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In wrapping up the National Mental Health Month in October and with World Kindness Day coming up soon (13 November), we would like to share the importance of kindness at work.

Workplace kindness is when you offer a positive attitude and goodwill towards those you work with, which can include customers, team members, co-workers, or managers. Employees that share and receive kindness in the workplace usually experience greater job satisfaction and increased engagement.

Kindness is contagious and the benefits include:

• Kindness makes us happier by raising the levels of dopamine and serotonin in our brain (‘helper’s high’)
• It helps our hearts as emotional warmth produces oxytocin which is cardio protective hormone
• The increased oxytocin from kindness also modulates fear and anxiety, improving moods and increasing empathy
• It has a positive effect on the vagus nerve which has been shown to reduce inflammation
• Kindness helps us feel connected and improves our relationships
• The positive effects of kindness are experienced in the brain of everyone who has witnessed the act

Kindness is a mindset rather than just a set of actions, but actions are how kindness is best practised!

Let’s look at five ways kindness can easily be incorporated into your week:

Express your Appreciation

Tell someone what you appreciate about them or thank them for their work of actions.

Heartfelt appreciation helps boost the receiver’s spirit, passion, and purpose. It helps them build self-confidence and self-esteem. The simple act of thanking someone shows recognition, which can help others feel valued for their efforts.

Listen

Listen with the intention to understand, not the intention to respond. Listen without judging and without interruption or distraction. Listening is a commitment to value the thoughts, emotions, and experience of another person over your own thoughts. Listening validates the speaker and reminds them that they matter.

Collaborate with co-workers

Collaboration means you’re cooperating with others and working toward a shared goal or achievement. With collaboration, you’re better able to celebrate other people and the work they contribute to the team. Collaboration promotes teamwork and a feeling of engagement and wellbeing.

Respect

A popular concept that isn’t always easy to follow through is to treat everyone you encounter as important. Learn their names, ask after their family or understand their interests. Say hello to them when you see them.

By treating everyone with the same respect, you’ll help them feel good about themselves and it can impact on the way they treat you too.

Smile

That’s right. The simplest act of kindness is to genuinely smile at someone. Being greeted by a smiling face will often improve the mood of a person. It can show your openness to getting to know others and work alongside them each day.

These are all easy to incorporate into your week, and for most, into your day. By acting with kindness, you’ll notice the beneficial side effects of happiness, improved empathy, improved moods, and an improvement of anxiety levels.

Kindness, compassion, and a genuine interest in others are elements of enlightened leadership. The act of giving kindness often is simple, free, positive, and healthy for everyone involved.

Need further help?
ATI-Mirage can help you create and harness a positive team culture at work, with a unique workshop that is fun, insightful and ready to action.  To learn more https://www.ati-mirage.com.au/creating-a-great-workplace-culture/

Blog presented by Jo Riley | ATI-Mirage’s Lead Consultant PD & Wellness

Workplaces have been transformed in the last few years and while we are seeking to ‘return to normal’, the way we work in the new normal is very different from the times gone by. The latest research by McCrindle confirms hybrid working is here to stay with 62% of todays workers saying it is the ideal way of working.

Top 5 tips for leading in a hybrid workplace

1. Invest in team building activities
Team connections and communications are key to a thriving workplace and can be harder to foster when people are working in different locations consistently. Providing team building opportunities both in person and online will help to develop connections and keep team members engaged.

2. Be clear about expectations for you and your organisation
Surveys have shown that ‘Hybrid Working’ can mean different things to different workers in particular different generations of workers. Most people view it as working some of the time in the office and some of the time at home or offsite (59%) vs the ability to choose to work remotely or in person (41%) vs flexible working hours throughout the day (33%). This highlights the need for your organisation to be clear about the hybrid expectations for the individuals and the organisation as a whole.

3. Set up your people for success both physically and mentally
Be clear on outcomes and timeframes when leading a hybrid work team. Check in regularly to provide support however ensure that this is not to micromanage. Provide clear job roles with realistic expectations and frequently recognise success.

4. Pick the tools that work best for communication and collaboration
Know the technology available to you and your team and how to use it for success. Have a mix of informal and formal channels of communication. The informal channels seek to replace the ‘water cooler’ conversations that may be lost when working in hybrid arrangements.

5. Invest in Professional Development
A focus on training, development and coaching will lead to greater employee retention and satisfaction at work.  The survey by McCridle outlines that employees are 2.9 times more likely to be highly engaged when organisations adequately fund their employees professional development.

