It’s Earth Day!: Going Green in the office tips and tricks!

Happy Earth Day! Today we are reminded of how great this planet we live on is, and that we need to do our part to take care of it. While making your office more environmentally friendly will obviously have a positive effect on the environment, a greener office can absolutely become profitable!

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite tips and tricks to help get you green initiative going!

A great article from Open Forum has a great list of ways to green up your office from more apparent tips like going paperless, turning off lights & computers (don’t forget to turn off the power strip!) To things you would never have thought about. Favorite less obvious tips: Stock reusable pens and Go Casual! (less suits mean less dry cleaning. More comfortable too!) Check out 30 Easy Ways to Go Green at the Office.

Take going green literally! Adding plants to the office improves air quality and can really improve decor at the office. The rule is have at least one 6 inch plant for every 100 sq feet. You’d expect to see ficus and spider plants, but did you know the Gerbera Daisy made the list of 12 Best Houseplants to Improve Indoor Air Quality?

What if you don’t have quite the green thumb yet? or your office is mostly cubicles? Then you’ll need to get a few plants from the list of 5 Overlooked Plants That Can Survive in the Dark (almost) for your green fix. There’s a surprise plant in here too, place a potted mint plant in your office and enjoy the fresh scent!

Here at A Better Answer, we’ve been working hard on becoming a more environmentally friendly business. We’re really proud of being paperless for 6 years and counting! Not only is it extremely easier to find exactly what you’re looking for, we use MUCH less paper. We recently installed Dyson airblades in our bathrooms. Our spending on paper towels is minimal and the dryers come with hepa air filters. Every time you use them, they clean the air! you can see what they’re all about (and how cool they are) here.

Our current work in progress is setting up an office recycling system. We always use the front and back of our paper, but as of now there’s no recycling program offered in our area. Right now we haul our recyclables out ourselves, but we hope to get a more efficient setup soon!

Let us know in the comments what you’ve been doing at your office! or if you’re wondering how to go paperless, ask away!

Great Women of Texas

Dolores “Dee” Hawkins, president of A Better Answer, is awarded winner as “Women of Influence” by the Great Women of Texas, Professional & Business category. The event originated in 1989. The Fort Worth Business Press recognizes outstanding women as “Women of Influence.”

Dallas Business Journal’s Best Places To Work – 2009

A Better Answer Call Centers (ABA) was honored at the 8th annual Best Places to Work awards luncheon at the Intercontinental in Addison, Texas as one of the top 100 small businesses in Dallas & Fort Worth as A Best Place To Work for 2009 by its employees and the Dallas Business Journal.

The employees of A Better Answer Call Centers completed on-line surveys from the Dallas Business Journal awarding ABA a ranking of 5.54 out of a maximum of 6.0 placing ABA in the top 100. A Better Answer Call Centers is an inbound bilingual telephone answering service with regional offices located in the metropolitan areas of Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. ABA has been 100% female owned and operated since Dee Hawkins established the business in 1971 – a Certified Minority Owned Business. Each of A Better Answer’s offices has been and continues to serve their local communities with the latest technology and most creative professional call handling techniques.

ATSI’s Miss Emily

ABA is the FIRST and ONLY recipient of ATSI’s International “Miss Emily’’ Trophy Award for courtesy and professionalism above and beyond.

Award of Excellence — 2009

ABA receives ATSI’s “DIAMOND PLUS” Award of Excellence in recognition of “ELEVEN CONSECUTIVE YEARS” of excellence. ABA is among an elite group of only two call centers in the U.S. and Canada to qualify for the eleven year “DIAMOND PLUS” award in 2009.

Award of Excellence — 2008

ATSI’s awards ABA the “DIAMOND” Award of Excellence in recognition of “TEN” consecutive years of excellence based on criteria which includes courtesy, response time, accuracy and overall service. Founded in 1942, the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI) represents 800 of the most sophisticated TeleService agencies in the world. With over 350,000 customers in the U.S. alone, the association’s members generate revenue in excess of $1 billion.

Award of Excellence — 2007

ABA receives ATSI’s “SAPPHIRE” Award of Excellence in recognition of “NINE” consecutive years of excellence. ABA is among an elite group of only nine other call centers in the U.S. and Canada to qualify for the “Sapphire” award in 2007.

ABA receives Federal Grant – 2007

Dolores “Dee” Hawkins, president of A Better Answer, accepts a federal grant from “Employee Development Fund” of the North Central Texas Workforce Board for employee training. Curtis L. Wade, president and CEO of WADE Consulting Group, said the training is specifically designed for the pitfalls of working in a call center.

Award of Excellence — 2006

ABA is awarded ATSI’s “RUBY” Award of Excellence in recognition of “EIGHT” consecutive years of excellence. ABA once again places in the “TOP FIVE” call centers and is among only nine other call centers to qualify for the “Ruby” award in 2006.

Award of Excellence — 2005

ABA receives ATSI’s “EMERALD” Award of Excellence in recognition of “SEVEN” consecutive years of excellence. ABA qualifies for this prestigious recognition and once again places in the “TOP FIVE” call centers for the seventh year in a row.

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