7 Ways To Boost Your Self-Confidence

Having self-confidence is something that many people struggle to have. Being confident isn’t an inborn trait – just like any other skill, it may seem impossible to gain at first but it’s possible to learn. Some people consider it as a state of mind; people who are self-confident can take on anything that comes their way with ease.

In this article you’ll learn seven ways to boost your self-confidence. This is the perfect place to start working on your self-confidence if you’re having a hard time. We’ll show you how to make yourself comfortable in situations you think are difficult, so that you won’t shiver the next time you present your big idea in front of a crowd.

Know yourself first

There’s no one else who knows yourself better than yourself. It may sound cliché, but being self-confident starts by knowing your abilities and limitations.

It’s normal to doubt what you can do, but thinking about what you’re able to do can really boost your self-confidence. Start by making a list of the things you’re really good at, as well as the things you’re uncomfortable doing so. By seeing the stark difference between your strengths and weaknesses, you’ll be able to identify your personal pain points and improve on them.

Some people tend to cover up their insecurities by acting strong in the eyes of others, but it’s ideal to identify your weaknesses early on to boost your self-confidence. Acting confident won’t do you any good in the long run, so it’s best to work on your insecurities as soon as you can and be consistent with whatever you’re good at.

Learn to shut off distractions

Distractions usually come in two forms: people and surroundings. Don’t feel discouraged if people around you speak negatively of your skills and abilities – try to ignore them as much as you can if you want to boost your self-confidence.

The way things happen around you can also affect your self-confidence. Untoward events can throw off your confidence and make you feel like you’re a failure, but don’t let these take you down. Take one step forward by learning from these bad events and develop a plan to avoid them in the future. By doing so you’ll be able to boost your self-confidence, since you can anticipate these circumstances and prevent yourself from getting entangled in such events.

Attract positive energy

Some successful people swear by the power of attracting positivity as a way to enhance self-confidence. Thinking about attracting positive energy to boost your self-confidence may sound far-fetched, but this trick works since it begins within yourself. Once you learn how to think positively when you’re down, it can help change your mindset to do things differently (in a good way, of course).

Conquer your fears, one at a time

If you want to take your self-confidence levels to greater heights, you must tackle your biggest fears. Conquering one’s fears is such a huge step for many, since it drastically changes one’s life outlook and perception. Don’t know how to start dealing with your fears? Start by conquering them one at a time.

Start by acknowledging some of your fears and decide to conquer them one by one. This way you’ll be able to focus more on dealing with a single fear at once, gradually boosting your self-confidence. Don’t be tempted to rush things in your pursuit of boosting your self-confidence, as it may worsen your fears and make it more difficult for you to conquer them.

Start small, think big

Chasing success always starts with small beginnings. If you’re aiming for something big, you must start small to boost your confidence. Try to divide your career and personal pursuits into small chunks which are easier to manage and achieve. By doing so you’ll be able to accomplish each “chunk” of your goals much better than doing them all at once. This polishes and upgrades your self-confidence because you can succeed in chasing your goals little by little.

Step out of your comfort zone

Many people are intimidated by this phrase. Truth be told, it’s hard to step out of one’s comfort zone. Why? Because there’s no guarantee of success on the other side. In reality, doing things beyond your abilities is key to improving self-confidence, since it helps you assess your current skills and how you can push its limits.

It doesn’t mean that you have to do something huge for you to say that you’ve stepped out of your comfort zone. Start small by doing things in another way that’s unusual to you, or ask your manager or boss to give you tasks that brings out your creativity and productivity to a different level. Don’t be afraid to ask questions along the way – it helps you see other perspectives on things that you wouldn’t be able to see on your own.

Learn when to say “no”

Most people take the definition of self-confidence as being able to do anything without boundaries. This state of mind can do more harm than good if you don’t know how to say “no” at the right time.

Self-confidence is more than just being able to do things without limits. It teaches you how to deal with things that are within your control. Learning when to say “no” means that you know when to do things that you’re confident doing and when it isn’t. Knowing and controlling your limits is a crucial part of building self-confidence. Without it, you may find yourself gravitated towards doing things you aren’t really good at.

How self-confidence can take you places

Successful people started small in building their self-confidence, learning from failures along the way, and making use of their network to hone their people skills. You can find your own definition of success once you start building up your self-confidence. It’s an indispensable aspect of one’s personality that lets you connect to other people with ease, helping you achieve your goals, and shapes you into a better version of yourself.

