When it comes to retaining your best customers and building a successful business, the customer service experience you provide is absolutely critical. According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Likewise, a Bain & Company study found that a customer is 4 times more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service related than price or product related.

Clearly, when customer satisfaction begins to dip, you know you have a serious problem on your hands. Whether you’re working for a lean and mean start-up or an established corporation, make sure you don’t make these critical customer service mistakes:

When your customer service staff is inadequately trained it reflects poorly on your entire organization. To prevent this, it’s important to have standardized processes for dealing with upset customers, deescalating situations, and above all else, providing actionable solutions. Customer service training shouldn’t just be for the customer service department either. Everyone in your company should be on the same page when it comes to customer interactions.

Not greeting your customers in a friendly manner.

The way your customer service staff greets your customers can change the entire mood of the conversation that follows. If they are friendly and warm then there is a high probability that the customer will respond in the same fashion. However, if your customer service staff sounds stressed out, bored, or uninterested then it will only lead to a negative experience.

Some organizations make it very difficult for their customers to actually contact them. They hide their contact information or direct customers to a long and tedious FAQ in an effort to avoid a real human-to-human interaction. While it's true that customer service time adds to your costs, the customer service experience also drives revenue. When your customers can't find solutions to their problems then they will turn to someone else and they will tell the friends to do the same.

“I’m sorry, that’s just our policy.” This is a statement that will turn your customers away in a flash. When there's a situation that needs to be remedied and you can keep the customer by bending the rules a little bit, sometimes this is truly the best option. Amazon is a company that lives by this policy and will go above and beyond to make sure that you’re satisfied with the outcome of your purchase—even if this means doing things that aren't in the rulebook sometimes.

Sometimes your customers just want to be heard. If you want the interaction to go well then it's important to pause and listen to everything that they are telling you. In some cases the problem they have might not be as obvious as they think it is. This is especially true in the tech world, for example. If you take the time to listen to your customers before responding to them the outcome of the interaction may be much more positive.

Airlines and telecom providers are particularly bad about this. As soon as you get through to a real human being they ask you questions about your call and then hand you off to another representative. Then that representative asks you the same question and hand you off to someone else!

This is extremely frustrating and turns customers away. The solution of this problem is to give representatives the authority to solve the problem themselves without handing it off to a different department or superior.

Failing to follow up with customers after the contact was made.

Following up shows the customer that you care about their experience and that you want to make sure that the problem was fully resolved. It leaves things on a positive note so that the last thing your customer remembers is that you were attentive enough to make sure they were fully satisfied.

Some companies train their customer service staff to keep the customers happy at all costs. While this sounds like a great philosophy it also leads to a lot of promises that cannot be fulfilled. Obviously, when your customer expects one thing and is given less than they planned on then your reputation will suffer. Your staff should only make promises about service that they can actually keep!

Documenting your interactions with customers saves you time and provides you with critical data that you can use to improve your products and services over time. Plus, nobody wants to explain their problem over and over again when contacting a customer support representative. If you have a database that documents prior actions then you can get caught up and start addressing the problem faster, which will lead to a more positive outcome with the customer in the end.

Some companies – startups in particular – choose to provide customer service exclusively over email. While this isn’t a problem itself, it can become one if you are sending too many canned responses. Your customers know when they’re receiving a pre-fabricated message and it can make them feel like they are being brushed off. All it takes is adding a little bit of personalization in the beginning of these emails to make the customer feel like they are being paid attention to.

Another Bain & Company study found that it costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. This statistic alone should show you how valuable each and every one of your customers are. The bottom line is that customer loyalty is paramount to the health of your organization. Avoid the mistakes I’ve listed above and you’ll be providing a superior customer service experience that will pay off tremendously in the long run.

Are you interested in learning how to better understand the needs of your customers?

You might find How to Understand Customer Needs to be a valuable resource.

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What’s the secret to sales success? Your people!

If a sales manager is not being supported by his/her team then the company is almost guaranteed to experience revenue problems, to say the least.

So how do you motivate your sales staff? Providing incentives and positive reinforcement are two great places to start.

Understanding the Way Motivation Works Within the Workplace

Take a moment to consider what a customer appreciates more: a well-planned business structure or outstanding customer service?

