Category: Business News

Scheduling shifts for your retail business should be simple, but in reality, it can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare.

Using a spreadsheet or online calendar can get messy, and can rapidly lead to poor communication, staffing shortages or errors, calendar clashes, updates that staff don’t see until it’s too late, and disorganized shifts. This can lead to unhappy employees, frustrated managers, and unexpected overtime costs.

That’s why retail scheduling software is a must-have for your business.

Dedicated digital platforms like Homebase are an all-in-one solution. They enable you to allocate shifts, plan your week using templates, give employees their schedule ahead of time, communicate updates, resolve clashes, limit overtime, and enable staff to manage changes or time off without fuss.

No more disorganization — just happier employees who feel respected and empowered, an environment with better morale and productivity, a well-managed store, streamlined shifts, cost savings, and a calendar

What is call center analytics?

Call center analytics is the collection, measurement, and reporting of performance metrics within a contact center. It tracks call data and agent performance handling inbound or outbound calls. Common types of analytics include handle time, call volume, customer satisfaction, and hold time.
However, call center analytics is much more than call times. It factors in the human element to influence how calls are handled, including the customer experience itself.
In most cases, call center supervisors can access this data using specialized analytics tools. However, accessing this call center data analytics is often limited to supervisors and team leads. More modern contact centers provide this real-time data to agents so they can mind increasing call volumes.
However, with the right tools and strategy, call data helps you provide exceptional customer experience, boost brand loyalty, and improve efficiency across the board.

To harness the power of call

Social media marketing is a great way to sell more during the holidays. Here are eight ways you can put social media to work for you this holiday shopping season — and why it’s important to do so.

We live in a world where social media has to be part of your marketing in some way. As of April 2022, Facebook alone has more than 2.9 billion monthly active users worldwide. Looking at just U.S. figures, the Pew Research Center shows that the percentage of social media users between the ages of 18 and 29 is 84% , while it’s close to the same at 82% for people 30 to 49 years old. Even 45% of US adults 65 and older use social media.

The bottom line: even if you’re not a big social networking fan yourself, your business needs to be on social media. If it’s not where your

Economic indicators and recent interest rate hikes have sent mixed messages about short-term expectations around inflation and the likelihood of a recession.

Continued slow downs in hours worked and employees working at small businesses have diverged from prior years, likely a result of decline in holiday spending.

In the past quarter, interest rate hikes and economic indicators on inflation and employment have led to widespread speculation that a recession is to be expected in 2023. To understand how the broader economic environment has impacted small businesses and their employees during the 2022 holiday season, we analyzed behavioral data from more than two million employees working at more than one hundred thousand SMBs.

Summary of findings: Homebase high-frequency timesheet data indicate continued slowdown in hours worked and employees working across most industries and major metro areas.

• Our key Main Street Health Metrics — hours worked and employees working — have

As remote work becomes more common, it can be difficult for employees to separate their work lives from their personal lives, especially if they’re using their personal devices and phone numbers for work calls.
Businesses looking to improve how their employees make and receive work calls may begin researching for a business phone app. These apps allow users to have separate phone numbers, known as virtual phone numbers, that are used solely for business communications.
Your virtual phone number can be accessed via a mobile or desktop app, and calls can be taken in the office or on-the-go without interruption. These numbers are also easy to set up and more lines can be added as your business grows.
To help you choose the right option for your business needs, we’ve compiled the top 10 business phone app options on the market today.

Top 10 business phone apps

1. Nextiva
2. Sideline