The post 7 Ways To Boost Your Self-Confidence appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/7-ways-boost-self-confidence/

How to Check Your Career Progress

At some point in your professional career, you may have asked yourself, “Where am I in my career and how do I grow?”

It could be hard to seek the right answer to this, as different people have different life circumstances. Some people are stuck in a rut and tend to seek ways to get out, such as finding a new job or career direction; some want to stay in a company but are having second thoughts to make that big jump towards a promotion. Either way, you should know how to accurately check your career progress so you can stay on track with your goals.

Here are some things you need to keep in mind when checking on your career progress, along with some tips on how you can give yourself a reality check and finding the right answers to the most pressing questions about career growth and direction.

Ask the key questions first

The most basic way of checking where you’re currently at in your career path is by asking yourself these questions:

What are the good things I’ve done so far?

How would it be if I did these things in another way?

These two questions can help you put the things you’ve done in retrospect, and give you an idea on how things could have been if they would have done differently. Try to highlight on the things that made you learn new ideas, those which positively changed your outlook in life and at work, and those that helped you grow your professional network and your own branding.

Assess current goals & foresee what’s next

Now that you’ve answered the two questions above, the next thing you should do is to check whether your current career goals were met based on the good things you’ve done so far. By doing so you’ll see a bigger picture of how you arrived at your current situation and the various factors that contributed in the way you accomplished your goals.

You should also be able to see what comes next after ticking your present goals’ checklist. Your career growth doesn’t stop simply because you’ve already reached your current goals – it’s a never-ending loop of good and bad experiences as well as bits of learnings as you take your career path.

Rinse, then repeat

By now you should’ve realized that your career path isn’t a straight line – it’s a cycle made of ups and downs. Don’t be afraid of failures and missteps, because these teach you how to be better in your future endeavors. You’ve already checked your current and future goals – what’s next? Do it all over again.

Try to develop your very own template or model for what you want your career path to look like. Not all people have the same goal strategy, that’s why it’s important to have your unique guide on how you can be successful in achieving your present and future goals. There could be more than one template – make sure to test each of these, and see whichever fits your personality and career purpose better.

Be mindful of the little things

The more you’re focused on checking on your career progress, the more you’re inclined to overlook the trivial things that form part of your reality check. It’s easy to forget the little things that helped you achieve your biggest career milestones.

Be more mindful of the little things that may have helped you to achieve your current situation. These could be a colleague who gave you a referral for your next sales deal, a stranger down the hallway whom you’ve asked for directions, or a document or article you’ve read online that gave you some insights on how to do certain things in another way.

Final thoughts

Your career progress varies from another person’s. Try not to compare yourself with other people, as it could distract you from your reality check. Be inspired by these people, but bear in mind that everything you do forms part of where you’re at now. These four steps might help you accurately evaluate your current career state, and teach you how you can grow further.

The post How to Check Your Career Progress appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/check-career-progress/

5 Ways to Improve Workplace Communication

Poor workplace communication results in serious consequences that puts your company in a bad light. Disengaged employees, lost revenue, and an unproductive work atmosphere are just some of the unwanted effects.

It’s a common issue that companies face, especially for large ones. As an HR admin officer, you must encourage everyone in the office to practice proper communication – it enhances productivity and prevents issues arising from miscommunication. Don’t know where to start? Here are 5 ways you can do to improve communication in your workplace.

Make your purpose clear

Every company has a shared goal, vision, or a “north star”. This shared purpose is the singular entity that defines how every employee should work. Giving employees the opportunity to practice good communication allows them to do their best work, which in turn contributes to the success of the company.

Start by asking the question: what are the reasons why you’re working for your company? Once you have the answer, let everyone in the office know – this helps instill the importance of your shared purpose to the success of your organization, and remind everyone why they’re doing what they do in the first place.

Encourage open-door policies

Start encouraging open-door communication policies by asking employees to share their ideas on how to improve things around the office, as well as feedback on existing processes. This way, no one feels alienated by approaching any other employee, especially those from other departments. Open-door policies also allow anyone in your office to speak out about anything that could be of benefit for everyone, especially during times when the company overlooks issues that may seem trivial but in reality makes an impact to your company’s operations.

Provide easy access to information and resources

Employees have a hard time doing their daily tasks at work when they have poor access to company information and resources. This is another prime example of how poor communication in the workplace can hinder company growth. As an administrative officer in your organization, it’s important to give employees the right tools and channels that will help them accomplish their work with ease.

Things like internal company information can be accessed by anyone within the company through a centralized repository or information portal. Once in place, anyone can do their work more quickly and efficiently without having the need to ask other people for information access. As a result, you’ll see a remarkable improvement in workplace communication since employees can move on to their next assignments without bothering their fellow employees just to do something.

