2016 – Andrea Arena

Building Your Corporate Culture…one small gesture at a time

The September 2014 Robert Half article titled, “9 Low-Cost Ways to Keep Employee Retention High” reminds us that it is often the small gestures that are important. But, isn’t that usually the case in life? Men, don’t get me wrong, expensive jewelry is always appreciated! However, dare I admit that remembering my favorite dessert or finding a message on a Post It note when I open my laptop can mean almost as much. This concept reminds me of the saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and neither is your company’s culture. The foundation may be your Core Values and Mission Statement, but you have an opportunity to lay bricks each day with the small gestures and initiatives that are in complete alignment. An example of one small initiative at TimeSquared Concierge is that we gather personal information during on-boarding and you never know when that information may be used to surprise you. For example, your favorite ice cream flavor may be purchased for the office when you make a big sale or your favorite type of flowers might be sent to you when you are out sick. We are in the business of anticipating needs and making our clients feel special. Why wouldn’t we do the same for our valued employees. After all, without them, our company simply couldn’t succeed. I’d love to hear some of your signature small gestures that shape your corporate culture. https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/9-low-cost-ways-to-keep-employee-retention-high

Great advice on ways to safeguard our four-legged family members

We are always looking for ways to keep you happy and healthy! So, we'd like to share this blog post from K-9 Coach. They are a great dog training, grooming, boarding company that we highly recommend. This particular post is important because it warns all of us about some foods that you probably didn't realize could be harmful to your pet. For example, grapes could cause renal failure in dogs and Macadamia nuts can be poisonous! So, heed these warnings...... no matter how much they give you those pleading "puppy dog eyes". http://www.k-9coach.com/category/blog/

What is most important to the success of your company?

“New Tech employees may not be looking for another job right now, but they are not necessarily committed to staying with their company in the medium to long term.” CultureAmp.com 2015 New Tech Benchmark report A key driver of Employee Engagement: Leaders who demonstrate that people are important to the company’s success According to CultureAmp’s 2015 NewTech Benchmark report, Having Leaders who demonstrate that People are important to the company’s success is one of the top 5 Key Drivers of Employee Engagement in New Tech. That begs the question, “What are you doing to send that message loud and clear to your team?” Does your team feel that the leadership within your organization directly correlates the firm’s success to their valiant efforts? Does your leadership speak to their valued contributions? More importantly, what are you as a firm doing to demonstrate this to your people? If you are stumped by this line of questioning, don’t feel bad. You are in good company with the majority of firms throughout the US. But not for much longer, because you were smart enough to read this post! The solution is not only easy, but it pays for itself time and time again through increased employee productivity, retention, and of course, employee engagement! Are you ready?! Give your employees what they value most – TIME. TimeSquared Concierge is the personal errand service that corporations offer as an employee benefit. We handle all of their running around so they can spend their limited amount of “free” time doing what they value most…and I guarantee you it is NOT battling the weekend crowds at Costco, WalMart or even Target as great as Nate Berkus’ home collection may be. We will stock their refrigerator, take their vehicles in for service, meet contractors at their homes; the

Industrious…. not the sexiest quality, but it is one of my favorites

“Industrious” Okay, so, perhaps it is not the quality that you lead with when writing your Match.com profile. What does that mean? Can she build a Hoverboard out of an old toaster oven? Mock if you want, but it is a word I use to describe myself, and I am, personally, quite fond of it. Here is why. I always thought the World is a big place. There will always be someone who is pretty or smarter or perhaps, easier to get along with than I. Of course; you won’t have to search as long for the later as you would for the first two criteria. However, I can always find a way to get shit done. Now, it might get messy, painful, even hard to watch at times, but I Will Not, Can Not Quit….until “it” is done. People say I am “resilient” and I quietly smile. The truth is that I am not resilient. I feel every setback like it is a knife to my heart. I take everything personally. At lightning speed, I can surmise 20 reasons how I “failed” in any given situation. Then, I pick myself back up and continue the quest. Why? Quite honestly, I don’t think it even occurs to me that there is another option. What is quitting? It is not even in my vocabulary much less my consciousness. Try another way. Approach the challenge from another angle. So, “industrious” – it fits my like my favorite pair of designer jeans. I guess there is no doubt that my new company, TimeSquared Concierge, will succeed. Right? Come along for the ride. You won’t be disappointed.

Welcome 2016

As I look towards 2016, I can’t help but reflect on the many reasons why we do what we do. I wanted to share just a couple of stories that I hope resonate with you as they do with me… One very busy day, we received an urgent request to purchase and deliver a stroller. A member of the concierge team dropped everything and raced to the store. Although, we don’t make a habit of questioning our clients, the concierge admitted that it seemed odd that a stroller would be “urgent”. Did the customer’s stroller just break mid-walk? Did he/she not expect a baby to appear at their home? The concierge arrived at the client’s house a bit flustered until she saw a vision that stopped her dead in her tracks. The client, a high-powered female partner at a prestigious law firm, was seated under a tree in her front yard cradling a precious baby. Happiness radiated from the woman’s face as she looked up to see her concierge with tears streaming down her face. She proceeded to explain that she was afraid to fill her home with baby items as she waited for the call from the adoption agency. She wanted a baby so badly that the cute, cuddly reminders would simply make her too sad. The concierge promptly wiped away her tears and congratulated the proud new mommy and her new bundle of joy. Then, in typical TimeSquared fashion, she proceeded to make a list of all of the other tasks that this client needed to off-load to us so that she could focus on her important new role. We are so honored to play a small part in the most important journeys