Great leadership is the key to navigating the new hybrid transformation.  A planned approach to your professional development and IT training will assist you and your teams to thrive in a hybrid workplace, it is never a case of train once and forget. For more assistance call +61 (08) 9218 9059 or email hello@ati-mirage.com.au  We have been training Perth and WA organisations for over 30 years and we are here to help you.

Blog written by Jo Riley | ATI-Mirage’s Lead Consultant PD & Wellness.

I was recently asked by a course participant what program could be used to help them automate the creation of their monthly report.

Their current process was to copy data from a web based source, paste it into Excel.  Then use a variety of functions, such as LEFT(), MID(), RIGHT(), TEXTJOIN() and VLOOKUP() to manipulate various columns.  The resulting information was then fed into a Pivot Table, then into a Pivot Chart and then used in another report. And then the next month they had to do this all again.

They were surprised when I said that this could all be done within Excel using Power Query, without having to use another program, and that with Power Query it’s ’do once – use multiple times’.

Power Query is in my opinion one of the most unknown and under-utilised features in Microsoft Excel. Power Query can save hours of time with reports, dashboards, pivot tables and charts being updated with data refresh.

Power Query also works with Power BI, Power Apps, Dynamics 365 and more. Check out our free webinar on the 24^th August at 11am-12pm. Save your spot and register today.

What is Power Query?

Power Query is known as an ETL tool. A tool that Extracts data from multiple sources allows you to Transform that data and then choose where to Load it to – a worksheet, the Excel data model or directly into a PivotTable.

These transformation steps can then be saved and used for future imports. They can even be edited if the source data or output requirements change.

Power Query features include:

• Changing text case
• Changing data type
• Rounding
• Splitting or combining columns
• Creating calculated columns and more…

Power Query can even extract the Month name from a date column, delete columns, remove rows, or replace one piece of text with another. The Merge Query feature can be used to eliminate the need for VLOOKUPs in your workbooks. It will even allow for ‘fuzzy’ matching.

In fact, over 350 data transformation options are available with Power Query. Here’s a look at the main features:

How did we use Power Query?

The process that we used to set up their monthly reporting was:

1. Use Data | Get & Transform within Excel to connect to the web address for the source data
2. Use the transformation tools within Power Query to perform the splitting and combining of data, as well as merging with the table they used to do the VLOOKUP() against.
3. Then the data was loaded into an Excel table
4. From this a Pivot Table and Pivot Chart was created
5. Then the final report/dashboard was updated.

So each month, all they had to do was choose Data | Refresh All from the ribbon in Excel and the new data was processed and incorporated in the Pivot Chart.  The charts and summary then automatically updated into the final report/dashboard.

What if the data is not web based?

Power Query can be used for a wide variety of data sources – databases, text files, csv, Azure and the Dataverse being some of them. You can even connect to a local folder, where a new data dump can be added on a regular basis and incorporated directly into a dashboard.

Interested in knowing more about Power Query?

If you want to gain an insight into the Power tool, we have a free webinar on the 24^th August at 11am till 12 noon. Save your spot and click here to register today.

Check out our  Microsoft Excel – Analysing Data using Power Query course at ATI-Mirage and the whole suite of Automation training starting with Excel and Power BI to maximise your technology investment.  Call +61 08 9218 9059 to book more training today with ATI-Mirage.

Blog written by Julie Dall, ATI-Mirage’s Senior Consultant IT.

Are you focused on upskilling and training your teams? 
New research suggests, you should be.

In 2022 and beyond those companies who train and upskill staff will tend to keep them.  The recent HubSpot survey highlighted those employers wanting to attract and retain staff need to invest in more upskilling. 70% of Australian workers say they would prioritise training opportunities over salary when looking for a new role.

In terms of training trends, Jo Riley and Billy Howarth, PD and IT Lead Consultants at ATI-Mirage say they are seeing demand for Leadership Development and Mental Health and as you would expect significant demand in Technology Training.

Additionally in today’s workplace you can often find four generations—Gen-Z, Millennials, Gen-X and Baby Boomers—working and learning side by side. This dynamic creates a blend of communication and working styles, thanks partly to the digital forces that helped shape each generation.

The intergenerational workforce presents incredible opportunities and challenges for organisations and training solutions can bridge gaps that might exist.  A small investment in short-day training courses can make employees more productive and comfortable within their workplace.

