It has been months since we blogged over at WebGreeter Blogs but what better way to restart by announcing the recent changes that have taken place in the last few months in our Corporate office, LiveAdmins LLC.

You might remember LiveAdmins LLC, started way back in 2002 with the sole purpose of providing Live Chat Support Services. In 2004, LiveAdmins re-branded the Live Chat Service to WebGreeter and it hasn’t looked back since.

In 2006 LiveAdmins increased its portfolio of services to include Internet Marketing (Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing services etc.) and Web Design/Develpment Services.

Come late 2009, a restructuring of the whole organization was due starting with the websites for LiveAdmins and WebGreeter and rebranding of its Internet Marketing and Web Development services under “WG Web Solutions”. This comes after work was well underway to develop our own Live Chat Software which we dubbed WG Live Chat Software, The software is currently being used internally in WebGreeter for our clients, and should be available to the general public in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Presently, the websites for LiveAdmins and WebGreeter are now live as well as the new website for WG Web Solutions. Work is also under way for developing the portal for WG Live Chat Software and should be finished at the same time as when we go public with the software.

Webgreeter has decided to introduce competitions amongst employees to step up the employee morale and overall productivity by a notch. This not only implies actual competitions. The intention is to infuse the work place with competitiveness and team spirit.

Webgreeter has devised an excellent exercise for this purpose. Now what happens is that employees are divided into teams of equal numbers and each team is headed by a supervisor, who is responsible for the team’s performance. The teams are given assignments to be completed within a set deadline. This scheme is surprisingly effective, since employees get to know each other personally, form closer bonds and work towards a common goal. This spirit also serves them later in the work place since they learn to work as a team. Most importantly, through these competitions, employees invariably learn to depend on each other.

You cannot produce outstanding results if a team comprises of two skillful and two uncooperative members. These competent members depend on other members to produce the necessary results. And if a team does well, all the members are praised for it, including even those who did not necessarily contribute towards it. Therefore, this activity teaches employees to share responsibilities and rewards equally.

It is through teamwork that employees work together to attain a common goal and produce results that exceed expectations. It has to be borne in mind that achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual. Thus, everyone depends on each other, which is why team spirit is so vital to any organization.

Through this exercise, Webgreeter does not only seek to build team spirit but also create a competitive atmosphere, which is ideal for a work place. The employees are constantly driven to outperform the others thereby enhancing their craft and increasing overall productivity. Inculcating employees with team spirit makes for healthy working relationships and everyone desires a good working relationship. Competitiveness and team spirit make for increased motivation in employees and this leads to extraordinary performances, which is why these two elements are central to any organization.

Webgreeter (Liveadmins LLC, Chicago) introduces a new and novel concept to make the visitor’s stay even more fruitful than before. Their latest brainchild, the greeter on greeter model, is as simple as its name.

Basically, a junior greeter first greets the visitor. It’s the junior greeter’s job to qualify the visitor, ask about his requirements. The junior greeter then refers the visitor to a suitable senior greeter in accordance with the visitor’s requirements. Now this senior greeter is someone who specializes in the area that the visitor wants information about. All the information that the junior greeter has obtain is relayed to the senior greeter, and, hence, the job is made simpler and the senior greeter knows what to deal with.

For example, if a visitor wants information about mortgage rates, the junior greeter refers him to a greeter who has adequate information about the aforementioned subject. Likewise, if the visitor wants information related to income tax, he can be referred to a greeter who has commendable knowledge on the subject and can be trusted to deal with it competently. The advantages of this method are manifold, both to the visitors and the site owners.

This new model makes the site more convivial and user friendly. Navigating the Internet for information can be complex and futile in many cases. Either the information is too scarce or way too much which makes it all the more difficult to get the required information. With tree like answers provided by the greeters, visitors can make informed decisions more easily.

Visitors get just what they are looking for since greeters who specialize in a specific subject provide information. This method is also time saving since the greeter now knows what the visitor is looking for and takes on from there, as opposed to first having an introduction then ensuring what the visitor is looking for.

