Category: Local Branding

Making Lean Business Part of Your Brand

Steven on July 27, 2020

While you may have heard people use the word lean when referring to business models, its meaning may not be clear. As the name implies, lean methodology aims to eliminate unnecessary business elements, while retaining the essentials necessary for business growth and customer satisfaction.

What Is a Lean Business Model?

A lean business model is one that focuses on implementing processes and making continuous improvements to achieve optimum business efficiency. Lean business models accomplish this by removing or changing ineffective practices and unprofitable products while assessing and improving team productivity.

Through correct implementation, most businesses, particularly start-ups, can benefit immensely from adopting thriftiness and optimization. Recognizing the value of buying used office printers versus new, and other situations where cutting costs makes sense is something a company should be proud of.

How Organizations Can Implement Lean Business Models

Arguably, the biggest challenge most businesses face when implementing lean business models is ensuring that new models and processes do not negatively affect customers. While removing or changing certain products or teams may appear profitable, the move could impact a sizable chunk of the customer base either immediately or in the future.

Therefore, during lean implementation, businesses should analyze their start-to-finish processes of building products and services and delivering them to customers. This analysis should highlight areas of the process businesses can cut or streamline without negatively affecting the delivery stage. If such areas are present, then they should be the focus of the team responsible for lean implementation.

Benefits of Lean Business Models

I.Ease of Implementation

Even without going entirely lean, businesses can introduce elements of lean models via small continuous improvements throughout the organization. This enlightens all members of the organization to perceive lean as an essential attribute.

For instance, Gazprom Energy uses the acronym TIM WOODS to target eight kinds of waste, i.e., transport, inventory, motion, waiting, over-processing, over-production, defects, and skills. This acronym enables Gazprom Energy to remain mindful of various wastes that fall into these categories, along with potential ways to eliminate them throughout the workplace.

II.Engaged Employees

Through lean business models, employees can appreciate the value they offer to the broader team, hence fostering increased participation and engaging the attention. For instance, by adopting lean manufacturing, Nike reduced its waste, increased customer value, and eliminated bad labor practices by as much as 15% in its overseas manufacturing plant.

III.Continuous Growth

Businesses that follow lean methodology function and current manufacturing trends almost holistically, since they focus on the essentials. This implies that a lean methodology helps a business shine a well-rounded spotlight. Employees responsible for the quality of output and business effectiveness think proactively to identify and eliminate elements that do not add any value to the work.

IV.Improved Leadership Skills

From shift supervisors to mid-level managers and even top-level directors, lean methodology encourages a more proactive managerial approach. Things like 1 on 1 time with employees to address concerns in addition to fun and free for all activities like icebreakers can help leadership and the employees develop a stronger bond.

Following a lean business model, managers at all levels will identify how to make their part of the business more effective to achieve greater efficiency, profitability, and quality throughout the organization.

Conclusion

Lean entails promoting simple, yet highly effective practices at each stage of the start-to-finish process and all levels of the business. By properly implementing a lean business model, you can reduce wastes on time and other resources, while improving KPIs(Key Performance Indicators) and your business’s responsiveness to opportunities.

Local Branding Personal Branding

Breaking the Myth of the Modern Concept of Working Mothers

Steven on July 20, 2020

Working mum, the modern phenomena that started in earnest in the 1970s – wrong! For the vast majority of human existence, working mothers have been the norm. Especially as up until recent times, the work that women do in the home was not segregated from the concept of ‘work’. For most of human history, work was about survival and women’s contribution to that survival was of equal significance to that of men, and they nearly always did it with children in tow.

In fact, a recent study of contemporary hunter gatherer tribes indicates that men and women have equal influence on the important decisions impacting the group. As these tribes emulate what life would have been like for us all in the Palaeolithic to early Neolithic eras, then the findings challenge the idea that the notion of sexual equality is modern – rather it has been the norm for most of human evolutionary history. In fact, early human existence was probably more egalitarian than we have managed to achieve today. It would appear that the inequality between the sexes that still persists emerged when we moved from hunter gathering to farming – when people started to accumulate possessions – including specifically owned tribal land, this was the dawn of inequality.

For most of recorded history, agriculture was the chief human occupation, and heavy physical labor was not confined to men. Women in today’s agrarian societies that have changed little since ancient times, still perform physically demanding jobs such as grinding grain by hand, drawing and carrying water and gathered wood (often over considerable distances), as well as churning milk to make butter. Toiling in the fields with primitive equipment is back breaking work, undertaken by both men and women, the women often with babies strapped to their backs.

As more and more people left their nomadic life and became settled, we know from evolving archaeological information and the study of historical writings that across the globe, women/ mothers in these emerging cultures played a variety of roles: artist, agriculturalist, nurse, healer, midwife, judge, priestess, weaver, queen, leader, merchant, laborer, warrior, holy woman, and more.

