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Is a Corporate Concierge right for your organisation?

14 February 2012, 2:50 am

The number of organisations utilising the services of a Corporate Concierge is still relatively low in Australia. In fact it is quite difficult to get real data on organisations who have implemented a concierge service.

“That’s because we don’t need corporate concierge services!” I hear you say.

In America however, many organisations are starting to realise the benefits of Corporate Concierge Services. It isn’t surprising when you take a look at the statistics Nicole R Matthews from The Henley Company quotes in her recent article, ‘The Dirty Little Secret – No One is REALLY Working 8 Hour Days”:

53% of employees would opt for a personal assistant rather than a personal trainer.*

Only 14% of Americans take two weeks or more at a time for vacation. The average American spends more time in the bathroom than on vacation.*

88% of employees say they have a hard time juggling work and life.*

70% of working fathers and working mothers report they don’t have enough time for their children.*

64% of Americans report that time pressures on working families are getting worse, not better.*

I wouldn’t be surprised if these statistics were very similar to responses you would gain from Australians. If this is the case, what is the cause? And what is the solution? Because in my mind we need a solution. I believe we need to start making headway into the working culture of our country and the apparent belief that to pay the mortgage and put our children through school we need to work extremely long hours to earn our pay cheques. Maybe, just maybe, a Corporate Concierge service could go some of the way to assist these changes.

Work To Live, Don’t Live To Work

The common mantra is that we should be working to live, not living to work. I wonder for how many this is actually a day-to-day reality. Are you one of the 88% who have a hard time juggling work and life? Are you one of the 64% who feel working pressures are getting worse?

Some Key Questions

I often ask myself why it is that so many employees seem to be working well beyond their contractual work hours? I have quite a few questions:

  • Are they being as productive as they could be?
  • Are they able to manage their time as well as they should be?
  • Are the responsibilities for the role simply more than one person can handle?
  • Are they being supported by their employer and family to manage their life outside of work in an effort to reduce the juggle?
  • And are employers and employees regularly sitting down and asking these questions of each other, and doing their best to come up with the answers?

Is a Corporate Concierge The Answer?

Now a Corporate Concierge service may not be the answer for your organisation, but perhaps it is worth considering. Finding creative ways to give your staff more time, reducing their stress and improving their focus could be just the thing your organisation needs to grow and develop.

The corporate clients who use us have found having our support team available to their staff to be invaluable (read more here). Some of the ways they use us include:

  • Organising and meeting tradespeople so they don’t have to take the day off to do it themselves
  • Grocery shopping and errand running so they don’t have to do it in their lunch break or when everyone else is at the supermarket
  • Checking the post, watering plants and walking dogs whilst they are away on business travel
  • Taking elderly parents or relatives to doctors appointments so they know they are being looked after rather than relying on a taxi service
  • Assisting relocations and moving house to attract and support international and interstate staff

Why Not Try Out A Corporate Concierge?

One of the ways you might answer the question as to whether your organisation could use a Corporate Concierge is to consider trialling us as part of a pilot program.

In the next few weeks we will be launching our official Pilot Program offering but you can schedule a meeting with us at any time to discuss your options further. Find out how our Pilot Program works, how you and your staff can experience our services, and how we can tailor the program to best suit your needs. Contact Abbie either 0407 972 694 or abbie@lifestyleelements.com.au

 

*To view sources, please go to Nicole’s article here.

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Filed under At Work, Blog, Case Studies, Corporate Concierge, Personal Concierge, Statistics, Time Management, Work Life Balance.
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Mishaps & Mayhem of a Gluten Free Life – Guest Blog

8 February 2012, 10:07 pm

Even as a child, I can recall lying on the floor in agony until the pain subsided, the doctors always put it down to a rumbling appendix or a lazy bowel. As I got older I was diagnosed with IBS, by my GP, even though I didn’t meet a large majority of the criteria, thus a large majority of my pain and discomfort was left unexplained.

At 17 I was officially diagnosed with endometrosis, which I have continued to suffer from for over 13 years. This was not a good combination with coeliac disease, the monthly swelling and pain was beyond belief. Any digestion of high gluten containing food such as pasta and pizza would result in unbearable pain, which often resulted in me ending up in hospital.

