Top Seven Open Enrollment Tips for Small Businesses

seven cost-cutting open enrollment tips for small businessesWith open enrollment season officially underway, many small businesses, as well as their employees, are wrestling with the rising cost of health insurance.

According to a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, there was a spike in health insurance premiums this year, with the cost of employer-sponsored health insurance increasing 9 percent for family coverage and 8 percent for single coverage.

That’s especially troubling for small businesses when you consider that they pay up to 18 percent more per worker than large firms for the same health insurance policy.

The good news: there are many ways for small businesses to mitigate those increases.…

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Why Don’t You Engage Your Customers in Social Media?

In today’s information age, too many small businesses are missing out on a golden opportunity to reach out to both present and potential customers.

engage customers with social media

Simply put, they’re avoiding using social media to attract and engage consumers, therefore dropping the ball when they could be scoring a touchdown.

For those small businesses not exercising their possibilities in social media, they stand the potential of falling behind their competitors and missing out on increased revenue and more.

Social Media No Longer a Fad

When social media first came into play, many people probably looked at it as a fad that would eventually go the way of Beanie Babies, New Coke and other such products that came in with much fanfare.…

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Is It OK To Be Facebook Friends With Your Boss? 5 Steps That Lead You To a Yes

As Michael Scott   from the popular T.V. show “The Office” would say – bosses are getting cooler and cooler. As the connecting, following, and friending age gets going, bosses and their employees are finding more ways to interact. The difference, however, between interacting face to face and interacting through social mediums is the idea that the social networking accounts come home with you, while the office is left behind at 5:00.

As someone who grew up with social media, I know that no matter how private you may set your accounts or how much you may manage those accounts, the unexpected always seems to find its way onto your page.…

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Personal And Professional Development With PRINCE2 Training

project management with Prince2 training

PRINCE2 is a process-based methodology that offers non-proprietorial best practice guidance on project management, encompassing the management, control and organisation of a project. In addition to being used as a widely-used standard for effective project management internationally, it also takes the form of an official certification for accredited project managers across a wide range of sectors. Effective project management is critical to any business or organisation looking to successfully complete a new project whether it is IT, building or any other sector.

When making sure you and your people have the skills they need to become successful project managers it’s important to look beyond the project management certification.…

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Priorities For Technology Due Diligence

There is limited time and access during M&A due diligence. Knowing this, it is critical to focus on the high priority areas with the largest affect on risk.

merger and acquisition IT due diligence

As we discussed in our previous article, “Due Diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions – Why include IT“, technology due diligence is a critical part to evaluating a merger or acquisition. The less time spent the higher probability of extended integration or other issues. We now discuss which parts of IT due diligence to prioritize in order to minimize risk.

People

  • If the organization you are acquiring has proprietary technology, evaluating the personnel is critical as they support the technology.
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5 Things You Didn’t Know Your Small Business Needs

5 things you didn't know your business needed

You feel good about the business you’ve built. You’ve got the funding; you’ve got the business plan. You’ve got everything you need to run a successful company”¦or do you?   We’ve compiled a list of the top five things you didn’t know your company needed to help make sure you do.

A website

You would think in 2011 this would be common knowledge but 46 percent of small businesses don’t have a website, according to Entrprenuer.com, so it needs to be mentioned.   So, what are they waiting for? If you want to be successful, you need to be online.

An online presence

What good is your website if no one knows where it is?…

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Can a Small Business CEO Have a Vocational Degree?

I am a recent graduate of a four year University, and I will say it wasn’t exactly National Lampoon’s Animal House like I expected. Sure I went to my share of parties and football games, but I also sat in a lecture hall Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and oh yes, Friday.

can a ceo have a vocational degree

When I first went to college I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do – my major started undecided, changed to marketing, changed to PR, changed to journalism, and finally landed on English education. For me, a four year University was exactly what I needed to get my thoughts together, and the career path I ultimately choose required a four year degree.…

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Due Diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions – Why Include IT?

include IT in merger due diligenceAs we start to see mergers and acquisitions activity ramp up, we shift focus to the value of technology due diligence.

What do you review during due diligence? You probably look at financials, customer lists, markets and existing executives. You may even review operations, eyeing potential efficiencies, such as those gained by integrating departments like HR, accounting and IT.

Randy Myers, CFO Magazine, states “For CFO’s, valuing the synergies to be realized by eliminating overlapping or redundant systems and operations is a fundamental aspect of M&A due diligence.” But how often do you review the technology area itself?

Not planning ahead can be painful.…

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Leadership Assessments – Do 360 Degree Feedbacks Work?

Does 360 ° feedback really work? Some organizations decide not to use this process as a leadership assessment, while others support it. I am a fan, and I’ll share tips in this article that will help to increase the effectiveness of 360 ° feedback for you.

First of all, for those who do not know what 360 ° feedback is; it is a leadership assessment that provides feedback about a leader’s behaviors. It is one of many types of assessments that can be used to increase leadership effectiveness.

What’s different about the 360 ° feedback process is that it gathers input from people who work for, above, and side-by-side with the leader (hence, the name 360 ° feedback).…

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Is Your Social Media Campaign Falling on Deaf Ears?

As with any campaign your business runs, how it is received by customers goes a long way in determining whether or not it will be successful.

In the event you’ve orchestrated a social media campaign and it has fallen on deaf ears for the most part, there is a reason to focus in on as to why that’s the case.

is your social media efforts falling on deaf ears

Presumably, your company’s reasoning for using social media in the first place is more than likely at fault. Before you dump the social media campaign, ask yourself:

  • What was our goal with social media in the first place?
  • Did we put 100 percent behind the plan or was it a half-hearted effort?
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