TalentLMS and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) partnered to take the pulse of Learning & Development in 2022 and discovered:

1. 76% of employees agree that they are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training
2. More than 1 in 2 companies are facing a skills gap, and half of them are addressing it by training existing employees
3. Over half of HR leaders will provide their employees with upskilling (59%) and reskilling (55%) training in 2022.

So, take some time to understand your team, analyse the skill gaps and ask your team what training solutions they would like to see. Grab the competitive edge by offering quality training and retraining opportunities for employees.

If you need additional insight and support, the team at ATI-Mirage has over 100 training programs and the ability to develop individual training programs especially for you.

Let us know how we can help by calling +61 (08) 9218 9059 or emailing
hello@ati-mirage.com.au
We have been training Perth and WA organisations for over 30 years and we are here to help you.

Blog written by Jo Riley | ATI-Mirage’s Lead Consultant PD & Wellness.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a universal check in point for almost everyone on the planet. It has forced a change in lifestyle, working arrangements and has left us wanting more – more connection, more meaning, more inspiration, more fulfilment at work and in life.

The work from home and hybrid work arrangements thrust upon us in the last two years have made the line between work and life even more blurry than it might have previously been. We have seen increased levels of burn out during the pandemic and many searching for a better way.

This has provided a great opportunity to reassess the concept of work life balance and instead consider aiming for harmony rather than balance in life. ‘Balance’ means a state of equilibrium, while ‘harmony’ means agreement or a pleasing arrangement of parts. So rather than trying to balance two inherently unequal parts, start to pursue the integration of the different parts of your life to strive for harmony.

Here are few techniques that can help:

1. Make work and life meaningful to you. Think about your values, what you enjoy, what matters to you and integrate that into both your work and in life. This will be a unique recipe for everyone depending on your season in life.
2. Understand where your time is spent and make changes if you are spending lots of time on things that don’t matter. Use planning and calendar tools to manage your time. Outsource the tasks you don’t want to do so you can spend time on other areas.
3. Connect with people important to you at work and in life. Good relationships are fundamental to our wellbeing. This improves our communication and our empathy with those around us.
4. Look after your health and wellbeing. Sprinkle each day with the things that make you happy. Don’t save all the fun stuff for your next holiday or long weekend. Build it in every day so you feel fulfilled.
5. Create boundaries and be aware of when they could be breached and how you will deal with it. Have open communication with those around you and be realistic in what you can commit to.

The trade offs between work and life will never be easy or black and white, so take the time to consider the work life harmony you wish to achieve. Find the alignment that works for you so you can finish your life with the statement ‘mission accomplished’.

Check out some of our Wellness courses and get started on your work life harmony journey!

Manage Stress, Build Resilience
Mindfulness @ Work
Developing Your Emotional Intelligence

Blog written by Jo Riley | ATI-Mirage’s Lead Consultant PD & Wellness 

You have an important piece of work that must be completed tomorrow and two people on staff who are ideally suited to handle it – both are working from home. One is single and the other has two school-aged children at home.

Who will get the opportunity to shine?

If you immediately chose the single person without giving the matter serious consideration, then you may be demonstrating unconscious bias.

We can all be influenced by our surroundings, our upbringings, and those around us and that lead us to form instinctive judgments about others. Left unchecked, we may be making decisions based on unconscious bias. It can creep into even the most inclusive teams, especially during periods of uncertainty or increased stress like we are facing now.

When team members are working from home and conducting routine business through calls and virtual meetings, leaders need to be especially alert to bias and avoid making assumptions about their team members.

Hearing a child in the background or seeing a pet stroll on camera, or items in the background of the room/home, should have no influence on the business at hand.

It also helps to remember that nuance and body language do not necessarily translate well via video conference.

Now, more than ever, leaders need to:

• Challenge your own assumptions. Do not assume that certain team members are taking on most of the domestic duties and caring responsibilities in their households. Or that some team members feel less stress. Every person and situation deserve to be understood without preconceived notions of what you may consider “typical.”
  .
• Separate bias from opportunities. Provide opportunities fairly and avoid relying exclusively on your inner network or those team members who are most accessible to you. Take time to appreciate what your team members are capable of alongside their other responsibilities. Self-check a perception of the impact of, for example, caregiving responsibilities do not unduly influence opportunities.
  .
• Check in. Hold regular conversations with each team member to find out how work tasks are progressing and whether there have been any changes to individual circumstances. During these and all interactions, demonstrate empathy and understanding so that team members feel comfortable discussing any challenges.
  .
• Include people who may feel isolated. Arrange team calls for times that accommodate as many team members as possible and try to avoid times when family circumstances are most likely to disrupt work schedules.
  .
• Set expectations and boundaries with clear and transparent guidelines for communicating and meeting deadlines. Have individual discussions with all team members about when and where they will work, what support they need and the kinds work/tasks they feel they can manage in the current environment. Focus on output and quality as the primary metrics of success, rather than hours or availability.
  .
• Prioritise upskilling opportunities. Create opportunities for your team to continue to learn and grow virtually, and work with them to identify training and development opportunities.

