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Potect yourself and your loved ones from COVID-19

April 11, 2020 in Business, Focus, Uncategorized

The coronavirus which is spreading like wildfire worldwide can be prevented if you protect yourself and your loved ones from iy – COVID-19. The battle to eradicate the pandemic is currently ongoing and even though there’s no cure for it yet, a lot of countries have begun managing the situation through aggressive awareness drives, and temporary suspension of activities which may enhance the spread of the virus. Here are some safety measures you need to keep in mind to protect yourself and your loved ones against the spread.

Wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based sanitizer: Maintaining good personal hygiene has been found to be effective in protecting against the virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised individuals to wash their hands for 20 seconds once in every 30 minutes or use a hand sanitizer with at least 70 percent alcohol content to clean hands in the absence of water.

Stay away If someone is coughing or sneezing: This is where social distancing comes into play. It’s advised to keep a distance of 6 feet from people, whether or not they are showing symptoms. This is because the virus can be transmitted through the respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks and these droplets can land in the mouth or nose of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

Don’t touch your face or the faces of others: Keeping our hands off our faces can prove a very difficult task. Oftentimes we find ourselves scratching our nose, wiping our eyes, biting our fingernails or even picking a pimple. While washing the hands often may be a protective measure against the virus, touching the face with dirty hands can get anyone infected. How? The virus lives on metals and plastics for days so, if your hands touch these surfaces and you touch your face without washing them, you could get infected.

Stay home for as much as possible: Your house is the safest place to be right now until the pandemic blows over. Remember that some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus. So, by all means, stay at home and limit your contact with the outside world to the barest minimum.

Self isolate if you experience symptoms: As the experts have explained, It takes 14 days to fully detect the coronavirus symptoms so, if while at home you begin coughing, sneezing, or having a fever, it’s best to self-isolate and call the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control to get help. This simple act can help protect your loved ones against the virus.

Etiquette tips for Smooth Conference Calls

March 29, 2020 in Business, Professionalism

The Month of March 2020 will forever in history be recorded as when there was a
sudden spike in the use of Online Meeting Apps. The reason is not far fetched as
Covid-19 almost grounds the world to a halt in business activities, alternating means
have to be discovered while observing the mandatory Social distance.
Since more people now have to work remotely we have turned to Apps such as
Zoom, Free Conference Calls, Skype, Google Hangout, WhatsApp, OnSip etc to try
to get the business going. It is therefore important to give some tips on how to use
these correctly so that we don’t leave each other displeased with the non verbal
cues.

Here are some tips for making an effective and efficient conference call.
Send Notice Ahead: it is important to treat online meetings with agenda as a regular
meeting because discussions and agreements are official and legally binding. This
enables participants to prepare ahead – such as download the App if need be, check
their ear & mouthpiece, clear calendar, get the documents / references for the
meeting ready etc.
Confirm your Presence: When you join an online meeting it is important to
introduce yourself or you are introduced especially when the participants are not
your team members Even if the App will show the number of participants ensure
you register your presence with a comment or something especially if you joined the
meeting late.
Reduce or Eliminate Disruptions: It is disrespectful to others in the same call when
there are audible interruptions from someone’s end especially the type that can be
managed ahead e.g. loud ring tones friendly neighbour, screaming kids etc its only
fair to keep such interruptions away from your meeting as these will not likely happen
if you were physically in a meeting room. If you however have disruptions, then
apologize and ensure it doesn’t reoccur.
Be Present: Don’t just join the call because you are scheduled to be part of it and
nothing else. While you may want to multitask in order to optimise your time it is

important that you confirm your presence by contributing to the conversation when
the opportunity presents itself. There must have been a value expected from you to
have been invited for the meeting, this can’t happen if you are silent.
Be Audible: While you may be soft spoken remember that all attendees are relying
on technology to transmit the information to them, so if you have to increase the
intensity of your voice do it just for the period of the meeting. What you don’t want is
attendees asking you to repeat yourself over and over or you are being lectured on
how to use your microphone properly during the meeting.
Don’t Dominate the meeting: While you may be the host or you may naturally have
a deep voice you need to consciously not dominate the conversation all through the
meeting. This will be counter productive as you may not achieve any significant thing
since all attendees just have to agree with you so the meeting can come to an end.
Keep Meeting Official: Don’t fall for the temptation of drifting very far from the
objective and the Agenda of the meeting. There may be many other matters to
discuss, be disciplined enough to keep all matters official. Also do not make any
matter personal, disagreements may occur but it is important to take your official
position as opposed to turning it into a personality bout.
Recap agreements before closing: Before the meeting officially ends, ensure there
is a clear establishment of all that was agreed and the next steps to take. No
attendee would be happy to have spent time in a meeting with no cogent outcome.
Proper goodbyes can follow after agreements are established.

Setting Goals for Year 2020!

November 13, 2019 in Business, Professionalism

So Its less than 60 days to the end of this year, clearly Planning for Year 2020 starts now: Every Organization and even individuals that that intends to achieve milestone success in the coming year should have commenced the planning process this is kicked off with Goal Setting.

Setting business goals within an organization is common practice, shared globally by all businesses. Executives set business goals that help increase motivation and determination, as well as those that offer critical learning strategies for training purposes.

it is important to be deliberate about goal setting and here are some quick steps to help with setting achievable goals. Goals are best when they are

  1. Defined 
    The first step in setting business goals is determining exactly what you want to accomplish. Make sure your goal is worth your effort. Think about how you would design goals if you were certain that they would be successful. Conversely, what would your strategy be if this was your last opportunity? It’s important to set clear goals; you should know exactly where you want to go and you should not waiver from your target regardless of failures along the way. Be as specific as possible, so you are able to determine when you’ve reached your goal.
  2. Specific 
    Once again, make sure your business goals aren’t too vague. It’s critical to use a goal setting formula that gives your goal a built-in action plan. Define your end goal and create a road map for exactly how you’re going to reach your goal. Be specific with what you want to accomplish at each check point. You’ll achieve a great deal more than you would without these guidelines.
  3. Focused on
    Make a commitment and stick with it. Once you’ve set your plan in motion, stay motivated to see your goals through to the end. Don’t procrastinate or second-guess your decisions, as this will only delay the process. Don’t forget to enjoy the process and reward yourself for staying focused.
  4. Timebound
    If you don’t set a deadline, your goal will fail. Goals without deadlines indicate that you are not fully committed. Determining a deadline puts your goal into context. Pick a reasonable date that isn’t too aggressive, but also not too far away.
  5. Motivation is attached.
    In the goal-setting process, there’s one very important thing to remember: you. Once you’ve accomplished a goal or reached a milestone within your goal, make sure to mark the occasion. You’ve invested an incredible amount of time, energy and determination to reach your goal, so make sure you take a moment to celebrate your success.

We have capacity development sessions on Target Setting and Performance Management, contact us for more information info@emeraldzone.com.ng

 

 

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