24/7 Software Blog

“Virtual reality — long touted as the next big thing in tech — hasn't taken off as a consumer product, but employers are embracing it as a more efficient and effective tool for on-the-job training,” writes Yuki Noguchi in their recent NPR article entitled “Virtual Reality Goes To Work, Helping Train Employees.”

According to Noguchi, “This year, Walmart is training more than 1 million employees using virtual reality. And moving companies, airlines, food processing and financial firms are all using VR in different ways. In the virtual world, cashiers are taught to show greater empathy, mechanics learn to repair planes and retail workers experience how to deal with armed robbery.”

“The sensory immersion is key to its effectiveness. Because things look and sound as if they were real, the brain processes virtual reality as though it were a real experience, says Stanford communication professor Jeremy Bailenson, who also founded the school's Virtual Human Interaction Lab,” the article explains.

"People learn by doing ... getting feedback on mistakes, and then repeating and iterating," Bailenson says in the NPR piece.

Noguchi shares, “Not every workplace situation is conducive to virtual reality training. Some tactile skills, for example, are better experienced in real life. But the technology is especially useful for training people for novel or emergency situations.”

This statement resonated with us.

We’re not pushing VR as your next medium for training.

Although it might work, we’re still advocates of life environment training and tabletop exercises that help you get the closest you can to the real experience – safely.

It also gives you the hands-on practice with your operations management software.

Keep reading; we’re sharing the benefits in this article, especially when it comes to improving performance.

Do you invest a lot of time teaching your staff?

Now, do you invest enough time training them on how to communicate effectively with your customers?

With so many things going on at your property and the possibility of turnover, you’re challenged with ensuring that staff appropriately interacts with customers.

We know this is difficult.

If they underperform, it affects every area of your operation, which ultimately affects the whole organization.

To be frank: If your team fails to execute, then the entire property is a failure.

How do you solve this customer service puzzle?

You have workers from all walks of life, with different skill sets and training experiences.

Some are more seasoned than others, others have been exposed to more training and development, and some are brand new.

How do you empower your team to engage with your customers effectively?

We believe we know the answer – we can’t wait to share it with you.

Today’s article is going to provide you with the framework of several useful techniques for communicating with your customers.

You’ll also learn how to deliver exceptional customer experience at the most common touchpoints.

You’ve got tons of information ahead of you. So, let’s not waste any more time.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

“Call it a sign of the times,” writes Andrea Hsu in their recent NPR article entitled “How Big Oil Of The Past Helped Launch The Solar Industry Of Today.”

According to Hsu, “Renewable energy has gotten so cheap that even oil giant Exxon Mobil, which reported $20.8 billion in earnings in 2018, is getting in on the savings.”

“Over the next couple of years, Exxon Mobil will begin purchasing wind and solar power in West Texas, part of a 12-year agreement signed late last year with the Danish energy company Orsted. The plan is to use cheap, clean electricity to power Exxon Mobil's expanding operations in the Permian Basin, one of the world's most productive oil fields,” explains Hsu.

“It's not the first time economic considerations have led the company to explore the possibilities of solar,” Hsu continues.

According to the NPR article, “Half a century ago — before climate change was a topic of much discussion and before Exxon was accused of deceiving shareholders and the public by downplaying the risks of climate change, prompting investigations and lawsuits — the company then known as Jersey Standard funded groundbreaking research into solar photovoltaic technology, which converts sunlight into electricity.”

“Other oil companies would follow. While the amounts spent by these big firms were tiny compared with their vast resources, these early, critical investments in solar technology laid a foundation for what is now a growing, multibillion-dollar industry,” the article continues.

That’s an industry evolution we can relate to in 2019.

Since 2007, we’ve seen the ever-changing property operations environment go from reactive to proactive.

It’s thrilling to see the progression of operations through industry-wide improvements and changes related to strategy, infrastructure, and technology.

We noticed this – and then had our epiphany.

Here’s the story that started the Proactive Operations movement.

Your number one goal is to enhance your customers’ experiences.

Do you agree?

They come to your property and expect to be treated well.

But you want to exceed their expectations too. It’s in your blood.

You don’t want to settle or be complacent.

You want people to leave your property excited to come back for another round. You want them to want more.

You want them to remember the memories they’ve created here.

But, are you doing everything it takes? Yes, everything.

You’ve invested in important training and team building days for your employees.

You go to all the annual conferences in your industry to advance your knowledge as a proactive leader.

Everyone on your staff is world-class.

All the issues and incidents taking place on your property are managed expertly. But, that’s still not enough.

Are you paying attention to the small things? We mean this in the literal sense.

You know:

A customer’s wallet or purse, an umbrella or coat – the possessions that mean something to your customers.

It’s the stuff they feel they can’t and don’t want to live without.

Do you have lost and found software deployed for your property to mitigate this?

If not, let’s change that for the best.

“Twitter permanently suspended thousands of accounts in its ongoing effort to fight the spread of disinformation and political discord on its platform, the company announced Friday,” writes Peter Talbot in their recent NPR article.

“The accounts originated from six different countries. And they included the Twitter account used by Saud al-Qahtani, a former adviser to Saudi Arabia's crown prince and suspected of being involved in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” Talbot explains.

According to the piece, “It's all a part of Twitter's seemingly endless task of fighting disinformation.”

“The Twitter accounts came from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ecuador, and China, according to Twitter's blog post. Groups of suspended accounts were involved in various information campaigns, using tactics like spreading content through fake accounts and spamming through retweets,” writes Talbot.

“The accounts were suspended for violating Twitter's policy on platform manipulation, which Twitter defines as large-scale aggressive or deceptive activity that misleads or disrupts people's social media activity,” Talbot continues.

Your property operation was the first thing we thought of after reading this article.

What, if anything, could be manipulating your property?

Do you know?

The scary part about this question is you might not even know what’s affecting it.

There could be a chronic issue you’re facing.

In your mind, it’s an issue that is controllable, but you just haven’t got a handle on it yet.

What if the bad news is you’ll never get a handle on this issue because you really don’t have control of it?

Someone, something, or a group is in control of this issue that’s costing you money.

We’ve got to crack down on this.

Keep reading; we’ll show you how.

Computerized Maintenance Management System is as complicated to say as it is to choose.

It doesn’t have to be.

That’s the purpose of this article.

We’ll stick with CMMS software and provide you the most straightforward format for selecting your next maintenance application.

Fair enough? Good.

We do feel your pain, though – because we’ve built one.

Whether this is your first time, or you’re ditching your legacy system and moving to a new one, know we’re here to provide you with useable insight into making the right choice.

Before you even begin comparing software providers, there are a couple of points to consider:

1. How do you start the process of finding a CMMS?
2. What are your objectives?

Maintenance systems can be cumbersome and full of features.

How do you sift through the noise?

How do you find the one which brings value to your property and with the highest potential return on investment?

There’s quite a bit to consider.

You need your CMMS software to be used.

So, start by engaging the team that will be using the solution to help you.