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Working with Millennials; A Special Art

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Diriya Sri Lanka
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Work from Home

Millennials have made a huge impact in the workplace. They have set trends and they have broken some workplace boundaries too. On the same note, they are also a bunch of versatile and dynamic people, who are ambitious and effective. Working with millennials however, comes with its own set of challenges, and to make your life easier, here are some research-backed ways of working productively with millennials.

Ensure trust and transparency

Millennials are all for working hard and not cutting corners if they know that you can be trusted and are being transparent with them. On the other hand they would also like to feel that they are being trusted. They would, for example, like to know the truth about the challenges ahead rather than being kept in the dark and then having it drop down on them without warning. If you are good at building and communicating trust and transparency, millennials will find it easy to work with you.

Engagement and connection

Millennials want to feel like part of the team. Collaboration is important to this group of workers. The pandemic has made that more difficult, which means business owners must make sure employee engagement is still high. Left unchecked, disengagement could hurt productivity. So perhaps while you work from home, keep in touch with them, have regular or even short and interesting daily staff meetups, and ask them for feedback often.

Inspiration and interest

Millennials have a tendency to get bored sooner than previous work groups. Therefore it is very important that they feel inspired and interested in the work that they do. You may not always be sure of how you can facilitate this, but one great way would be to make training and development available to them. You can also give them a variety of things to look into and perhaps have more conceptualizing and brainstorming sessions.

At the end of the day, millennials can add a lot of value to your business. So if you know how to handle them and get them to work with you, you will benefit from the investment you have made in them.

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Dos and Don’ts to Keep Your Staff Happy

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Diriya Sri Lanka
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Employee Satisfaction

Your staff is your best asset. And if you really think about it, where would you be without the staff that is dedicated to working with you? Surely we cannot handle everything in a business all by ourselves? However, often, we get caught up with just the business component of things and completely forget the human part of it. But keeping your staff happy is key to the success of your business. Here are some dos and don’ts that you may want to pay attention to, if you value your best asset – your staff.

DO prioritize work life balance

Yes, there is always a lot of work to be done, and there is always a deadline that was supposed to be met yesterday. That said, it is very important that you prioritize work life balance both for yourself, and your staff. If you expect staff to work at all hours of the night, on weekends and on holidays, you will have disgruntled staff, who are simply working with you till they find the next best offer.

DO offer flexible work schedules

Flexibility makes work and life easier, it also increases productivity. Our mindset really needs to become more progressive and we need to start thinking along the lines of how we can get tasks done and not really people to sign in and off at a certain time. At the end of the day, if the work is being done, and the quality is met, what does the time of the day matter?

DO listen to your staff

When your employees try to tell you something, whether it is a grievance or a business related matter, listen to them actively. Do not ever make the mistake of dismissing or undermining them and make sure that you do not jump to conclusions while they are speaking. Hear them out first and respect the fact that every human being can have their own perspective.

DON’T pick any favourites

Employees get very dissatisfied when they feel that there are some employees who are always being favored. It is a given that some employees will understand the work better and perform higher than other employees. Even then, it is not reason enough to have your picked favorites, who will then become the standard against which everyone is compared.

DON’T expect the impossible

People have limits. They may be very intelligent, talented and high performing individuals, but they certainly come with limits and you need to be able to identify those as well. Don’t give somebody ten difficult things to do and expect a result the next day. Give them reasonable targets and deadlines and let them know that if they come across challenges they will be assisted by the relevant people, even if that is not necessarily you.

DON’T disrespect them

Nobody likes to be disrespected. And that is something that can be reflected in the tone of a voice, body language or even direct speech. Either way, treat your staff with respect. If you are paying them, remember that they are providing you with their skills and services in exchange for that payment.

These are some of the common dos and don’ts you can implement to ensure that your staff stays happy. Remember that if your staff is happy, your customers will be happy too.

Watch this space for more tips & tricks for business!

Some Leadership Mistakes and What Not to Do

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Diriya Sri Lanka
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There is a lot of information available about leadership out there, and how to become an inspiring leader. Even then, leadership is not something that is easy, and sometimes, even the best natural leaders take years of practice to get to a position of effectiveness. There are many common leadership mistakes made by leaders unintentionally, that could potentially damage the work processes. Here are some of them, and how you can avoid them.