Spark employee engagement

Communication among employees who are properly engaged with their work and the company itself is noticeably better, because they feel that everything they do is aligned with what the organization aims to have.

It all starts with your company’s on-boarding process for new hires. An effective employee engagement strategy is inspiring new employees to know their role by heart, commit to their career success, and align their personal goals with the organization’s.

They also need to know how your company culture works, as well as the tools and resources they need to be productive and successful with their tasks. Promoting good company culture is important in improving workplace communication since it helps new employees assimilate with their new work environment and spark interaction with other co-workers.

Create a fun work atmosphere

If your company encourages work-life integration – that is, acknowledging that your work and life pursuits collectively make up who you are – chances are your employees have healthy work relationships among themselves. By ensuring that every employee gets a chance to chill and hang out with their co-workers within the office and beyond, you’re improving communication in the process.

You’ll never run out of opportunities to foster a fun-loving workplace. Invite employees to participate in team-building activities, skill and talent competitions, and sports activities to improve team communication and collaboration.

Final thoughts

Improving communication in the workplace doesn’t have to be difficult – all it takes is to understand how employees want to feel whenever they’re in the office. Try to integrate any of these ideas today, and see significant improvements in the way your employees communicate with one another.

The post 5 Ways to Improve Workplace Communication appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/improve-workplace-communication/

Fostering an Employee-first Workplace

It’s a feat for businesses to create a work atmosphere that prioritizes employees’ welfare, especially for large organizations. But that doesn’t mean that companies must set aside efforts to fostering an employee-first workplace. Startups take the lead in using work spaces that give employees a sense of belongingness. This doesn’t mean that any other business can’t do the same. In fact, any organization who’s looking to attract, retain, and nurture top talent to drive employee productivity and business growth to new heights may consider the following things to create an “employee-first” workplace.

Employee engagement is key

Forbes interprets employee engagement as “the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals”. It simply means that as long as employees are engaged properly, they feel recognized for their work. This results to better productivity, customer satisfaction, and company growth.

The more engaged employees are, the more they feel that they impart a bigger contribution to the company. This in turn makes them see that they are cared for and valued.

Related post: Encouraging Employee Engagement

Provide employees the right tools

There’s more to just giving employees the right tools for their job, such as laptops, nice desks, and smartphones. It’s equally important to consider how employees connect to valuable company resources including their supervisors, managers, and even colleagues.

Proper communication channeling is key to making your workplace employee-friendly. Employees feel more confident and empowered to be productive when they’re happy with the way they talk to their co-workers.

The opportunity for employees to connect among themselves are fundamental to creating an employee-first workplace. Activities such as huddle sessions and one-on-one meetings are the perfect examples of these opportunities. When they know that they can easily voice out their concerns and thoughts to anyone in the office, they feel that their employer values them.

Make room for work-life integration

Whether it’s a family emergency or a celebration of personal and professional milestones, things do happen beyond control, which comes as a normal part of life. With this in mind, it’s crucial for companies to ensure that each and every employee have the opportunity to set aside their work temporarily whenever unexpected circumstances come their way.

Companies consistently ranked among the best places to work are the ones who value work-life integration. This is one of the positive effects of putting employees’ welfare as a top priority. Fostering a workplace where employees feel valued is a major factor in improving your company branding, especially if you’re looking to introduce more people into your organization.

Related post: Work-Life Integration vs Work-Life Balance

Final thoughts

It takes a lot of effort to create an employee-first workplace. The ideal work setting is where every employee gets the tools that they need at any time, feel valued for their work, has the chance to stay in touch with their personal lives, and be proud of their contributions to their organization. They say that it takes two to tango – mutual cooperation of the organization and its people is the key to achieving an ideal work atmosphere.

The post Fostering an Employee-first Workplace appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/fostering-employee-first-workplace/

Understanding Final Pay in the Philippines

Employees cite various reasons for leaving a company. The opportunity to grow one’s career in another company, the search for better benefits, and getting out of a toxic workplace are among the top reasons why people leave their jobs in pursuit of a fresh start. An important part of leaving your current company is getting a form of payment that your company owes you, called final pay.

What makes up an employee’s final pay?

Final pay is made up of different things, many of which are part of the benefits mandated by the Philippines’ labor department. However, it’s up to the company if they want to give out final pay. There’s no such law that says companies are required to pay for outgoing employees.

