Starting out in a 1 room unit back in 1999, Saysons Web Design & Printing has grown to be the go-to hub for small to medium businesses in Brampton, Ontario to help with their marketing and technological needs. The team of Shafia Hussaini and Ilyas Yazdani combine to use their respective skills in a joint proprietorship that would allow for them to run their own organization and at the same time, provide the expertise and creativity needed for other businesses to stand out among a crowded and competitive environment. Saysons has developed a unique team that spans worldwide and not just offers graphic design services, but also IT solutions, web design, hosting options, and valuable marketing & consulting help.
Challenges:
After speaking with Ms. Hussaini, she mentions that the biggest challenges for Saysons is to keep all of their hired staff that are in-house and also off-site (some are as far as India and the UAE) in full communication with management and to ensure if any issues that arise are dealt with swiftly and that the tasks at hand are done in a timely manner.
Solutions:
With a largely young staff Ms. Hussaini has employed at Saysons, she understands the high frequency of connectivity they possess with various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. She wanted to implement a strategy that will allow her and the employees to communicate well with one another, but at the same time, do not get distracted by that very same platform. Therefore, Saysons utilizes Yahoo! Messenger as their main source of communication among all staff on-site and off-site. Due to its waning popularity in comparison to some of the more oft-used chat applications such as Whatsapp. Ms Hussaini has said “Using something like Yahoo! Messenger allows us to have better control over our staff’s use of social media because we feel it possesses a low user network with our staff which gives us a better edge in ensuring that our staff are focused on the jobs that need to get done towards tight deadlines.”
Results:
Ms. Hussaini did also add that even though their choice of chat client is not widely used, it still maintains high-functionality meaning it can be used when needed, connectivity issues are next to nil and that files can be transferred easily for clients when need be. Even though the whole control factor does come into play when monitoring employee workload, the time spent on the task at hand does give the worker the space and time to be creative with the work they are currently assigned to. Also, the management team’s easy-going atmosphere developed at Saysons give workers that extra boost in morale and ideas and suggestions are easily communicated through the chat client.
Lessons for Others
In this particular case with Saysons Web Design and Printing Inc, Shafia Hussaini has looked at Social Media engagement among employees as a huge benefit, but as long as employees are utilizing it for the good of the company. Her recognizing that her young staff can be easily swayed with other means of social media use with their large network of peers could distract them from the task at hand and cause issues meeting client demands and deadlines. With this, she implemented a chat client that is not readily used, but at the same time possesses high functionality that allows the job to get done quickly and efficiently. This gives her as management peace of mind that the work is being focused on and allows her staff to keep an open channel of communication to express suggestions and new ideas. So even though according to the McGregor’s Management Theory Model, Saysons looks to be a Theory X style of management to ensure staff is working at all times, she utilizes that style as a conduit to get back onto the Theory Y style so she brings the best out of her staff and ensure they feel they are part of the organization’s big picture.
Organization:
Saysons Web Design & Printing Inc.
Industry:
Multimedia, Web Design, Graphic Design, Marketing
Name of Organization Contact:
Shafia Hussaini
Authored by: Safi Habib
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