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How to Choose a Disaster Restoration Provider
Thousands of commercial and industrial buildings each year are damaged by unforeseen disaster. When damage occurs, it is essential to take immediate action to stabilize the loss and mitigate damage. Doing so will maximize recovery of all contents, minimize replacement costs, preserve good IAQ, and control mold risks.
by Bob Vanchure
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The Pluses and Minuses of Charging Employees Deductibles for Preventable Accidents
It’s the bane of many managers’ jobs — the preventable accident. In order to instill a sense of responsibility in employees, employers may consider charging workers a deductible after they have had a preventable accident. However, before instituting a policy about charging deductibles, there are many things to consider.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Growth Risks Harmful to Your Business’s Health and How to Cure Them
What do Lehman Brothers, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual Savings, Arthur Andersen, Starbucks, and Toyota all have in common? All went gunning for business growth but instead ended up with self-inflicted wounds. Each of these companies pursued the wrong kind of growth for the wrong reasons.
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Managing Medical Marijuana Use in the Workplace
For employers with operations in the 14 states that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, it is a difficult task to juggle the need for a drug-free workplace environment and the rights of employees who have prescriptions to legally use marijuana. How does legalized use of marijuana impact drug testing policies?
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Constant Improvement Works, Even With the Most Intangible Performance Issues
You can help your employees improve, even on the most intangible performance issues, if you start focusing intensely in your regular management conversations on spelling out concrete solutions. For example, if an employee is failing to meet quality standards, give her a checklist of what she needs to get right.
by Bruce Tulgan
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My Employees Want the Day Off to Demonstrate on Immigration! What Should I Do?
With the passage in Arizona of a controversial immigration-related state law and possible federal immigration reform legislation, it is possible we may soon be seeing more immigrants’ rights demonstrations. The economic impact of employees missing work to participate is obviously a legitimate concern.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Take the Orville Redenbacher Approach to Marketing
HVAC contractors can take a cue from Orville Redenbacher, one of the most popular popcorn brands in the United States. In the marketing of your company’s brand, you might consider stepping front and center and let consumers know that you personally stand behind your company’s products and services.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Health Care Reform Legislation: What Should Employers Do Now?
When President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 into law, it brought months of bitter debate to an end. Regardless of how employers may feel about the two pieces of legislation that make up health care reform, most have been left to wonder: What exactly do we do now?
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Where Seldom Is Heard an Encouraging Word
How do I get my employees motivated? How do I get the phones to ring more? How do I keep busy all year long and avoid the slow seasons? How do I make more profitable sales? Just about every service contractor complains about one or more of these issues, but they all can be eliminated with very little effort.
by Randall Murphy
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National Defense Authorization Act Expands Military Family Leave
Last October, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2010 into law. Among other things, the amended NDAA expands the number of employees who are eligible to take Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) qualifying leave. In this case, it is to care for sick or injured family members in the military.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Economy Got You Down? Business Slow? Think Like Disney!
Albert Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. It’s obvious that the executives at Disneyland and Einstein are of the same mindset. That’s because at Disney, their imaginative minds created a promotion that is pure genius. It’s the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” celebration and it’s truly amazing!
by Randall Murphy
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When Disaster Strikes, Ensure Company Relief Efforts Are Legal and Effective
Employers that have workers who want to get involved in disaster relief efforts while on the job must proceed carefully. It is critical to ensure that any company-sponsored charitable efforts are legal, transparent, effective, and consistent with the company’s business ethos and approach.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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How to Dramatically Increase Service Maintenance Agreement Sales
Unfortunately, for many shops, maintenance agreement sales are virtually nonexistent and it’s a shame because they can keep any business running strong all year long and eliminate the slow seasons. In this article, you’ll learn a simple system to turbocharge your crew to become agreement-selling fanatics.
by Randall Murphy
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OSHA Increases Its Emphasis on Accurate Recordkeeping
Now more than ever, it’s important to dot the i’s and cross the t’s when reporting workplace injuries and illnesses. Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began sending inspectors to company offices and worksites to assess the accuracy of their injury and illness records.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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A Huge Psychological Advantage: How to Get Customers for Free!
We should never underestimate the power of the word “free.” The beauty of offering something free on your Website, like a report or how to advice or a newsletter or ezine, is that visitors will take it. Most importantly, they will have something to remember you by and this is a powerful advantage.
by Randall Murphy
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Keeping Illegal Immigration Issues on ICE
In the past, we’d see federal agents stage a well-publicized bust and cart off numerous undocumented workers. But that was under a different administration. Now, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has shifted its focus away from undocumented workers and is targeting the employers who hire them.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Where’s the Garage Sale? Five Keys to Higher Profits!
The truth is it doesn’t matter how fancy a company’s vehicles or Yellow Pages ads are if employees don’t know how to sell. If they can’t get the company’s products and services into the hands of their customers, your marketing investment is a waste. If you’re looking for greater profits, here are five keys for success.
by Randall Murphy
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When Increased Productivity Leads to More Lawsuits
How some efficiency initiatives can land you in legal hot water: For Domino’s Pizza, speedy delivery was more than a promise — it was a guarantee: 30 minutes or it’s free. When executives coined the marketing campaign, they probably didn’t think about potential legal ramifications. But legal ramifications followed.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Expert Explains How To Prepare a Company for Prospective Buyers
“Exit planning takes time, and preparation is the key,” according to Eric R. Voth, a business consultant and author of How to Sell Your Privately Owned Company: A Basic Guide for Independent Business Owners, Baby Boomer’s Edition. Business owners need to begin by preparing their assets.
by Tony Panaccio
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Determining Which Employees Are Disabled Under the New ADA Regulations
On Jan. 1, amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect but the new amendments left many unanswered questions. Now, as instructed by Congress, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed rules designed to bring some clarity to both employers and employees.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Establish Yourself as an Expert
An excellent way to promote the experience and expertise of your contracting company is to establish yourself as an HVAC expert. An expert becomes the go-to person when consumers have comfort questions or problems. It can help make you and your company more well-known and prominent in your community.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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Coming Face-to-Face With Facebook and Tweeting
More and more companies are turning to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter as a new means of advertising their products and services, especially to those tough to reach young people. But if it’s showing up in this column, you can guess there must be risk involved.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Selling Secrets Revealed
The word “salesman” has earned the ill-fated reputation of being someone who can’t (or shouldn’t) be trusted. But business is based on sales, so what’s a business owner to do? My advice is stop calling them salespeople. Expert, advisor, or specialist are much better choices when it comes to labeling our employees.
by Randall Murphy
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Legal Liability for Ergonomics and Add-On Equipment
The best of intentions can often lead to the worst of results. Technology can be a particularly problematic issue, especially when it comes to the areas of ergonomic issues and add-on (or aftermarket) equipment. If used incorrectly, these types of equipment can lead to sprains, strains, or even more serious injuries.
by Richard D. Alaniz
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Writing Attention-Getting Advertising Headlines
In his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, noted ad expert David Ogilvy wrote, “The headline is the most important element in most advertisements.” To get the most out of your advertising dollars, you must make sure you give extra special attention to your headline.
by Greg Mazurkiewicz
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