In the earliest civilizations (e.g. Sumeria and Egypt), whilst women were not as equal as their hunter gatherer forebears, there were no legal restrictions on their economic activity, they could own property, run businesses, become priestesses, scribes, physicians and act as judges and witnesses in courts. However, as these and other cultures grew in wealth and power and as it became increasingly necessary to defend what they had, as they could no longer move on when challenged by a stronger tribe, a strong warrior/ patriarchal society formed, which gradually eroded the rights of women. By the time of the Greeks and Romans in Western history, women were second class citizens and the chattels of the men in their lives. However, women from the lower orders still needed to work hard both inside and outside the home.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, women spun wool, cooked and cleaned, washed clothes, baked bread, milked cows, fed animals, brewed beer and collected firewood. At that time many women were spinners, brewers, jewelers, parchment makers and glovers. In rural communities, women worked alongside their men in the fields and in towns they helped their husbands in their businesses. Often if a man died, his widow would carry on his trade and aristocratic women managed their husband’s estates during their absences.

It was the Industrial Revolution that changed work forever. The home had been the center of work, production and family life; industrialization meant that work moved from home to factory. The role of women did not change overnight however, records suggest that women’s employment in the 1850s, 60s and 70s was higher than any recorded again until after World War II. Evidence suggests that 30 to 40 per cent of women from working class families, made a significant financial contribution to household income at that time. This was before State and Trade Union rules were brought in to regulating female labor, ultimately supporting the ideal of the male ‘breadwinner’, a concept that persisted well into the 20th century.

It was social and economic developments that precipitated the change in women’s work. The growth of education increased the demand for more teachers and the need for more office workers and salespeople (particularly in retail) was growing, providing more opportunities for women, especially as they could be hired on lower salaries than men. However, for married women many of these roles were unavailable, as numerous employers maintained a legal marriage bar (a ban on working after marriage), especially in ‘white collar’ work. Even after national emergencies such as the World Wars, when women took on manufacturing jobs to replace men on military service, women were ultimately forced back to housekeeping or traditionally female roles.

Significant change did not happen again until the 1970s when a surge in married women entering the workforce occurred and is still ongoing. Today, the equality landscape is so different from what our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers experienced; however, we clearly have a long way to go before we get back to the equality experienced by our Palaeolithic to Neolithic ancestors.

Local Branding

Reasons For Air Duct Cleaning

Steven on July 19, 2020

There are so many contaminants in the air around you in your house that you have no idea. There are people who are sensitive to these contaminants, especially allergies, but they don’t think that it all exists around them in their own house. This is where the need to clean the air duct system in your house arises. When you get the system cleaned, the effect of both dust and mold reduces to a whole other level. On the other hand, it’s important for all of us to breathe in cleaner air, right? Well, if you are here, then it seems like even you are thinking about opting for an air duct cleaning service. It’s just that you aren’t sure and want more convincing reasons that explain why it’s a worthy investment.

For now, we’ve established one thing quite well that air duct cleaning is of great importance, and you should look for a service provider as soon as possible. You can find one easily just using the internet as there are going to be several companies around you in the town for it.

Why Opt For Air Duct Cleaning?

However, before you make that move, it’s important to first know the main reasons why you should opt for air duct cleaning.

Image by Mojca J from Pixabay

1- Allergies

If you or someone in your house is sensitive to allergens and contaminants in the air, then you shouldn’t wait at all to get your air duct system inspected as soon as possible. Especially the children are at a higher risk of developing allergies and conditions like asthma, which is why you should get the system cleaned. You never know if someone in your house is vulnerable to a point where he falls victim to a dangerous condition, and this alone is enough reason to look for a service provider around. Hiring a professional San Antonio house cleaning company, or a company wherever you are based, is convenient and will save you a lot of time. Mold n the air

2- Mold

Most people have air duct systems installed in their basements, and can get wet or damp due to rain or flood, which creates the ideal environment for mold to grow. After cleaning the duct, an antimicrobial should be fogged so that mold doesn’t grow in your house. If you do care about the air in which you breathe, and if you don’t want mold to grow in your house, then you have no option other than to opt for an anti-microbial spray in the duct system.

3- Dust

Have you ever been frustrated because one day you clean the dust in the house and the next day, you find it there again? If the answer is “yes, this does happen with you,” then know that there’s something wrong with the ductwork, and it has to be cleaned. Especially if it’s a new home, this problem is common due to the construction debris and drywall dust. If you are the owner of the new house, just get the duct system inspected and cleaned to get rid of this problem.

