office noise

Stop Office Noise from Ruining Your Day!

Carol Irwin

One of the top employee complaints about the workplace is office noise. Noise typically ranks in the number two spot behind complaints about the office temperature.

The trend in office design in the last decade has been the open concept office. Companies have ditched the cubicles, reduced square footage and replaced permanent walls with glass partitions or displays of art, fabric or plants. The open concept office is modern, collaborative and accommodates a mobile workforce that is no longer tied to a desk, city or even country.

At first glance the open concept office can look appealing. Large open space to move around. Windows with natural light to brighten the space. Meeting tables for gathering over morning coffee and team meetings. High energy hum of busy people all around you. In some workplaces, ping pong tables, comfy chairs, an espresso machine and even snacks for break times. It all sounds great, right?

The trouble is this environment is not ideal for some personalities or for certain types of work. Some people are also far more sensitive to loud noise. If you work in an open concept office you might describe the office noise level as similar to being in the middle of a parade or band practice!

There are lots of pros to having an open concept, but there are downsides too. Preference for open concept vs. closed office space depends a lot on a person’s personality, work style and the specific job.

Even for those who prefer the open concept office, noise is a real distraction. Noise distractions can come from many sources – first there is your co-workers talking and laughing, some much louder than others; then there is the normal bumps and bangs of opening and closing doors, cabinets and drawers; and there is also the beeping, buzzing, ringing, and clicking of office phones and equipment. In an open concept office, it can be very difficult to focus on your work, while trying not to listen to the meeting or phone conversation going on a few feet away.

There are a few things companies and employees can do to manage office noise:

  • Create dedicated spaces for quiet activities, such as an office or unused meeting room.
  • Increase the background noise by installing a white noise machine – this system emits a low level air flow sound that helps muffle speech and other distracting office sounds.
  • Ask staff to try using headphones to block out noise around them. The large over the ear type headphone is better than an earbud style.
  • Add sound absorbing materials such as plants to your space.
  • Increase flexibility to work from home for part of the workweek.
  • Assign a certain time of day as “quiet time” or an entire office area as the “quiet zone”.
  • Come up with a system that easily allows other people to know who is available to chat and who is busy – your own “do not disturb” sign at your computer.
  • Encourage staff to discuss noise distractions and come up with unique solutions.
interview potential employers

Ask the Right Questions: Interview Potential Employers

Fusion Career Recruiter

Job Searching can be a very lengthy process, especially when you are searching for that right opportunity. Interview potential employers to discover if the opportunity fits!

As a candidate being granted an interview is a huge step forward in the process. Typically, candidates will take the opportunity to research the employers, see who they are and really try their best to impress them. However, candidates should also take the time to interview potential employers and be impressed by them. Below you will find a list of questions to ask with a brief explanation of why it is a good question….

Could you describe a typical day for this role?

Job descriptions say a lot about what the role requires and what skills you need. But it does not tell you how a typical day can look like. Descriptions do not tell you the volume of calls you may receive, or the amount of work there is. Asking this question will clarify what your day may look like, and will offer you more clarity in potentially accepting the role.

What are the growth opportunities for a person in this position?

This question will allow you to see where the position you are interviewing for can potentially take you. It also puts the employer in a position to talk further about the growth opportunities. Whether, they fund an education program, or they promote within their company. This question will really allow you to see your growth potential in the organization.

Could you describe the company culture?

Company culture is an interesting question because this where you can see if you will fit in overall. However, answers for this questions can be vague and it is okay to probe. If an employer answers with fun and dynamic, you can probe and ask what they mean by that. Does it mean the team goes out and participates in outside activities? Is the team a part of sports team? There are many questions that can help in finding out what the company culture is like. Be meticulous and ask the right questions, the interview does not need to be skewed in a different direction. Find out what the culture is like and if it fits within your values it will make the decision of accepting all the easier.

Finding that right opportunity involves many steps, and one of them is interviewing your potential employers. You should be just as impressed with the employer as they should be impressed with you. The questions listed above are guidelines to further questions that can be asked. In the next part of Interview Potential Employers, we will discuss how to ask job specific and technical questions to ensure you are walking into the right opportunity!

Sales Account Manager Toronto

National Account Manager – Food Industry Sales – Toronto

Michael Caicco

Our Client is searching for a dynamic, experienced National Account Manager with food industry sales experience.

The Role – Sales Account Manager Toronto:

The National Account Manager will be responsible for developing new business opportunities and managing existing accounts.

The Candidate:

  • 8 years’ business development, sales and account manager experience in the food manufacturing, food service or related industry.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and develop new and existing business opportunities.
  • Ability to build strong working relationships at all levels and liaise with both independent clients and national head office clients.
  • Professional, dynamic and enthusiastic.
  • Strong communication , both written and verbal skills.
  • Contract negotiation experience.
  • Knowledge of marketing business principles, current B2B strategies and competitive trends.
  • Strong computer skills, including use of MS Office and knowledge of social media platforms for marketing.
  • University Degree or College Diploma.

Are you interested in building a sales team and managing new business development in the Canadian and US markets for a growing food manufacturing company? Find out more about this opportunity by contacting Michael or go to the Fusion Career Services Job Board.

