Business

The Credit Union Service Organisation for Payments (CUSOP) has been granted a payment institution license by the Central Bank of Ireland that will allow credit unions to provide electronic payment services to members nationwide. The new service will allow credit union members to have payments from a bank, employer or social welfare office paid directly into their credit union account by electronic transfer. According to CUSOP, the service will be available to all credit unions in Ireland and will be rolled out to Northern Ireland credit unions in due course. Danske Bank has been appointed to provide the infrastructural support and services to enable the electronic payments using the Sepa…

Business awards attract media attention and raise your profile. Here’s how to increase your chances of winning: Inquire about awards and nominations through your local chamber of commerce and trade groups. Complete applications for awards carefully. Profile your business, describe major challenges you have faced and overcome, explain your solutions. Submit your award entries well in advance of the deadline. When you win—and even when you are just nominated—write press releases about the awards and send them to local media.

When creating business cards, be aware of these dos and don’ts: Do use a white background, not colored. List a home number only if you have a phone line dedicated to business. Present the card at the end of a conversation, when both parties have an interest in staying in touch. Don’t list an unbusinesslike E-mail address. Have a photo of yourself on the card, mention a degree, unless it is necessary for your specific field. Helpful: Keep cards in a place that you can reach easily so you never have to search for them in a purse or pocket.

A lack of recognition is the number one cause of employee dissatisfaction. Give creatively to employees, and they will give back productivity, loyalty and team spirit. Here are low-cost ways to reward employees: Name it. If Kelly was drinking coffee while working on a report until 2 am, post a sign on the coffeemaker dedicating it to her. Name the conference room after the employee who scored a big account. Change the names as the people who deserve recognition change. Bribe the spouse. Show appreciation to the support person behind the star employee. A simple note works. Flowers, wine or dinner is even better. Give discounts. Macy’s employees enjoy discounted…

Say you dream up an innovative product or advertising strategy. Or you have devised a better system for paying bills at home. But when you present the idea to your colleagues, boss, spouse—whomever—you are met with resistance. Here’s how to head off opposition, before it gathers steam, by addressing the three types of resistance: “I DON’T GET IT” The individual or group simply doesn’t understand your idea. Perhaps you used the wrong language. Jargon may work in your department, but to those down the hall, it may sound like you come from another country. Or your audience lacks the background to understand the concept. When my accountant reviews my retirement…

Photo: Pexels Face it, you work much harder than you need you. Chances are you’ve had this conversation with yourself. The average workweek is over 60 hours and it is getting longer, not shorter. Remember back in the 80s when it was predicted that the average workweek would be less than 30 hours in the next 20 years? As if. Did you know there are some professions, especially in the tech sector, employees are expected to put in 100+ hour weeks? Even interns. This marathon approach to working creates a lot of stress and limit the quality of life. It also hinders performance, productivity, and creativity. Working a lot harder,…

Everyone negotiates at some level every day. You negotiate with your spouse about where to go for dinner or what movie to see, and with your boss about salary. Yet standard negotiation strategies often leave people dissatisfied, worn out, and alienated. A better way to deal with differences is called “principled negotiation.” How it works: Listen actively. Frequently, negotiators talk, but not to each other. Instead, they talk merely to impress third parties or their own constituency. Example: Following World War II, negotiations over the city of Trieste involving large delegations from Yugoslavia, Britain, and the US stalled until representatives abandoned their large delegations and began meeting alone and informally…