For the site, its work made easy since work is more divided. Also, it’s easier to train a greeter in a specific subject as opposed to training a greeter on all subjects. Work is done faster with the introduction of this model since a greeter does not have to search for information.

It adds a personalized touch to the site since greeters become more involved with the visitors to solve a problem. They can also develop long term relationships with visitors and become their trusted advisor’s. These greeters, who undergo extensive training, also assist in navigating visitors through tricky websites. They guide the visitors and try to generate leads. They also aid the visitors in their decision making process if they are unable to decide. The greeters are friendly and genuinely interested to see that the visitors get exactly what they are looking for.

Team building events are meant to make the work place a home away from home, and this is what webgreeter aims at through such events. Webgreeter regularly demonstrates its commitment to building team unity and positive morale among their employees in their daily workplace. In the absence of this commitment, negative effects can result from formal team building sessions, but many companies do not realize this.

Poorly planned team building sessions bring disillusionment and low morale, even more so if they are not followed up with worthwhile activities. Employees tend to become cynical and jaded. But incorporating such events into the overall structure of the organization can yield long term positive results.

The people at webgreeters take all these considerations into account when planning team building events. There are monthly barbecues and the much anticipated musical nights, which are a huge hit with everyone. Then there are those bonfire nights held on a quarterly basis. Almost everyone voluntarily attends these events and participates in their planning, which says much about the team spirit at webgreeters. Everyone does a salutary job of it and these events have promoted a strong sense of belonging in the company.

Events such as these give people a strong sense of direction, increases their communication with each other and they come to know more about their peers, which is just what webgreeters desires to create a healthy work atmosphere.

In lieu of simply presenting bonuses, webgreeter will now link bonuses directly to their employees’ performances. According to the bonus plan, employees would be judged on these qualities: punctuality; quality of work done, of course; attitude; and lastly, the initiative to learn, the willingness to go the extra mile. At the end of the month an employee of the month is selected, and, instead of the customary and unrewarding prize given in most organizations, is handed a bonus.

What’s more, employees are encouraged to ask for advice on how to get the now coveted employee of the month bonus. The intention is to drive home the point for the employees that they are doing a worthwhile job, and the higher-ups pay heed to their efforts.

As regards being punctual, it shows your responsibility, the fact that you give importance to other people’s time. Punctuality means more than just arriving twenty minutes before the day starts. Employers are real suckers for workers who have a knack for working under stress and time sensitive conditions, and that is what web greeters are looking for.

The problem with judging productivity and quality of work is that every employee thinks he has out performed the others. It’s more about the competency level, i.e., the ability to perform the tasks assigned. For instance, there is always a difference between a good greeter and a bad greeter. A greeter who greets with a cordial ‘Good afternoon, how may I help you?’ is infinitely more preferable than a greeter who begins with a curt ‘May I help you?’

A classic employee does the most with the least. Apart from the somewhat elementary aforementioned qualities, an employee also needs to be resourceful and agreeably business savvy. To survive in the dot.com world, it’s a must for employees to keep themselves up to date with current affairs. And an employee who capitalizes on the resources available, no matter how limited, is money in the pocket for his boss.

An employee can be all theses things, but can never be called a true professional if he is not a team player.

Everyone desires a healthy working relationship at a work place. And an employee who has an affable disposition and great social skills makes things all the more easier. Asking your peers for advice, giving credit when it’s called for, is all part of this. But having a healthy attitude also requires flexibility and the willingness to accept new responsibilities. When a superior entrusts a worker with more functions outside of their job descriptions, it means they consider that particular worker capable of this responsibility. Therefore, workers should accept these extra responsibilities.

Although it may seem like extra effort, employers really do need workers who take the initiative to go the extra mile, who have the urge to learn more. Someone who constantly proposes new ideas and new approaches is seen as a dedicated employee. In a typical example, Deborah, a greeter, simply tells a customer the price of a car he desires, but Maverick volunteers more information suggesting different hues of color the car comes in and a store where he can get a bargain.
A salary pays an employee to do his job, but a bonus pays him to do more.