If you’re having trouble hitting the goals that you’ve set for your company, it may be time to reevaluate the ways that you’re approaching your business.

It is too easy to get lost in the numbers and forget about the HUMAN elements that drive sales and result in returning customers.

Determining what customers respond to is more about personality than logistics. Countless studies have proven that clientele good customer relationships drive business growth.

Customers will pay a premium if they’re guaranteed a positive experience.

Ensuring customers are receiving top-quality service lies on the shoulders of a company’s employees. When an employee feels good about their job and the work they are doing it will be evident in their attitude and treatment of others.

Working to motivate your sales staff is a sure fire way to increase their performance about the jobs they’re doing. Consistent motivation will also help promote a greater sense of accomplishment and work ethic.

When developing a motivation strategy for your business, there are several different techniques you can experiment with. Some common approaches are things like:

Goal-driven competitions are a great way to provide incentive and assist the company in reaching targeted sales quotas.

When quarterly bonuses are on the line, sales staff will be more ambitious about their work. It’s that simple.

Offering bonuses that are based on an individual’s work over a longer span of time will encourage them to consistently try harder. Everyone could use a little extra money and many sales staff members will be less willing to risk the total bonus amount because of a poor quarterly performance.

When a business owner makes their team a part of the overall plan, there is a higher chance of success.

Letting your sales staff know what the goals for the company are and how the results can benefit everyone is a great way to provide an incentive for hard work. The big picture does indeed matter.

Not only will your staff feel like they’re part of something bigger, they will have a better understanding of where the business is going and how they can improve their commissions over time.

Sometimes authority figures forget to reward good behavior. This goes for parents, teachers, and yes, bosses.

When an individual is only recognized for poor actions and effort, it lessens their self-esteem and does very little to foster motivation.

Human nature is a fragile thing and people are easily beat down when they are only receiving negative attention. Positive recognition, however, can boost someone’s confidence and provide them with the drive necessary to become a success.

Even if it’s a simple action, sales managers should take the time to thank their team for the hard work they do each day. Showing gratitude really does have a positive effect on your people. .

These types of positive encouragements will benefit the company overall and help you to achieve the goals you’ve set for your team by promoting a culture of positive action.

Reevaluating the working conditions of your sales team and making sure they’re provided with the things they need for a positive environment is vital to your company’s success.

Author Frederick Herzberg discusses a variety of different factors that can promote either satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the workplace in his book, The Motivation to Work. Some of these are:

Taking the time to think about these factors is imperative to a good business environment. If sales teams feel fulfilled by their working conditions they will have more motivation to do their jobs well.

When a boss notices that certain areas of the job or workplace are lacking, they should do something about it asap. This might include investing in better office furniture or even taking the hard-liner approach of eliminating low performing or negative individuals.

Motivation is a Driving Force Behind Company Success

Implementing a greater sense of purpose amongst your team will have a positive effect on your company’s success and reputation.

Whether you’re offering incentives or showcasing gratitude and respect, your sales team will become more focused and determined to succeed—and this will give them the necessary push to start hitting their numbers more consistently.

How to motivate your sales staff and hit your sales goals

The tech industry is a major driving force in the American economy, accounting for 7.1 percent of overall GDP and 11.6 percent of total private sector payroll.

With more than 6.7 million Americans working in the tech industry, and close to 200,000 tech jobs created in the United States last year, the industry is certainly booming. 

Choosing a career in technology is sure to be exciting, innovative and also very rewarding – particularly financially. Did you know that working in the tech industry can bring you more than double that of the average private sector wage?

So how can you get started in the tech industry, or ensure you stay ahead of the competition? Online courses are a great way to learn the fundamental skills you need to get started in technology, or to expand upon your existing skill set – at your own pace, in your own home.

We’ve found 5 of the best online courses to help you develop some of the most in-demand tech skills, valued by today’s employers. 

If you’re looking at getting started in the IT industry, or have moved into a role that requires you to have a greater understanding of tech solutions, troubleshooting is a good place to start.

As one of the most popular and fundamental tech skills, troubleshooting is required for many customer support and system management roles in the tech industry. Knowing what a tool is, what it looks like, and how to use it properly is critical when systems are not functioning, or down because of some wiring issue.

