With mobile devices invading the market each day, a fair number of schools and colleges are embracing the trend of allowing students to bring their own devices in the classroom. Some institutions are making tablets customary. Special training applications are being developed for helping students. So, when you rent a training room for your session, you may perhaps want to check on the number of charging points in your room and the lighting set up for comfortable usage of technical devices. But is BYOD a good concept after all? We look at the pros and cons.

Pros

BYOD has several advantages. It allows students to use the devices they are already using and this actually helps improve their productivity. The educational institute also saves on cost of stationary, circulating books, providing laptops and tablets to students and so on. The same amount can be used to rent classroom that has better overall infrastructure for trainees.

A mobility program also means paperless access to notes, presentation material, lectures and so on. Students can even submit papers electronically. Especially, if a trainee has missed the training session for some reason after paying for it, recorded lectures and presentations can help them catch up.

Cons

The usage of too many mobile devices can clutter the wireless network. With so many variants and versions of Smartphone and tablets available in the market, technology can actually cause a class divide among rich and not so rich students. Parents may also not be open to paying for a mobile device to be used in school. Students might get easily distracted while using mobile devices because there are so many other things you can do on them.

Before you rent classroom for a training event, decide whether the session will be a BYOD one or a regular one. In case you choose the former, you may need to make special arrangements.

Planning an event is no less than an adventure. It requires serious multitasking. Often times, the preparations like finalizing training room rentals, preparing content, printing invites etc seem so overwhelming that organizers forget about the post-program feedback collection process from attendees. Most event organizers are keen to know how well their program has been received. Here are some guidelines for a speedy feedback collection from your guests.

Create a survey with relevant questions

Questions should be simple and to the point. The aim must be to highlight the positives and negatives of the program. Ask them how their overall experience was, how relevant the agenda of the program, how they would rate the speakers, what according to them the improvement areas of the program are, how the check-in experience was and so on. Do not forget to ask them what their favorite part of the day was.

Don’t wait for later

Feedback should be collected as soon as the program gets over. This is when everything about the program would be fresh on their minds. You can hand over forms at the exit, send them links on email or have the survey uploaded in iPads at the venue. The best thing to do is to opt for a survey that’s mobile-friendly.

Use graphics and pictures

Make recollecting easy by using graphic representations and pictures of speakers who presented at the event. Remember, you are likely to get an accurate feedback only if your guests can remember what they have witnessed at the program. Make the survey as simple and as interesting as possible for the guests.

Just like you need to finalize your classroom rentals and other arrangements in advance, it is equally important to spare a thought for post-program feedback collection methods. These are the inputs that will help you improve in future.

Approaches and methods for reviewing the performance of employees differ from one organization to another. However, there can be a general set of guidelines for sharing the outcomes in the most impactful manner. So, if you are planning to rent training room for conducting a performance review meeting, here are some useful tips.

1. Establish a specific purpose for the meeting

The moment you rent classroom or training room for a performance review meeting, also establish a specific purpose for the interaction. What is it that you would like to achieve from the interaction? Would you focus on improvement areas or are you keener to discuss growth opportunities for the employee? Having a definite purpose will ensure a successful interaction.

2. Share your agenda during the preparation phase

It is also absolutely necessary to share your agenda with your employees at least seven days prior to the meeting. This helps both sides to prepare well for the interaction. As a manager, you need to have all the information that you require for reviewing your employees. Make sure you collect them and study them well before you get into the meeting.

3. Keep it formal

Do not waste too much time in exchanging pleasantries and indulging in small talk. Keep the interaction highly professional, formal and duly focused. Get to the point right away without wasting much time. Considering that performance review interactions are planned one after another, proper time management is very important.

It is important to allow your employees to express their viewpoint. Never override their statements, cut them short or appear impatient before them. It is important to be objective in approach and keep emotions in control. Remember, it is a discussion and not an address. Both sides have to be given the scope of communication.

A performance review meeting gone wrong could result in loss of precious productivity. Ensure a great preparation before you schedule a date and rent a training room.

The cost of running a leadership training program could be huge. You need to book training room rental or classroom rental, reimburse your employees for travel expenses, plus incur the loss of productive hours.

Many companies spend thousands of dollars on leadership training programs only to find how futile they are. This has sparked an industry-wide debate about whether leadership development programs are really worth the time and money. Despite criticism over the ineffectiveness of leadership programs, most industry leaders blame it on the way this leadership development tool is used rather than on the tool itself. Here are some common reasons why leadership development programs fail.

1. Not focusing on the context

There is no one-size-fits-all rule of leadership. Great leaders change their leadership strategies based on the situation or context. Unfortunately, most training programs fail to stress on the importance of adopting different leadership styles in different situations.

