Keep Your Best Employees With Better Benefits |  |
- Keep Your Best Employees With Better Benefits
- Apple Announces Replacement for iMac Video Cards
- Is WordPress Easy To Work With? That Depends on Your Web Developer
- Microsoft Apologizes For Prolonged Outlook.com Outage
- 2 Types of Video to Build Your Business
| Keep Your Best Employees With Better Benefits Posted: 20 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT
Searching for quality talent can prove to be difficult, especially in the face of rising health care costs and health care reform. In fact, a recent NFIB report (PDF) found that 41 percent of small business owners reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions and 19 percent reported having job openings they could not fill in the current period. To maintain the best employees for your business, it's imperative for business owners to take necessary steps to keep current top-tier employees satisfied in today's economy. So what can small businesses do to make sure their key players stick around instead of window shopping for new opportunities? One way to retain current personnel and attract superior applicants is by offering strong benefits packages. According to the 2013 Aflac WorkForces Report (AWR), nearly half (49 percent) of employees say that improving their benefits packages is one thing their employer could do to keep them in their job. And with 51 percent of small business professionals at least somewhat likely to look for new employment in the next 12 months, strong benefits packages are necessary to encourage top talent to stay. Wellness WorksOne way to keep workers satisfied is to add wellness programs to existing benefits offerings. These programs don't need to follow suit of large companies that pay monthly gym fees or provide daily healthy lunch substitutes. An easy way to start off is to simply show employees the company cares about health and wellness. Organize after-hour fun runs or invite nutritionists to come into the office for lunch-and-learns. Place fruit bowls in office common areas, email wellness tips or provide information about free local exercise events. These are effective ways to improve office health at little to no cost and demonstrate that your staff's well-being is important to you. Put Voluntary Into ActionIf you're afraid that strengthening benefits packages will put a burden on company finances, consider this: Voluntary insurance policies. Many supplemental policies are offered at no additional benefits cost to the company. Companies can choose to contribute a portion of the premium or simply make the product available for employees to purchase. Some carriers even offer payroll deduction without added direct cost to businesses. Be a Benefits MarketerOffering strong benefits to your employees just isn't enough – you have to expand your benefits communication beyond the open enrollment season. Seventy-nine percent of small business employees agree that well-communicated benefits programs would make them less likely to leave their jobs, according to the AWR. Since benefits are generally deducted directly from paychecks, it's easy for workers to forget about the great aspects of their benefits package. Plan creative ways to communicate about the total compensation, employee assistance programs and wellness incentives you offer on an ongoing basis. Here are ways you can market your benefits options:
With an undeniable connection between benefits and employee loyalty, you need to make sure employees are not only armed with options suitable for their individual lifestyles, but also that they are fully aware of their choices. Wellness Photo via Shutterstock/small> The post Keep Your Best Employees With Better Benefits appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Apple Announces Replacement for iMac Video Cards Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:30 PM PDT
If you purchased Apple iMacs for your business in the last few years, Apple has issued a notice that should grab your attention. It seems the video cards in some iMacs may be faulty and could eventually cause display problems on your monitor. In an official announcement on the Apple support page, the company says it has identified the specific type of iMac that contains the potentially faulty card and the period during which it was sold.
If you have one of these iMacs, Apple suggests you first backup your data. Then contact an Apple retail store, Apple authorized service provider or Apple technical support for further assistance. If it’s determined you have one of the affected iMacs, Apple says it will replace the defective video card at no charge for up to three years after the first retail sale of the computer. Even if you already paid for this repair prior to this announcement, Apple will discuss a full refund for that work. The website 9to5mac.com notes that this is the second replacement program offered on the iMac recently. In October of last year, Apple said it would replace a 1TB Seagate hard drive on iMacs purchased between October 2009 and July 2011. Image: Apple The post Apple Announces Replacement for iMac Video Cards appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Is WordPress Easy To Work With? That Depends on Your Web Developer Posted: 20 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT
Small business owners all have one thing in common: They're all on a budget, trying to do the best they can to build their businesses with a limited amount of financial resources. One of the ways business owners attempt to save money is to take on the job of editing and updating their websites themselves, after having the initial site built for them by a development team. It's a smart strategy, but it's not always a successful one. Adding and managing the content on your website can be a challenging task – particularly if your web developer makes it harder than it needs to be. Is WordPress Easy to Work With?WordPress Doesn't Equal EasyIf you only know one thing about website development, it's likely to be WordPress. WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in use on the Web today, controlling nearly 60% of the marketplace. That's 4 times more than the market share enjoyed by their nearest competitor, Joomla. There's a reason for WordPress' popularity. When WordPress is used properly, it can result in wonderful websites. The key words here are "used properly." WordPress is, in many ways, similar to a kit-car or a modular home. All of the pieces are there, but some assembly is definitely required. Building even a basic website using WordPress requires a certain level of expertise. To accomplish the job in a time effective manner, you have to know the nuances and tricks to putting the site together. It's important to understand that a basic assembly approach generally isn't enough to make the small business owner happy with their website. To make it easy for the everyday user to update and edit it – customization is required. What Is WordPress?WordPress is a content management system (CMS). It is based on open source language of PHP and database foundation of MySQL. This platform is most well-known for blogging but you can do a lot more with it. WordPress provides much more functionality with plugins. Plugins are extensions or enhancements to the basic WordPress platform. Plugins can be free or paid tools that can be integrated into your WordPress platform. Plugins can do things like protect your website from spam, add a contact form to your website or import the comments and posts from your social media sites. Plugins can also be custom written for your website by a WordPress developer. The theme is the design of your website. It dictates what your website looks and feels like. Designers and web developers can customize the theme to control the front-end or user experience. WordPress Out of the BoxWhen you install a clean version of WordPress it comes with a basic front-end white theme. That looks like this:
[New blank site] A WordPress front end designer will know how to create a custom look and feel for your website that meets the needs of your organization. This is known as a custom theme. Something you should note is that creating a custom theme still means that the website should follow best practices of clean code, enhanced load time for the website and cross-browser compatibility. WordPress Back-EndEvery content management system has an administration area. This is where you go to update and manage the content on your website. Out of the box, the WordPress back-end or administration area looks like this:
[Dashboard]
[Page Draft] The choices that your web developer makes here have a direct and profound impact on how easy it will be for you and your team to edit and update your website. For example, a company may often want to update and edit content about their different types of projects. A savvy web developer will configure the back end with an easy-to-navigate system that makes it easy to add new projects, change project descriptions, change project classifications and more. This functionality doesn't come standard with the default WordPress back-end. Your web developer needs to build that for you. If you are going to be handling updating and managing the content on your website yourself, you want the process to be as simple as possible. Making sure your WordPress website is easy to work with is your web developer's job. Be sure to communicate clearly what you plan to do with your website, and ask them how they're going to make it easy for you to accomplish your business goals. The Right Developer Makes the DifferenceOut of the box WordPress, like any open source content management system, does not always make managing and editing a site simple and easy. It's up to your design and development team to customize the WordPress back-end to give you and your team what they need to manage the site with little knowledge about coding. Making websites easy to use, edit and update is what separates one WordPress team from another. When you're deciding who you want to have work on your website, don't just look at the front of a website. You want to see samples – or even tour – the back-end of sites they've built for their clients. You want to know what kind of experience you can expect from your own website. This information is critical to making a good decision. It's never just about WordPress, it's about making WordPress work for you. Frustrated Photo via Shutterstock The post Is WordPress Easy To Work With? That Depends on Your Web Developer appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Microsoft Apologizes For Prolonged Outlook.com Outage Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT
Amazon was not the only service to see downtime in recent days. Microsoft has apologized for a recent outage on Outlook.com that took nearly three days to fully repair. Microsoft says the outage lasted between Aug. 14 and Aug. 17 last week. On its service status page, the company blamed a system that interacts with a protocol used by most mobile devices.
After Microsoft was able to restore Web access to Outlook email and sharing to SkyDrive, it began experiencing a backlog of requests from mobile accounts. While the company slowly restored mobile access, some users were unfortunately left without any services for a few days. The Microsoft services team reported all problems resolved with its services by early on Aug. 18. The company says it has learned from the experience and has made changes in its system to compensate. Was your business affected by the Outlook.com outage last week? What do you do when a service you rely upon for communications or other important business functions is out of commission? Apology Concept Photo via Shutterstock The post Microsoft Apologizes For Prolonged Outlook.com Outage appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 2 Types of Video to Build Your Business Posted: 20 Aug 2013 05:00 AM PDT
Online video is exploding. It's now the most popular online advertising format, beating out Facebook and Google Adwords. If you have anything to sell, promote or explain, you'd better be using video to help do it. One type of video that small business owners have been doing for years is a basic video of them speaking. If you run a small business that offers some type of personal service, this personal touch type of video can be very effective. On the other hand, if you're not great on camera or your particular business doesn't lend itself to this type of video, you've got other great video options. These two below have become both popular and effective with every type of business, product, service and organization. Use Video to Build Your BusinessConcept VideosAlso known as “big idea” videos, these short, creative videos are designed to captivate the viewer, convey a compelling message and leave the viewer with a desire to buy. In essence, a great concept video is a great commercial. A well done concept video should not only resonate with your prospect on an intellectual level, it needs to connect on an emotional level. Because studies have shown that it's that emotional connection that makes the difference in a buying decision. The goal of a concept video is to not only inform, but to convert your prospects into paying customers. Explainer VideosAs the name suggests, “explainer” videos are designed to explain a product or service. They usually take the form of simple animated graphics that tell a story. It often involves a cartoon-like character and infographics. A "whiteboard" animation that simulates a hand quickly drawing on a whiteboard is another popular explainer video style. Unlike a 30 or 15 second concept video, explainer videos usually average about 60 seconds. Explainer videos have become very popular in the B2B arena because B2B products, in general, tend to be more esoteric. However, familiar products and services can also benefit from an explainer video. For example, while everyone knows what a dentist is, they may not know much about dental implants. An explainer video can explain what a dental implant is, why you might need one and how it's done. Smart business owners realize that even if they have the best product in the world, they won't be successful if they don't effectively excite and convince prospects. If done right these types of videos will help you do that. Video Photo via Shutterstock The post 2 Types of Video to Build Your Business appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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