Considering the fact that the average customer loyalty rate is only 5%, it takes little imagination to see the incredible benefits to a business if it is able to give that number a significant raise.

Indeed, customer loyalty, it’s fair to say, is one of the most important aspects in the success of a business; returning customers are the bread and butter of an organization, regardless of its size.

Consider some companies with fierce customer loyalty. Apple, for example, still has one of the most devout customer bases and they have, in effect, a generation of customers who have grown up with Apple products. Customers know the product inside out and considering a change of brand is almost unthinkable.

Though Apple is a company in a million and in many ways unique, there are many ways to carve out a loyal base of customers. The benefits are simple, but here is a small selection:

Steady Cash Flow – With a loyal customer base businesses can be more certain of a steady cash flow due to returning clients. Expansion, growth and a secure financial future are the dividends.

Referrals – Loyal clients send others your way. Simply put, clients are loyal because they think the product or service you provide is of a high standard and a fair price. Happy customers spread the word so that others march right to your door. This type of brand advocacy is worth far more valuable than even the best marketing.

Predictability – Customer behavior is far more predictable when a company has customer loyalty. Planning inventory and stock is less risky as sales forecasts are based less on possibility and more on past experience.

The customer loyalty course is designed to explain how to build a loyal fan base. To do this, the course breaks down a fair complicated process into easily comprehended stages:

Introduction – The course begins outlining the case for making customer loyalty a priority for your business. It explains how prosperity in many countries has provided many more options for consumers, and consequently, customer loyalty is on the decline.

Consumers are happy to leave one company for the benefits that new customers are offered at many others and this has created a focus on gaining new customers, but all too frequently, at the cost of losing those who are loyal.

Why is Customer Loyalty Important? – The course then goes on to explain why a focus on bringing in new customers should not be at the cost of customer loyalty. This message is underscored by revelations such as; gaining a new customer costs five times that of retaining a current one. But the reasons for a customer to stay loyal to you are not the same as those that attract new clients.

So then, what are the best methods to ensure loyalty in your customers?

Turn Customers into Loyal Fans – This section explains what does and does not work in creating a loyal fan base. For example, do most consumers treat reward cards as a way to express their brand loyalty or as a way to save money? It’s likely the latter reason. Rather than discounts or freebies, superb customer service is the best way to retain customers.

This section is also broken into three smaller parts to instruct users on the methods to improve their customer service:

Power of Surprise – Leverage the enjoyment of surprises by offering little thank you gifts, or spending time actually searching out your client to say hello.

Appreciation is Key – Acknowledge your appreciation by simply saying thank you. Touches like these stay with people and aren’t common. Stand out from the crowd.

Acknowledge Mistakes – When you provide a service that doesn’t meet customer expectation, listen and improve. Offer a small gesture of apology and they’ll likely return.

Final Summary – This section quickly ties together the threads of the course and asks how you can implement them into the business where you work.

This course covers many aspects of customer loyalty, and to do this it includes a variety of resources for the learner.

The videos act as the engine of the course to drive the learner to further appreciation of why customer loyalty is so important and how to create it. Other resources sure-up the message, but the videos are the main player. Use these to drive your understanding.

The four-page customer loyalty fact sheet feature the foundations of the course message. Without the researched facts that are provided in these pages the course would be only conjecture. All the hard details can be found right here; everything’s spelled out in black and white.

The course description is a simple one-page document that signposts the way. It allows users to easily navigate through the course and find their place. Use this if you get lost!

The market’s shifting sands always offer new customers benefits for pulling up anchor and heading elsewhere. While it’s important to gain further custom and bring new clients in, this shouldn’t be sought at the expense of loyal customers.

Like keeping a partner in your personal life, it is important to show customers that you care. Without reminders every now and again, the reasons behind why a client should use your service, the loyalty of your customer may falter.

Though rates of customer loyalty are lower than ever, those that stay are also worth more than before. Loyalty breeds trust, and with it a bond that runs deeper than the bottom line.


