Students Of Success

With the tax year end in April, it’s a good idea to look at ways you can take advantage of tax breaks that are available to you. Here are some tips for you can follow to help you save money:

1) Ensure you have used up your ISA entitlement

An ISA basically allows you to shelter your investments from tax. There are many things you can put in an ISA, including cash and equities. You are entitled to £7000 per annum in an ISA, so a couple has £14,000 they can use up this year in total.

2) Submit your Tax Return On Time

Failure to do so will result in a fine of £100. That’s £100 you can put towards other things, so make sure you’re on time.

3) Ensure Your Tax Code Is Correct

You are allowed to earn a certain amount before you become subject to paying income tax. It’s worth checking yours is correct. There is a tax calculator on our site if you would like to do this.

4) Use Up Your Capital Gains Tax Allowance

Or in other words, bank some profits before year end. Make sure you use up this years CGT allowance or you will lose it. If you have made a nice profit from stocks held outside of and ISA then take some profits to avoid a tax bill later.

5) Watch The Budget

Every year the chancellors budget has an impact on what applies to individuals and how much tax they have to pay, depending on their circumstances. Keep an eye on what new stealth taxes are introduced as well as tax on every day luxuries/necessities such as petrol, alcohol and tobacco.

Article by Jim Richardson of http://www.tax-calculator-information.com (The Tax Savings Calculation Resource)

In a recent Harvard Business Review (HBR) article the three authors (Neilson, Pasternack, and Van Nuys) described what they called the “Passive-Aggressive Organization.” While we are all familiar with the concept of the passive-aggressive individual, what the authors described in the article does not qualify as passive-aggressive.

Even though I disagree with their passive-aggressive designation, the three authors point out a very serious organizational problem. They describe an organization where conflict is rare, consensus is easy to reach, and problems are graciously overlooked (a “happy” place).

What the authors describe is what I call a “Passive, Inwardly Focused” organization. It’s a serious diagnosis because this type of organization does not have long to live. This organization will soon lose any hope of responding quickly to market changes. They typically remain passive and inwardly focused until they are near death. But as you can imagine, they don’t die happy.

Of course, it is important for organizational members to treat each other in a respectful way, but professionalism also requires the “backbone” to take a stand. In fact, I have been called into several organizations that claimed to have a conflict problem. After data gathering and diagnosis, I told the senior executives that their problem was that they did not have enough conflict. They needed to stir up some debate!

Living in a “happy world” is appropriate for children and smurfs. But, a highly effective organization requires healthy disagreement. Passively accepting the status quo leads to complacency. Questioning the status quo leads to innovation.

Of course, concern for the preferences and work habits of employees has its place, but it must be balanced with the demands of the marketplace. Ultimately, satisfied customers are more important than satisfied employees. If customers are not satisfied, eventually employees will be very unsatisfied. They will be out of work!

In passive, inwardly focused organizations several things can be done. First, match incentives to performance. Second, recognize doers, not “good ole boys (or girls).” Third, establish quantifiable goals. Fourth, bring in outsiders who can shake up the status quo. Fifth, invite (or demand) debate in meetings. Sixth, actively solicit customer complaints and concerns.

It is only a matter of time before passive, inwardly focused organizations experience financial distress. Don’t wait, act now!

Is your organizations “happy” but not productive?

Dr. Mike Beitler is the author of “Strategic Organizational Change.” Read 2 free chapters of the book online at http://www.strategic-organizational-change.com.

It seems that every time businesses decide to cut down on expenses, they always seem to focus on the Help Desk/IT department. IT Managers are very often asked to work with outdated software, understaffing and an ever- increasing backlog of calls and angry customers.

What the people upstairs seem to forget is that without proper equipment, software and competent support staff, the back bone of the company could very well crumble.

It’s a vicious downward spiral; The IT/support budget is cut, we have to service our customers with outdated software, the support staff is unmotivated and leaves, there’s not enough money to hire competent people so novices will do, we therefore offer a shocking service, the word climbs up the ladder, our budget is cut some more because the service is poor anyway, and here we go again!

The reality is that while a company is spending thousands of dollars on computers and printers and everything else they need, they’re cutting back on the one department that takes care of assuring every system works and that every employee/customer gets his/her problem fixed quickly.

It costs money when a program stops working and an employee stares at that blank screen for half an hour. It’ll cost even more if no one knows how to fix it. It’s very frustrating for people to wait hours on end to get someone to look at their problem. What a waste of time, money and productivity!

No matter how good the warranty is, at some point, the equipment needs replacing or fixing and at one point - which lets face it happens more often then not - you need competent people to come and help. That alone should justify the cost of your help desk.

What it really costs

Take a moment to analyse what your company is already spending for the following items - the ones that you won’t see on any statement:

o Time spent figuring out where to go for help.

o Time lost waiting on-hold for a customer support officer.
o Time spent reading the product manual.

o Time wasted through poor practices & procedures.

o Lost productivity of those called away to assist.

o Duplication of support efforts, re-learning the same lessons over and over.

If you think that all these items only occur once in a while and that your staff are resourceful enough to find a solution on their own, think again. The same problem could reoccur time and time again and be fixed time and time again by different people not knowing that it’s happened before. If your staff member can’t fix his/her problem on his/her own, they call someone else to help him or her. That someone else stops what they’re doing and takes an hour trying to fix the problem but can’t. They call another one, and another one. See where I’m going?

Every office has a knowledgeable person that learnt a particular software application or is naturally inclined to technology. That person is often called to help out in the situation mentioned above. And every time this person stops what they’re doing to go and help, they stop being productive at their job. Even worse, if this employee happens to be a high-paid specialist, then the company is throwing away dollars out the window when they could employ a cheaper and trained resource to deliver support.

Worse still, in some instances, when your help desk department is so short staffed that your customers are by-passing the official support people and asking the specialist for help, the company is still losing money!

How to Calculate The Costs of Your Help Desk

Start with the obvious: The salaries, cost of training your support staff, computer hardware and software, phones, copiers, office space etc. The accountants should be able to provide all of this, and tell you how your company for such assets is booking depreciation. Include in the software category the cost for the help-desk automation tools (help desk system). If you don’t have a help desk software that keeps track of the length of your calls, the level of urgency of the calls, what type of problems are logged and how long it takes to resolve the problems, then you need to seriously consider such a purchase.

This is the most efficient way to track what your department is doing, how it spends its budget and what resources need to be considered when the next budget comes around. This software must have the ability to create analysis reports on, the level of urgency of the calls, what type of problems are logged and how long it takes to resolve the problems. If you present this important information to the accountants you’ll show them what your department does and why it needs a bigger chunk of the budget!

Final Note

Basically, when it comes time to determine if you need a support department, think of how you couldn’t afford not to. Computers will crash, people will need support on different software programs, and your employees/customers will need someone to help them with their problems. Having properly trained support staff makes a big difference when we think of a company’s productivity. Without them, so much time and money would be wasted.

Paul Smith is the manager of Auratech Software, a company that specialises in Help Desk Software to help businesses with their customer support. If you would like to read more articles on improving your support or would like to check out Auratech’s range of Help Desk Software, please visit: http://www.helpdesk-support.com/better-support.htm