connect with our audience and grow traffic to our website. We’re a 100% remote company and welcome applicants from anywhere in the United States to apply.
Content Writer skills and qualifications
Content writers typically need a bachelor’s degree. Many have a master’s degree, and companies that specialize in fields like science or mathematics may prefer Ph.D.s or people with experience in a niche area. Content Writers can also complete additional training and certifications from community colleges, online organizations and universities. These qualifications aren’t required for all positions, and many writers advance through their careers with only a bachelor’s degree and real-world experience.
Writers can find entry-level work out of college or even while completing their degrees. Many writing jobs may only require one or two years of experience, and some companies hire candidates with internships or work done while in college as substitutes for real-world experience. For mid-level writers or Content Writers working on complex projects, three years of experience or more is acceptable.
A Look at a Freelance Content Writer Job
I mean you are in the customer service industry right? You are providing a service to a client or customer of yours, whether it’s a social media post or an email, your job is to deliver a top notch article.
Most of your freelance writing will be for online content. Understanding content writing is important. For example, within blog writing, there is long-form content, in-depth content, product reviews, listicles, etc.
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About The Author
Hi I’m Elna and I’m a freelance writer and mom blogger. I help people just like you become a profitable freelance writer. Within 6 months of starting my freelance writing business from scratch I was able to earn a full-time living as a part-time freelance writer while taking care of my twin toddlers. Check out my free email course Get Paid to Write Online and learn the steps you need to take to be a freelance writer.
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18 Comments
Hi, In most cases I do since this is my digital marketing niche and I like to use my skills when I write! But not every post is optimized for SEO – sometimes I have a story to tell like my latest one on being a commodity writer. This isn’t a searchable term but it’s a post that needs to be written and read.Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, Thank you so much for sharing your valuable information. I think these 10 points of Content Writing tips will be more effective for Bloggers. Thanks again for your helpful article! Keep going on great content like this.Reply to Alam
Hey there! I’ve been a content writer for 6 years now, and this article is a great refresher. I’ve noticed a lot more writers in the industry nowadays. I think it’s a great combo of people wanting to be independent + lots of businesses moving online. Lots of people like to complain that the market is “oversaturated”. I don’t believe in that. There’s a little corner out there for everyone, you just have to carve it for yourself. You would think that there’s less work because more people are hoarding money. But it’s actually quite the opposite! I’m excited to see how the freelance writing industry grows in the future.Reply to Destiny
Hi Elna, It’s good to hear some practical tips from an experienced freelance writer like you! It’s great you could turn writing into a full time earning source within 6 months of starting only. Inspirational! Thanks! I am Financial writer too trying to establish a portfolio for myself! I know it’s not that easy, I can say it from my own experience. Its not same for all! Some grow early while it takes more time for others to establish as a popular writer.Reply to Harleen
Hi Elna, I’m a newbie writer and would love to be a content writer. My problem is that I don’t know what niche to start with. I’m most comfortable writing about MMO and cryptocurrency. Do you suggest I start a blog on these two? Also from your writeup, it seems content writers don’t usually need much specialisation. Since they write for different businesses and it’s still all about web content. And thanks for the post. It’s very informative for a starter.Reply to Claudius
Hi, The best writers are specialized in their niche topic. While you can make money as a generalized writer, I feel it’s more time consuming to research and understand each topic you write about. Cryptocurrency is a popular niche so stick with that.Reply to Elna
Hi Kathy, You can rate per project but I find that businesses might find look at that price and say “whoa!” She wants $600 for this project? I personally like to base my rate per 500 words. I’ve had success doing this. As for a starting rate, I do encourage my students to start at this rate for most online blogging projects. If you are a white paper writer or a resume writer or a magazine writer, your rate will differ significantly. But, since my course is based on my experience as a freelance blogger, this is what I share in my course.Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, thank you so much for this informative post. I am a newbie content writer I only have a marketing blog with few blog posts. My question is, how do I know which content to go with and how should be the pricing strategy for my content?Reply to Primrose
Hi Primose! You’re welcome! So glad you found this post helpful! As far as which content to go with, I would make sure you are reading other content marketing blogs and gathering ideas for future projects and blog posts. You can also use Buzzsumo to check what is popular in your niche topic! As for a pricing strategy, I tell my writers for blog writing to price at around $.10/word. All other types of copy like website copy, landing page copy goes up!Reply to Elna
Because the letter makes a few claims (e.g., a 30% acquisition cost reduction), the full proposal should explain how the seller arrived at each number. This is a great example, but keep in mind that it lacks two key elements: an adequate CTA and a signature. We recommend including both.