Regardless of the circumstances, everyone deserves a chance to shine.

Check out our Leading Hybrid Work Teams course at ATI-Mirage to help you thrive in hybrid working environment.

Blog presented by Jo Riley | ATI-Mirage’s Lead Consultant PD & Wellness

 

 

The Government is encouraging small businesses across Australia to upskill their employees by introducing the Skills and Training Boost.

“Small and family businesses are at the heart of our economy and local communities.” said the treasurer on the 2022-23 Federal Budget announcement, small businesses (with less than $50 million annual turnover) will get an additional 20% deduction on eligible training courses delivered to their employees by external training providers registered in Australia. This means that for every $100 you spend on training, you can get a $120 tax deduction.

There is no limit on how much spending on training can be deducted by a small business at the bonus rate of 120%, but certain rules apply such as:

• The course must be run by an external training provider (like ATI-Mirage)
• The training provider needs to be registered in Australia (ATI-Mirage is 100% WA owned and operated)
• Training can be provided in-person or online (ATI-Mirage provide both, in-person & online training)
• The tax boost applies for expenditure incurred from 30 March 2022 until 30 June 2024

• In-house and on-the-job training is not eligible, nor is money spent training people who are not employees of the business.

The Skills and Training Tax Boost for small businesses makes it even more attractive for organisations to upskill their staff. This not only aids in productivity but also with attracting new staff and with staff retention, especially important when qualified and experienced staff are in such high demand!

The team at ATI-Mirage have been training West Australians for over 30 years and are delighted to see this financial reward for organisations that prioritise upskilling and training their employees.

ATI-Mirage are the Professional Development and IT training specialists. We have over 100 practical and interactive training courses available at our CBD training centre or online. We provide a 100% quality guarantee and complimentary post training help desk.

Get in touch with our friendly team today to discuss your training requirements. We look forward to working with you to upskill and train your staff until 2024 and beyond.

ATI-Mirage Training & Business Solutions
T: 08 9218 9059
E: hello@ati-mirage.com.au

Technology continues to impact the ways we work, and the Microsoft 365 suite continues to evolve with a wide range of apps for greater work efficiency.

PowerPoint is usually the go to for creating a traditional presentation. PowerPoint is a quick and easy way to organise ideas and information, but it can be linear in its structure.  Using a slide format can force the presenter to reduce complex subjects to a set of bullet items, which can oversimplify complex information and may impact good decision-making.

How about using a modern, interactive and alternative to PowerPoint? Did you know that there is an app available which is part of Microsoft 365 called Microsoft Sway?

Sway is a presentation tool and is distinctly different from those made with PowerPoint. Sway focuses more on digital storytelling using a card to organise sequences of information in a scrolling format just like a webpage. Spend less time in formatting your presentation, due to Sway’s built-in design engine. You can quickly make visually compelling, content-rich presentations without needing any serious design skills.

Sway makes it easy to add a variety of media files – audio, video, charts, maps, images. Sway can also search the Web for the content, like videos, and add it to your Sway presentation.

Sway is also great for creating visually striking newsletters, business reports, interactive presentations, resumes, blogs and personalised stories.

How do I get it?

Sway can be used for free by anyone.  This web-based app can also be accessed via Office.com, Sway.com and there is also a Sway app available from the Windows store.

Share your Sway and collaborate smartly

Multiple users can work with Sway at the same time and you can see where each user is and what is been worked on. There is no need to save as saving takes place automatically. There are also options to control the sharing of your Sway, if a person need edit rights or just viewing.  You can even showcase your Sway to social media, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

There is also a cool option to get a visual link, simply create the visual link and add this to the bottom of your e-mail, then your audience can click on the link to go to your Sway. Why not give this a try below –

Analytics

Ever wondered whether your audience has read through your information? Sway helps to get to know your readers with Analytics.  Within Sway you can gain an insight into the number of readers who glanced at your Sway, who gave it a quick read, and who gave it a deep read. You can also see the average time spent on each Sway and the average completion. With Analytics, as a creator you can tweak the content to improve reader engagement over time.

