How to Avoid Looking Unprofessional

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Unprofessional

 

There are things we do every day that we look back on and regret. Or, at the very least, wish we would have done a little differently. It could be anything: how you responded to an email, the way you phrased something, how it looked when you walked across the room, what you wore, how you sneezed, the way that pasta made your breath smell, etc.

 

The point is that as human beings, we consciously notice these things. We notice things that make us seem unkempt, unwise, or unsanitary. In other words, we actively have a tendency to notice things that appear unprofessional.

 

And unfortunately, there are certain habits that are impossible to recover from. Basically, if you do the following things, “you” and “professional” will never again be used in the same sentence. So read on and take notes so that you’ll never be “that person” in the office.

 

Here are the four categories that will get you to that point of no return.

 

 

Is there a desk underneath all of that?

 

When someone’s workstation looks like a mess, they’re suddenly a mess, too. It doesn’t matter how many showers you take, how expensive your clothes are or where you get your hair cut, you will always be associated with a messy workspace.

 

And, to a certain degree, it’s true. Your physical appearance may be mess-free. But, if your home, car, desk or drawers are filthy, a part of you is messy, sloppy, unkempt and not fit to do business with. This doesn’t mean your environment has to be 100% clean, 100% of the time. It simply means you need to do your best to stay on top of the seas of junk, clutter, and wrappers. There’s nothing worse than garbage tucked into drawers and behind files, especially when the smell starts to permeate.

 

Here’s another way to think about it: if a client walked by or a vendor showed up, would they be embarrassed to associate with you?

 

 

Please, be serious for once.

 

We have all encountered that work colleague that can never be serious. They are always making jokes and you can never get a solid answer from them, even with a deadline approaching. And the more you ask them to be serious, the more they act goofy and silly.

 

Why does this behavior drive normal people insane? Well, because in a business context, this level of silly is annoying and unrealistic. Don’t get us wrong, keeping others in a good mood has its place and time, and a happy work environment is always a good thing. But when tasks fall behind or you cannot be productive with those goofy people, their personality becomes more of a headache than a ray of sunshine.

 

Professionalism requires a healthy balance of optimism and pessimism, ideally sitting in the realism range. Always joking and never taking anything seriously will only make the bad times worse and frustrate other employees.

 

 

Are you too good to put in your eight hours?

 

Some of us are morning people and some of us are not. Depending on your chronotype, you biologically function differently than other people. Some of us hit our stride in the mid-afternoon, while others get things done most effectively in the morning. Regardless, whether you come in an hour early or happen to come in late, always stay for your eight hours.

 

If you work a traditional job and you drag in late day after day and pack up at 4:45, your coworkers will probably start to feel very resentful toward you. And it shows management that you don’t take your job or responsibilities seriously. So instead, if you know you aren’t a morning person, talk to your manager or an executive and see if you can adjust your work schedule. As long as you’re getting your work done efficiently and productively, it shouldn’t matter when your eight hours begins and ends.

 

Can you follow through on anything… ever?

 

People-pleasers are on the same level as those goofy colleagues. People-pleasers say yes, yes, yes and never say no to anything. Translation into plain English? They overpromise. They’re in way over their head. They can’t deliver because there’s never enough time in the day.

 

Further translation? They commonly let peers down, are no real help and ultimately, unprofessional. Always make sure to have your work tasks scheduled as best as possible so you can say no when you need to. And never be afraid to ask for help.

Essential Elements of a Cloud Strategy

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There has been a lot of talk about businesses “moving to the cloud” over the past several years. With so many continual advances in cloud technology, more businesses are past “talking” about the use of the cloud; businesses are now “taking action.” In fact, 74% of Tech CFOs say cloud computing will have the most measurable impact on their business in 2017.

Implementing a cloud strategy allows businesses to move forward with new ways to successfully conduct business. It’s important to develop a cloud strategy that will achieve the goals set out for your business. It’s also helpful to get a quick overview of some “cloud basics,” and exactly what this technology is capable of doing.

