Being interviewed for a new post is nerve-wracking, especially if the job is really the one that you have dreamed of your whole career. 

The job market is an increasingly competitive place, more so in some industries and sectors than in others. You have applied for the top executive position you have always craved and aimed for throughout your career. The letter arrive, inviting you for a preliminary interview… on the phone.  

This one phrase fills you with dread and, if you have not partaken in a phone interview before, then it can make the idea of talking to future employers, a panel of executives more daunting than ever.  

Why are phone interviews increasing in popularity?

With more candidates applying for positions, employers are presented with an interesting dilemma: spend days interviewing them all or, whittle down the massing throng to a chosen few. And it is for this last reason that many employers are now beginning to use the phone interview as a process of short listing the people they want for the post.  

Not an interview to be taken lightly

Phone interviews take practice and preparation is key and to help you out here are our top tips for getting it right when it comes to phone interviews… 

Take it seriously 

Commonly, many people don’t make it past the phone interview stage simply because they treated it as an informal chat, which it is not in any shape or form. This is not how it is. An interview carried out over the phone can seem a little detached and face-less, but you still have to shine through. Just as you would at a fact-to-face interview, you need to show you are top level material. 

Research, research and more research 

If this is your dream job, then the phone interview stage is clearly important. Picking up the phone and finding you can’t answer the first question they ask is an embarrassment that you want to avoid. Research the company, research the job, find out their history, what they do and don’t do and where you think you could fit in, and what you could offer etc… 

‘Intelligent’ questions 

Really tough, even in a face-to-face interview, is the asking of questions but at higher level interviews, the questions need to be ‘intelligent’. Asking when your tea break is not quite the question they would expect from a high end candidate. From your research, you should be able to create a short list of intelligent questions but also have a firm idea of what it is you would be looking for in the answers.  

A quiet room, with no distractions 

Being able to focus 100% on the phone interview is essential and thus, you need to be prepared. Clearly, if home is not the place, then you need to be able to find an alternative venue where you can be comfortable. The phone interview can sometimes take more preparation than a face-to-face interview, so be prepared to go that extra mile.  

Make sure your phone is charged 

Might sound obvious but, if you are using your mobile, it needs to be full of battery life. If you are using the landline, make sure if it is a cordless handset that it is fully charged too… 

Stand up and smile 

You can tell or read the emotion of a person over the phone so rather than slouching in the corner of the sofa, you need to be ‘suited and booted’ as the saying goes. Body language experts suggest that to create the right impression, you also need to stand and smile as you talk. It is more difficult to read a person’s body language over the phone and so you, as the candidate will need to work a lot harder to get over your personality and character.  

Vary your voice 

In a face-to-face situation, 90% of what people read about the interviewee is from body language and so this important element is missing. Not only do you want to convey your best qualities, but you also need to sound interesting and motivated. The way to do this is with your voice, so make sure you vary your tone and depth of voice. This does not mean breaking out in to impressions of well-known people, however… 

Stop rambling! 

Just like any other kind of interview, make sure you ‘rehearse’ answers and so on, watching out for rambling on when there really is no need. In a phone interview, it can be a death knell as over the phone it can come across even worse than in a face-to-face situation.  

Allow extra time 

Phone interviews, when they go with a swing, can be a great way interview potential employees and can go on for longer than the stipulated time. So, in your schedule allow for this as you really don’t want to cut it short.  

Take notes 

In some cases, the phone interview is the shortlist process that the company uses thus, it is important that you take notes. If you are shortlisted, it could be weeks before the final interviews and you will need notes to refresh your memory.  

Good luck! 

 Stressed staff. Work left incomplete. Things lost. Documents disappear. General unhappiness. 

 These are not factors or situations that any employer wants to find themselves in but, the sad fact is that work can be a stressful, unyielding place where people feel uncomfortable. When you consider we spend the majority of our week in work, it seems odd that we do not allow as many comforts and benefits to our working environment.

The office is the place where the wheels of business and commerce turn. With uncomfortable employees, many people will choose to seek alternative employment; if the feedback is such that the office is no conducive to high levels of productivity, then you really need to start taking action…

Comfort and productivity are related

Comfort is not about supplying a sofa and a foot massage, there is far more to it than that but, as if often the case, people tend to be allocated working space and furniture with not much thought to its suitability and appropriateness.

So, what can an employer do and do they really make a difference to productivity?

Ergonomic design

Ergonomic design is about creating items of furniture that fits people. We are all different shapes and sizes and thus, some of the items of furniture we use in the office needs to be different. For example, for one person the desk may need to be higher than their neighbour; some people benefit from ergonomic keyboards and so on.