How to Write a Business Introduction Letter (With Examples)
When a business is expanding its market, or it wants to communicate with another company or organization, it might send out a business introduction letter. This can help show potential customers or other organizations what a business does, what products and services it offers and how it can help the market or other related businesses.
However, there are several elements to include in a business introduction letter, especially between audiences, such as consumers or other corporations. In this article, you will learn how to write a business introduction letter with templates and examples.
What is a business introduction letter?
A business introduction letter is a way for companies to introduce themselves to potential customers, partner businesses, distributors, investors or other individuals or organizations to describe products or services that they offer. Additionally, company introduction letters may be categorized as either business-to-business, where a company writes to another business, and business-to-customer, where the business writes to its market or clientele.
A business-to-business letter of introduction might commonly be used by businesses introducing their products, services or intent to another business. The intent behind this type of business introduction letter may be to describe a possible partnership, request investment opportunities, or, if a company’s niche market is other businesses, they might use an introduction letter to describe the products and services that they offer.
A company might use a business-to-customer, or business-to-consumer, introduction letter to introduce a sale, new products, discounted services or alert a specific market to a new company’s arrival.
What style considerations are common in business writing?
Business writers tend to prioritize clear and concise communication. When writing in business, carefully considering the following style elements, along with your purpose and audience, can help you communicate more effectively:
Active voice. One skill in business writing is how to tactfully take ownership or distribute blame for certain actions. Active voice refers to a sentence structure that places the actor of the sentence as its grammatical subject. In general, active voice comes across as clearer, more direct, and more concise than passive voice, which are all elements of good business writing. However, the passive voice can be a useful tool in legally-sensitive writing, because the passive voice can convey what has occurred without naming names.
Jargon. Generally, your audience will prefer plain, straightforward language over jargon, because it allows them to read your writing quickly without misunderstandings. However, you may encounter what looks like jargon. Ask yourself if this language may be functioning as shorthand or whether it’s helping establish expectations or norms in business relationships. Understanding your audience and why they may choose to either use or avoid jargon will help you determine what is most appropriate for your own writing.
Tone. While business writing should be clear and concise, “concise” does not necessarily mean “blunt.” As you write, think about how your relationship to the reader and about how your audience may interpret your tone. Consider the following examples:
Nobody liked your project idea, so we are not going to give you any funding. After carefully reviewing this proposal, we have decided to prioritize other projects this quarter.
While the first example may be more direct, you will likely notice that the second sentence is more diplomatic and respectful than the first version, which is unnecessarily harsh and likely to provoke a negative reaction.
Standard Business Proposal Letter Format
Check out each of the major components of an effective business proposal letter below, starting with business headings, continuing on with an introduction, statement of purpose, and call-to-action, and wrapping up with a strong outro.
Headings
Introduction
Statement of Purpose
Call-to-Action
Outro
Business headings provide a formal touch for your business proposal letter and include contact information for your business as well as the recipients, such as the business name, address, and points of contact. For more informal business proposal letters or proposal letters you send via email, you can consider omitting this portion of your letter.
Your introduction is an opportunity to re-introduce yourself and remind your lead, prospect, or recipient why you’re sending the associated proposal. This also gives you a chance to provide any relevant social proof to prime them before reading your full proposal, as well as tease the overall purpose.
This acts as a summary of the most important contents of your business proposal: their problem, your solution, and the benefits the prospect will receive. This gives you a chance to highlight the most important points of your proposal and accurately communicate your elevator pitch or USP for the scanning reader.
Conclude with a sentence that tells the reader what to do next. Usually, this next step will be to read your attached proposal, but it can also be to request a call or meeting to review the proposal together or to ask and answer any questions that may have arisen after reviewing. If this is the case, use concrete language with a specific ask, such as "use my Calendly link to book a time to connect this week."
End with a polite outro stating how excited you are about the opportunity to work together. Then, sign the document if it’s a physical copy, or use a professional email signature if you’re sending it via email. Include your contact information in the signature so they can reach you.
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To write a business letter to customers, use a professional-looking letterhead that features your business name or logo. Open with a polite salutation and state the purpose of the letter right away in the first line. To establish an assertive tone, be sure to write in the active voice, adding any relevant details to clarify the letter’s purpose. Wrap up your letter with a call to action and don’t forget to proofread the letter carefully before sending it out! For more tips on writing in the active voice, read on!
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