Making the switch to digital
If your business is in the process of (or at least considering) digitizing its documents, cloud technology should be a part of your paperless solution. Converting your documents into a digital format and storing them on the cloud allows authorized users to access documents with speed and efficiency. Most importantly, a cloud strategy keeps your employees easily connected, especially those who are remote or constantly on the go. Check out some more ideas here on digital workflows and other document management solutions.

Secure your assets
The information you pass along inside and outside of your business on a daily basis is a valuable asset. When developing a cloud strategy, it’s important to focus on security. There are numerous security settings involved with the setup of cloud technology. For example, you can store data privately in different areas of the cloud for authorized use only. There are also backup and recovery options that you can customize to keep your information safe and secure.

Integration
When implementing a cloud solution, it’s important to consider how it will work with other applications currently operating at your business. You likely have multiple vendors for different applications. Prepackaged integrations can help create a consistent experience for the end user, allowing multiple applications to work together seamlessly across different delivery models (mobile, cloud, and on-premise).

Setting up a cloud solution that works best for your company requires collaboration between your business leaders and a team of IT professionals who can execute your vision. For more information on developing a cloud strategy for your business, contact the experts at Infomax Office Systems today.

Key Features of an MPS Solution

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Increasing efficiency in the workplace is an ongoing initiative for most businesses, regardless of their size. Implementing a Managed Print Services (MPS) solution is one of the top ways to achieve maximum efficiency with your print-related business processes. It all comes down to streamlining your efforts. With quicker processes and less equipment in place, utilizing an MPS solution will bring an enormous amount of benefits. Here are some key features and what they will bring to your business.

Save time
With a poorly configured print environment, employees often spend more time than necessary printing, scanning, and faxing. They also waste time dealing with malfunctions and equipment errors. MPS can provide maintenance support to provide your office with uninterrupted service, leaving your employees the time they need to excel at their jobs.

Save money
An MPS print audit will provide your business with a thorough analysis of your print fleet and how to cut your costs. Minimizing hardware is a common way to save money. After all, maintenance on multiple devices significantly adds up over time.

Increase productivity
An MPS provider can customize print efforts to meet the needs of your employees. This includes the ability to print from mobile devices or offsite. This gives your employees the tools to be productive in any role they serve within the company. There’s also the added benefit of MPS training, which will keep employees up to date on the best way to carry out tasks.

Decrease your environmental impact
An environmentally conscious approach to conducting business is important. With a monitoring system in place, an MPS provider can track your print output. Being aware of your print usage will give you the opportunity to step in and make changes to reduce printing wherever possible. This type of awareness is sure to reduce your environmental footprint.

Reduce your printer fleet
Streamlining is the key to improved efficiency. Reducing your printer fleet will not only cut back on maintenance costs, but it will simplify workflows and save space within your office. With fewer devices come fewer headaches. An MPS provider will evaluate your fleet to remove unnecessary devices and replace any machines that are not meeting your needs.

To learn more about Managed Print Services and how it can benefit your business, contact Infomax Office Systems today.

Go Paperless with Document Management

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With today’s advancements in office technology, going paperless is now easier than ever. In addition to the simplicity of a paperless approach, it’s an affordable option with benefits that no business can pass up. By digitizing your documents, document management will drastically improve your daily workflows while cutting your costs.

Let’s take a closer look at how going paperless can positively affect your business.

Cut your costs
The impact document management has on the ‘bottom line’ is the driving factor behind many of the decisions that a company makes. Fortunately, going paperless is an easy decision to make when you realize it results in reducing costs. Locating and processing your documents will be significantly faster, reducing your operating and labor costs. Your printer, ink, and toner needs will also decrease, saving you money on all of those costly maintenance fees.

Save time and space
Document management provides businesses with the ability to quickly locate and process documents. Using indexing and search functions, employees can quickly track down documents without sifting through boxes of paperwork. No more bulky file cabinets and shelving units to store all of that paperwork. Everything can be easily archived electronically, streamlining your document storage into one online location for all authorized users to access at will.