I lived my life wearing stretchy pull up type pants and was even thinking of buying maternity pants, because without any warning, by stomach would blow up like a puffer fish within a few minutes, and I would look 5-6 months pregnant! I had to wear baggy tops, as a school teacher I was frequently asked by the younger children if there was a baby in my belly, I would respond with ‘no, I just have a sore tummy’! I’m sure the parents at my school were confused by my stomach, that would increase and decrease; pregnancy rumours were rife.

It wasn’t until I was extremely sick, suffering from severe anaemia, with iron levels of 4, requiring injections, which would cause me to pass out at times, or be so incredibly tired. My doctor referred me to a gastrologist, due to these iron levels; he ordered what I call channel 9 and channel 10 camera crews (an endoscopy and laparoscopy). I thought it might be an idea to mention the swelling to my stomach after eating certain foods. I received a very arrogant response, assuming I had self diagnosed from reading magazines. My blank face and asking what the disease was, changed his mind.

Sure enough, a month later, upon my return I was diagnosed with coeliac disease! Finally I had an answer to my problems. It was like an awakening, I could start my new life, simply by changing my diet.

It was amazing within a month I felt better, I had more energy, no massive belly, and I began to learn how to cook things the gluten free way. My iron stores built up and I felt revitalised. I still had the monthly pains, but minus the excessive bloating.

Living as a coeliac, my biggest problems are going out to restaurants or eating out somewhere for lunch etc! I have been contaminated with gluten, from a gf menu! Most chefs know very little of coeliac disease or allergies in general!

I now have my set of questions I ask, and I make the waiter go back and check with the chef. It isn’t worth ruining my night, for one meal!

About Rachel: Since being diagnosed I have started a blog, sharing my stories, recipes, restaurants etc with others. I have a world-wide readership! If you would like to read my blog the address is http://www.mishapsandmayhemofaglutenfreelife.blogspot.com or you can follow me on Twitter @MMOAGFL>

Please if you suffer any of the symptoms of coeliac disease or your parents do, go and see your doctor and ask to get tested. Untreated in can do horrible things to the body!  

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Filed under Blog, diet, gluten free, Health, Health & Nutrition, Nutrition, Personal Concierge.
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Life Insurance- A Must!

21 January 2012, 10:43 am

Life Insurance

Your untimely death may result in financial constraints for your family. Though there are no U- turns in life, you can still do a lot for your family by securing their future. A regular source of income for yourself and your family is the one of the things that you must keep in mind when planning for the future.

The reasons why people buy insurance policies these days have certainly changed from the reasons in the past decade. As the time is changing, so are the needs. Let us have a look at the various reasons prompting people to buy life insurance:

  • Life insurance-The foremost reason still stands the same as its inception. More than 80% of people insure their lives in order to make their family’s future secure as it provides tax free funds to help your family get on with their lives.
  • Emergency Fund and payment of outstanding bills- People tend to buy insurance policies to meet their adjustment expenses, such as medical or time off work expenses. Other than this, insurance policies also help people pay off their outstanding debts like mortgages and other loans.
  • Education funding- Many life insurance policies have the option of education funding on the death of a parent.
  • Income Replacement- You can protect your family’s future by buying income protection policy in the event of a death or serious illness.
  • Funeral expenses- Funeral insurance provides complete coverage to costs related to funeral and other administrative expenses.
  • Business protection- Business insurance policies often prove to be a valuable asset to fund partnership agreements. Upon the death of a business partner, his family can be significantly bought out with insurance proceeds.

All said, life insurance policies should not be treated as to accumulate wealth but as a financial security for future liabilities and other financial commitments like mortgage, medical bills, education fess, etc. You must take time to research the insurance industry for reputed insurance providers, best policy types, and additional benefits. Any hasty decision in buying a life insurance policy can result in a wrong deal.

Life insurance is the best place to compare life insurance policies and their providers. Visit the website and compare life insurance quotes for free.

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Too Much To Do, Too Little Time – Are You Busier Than Ever? – Guest Blog

13 December 2011, 4:59 am

Something’s puzzling me and I can’t quite work it out.