With the online course Becoming an IT Pro: Network Basics you’ll gain valuable troubleshooting skills, putting you ahead of others just starting in the field.

Coding is an incredibly useful skill to have, even for those working outside of the tech industry, such as in marketing, communication or media roles. Being able to build a website from scratch or enhance an existing site is something that many employers will appreciate!

Through the e-learning course HTML5 & CSS3 Site Design, you’ll learn how to master basic skills in web design, HTML, and CSS, as well as handy tips and tricks to help make sites more attractive and user-friendly.

Many companies are looking for employees who are skilled and proficient in Java, an extremely popular language for web development.

Through e-learning course Java Programming: Principles of Software Design you will learn how to write programs in Java and design programs to solve problems that require solutions. This 4-week online course focuses on showing that programming is more than just coding, involving strategic thinking and design as well.

Proficiency in SQL is one of the highest tech skills in demand, with the knowledge of database management and development valued and sought by many employers.

With the online course Mastering Oracle Database 12c SQL by Example, you’ll learn how to use SQL's best practices to query and manipulate data. Unlike other SQL courses, the course provides a media-rich learning experience, with a virtual class module that plugs you into a class environment where you can learn by example.

If you’re new to SQL, this course will be a fast and effective way for you to learn this language and become a skilled SQL developer. For those already familiar with SQL, the advanced parts of this course will provide you with new implementation approaches to improve your skills, including the newest SQL 12c features.

You might be surprised to see this included in our list, but taking the time to improve your leadership skills is very worthwhile. In fact, in a study of the most frequently desired skills for IT roles, approximately 30 percent of positions listed management as a necessary expertise. Showing strong leadership skills is clearly a highly valued skill for potential staff, regardless of industry.

Get a head start on your next supervisor or team leader role with Leadership Fundamentals – an online course that will help you improve your leadership style, successfully manage change and conflict, inspire your team and better serve the needs of your organization. 

There are many more e-learning resources available on the Go1 platform, including hundreds of courses for free! You can simply enrol and complete training modules online, improving your tech skills at your own convenience.

5 online courses to improve your tech skills

One of the most significant benefits to our ever-increasing access to technology is the ability to enhance our productivity exponentially. Think about it: the average student or employee now has access to better and more efficient tools and technology than multibillion dollar corporations had 15 years ago!

Whether you're learning a new language or working to improve your performance on the job there are tons of affordable applications that can help you get more done in less time. The end result of better productivity for students can translate into better jobs when they reach the workforce. For the employee, these tools can help you achieve higher wages and better job security.

Here are a few of our favorites productivity apps that you can start using today:

Productivity-Boosting App #1: RescueRescueTime

RescueTime is a powerful tool that gives you the ability to track and analyze how you spend your time when you sit down at your computer. It’s easy to install and runs in the background while you’re working and tracks how much time you spend using applications and spending time online. Once you've gathered a few days’ worth of information you take a close look at where you are spending too much time and take action to fix it.

The results can be quite eye-opening. For example, you might be shocked to discover how much time you are actually spending on social media or reading news sites every day. Even if it’s a ridiculously conservative 2 hours per work day, that adds up to 40 hours per month! Even if you slashed that number by 50%, imagine what you could get done with 20 more hours in a month. RescueTime has a simple free version as well as a paid premium version that allows you to block websites and track several additional data points like the time you spend away from the computer.

Productivity-Boosting App #2: FocusBooster

FocusBooster is an application that uses the Pomodoro technique in order to maximize your productivity when performing mentally demanding tasks. It's fairly simple to implement: you simply start the timer in the application for 25 minute increments and focus on the work at hand until the timer goes off.  Then you take a short break for 5 to 10 minutes and allow your mind to relax and start the timer again after the break. Studies have shown that this method helps prevent mental fatigue, improve recall, and reduce errors when performing information related tasks. FocusBooster is one of the easiest Pomodoro technique-based applications to get up and running and is absolutely free.