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Customer loyalty: How to turn your customers into fans

It’s official – social media is everywhere, with the majority of people in the United States using it. If we’re not liking a Facebook update then we’re probably Instagramming our newest holiday photo. But what happens when our use of social media enters the professional realm?

There are now a growing number of social media mishaps that can play havoc on the reputation of businesses and individuals. With too many examples to name, this is an issue that organizations need to get right, so that they don’t fall victim to a mistimed hashtag or unintended Tweet.

If you still need convincing, then here is a quick list of the benefits derived from social media awareness:

What is and isn’t acceptable – issues like bullying in the workplace can become uncontrollable problems if taken over to social media. This blurring of lines between professional and private spheres makes these sorts of problems very difficult to resolve.

Keep a clean reputation – when a problematic tweet is sent that includes a company name or logo, a company might unfairly reap the consequences. Keep a good reputation by setting clear guidelines.

Hold on a second – explain how private and public spheres are so porous now and that what a person might post can be seen by anyone – including bosses. Remove the risk of error by understanding simple rules. Before posting employees should give themselves a second to think – do they really want colleagues to see this?

Social media is unavoidable. It’s likely that a company uses Twitter or Facebook to promote itself and communicate with possible clients, and if that’s not the case, then your colleagues will almost certainly use social media to some degree.

And social media has blurred the lines between public and private life. They are, to some extent, now one and the same. It is therefore very important to understand what is and what is not acceptable to post on platforms that are public.

Not only can social media mishaps cost money and hurt the reputation of a company but personal attacks carried out via social media can cause a great deal of suffering to staff and destroy workplace unity.

Social Media Awareness training is a valuable tool to reduce the possibilities of these dramatic problems and offer leverage for a company should a social media mistake be made.

The use of social media shows no sign of falling away, so it is important that you act now to protect yourself and your business.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.


Social media awareness is essential for any high-performing organisation. As such, we'll analyse what you need to know about social media awareness.

Why social media awareness matters

Social media awareness is essential for any high-performing organisation. As such, we'll analyse what you need to know about social media awareness. 

If you’ve read our previous article on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace, you’ll know that the statistics speak for themselves when it comes to EQ. This is because research shows that emotional intelligence is one of the most important factors in maintaining successful relationships – both personal and professional.

Employees with highly developed emotional intelligence, or EQ, are far more likely to be successful in their careers, professional working relationships and personal lives. Did you know that 90% of top performers have high levels of EQ? And can expect to earn $29,000 more annually than employees with lower levels of EQ? These individuals are also more effective when it comes to handling conflict, performing well under pressure, and leading and managing teams – all of which are very desirable traits for an employee.

Fortunately, your level of emotional intelligence can be developed and improved over time. As with other soft skills in the workplace, such as active listening or effective communication, you can learn how to develop and use your EQ, to improve working relationships and help keep your emotions in positive balance.

As Travis Bradberry, author of the best-selling book ‘Emotional Intelligence 2.0’, explains,  “emotional intelligence is the other kind of smart.” When you start to develop your EQ, you’ll notice a greater ability to monitor your own and others’ feelings and emotions – and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions.

Have you ever worked with someone who seemed to know exactly what was needed in any situation? It may have been a colleague who instinctively knew if you needed some alone time. Or a manager who could always sense when you needed a little extra support.

These people most likely had high levels of EQ. Because social awareness and empathy are a large part of emotional intelligence, these kinds of employees and managers bring a comforting and comfortable presence to the workplace. They know how to recognize and manage their own emotions, without becoming overwhelmed by them, and are therefore able to be more productive, effective and happy workers.

Develop Your Emotional Intelligence Through eLearning

Keen to get started on developing your own levels of EQ? Why not start by learning more about emotional intelligence in the workplace, through the short online course Emotional Intelligence.