Secure your documents and minimize risk
With document access controls, you can be sure to protect the critical assets that make up your business. Your business will have full control over what documents can be accessed by particular individuals through user permissions and access rights. These security features are included on mobile devices as well, maintaining security while your employees are on the go.

Go green for our environment
There’s no question that going paperless will reduce costs and optimize workflows. An added benefit of this approach is the positive effect it will have on the environment. Today, more than ever, businesses across the county are going green to reduce their environmental impact. With less need for ink, toner cartridges, and other printing supplies, a paperless office reduces waste that will burden our landfills and potentially harm the environment.

For more information on how to go paperless in your workplace, contact Infomax Business Systems today to learn about our document management solution.

31 Flavors: A Variety of Email Threats to Beware of

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Every business relies on email to communicate effectively. Unfortunately, email-centralized cyberattacks are a growing trend around the world. For this reason, businesses of all sizes are focusing on email security more than ever before. There are many ‘flavors’ of email threats out there with the potential to harm your network. Let’s take a look at a few of the most common types that are making the rounds in 2017.

Phishing
Phishing attacks are becoming increasingly popular. This is when a cybercriminal impersonates a business or person with the intent to steal personal data or login credentials. It’s usually in the form of an ‘urgent’ message that attempts to scare users into giving up vital information. Defensive technology is important to prevent employees from falling victim to phishing; however, do not overlook the importance of ongoing education and awareness for all users on your network.

Spear Phishing
This type of attack is on the rise in the ever-growing world of social media. Attackers create fake profiles on social media sites to gather information on unsuspecting users. This information is then used in email attacks. It is again important for users to be educated on how to safely navigate social media sites, especially in the workplace.

Ransomware
Ransomware has frequently been in the headlines over the past year or so as more and more businesses, hospitals, and government agencies fall victim to these attacks. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the victim’s data and blocks access to it until a specified amount of money—a ‘ransom’— is paid. This epidemic is spreading quickly through emails that contain malicious links or attachments.

User awareness is an important component of protecting your business from these types of attacks. Along with this awareness, defensive technology also needs to be in place to balance out the risk of human error. Cybercriminals are constantly trying to fool users with new schemes; blocking these malicious emails from your network is your best bet to remain secure. For more information on how to protect your business from email threats such as phishing, spear phishing, and ransomware, contact Infomax Office Systems today.

Spare a Landfill: Recycle that Toner Cartridge

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That pile of empty toner cartridges can get pretty big, pretty fast in a busy office environment where a good deal of printing takes place. When it comes time to dispose of them, it’s essential to our environment to recycle those toner cartridges. Of the more than 500 million toner cartridges sold each year in the United States, an astonishing 350 million of those are sent to landfills. Considering it takes hundreds of years for the cartridge plastic to biodegrade, this is a problem that needs to be addressed in the name of corporate social responsibility. Fortunately, there are eco-friendly solutions that are readily available to businesses.

The many hazards of toner
Before we get into those eco-friendly solutions available to aid in recycling empty cartridges, let’s quickly go over how much damage toner can do to our environment. Toner ink contains toner dust, which can be carcinogenic. Among other health concerns, a recent study shows that the dust can cause issues with people’s eyes, lungs, and skin when in direct contact. If inhaled, it can lead to respiratory issues such as bronchitis.

Convenient solutions
Fortunately, there are options available for recycling your empty toner cartridges. The first option should be to find a local recycling facility. Infomax Office Systems has partnered with a number of vendors with locations that will accept toner cartridges for recycling. If you can’t get to a local facility on a regular basis, you can refill your cartridges. There are refill kits available to help you reuse your empty cartridges for as long as possible until you can get them to a recycling facility. These are simple solutions that can make recycling a routine part of your business and make your office a more sustainable one.

With so many empty toner cartridges ending up in our landfills, it’s essential that more businesses get on board with toner cartridge recycling solutions to help minimize the impact on our environment. For more information on how Infomax Office Solutions can assist with your recycling efforts and help you ‘green’ your office, contact us today!

