Full Business Support Services

This posting isn't a tip. It's to announce a new aspect of The Organized Office. I am adding Virtual Assistant (VA) services to my clients.

I will help you with your administrative tasks while we develop your perfect system. These services are part of a new field called Virtual Assistants. We help you with the same tasks as an administrative assistant, but from our home/office. This includes: billing, invoices, data entry, remote filing, newsletters, emails, website maintenance, etc.

We can tailor the perfect package to help you with efficiencizing and administrative tasks. I have fair rates based on the type of work and number of hours contracted. This is my passion, which means you will get the benefit of extra time and effort. As a plus I can be paid in US or Israeli currency.

Please contact me to disucss how I can help you improve your business, your office, and your life.

Have an efficient day,

Yoram Schwell

Efficiency Consultant
The Organized Office
www.efficientandorganized.com
yoram@efficientandorganized.com
phone (Israel): 077-556-2012, 052-681-5281
phone (U.S.): 347-338-4856
fax: 415-887-5675
blog: http://theorganizedoffice.blogspot.com/
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yoramschwell
jobshuk: http://jobshuk.com/theorganizedoffice
twitter: http://twitter.com/yschwell

Bottlenecks: Sometimes People Need to Wait

I was waiting in the post office last week, and it seemed like people were taking a long time to handle their transactions. I was getting impatient. Then I realized that sometimes waiting is required. When it was my turn at the post office, and at the bank, I was happy that the clerk took the time to handle my requests properly, despite the line behind me. I deserve quality service, and so does everyone else. But why do I need to wait for their service?

How does this apply to your business? Simple. You do your best for your clients/customers. Sometimes the calls come in too quickly and the line builds up behind the customer you are helping. People don't like to wait, but it is not cost-effective to have employees waiting around in case there is a rush. Obviously, if you are anticipating a busy season, or a busy period during the day, it makes sense to hire extra staff for those periods. But there are other things you can do to keep things flowing smoothly and happily:

1. Streamline your procedures. Set up a system to allow customer service to flow quickly. Get as much information as possible onto your website. If customers have a login, direct them to their account for specific information. If not, tell them where to get information.

Depending on your business you may need to set up a database or some sort of interface to track customer service calls or to handle requests. Maybe you simply need an efficient way to take notes and to retrieve information for your callers. Give them the help they need quickly. If something requires more time, take their information and call them back. (I opened a bank account and the system went down in the middle. The clerk told me to come back later. He prepared all the paperwork during his break so that I could sign everything quickly when I returned, at my convenience.)

2. Make waiting as pleasant as possible. For a small investment have some sort of hold music on your phone. Let people know you're getting to them as quickly as possible. Alternatively, don't have lots of holding. Use voice mail instead. Tell callers that you will look up their information and call them back as soon as possible. This saves them the wait time and allows you to gather some answers even before you speak. For people physically waiting in your store/office, have things for them to read. Put up nice pictures or a TV. If you are running an event, and the line is at check-in, have staff or volunteers circulate to entertain your guests. Have people answer questions and direct people to the correct line. Generally people don't mind waiting if they see progress and if they are being engaged.

There are simple things that you can do to help people pass the time and to help you give quality service to each customer. Contact me to discuss what you can do to help your customers efficiently.

Until next time, stay organized,
Yoram Schwell
Efficiency Consultant
The Organized Office
www.efficientandorganized.com
yoram@efficientandorganized.com
phone (Israel): 077-556-2012, 052-681-5281
phone (U.S.): 347-338-4856
fax: 415-887-5675
blog: http://theorganizedoffice.blogspot.com/
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yoramschwell
jobshuk: http://jobshuk.com/theorganizedoffice
twitter: http://twitter.com/yschwell

Piles of Stuff

I am all about relative efficiency. This means that what is better for some may not be good for others. You need to customize the system to fit your style, attitude, and available resources (time, money, support, etc.). Sometimes we cannot afford to have every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed the same hour. We need to work out a way to "proof-read" the same week. For other people, this is unacceptable and they need to find a way to get it done NOW.