During this interactive eLearning course, you’ll learn how to improve and use your emotional intelligence for better workplace outcomes. The course will give you an insight into the different elements that combine to form emotional intelligence. While there are various approaches and theoretical models associated with emotional intelligence, there are four fundamental ways you can develop your EQ and boost your career:

Self-awareness – recognizing and identifying your emotions, reducing their intensity and allowing you to manage emotions more easily

Self-management – learning that your emotions and behavior come from you, not from anyone else, and you are responsible for them

Social awareness – paying close attention to how you’re interacting with others, through body language, active listening and asking questions

Relationship management – developing the ability to listen, empathize and respect others to build positive working relationships.

As you can see, by taking this course you’ll be on your way to becoming a much happier and more successful employee. You’ll feel more confident, empowered and effective in your actions and relationships, with these positive benefits also overflowing into your personal life.

Everyone, at all levels of an organization, will benefit from taking this short eLearning course. Enrol today, and get started online, all in the convenience of your own home – in just 30 minutes!

Improve your emotional intelligence and boost your career

Do you often feel as though there’s simply not enough hours in the day? Like no matter how hard you try, you can’t quite get through your never-ending list of things to do? You’re not alone. Trying to stay on top of work, life admin, family commitments and relationships can be challenging, to say the least.

Why is it then, that some people seem able to achieve much more with their time than others – even when they lead incredibly busy lives? The secret is in good time management. These people know how to maximize and manage their time. They know how to avoid the pitfalls of procrastination, stay on track and be productive, and keep their work and social lives in balance.

If you’re tired of feeling snowed under at work, want to improve your work-life balance, or are keen to boost your productivity, you’ll benefit from learning how to take charge of your time. By mastering this ability, you’ll soon be able to better organize, plan and prioritize tasks, allowing you to make the most of the hours in your day.

The Benefits of Taking Charge of Your Time

Time management is high on the list of desirable skills for employees, across all industries and job descriptions. This is because how you manage your own time has a direct impact on your employer and the business. Employees who are able to manage their individual workload, maintain productivity, and meet targets and deadlines without stress are invaluable to any organization.

Mastering time management is also essential for your own wellbeing. Running on panic and adrenaline each day is a sure-fire way to end up burning out at work, leading to high stress levels and low productivity rates. Holding onto perfectionism can also be a road block to productivity – while perfectionists may appear to look super busy, the need to do everything perfectly can have a negative impact on their ability to deliver and achieve. It’s vital to learn how to proactively manage your workload without procrastination or perfectionism, for your mental, emotional and physical health.

It’s not just your own life that’s affected by poor time management. When work is particularly demanding, our social and family lives are also likely to suffer. And when we’re stressed, it causes havoc on our close relationships. Time management takes discipline, planning, and a positive attitude. When you start to make improvements in this area, and feel more relaxed and on top of things, you’ll find that your relationships with workmates, friends, family members and partners become much smoother.

Learn Time Management Skills Through eLearning

Ready to get some help with your time management? The good news is, there are plenty of resources and techniques available to help you improve your time management skills. These days, we’re very lucky to have the convenience of eLearning, allowing us to easily study and complete online courses on our laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Why not start by taking a look at the short online course Productivity and Time Management? This 30-minute eLearning course is ideal for anyone who wants to improve their time management skills and get more out of their day. By the end of the course, you’ll have the skills, confidence and knowledge to start taking charge of your own time, once and for all.

The interactive online course covers the four essential pillars to time management, explaining why they work, how you can incorporate them into your work and the benefits these techniques will bring to your life and career.

The time-management techniques explained in this course will help you improve your ability to function more effectively – even when dealing with tight deadlines, high pressure work environments and multi-tasking. You’ll also learn how to avoid procrastination, to help you maintain your focus and productivity.

This exciting animated explainer course allows you to learn at your own pace, at a time and place that’s convenient to you. While it’s up to you how you use your time traveling to and from work, you could even think about using your commute to focus on your professional development. Your daily bus or train trip presents an excellent opportunity for individuals to learn new skills, such as improving time management and productivity. Enroll and get started online today.