Omage by huoadg5888 from Pixabay

4- Pets

Got pets? If yes, then it’s obvious that the air duct system in your house has animal hair and fur stuck, which gives birth to bacteria and germs. People with allergies should be extremely careful because the bacteria produced from the fur can cause a reaction. Not just this, but if there are clumps of hair stuck in the ductways, you won’t have proper airflow around the house.

Image form https://www.ecoairductcleancosprings.com/

Conclusion

These are some basic reasons that explain why you should get the air duct system in your house cleaned. The point of explaining it all here is that this definitely is a worthy investment, and you shouldn’t think twice about seeking professional help. It’s a must for every homeowner to get this problem fixed and clean up the air around them.

Legal Branding Local Branding Personal Branding

Why It’s Better to Work for a Startup

Steven on July 17, 2020

Startups have become all the rage in the tech world. Still, across almost every business sector, you can find new, up and coming startup companies shaking up their industries. Startup culture is trendy, but if you peel back the outer layers, you’ll find that startups are fundamentally changing the way people work. While more established and traditional workplaces come with their own rewards, startups offer plenty of perks for job seekers willing to make the change. Here are some ways working for a startup can change your work life for the better.

1. Upward Mobility

While there is always some opportunity for advancement in more traditional settings, the startup’s nature is that they are continually growing. Getting in on the ground floor of a successful startup means that you’ll have far more opportunities to improve your bottom line. Beyond the basic idea that being involved from the earliest days of the company means you’re more likely to get a promotion, you’re also more likely to be in a position to expand your portfolio of skills. Employees at a younger company often wear many hats. Adding a versatile range of skills to your resume is always a good idea.

2. Office Culture

Startups are widely known for having a more open and engaging office culture than their more well-established counterparts. In some offices, that could mean more flexibility in working hours. Research shows that employees who have more flexibility with their work time are happier and more productive. At a startup, it’s much more likely that you will be able to set the work schedule that works for you.

Beyond the schedule flexibility, working for a startup most likely means you won’t find yourself drudging away in a sea of cubicles. For one, you’re more likely to get a sit-stand desk, allowing you to maintain a better and healthier posture. Getting up and getting moving is crucial at work. An open office space with a sit-stand desk and expanded recreation space are tremendously beneficial for health and productivity.

3. Wages and Benefits

Startup culture is, generally speaking, driven by data. While that can sometimes sound like corporate fluff, what it means for employees is that you’re more likely to have better wages and dental. There are two reasons for this. The first is that startups are often competing in aggressive job markets for candidates with in-demand skills. Sweetening the deal with better wages and benefits only makes sense in that scenario.

The other reason is somewhat more complicated. Startups know that younger and more tech-savvy workers are more likely to have the skills they need. The employees in that demographic care less about the stability of a long career and more about happiness and comfort. Today’s workers are more likely to eschew the incentives of the old corporate world in favor of a wages and benefits package that maximizes paid time off, quality healthcare, and other fringe benefits like gym memberships. Startups know what these workers want and are more likely to give it to them.

4. Social Benefit

In the same way that the workers of the new economy are looking for comfort at work, they’re also looking for workplaces and occupations that allow them to affect social good. Whether you’re looking to help people in need or do your part to stop climate change, startups are more likely to solve these problems than traditional companies. Beyond the core work mission, startups are also typically heavily involved in charitable giving, especially in the fields they’re working in and the cities where they’re located.

5. Location

While the corporate office parks of yesteryear are more likely to be located in hard to reach and expensive suburbs, startups are much more likely to be in locations that are more desirable to the next generation of employees. Startups know that today’s workers want to live in work in places with vibrant social life, quick access to amenities, and proximity to public transit. Startups have the flexibility to choose and, if necessary, change locations to meet the needs of their mission and workforce far more efficiently than traditional companies.

Working for a startup comes with many great benefits that you won’t find in the traditional corporate world. If any of these perks are what you’re looking for in your next workplace, it may be time to consider going to work at a startup. You never know if the startup of today will be the business giant of tomorrow.

Local Branding

Why Commercial Cleaning and Sanitizing Is Important for Businesses

Steven on July 16, 2020

Right now, the terror of Covid-19 is lurking around us, and all people care about is social-distancing, wearing a mask, and sanitizing. No one ever knew that things would take such a bad turn that everything would be affected. It’s chaos everywhere, but people have hope that things will get better one day.

Due to this pandemic, people have now come to the realization that their health is the most important thing. They now do understand the importance of sanitization, and they now do realize that cleanliness is what they should care about whether they are in their home or in their office.

Today we are here to talk about why opting for commercial disinfecting services is important for your business. Now that businesses have started opening one by one and people are trying to cope with this “new normal”, there are some measures you need to take for your safety and the safety of your employees.

