Advantia Business Solutions Blog

It’s often that we’re looking to turn the heating up in English offices, as sunny days are a rare accompaniment to our usual week in the office. But with the weather being surprisingly hot lately, we decided to put a few top tips together to help you cope with oppressive office heatwaves and, hopefully, keep you going until the beer garden calls at the end of the day. 1. Ditch the coffee Did you know that during these hot summer days you need to rehydrate with at least 2-3 litres of water a day because we tend to sweat more? This brings us to rule number 1 - Hydration. Get this wrong, you might as well bang your head on the desk a few times to match the headache (and potential heatstroke) that you will be suffering with. You know that water cooler you have in the office? Use it. Our advice would be to bring in a bottle and fill that up, as those tiny little plastic cups can easily fool you into thinking that you’ve drunk enough for the day. (Don’t ...

Workplace kitchens are no longer places to just make a brew or store sandwiches. The growth in flexible working, bring your own device (BYOD) and collaborative working means company break rooms are becoming much more than ‘worktop, fridge and kettle’. For informal team meetings, a chat over lunch or a change of scenery, office kitchens nowadays are often designed as multi-purpose spaces. Open plan offices mean people need different rooms to retreat to for quiet working or informal meetings – and employers are responding with a variety of comfortable, easy to use spaces in the kitchen. For an office kitchen that ticks the right boxes, here are six elements for making this space a runaway success: 1. Lounge area Providing somewhere for people to relax, have one to one chats or give informal presentations can help drive collaboration, creativity and engagement. An alternative to the more formal setting of some meeting rooms, comfortable seating can help peopl...

We all go through it, the moment your holiday comes to an end and you have that miserable, panicky feeling in your stomach reminding you that you’ll be returning to work soon. No one enjoys going back to the office after a fun-filled break and some of wish there was a way to prevent the struggle of getting out of bed to do something productive. Luckily, there are a couple of ways to slowly push you back into routine, and you’ll soon function normally in your daily rhythm: 1. Choose to see the benefits of post-holiday time. We are all thinking it, why can’t we have more time off to laze around all day and eat endless leftovers? But try and get that thought out of your mind. The good side to the end of the holidays is that you’ve had the chance to rest, relax and enjoy yourself. The rush and busy few days before Christmas has ended both in work and in the home, therefore the peaceful and quiet time after the festive season has hopefully given you a well needed break....

Christmas is nearly here, and we all probably have many expensive presents lying around the home or office waiting to be given to your relatives and friends. However, it is important to remember that security isn’t just a case of locking up your premises and keeping the gifts out of sight when you are out partying the night away. Running a business means you should also review the safety of your premises, equipment and confidential information too. The festive season means many offices will be left unoccupied for several days. As much as we all want to rush out of the office and open that first bottle of prosecco, there are many things to remember before we leave. Considering we now live in the digital age, empty offices increase the possibility of laptops, smartphones or confidential information being stolen, especially if they are left lying around on your desk. However, this risk is also magnified when devices and papers are taken away from the office and left lying aro...

The festive season is well under way, and there’s plenty of reminders on TV with all the big retailers releasing their Christmas adverts. However, Christmas isn’t just for the giants of the retail world. It is the perfect time for business product resellers to make their mark, whether they primarily serve other businesses or want the man and woman on the street to sit up and take notice. Therefore, now is the perfect opportunity to grab some attention for your offers and services. Here are six ways to go about it: 1. Decorate your web space Your web presence is important if you want to be noticed, and giving it a Christmas makeover is definitely a way to do it. Timing is everything, so use the majority of December for Christmas promotions. Also think about editing the design of your home page and social media profiles with Christmas elements that everyone loves to see, such as snowflakes, baubles, Christmas trees or even Santa himself. 2. Go festive with hash...

As the winter draws closer and closer to us, we find ourselves travelling to and from work in the cold weather. Snow and ice can cause many problems to our journey, from motoring breakdowns and accidents, to lost working time and understaffed offices. Productivity and workplace issues could both arise if any member of staff has an accident while travelling for work, therefore it is a good idea for businesses to inform or even provide equipment to employees before the winter arrives – giving them plenty of time to prepare. From driving kits to workplace policies, there are several examples that can be introduced within businesses to help reduce the aggravation of winter days: Winter work policy Introduce a policy that covers what people should do in the event of snow, ice or storms. Let them know what form of communication you will use to contact them, and vice versa. It might be worth considering if it is more practical for some employees to work from home rather t...