How to improve your time management skills

Today’s job market is not like that of yesteryear. There are fewer jobs for life, competition is fiercer than ever, and the pressure to hit targets is a frequent source of stress. In fact, work is the number one source of stress for most people. The need for a resilient mind – one that’s able to overcome challenges and face tough tasks with a can-do attitude is key.

But this is not just true for your working life, either. Of course, in our private and personal lives there will always be bumps in the road – some of which might be devastating to come to terms with – and so resilience can improve your mental health too.

There are ways to build resilience that can provide help over time. Yet one of the best ways is with the helping hand of an online course, guiding you with professional experience towards a goal that is vital yet difficult to attain.

Reasons to develop your resilience at work are:

Being able to bounce back – There is nothing in work, nor life generally, that is worth having if it’s easy to obtain. We all know this, yet many of us are frequently terrorized by the possibility of difficulty and failure. But failure is necessary to learn from, if you are resilient enough to understand this. Resilience allows you to move forward, not give up all together.

To be committed – A lack of resilience will cause people to give up when they’re finding something difficult. Commitment is all about dealing with adversity, acknowledging that work can sometimes be difficult, and continuing undeterred.

Being able to learn from mistakes – When a task has gotten the better of you, it’s only in trying again that you can put what you learned from failing, into practice the next time. This is a highly sought after skill, and one that is a real asset to have.

Cognitive distortion – This section explains how our brains like to spot and form patterns, but that, unfortunately for us, they don’t always see the right things.

For example, we assume that the angry reaction that our manager had this morning is because we did our job poorly, but perhaps they were just having a bad day; we don’t have all the facts we need to make a proper judgement. Cognitive distortion is the phenomena whereby our minds cause us to believe in something that is not actually true. For many, this is where doubt creeps in.

Cognitive restructuring – This next section begins the process of developing resilience by firstly restructuring our response to a negative situation, and then using it to our advantage. This middle section uses the book Mind Over Mood by Dennis Greenberg and Christine Padesky as a general guide. This is broken into chunks:

Identify the situation – When a situation arises that has a negative effect, take a second to describe the situation to yourself.

Identify automatic thoughts – Be conscious of the automatic assumptions you have made, which are frequently negative. For example, “I’m not good enough”.

Find supportive evidence – What concrete evidence do you have to support those automatic assumptions? If you can’t find anything, your assumptions might not be correct.

Find contradictory evidence – Is there any evidence to contradict those automatic thoughts? For example, “I hit my targets every week.”

Take a balanced view – Speak to a colleague to hear another opinion.

It’s important to develop a level of resilience due to the strained nature of working environments. Currently, deadlines are tight and budgets stretched, so nerves understandably fray. To ensure you’re not overwhelmed by situations that may be confrontational, resilience is key.

A lack of resilience will undermine your performance. It will cause you to second-guess yourself and assume that you’ll fail. Furthermore, those above you are unlikely to look kindly on a refusal to commit.

A resilient person is more able to cope in both personal and private life. You can be more resilient too – it’s all in the mind.


Developing resilience: change your thinking

Do you think games are just for entertainment? Or only for kids? Think again. These days, many eLearning projects contain elements of game play, with certain strategies used in gamification being very effective when applied to learning environments.

In fact, gamification is a very powerful tool that can help to engage, interest and educate users of all ages. Games can be successfully used for many corporate training needs, such as induction processes, onboarding, compliance, professional development and behavioral change.

When used as a component of staff training, games can also help employees to stay motivated, learn new skills, improve existing skills and retain knowledge. Let’s look at how gamification strategies can be successfully incorporated into eLearning projects for the corporate sector.

Applying gamification strategy to eLearning

Gamification is about much more than playing games, relating also to the concept of applying game-design thinking to non-game applications. When used in eLearning, gamification can help learners to become more active participants in the online course, appealing to the competitive and fun nature in many individuals.