Productivity-Boosting App #3: Google Drive

For the information worker on the go there might not be a better application suite and than Google Drive. This is one of the most popular secure cloud-based storage applications available, allowing you to backup your photos, videos, and documents in a snap. You get a whopping 15 GB of space for free and as long as you have access to the Internet you can collaborate with other workers and update your documents anywhere in the world that you are. All it takes is a tablet, computer or smart phone and you’re off and running!

Access to Google Drive also allows you to use Google's office-based applications and export them in the appropriate format. So even if you don't have access to Microsoft Excel, you can create a spreadsheet in Google Drive and export it to XLS format and send it on to your boss or coworker.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Global Leadership Summit in London, 34% of business leaders claim that half of their company's full-time workforce will be working remotely by 2020. Clearly, applications like Google Drive will help drive productivity in a huge way for workers who will not be tied to a single workstation in the future.

Evernote is an outstanding application for productivity that allows you access to your notes across multiple devices. You can take snapshots of websites, clip important passages and create bookmarks on the go…and then access them from anywhere in the world. You can also create reminders and even hand write to-do lists and upload them to your Evernote account for later access.

The days of taking notes on a yellow legal pad and hauling it around with you are over. One of the biggest benefits to Evernote is the fact that you can organize your notes and ideas and search through them based on keyword tags. This is an essential time-saving app for students and workers alike. Evernote has both a robust free version and an even more advanced paid version at a very reasonable $10 per month.

This is a flash card style program that helps you improve memorization. Many students love to use Anki for language learning because it's fast and effective for repetition based memory techniques. Medical students, engineering students, and other populations that need to memorize a wide variety of formulas and concepts have all touted the benefits of Anki for years. You can create your own “decks” of cards to learn specific concepts or choose from a wide variety of shared ones that have already been created by other users. Anki is a free application that can help you boost productivity in a big way.

Productivity tools empower the student and employee of today in more ways than at any time in history. The applications listed above can help you learn languages faster, get more work done in less time, prevent mental fatigue and organize your information more efficiently. Imagine what you could do with just 20% more time in a day? What could you accomplish? If you start using applications like these then you will soon find out!

5 apps that can help boost your productivity

Proper procedures may be the foundation to a successful customer experience, but they are nothing without the group of people who are performing them.

According to an article in Forbes Magazine, 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for good service. A company might have an award-winning plan to ensure customer satisfaction, but if the employee assisting that individual is not up to par there is an automatic decrease in the chance of conversion.

Achieving greatness amongst your customer service team might seem tricky, but there are three key factors that can make all the difference:

Abiding by these basic ideas will help to ensure successful business practices, happy customers, and an effective customer service team that keeps things running smoothly.

When a business owner wants to improve their customer service tactics, they need to start from the ground up.  Choosing employees that exhibit certain necessary skills will allow them to best serve their customers.

Traits like adaptability and patience can make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. Not only is each customer different, but also every situation itself is unique. Employees that bestow natural flexibility will have the ability to appeal to a broader variety of personality types and needs.

Managers and owners should also look for team members with great communication skills.

In today’s modern world the digital contact portals available are extensive. Not only are customers calling businesses on the phone, they’re emailing and looking for live chat opportunities. The ability to clearly communicate throughout these different forms is essential to providing a positive customer experience.

Not only will your customers feel more understood themselves, they will also feel more confident about the information the customer service team is providing.

It may seem obvious to say, but knowledge is another key factor in excellent customer service. Guaranteeing someone who has had proper training and education is assisting your customers will help safeguard the company against potential issues.

In a recent Huffington Post article, an intriguing question was posed:

“Are your customer service representatives enabled to be the best they can be…?”

Hiring on team members with the right skills and capabilities is the perfect first step to answering yes to this question and achieving a great reputation for quality customer service.

Time and experience have shown many bosses that there is a direct correlation between happy employees and successful customer service. When a member of the team is being positively motivated on a regular basis, their desire to good work is exponentially higher.

In order to properly motivate employees, a business owner should look at things like:

Letting your employees know how much they are appreciated is a great way to provide motivation. All too often, business higher ups forget to convey gratitude for the work their teams are doing.

When a customer service employee is consistently putting forth a ton of effort but never being acknowledged, their drive to do more will quickly begin to weaken. High morale is key and it’s incredible how much a simple thank you can make a difference.

