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8 Tips on Professional Company and Organization Image

When you hear the term professional image, do you think about how an

individual looks and behaves? What about the professional image of a company

or organization? Does your company or organization have a good professional

image?

Here are 8 tips to keep your companys professional image at its highest

level:

1. MAINTAIN REGULAR OFFICE HOURS: Most for-profit businesses maintain set

business hours, typically Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Yet when it

comes to non-profit organizations, especially when staff and volunteers are

lacking, office hours can be erratic. Establish regular hours so your

clients, customers, members and most importantly donors will know the best

times to reach you, even if you are open only two or three days a week or

have limited hours. State them clearly on your voicemail greeting and on your

web site.

2. RETURN ALL MESSAGES RECEIVED WITHIN 24 TO 48 HOURS. Designate one person

to monitor emails and voicemails and to return each message within 24 to 48

hours. This way the person will know you care about being responsive in a

consistent manner. When an individual is away or the office is closed, attach

an auto-reply to your email and change your voicemail greeting to alert

callers about when you will be back for return calls. Never leave callers

hanging as to when they may ever hear from you!

3. USE WELL-DESIGNED LETTERHEAD AND OTHER PRINTED AND ONLINE MESSAGING, AND

WRITE A NOTE OR LETTER CORRECTLY: Care enough about your organizations

image when it comes to the stationery and online presence you create. Even

more than your personal appearance, websites and printed materials are seen

and read over and over again.

--- A web site today is a must. You might as well forget opening up shop if

you dont have one. Its best always to use a professional web designer,

but at minimum use a pre-existing design template. A do-it-yourself website

is immediately recognizable as such and presents an amateurish and

unprofessional image.

--- Do not send letters that are improperly folded and appear crooked. It

implies sloppiness.

--- When a letter is only a few sentences long, do not have it appear at the

top of the sheet. Instead, lower the content to be centered on the page.

--- Use time-honored letter writing skills when addressing a letter or email.

Improper punctuation, such as using a comma instead of a colon following

Dear Mr. Smith, will show your level of education and professionalism.

Knowing how to send letters and emails using a few basic skills will go a

long way in presenting a great professional image.

4. USE DOCUMENTED PROCESSES RATHER THAN REINVENTING THE WHEEL: One of the

worst things I see often is how an organization keeps doing the same thing

over and over again as though it was a new idea, mainly because the

organization didnt keep notes on past work. Maintain a dedicated journal

of meeting minutes and events, describing what went well, what needed

improving, and new ideas to consider in the future. Especially for special

events, keep historical copies of all items used for each event. Then, as

staff and volunteers are replaced, or you hire an event planner, these

documents will become the most helpful training tool to help learn what to

incorporate as best practices and what mistakes not to repeat.

5. ORGANIZE AND REHEARSE FOR MEETINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS: Its important to

respect everyones time, no matter if theyre staff, vendors, clients,

volunteers or board members for non-profit organizations. One of the most

irritating situations (which once caused me to resign from a non-profit

board) is the inability of the chair and/or meeting facilitator to properly

plan and run a meeting. At minimum, always have an agenda and distribute it

ahead of time so everyone will know what will be discussed and how best they

might contribute to the discussions. During the meeting, facilitators must

show authority in keeping discussions on point and on time. Distribute the

minutes of the meeting as soon as possible to help keep those people who were

unable to attend in the loop, and to know what may be expected of them before

the next meeting.

When it comes to special events that showcase your company, organization and

business, make every effort to make a lasting impression. Plan and script out

every detail for from the time guests enter the event to the time they leave.

Hold at least one rehearsal and walk-through with the event staff to address

all situations that might arise. Put yourself in the guests position by

thinking through how you would like to be treated from start to finish. One

event may make the difference between gaining or losing a potential client,

customer, donor or member of your organization.

6. NEVER USE, WERE JUST A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION AS AN EXCUSE. What

a cop-out! I even hear, Were just a small business which is equally

offensive. Does this truly mean people cannot expect professionalism from a

non-profit or small business? Please.

7. WEAR APPROPRIATE BUSINESS AND EVENT ATTIRE. It does matter how you look

when you appear in the office or attend meetings and events. There is

something uplifting whenever I see everyone in an office dressed nicely and

displaying good grooming habits. By this I mean no sloppy hair with dandruff,

clean well-trimmed fingernails, and nice smiles showing clean teeth. It

bothers me when I see employees wearing wrinkled, dirty, stained, torn

clothes that fit poorly. Their attire is better suited to a backyard.

The clothes people wear at your company are a sign of how much the company

cares about its professional appearance, which then transfers to caring about

the employees appearance in all other aspects of their work. If a company

appears not to care about their own personal appearance, what else might it

not care about in its work? Tests have shown when an office is more

professionally dressed, productivity and accuracy increases.

8. SAY THANK YOU AND SEND THANK-YOU NOTES. Say thank you and send thank-you

notes as often as possible. They show your appreciation and acknowledgment of

someones work and contributions to the organization. They are the key and

at the core of building and sustaining lasting relationships among

co-workers, bosses, clients, customers, family, friends and anyone with whom

you come into contact. For the best impact, send thank you notes, written by

hand and sent by regular mail, within 24 to 48 hours after the event. You can

never write too many.

BONUS: One of my biggest pet peeves when attending events is how the

organizers pre-print name tags, often at a font size that cannot be read at

any distance. What a waste of intention and energy! Name tags are the most

critical component to the success or failure of an event. Its the

difference between making or not making important connections by virtue of

seeing someones name tag at a distance. See Name Tag Etiquette

Printing Name Tags or at

http://www.advancedetiquette.com/blog/communications/printing-name-tags/ to

review the guidelines on how to pre-print name tags.

QUESTION: What pet peeves to you have about companies and non-profits in

terms of their professional image not being as good as they should be? What

other items do you have to add to this list? Do let us hear from you by

locating this article at www.AdvancedEtiquette.com/blog. You may also reach

us at www.AdvancedEtiquette.com. If you enjoyed this article and want more,

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HAPPY PRACTICING!

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