2. Focusing too much on theory

Great leaders learn through trial and errors in practical setting. While it may be helpful to know about the different leadership styles, the main focus should be on hands-on training. To that end, every potential leader should be given opportunities to play critical business roles.

3. Not letting them make mistakes

Many employers are afraid to let go off control to new leaders. They do not allow new leaders to make important business decisions. But, what’s the point of giving leadership training to your employees if you do not engage them in the decision making process? Let them make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. There’s no better way to develop leadership skills than by leading from the front.

4. Not measuring results

Many companies run a leadership training program but don’t have a system in place for measuring the results of the program. Companies should organize 360 degree feedback sessions before, during and after the leadership program. It is also important to monitor the growth of your employees in terms of leadership style and decision making capability.

Many employers and HR professionals often complain that their employees do not speak up at meetings. If you too are facing a similar issue, you may wonder what’s stopping your employees to voice their concerns, share their ideas, appreciate or criticize a new policy. To understand where the problem lies, you perhaps should put yourself in their shoes and look at things from their perspective. You can rent training room or rent classroom to organize employee meetings or conferences, but they will speak up only when they will get a favorable environment. Here are some tips on how to encourage your employees to speak up.

Reach out to them

If your employees are not willing to speak up, there must be a reason. Initiate a candid conversation and ask them where the problem is. When you make an honest effort to reach out, they are likely to respond to you and gradually start to speak up.

Show them it’s safe to speak up

As a manager or HR professional, you should lead by examples. Show your team members that speaking the truth does not have to be intimidating. When they’ll see you standing up for the right cause without being biased or partial, they will gather the courage to speak up.

Reward employees for speaking up

Make a policy for rewarding honest, upright employees. When they speak up, you should listen to them carefully. Appreciate new ideas coming from them and if possible implement of their ideas. This will encourage them to speak more.

Criticize constructively

Even when you think your employees are wrong, you should criticize them constructively. You do not have to accept each idea coming them, but you should be open to any new ideas. Listen to them and give them feedback every time. Destructive criticism can discourage them from voicing opinions next time.

Small business owners are always occupied with one thing or another – so much so that they hardly get time to train their new employees. The fact remains, however, that all your new hires, no matter how much experience they have, need training. Without a proper training process in place, your employees may not be able to perform to the best of their abilities and they may not even know what the company expects from them.

You can start the process of training your new employees by developing a curriculum for training. The next step would be to rent classroom. Make sure that your training room rental company provides all the necessary equipment and facilities for employee training. Here are some useful tips on how to train your small business employees.

Find a trainer from within your company

As a business owner, you may not have the time to train new employees, but someone else from your company can do the job for you. Find out a suitable candidate for the job. He or she could be an employee, a manager, or anyone who knows your organizational culture inside out.

Train the trainer

It would be easier and less time-consuming for you to train the trainer rather than training the new employees. You can quickly give him the guidelines for training. Provide details including how long the training program should last, what topics should be covered, and how the person should report you.

Set goals

It is also important to set goals. Consider what you want to achieve with your training program in the next one month. Also, clearly define your long-term goals. For instance, you may want all employees to learn how to use the company’s CMS within the next one year. It is also important to conduct performance reviews from time to time to measure success of your training program.

For event organizers, one of the major challenges is to attract more attendees to their events. As an organizer, you are perhaps planning to distribute more leaflets, send more invitations, and make announcements on social media to promote your upcoming event. While these are great marketing tools, you should be able to use these tools the right way. You cannot plan an effective marketing campaign until you climb into the minds of your target audience. To begin with, you should try to find out why people attend events. It is true that no two events are the same, but the thumb rules for attendee engagement are more or less the same. Once you know what drives people to attend trade shows, corporate events, or training sessions, it would be easier for you to plan your event promotion accordingly. So here are the top reasons why people attend events.

1. Networking

People recognize the power of networking. Many attendees see trade shows and meetings as an opportunity to communicate with their colleagues and industry experts. As an event manager, you should be able to provide enough space and opportunity for people to network. To that end, you may want to be more selective about choosing the venue. When you rent training room, make sure there are all the facilities available.

2. Inspiration

Some people attend events to get inspired. If you are planning to rent classroom for a training session, you should try and find ways to make the session more motivating and inspiring for your target audience. One way to do that is by inviting an expert on the topic as your guest. You can also plan fun activities and games to encourage more people to attend your event.

3. Education

Education is another major driver. If you are planning to host a corporate event, know that a major percentage of your attendees will decide whether or not to attend your event based on the kind of learning opportunities you provide. Some people will never attend your event, if they do not see a chance to learn something new at your event. Professionals value their time and they do not miss a single opportunity to learn and grow.

4. New Business

Some people attend events with a mission to get new business. They will attend events where they get a chance to meet their potential clients. The idea is to approach the clients directly or indirectly for initiating a new business relationship. So how can you use this opportunity as an event organizer? Well, you can focus on one niche at a time, so that most people from that niche industry get interested to attend your event.