When a person is happy at work, that happiness will rub off on the customers, which will, in turn, positively affect sales.

Fostering a little friendly competition throughout the workplace is a great way to motivate your customer service team. Whether the award is a small bonus in their paycheck or a restaurant gift card, people love a challenge and a little good-natured competition will bring a sense of fun to the job.

Competitions provide goals that give team members something to work towards. They inspire dedication and increased efforts that will result in higher sales rates for the company.

Whether it’s nothing but raving compliments or a little bit of constructive criticism, the opportunity for a customer service employee to sit down with their boss is an invaluable chance for motivation.

Not only do these meetings provide a platform for feedback, they also offer the employee a chance to discuss any questions or concerns they may be facing.

However big your company is, taking the time out for a one-on-one chat with your employees allows you to focus on them and their needs. This will not only provide a fresh perspective for both boss and team member but will often encourage higher respect throughout the company.

When you’re trying to figure out how to get your customer service team performing at their best, one of the most helpful answers is to walk a mile in their shoes.

Taking the time out of your busy schedule to spend a day working in customer service will provide you with the firsthand knowledge needed to truly understand the work being done and the expectations of your consumers.

You will have the chance to interact with your own service equipment and products, which will unveil potential weaknesses in the system. This will help you determine what types of reevaluation and re-training may need to occur

Logistics aside, however, seeing your company from the other side of the counter will probably give you a newfound respect for the work that your employees do. As a result, your customer service team will feel encouraged by your own dedication to the work.

Improving Your Business’ Success from the Inside-Out

A high performing customer service team is a major key to successful business practices.

Your customer service employees are the face and voice of your company. Their happiness and effort will directly affect the number of successful customer experiences you see and will keep said customers coming back for years to come.

A company with a reputation for amazing customer service speaks volumes in the world of business and it doesn’t take much to get there. If you remember the three main topics mentioned in this article: capability, motivation, and understanding, you will be laying the groundwork needed to become a triumph in the customer service industry.

How to get the best out of your customer service team

Did you know that your level of emotional intelligence can have just as much of an impact on your work life as it does on your personal life? 

While traditionally, companies focused more on an employee’s IQ as a measure of potential success, today’s workforce is paying a lot of attention to EQ – emotional intelligence.

EQ, also sometimes referred to as EI, is seen as something that is a bit “intangible,” but nevertheless has become a solid indicator of the quality of relationships, career success and overall happiness of an individual.

Emotional intelligence is not about your intellect – as Travis Bradberry, author of the best-selling book ‘Emotional Intelligence 2.0’, puts it, “emotional intelligence is the other kind of smart.”

Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to monitor your own and others' feelings and emotions, and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions. It’s made up of four core skills that pair up under two primary competencies: personal competence and social competence.

Personal competence involves your self-awareness and self-management skills, which focus more on yourself as an individual, rather than on your interactions with other people. It’s about your ability to stay aware of your emotions and manage your own behavior and tendencies. 

Social competence concerns your social awareness and relationship management skills – your ability to understand other people’s moods, behavior and motives in order to improve the quality of your relationships. 

Overall, across these two core competencies, EQ plays a significant role in how an individual manages behavior, navigates social complexities, and makes personal decisions to achieve positive results. In the workplace, as well as in your personal life.

The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Your Career

There’s been a lot of interest in emotional intelligence and its impact on employees and the organizations they work for. 

Studies have revealed that 90% of top performers have high EQs and emotionally intelligent employees can expect to earn more than individuals with lower levels of EQ. In fact, people with high EQ make $29,000 more annually, with a single-point increase in your EQ adding $1,300 to your salary.

In a recent study by TalentSmart, emotional intelligence was tested alongside 33 other important workplace skills, with the result that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of success in all types of jobs. 

Individuals with high EQ are seen to possess calmness, clarity of mind and the skills to conduct more satisfying relationships, which are all positive assets for an employee. 

The Benefits of Employing Staff with Higher Emotional Intelligence

If you’re in a management or recruitment position, it’s worth knowing that employees with higher levels of EQ can bring a number of benefits to your organization.