Why More Businesses Are Embracing Mobile Device Management

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It’s no secret that people love their smartphones. People around the world are glued to them for a number of reasons. Businesses too are embracing mobile device technology with the intent of changing the way they operate. Mobile technology gives employees the freedom to create flexible work plans in remote locations. The opportunity to work remotely will drive results that cannot be achieved sitting behind a desk in an office all day.

There are benefits of mobile device management that cannot be dismissed. Many of these benefits revolve around security. Since mobile devices allow your employees to work from multiple locations on a daily basis, security is a top priority. Your business is made up of sensitive data that you need to protect, even while your employees are out and about doing their jobs. Here are some of the ways mobile device management will help you secure your information.

Remote management
You can guarantee the security of the mobile devices connected to your network 24/7 through features such as remote locate, lock and wipe, device restriction settings, restriction of website browsing access, and BYOD (bring your own device) privacy settings.

Compliance reporting
Adherence to regulatory compliance standards is a major concern for many organizations today. You cannot afford to have an unauthorized device on your network. With mobile device management, you will have end-to-end control of your devices through registration and configuration. You can track and monitor your organization’s compliance initiatives, along with analytics and reporting.

Secure Document Sharing
Employees rely on a variety of documents to carry out their daily responsibilities. For example, sales people rely on updated presentations and contracts that vary from customer to customer. With mobile device management, you can securely and quickly share documents amongst the users on your network.

Mobile technology is making it easier to conduct business on the go. With mobile device management, you can implement a secure system that will allow your employees to operate from anywhere without the worry of compromising any of your vital data and information. If you are ready to implement an easy-to-use mobile device management plan for your business, contact Infomax Office Solutions today to learn more.

Keep Your Team Connected with ConnectPlus

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Businesses have become increasingly dependent on technology to handle their day-to-day operations. Unfortunately, much of the technology we rely on is exceedingly complex, and employees with the knowledge, training, and skill set required to install, set up, and optimize our systems are hard to come by. Not to mention expensive. Few organizations can afford to keep someone on staff to keep their office technology devices connected, or to reconfigure equipment they already have in place.

Thankfully, Infomax Office Systems offers an affordable program to help keep all of your equipment connected. Our ConnectPlus program is a comprehensive service package for organizations that rely on interconnections between desktop PCs, networks, and imaging systems like printers, copiers, and multifunction printers (MFPs). ConnectPlus is a completely hands-off approach to your office technology, one that keeps your systems up-to-date and working together as efficiently and securely as possible, all for one flat fee.

When your systems are linked, as is typically the case in today’s high-tech office environment, you need each piece of equipment to perform as strongly as the next. There’s no room for a weak link in this chain, as it could result in unexpected and costly downtime, or inefficiencies in your business processes and workflows. ConnectPlus eliminates these headaches and hurdles, ensuring that all of your office technology devices are working correctly and economically, at maximum efficiency. Whether our service professionals are setting up new machines in your office or reconfiguring ones you are currently utilizing, ConnectPlus puts all of Infomax Office Systems’ invaluable resources at your disposal.

Our Connect Plus program includes:
• Basic Installation & Implementation Package
• Ongoing User Training on Document Output Devices
• Network Installation of Document Output Devices
• Ongoing Loading & Training on Print/Scan/Network Drivers
• Initial Software Enabler Installation and User Training (eCopy, Paper to Office, Essentials, PPDM)
• Installation of Remote Output Device Monitoring Software on Applicable Network Devices
• Ongoing Remediation Assistance for Print/Scan/Network Fax Issues
• Ongoing Assistance for any Infomax Provided Applications
• Unlimited Help Desk Phone Support.

Today’s businesses can’t afford inefficiencies or downtime when it comes to their office technology. Contact Infomax Office Systems today to learn more about how our ConnectPlus program will keep all of your office technology connected!