You can incorporate game play into your eLearning course to encourage employees to practice situations and challenges in the online environment. This will help them hone their new skills before putting them to use in the workplace.

Defining your goals like a game developer

When designing and implementing an eLearning project, you want to be sure you’re getting a good ROI – return on investment. Gamification often uses a monetization strategy, which can be successfully applied to corporate training.

Cindy McCabe, senior gamification/instructional designer, looks at the very popular Candy Crush game to explain the monetization strategy. As McCabe says, “ROI is the ‘holy grail’ for corporate training and performance improvement, [as] it's often hard to define and measure success.”

Game developers are understandably reluctant to spend a lot of money on development if they don’t have a strong hint that the game will be a success. A monetization strategy helps you to define a clear set of goals and a clear way of measuring against those goals. Take a leaf out of the game developer’s book and be sure you know how you’re going to define and measure goals in corporate training.

Let’s look at McCabe’s example of Candy Crush gamification strategy again. With the Candy Crush game, we can see that not everything happens within the game interface itself – players are also encouraged to connect with their friends through Facebook, for example. This helps players earn additional lives, and importantly, it also serves to “extend the game event beyond what's happening on screen.”

In the same way, you can think about how your eLearning course can extend to social media or productivity tools. This tactic works to further involve and engage participants (in this case, your employees) in the learning material.

As participants become more engaged, it also helps to improve the amount of knowledge and content that is being absorbed and retained. Just as players become more adept and skilled at playing games over time, your learners will become more comfortable and fluent with the course content through game play. They can then translate that knowledge into performance when they return to the workplace from training.

Adopting gamification strategies for learning

Christopher Pappas, founder of the eLearning Industry’s Network, is also strongly in favor of adopting gamification strategies for learning,

Pappas refers to the rise of gamification in corporate training environments, as learning professionals are now recognizing the importance of gamification in this area. “Games may offer employees the opportunity to acquire and cultivate skill sets, while empowering them and putting them in control of their own eLearning experience via increased engagement,” Pappas says.

He cites promising figures relating to participants in gamified eLearning experiences, with learners demonstrating:

14% increase in skill-based-knowledge assessments

11% increase in terms of factual knowledge

With gamification improving the way in which online learners both acquire and retain information, it’s worth considering incorporating some game play into your next eLearning course.

How to apply gamification to improve your corporate training

Want to make your eLearning course more engaging and effective for your audience? You need to ask yourself one important question – does your online course offer learners any real world benefits?

Because the truth is, no matter how interesting your online course materials are, learners will fail to engage with your content if it doesn’t apply to the real world. In classrooms and staff training rooms alike, people want to know that they can apply their new skills and knowledge to real life situations and work environments.

Using eLearning scenarios makes training more interactive, more engaging and (as a result) far more successful for learners. By giving individuals the skills and knowledge they need outside of the online environment, you’re empowering them to feel more confident and prepared for a successful career.

Let’s look closer at why real world benefits are so important for eLearning, and how you can start incorporating more scenarios into your online courses.

Using scenario-based training in eLearning

eLearning courses are a popular way for people to acquire new knowledge or improve their skills in a particular area – for both education and work-related purposes. Therefore, it makes sense to create materials that allow students to practice and develop their skills in an environment similar to the one in which they will actually be used.

When designing your eLearning course, include scenarios that place learners in the real world, rather than relying on traditional methods of teaching and purely text-based learning. In this way, participants in your course will be challenged to take their newfound knowledge and apply it to relevant real world scenarios.

In doing this, students and employees will feel more confident about using their new skills or abilities, while trainers can also gain more insight into how individuals will perform outside of the classroom environment.

Recreating real world situations and environments

One of the best ways you can help students know how to put their knowledge to good use is by recreating situations that are likely to occur in the real world.