Ergonomically designed furniture and offices minimise physical discomfort but, they also help in minimising distractions. Customising a workspace for that person is a great way of motivating them too. Imagine having a desk is created for you?

Improving layout

Just like some areas of the home, the layout of an office can be something that happens by chance. In other words, someone just put the desk there and that was it – it stayed. Someone put the printer there, and then the coat stand arrived…

This piece meal addition of items happens in offices across the country but just because something has always been there, does not mean it is in the right place.

Objectively view what needs to be frequently used and accessed, and what doesn’t and create the layout of your office accordingly.

Mobile, adjustable furniture

The range of office furniture, and the choice of items have increased immeasurably in recent years. There are now no excuses for not partaking in adjustable, space saving items that can easily reconfigured in to something else. Many open place office, for example, to help minimise distractions and noise, have cubicle booths in which people work. There may be times that these boards and dividers will need moving; remember, nothing need be set in stone! Your office layout needs to change as your business, and employees, changes too.

Noise levels

Productivity can be seriously dented if the noise levels in an office space are too high. It creates a frantic, almost chaotic feel to a space that some may thrive in, but others will struggle to deal with.

Anything from a phone conversation from someone across the way, to the fax whirring, the printing squeaking to people singing, sighing, sneezing and coughing can all create an atmosphere that many people find stressful.

There may be some industries in which this is more common place than others but, if you are serious about productivity levels then you simply must take a moment to consider how the office environment and noise is impact of these levels.

Create habit and routine

Although it is nice to break free from the shackles of routine from time to time, when it comes to office layouts, studies have shown that for some employees, having their own space, arranged in the way they want it is a habit that actually helps productivity.

Familiarity is key to helping people not be distracted by other conversations, the phone ringing in another space or the printer chewing the paper again. Some employers worry about employees being ‘too comfortable’ assuming that this means little work is being done. But, the opposite has shown to be true.

Time for a move round?

Before you start shifting desks and wheel filing cabinets back and forth, before you attempt any move, take a moment to objectively review your space and what it is that is missing, what needs improving and what are the measures that can be taken to improve it.

Include your staff team – what distracts them? What would help them?

 Work makes up around a third of our lived; for many people, they spend more time with colleagues than they perhaps do with their families, especially when work is busy, or a demanding project is on hand. With deadlines looming, it can be easy to forget that in this heady mix of stress and more stress, there are people – your staff – who may be left slightly worse-the-wear from this latest stress-inducing project.  

It is important that staff feel cared for and motivated by the company for which they work. When staff feel listless, rudderless and put-upon they will quite often vote with their feet and move on; what can be somewhat worse is that a member of staff, bored and disgruntled, stays to tell everyone how bored and disgruntled they are… and do so over and over again.   

The time to motivate staff is NOW and ALWAYS

Motivating staff does not have to be a complicated equation or booking a paintballing session, followed by a pub crawl. Motivation is something that needs to start in work, and the first thing you need to ascertain is what could be draining staff so that they do feel disgruntled, put-upon, bored, tired, stressed and generally lacking any serious oomph to get things done.  

And so here are 7 simple, yet startlingly effective tips for motivating staff…

#1 ‘All work, no play makes jack a dull boy’…

…or so the saying goes however, falling back on the almost obligatory paint balling sessions, followed by ‘the pub’ is not the play of which we speak. Having an office night out every now and then is no bad thing, but you will find that all people want to socialise in this way.

What we are advocating here is far simpler, and yet overlooked. When work is busy, breaks and lunches are often not taken or halved. Eating at the desk is not something that should happen on a regular or daily basis.

One great way of motivating staff is ensuring that everyone has the break to which they are entitled to. Simply by having time to drink and eat reduces stress, burn out and, in the long run, stress-related absences.

So get the kettle on and take the weight off your feet for half an hour.

#2 Work on the atmosphere

It won’t happen overnight but in busy offices and sectors of work, it can be difficult to ask for help. In some cases, this is because people cannot make their voices heard or feel they cannot ask. In other cases, it is because they don’t realise they are struggling and need help.

A key motivating factor is when people feel they are important and cared about. A supervision process whereby people have regular, uninterrupted time with a senior figure within the organisation to discuss everything from workload to health & safety concerns.

Being listened to and concerns acted upon, without any backlash is key in creating an atmosphere on which people thrive and are motivated.

#3 Constructive criticism

There is a school of thought no criticism is constructive. Criticism, unlike a critique, is essentially negative; a person is being told that their way is not correct or wanted etc. and thus, by its very nature, to criticise someone is tough and receiving criticism is just as hard to swallow.