 

Feeling excited about creating a Sway?

We are Microsoft training specialists so join our great new Sway workshop. In just half a day you will learn how to create you very own Sway.  Book today for you or your team to harness the power of your technology investment. Click here to book!

Discover how much easier and more effective you workday can be by having the right IT knowledge and tools – we make IT training easy for you. Click here to see our full range of IT courses.

 

Blog written by Billy Howarth | ATI-Mirage’s Lead Consultant IT 

As we move into an uncertain 2022, leaders must create as much certainty as possible and learn to adapt their leadership styles. Team members look to their leaders for safe navigation during uncertain times.  Leaders can start with creating consistency with the following tips:

1. Set Goals and Expectations

People need to know where they are going in order to get there. Work with your team members to set goals, let them know what your expectations are, and help them to achieve those goals. Remember, your team member may have a better way to achieve the goals than you.

2. Be a Communicator

Communication is crucial for virtual teams to succeed so lead by example.   Learn how to adapt to different communication styles and practice deep listening and empathy. Ask more than tell.

3. Build Trust and Credibility

In the virtual world, it is all about your actions. Do what you say you are going to do and support and/or defend your team when necessary. Otherwise, your team members will not trust you, and you will not get the productivity and results that you are looking for.

4. Build People Up

This is one of the most basic principles of leadership and relationships: build people up rather than tear them down. Offer constructive criticism and development opportunities to help people grow.

5. Keep Learning

The virtual workplace is constantly changing. Keep learning about technology and stay in tune with what your competitors are doing. It is also wise to periodically check in with your team to see if their tools are still meeting their needs.

As well, do not forget that your primary role is a leader. Continue taking leadership courses and building related skills (such as communication, conflict resolution, and personal productivity).

Join our Leadership Uplift Week sessions to further hone your leadership skills, click on the banner below for more information.

Blog presented by Jo Riley | ATI-Mirage’s Lead Consultant PD & Wellness

At any given moment, we have the choice to start fresh. Yet there is something about an ending, such as the end of a year, that provides a springboard of opportunity for the new.

Given we have all lived through some extraordinary times, and the indication is this will continue, what do you want to create for 2022? Here are some questions to get you help reflect, gain clarity and focus:

• Where are you over investing?
• Where are you under investing?
• Your success next year relies on you feeling….
• What projects have you been putting off that you finally want to pursue?
• What do you need to let go of?

Here are our five positive habits for 2022:

1. Starting your day

Having a morning routine creates structure for your day. Whether it is the famous ‘Make Your Bed’ habit from US Navy Admiral William H McRaven, establishing a mindfulness practice, breathing, exercise or breakfast, starting your day on a positive note can boost your motivation, wellbeing, optimism and productivity. Planning your day is a great way to start the day.

2. Prioritise

There are a couple of helpful approaches to prioritizing your tasks and activities for the day.   In his book ‘Eat that Frog’, Brian Tracey says to tackle the biggest thing you don’t like in the morning, then it is over and done with and you can carry on with the rest of the day. Alternatively, you may want to ask yourself “What is the highest value task I need to do, to accomplish my goals?” “Where is the best investment of my time?”

3. Self-Care

Your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual self-care is vital to your health, wellbeing and vitality. It has been said ‘You can’t poor from an empty cup’.  If you are feeling tired, burnt out and overwhelmed it can be difficult to deal with problems and people. So, remember to breathe, eat, move, sleep, have fun, be compassionate, and pay attention to hygiene.

4. Let go of any joy robbing thoughts and habits

We all have them from time to time and sometimes we need professional help to assist in understanding them and releasing them. These can include perfectionism, being right, thinking things have to be a certain way and more. People can often engage in drama and distractions. Let it go. Mindfulness can assist in this process.

5. Perspective

Discover new perspectives that open up opportunities. We often say on our PD (Professional Development) courses at ATI-Mirage that perception is one of your biggest tools in your toolkit. Shifting how you see things can help you see things differently. There is always more than one perspective and often a colleague or a friend who share theirs can assist in opening up empathy and/or a different path forward.

To assist you with these five positive habits, ATI-Mirage has the following courses:

• Mindfulness @ Work
• Time Management Simplified
• Manage Stress, Build Resilience
• Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
• Project Management