Individuals with high EQ are seen to be: 

Being able to handle conflict, perform well under pressure, and lead and manage teams are invaluable and very highly regarded skills, regardless of your job description or industry.

That last factor is also very important, as the emotional wellbeing of individuals has a very positive impact on their working relationships and individual productivity – indeed, “happy workers are a great asset because they work better in teams, provide better service to customers and are generally more creative and productive.”

Improve Your Emotional Intelligence with eLearning

So is there a way to boost your own EQ? The good news is yes, you can! 

Unlike intellect, emotional intelligence can be developed and expanded, meaning we can learn to improve our EQ and apply it to our work relationships and roles. You can easily enroll in online courses in your downtime to work on your EQ, learning skills that enable you to recognise and manage emotions, both your own feelings and those of other people.

Why not start with the short 30-minute online course, Emotional Intelligence? This eLearning course will give you an expert insight into the core skills of EQ, providing you with ways to boost your own emotional intelligence and succeed in work and life.

Particularly useful for managers and team leaders, and also available online, A Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace shows you how to get better results in the workplace through better communications. This eLearning course consists of one hour of videos, broken down into 25 lectures.

If you want to be a more effective workplace leader and manager, this course will help you develop and use your emotional intelligence for better workplace outcomes. It uses real world examples to illustrate what emotional intelligence is, why it is important to develop and use it in the workplace. There are useful quizzes and downloads for both yourself, and ones you can use with your team in the workplace.

Why emotional intelligence is so important at work

Some people hear the word “eLearning” and they might assume that it’s a “passive” method of studying. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Being a successful online learner means applying discipline to yourself and being in control of your own motivation. Here are some eLearning dos and don’ts to keep in mind when studying online.

Being in control of your own motivation doesn’t mean that eLearning should be a grueling challenge in self-discipline, though. You simply might need to adjust your strategy a bit. For a successful eLearning journey, there are some basic eLearning dos and don’ts that will ensure you get the very best from your effort and motivation.

1. Do Shift Your Attitude Towards Learning 

Numerous studies have already proven the power of positive thinking and just how effective our minds can be when it comes to altering our entire perception on things. As an eLearner, the first and most important thing you can do is to shift your attitude towards study from thinking of it as a chore and turning it into something you enjoy.

Some simple ways to improve your study mindset, as recommended by psychologist Dr. John M. Grohol, include:

Avoid catastrophic thinking, and always try to find the upside in a situation.

Always think positively as you study, and if you’re not feeling positive then step away and do another task until your mindset has changed.

Don’t compare yourself with others, whether it’s students or peers, as this approach never helped anyone to succeed.

2. Do Have A Reliable Internet Connection 

It might seem simple, but it’s also one that slips a lot of people’s minds. When you study online, you should imagine your computer and internet access just as important as the physical settings in a typical classroom.

Would you be able to succeed in studying effectively without notebooks, textbooks, pens, paper, or a chair to sit in? Then you should consider your internet access equally critical. Have this organized before you begin studying so that you’re not left with any distractions if the internet decides to cut out mid study session. Avoid opening multiple tabs and watching cat videos and you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Absolutely crucial to any student’s success, but even more for the eLearner is the necessity of taking regular study breaks. When we attend college or school our breaks are already planned out for us, but when we’re forced to make our own schedules we can forget how important these are.

Set yourself some smaller study breaks and plan towards them. According to guidelines set out by MIT, a 10-minute study break every 50 minutes is ideal. After this you can add a larger break of 30 minutes or more every couple of hours. These will not only be great goalposts to work towards, but they’ll help you feel refreshed and rejuvenated for your next study session.

4. Don’t Be Afraid To Seek Out Help From All Avenues 

Being an eLearner can feel isolating at times. Rather than interacting face to face with fellow students and speaking directly to your instructor for help, the online learner might find themselves feeling a little lonely. This is normal with an online setting, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways for you to communicate with others.

Most respected eLearning providers will have this covered with a range of communication methods designed to keep you in touch with students and teachers. These are here for a very specific reason, so make sure you reach out on discussion boards, emails, and in group settings whenever you can.