These things make up an employee’s final pay upon resignation:

1. 1. Prorated 13th month pay. This amount is equal to the fraction of your 13th month pay based on the number of months rendered if you left the company before the year ends.
2. 2. Prorated last salary. This is the withheld amount equal to your last salary.
3. 3. Tax refund. You will receive a refund on your tax payments if your taxes due is less than the sum of your withheld taxes.
4. 4. Company liabilities and deductions. Your company will levy a part of your final pay to cover your unpaid liabilities such as loans or damages.
5. 5. Converted service incentive leave credits. If you have remaining unused vacation and/or sick leave credits, they can be converted into cash and form a part of your final pay. However, it depends on your company policy on service incentive leave credits conversion.

When do I get my final pay?

It usually takes about a month or two after the employee’s last day of work for companies to release the final pay. There are factors, however, that affect the time it takes for this payment to be given out to the employee.

You may experience a delay in getting your final pay if you haven’t finished your exit clearance yet, or if the company is intentionally holding out your final pay due to lack of a labor code provision for its timely release. If the latter applies to your situation, it may be helpful to get in touch with the HR manager to expedite the release of your final pay.

Aside from final pay, what else do I get upon leaving my company?

It’s a must for your company to hand over to you your BIR Form 2316 (Certificate of Compensation Payment / Tax Withheld), Certificate of Employment, and a release waiver and quitclaim for you to sign upon receipt of your final pay. You’ll need to submit the first two documents to your next employer as part of your upcoming on-boarding process.

What’s the difference between final pay, back pay, severance pay, and separation package?

These are loosely defined technical terms that refer to an employee’s final benefits upon resignation. Since these are often misused and interchanged with each other, let’s define them for us to understand their differences:

• ● Back pay. It’s defined as the amount of salary and other benefits that an employee claims that he or she is owed by the company after wrongful termination.
• ● Severance pay. It’s the payment to the employee who was separated from employment.
• ● Separation package. It refers to the sum of pay and benefits received by an employee after the end of his employment.

In other words, your company should give your final pay for the work you’ve rendered up to your last work day if you voluntarily resigned. Otherwise, you should receive compensation for being terminated without an authorized cause, or laid off based on company bankruptcy, retrenchment, or redundancy in accordance with the Philippine labor code.

Why an employee’s final pay matters

As an outgoing employee, you have the privilege to receive your final pay as a form of payment for the work you’ve done up to your last day at work. Talk to your immediate supervisor or HR manager to discuss about getting your final pay along with other documents for your next job.

The post Understanding Final Pay in the Philippines appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/understanding-final-pay-philippines/

What It’s Like To Be an HR Technology Consultant at Sprout?

Onboarding 101: A Guide to Employee Registration with BIR, SSS, HDMF, & PhilHealth in 2019

If your company is in a hiring spree and you’re in charge of compensation and benefits, chances are you’ll be tasked with employee registration to submit new employee information with the government. It’s a tedious task to do, especially if you’re registering fresh-graduate employees or employees with conflicting work information.

Don’t fret – this complete guide is designed so you can easily navigate through the maze of dealing with mandatory employee registration with the Philippine government. We’re showing you step-by-step instructions on how to file employee registration forms with different government agencies, as well as some tips on guiding your employees to self-service registration options to speed up the entire registration process.

New Employee Registration with BIR

If your newly hired employees have been employed in the past, they already have their own tax identification number (TIN) issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). What you need to do is to make sure that their TIN’s revenue district office (RDO) is the same as your company’s assigned RDO.

For Employees with TIN From Different RDO

If your newly hired employees are registered in a different RDO (in the case where they have worked in a different city or province prior to getting hired), you must ask them to transfer their tax information to the RDO that has jurisdiction over your company’s location. They need to accomplish and submit BIR Form 1905 to the RDO where their previous employer is registered.

For Employees with TIN From Same RDO

If your employees’ TIN is registered under the same RDO as your company’s (in the case where their previous employer shares the same RDO as your company), there’s no need for them to process the transfer of details – you simply need to take note of their TIN and update it with your company’s RDO through BIR Form 2305.

For New Employees Without TIN

There are two ways to get your newly hired employees registered with the BIR if they don’t have a TIN yet.

Self-service TIN Registration via BIR Office

You can ask your new employees to get their own TIN from any BIR office. They’ll need to accomplish and submit BIR Form 1902 along with photocopies of these documents: 1) PSA-issued birth certificate or any government-issued identification that shows the employee’s complete name, birth date, address, and signature; 2) PSA-issued marriage certificate (for married employees); 3) birth certificates of dependents (if applicable); and 4) company ID or certificate of employment.

