Covid19 Crisis

Don’t leave your old electronics collecting dust in the closet.  There are tons of materials inside that can be recycled to conserve resources and keep materials out of trash heaps.  The EPA states that, “For every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.”

Please help do your part, here are a few tips to get you on track:

Check out the EPA’s Chart to search where to recycle by product type.

Best Buy is a good place to get started, they accept a wide variety of electronics and make it simple for you to drop off.

If you want to Get Something Back…

Amazon offers gift cards for recycling material through them.
Sprint offers a program to buy phones, even from other carriers.
Goodwill is a great place to drop off most electronic devices through their Dell Reconnect Program.  After just filing your taxes, you might want to donate somewhere that you can get a receipt for tax deductions.

Remeber that Reusing is even more efficient than recycling, make sure there isn’t someone out there that desperately wants your electronic device.  Of course remember to take out any batteries and remove all of your personal information before you depart with your once loved item.

Provide Effective Training – Hire someone to properly train your staff rather than making them learn as they go.  Make sure that the new users learn the basics, so they can start implementing necessary steps immediately. They will learn to use the bells and whistles as they gain experience. Look into training sessions over a period of time so that it works alongside their learning curve. If you push too much on them too soon, they will get overwhelmed and are less likely to adopt the new system.

Simplify Required Fields – Keep the necessary fields to be filled out as simple as possible. Your sales team is busy and they need to be able to get their information down as quickly as possible without getting frustrated. You should have no more than five main fields that need to be completed.

Supply Knowledge Base – Make sure that you have access to simple how-to questions, so that customers don’t feel a need to call someone and wait to get support. The less frustrating the transition is, the more assured that they will use the new CRM properly.

High Level Execs Included – Everyone needs to use the new system. Employees need to know that the adjustment to a new procedure is shared by everyone in the company. If they receive a message from their boss, they are more likely to perk up with interest so they can get on board with everyone else.

Gamification – One of the best ways to keep everyone’s attention focused on the new process is to make it rewarding by applying gamification. You can be as elaborate as you want, but most people enjoy a little competition and it engages their mind, so that they aren’t just following a mundane procedure.

Central Information Hub – The CRM should be the central place for information, so they don’t have to go to multiple places to find pertinent information.

Mobile Device Access – Users should be able to use their system on mobile devices with cloud access so that the process is as seamless as possible. If you need to go somewhere for an emergency, or just a break, you can bring your work with you.

Integrate Programs – Your CRM should work across other applications like MS Outlook so that it integrates with other programs that they are already using and they can see the benefit of the new process.

For more information about Act!, Act! Training, and Virtual Desktop Hosting email support@cloudtopoffice.com or call 866-710-4228.

I am two days away from my due date, but still working so that I can stay home longer when my new offspring arrives!  I’m very fortunate that the owner of Tandem CloudTop wants me to stay home with my new little one for as long as I would like.

Since our company specializes in Virtual Desktop Hosting, transitioning to working from home is going to be a breeze.  Even though we mainly work from the office, my coworkers and I still benefit from having shared files, which makes accessing our current data much more efficient.  I am excited to be able to work from home so that I can feel productive, and still be able to hold my baby on demand and let my body take the appropriate time to heal.

After I had my first child, I wasn’t ready to part from her for 5 months, and that was only for short periods of time.  Going back to work full time after having a child is not an easy task, but often necessary when maternity leave is unpaid or only for a short period of time.  Paternity leave is almost unheard of in the US, but many fathers that I have spoken with lament over not being able to be with their newborn or help out their spouse.

If you don’t want to miss out on this special time for your family, but need  to work, consider utilizing our hosted services to access your desktop just like you would at the office.  You will have the best of both worlds, in feeling great about getting work done, but being able to hold and give your newborn as many hugs as you can.