You can create a sense of real world pressure by having students complete eLearning scenarios within a specified timeframe and environment, as these are the kinds of challenges they will be faced with on the job or while under exam conditions. Effective decision making is a very valuable (and valued) skill in the modern workforce, so encouraging learners to make choices under pressure will help them to perform well outside the classroom.

Explaining processes and steps through scenarios

eLearning scenarios are also great for explaining complex processes to learners, particularly those processed that involve a series of steps being carried out on-screen. Rather than having to explain each concept or step of the process, you can have students take part in an interactive scenario.

In this way, participants in your course can click through certain online tasks or processes, learning as they go. This can also help learners retain knowledge, as they are performing the actions for themselves, instead of simply reading about them.

You could also challenge students or staff to create their own eLearning scenarios. Working as a group, team members are asked to come up with a scenario that shows their understanding of a particular process or concept. An example of this might be an online quiz that requires course participants to click through a series of steps, or use certain objects in a specific order, to demonstrate knowledge of safety procedures in the workplace.

Using case studies in eLearning scenarios

Case studies of real or fictional characters can also be used to create eLearning scenarios. Why not develop a simulated work environment online, featuring a number of different interactive characters?

Students can click on the different characters on-screen, to discover more about them and their various roles within the organization or company. Characters could exemplify different management or leadership styles, helping staff gain a greater understanding of successful management techniques, for example. Or in contrast, the negative effects of poor leadership skills or negative work culture.

When creating your eLearning course, you may also like to read through our handy course design checklist. You'll find plenty more useful information on how to design an online course, including important things you need to know about eLearning accessibility, course navigation, and incorporating multimedia and design elements.

Creating eLearning scenarios for the real world

This is the second part of our blog looking at Workplace Learning Trends.

In the first part, we addressed some of the major learning trends that are taking place right now in the workplace, and those that are likely to become bigger players as time goes by. Namely, these were:

The rise of virtual reality – How VR is going to further enhance training in the workplace

Hiring from within – How employers are increasingly looking inside their team to promote, rather than hiring from outside

Mobile learning will continue to grow – How mobile learning, which already plays a part in workplace learning, will continue to be ever more present in the industry

Millennials increasing the demand for workplace training – How the Millennial generation’s outlook will play a major role in the dramatic increase of workplace training

More workplace training – That there will be more of it. More employers will use workplace training in more effective ways to produce improved results

In this blog, we’ll focus our attention on one important reference from LinkedIn’s 2017 Workplace Learning Report. In this report, researchers state that:

“The average shelf life of skills is less than five years.” (pg. 16)

With this stark fact made clear, it’s now necessary that companies and employees evolve to keep up with the rapidly changing pace of the business world.

It’s clear not all companies are doing so – in fact, the lack of opportunities and training in companies has led to some suggesting that job hopping is the only route worth taking for an aspirational employee.

But to make sure that the best and brightest worker doesn’t traipse out the door to the more dynamic company down the street, it’s now necessary to start on the application of new technology and training from within.

To explain the need for improved employee training, here are some reasons to get the ball rolling:

With more frequent training, you’re more likely to stay ahead 

Obinna Ekezie is the CEO and founder of Wakanow, Africa’s leading online travel company. He’s a man who should be listened to, having been crowned Entrepreneur of the Year in the All Africa Business Leaders Award West Africa 2015.

Ekezie believes that much of his success is based on his emphasis on constant training; frequent and effective is the key. And training shouldn’t be given only to the ground staff and those who will face the client. Instead, frequent training is mandatory for employees of every level in the company, himself included. This is the only way that Wakanow stays ahead in the ever changing technological landscape of the travel industry.

Important for the retention and attraction of talent, he says that his focus on constant training creates a good company image which gains attention from the best in the business. The best employees demand that they’re at the forefront of their industry, and the right training ensures this.

Stephanie Stones remarked that “every company is a technology company” in a recent Forbes Magazine article. She’s right. Are there any major companies that do without some form of technology in today’s world? The answer is no, which gives us our last and most simple reason for your company to evolve: because you have to.