Here are some reasons that explain why you should get your office space disinfected right away by a commercial cleaning company;

1- The Health Of Your Employees

For every business, employees are like a backbone. The CEO alone can’t run a business and make it successful. It’s always teamwork involved in this process, and this is the reason why the health and well-being of your employees are important to you. Not sanitizing or disinfecting your office space can pose several health hazards to the ones who are working for you, potentially leading to them needing urgent care in staten island or wherever you are based. You can’t put your business at risk by not considering the health of other people, which is the number one reason why you should hire a commercial disinfecting service provider right now.

2- Lower Productivity

When your employees are sick or if you yourself fall ill, you know you can’t give your 100% to your work. In other words, lower productivity is something that can break your business, and you clearly don’t want that to happen. This is another reason why cleaning and sanitizing your workspace is imperative to preventing illness and the resulting loss of productivity. As a businessman or an employee, the two places that you spend the most time in are your home and your office. Both places need to be as clean as possible so that you or your loved ones don’t fall victim to any kind of illness.

3- Dust Can Lead To Respiratory Issues

There are allergens around you that you can’t see with the naked eye. The dust particles and these allergens can cause respiratory issues. If you don’t want any of your employees or customers to come in contact with these allergens, then yes, cleaning and sanitizing your office is important. Furthermore, the more you wait to get your office cleaned, the more things will get costly for you as removing all that dust buildup will take extra effort.

4- Better Customer Impression

When your customers visit your office, you, of course, want to put a great impression on them. Before you introduce your services or your products to them, the very first thing you need to do is to make sure that your office is all clean and sanitized. Believe it or not, this does help a lot when it comes to impressing your customers, and overall, this is something that can help your business boost.

Conclusion

These are some basic reasons that explain why you should get your office sanitized and cleaned properly using a good commercial cleaning company. After all, there’s nothing as important as your health, and if you want to make your business work during this pandemic, cleanliness is the number one thing that you’ll have to be careful about.

Legal Branding Local Branding Personal Branding

Crowdfunding PR Tips for Kickstarter & Indiegogo

Steven on July 15, 2020

One thing that you need to do before all else when trying to gain media coverage is to create a media list. It is one of the most important public relations jobs and it is always guaranteed that when done right, it is an effective way to establish media relations with target specific journalists and influencers.

This guide will go in detail about:

What is a media list?
Making the perfect media list
How to use media lists to get press
How to start a conversation with media outlets
Examples of media lists

What is a media list?

The whole point of a media list is to have a detailed document of media outlets including journalists, bloggers, writers, editors and influencers that are perfectly matched to your niche and topics that you are writing about. It normally includes the name of the individuals and their contact information.

The opinion of a media list is very hit or miss because it can be construed as a waste of time and a way to spam every media outlet to get responses from anyone. There are two halves of developing contacts, which include building an effective media list and being able to start conversations and build relationships with media contacts.

Making the Perfect Media List

Step 1: Find your audience

It is important to figure out every aspect of your audience; what they read, what they listen to, what they watch, the type of things they follow on social media, etc. With this information, you will get a better understanding of the type of media outlets to target. From there, you can ensure coverage by sending your press release email to the appropriate audience

This research information of your media list is very important because from there you are creating a list that is more thorough and you can think about:

Your customers – the people that are going to buy your product or service
The stakeholders in your company – The people that require evidence that your PR is working
Industry experts – the people in your sector that you want to notice your company
Regulators – the people that have a direct influence on your sector and are beneficial to impress.

From there and to keep everything concise and put together, create a spreadsheet of all ideas and titles that relate to your industry. Once you have compiled everything, you can search keywords of your ideas on search engines for the relevant newspapers, magazines, etc. that cover the same or similar topics that you have put in your spreadsheet.

Step 2: Creating the list

A good media list needs to be clear, concise, and organized. Here are some things that you should add to your list:

1) Name of the publication/blog/website

You should identify the exact name of media outlets and add it to your media list because there is a possibility that reporters will move around and change their jobs, so you want to focus on the publication and readership rather than just the contact.

2) Publication website address

This could be a handy shortcut on your media list so that you can easily refer to the media outlet’s online presence whenever you need to.

3) Reporter/Blogger/Journalist/Broadcaster full name

Do not send press releases or stories to email addresses that seem generalized, it would honestly be a waste of time because so many emails go through these email addresses, they aren’t going to think twice about skipping over them.

You need to see if you can find the email addresses of the specific bloggers and people that you want to write about your product/service and keep it precise and personal.

4) Job title

You should also keep note of the position that the contact holds in the company that they work for because it might become relevant for your media pitch. This is helpful when you have breaking news about your industry and when you contact them because it is relevant and it helps both of you.