Not taking the time to bond with people

Being a leader who is not interested in bonding with people is on of the most common leadership mistakes made. Bonding with somebody does not require you to necessarily like them. You could simply consider someone an acquaintance or colleague, but still bond with them in conversions that will give you perspective on the kind of insight that they can offer at work. If you do not take the time to bond, your solutions as a leader may not prove to be very successful.

Being unavailable and inaccessible

You will definitely need to delegate tasks as a leader, however, you can do so without emotionally detaching. When you assign a task and walk away and remain hands off, you will be seen as abandoning your people. If you are a good leader, you should know how to delegate and then stay accessible and connected. This does not mean that you are always responsive to every little request. However, it means that you have set up channels for people to reach you through.

Ignoring developing talent

A lot of the time, leaders drive exclusively on the achievement factor and harp on company goals, and in doing so they deny the inherent human need to learn. People love to expand their skills and competencies while they do their work and understanding that crucial factor, is what will make you an exceptional leader. When you prioritize learning, you become a great leader who can spot and develop talent in people who might themselves be unaware of it. You become, quite simply, a talent hunter.

Not providing regular feedback about performance

People will only be able to get to their highest level of performance, if they are aware of the effectiveness. Leaders have the tendency to sometimes rob people of the key to their future by taking away the gift of feedback from them. A good leader is somebody who provides regular feedback to their team and does so in a way that is motivating.

Not taking emotions into consideration

The strongest emotions that we experience as humans are related to loss, disappointment, failure and separation. Just because somebody is at work, that does not prevent them from experiencing such strong emotions in their personal life, and sometimes, this can be reflected in their energy. It is important for you, as a leader, to acknowledge this and give them support, leading them back into the work mindset with empathy.

Like we said before, being a leader is not an easy task, but it is something that is extremely rewarding when done properly. Watch this space for more blogs about leadership and more.

How to Develop Digital Presence at a Low Cost

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Diriya Sri Lanka
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Digital Presence

What is digital presence? This refers to an online presence that can be defined by how easy it is to find a brand or company online. It’s important for building your brand’s reputation, increasing brand awareness, and providing visibility to your products or services when users are searching for related keywords. Now that you know that, let us look at how you can build a digital presence online, while making sure that you stay within your budget

Build a strong emailer list

One of the top ways to build your online presence is to create and grow an email list. Such a list will enable you to engage with current and potential customers on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. To grow your email list, you can create specific and topical/important content that users have to sign-up to receive, perhaps something like a newsletter. Then you can use a call-to-action (CTA) on your website and social media pages to promote your email newsletter. This could be something like ‘Sign up now to read’ or ‘Follow our page for more’.

Have a simple but effective website

If you ask someone how to improve your online presence, almost every answer will include having a website. That’s because your website is the online version of your traditional store — it’s your digital location. It’s where people can find your business online, whether you sell offline or online. Shoppers and business buyers will use your site to get essential information, like your:

  • Location
  • Hours
  • Prices
  • Products or services
  • History
  • Advantages
  • And more

If you don’t have a website, it will be very difficult for people to do business with your company. Since more than 70% of people research companies online before they visit that company (or buy from them), you want to make finding your business online as easy as possible.

Create value

Overall, your brand or company’s goal is to make money. But before you can make money, you have to create value and be customer-centric. One way to create value is to provide educational, free content online. Not only is this helpful for your customers, but it’ll also improve your online presence. To get started, write out a list of your customer’s pain points and motivations. In other words, take a look at who your customer is. Then, brainstorm content that would answer their questions. This will be the basis for the type of content you create.

These are some of the easiest and most cost-effective ways in which you can develop a digital presence for your Small and Medium enterprise. So try them out, and stay tuned to our page for more tips and tricks.

Succeeding as a Female Entrepreneur

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Diriya Sri Lanka
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‘Female Entrepreneur’- the very fact that the word female is used in front begs a question doesn’t it? An Entrepreneur is somebody who has started their own business (to put it very simply), and the gender of that person should ideally be immaterial. However, from unequal pay to not being taken seriously in the world of business, women have had to shatter the proverbial glass ceiling almost on a daily basis. The good news is that today, we have more and more inspiring women setting trends and breaking barriers in terms of entrepreneurship. Even then, some women may feel that they lack something or that they are not being taken seriously. So here’s a small and helpful guideline to help you forge your path as a female entrepreneur.

