Home Tags Posts tagged with "business owners"
business owners
It’s becoming increasingly common for businesses to have employees use personal devices for company work. Data from Syntonic shows that 87 percent of businesses are already having employees use personal devices for corporate applications. But there are some important things to consider here. These are five tips for running a successful bring-your-own-device program.
Determine What Devices to Use
There’s a long list of things that need to be considered when it comes to choosing what devices to use for a bring-your-own-device program. There are two main ways to go about this: Give all qualifying employees devices that they can take home; or allow employees to bring in their personal devices to work. There are some pretty distinct pros and cons to each scenario.
Business owners probably balk at the idea of handing out laptops and smartphones to all of their employees. Devices aren’t cheap, especially if they’re equipped with high-end hardware. But there’s a flipside to every coin. When employees just bring in their own pre-existing personal devices, it’s hard to know what’s being brought onto your network.
Employers need to determine which devices make sense to allow into the BYOD program — along with operating systems, and whether they should be utilized by the business or the employee’s preexisting device.
Nail Down Any Reimbursement Plans
People who benefit from a BYOD program tend to be those whose work isn’t restricted to the confines of an office. It’s often people who spend a significant amount of their time travelling or working outside of the office for a variety of reasons.
Due to this, they might find themselves in a situation where they need to use their personal data or other means in order to do company business. This is obviously not something that’s fair to the employee. Make sure there are protocols in place for how to reimburse anyone who needs repayment from any aspects related to the BYOD program.
Ensure Network Security
Network security is undoubtedly one of the most critical aspects to building and executing a BYOD workplace. There’s far more that needs to be considered on the security side when people are bringing devices to and from the workplace, remotely connecting to enterprise applications, and potentially using infected tech.
It’s essential for enterprises to employ endpoint protection to ensure the security of devices. This kind of monitoring can set off red flags even if a device isn’t on a company network. The perimeters of the modern workplace are expanding. Therefore, it’s necessary to adapt network security to this type of change. Opting for endpoint protection services can help deliver real-time responses to issues as they arise.
Be Transparent with Employees
It’s important the terms and conditions of your BYOD program are clear to all your employees who are part of it. Make sure everyone understands and agrees to what you’re telling them before moving forward.
For instance, it’s a very real concern that employees could be using compromised apps or programs on their devices without their knowledge. Employees need to understand why this is a danger to the organization. Education and careful approval into the BYOD program can limit the risks of this.
You also need to make it clear who fixes things if there’s an issue with a device. If someone’s device breaks down while doing company work, it’s not fair to expect the employee to pay for the repairs. Make it clear upfront who foots the bill in various instances.
Have an Off-Boarding Protocol
Not everyone in your organization is going to stay there forever. When they do decide it’s time to move on, you need to wipe your company’s critical applications from their devices.
Failing to do this could allow former employees to access sensitive data and other information after leaving the company. It’s also a vulnerability in case that former employee’s device is compromised at any point. Determine a BYOD protocol that allows for you to clean out all company apps without eliminating personal data.
Many companies find running a BYOD program makes sense for their businesses today. Make sure you understand some of the challenges before leaping ahead and implementing this kind of system.
Debt is a dirty word to a lot of people. In our personal lives, when we think of debt, we think of how to get rid of it as soon as possible. However, in business, you’re playing a financial long game. Sometimes, taking on a little debt is necessary for the long-term financial health of the company. So, how do you live with debt without taking over your life?
Photo Link
Always have a reason to borrow
Businesses should not be regularly using credit cards for small expenses. It’s an easy way to get caught in a debt trap if your finances take a sudden nose-dive. Rather, all use of credit and loans should be specifically aimed. Reasons to take out a loan include expanding with new real estate, purchasing equipment and inventory, and even to get through periods of poor cash flow. Don’t borrow unless you know exactly why you’re borrowing.
Photo Link
Budget for it
When you borrow, make sure you take very careful note of it. Immediately start budgeting for the payments you’re going to make back, and know how your debts balance with current income and cash flow projections. They should always be on your mind, in part. Otherwise, it’s easier than you think to lose track of them, rack up interest, and get in a dangerous situation.
Photo Link
Keep your credit healthy
The better your credit, the better the terms you can expect from loans. However, many people go into business with a line of credit that’s already unhealthy. What are they to do to get back on top of the situation? For one, small business loans for bad credit won’t only help you get the funding you need when you need it. Successfully sticking to the terms of the agreement can help you start building a credit history if you don’t have one, or can improve your score. That will make more favorable loans available to you in future.