5) Email

This is one of the most important things because you are going to need an email address of your contacts when you decide to distribute your press release.

6) Phone number

You might also want their phone number so that you can call them to talk about a story or follow-up on a pitch that you had previously sent to see if it is relevant.

7) Social media details

If they are on social media, you should add them so you can also start building a personal relationship with them. It is common that journalists are found on Twitter, so find their handle and start talking to them.

8) Frequency

Make a note of how regularly the publication you want to send your pitch to goes out. This can have an impact on the stories that you send because they could only post monthly, weekly, etc. You need to know when to send your pitch out and whether it is relevant at the time.

9) Story ideas

This is a perfect moment to align the stories you intend to send out with the right people. If you have a collection of different angles and stories that you want to send out, you can add them to this column so that you can link them to the appropriate reporters and broadcasters. When you do this properly, you won’t end up sending your press releases to the wrong people.

10) Notes

Keep track of important information that could be useful in the future. When it comes to the media outlets, you can add the stories that they have written recently, specific area they do features on, notes about conversations on social media you have had with them.

Step 3: Research relevant journalists

The next step is to click on the articles that are on the first few pages of your search because those will be the most relevant to your topic. When you are going through the articles, make sure to double check if there is an actual person that you can contact because sometimes, blogs do not give out author’s names for articles written.

Don’t get discouraged if you can’t find the author’s name right away, just keep doing some research on the platform and you might be able to find another contributor that you can contact. It is important that you not only try to get coverage by top-tier publication but try and establish credibility with smaller media outlets to build up your portfolio.

Step 4: Make your list of target journalists

While you are reading each article from your search results, you should go through some questions before you add them to your media list. You should try and keep your PR lists more simplified because the thing to remember is that it is more effective to have a handful of relevant journalists that you have a good relationship with than a long list of journalists that are a part of your field, but you rarely speak to.

The questions that you should ask yourself before adding them to your list are:

Are they a generalist or specialist in the field?
What is their editorial style?
Are they easily contacted or mind being contacted by different mediums?
What kinds of publications do they or have they written for?

From there, you can tailor your messages in a way that you know will catch their attention. They are constantly bombarded by messages and information that may not concern them, so keep your messages as relevant to the topic at hand as possible. You can also think of media relations as a number of games, the more you pitch to, the higher chances of landing something. Just make sure you understand the relevance.

Quality over Quantity.

If they answer all these questions, add them to your media list and go from there.

Step 5: Keep your list updated

Creating a media list can take time and effort because it is important to keep the list current and updated. New media opportunities can present themselves whenever possible and journalists can move around, so you need to stay alert and update any information that can possibly change. It will make sure that you still have the relevant media outlets and also makes sure that your hard work is wasted.

Step 6: Watch your market and competitors

It is more than likely that whatever industry you are in, some media outlet somewhere has written something about it. That means that they definitely have the experience to write about your company and your industry. However, when you pitch to those media outlets, make sure that you stand out from your competitors because if they have talked about a similar product/service, they most likely would not have to talk and write about the same thing again.

How to use media list to get press?

Enterprise Resource Planning collected of scrabble game elements

You may have a large list of relevant names and contact details, but you still need to make sure that when you pitch, you still keep it personal. You need to remember that just because you are using your efforts to connect with them and chat with them, it does not mean that they know you.

You need to connect on a personal level and have communicated prior before sending them a press release or story pitch. Make sure that they are aware of you and your business, already interested in your story and relatively excited about posting and sharing your story with their readers.

It order to build a relationship with any type of media outlet, it is simple enough to start a conversation. It is important to start a conversation with the relevant people that already exist on your media list weeks before your actual launch date of your product or service. Continue having the conversation until you have built a solid relationship so that when you need media coverage, you can approach them with a preexisting relationship and not as a complete stranger and there is no need to send a cold email pitch. It can take so time to build a good relationship, but once it is done, the payoff is definitely better than last-minute attempts.

How do you start a conversation?

Sometimes it might hard to figure out how to start a professional conversation. So, in order to get some pointers, closely read the articles that are a part of your research. It may seem a bit harsh, but try and find mistakes, weak points or anything missing from an article or blog posts that could be used to start a conversation.

Some things to look for:

Grammar errors
Outdated facts
Information that can be added
Possible articles that need follow up stories

It is also important to understand that when it comes to influencers, you should try many different types. Don’t limit yourself to journalists or bloggers. You can even try to get coverage from investors, social media influencers, and even founders of other companies. To find the appropriate ones, you need to define the goal of your product or service and then define your target audience. Once you figure out all those things, you are all set.