Create a sound and professional first impression

One of the biggest challenges that most women face when it comes to professional matters is that they are not being taken seriously enough. To avoid this, it is essential to make that professional and strong first impression. Sources say that this can be something just as simple as introducing yourself with your first and last name, immediately followed by your designation. For example, “Hi! I am Tina Silva, founder of XYZ”.

Achieve work and life balance

Women are great at multitasking that is for sure. However, when life and work start to collide with each other, nobody really does well ultimately. Especially if you are a mother and a wife while also being the owner of a business. Striving to achieve that work and life balance is really important. Having schedules and deadlines and also adhering to them as much as possible will make this really easy and will allow you to not take your work home, or bring your home to work.

Establish a reliable support system

We all need a strong support system irrespective of gender. Having a strong support system will act as a motivational factor that will keep you going despite the many odds that you will face as you set up your own business and so on. Your support system could be family, your partner, children, or even just that bunch of really close friends who know you inside out and will stand by you. 

Being lonely

Sometimes entrepreneurship can be a lonely business, especially if you are making a transition from working for somebody to working for yourself. You may go from an office of 30 employees to a room in your home, working by yourself. While the change can be drastic and therefore challenging, learning to enjoy the loneliness and see it instead as freedom and a step in the right direction will go a long way in helping you establish your own successful business.

Being a female entrepreneur is something to be proud about. You may face many challenges, but the road to success is never going to be an easy one. Continue to watch our space to stay informed on more tips that can help your professional growth.

Header Image Credits:
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

How Can Technology Aid the Growth of SMEs?

By
Diriya Sri Lanka
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SMEs have started relying more and more on technology right now, from the use of laptops to social media marketing. The use of technology has greatly helped the growth and the maintenance of SMEs and it also helps them cut down on many overhead costs that would have been incurred otherwise. If you have an SME or would like to start up your own business, below are some of the ways in which technology could help you.

Social media

One of the biggest costs that any business will need to face is in their marketing efforts. Social media however, being the powerful tool that it has become today, has greatly lessened this for the entrepreneurs of small and medium scale startups. With the use of social media most new businesses have had the opportunity to widen their customer base, penetrate new markets, create exponentially better brand exposure and ultimately increase their profit margins. Setting up and using social media is also just so easy and is so incredibly accessible right now in Sri Lanka, that almost anybody can tap into the immense resource pool that is available here.

Setting up online stores and digital marketing

You don’t need to invest money in owning a physical store anymore, and worrying about paying a monthly rent or lease. Instead, you now have the capacity to run a business completely online and reap all the rewards of having a physical store, sometimes more. Sinking money into a physical store, especially right now with a pandemic and an unsteady economic climate might be not too prudent, however, owning an online store means that a wider audience can enjoy your products. You can also make use of resources of Instagram Explore and Shop or Facebook Business for this purpose. Tik Tok has also created a very unique space for branding in the Sri Lankan market right now.

Flexible work environments

Especially after the onset of the pandemic, people preferred to work from home as much as possible, and we, as a nation are slowly starting to realize that much of the work that we deemed was only possible to do from the office, could actually be done at home – or working remotely. For an SME, this is a fantastic opportunity to maintain a flexible work environment and save money on office space while still having a workforce who are working remotely. This also greatly reduces the liability of the employer to ensure the safety of the employee in terms of health and safety guidelines, because you are not asking them to come into office to begin with.

Instant customer feedback

One of the most vital ways in which any small and medium scale business can grow, is to pay attention to the feedback given by customers. Gone are the days where you would have to physically get the customers to fill in a survey, or ask them to write something down. You can now introduce polls and surveys on your social media pages, or you could design a quick and simple Google form for instance, that will help customers give you instant feedback, allowing you to nurture an environment of continuous improvement.

Technology continues to grow everyday and now, with the pandemic still at large, more and more inventions are being made in the technological and digital worlds that will facilitate the growth and continued survival of SMEs. If you are an entrepreneur, this would be the best opportunity for you to capitalize on this opportunity.