5. Location

Although often overlooked, location of an event can be a major attendance driver. If you are planning to rent classroom, consider choosing a venue that is not only conveniently located but has attractions for tourists as well. Believe it or not, some people may decide to attend your event solely for the location. You should mention the location and the tourist attractions around the place when promoting your events to your target audience.

Most people today are judgmental; blame it on the high degree of mistrust prevalent in the society. Some of them may have grown up hearing stories of betrayal, while others may have firsthand experience dealing with unreasonable bosses. This makes it all the more difficult to gain the trust of people in this day and age.

As a team leader or manager, you should take some deliberate steps to be more trusted. If you want to create an environment of trust in your workplace, you should lead by examples. It is also important to organize training sessions on topics, such as, ‘how to build mutual trust and respect at the workplace’ and ‘the importance of being both trusted and trusting.’ For instance, you can book training room rental or classroom rental and ask your employees to say how much they trust their managers or what areas need to be improved. Here are some more tips on how to become a trusted leader.

Own up to your mistakes

Every leader makes mistakes, but not all of them admit their mistakes. By not admitting your mistakes, you give a wrong impression of yourself to your team members. They can see through your hypocrisy when you constantly pass the buck. On the other hand, if you can own up to your mistakes, it only shows that you are an honest leader and you don’t see mistakes as a weakness.

Foster a sense of safety at work

Great leaders know how to make others feel safe. Under your leadership, your employees should feel free to voice their opinions, give feedback, and ask for fair compensation. They should have a sense of job security and a feeling of confidence in their ability. They should not worry about their personal growth and skills development, as if it’s a natural process. There should not be any discrimination at work on the basis of anything. If you can foster a sense of safety at work, it will help you become a trusted leader.

Let go of control

One way to show that you trust your employees is by giving them more control. Some leaders simply cannot let go of control. Even when they delegate certain tasks to their employees, they’ll constantly watch and give instructions. This shows that you don’t trust your employees. As a leader, you should learn when to let go of control, when needed. You can monitor and evaluate their performance, but don’t interfere every time.

Put their interest above yours

As a leader, you should be able to prioritize the interests of your employees. For instance, a salesperson needs to focus only on his individual performance; while a sales manager often needs to help his team to sell more. Rather than focusing on his own clients, he should try and help others win more clients. It is also important for a leader to take a stand in the best interest of their team members, whenever required. People trust those who work selflessly for a cause. Set examples to show that trusting others is more important than working for your personal gains.

If you are planning to organize a corporate event, there are hundreds of things to plan. You need to select food suppliers, find and contact your guests and speakers, arrange funds, rent classroom, send invitations to attendees, and rent training room. Of all things, marketing your upcoming event could be the toughest challenge. Even seasoned marketers make some common mistakes in event marketing. Just printing some leaflets or brochures may not help promote your event to your target audience. You should avoid the following common mistakes to make your event marketing more effective.

Using only one marketing channel

Marketers today have the opportunity to use multiple marketing channels, including social media, local advertising, and email marketing. Not using any of these channels would be a mistake. Some marketers focus too much on only one marketing strategy. For more effective event marketing, you need to diversify your marketing efforts and use all the channels in the best possible way. For instance, you can use Facebook to let your followers know and create buzz around your upcoming event. At the same time, you can hand out leaflets to your local customers, while also running an email campaign to have more people interested to know about your event. It is always a good idea to use multiple channels, so that you can reach out a wider audience.

Not having a unique marketing proposition

As an event planner, you should be able to tell what sets your event apart from others. Most marketers today focus only on their products and services. They know their products inside out, but have a little or no idea about the unique selling proposition of their products. Unless you know why your products are better than that of your competitor or what value it is likely to bring to your customers, you’ll not be able to develop a unique marketing proposition. As a result, your marketing campaign may not be effective enough to attract more people to your event.

Targeting wider audience

It is very important to promote your event to the right audience. For best results, you should narrow down your focus based on demographic, purchase behavior, age, and other aspects. Once you can pinpoint your audience, it would be easy to plan your marketing campaign accordingly, and thus increase the response rate.

Inability to engage with your audience

Whether you are marketing through social media, leaflets or brochures, you should be able to engage your target audience. This is not a one-time task. You should interact with your audience on a regular basis. For instance, you can ask questions on social media. Let your followers respond to your questions. You too should answer any of their queries about event or product. Building a two-way communications helps strengthen the bonding between your brand and your audience. This eventually helps you keep your audience engaged and interested in your events.

While it is a good idea to use social media channels for event marketing, you should avoid overdoing it. Consider using only a few, selected social media platforms where you are likely to find most of your target customers.