Creating a media list is easy; it is the follow-through that can be complicated. You need to make a solid first impression so that you can get continuous coverage. The more effort you put into creating a media list and sparking a solid conversation will have a great payoff.

Conclusion

Media lists are a way to keep everything organized and up-to-date so that you know what you are sending, who you are sending it to, and when. It is a way of documenting the key media contact that might be interested in stories about your business or area of expertise. Do not limit yourself to the traditional media outlets, keep an open mind and don’t give up too quickly if you don’t catch the big fish. Keep at it and it will all be worth it in the long-run.

Local Branding

Acoustics Matters

Steven on July 14, 2020

Acoustics affect critical aspects of a building’s function, from productivity in the office and communication in the classroom, to the price an apartment, condominium or single-family home can command. Understanding how to select a combination of building materials, system designs and construction technologies that will provide the most appropriate sound control is key to creating a successful acoustical design.

Energy from sound waves interacts with every object and surface in a room – some energy may be absorbed or scattered by room furnishings and some energy may reflect off or transmit through partitions. Sound can bend around barriers and squeeze through small openings, all of which can allow noise to reach surprisingly far beyond its point of origin. As a result, designers must consider the dynamics of sound when determining how they will control noise within a building.

The basic mechanisms involved in noise control for buildings are sound absorption and sound transmission. Sound absorption is necessary to reduce the reverberation, in a space to help improve clarity of speech and reduce excessive noise within a room. Sound transmission, either airborne or structural, must be reduced to prevent sound from travelling between two spaces.

When it comes to the performance of a space, understanding how and when to correctly use building materials can make all the difference.
Building owners increasingly challenge you to reduce costs and compress schedules. Meanwhile, occupants’ expectations keep growing—especially as they relate to noise.
69 percent of office employees are dissatisfied with noise levels at their primary workspace. What’s the experience of noise in spaces you’ve designed?
Efficiency is important. But to meet owner and occupant expectations, it’s critical to prioritize acoustics as a key design imperative tied directly to human comfort and well-being.

frameborder=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” style=”border:1px solid #CCC; border-width:1px; margin-bottom:5px; max-width: 100%;” allowfullscreen>

When Does Acoustics Become Critical In Design? from USG Corporation

Legal Branding Local Branding

Driving for Work: Safety Requirements for Employers and Employees

Steven on July 10, 2020

Motor vehicle incidents represent one of the biggest risks employees are exposed to. To make matters worse, it’s a kind of risk that is taken daily, especially when it comes to professional drivers or those who need to drive around the country for work. It’s quite difficult to avoid damage and loss caused by various problems that might occur, which means that preventive measures are of utmost importance.

All those operating a motor vehicle as part of their job are at risk of being involved in a roadway crash, which can have devastating consequences to both those directly involved and their companies. We’re talking about loss of lives, families losing a member who brings substantial income and companies that may be left without a reliable worker. Needless to say, such problems also affect the company’s performance in terms of meeting agreed on deadlines, potentially losing jobs and having to pay substantial amounts of money to repair the damaged vehicles. In order to help you minimize this risk and prevent problems in the first place, we’ve compiled the following list of things to consider.

Safe driving program

No matter how big your company is, if the employees are obliged to drive as part of their job, there needs to be a driver safety program implemented. The goal is to save lives, reduce the risk of life-altering injuries, protect the company’s human and financial resources, as well as guard against potential company and personal liabilities associated with motor vehicle incidents.

Such program should be treated as an investment, not expenditure. The reason is simple: companies need to protect their employees and save money by preventing expensive and potentially devastating accidents. The desired outcome of a safe driving program is to change driver attitudes, if necessary, and improve their driving skills in order to prevent vehicle crashes and tragedies.

Policies and procedures

Having a safe driving program is necessary, but so is having a written statement emphasizing the commitment to reducing traffic-related deaths and injuries. A set of comprehensive and enforceable safety policies should be created and communicated to all employees with an aim to reduce the number of accidents. Such policies can be communicated by posting them throughout the workplace, distributing copies or organizing regular meetings where the policies are discussed. It might be a good idea to offer bonuses and incentives to those drivers who stick to the rules.

Ensure premium insurance coverage

Needless to say, you need insurance for all the vehicles owned by your company, but you need to be aware that the minimum coverage won’t give you maximum protection. That’s why you should choose comprehensive plans that cover the cost of repairs and losses in the most common scenarios. Australia, for example, is a country that has specific and strict rules and regulations when it comes to insurance. Finding the most comprehensive car insurance in Australia that covers accidents, natural disasters, theft, and damage to someone else’s property, as well as emergency roadside assistance, is a must for many small companies there. Your employees who drive, as well as company vehicles, are exposed to road risks everyday so it’s always a good idea to look for the most comprehensive package that suits your needs.

