In Sacbee, it was recently reported that there is a clear link between how engaged staff are and overall efficiency, which leads to great profits. If, as an employer, you feel that staff are lacking in enthusiasm and interest in the goals of the company and their personal workload, there are ways to improve their motivation and enthusiasm. The first thing to do, is to let go of any unhelpful, negative presumptions about employees; if they have not been working at their best, there could be a myriad of reasons for this and holding onto grudges will not help to move forwards and improve their engagement....

Not too long ago, the Guardian printed an article on time management, along with all of the typical excuses that are made when things don’t get done in the office. Things like difficult bosses, too much to do in too little time and unexpected projects are just some of the things that seem to prevent professionals from staying on track at work.  There are, however, plenty of things that one can do to stay focused and organised when it seems like everything’s being thrown at you at once. Prioritizing the day in advance is one way to ensure things stay simple and organised. The key is to plan your...

Many professionals today spend several weeks of the year away on business trips. Whether it’s for a meeting or a conference, staying in contact whilst travelling used to be quite a challenge.  Staying in touch with colleagues, supervisors and family is not the laborious task it once was, however; today we have so much technology at our disposal, that there’s no excuse not to keep in contact when travelling. Some companies are taking the initiative, to ensure communications are continuous, even when staff are travelling on a business trip. On the website BusinessTravellerMe.com, it was announced...

Are you signing big contracts? Making big deals and concerned about possible fraudulent activities? Let me introduce you to fraud defence ink…   What is BIC Fraud Defence Ink?   It can be found in Bic promotional pens by special request, and is an ink that provides a durable defence against check or prescription fraud.   What is check or prescription washing?   Common household solvents can be used to literally “wash” away the writing ink that appears on checks and prescriptions. This enables others to rewrite checks or prescriptions, usually for fraudulent purposes.   BIC Fraud Defence Ink...

If you are from our neck of the words, you have heard that a hosepipe ban is to be introduced in most of north-west England for the first time in 14 years. The temporary ban which will affect millions of householders in the region, will come begin 6am Friday.   The firm said the measure will help “safeguard essential supplies”. Water levels in many reservoirs and lakes have plummeted to less than half their capacity due to the region’s driest start to the year since 1929.   Ironically this hosepipe ban comes just months after hundreds of properties were flooded in Cumbria following...

Branded mousemats are a big cheese within the promotional products industry ever since the 90s, with their popularity not showing any signs of slowing down. Gift Selection can supply the widest range of branded mousemats you could possibly wish for. The beauty of branded mousemats is the large amount of advertising space, right there on your desktop. Look down about a bit…yes you got it! Gift Selection has regular low cost branded mousemats, while if you’re looking for something a little more unusual then a branded Liquid filled mousemat is bound to get your brand noticed. Another option...

If you’re looking to order some promotional plastic pens, Prodir pens will be your number one choice for style and quality. Prodir pens are Switzerland’s greatest export aside from watches, fine jewellery, army knives, cheese and Roger Federer.   Aside from making great branded pens, they have also become a sponsor of a project to bring back brown bears to Switzerland, Italy and Austria. They are backing the Ursina project which aims to create a safe habitat in the Alps, implementing new livestock management techniques to get the bears back roaming the place again.   It is being led by nature...

USBs, data sticks, flash-drives, memory cards these are all popular names for the same thing, but many people don’t know much about them, despite being a very important product for all kinds of industries.   What is a flash memory?   In your promotional USB stick, you will find a flash memory chip, which is a component of almost every electronic device. This memory is super-portable, and importantly is constantly powered. This allows the user to program or erase data safely and quickly, without requiring outside power to maintain date stored on the chip.   Why is there often no prices on...

You can’t catch us out on Prodir pens here, any little update and you’ll be the first to know… The latest promotional Prodir tit-bit of information are the metal options available on the smart DS3 model. If you fancy making your branded Prodir pens a little luxurious, then why not try the new push button or nose cone in galvanized silver. If you want something a little more feminine then the serious looking galvanized silver, then the DS3 range is now available in a range of attractive gloss finishes.   Finally Prodir have finally come round to the idea of bringing out an eco...

For 2010 Giftselection and Pens2order are launching a new range of low cost promotional pens – the Scripto series.   Scripto being the Latin word for ‘I write’, this budget pen brand is actually rooted in early 20th Century American ingenuity and design. Scripto went into business in 1923 and was known as the M. A. Ferst Company. It was a major supplier of graphite leads. The following year the company name was changed to Scripto. The company hasn’t looked back, and is popular in the U.S promotions market.   In the New Year they will offer a collection of “noteworthy” promotional...