5. Don’t Just Assume You Can Study Anywhere 

One of the best things about learning online is that you can do it from just about anywhere, but you still need to be smart about where you choose to study. Any area filled with distractions such as a TV room or loud cafeteria filled with rowdy people probably isn’t going to be conducive to studying.

If you like to study on the go, think about breaking up your lessons to suit different times and places. Read your notes on the train ride home each day, save online quizzes and assessments for when you’re home and at your desk, and watch educational videos when you have your headphones handy. Being an eLearner means you have a world of possibilities for where and when you study, so you need to use them wisely.

When you’re an online student, you can often feel left to your own devices when it comes to planning your study schedule. For those who attend college or training seminars, the days, weeks, and even years have been planned out for you so you know where and when you’ll be learning new modules.

It’s extremely important for the eLearner to spend some time each day and week to reassess their schedules. When you begin your study session, you should plan the modules out to the best of your ability, and then adjust these each day and week to suit your availability. Have a daily checklist of what you want to achieve, and a clear outline of when assignments and other important milestones are due. As an eLearner, nobody is going to be doing this for you so it’s crucial to develop strong organizational skills for yourself.

Although these form some blanket rules for effective eLearning strategies, there might be some that work uniquely for you. Just like anything worth doing, it will take time and patience to understand how you best work with an eLearning schedule and what times and methods work in your favor.

With so many benefits to be had from eLearning, whether it’s in a corporate setting or for your own personal educational goals, it makes sense to give it the very best shot. Understanding what makes this style of learning so unique and using it to your advantage will put you miles ahead of other students.

eLearning dos and don'ts: get the most out of your training

It's now easier than ever to create and publish your online courses, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to find it easy to get more enrollments, or make money off your content. Udemy User Joe Natoli experienced this first hand before he noticed a sudden spike in enrollments from an alternate source.

Joe, who is the owner and founder of GiveGoodUX has created two courses on the on the Udemy platform covering User Experience Design Fundamentals and UX & Web Design Master Course: Strategy, Design, Development. Although his courses were highly detailed and receiving great reviews on the platform, Joe's courses were not getting the exposure that he would have liked to have seen, until one day after an increase in enrollments it was revealed that there was a new leading source of traffic to his course pages, the Go1 Marketplace.

Since it's launch in June this year, the Go1 course marketplace has expanded to contain the largest collection of online course in the world, with in excess of 100,000 courses listed. The marketplace contains courses from a number of parters of Go1, as well as indexing some of the top content providers worldwide to allow users to find the best, and most relevant course to meet their needs.

Because Joe's course was listed in the Go1 course marketplace, it was then able to be discovered by an entirely new audience, as well as being promoted through regular Go1 marketing materials and category listings on the website.


"The number of people on the Internet — and the number of products and services competing for their time and attention — has grown exponentially. So your course may offer tremendous value and be really useful to them, and they may be desperately looking for what you have to offer. 

But the strength of your course — and that matching need — is irrelevant unless you can actually get it in front of those people! You have to be able to cut through the clutter of Internet traffic and let them know it exists.

There is no way I would have more than 45,000 students if it weren’t for affiliate marketing through organizations like Go1. Aligning our efforts with theirs provides the kind of reach we simply would not have otherwise." 

You can learn more about GiveGoodUX and view Joe's courses by clicking here.

Get your course seen with the Go1 course marketplace

Regardless of your job description or the industry you work in, taking the time to improve your skill set shows initiative and drive. It also shows your ability to learn new skills and a willingness to advance your career – qualities that are highly valued by many employers and organizations.

Employees who are willing to develop new skills and improve their existing skill set demonstrate a commitment to ongoing learning and professional development. Learning new skills is exciting and challenging and keeps your brain active, while also opening new doors so you can succeed at work.

Improving your skill set takes time and commitment. These days, we’re lucky to have the convenience of learning online. Online learning is a great personal and professional development tool, helping you to meet your goals and boost your job performance. And there’s never been a better time for learning, with so many e-learning tools and online courses available to us – many of them free.

We’ve done the hard work for you and found 5 free online courses you can enroll in to improve your skills in some key areas. Mastering these essential skills will make you a more well-rounded employee and an asset to any company, while improving your own self-confidence and knowledge in these areas.