Regular maintenance and inspection

It goes without saying that your fleet needs to be properly selected and regularly maintained in order to minimise the risk of crashes and related losses. All vehicles must be subject to a routine preventive maintenance schedule for servicing and checking safety equipment and you need to strictly follow the manufacturer’s recommendations when it comes to specific mileage in the context of performing regular maintenance.

Another thing to consider is the age of your drivers. With most of the working population being millennials, you should know that they expect their vehicles to feature as much safety equipment as possible. When it comes to millennials at work and perspectives from a new generation, they want all the equipment and gear they are supposed to handle to be in perfect condition, so that injuries are avoided and work is done efficiently. That means you should upgrade your vehicles with as many safety features as possible.

Tracking technology

Every employer needs to know where their vehicles are at all times to make sure the drivers are not slacking on the job. Unauthorized use of a company vehicle is grounds for termination, since it has the potential to be a serious liability and can damage the reputation of your company, not to mention the possibility of theft or vandalism. Luckily, tracking technology allows you to analyze employees’ drive times and location and you should definitely use it to keep track of your vehicles.

If you follow these tips, you’ll definitely improve the safety of your employees who drive a company car or drive for work. You should be aware that investments in safety decrease the number of problems you may encounter and that higher safety standards protect your valuable assets and improve your employer branding significantly.

Local Branding

Purchasing an Insurance Policy, Here’s What to Consider

Steven on July 7, 2020

Life is brimming with vulnerabilities and health-related crises are one of them. With the expanding cost of medicinal services, purchasing an insurance policy, for example, health care coverage is practically inescapable.

Be that as it may, with such huge numbers of alternatives accessible, it can get confounding to discover a policy that would work perfectly for you. Try not to stress, this post has disentangled this for you. Here is a brisk once-over of the things that you can consider to purchase the best insurance plan for yourself and your family. Prepare to investigate!

Above all else, the claim procedure

The more straightforward the claims procedure and the quicker the settlement of the claims, the better it is for you. Along these lines, these two are a central point concerning the choice of insurance. Great client care is an extra preferred position one should search for.

Consider bundling several policies with one insurance carrier

There might be an incentive in packaging a few plans with one insurance bearer. In case you’re hoping to protect numerous vehicles or get different kinds of business inclusion, at that point you might need to locate a solitary insurance supplier who conveys various items they might have the option to offer you multi-strategy limits or faithfulness programs.

Consider investing in a policy where you can get maximum coverage

On the off chance that you read the terms and conditions segment of your approach report, you will find that there are a few fundamental focuses recorded in it. There are tops or cutoff points on the costs related to the treatment. For example, you can get a medical clinic room-lease in front of $80-100 per day. You can’t record a case in case you’re experiencing a prior ailment. In certain approaches, you can’t profit from emergency vehicle spread, etc. In this way, it is fundamental to guarantee the sort of inclusion you can get. Pick a plan where you can get inclusion for a wide scope of ailments, including prior conditions.

Network hospitals

Check the rundown of network hospitals and see whether it incorporates the hospitals that you regularly visit. It is likewise a significant factor to consider on the off chance that you travel or move urban areas because your medical coverage should go with you. Additionally, cashless hospitals must be benefited from in-arrange medical clinics.

The revival time frame

An insurance policy will slip by when premium installments are not made on schedule and the beautiful time frame has likewise been crossed. Be that as it may, insurance agencies give an alternative to reactivate the past plan, inside a particular period post the beauty time frame by paying the unpaid premium and a specific measure of enthusiasm on the unpaid sum. This is the recovery time frame. The period is as of now two years, and policyholders must know about any progressions made in guidelines identified with it.

Do consider the cumulative bonus

This alludes to the addition in the total guaranteed if no case has been made against the plan in the earlier years. This sum is added to the aggregate safeguarded at the hour of strategy reestablishment. Additionally, do explain on this point before concluding the approach.

The objective of insurance policy

It is imperative to characterize the target of an insurance policy before buying in a discussion with all relatives. Professionals at https://shelterbay.ca/million-dollar-insurance-policy/ say if you are purchasing a million-dollar insurance policy only for venture reason, at that point, there are otherwise speculation plans. The insurance policy ought to be purchased with the sole goal of giving money related security to relatives.

No claim bonus

If you are thinking about what happens if you buy medical coverage and don’t become sick, don’t get hospitalized, and don’t guarantee medical coverage? Unwind, all your cash isn’t going down the channel. Your medical coverage organization will give you the previously mentioned no claim bonus for each free year.