Here's one suggestion for combining efficiency and oraganization with an eye towards time management:

PILES

Organize in piles. Have spots on your desk or a stack of filing trays and use those to keep things relatively organized. Shoe boxes can work for certain items. This way you can find whatever you need within 5 minutes without taking 2 hours each day to file everything away. Then you can devise a routine for getting the piles filed away int he proper places. These can be proper files in a drawer, shelved in the correct order, or entered into the computer and tossed.

Always think of the big picture: what do I need to accomplish and how can I do that without taking too much time, while still maintaining and organized office.

Please contact me for more ideas and discuss how I can help you build the most efficient system for yourself and your business. Until next time, stay organized,

Yoram Schwell
yoram@efficientandorganized.com

Efficiency Tip: A Simple List

We are all very busy. It doesn't matter what we do or how well we do it. there are many tasks to juggle and responsibilities to fulfill. How can we get them all done. The simple answer is, "You can't." But that doesn't really help anything but anxiety.

Here's a simple way to help get things done. Make a list. Make a list of everything you need to do. It can include repetitive tasks like going to the post office and generating regular reports if these are in your purview. From this list compose a smaller list consisting of things to get done short-term. This can include the daily tasks AND the special projects that can get crossed off once completed.

Develop a routine to help accomplish these tasks. Budget time according to the task. Leave a lot of time in your schedule for the variables; the non-routine tasks that can be completed. Some things are like laundry and email: there is always more to be done or read. Budget a set time for these. Other things can be done once (or once in a while). Get these done as well. Make sure anything with a due date is done on time.

And here's the best ting about making a list: Anything not done can be put on the list for tomorrow. If the listed item is taking too long to complete, give it a due date and get it done. Anything that is on your list for more than a week is taking too long to complete. Otherwise, keep it on the list and finish it in the next day or two.

If your list includes too many items that are left from day to day you can use some help getting your tasks and routine organized. I can help with that. There IS a way to get it done. I am here to help. Email me at yoram@efficientandorganized.com to ask questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until then, stay organized.

What is Efficiency?

I often wonder if my life is as efficient as I'd like it to be. Why do I sometimes leave things incomplete at the end of the day?

This is when I remind myself that we cannot always do it all ourselves. My business coach, Suzanne Evans (suzanneevans.org, www.blueprintlifecoaching.com, www.helpmorepeople.com) points out that there is a limited amount of time in the day. We can either use it better or buy more of it. I am here to help you use your time better. If you have the resources to buy more time, then I can help you develop the best routine to accomplish all your tasks. If resources are tight, we'll work with what we have. Efficiency is not nessecarily getting it all done in one day.

Efficiency is the power to get the MOST done, in the lease time, for the lowest price.

To this end, I have finally launched my website. It is really just a splash page. The rest will follow shortly, as I write the text. I would rather spend my time helping others get organized than playing with my own website. Please check it out: www.efficientandorganized.com. Bookmark it so that you can come back to it as I start adding tips on how to efficiencize your business.

Until next time, stay organized.

Sincerely,
Yoram Schwell

Getting Started

Hello all. As this is the start of my business blog, I'll begin with an introduction. My name is Yoram Schwell, and I am an Efficiency Specialist. I create order and improve procedures. I have done this, innately, since childhood when I would rearrange my dresser every few months.

Since the start of my professional career I have held many titles. But with all of my positions I have also helped people get organized, and helped to institute productive systems - whether it was part of my job or not.

So now I am going public. I am here to help you get your business in gear. We'll get you up to peak performance. If you think time is being wasted, especially on those important, but often boring administrative tasks, then contact me.

"Why should I hire you," you may ask. "Why can't I just do it myself?" It's a fair question. You should hire me because 1. I am The Efficiency Specialist, and 2. Some people cannot do it themselves. The just don't have the organizational knack that I have. Other people, and this may be you, have the basic skills to do it, but not in their current setting. Do you really have the time to step back from all your work and think about how it can be done better? Who will do your work while you're thinking about it? Allow me to do it for you. My experience and natural skill mean that I will help you much faster than you would help yourself.

So give me a call (201-927-5207) or drop me an email and we'll get started right away.

Until next time, stay organized...