Gain a Strategic Advantage with Color Printing

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Color printing is essential in the workplace. A simple equipment upgrade to accommodate color is surprisingly affordable, and it nets both measurable and intangible benefits for virtually any business in any industry. Here are just a few the ways printing in color can help your business gain a strategic advantage over the competition.

Detail and Quality
Color images can pack more detail into the same space as their black and white counterparts. They add dynamics and entire dimensions to any message, and the color is able to capture detail that improves overall image quality. Remembering that printing is ultimately just another form of communication, these are important facts. Any printing that is intended to convey instructional or emphatic information is more effective when presented with color. In fact, a great deal of research has investigated the topic, and the results are clear: color messages are 65 percent easier to understand than black and white. This leads to an 80-percent reduction in error and a 3.9-percent drop in failure costs. In this way, color printing can easily save money in long-term operational costs.

Aesthetics
There is a more obvious reason to use color: it’s prettier. This is easy to dismiss until you dwell on it for a moment. In terms of advertising and attention grabbing, color will obviously do better than simple monochromatic approaches. The same studies that looked at interoffice impacts also compared the effects of color on customers. Color printing increases readership by 55 percent. This applies to promotional emails and static advertisements (like billboards, posters, or fliers). Implementing color designs also improves brand recognition by 80 percent and boosts attention span and recall by 82 percent. These are large numbers that show color’s aesthetics will nearly double your returns on any given outreach to customers.

Accessibility
These statistics are powerful, but a business always has to consider their bottom line. If the cost of color printing isn’t returned to a company, then there is little reason to invest in it. This argument crumbles pretty quickly—except in terms of plain-text documents, color printing averages a lower cost per page than monochrome. There are obvious exceptions to this, but generally speaking, a high-resolution black-and-white photo is more expensive to print than its color counterpart. This loops back to packing more information in a given space. For any particular image, a monochromatic print requires more dots per inch to convey the same quality as a color print. So, unless you are printing a word-only document (which probably doesn’t need to be more than an email), you save money by going with color.

If you want to push your business to the next level, there is little reason to avoid a color upgrade to help you do so. It isn’t a business expense, it’s a savvy investment. Contact Infomax Office Systems today to find the right color printer for your organization.

Is Your Business at Risk?

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If you pay attention to the news, chances are you’ve heard about some of the major cyberattacks crippling organizations across the world. For example, cybercriminals recently targeted the United Kingdom’s National Health Service through ransomware, which resulted in hospitals having to postpone surgeries and divert ambulances to other facilities. Some patients weren’t able to receive vital care because of this attack. Organizations in all industries and vertical markets are susceptible to cyber attacks and IT failure, which is why threat management and business continuity is even more important than ever in the Digital Age.

Is Your Business at Risk?

IT failure comes in many different forms. Cyberattacks are simply one example of what IT failure can look like for a business. Another common example of IT failure is a natural disaster or emergency, which can put network servers out of commission. No matter which form IT failure takes, it is essential that all companies have a plan in place to ensure they will be able to operate and access corporate and client information even in the event of a failure.

Business continuity refers to the ability of a company to continue providing customers with products and services even after a disruptive incident. For example, you may have employees relocate to another site after a natural disaster to get back to work. Resilience is the name of the game when it comes to business continuity. Threat management refers to network security approaches that focus on identifying and eliminating threats before they have the chance to infiltrate the system. Usually, such network security approaches have multiple layers that interact with each other to make it more difficult for threats to go undetected.

If a company fails to take threat management and business continuity seriously and an IT failure ends up occurring, this scenario can have a disastrous impact on a company. Unmanaged IT failure can have major financial implications. This is particularly true if your business is unable to operate at all after an IT failure, as your company will lose sales revenue until the issue is resolved. IT failure can also damage the reputation of your organization among customers. Many companies have had customers abandon them and switch to their competitors after a major IT failure due to a lack of trust.

As you can probably tell, IT failure has become one of the greatest threats for companies in this day and age. Therefore, it is essential that you refuse to be complacent when it comes to business continuity and threat management for your company. If you’d like to learn more about the solutions available to protect your organization, contact Infomax Office Systems today.