Finally, discover an agent when purchasing insurance

Insurance agents are in terms of relationship to an insurance organization. Alluded to as hostage suppliers, they own their business and normally are attempting to make a salary while creating business for the supplier. Specialists are more advantageous than managing the supplier because they are close to home communications and somebody to respond to questions.

As there are a lot of insurers offering diverse insurance plans, it is smarter to do some examination from your end before buying any. Some significant factors other than the ones referenced above are-holding up period, guarantee settlement proportion, cost, and so forth. These will assist you in making a brilliant move the correct way.

Local Branding

Personal v/s Bodily Injury: Experts Explain the Difference

Steven on July 7, 2020

Millions of dollars worth of claims are offered to the survivors of injuries, every year. Car accidents, workplace negligence, and slip and fall are some of the most common reasons for sustaining an injury. Usually, a claim is made to either an insurance company or with an at-fault party who is believed to be responsible for the injuries. Since these cases tend to be not-so-easy, personal injury lawyers are usually involved.

We consulted a number of experienced personal injury attorneys who have been practicing for several years. And the most remarkable thing that most of them came up with was that many of their clients didn’t really understand the difference between bodily injury and personal injury. During our research, we also came across this article explaining the benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer, which happens to include the true claiming process for bodily as well as personal injuries. Let’s take a stroll through what the experts have to say in this concern.

The Definition

In layman’s terms, personal injury refers to the damages and losses incurred by an individual due to an unfortunate accident. It can include all sorts of losses such as property damages, assets damages, loss of income, or even moral and physical damages to the body. Whereas, on the contrary, bodily injuries refer to only the physical pain and trauma that an injured goes through.

Experts suggest that when filing a claim, be it against an individual, a group of individuals, or even an insurance company, it is necessary to specify these injuries separately. But, at the same time, it is important to include both of these in the claim, especially, when the injuries have been caused due to the other party’s negligence.

Legalities Involved in the Process

When filing an injury claim, experts suggest that the legal framework has some set guidelines about how the claim should be handled and what shall be included. More importantly, the legal framework is in place to ensure that justice is served for both, the injured and the at-fault party.

Statutory Limitations

Every province handles personal injury claims differently, and therefore have different statutes of limitation. For example, some provinces may consider damages to your vehicle or your house within the same category as that of other damages, while other provinces may consider them as a separate legal claim altogether. But, every province does have a limitation to the period for filing the claim. In other words, an injured can file for a claim within a certain period of time. For most of the provinces, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim is about a year. However, this period may vary with respect to the losses and damages included in the claim. Notably, for bodily injuries the time to file the claim is a year, but not for other damages such as the damage to personal belongings. Experts suggest getting in touch with the local authorities or the insurer to understand the legalities better.

Liability of Claim

Determining the liability of a claim is not that easy since every province makes use of a separate legal framework. Generally, the jury or the judge tries to estimate the plaintiff’s share in sustaining the injuries. For example, in a road accident, the jury may determine either partial or complete fault of the defendant, which would mean that there’s a share in fault by the plaintiff as well. In such cases, the compensation might be reduced for the plaintiff, or if found completely defaulter, might even have to pay the compensation instead. Additionally, such a mistake could even lead the plaintiff into more legal trouble. A legal attorney could help plaintiffs get the facts and figures in place so that they don’t end up in legal tussles.

Legal Documentation

Another issue with both bodily injury claims and personal injury claims is the process of filing for compensation. The legal formalities are not so easy for a common man to fulfill, which ultimately either results in rejection of the case or ruling out the case unjustly. Through their years of experience, Nova Scotia personal injury lawyers suggest that plaintiffs must begin their filing procedure under the careful supervision of a legal attorney. The reason being these experts know the in and out of every possible outcome and therefore can help avoid unnecessary troubles and suffering.

Offering the Compensation

Lastly, the decision for determining the claim value and compensation to be made rests with the court or the jury. The decision-makers consider several factors including the cause of injury, the extent of loss, and of course, the effect on the quality of life of the injured when ruling the case. It is noteworthy that for personal injury claims, the compensatory relief stands a much higher value as compared to bodily injuries which usually only include medical expenses. Notably, in a personal injury claim, the compensation offered includes loss of income, medical expenses, support values, and even the future losses for the plaintiff. All of these claims usually inflate the net compensation value for the plaintiff.

If the legal experts are to be believed, it is the personal injury claim that is more justified considering the loss to the plaintiff is not only just physical. Many of the injury survivors often struggle with mental trauma long after they’ve recovered from the bodily injury. In fact, it is not only the injured who suffer, but also their family and friends, who lose quality companionship.

In light of these differences, it is, therefore, best to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can help understand the steps to be followed. Moreover, a lawyer could also guide the plaintiffs through the legal loops and help them utilize these in their favor thus promising a favorable relief for their clients.