Today, we have more time-saving, convenience creating, effort reducing resources than ever before and yet we seem to be busier, more stressed and time poor.

I just don’t get it. There’s now an app for everything and you can DIY or outsource pretty much anything so in theory, life should be getting easier, right? Wrong!

As as an executive coach visiting clients in various city offices, I notice an insidious, entrenched and common theme. My clients are smart people working for corporate, government and non-profit organizations, all with very different purposes and yet one way or another, they all lament their lack of time. Here are some of the expressions I hear often – maybe you relate to them:

I don’t have the bandwidth

I’m in back to back meetings all week so won’t have time…

My inbox is killing me

We’re really stretched at the moment

There isn’t time (the common cry of a pressured project team juggling multiple priorities as they stare down the barrel at a ‘go live’ for their system in 3 weeks)

The ‘inbox’ one was interesting. One guy had over 2,000 unread emails in his inbox and his way of surviving the email tsunami was to ignore them until the sender spoke to him directly. “I figure that if it’s important enough, they’ll come around and talk to me or pick up the phone.” Hmmm, sounds good in theory but I wonder how that works if the email is from the CEO.

Yet, he’s also onto something here – he’s Filtering. By prioritizing his emails based on a set of criteria (in his case the personal contact effort made by the sender), he’s filtering in what he believes is important and ignoring the rest.

With millions of bytes of information coming at us every second, we’d soon drown in overload if we didn’t filter it. Our natural reaction is to distort, delete or generalise as a mechanism to keep control of our lives. Yet, if that was an effective technique, why are we all still so busy?

If this is how it is for you, it’s time to spring clean your filters.

Like every other useful resource we can call on, our information filters need routine maintenance. Over time they become clogged with the exhaust fumes of life. Rather than consciously and regularly sifting out the obsolete and unnecessary crud whilst keeping the important, they become blocked.

Understand what’s driving your ‘busy’.

Our actions are driven by an underlying cause that often isn’t connected to the activity or its outcome. This can include ‘a need to be needed’, a determination to be seen to be ‘on top of it all’ ( superwoman/man syndrome – a common one for perfectionists and high achievers), or procrastination because we’re not sure what to do or how to do it. This can lead to aimless ‘fluffing’ and before you know it, you’ve blown hours or days and achieved little more than frustration.

Recognising the real cause of your lack of time helps you take steps to reclaim it. Think about it – if we valued time as much as we value money, wouldn’t we have more rather than less? Imagine how different it would be if you had plenty of time in the tank and were time rich rather than time poor.

Decide what’s mportant

The best way to et the ‘busy’ under control is to check in on what’s most important and ensure ou’re focus is largely on your main priorities. Do you really need to attend hat meeting that you know will go round in circles or is it just that you on’t want to mss out on being ‘in the know’?

Know what matters most

Check that your priorities will make a real difference. One of the best ways to identify this s to ask, “Of all the things I’ve got on my plate, which will make the most difference a hundred years from now?” Chances are not many, but it’s a sobering thought. If it doesn’t really matter – don’t do it! Choosing not to do something is surprisingly liberating.

Identify the best return on your time investment.

If there were no limits, what would you choose to be doing right now? Yes, you do have a choice as to how you spend your time, far more often than you realize. Which task is going to pay back far more than the time you’ll invest in it? This is a great way of stripping out the time wasters from your day.

Clogged filters are making us busy. That’s my theory but I’m sure it’s not the whole story. With so much more at our fingertips to ‘save time’, why do you think we’re still soooo busy?

Caroline Cameron is an executive, business, career and lifestyle coach, who presents enlightening new insights into the life many of us are living today. Caroline is the founder of professional and personal development company, Possibility to Reality www.p2r.com.au. Caroline offers a specialist service to help those wanting to successfully escape the rat race (www.seachangesuccess.com.au) and is ANZI Coaching’s ‘Coach of the Year’ for 2011. Connect with Caroline via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and her blog.

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Filed under Blog, Caroline Cameron, filter, Time Management, Work Life Balance.
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