We all have those days at work where we feel incredibly drained and tired, and this can most certainly affect work productivity. Focus is a key part of productivity. It can be tough to keep your focus when dealing with all sorts of distractions both internal and external. However, even when you are concentrating it does not necessarily mean you are being productive. Therefore, to be able to maintain a solid focus for optimal productivity, there are many solutions for you to try: 1. Have a good night’s sleep Most of us who work will know the pain of early morning hours with little rest. This can definitely be a reason for a lack of focus because your energy is easily drained. Try getting into a sleeping routine – you will reduce stress, improve your memory and most importantly aid your productivity. 2. Eat right, stay healthy Admit it, your stomach has growled aggressively at you in the office many times. The obvious solution is to look for something that k...

As a business professional, increasing your sales can be a tricky process. Where do you start? How much will it cost you? There are so many of these questions which can most definitely put you off, but don’t worry – there is some good news! There are 5 simple techniques you can implement into your business which will help boost sales without costing you a dime or even be too much hard work. 1. Put the customer first Your customers are the most important people to your business, because without them your sales would be non-existent. So putting them first is essential. If you are rude to your customer or show a sense of carelessness, they are less likely to return. Your attitude will reflect on the customers, so greeting them with a smile and a welcoming approach will make them feel special and rewarded. Not only will you receive great sales, but you also receive a great deal of respect from them. One important detail to remember is to treat every customer the same, regardless...

Employees want leaders who are likeable characters, but at the same time they need to define what it is to make the company grow. Workplace relationships are important in gaining the right attitudes to successfully run the business to generate the best results.  These tips below offer the 6 ways you can show great leadership as well as an enjoyable experience in the workplace. 1. Allow People to Fail; Encourage Employees to Test Their Ideas As an employer, the best way to unleash passions and abilities from your employees is to allow them to test their ideas. Giving them the room to grow and adapt within the team will only make them feel comfortable in leadership and communication. Delegation is key when being the one in charge, so create the possibility for employees to establish their own footing, giving them the feeling of independence. You also can’t expect complete success from them, so allow them to fail. This will not only encourage ideas, it will als...

I’m sure you walk into work every morning with a large to-do list on your desk waiting to be tackled throughout the day. However, you may find yourself rushing half of the tasks as you run out of time. Therefore these tips offer a solution to working smarter, rather than harder.  1) Improve your time management skills Although for many workers this can seem easier said than done, there are actually a few simple rules to help manage your time. For example, when tackling a top priority task, I would recommend turning off your phone and email notifications to avoid a direct distraction. Avoiding ideas of multi-tasking will also help, because once you begin another task that you think will only take a second will more than likely ruin your focus, potentially leading to other smaller tasks being done rather than the most important. Top tip: Set yourself a deadline and do everything in your power to stick to it! 2) Use the phone more often Nowadays in this electronic world, ...

A working life is something the majority of people have. Some people even have the pleasure of being satisfied with their job roles, but are you one of them? Let's look at the signs that show you love work!  1. You don’t dread the work week; You look forward to Monday morning. There always people we know that absolutely dread Monday mornings. But if you love your job, you see Monday morning as a bright new start to the week. It is inevitable that you will have difficult weeks, although those weeks are the exception rather than the rule. 2. You don’t arrive late, but you do arrive early. If you arrive on time or even early then it shows you’re eager to begin your day at work. Everyone is late from time to time due to traffic or personal challenges, but happy professionals are known for their punctual habits! After all, how often are you late for something you’re looking forward to? 3. You don’t complain about work; You speak about your work with enthusiasm. Ma...

As some of you may know, Canon Europe are a very successful business and they are now celebrating the 25th anniversary of its laser toner cartridge recycling programme. This is an incredible achievement considering recycling is a very important factor for businesses dealing with a large amount of recyclable materials – however not everyone is recycling! The Canon programme is available for genuine Canon toner cartridges and is designed to minimise the use of resources whilst enabling customers to meet their printing requirements. Even before they are designed, Canon’s cartridges keep recycling in mind all thanks to HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) plastic, which can be recycled multiple times and still achieve a quality level equivalent to if it was new. Reusing parts, recycling materials and energy recovery all combine together to play a vital part in not sending waste to landfill from the cartridges - making it environmentally efficient. The cartridges that are returned by cust...

Do you suffer from chaos in your workplace purely from unorganisation? If so, you could be losing valuable productivity and your job performance could likely decrease. But don’t worry, this can quickly be fixed thanks to the National Association of Professional Organisers (NAPO). They have offered 8 tips to help organise yourself which only requires a little planning, commitment and consistency and in no time your office could go from stressful to serene! In the long-run this will help boost your productivity by making it easy to find files, documents, supplies, and keep up with ongoing projects and deadlines. So read on to find out the secrets! 1. Purge Your Workspace According to NAPO, the very first step is to get rid of any unnecessary stuff taking up your valuable office space. Have a thorough look through that collection of papers and get rid of any copies - don’t forget to also clean out your desk drawers and/or filing cabinets because it’s a popular place for finding ...