Do you know someone who might be right for this position? Share this job posting – Sales Account Manager Toronto.

At Fusion Career Services we are always interested in talking to people about their next career advancement. Contact us today.

Safety Role Models

Executives – Be Safety Role Models

Audra Sayn-Wittgenstein

Executives are powerful health & safety role models.

A senior manager’s behaviour at work sets an example that the organization’s employees will follow. Employees learn about health and safety values at work by watching how the senior managers talk about and use safety principles.  Executives must be health & safety role models.

Role models are powerful teachers. People learn from them because they want to achieve similar goals and behaviours.   A strong leader, who believes that a healthy workplace leads to business success, is a key component to a successful workplace safety program.

Senior managers who talk about and demonstrate support for the organization’s health and safety program energize staff. When one of the boss’ priorities is safety, employees will begin to value it as an important part of their job. Listening to an executive have a casual conversation about a health or safety issue sends a strong message to employees. Simple conversations and regular problem solving between managers and employees brings safety programs to life.

Executives should be aware that they are always being watched.  They should consistently behave as role models. Ask employees if they are having problems at work and help them create solutions. When a hazard is spotted, act to correct it immediately. Refer to safety as a priority when talking to clients and customers.

Senior managers who truly believe employee wellbeing is a measure of business success can become great role models. By making the effort to use health & safety principles in their work practices, these executives help build safer and more productive workforces.

interview tips eye contact

Interview Tips – What Eye Contact says about you in an Interview

Fusion Career Recruiter 13 Comments

Body language is important in any social setting and can help the other person determine how you feel about a situation, especially eye contact. In this blog, Interview Tips Eye Contact, you will learn what eye contact conveys about you during a interview.

Eye contact with an interviewer during an interview conveys many different messages; the most important being confidence and self-esteem which are both important qualities to have as an employee. The interviewer is also able to gage your interest level based on the amount of eye contact you make. If you are constantly having shifty eyes and keep your gaze away from the interviewers, it may show a lack of interest in the opportunity on your part and it can also be seen as disrespectful. However, this may not necessarily be the case in all parts of the world as it is in North America. In Japan for example, it is considered incredibly rude to maintain constant eye contact.

Build Trust

An appropriate amount of eye contact during an interview is extremely necessary in order to help convey sincerity as well as honesty. If you continuously avoid eye contact, you will have a hard time building a rapport with the interviewer and trust will be hard to establish as well because it is difficult to trust someone who you feel is avoiding making eye contact with you. The interviewer will think that you are trying to come up with a lie to the question they have just asked you. 

Show Interest

Eye contact is a really easy way to convey your interest level during an interview. When you are excited and happy, your eyes naturally tend to dilate and exhibit a certain amount of sparkle, which will help the interviewer pick up on how excited you truly are about the opportunity. Avoiding eye contact will make the interviewer think that you are not interested in the job, company, salary or worse—them.

Look, Don’t Stare – Interview Tips Eye Contact

Even though maintaining a good amount of eye contact is extremely important, remember to look and not stare. You don’t want to stare down your interviewer as that can be seen as threatening and just plain creepy. There are certain tactics that you can use in order to maintain a natural eye contact level. Take a short pause and look away to think about the question that was asked in order to formulate a good answer. Breaking eye contact to think of your answer shows that you are confident and are interested enough to think about the question before you answer. You may even consider bringing a notebook to the interview. This shows your interviewer that you are interested enough to take notes and learn about the company, and it helps create an effective and natural opportunity to look away from the interviewer. Often times there are more than one interviewer. It is important to make eye contact with everyone that is present in the room, and refer your answers to everyone, not just the person who asked the question.

Interviewing can be daunting, but you need to realize that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. In order to build good rapport and trust with the interviewer or within any relationship in life, eye contact and body language helps play an integral role. Use the information in this blog, Interview Tips Eye Contact, to prepare for your next job interview.

electrical quality control assembly toronto

Electrical Quality Control Assembly Technician Career Toronto

Fusion Career Recruiter

Fusion Career Services has a new career opportunity in the GTA for an Electrical QA Assembly Technician to work with our client’s team on industrial design projects.

The Role – Electrical Quality Control Assembly Toronto

The Electrical Quality Control Assembly Technician will assemble, wire and install custom industrial electrical control panels and implement the quality control program.

The Candidate:

  • High school graduate and / or college diploma.
  • 5+ years’ experience building custom industrial control panels.
  • 1+ year electrical QA experience.
  • Familiar with CSL and UL wiring practices.
  • Ability to conduct complete panel build.
  • Proficient reading electrical schematic drawings.
  • Basic computer skills.
  • Good English language skills.
  • Ability to coach and lead team.
  • Travel within GTA to client worksites (less than 10% of time)

Are you interested in joining an established firm in the field of industrial automation? Find out more about this opportunity by contacting Manraj at contact@fusioncareer.com or go to the Fusion Career Services Job Board.

Do you know someone who might be right for this position? Share this job posting – Electrical Quality Control Assembly Toronto.

At Fusion Career Services we are always interested in talking to people about their next career advancement. Contact us today.