Want to know more? Watch this space for more tips about using technology to grow your business.


Header image credits:
Image by Photo Mix from Pixabay

Tips and Tricks for Positive Customer Relationships

By
Diriya Sri Lanka
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0

Customer service is without a doubt the lifeblood of any business. Without customers you have no business, so ensuring that you invest in excellent customer service and also customer retention is what will keep your business going even during challenging times. Here are a few things that you can invest in, very easily, to elevate your customer service levels and build positive customer relationships.

Learn what the customer wants and needs

Customer service is all about what the customer wants and not about what you think they want. There is a big difference between the two. In order to find out what exactly the customer expects from you there is just one foolproof strategy – simply ask them. Ask for customer feedback online, give them a call, post a survey or a poll, or send around a Google form in the form of a newsletter (through email marketing) and get a clear idea of the pain points and challenges that a customer has. Then work to address those.

Your service should not stop at sales

A lot of the businesses out there offer great service until a sale is done and then, they simply cease. After sales service is a big differentiator for you from your competition. Not many businesses offer this option and we are thinking that you definitely should. While it may seem like a lot, all you will really need to do is keep tabs and follow up with the customer and attend to their queries if they have any after the sale has been completed.

Invest in training and development

Your staff and even you as the business owner or a leader, should invest in training and development in customer service. There are a whole bunch of free courses and certification programs out there which are easily accessible online, and if you allocate perhaps one hour each week for employees to invest in their own training and development, the return of investment on that for your business will come in the form of business improvement and customer retention.

Generally you have to induce a service mindset throughout your company and if you live by it, your employees will follow suit.

Follow our blog for more insightful articles that can help grow your business.

Header Image credits:
Image by Nazly Ahamed

Innovation and Business

By
Diriya Sri Lanka
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Creativity plays an essential role in any business in any industry. In fact, encouraging creativity and innovation in the workplace can help businesses come up with unique solutions and innovative offerings that their customers as well as employees will really appreciate. This ability to understand that innovation and business go hand in hand and staying creative will truly help you differentiate your business from competitors and therefore attract the right customers as well.

What is creativity in the workplace?

This term refers to your ability to come up with innovative solutions and imaginative ideas as a business, and then make them a reality. You can also harness this creativity to nurture a sense of collaborative and positive work environment that will be an incentive to your staff. The creative process also allows you to ask questions and approach any challenge from diverse perspectives. These qualities will also help you promote more teamwork and brainstorming which will benefit the business eventually. Allowing space to your employees to create fearlessly is one very good way to develop creativity.

Identifying new opportunities

When you open your mind up and start to look at things in a fresh and creative manner, you begin to also identify opportunities that you may not have seen before. Instead of looking at everything as a challenge and a hindrance to growth you will ask questions that allow you to grow as a business. This is essentially called a growth mindset and is something that everyone should encourage and practice in any business, in any industry.

Creativity and innovations encourage each other

Innovation is the process of introducing and utilizing new concepts and ideas. Creativity is the process that gets you there. As a result innovation and creativity continuously encourage each other in the business process. It is also something that will encourage everyone on your team to look for new ideas which includes meticulous attention to detail. When you have a staff that is always paying attention, your path as a business becomes reinforced everyday.

How can you encourage innovation and creativity in the workplace?

As an entrepreneur or a leader, you need to know how you can encourage creativity and innovation in the workplace.
Here are some helpful pointers:
– Discourage judgment and encourage more open minded thinking. Listen with willingness to see potential.
– Promote diversity within your workforce in terms of backgrounds, perspectives and skills.
– Wherever possible, think of adopting a flexible work arrangement so that employees have more freedom.
– Always host brainstorming sessions to generate ideas for your business.

In summation, key factors to developing innovation is allowing space for your employees to create fearlessly and encouraging and facilitating an open mindset.

Image by Piyapong Saydaung from Pixabay

The Art of Communication – Mastering Storytelling

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Diriya Sri Lanka
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Need funding for your business? Need to increase your customer engagement? Need to motivate your team? Statistics show that people are 22x more likely to remember messages that are delivered through stories. Story telling encourages empathy, it should help your audience understand who you are and what drives you. It is important to understand that whilst data is needed to support your message, it is the story telling element that will fire the imagination and stir the soul, ultimately inspiring action. Thus creating the need to perfect the art of communication and master storytelling

So, what are the key elements of a powerful storytelling?