TIN Registration via eReg

If your company is registered online with the BIR’s eReg platform and is also an active Withholding Tax Agent for Compensation Earners, you can simply log in to eReg and access the eTIN module. This allows you to issue new TINs to new employees without a TIN, such as fresh graduates, without the need to manually apply on their behalf. You may access the eTIN module within eReg by going to this page.

New Employee Registration with SSS

It’s easier than ever to get your new employees registered with the Social Security System (SSS). In the past, individuals who want to get their SSS number have to go to an SSS office and tediously fill out physical forms. Today, SSS lets anyone get their SSS number and register their information through online registration. You can ask your new employees to register online for their SSS number, if they haven’t been issued one yet.

Once they’re done with the registration step, get their SSS number, birth date, hire date, job title or designation, and monthly salary. All these information must be submitted to SSS using the Employment Report Form R-1A.

New Employee Registration with HDMF (Pag-IBIG)

If your newly hired employees don’t have their HDMF (Pag-IBIG) Membership Identification Number (MID) yet, ask them to register for one online through this page. Otherwise, simply obtain their HDMF MID numbers and have it ready to be updated using the Member’s Contribution Remittance Form (MCRF), also known as M1-1.

Take note that it is mandatory for new employees who don’t have an existing HDMF MID number yet to register first with SSS and obtain their SSS number before registering with HDMF (Pag-IBIG).

New Employee Registration with PhilHealth

New employees who aren’t registered with PhilHealth yet can easily register online through the PhilHealth eRegister system. Once they’ve registered with PhilHealth, obtain their PhilHealth membership numbers and other details including full name, job title, monthly salary, hire date, and previous employer details. These information needs to be updated using PhilHealth’s ER-2 form.

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Here’s a tip: if your company uses Sprout Payroll, you can easily generate your company’s R-1A form for SSS, MCRF M1-1 form for HDMF, and ER-2 form for PhilHealth with just a few clicks. To know more on how you can generate and submit your company’s mandatory forms using Sprout Payroll, visit these help center articles (Form R-1A, Form M1-1, and Form ER-2) for step-by-step instructions.

Don’t have Sprout Payroll yet? Check out our website to learn more, or book a free demo to see how we can help you simplify your company’s payroll processes.

The post Onboarding 101: A Guide to Employee Registration with BIR, SSS, HDMF, & PhilHealth in 2019 appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/onboarding-101-employee-registration-philippines-2019/

Previously on Innovate: Reevaluating Company Policies & Employee Manuals

Innovate is Sprout’s HR community meetup event series where HR practitioners and major stakeholders come together to connect, share ideas, and talk about innovative trends that shape the field of human resources in the Philippines.

We invited a handful of HR professionals all over the metro to join us in the latest edition of Innovate, themed Reevaluating Company Policies and Employee Manuals. This Innovate event zeroed in on how HR professionals in the country are using existing company policies to manage employees, and how these policies can be improved by looking at emerging trends and employee feedback.

Vanessa Joy Macatangay, CHRP®, known as Vane to her friends and colleagues, is Sprout’s Head of People Operations. She spearheaded this event by talking about how HR teams can take another look at implementing company policies and employee manuals.

 

“Change [an employee’s] mindset in such a way that they wouldn’t feel that they were penalized for something they did wrong.” – Vane Macatangay

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vane revisited how the basic pillars of employee management, namely employee manuals, code of ethics, and code of conduct, help define the way employees act and perform their work everyday. She also discussed the basic structure that makes up these governance pillars, leading to the different ways HR professionals can review, reorganize, and revamp these things that favor both the employer and the employee in the fairest way possible.

As everyone is joining the big shift towards full digitization, HR teams must stay relevant and updated with the latest trends in employer-employee relationships. Vane was able to touch this very important point in reevaluating company policies by highlighting the fact that the umbrella term “people operations” is becoming the new HR. She also pointed out that culture sits at the core of every HR thrust, as she believes that company policies must revolve around a holistic and proactive company culture.

After an engaging exchange of questions and answers, Vane left an empowering message that emphasizes on effective discipline strategy. “Change [an employee’s] mindset in such a way that they wouldn’t feel that they were penalized for something they did wrong”, Vane said.

We’d like to thank everyone who showed up despite the inclement weather and joined us on this edition of Innovate! We look forward to having you again on our future Innovate events! #InnovateCompanyPolicies

The post Previously on Innovate: Reevaluating Company Policies & Employee Manuals appeared first on Sprout.

source https://sprout.ph/blog/innovate-recap-june-2019/