However, we don’t live in a perfect bubble; things go wrong, people go wrong and they need to be corrected. There is also another strand to constructive criticism and this is linked to motivation. In order for us to grow as people and employees, we need to know where and how we can improve.

Motivation is linked to performance too; feeding back to staff how well they are doing, as well as being trained or led in the right direction is just as important.

#4 Appreciation

Motivation – or lack of especially – is linked to appreciation. From a nod of thanks at the end of the day, to a wholehearted clap-a-thon when the deadline has been met, the project delivered and the client happy. Everyone needs to feel that what they do, regardless of how small, is appreciated.

Some firms operate an employee recognition scheme, but there can be downfalls and dips with this. Start by saying thank you and then look at a staff raffle every now and then… don’t hide being gadgets and giveaways as many people see these as false, and paying lip service rather than being genuine.

#5 Recognise low morale… and act!

Recognising when someone is ‘struggling’, or not able to ‘cope’ or may have other, far more pressing personal issues that work is only one half of the equation. Acting to help them is the second part.

Dealing with an employee who is de-motivated is a situation that requires tact and empathy. You need them at full speed, operating to the best of their ability with a high level of productivity; you are not going to get this is motivation is lacking. Find out why and act!

Motivating your workforce is not something that be done on a whim or paid scant attention to. Look at your work colleagues now – are they motivated?

 The ‘Time Management Chef’ Tor Refsland once said that the difference between successful and people and those that aren’t, is the way they spend their time. 

This prophetic saying is something that many people can relate to; from those who are running their own business – whether a sole trader or a small to medium enterprise – to those employed in fast paced industries and jobs.  

There is one enemy we all have when it comes to getting things done – procrastination, the art and skill of putting off important tasks to focus on the smaller, inconsequential things. The ‘rather do the hovering’, than make a start on that all-important report even though it needs completing by 9am tomorrow and it is now 4pm the night before.  

You know it will take at least 6 hours but until the panic button is pushed, there is nothing to be done.  

And yet, when you are sat at the laptop whilst the rest of the family sleeps, you curse yourself over and over again about your once-again lapsidaisical approach to getting things done.  

For many of us, this situation is something that happens again and again… and again. Each time we promise ourselves that we will never let it happen again, but somehow it does. You listen with envy as colleagues entertain the office with stories of their weekend jaunts and social events, but you wonder how on earth they found the time… 

If this sounds like you, then you really need to take note of these 5 productivity hacks to boost your performance and productivity… 

Tip 1 – Long term goal setting 

Living and working in the here and now is just great but, it is a blinkered approach. If you wonder how your colleague partied all weekend and did not a jot of work, the likelihood is they planned it.  

Work life balance is something we all strive for, and yet some people seem to fail miserably, burnt out before they are 30 and yet others go on to enjoy the fruits of their labour for years and years.  

Ask these people how they did it and they will undoubtedly reply they set long term goals, rather than opting for the here and now approach. Clarify where you are going and what it is you want to achieve.  

Tip 2 – Planning 

There is a saying that every minute you take to plan something, save you 10 minutes performing the task.  

Some people are not great planners; it does take skill and forethought, as well as a systematic approach. To be super productive tomorrow, think about what it is you need to do and how you will do this and when, the evening before. 

Some of the workers with the greatest productivity rates will spend the last few minutes of their day planning their work for tomorrow so that they sit down at their desk ‘hot’, rather than stone cold. 

Want results, fast? Plan the week in advance and review your day every evening, altering the plan for the next day accordingly.  

Tip 3 – 80/20 rule 

There are 24 hours in a day and not a moment more. There is a principle known as the Pareto Principle that says for everything on your ‘to so list’, 20% will account for 80% of how your time will be spent. 

So, with 10 things on your lists, 2 of them will take up the majority of your time. By identifying the bigger, more time consuming items on your list you will be able to prioritise what needs doing and when.  

Key in upping your productivity is ensuring that you identify key tasks… and prioritise them.  

Tip 4 – Focus 

Train yourself to focus on one thing, for 2 minutes because someone in the dim and distant past decreed that anyone who could do so, would accomplish anything they could lay their mind too, although focusing on Facebook for 20 minutes may not have been something they included in this equation.  

Having self-discipline to focus and plough on is something that is common to people who achieve things and have a high rate of productivity.  

Tip 5 – identify when you are most productive 

For those in a 9 to 5 career, you may find this a rather dud tip but, if you can work flexibly then more is the better for we all work better at different times during the day. Some are night owls, but other work best first thing in the morning. Identifying when you can focus and exert self-discipline is key in getting stuff done.  

Which of these tips will you try?