Technology affects your staff because it improves the flow of communication and the efficiency of work. To take Stones’ example, tablets improved the speed with which designs could go from planning stage to seeing the light of day. Staff were able to easily discuss plans, and changes could be implemented immediately. But very soon, tablets alone won’t be enough. Technology will improve and tablets will make way for something new.

Currently though, methods like Agile are further accentuating the distance between companies that do and companies that do not. Those that do will continue to be at the forefront of change and attract the brightest minds, while retaining the best from within their ranks.

With business so tight right now, does any company have the option of turning away from the future?

Technology and training: the need for big data

A massive tech trend that is happening throughout the world in both business and private life is the incredible rise in the use of big data. This trend is now being seen in more and more in Learning and Development departments, and for good reason.

As we saw at the beginning of the article, new skills now have a very limited shelf life so it’s important that companies monitor the effectiveness of training and have a solid foundation – quantitative details that big data offers – to determine this.

The use of big data can be directly connected to the growing utilities of workplace learning trends, such as Virtual Reality and mobile learning. This connection enables the collection of data with performing analysis on, so that companies have a clear sight of how, and in which ways, the training that is being provided is making a difference to the company and employees themselves.

Continuous observation of stats can be used to personalize approaches to training and in turn improve how individuals perform. This is particularly relevant for the demand that millennials are making for training and growth, and serves to keep the morale of employees high.

While the cost of implementing a big data-led approach to training may be high, business will only come to rely more heavily on its use.

Workplace learning trends: the average shelf life of skills is less than five years

More than 20,000 Australians have made the move to Silicon Valley in the hopes of taking their internet startups global. However, the hunt for expert advice and capital is often met with many challenges unseen back home, especially for those dealing with remote teams operating on opposite sides of the world.

It might sound obvious, but the way you communicate with your team could be the difference between success or a long and frustrating experience. Talking to your team daily and taking the time to make personal connections can go further than you think, and taking the time to understand cultural differences that affects the way in which people work could allow you to get the most out of your employees.

Having an open line of online communication is great, but if you can, try to get to your offices and meet face-to-face as often as possible. It may only be a few times a year, but being able to physically sit with someone and work through your strategy for the coming months can make a world of difference.

When it comes to working with a range of time zones scattered across the globe, you need to be prepared for some late nights and early morning meetings. After many years of working with remote teams, I’ve learned that optimising your meeting times can result in freeing up many hours, and keeping your much-needed sleeping patterns.

Try to stack all your late or early meetings into a couple of days, this way you’re not up for half the night every night of the week and won’t burn out after a few months.

Maintaining a global business culture is the glue that will hold your team together. Ensuring that everyone in the organisation is clear on the business objectives, and holding regular all-hands company meetings to reinforce these values is a great way to keep everyone on the same page shooting for the same goals.

Staying true to your company’s goals as you are building remote teams lays the foundations as you expand into new regions.

There’s no shortage of ways to keep in touch with your team online and track projects. Thanks to Slack and Hipchat you can instant message anyone, anytime. Video calling platforms such as Skype and Google Hangouts allow you to have the in-person experience with the click of a button.

Jira, Trello and Confluence are ideal for tracking projects and priorities, and have become a staple for businesses with both in house and remote employees. Finally, never underestimate the power of email, it might not be the coolest tool in the shed, but it’s still one of the best ways to communicate.

When it comes to marketing specifics, you need to know your audience.

Most people think that moving to the United States is easy, culturally. They speak English there, right?

This couldn’t be further from the truth, you might as well be living in France. Yes, the language is the same but the cultural differences are dramatic, and understating them can save you a lot of wasted time and lost deals.

The simplest thing that catches people out involves the difference between ‘s’ and ‘z’, which I have learnt can infuriate people.

Get specific with your targeting too. Unlike Australia, the United States can completely change culture from city to city, and throwing out broad campaigns will not work anywhere as near as effectively as segmenting your audience and doing your research into how to target them.

