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Showing posts from June, 2020

Print has the power to keep us all connected – here’s how

There’s no denying that, for the majority of the print industry, the current climate is a massive challenge. But it’s not all doom and gloom – there are fantastic opportunities to be taken. Many print companies have been dealing with the initial consequences of the global climate. Furloughed staff. Reduced trade. The search for new sources of production and revenue. These are all complex situations that you may have had to restructure your practices around. But, if it feels like you’re just treading water, there may be a few things you can do to get things flowing again. If not for their immediate impact, then definitely for a brighter future. Connect with your customers It’s somewhat ironic, but isolation has brought many people closer together. And this can be the same for you and your customers. First of all, check-in with how they’re doing. Empathise with them. And learn about the struggles of their business. You might learn something useful in return – such as how to market yourse

The future of leadership: 8 essential skills for leaders of the future

As the future of work changes, so too does the work environment and that necessitates that company cultures evolve. In turn the demands on tomorrow’s business leaders will grow. Building capability to mastering these changes will help make sure you stay on top. So what makes a strong business leader? Determination. Confidence. The ability to inspire and the trust of your team. But for business leaders, is this enough? As the nature of our working environments change, and new generations graduate to the workforce, it’s imperative that you can respond to everyone’s needs. In this article, we’ll discuss eight soft skills that are crucial to the future of leadership. Two-way learning.   Two-way learning is all about reciprocity; shared values and experiences; motivation and better relationships. Create an environment that moves away from lecturing and encourages collaboration and sustainability. One such way to do this is by  introducing an effective mentoring programme . This constructive

The work together, anywhere revolution – is here to stay

Ricoh’s Director of Strategy and Innovation, Mike Baddeley discusses the paradigm shift happening right now. With over 30 years in the technology industry, he’s been mapping and predicting the trends we now find ourselves implementing in weeks, rather than years. This article takes a look at how our workstyles are influencing our interaction with technology and what this means for us all. During this period of accelerated remote working, video conferencing has become the key collaboration tool for many. But more than simply connecting us for a virtual face to face has inadvertently enabled a mini social experiment. As people have begun to play with the editable background in some collaboration tools, it has become a window into where the person on the call would like to be. But how much does the choice of these backgrounds reveal about our personalities and, more than that, how much do they reveal about our human desires? Our urge to connect with people in places we dream of being. Per

Mazars case study

“When your printing works well, no one jumps up and down and sends you an email saying ‘way-hey the printing is working’. Printing isn’t the sexiest thing in the world, but when your print solution doesn’t work that’s when you really understand the importance of having a good solution like the Digicom and Ricoh MPS. In our business we sell time and expertise and we have numerous deadlines to hit and if your printer isn’t working it can cause real problems.” Trevor McCarron, Director of IT & Finance for Mazars Ireland Challenges Mazars Ireland is one of the country’s leading professional services firms. Its services include: audit and assurance, consultancy, corporate finance and taxation for a broad range of clients, covering corporate businesses, government and institutional organisations, small businesses and individuals.  The company is part of the international Mazars group and is a member of Praxity, the world’s largest alliance of independent and unaffiliated audit

How to deal with the pressures of returning to work

For many, office work has become a distant memory. And it’s natural that there’s anxiety about going back – we aren’t returning to normal; we’re stepping into the unknown. It’s been a strange few months for most. Working practices have changed. New routines have been established. And we’ve all been coming to terms with remote working. This has been easier for some than others. For every individual that switched seamlessly, another faced the daunting task of balancing work, childcare and adapting to new tech all in one go. And as we look ahead to a return to the office, a similar shakeup in our day-to-day is in the making. In this article, we’ll look at what the future might hold for different people – and how business leaders and organisations can provide the right support. The future for furloughed workers. Furloughed workers may have been out of action for over two months. That’s two months of amusing themselves with reduced social contact – and two months of being out of t

Recognising the fatigue caused by remote working

This is a great time to remind ourselves of the unique pressures many of us are facing whilst we work remotely and the key role business leaders and senior managers can play in supporting their colleagues.   Constant video conferences. Intermissions of complete isolation. Difficulties in getting the support we need to do our jobs. These problems are challenging our productivity – and our mental health.   Meetings have always been a key aspect of our working lives – but now they’re our taxing time and energy more than ever. We can no longer just pop over to IT to fix a problem. Or quickly ask a colleague for some clarification on a project. And we must also always be on the alert, just in case someone needs us.   But we’re not alone. In this article, we discuss the fatigue caused by remote working – and  how business leaders can support their workers  against exhaustion.   Why are video calls so fatiguing?   Well first off, they’re all basically the same. Imagine going to th