Knowing how to effectively manage your time, both at home and at work, is one of the most essential skills you can have. Strong time management skills are highly valued in many organizations, with companies looking for high-performing individuals who can work at elevated levels of effectiveness and efficiency. 

Being able to perform and function productively with a clear head, even when it seems that you have an overwhelming number of things to do, will go a long way in any organization. In this way, taking the time to become more organized and productive will make your life far less stressful, while gaining results for your employer and your own professional development.

With the online course Learn Time Management, Get Organized and Get Everything Done, you’ll learn how to take control of your priorities, set the right goals and plan your time effectively. The course also contains practical tips on how to overcome procrastination and take control of your schedule. There’s also interesting information on personality types and how this affects the way you spend your time.

With verbal communication skills ranked high on the list of many role descriptions, improving your public speaking skills can be a very valuable step for your professional development.

Strong verbal or oral communication skills show that you can articulate your thoughts and ideas and communicate effectively with colleagues and clients. Many roles also require public speaking from time to time, whether it’s making a speech or delivering a pitch or presentation, and for many of us this can be a source of fear and anxiety.

Spending some time on developing your public speaking skills can also take the stress out of having a presentation or speech sprung on you at the last minute – you’ll feel confident in your skills and prepared for any occasion.

Take a look at How to Master Public Speaking, which has been designed to help you feel more confident while talking to any audience, large or small. You’ll learn how to calm your nerves and feel more at ease while speaking in public.

Even if you’re quite comfortable with speaking in public, an online course can be a way to make your presentations or speeches more effective, helping you to learn more about the use of tone and hand gestures while delivering your message.

Whether it's with a direct report, colleague or manager, difficult conversations can provoke feelings of intense anxiety and discomfort for all involved. You may be passing on negative feedback, assessing an employee’s performance or dealing with a sensitive HR issue – regardless of your role or rank, these conversations can be hard to navigate.

However, often these kinds of difficult conversations are an opportunity for positive change and meaningful discussion, presenting a way for personal growth and professional development to occur.

How to Master Difficult Conversations will provide you with the tips, tools, strategies and solutions you need to initiate and participate in difficult conversations. By the end of the course you’ll feel more empowered and confident, ready to face these conversations without fear and participate in them without difficulty.

We all take part in certain forms of negotiation every day, both at work and in our personal life. Whether you work in sales, finance, project teams or contracts – getting people to do something is a form of negotiation.

In this way, negotiation is one of the most desirable skills in employees, and not just for those in management level. Showing strong negotiation skills within your organization can help your company succeed, as well as advance your career.

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills is a great introductory course to negotiation, guiding you through the four steps of a successful negotiation strategy and helping you improve your skills in this important area.

You might be a little surprised by this last one, but learning to effectively manage stress can make a huge impact on all aspects of your life, including work. Employees who know how to manage their own stress levels are a positive attribute to any company.

As we discussed in a recent article about the risks of burning out at work, excessive stress can lead to serious impacts for both employees and their employer – organizations can expect to suffer from reduced productivity, higher employee turnover, financial burdens from absenteeism and the possibility of medical, legal, and insurance expenses. For individuals, burnout can contribute to serious mental health issues, such as anxiety, insomnia, hyper vigilance and depression, as well as serious physical health problems.

Through Stress Reduction and Wellness, you will learn to identify stress, establishing what situations, thoughts or feelings stress you out. You can then find ways to reduce this stress using mindfulness meditation techniques. You’ll become more aware of your thinking patterns, allowing you to increase your resilience to stressors, achieving greater calm in the workplace, as well as your personal life.

Ready to get started? Take a look through more great courses, many of them free, in Go1’s marketplace – simply enrol and complete training modules online, at your own pace, in the convenience of your own home or office.

5 free online courses to help you succeed at work

Delivering high-quality customer support is a critical component of any successful business. Customer service helps you retain customers, improve sales figures, and ultimately it provides the vehicle that drives long-term profits back into your business so you can grow. Sure, it’s true that many companies are still stuck in the “old school” paradigms of traditional customer service, there are several businesses that are shaking things up the customer service experience and these are the folks you should be paying attention to.

Here are a handful of companies that are doing it right: