While the title of “project manager” seems like it could be a walk in the park, it is a role that demands a high level of skill and a lot of responsibilities. You don’t have to be a scientist to know that you won’t become a successful project manager without the necessary skills. How do you acquire the correct skills, and how should you prioritize your time to become the best manager possible? What are the most important skills for a project manager? These are all questions that wannabe managers have pondered time and time again, and fortunately, we’re here to help shed some light on them. In no particular order, let’s look at the key project management skills that you will need to master if you want to be the best.

1. Forecasting and planning

To kick off our project management skills list, let’s discuss how the key to successful management is based on forecasting and planning. It can be a challenge, but you will need to make best-informed guesses all the time, especially as you work around resources and timelines. So, what is a project management forecast? Forecasting is an essential key in planning that helps you use any information you have two make estimates and predictions about the future. These should always be based on facts and data and never on hunches, opinions, or anything that can’t be measured. Anything that you learn can be used to help the project moves on and progress. These are crucial skills to have in the early stages of a project, but they can also help inform superiors of how projects can be improved in the future.

2. Budgeting

Only a small 2% of companies will successfully complete all of the projects they take on without going over budget. As a project manager, you will need to know how to work around financial constraints. If you step well over your budget, there could be repercussions for both you and your team. It can be difficult to get right, so get familiar with your industry and gather as much data as possible to inform your decisions.

3. Managing risk

If you want to know how to improve project management skills, learn about risk management. The project manager’s responsibility is to navigate around problems and anticipate risks before things go wrong. This will ensure that problems are less likely to come around throughout every task. Each project will have some element of risk to it, so know how to deal with it.

4. Methodologies

What are the project management skills and competencies? Many of them fall under the umbrella of methodologies such as Waterfall and Agile. There are so many unique and interesting ways of approaching project management – enough to write an entire article about! The most experienced manager will be familiar with the most applicable methodologies and will be able to pick the one that best fits their specific project and team members.

5. Monitoring and tracking

These are absolutely essential project management skills to have. Completing a project is one thing, but completing a successful project is another. You will need to know how to keep your fingers on the pulse, utilizing monitoring and tracking skills. If you do not, you are not able to support broad business goals and talk about how well the project went after it’s over. Companies will want to know what they can improve and how to do things better next time.

6. Facilitation of meetings

Typical projects have meetings, retrospectives and status updates. As the project manager, you will need to lead these meetings. It is important to know how to create an agenda, facilitate a discussion, follow up on certain action items and document notes.

7. Project management software

Various software allows you to coordinate all the elements of project management. It will be good to get acquainted with some of these project management hard skills. Experts in their field will make use of software to help streamline collaboration, communication, and iron out the creases in project plans. You should be getting tech-savvy and using whatever you can to make your life easier.

8. Expertise

In a larger sense, what are project management skills? One thing’s for sure – the skills are highly transferable. A project manager can transfer their skills to work in any number of industries. Even though it is not completely necessary, it will help you stand out if you have a basic understanding of the industry you will be working in. By having a base level of expertise, you can accurately estimate timelines, costs, and resource requirements. Your coworkers will also look up to you more, thinking that you’re trying your best.

9. Leadership

Project managers are team leaders, and your project manager skill set should include leadership skills. People need someone to trust, and you need to know that employees are on board, happy, and motivated throughout every phase of the project. As the leader, you will also need to equip people with the tools, time, and resources they need to handle their tasks. Leadership skills are project management soft skills that don’t go unnoticed. They help to build up your reputation in the company and help you come across as a professional.

10. Communication

So, just how important are communication skills in project management? If you’re thinking, “What are the skills of a project manager?” some might argue that communication is the most important skill of them all. Managers need to ensure that stakeholders and team members are fully informed about the project timeline, plan, and budget. Excellent verbal and written communication is required to update people on a project’s latest happenings. The best project management examples to learn from are most often related to good communication.

11. Time management

As you notice all the deadlines in place, you need to manage your time. Project managers will often be the main point of contact for numerous team members and appointments, so time management needs to extend to managing the time of the project’s key players too. Make sure everything runs like clockwork!

12. Problem solving

You can plan everything to a T, but you are human, and every human makes mistakes. When unexpected issues and problems crop up, a project manager must not be discouraged. You’ll need to elaborate on various resources and develop solutions to keep projects moving forward, even when there are numerous difficulties ahead.

13. Collaboration

Project managers are tasked to have a vision, rally team members, coordinate tasks, and ensure that everybody collaborates effectively. To do these things, project managers need to be skilled collaborators themselves. A key subskill in this category that is essential to collaboration to have in the arsenal is conflict resolution, as not everybody can handle it. Disagreements are inevitable, and you should know how to deal with them.

14. Organization

Tasks, deadlines, resources, and problems are a lot to deal with in one go. The best project managers are those who can keep on top of everything and stay organized. When you have all the moving pieces at your fingertips, the project will run smoothly.

15. Being adaptable

Planning is a must for every project, but every plan needs some element of adaptability. As things don’t go exactly the way you envision, you need to be adaptable. Adaptability is also key when something unanticipated occurs. The project manager will need to know how to roll with the punches and rebound quickly.

Developing project management skills

Now that you have good examples of project management skills, we hope that you can utilize them in the workplace. Fortunately, there is absolutely no shortage of resources to help you broaden your skills and increase your horizons. A number of options are available, from joining organizations such as the Association for Project Managers or taking courses with reputable bodies such as the Project Management Institute. Familiarize yourself with the project management skills we’ve mentioned, and rise to the top to become the best project manager you can be. Good luck!

In your opinion, what are some essential skills for an effective project manager? We’d love to know what you think. Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

Call centers are, unfortunately, often stereotyped as places of frustration for both employees and callers. When most people picture one, they think of an office filled with cramped cubicles and irate customers taking their frustrations out on exasperated agents. Perhaps you’ve even seen a TV show or movie where the air conditioner broke down in a call center to make things even worse.

What is a Cloud Call Center?

A call center is a business function that handles inbound and/or outbound phone calls with customers. A cloud call center, or cloud-based call center, is one that has its technology for handling these calls (such as the automatic caller distributor) on servers on the internet “cloud” rather than locally-owned equipment. This can make it cheaper to start up a new company while still providing excellent customer service capabilities!

What are the benefits of being a cloud call center?

• Scalability
• At-home agents
• Flexibility

Luckily, that air conditioning scenario can be avoided in real life, thanks to services like air conditioner repair in Chicago. A work office should always be comfortable, especially now that you’re likely trying to get employees to come back after remote work caused by COVID-19. Have a skilled technician look at your air conditioning system and the furnace of your office to ensure everything is working properly. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to install a programmable thermostat as well to keep consistent temperatures and ensure that your air conditioner completes its cycles.

While you certainly can’t discount the importance of comfort, you’ll want your customer service professionals to use the best technology available for their jobs as well. Call centers have notoriously high turnover rates, and one of the most common employee complaints is using outdated technology that makes the work harder. Honestly, these days, “call center” is a bit of a misnomer. With the ability to use digital channels granted by cloud based technology, the term “contact center” makes more sense. Here’s everything you need to know about cloud based contact center solutions.

The cloud helps you overcome the limitations of legacy systems.

On-premises legacy solutions are becoming obsolete in the world of contact centers. They guarantee a solid connection between customers and agents but come with some major downsides, such as expensive repair work or upgrades from your own IT department. With on-premise systems, you’re also limited to how much customer service can be done remotely because your agent must remain at their desk in order to maintain the interaction; this is limiting for crisis management situations where remote access may be needed most urgently. This is a world of digital transformations, and we’ve all seen how important remote work can be lately.

A cloud contact center is one that operates on a network-based service, where the provider offers services based on a subscription model. Cloud services have CRM integrations that lead to better customer experiences, they have no need for on-premises hardware, and security and upgrades are handled by the provider, so contact center supervisors are freed up to focus on core tasks. Installing cloud-based systems is easy, they can be scaled as your business grows, and they allow great flexibility for employees.

True omnichannel routing is the future of contact centers.

Cloud contact centers offer greater convenience for customers since they don’t just rely on voice calls. With cloud technology, customers can contact your agents using their preferred digital means, such as text, SMS, live chat, mobile app, and more.

Calling customer service is easy when we have IVR! No need to wait on hold for hours or get transferred around before getting the help you want.

Calling customer service has never been easier thanks to interactive voice response, a technology that connects customers with agents right away and makes it hard not to find what they are looking for in minutes instead of waiting on hold all day long listening through phone menus, or being passed from agent-to-agent until someone finally answers your question.

When you work with the best cloud contact center solution, you’ll even get omnichannel routing, which allows customers to seamlessly switch between communication channels when needed, all while staying in contact with the same agent. For example, if a customer started a conversation through webchat shortly before they needed to run an errand, instead of losing their progress if the conversation takes longer than expected, they can simply switch to a hands-free voice call as they leave the house. This saves everyone’s time and provides a unique and memorable customer journey.

Don’t get left behind using old technology. Switch to cloud call center software as soon as possible to provide a great customer experience and boost your agent productivity.

How does a cloud contact center improve customer experiences while you maximize agent productivity?

With the emergence of modern call center technology, agents are empowered to provide customers with quality service. Such features as skills-based routing and predictive dialers help boost productivity while ensuring that every customer is satisfied.

Providing the right information at the right time:

The frustration and anger that customers come into a call with can be difficult for an agent to deal with. To make matters worse, when agents are forced to switch between numerous legacy backend systems, they not only slow down the process of service but also prevent themselves from being able to fully connect or empathize with their customer’s needs.

Matching an agent’s skills to the customer’s needs:

The customer’s voice is one of the most powerful weapons in your arsenal. It can reveal actionable insights that may have been lost by restricting avenues for interaction with your company to just web, mobile, chat, and email channels; but it takes a unified hub—such as those offered by cloud contact center platforms—to make sense of all this data across an enterprise.

Call center software warrants real-time support:

A whopping 38% of customers are at risk of defecting to competitors if their issues aren’t resolved on the first call. But by using a hub-and-spoke approach, cloud contact center solutions allow agents to follow the full thread of a customer’s journey from one channel to the next and service them more efficiently so that these problems can be solved in real-time—or even anticipated before they occur.

Experience faster deployment of new capabilities:

The days of waiting weeks or even months for new technologies are done. With a cloud contact center, you can add capabilities on the fly with instant results that will help your agents provide better customer service and increase sales opportunities while keeping costs low because it is so easy to deploy the technology.

What’s the difference between on-premise and cloud-based call centers?

It can be tough to pick the right call center software for your business. There are many different options available, and it’s important that you understand what they offer in order to make an informed decision. In this article we will explore two leading solutions–OneCall vs GoToAssist–and highlight their pros/cons so you can decide which one is best suited for your needs!

These are the four most common types of call center software. Let’s take a look:

Bottled and jarred packaged goods have become increasingly popular in recent years, generating a debate over their benefits and drawbacks. Consumer protection information is included here, as well as information regarding hygiene, packaging toxins, and environmental impacts.

Time is money in the fast-paced world of the 21st century. Money is saved by saving time. Food is increasingly being deposited in packaged form in order to save time (and earn money). Technological advances and commercialization have also revolutionized the packaged food market.

Both the packaging and the contents are important. Nevertheless, the initiative will raise consumer awareness of these effects and enable them to select packaging that is both eco-friendly and safe for them.

The packaging of food and beverages includes glass, plastic, aluminum, and paper. There are advantages and disadvantages for both consumers and manufacturers with these materials.

Advantages of bottled and jarred packaged goods

Far-away residents consider packaged foods to be a blessing. There is no set time for eating. In addition, storage and storage are easy. Wrapping and storing the containers are not necessary.

It is more likely that unpackaged food will become contaminated than food packaged this way. Recycled packaging is known to be safe, despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. Foods such as these have an extended shelf life. Freshness can be maintained for a long period of time.

Packaging protects food from damage during transportation, handling, and storage, which makes it easier to store and handle packaged food.

The life of contents can be prolonged by using glass, aluminum, or plastic containers. The convenience factor is the last but not the least. As well as saving time, grocery shopping, preparing, and cooking are eliminated.

Hygiene

Food packaging is used to transport and store many types of food hygienically. In the case of food, packaging can reduce contamination and bacteria, preventing illnesses, especially food poisoning.

The use of recycled materials in food packaging causes concern, however. A strict set of regulations must be followed by manufacturers who use recycled material.

The pack is additionally hygienic since food does not have to be exposed to the air, which makes it possible to store food at home.

Duration

• Foods and beverages are packaged differently to prolong their shelf lives.

• Placing items in plastic can help prevent discoloration and extend the life, for example.

• Metal and glass containers are used to store food for as long as possible.

Before purchasing food, use clear plastic or glass to check for discoloration. Due to exposure to air, foods without packaging can dry out, mold, or spoil.

Packaged foods have several disadvantages

Before talking about their cons, let’s take a look at their pros. Food packaging produces a lot of waste. It has generated a great deal of waste. Therefore, packaging represents a substantial portion of the cost of all food manufacturers, making it more costly to manufacture and to purchase than unpackaged food.

Health is negatively affected by packaging. Adding artificial flavors and food additives to packaged foods not only worsens their taste, but they can also make them unhealthy.

Online shopping can cause allergic reactions, digestive problems, and increased susceptibility to illnesses like lung and heart disease.

For this issue to be resolved, the FDA must require food labels. These labels also provide nutrient information, aside from ingredients, expiration dates, and serving size.

Environment Empect of Bottled and Jarred Packaged Goods

Over twenty percent of all waste plastic and paper comes from packaging, as reported by Duke University researchers Patrick Reaves and Michael Nolan. Food packaging is eliminated, resulting in higher waste levels for the environment.

Chelsea Rochman describes hazardous waste, according to a professor at the University of California. Cancer can potentially be caused by plastics or damage to the reproductive system due to plastics.

In addition to being nondegradable, most packaging negatively impacts both humans and animals.

Cost of Bottled and Jarred Packaged Goods

There is an increase in food costs due to packaging. Ten to fifty percent of food products’ prices are accounted for by packaging. Because manufacturers have to create smaller packages in order to meet federal and health standards, their costs increase. In addition, storing and transporting food in smaller packages is more expensive than in bulk.

Overall, packaged food contains positive as well as negative attributes, just like everything else. In the same way that too much of anything is bad, too much of this is also bad. Whether or not we choose to consume these foods is entirely up to us.

More Advantages and Disadvantages of Bottled and Jarred Packaged Good

Now, consumers in the UK are more likely to purchase bottled and Jarred packaged goods. In supermarkets, consumers are increasingly buying convenience foods and fewer packaged foods. UK consumers are often misled to believe that they only shop at one type of store: high street stores.

However, this is not always true. In many supermarkets, you can now buy bottled and jarred packaged goods that are not the traditional types of packaged food sold in high street stores.  Because consumers want easier access to products and better service, online shopping has become increasingly popular. These products do have some disadvantages, however. This article examines some of their disadvantages before reviewing some of their advantages.

There have been long-standing concerns about packaged foods due to the packaging. In the past, consumers considered glass containers and jars undesirable and were reluctant to purchase foods that were packed in them. In spite of this, the packaging of certain types of packaged goods—including those sold in the UK—has been significantly altered in recent years. Particularly Bottled and Jarred Packaged Goods meats have been affected by packaging changes. The UK now uses plastic packaging for packaged meats. Changing to plastic makes sealing meat much easier than before, which is a major reason for this change. Plastic packaging makes it easier to keep meat fresh than glass jars.

The same applies to food cans. As opposed to tin cans, plastic and glass packaging support the long-term storage of tinned foods. As a result, canned food could be more appealing to consumers. People prefer to buy canned foods because they have a long shelf life. Plastic packaging makes this possible. Cans and bottles of canned goods are often present in glass jars. You should choose glass jars over plastic jars because of their ease of cleaning and easy maintenance. Children are drawn to plastic due to its transparency and easy visibility. Cans and bottled foods differ in a number of ways with regard to their nutritional value. Canning foods low in sugar and fat are suggested as an alternative to foods high in sugar and fat to prevent this.

A Bottled and Jarred Packaged Goods food also has some disadvantages besides its advantages. One of the obvious disadvantages of these foods is that they are not very appealing to children. Children may be bored by packaging and products. A grocery store offers a greater variety of fresh produce and meat than packaged foods.

Cans and bottles have the disadvantage of being expensive to ship. Purchasing packaged foods may not be feasible due to budget constraints. If one has packaged water on hand, buying or cooking food is not necessary. There is no doubt that glass bottles are the most common type of bottle for bottled water. Packaging made of plastic, however, is relatively expensive.

Form and Function Drive Design for Bottled and Jarred Packaged Goods

Throughout the bottling industry, a new mantra has taken hold: form enhances function. Food and beverage companies using bottles and jars place a high priority on functional design attributes such as gripability, sealing ability, on-the-go portability, and ease of heating and serving.

Moreover, Tay notes that “our society is becoming more mobile and independent, and food [and] beverage producers are looking more and more for ergonomic glass packaging that is resealable with a clean and efficient dispensing system.”

Based on focus group research, Bookbinder discovered that consumers really appreciate soup packaging that is resealable and portion controlled. It leveraged O-I resealable 15-ounce 15-ounce fifteen-ounce jars to manufacture new soup flavors including Sweet Burgundy Onion and Butternut Squash & Mushroom.

Additionally, soups with chunky texture are easy to pour from jars with a wide opening. With cans, however, microwave cooking is not possible. In lieu of transferring the soup to a microwave-safe dish, this method eliminates the need to transfer the soup.

In addition to storing unused products in a jar, you can also store them in a jar to save space. Transparent jars allow consumers to view a product’s packaging before they purchase it and monitor how much is left in the package while it is in the refrigerator.

Wine bottle brings its own glass

A clever design for Vino Solo bottles offers functional advantages for outbound drinkers and for concessionaires at venues that discourage glass packaging, like ballparks. Merclot and chardonnay are considered Vino Solo varietals of premium quality.

The 187-ml polyethylene terephthalate bottles are closed with a wine flute by Vino Solo and inverted over the cap. The smaller package size allows shipping and storage to be simplified.

In addition to custom-label wines as well as Vino Solo, KDM proposes to make the package available for non-alcoholic beverages as well as for other alcoholic beverages. Meanwhile, Singlz will feature the bottle-and-flute package for non-alcoholic drinks.

As Vino Solo launched in the United States, its initial customers were hotels, theaters, convention centers, cruise ships, and sports venues. Major League Baseball parks currently serve the brand.

With Vino Solo, concessionaires and foodservice operators can simplify operations by combining the flute with the bottle. Vino Solo offers unprecedented service efficiencies and margin-generating capabilities for on-premise accounts, according to KDM President Jonathan Gelula.

Vino Solo will also be available in three-pack retail packaging from KDM. Due to its break-resistant design and inclusion of drinkware, the primary package is an appealing option for consumers who want to take drinks with them while away from home. Gelula says that Vino Solo’s three-packs provide a handy solution for any kind of ‘on the go’ project, such as cooking outdoors, boating, camping, or even fishing.

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