1. Structure

We live in an era of instant satisfaction, if you are not plunging your audience directly into the heart of the story you will lose their interest –

  • We live in an era of instant satisfaction, if you are not plunging your audience directly into the heart of the story you will lose their interest –
  • Start with the problem you are trying to fix, e.g. lack of affordable sanitary napkins for sale in your area.
  • Talk your audience through why that problem ignited you to find a solution e.g. you saw how daughters were kept home from school during that time of month.
  • Conclude with what your solution and therefore brand mission is e.g. ensure that no female child’s education is hindered by lack of access to such a basic need.

2. Clear message/takeaway

Ensure that you are clear on what you want your audience to take away from your story. What is the ultimate message you are trying to convey? In the above example the takeaway is that our product will support gender equality, particularly in regards to education. Ensure that every part of your storytelling lends itself to this message. Keep your story simple and do not add too many details that will distract your audience from the key takeaway.

3. Make it personal

By telling a personal story, particularly one of struggle you show vulnerability which makes you more relatable. Imagine you are in front of a group of angel investors trying to convince them to invest their hard-earned money into your business idea. Yes, they want to know the facts and figures but they also want to know YOU, what drives you WHY have you chosen this path and how well do you truly understand your target audience. An emotive story that shows that you have been in your target audience’s shoes gives more confidence to the investor.

This is a feature article written by Lalindri Paranagama for Diriya.lk. Lalindri is a Sri Lankan based in Hong Kong. She is an active member of Toastmasters International.

Image by Thomas Ulrich from Pixabay

How to Sustain a Business During an Economic Crisis

By
Diriya Sri Lanka
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0

Maintaining a sustainable business especially in the current economic climate is vital. The stronger your business is and the more sustainable it is, the less risk it has when there is an economic crisis. Now, to reinforce your business, you should not only think about financial management, but you should also think about marketing strategies to retain as well as broaden your customer base and learn to market affordably while keeping the morale high among your staff and improving your business culture and practices. Networking and forming the right alliances will also go a really long way and will minimize your exposure to risks. Here are some ways in which you can ensure the sustainability of your business.

Make your customers the priority

Customer service is all about making sure that your customers get what they want, when they want it. If you are able to offer excellent customer service, you are likely to retain your customers. This also means that you will be able to increase your customer base and help pivot your business towards new markets, products and services.

Making customers a priority in an economic downturn may also involve:

  • Including loyalty and customer incentive programmes
  • Adapting your products and services to address the current pain points of your customers
  • Diversifying your business intelligently to survive the damage that would be caused by the loss of a customer
  • Offering great after-sales service that will keep you in business even during an economic crisis


Use the right marketing strategies

Review your marketing strategies and come up with new ideas to increase sales and also find better methods of using your capital. You should try to always communicate your competitive advantage in marketing. The unique selling proposition should also be able to assist you in order to stand out from the crowd. But be sure to have methods of calculating the effectiveness of your marketing. Yes, marketing your business can be expensive, and during an economic crisis, it is very important that you try to explore as many free marketing channels as possible, such as word of mouth and social media marketing.


Manage your staff

Have a good and well-updated HR database and plan, and use that to manage your staffing costs. This will let you sell your products and services at the right amount as well. Always keep the communication open and honest because this will build morale among your staff. Try and include them wherever possible in the decision-making process. If you need to change your staffing arrangements during an economic crisis, understand the obligations you have if you are to terminate contracts. Before you terminate, look at other options such as offering job sharing and shift basis paid work so that people do not suddenly go out of work completely.


And there you go. There are many more ways in which you can ensure that you keep your business thriving even through an economic crisis. The key is to ensure that you cover all your bases as an entrepreneur and that you keep on staying flexible and optimistic.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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Diriya.lk is a sustainability and social innovation initiative of Dialog Axiata PLC. The content available herein is aimed solely for the purposes of educating, guiding and assisting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in navigating the challenges of the fast paced business world. As such, Dialog Axiata PLC, its staff, its officers or Directors shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages or damages for any loss of profits, revenue, business, savings or data, incurred due to the use of the content available on Diriya.lk.

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