Geotagging your website so that you can provide customised content on each page can make a huge difference to bounce rates and user retention. Backing this up with content curated for specific regions can establish local authority and drive traffic. Someone in San Francisco is going to react very differently to something intended for a target audience in Melbourne.

With a few simple updates to your website and marketing materials, you will get dramatically better results in traffic, open rates, and what we are all working towards; more sales!

This article was originally published by Marketing Magazine

Taking your startup global? Check these common pitfalls first

The Learning and Development Department could be the most important area to a company’s future fortunes. Now more than ever, the resources of L&D can be the fine line between the ability of a workforce to do their job well, and their ability to simply do.

With such a wide variety and means to provide workplace training to staff, there’s little reason not to include this vital learning opportunity to give employees that extra edge.

According to LinkedIn’s 2017 Workplace Learning Report, learning and development aims to fulfill 4 major objectives:

Develop Managers and Leaders – Through courses that are tailored specifically to the needs of one business, managers and leaders can be developed through the ranks to further implement the specific skills required for the successful running of this business. Managers can evolve with the business to identify with the needs of the organization and better steer towards them.

Develop Technical Skills of Employees – Making sure that an organization’s employee base has the appropriate level of technical skill is now absolutely essential. All companies use technology in one way or another, so the ability to properly operate them is a must.

Internationally Standardized Training – A global workforce requires globally standardized training to provide the same high-quality services that clients and customers expect from businesses.

Career Development – To retain the best employees, it’s important to offer them clear steps in career development and improve their skills on the job.

Now that we’ve established what it is that workplace learning can offer, let’s take a look at some of the future trends we’ll see in business training.

Virtual Reality Will Further Enhance Training

Virtual Reality isn’t just for the gamers. In fact, the business world is waking up to the enhanced possibilities that VR offers by including it more and more in their workplace training. Not only do pilots or doctors train using this incredible technology, but techs, designers, and consultants will be using seen with a pair of goggles strapped to their heads more and more in the coming years.

The power of VR is that it gives the best possible replication of real-life, and real working life simulations. It allows employees to practice their skills in the safety of a virtual world that they will need in their job roles, to bolster the standards of the services they provide.

Mistakes can be costly in business, and with the help of VR these mistakes can be dramatically reduced.

On first glance you may think that this point isn’t connected to workplace training, but it absolutely is. As the shortage of skilled staff candidates rises throughout technology and finance in particular, organizations are beginning to act to resolve the issue. Companies are beginning to focus on their own ranks for candidates who could be promoted into higher roles with the right training.

This is attractive to companies for a number of reasons.

One reason is that hiring from outside of a company is more expensive than hiring from within.

Another is that the company already know how well the staff member is performing in their current position, so the promotion of staff they know is a lesser risk than hiring an unknown. The company can use their own workplace training to properly prepare the employee for their greater responsibilities. This training can be uniquely tailored for best results.

Mobile learning will come to play a larger part in workplace training. Much like VR, but further down the line, organizations are realizing the benefits of fully mobile learning.

Flexibility of learning methods to address important points from a variety of angles, and the portability of our mobile machines themselves, are some of the many benefits of mobile learning.

As Forbes has noted, the advantage of “mLearning” isn’t only the fact that they can be done anywhere, it’s also the bitesize approach that’s dominant in the industry that means that learning can be continual - offering benefits for all.

Millennials to Increase the Demand for Workplace Training

As millennials continue to make their mark on the workforce of the day and more enter the job market, their very modern perspective on the job market and career development is set to be seen through their demand for more workplace training.

Having grown up with mobile technologies, the leaders of this generation see downtime as a wasted opportunity to learn or train. Rather than flicking through Facebook on the train, millennials with high aims would rather use the commute to brush up on beneficial skills, like foreign language knowledge.

In work, this desire to always learn translates to more workplace training, refining skills and continuing their development.

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