Photo Link
Be responsible
It sounds like a given, but the truth is that unless you start learning the habits of responsible credit use, it’s easy to very irresponsible instead. For instance, use accounting software instead of keeping sums by hand so that the figures are always easy to track. Enforce spending limits on any cards you use. Document a spending policy for employees to follow to avoid charges going where they shouldn’t. Most importantly, keep it very strictly business.
Photo Link
Strategize for reductions at all times
Part of living with debt is being aware you have to constantly make moves to reduce it, especially if you use it often. Beyond budgeting to a repayment plan, this might also mean being aware of tools like debt consolidation to help you get more favorable repayment strategies.
Smart borrowing, realistic expectations, and debt-reduction strategies are going to help you be a lot more financially flexible. You’ll be able to invest when otherwise you couldn’t and survive tough times that would otherwise sink you. There are plenty of perks to sharing a business with debt from time to time.
Health is an extremely important part of life. Everyone needs to ensure that they take care of themselves. Healthy people will live a lot longer than unhealthy people; it’s not rocket science. However, health isn’t just about eating well and living right. It’s not a topic only spoken about in gyms or fitness clubs. In fact, it’s a topic spoken about a lot in the business world.
Yes, you read that correctly. People in business will often speak about health. It may not seem as though these two things go hand in hand, but they do. Business owners are constantly concerned with health in the workplace. And, that’s what I’m going to talk about today. I’ve done the research and had a look at how health is dealt with in the workplace. What are business owners doing to ensure employees remain healthy? And, why is it important that they care about the health of their staff? These two questions will soon be answered, and things will be clearer to you.
(Image via Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/rRTDZ1)
Why Is Employee Health Important To Business Owners?
The first thing I had a look at was how employee health affected a business. It soon became clear to me that business owners valued the health of their staff massively. The simple truth is, having unhealthy staff can be a huge problem for a business owner. Why is this? Well, think about things from the viewpoint of the owner. If you own a company, you want all your employees to be working hard and doing their jobs to a high standard. For them to do this, they need to be in good health. The moment an employee becomes unhealthy or has health issues, it can impact their work. They may not work as well as they used to because their health is restricting them. Even if one employee starts having problems with their health, it can cause issues for the business. But, imagine if all your employees experienced health problems. It would leave your company in a horrible state. Productivity would be at an all time low, and you’d be struggling to make profits.
When I talk about unhealthy employees, what do I mean? I’m not necessarily speaking about people that eat badly and have lots of chocolates. It’s more to do with people not being in good health. They might have issues like obesity, anxiety, depression, etc. Or, they could have health related illnesses that prevent them from working to a high standard. Employees that are in pain are also struggling with their health. It’s not healthy to be in pain and have muscle and joint issues. You can see that employee health covers a whole range of things. When people suffer from some of the things I’ve mentioned, it can be hard for them to work as well as they’d like. So, keeping employees healthy is hugely important to business owners.
However, this isn’t the only reason it’s important. Business owners must take care of their employees for health & safety reasons. If the workplace isn’t safe, it can present numerous health hazards to people working there. A lot of you reading this will work in a typical office workplace. An office may not seem dangerous, but there are loads of ways you can damage your health there. For example, there might be asbestos in the ceiling tiles. This is a common problem in a lot of old office buildings. Being exposed to asbestos can lead to numerous medical conditions. And, if you’re an employee that gets exposed to it, you can claim worker’s compensation. There’s plenty of workers compensation claim information out there to help you understand it better. So, I won’t go into much detail with it here. All I’ll say is that if you get ill or injured, because of work, you can claim some money. And, where does this money come from? Your boss, of course. This is why employee health is important to business owners. If employee health is affected because of work, the owner will have to pay lots of compensation money. Naturally, no business owner wants to do this. So, taking care of the health of their staff is high on their priority list.
(Source: https://goo.gl/E8zEzs)
What Are Business Owners Doing To Ensure Staff Remain Healthy?
After seeing why employee health is important to business owners, now let’s see how they deal with it. What do they do to ensure their workers remain healthy? In truth, they do, and can do many different things. During my research, I found that certain business owners will adopt different tactics. But, they all have the same goal. To keep all of their employees in good health and prevent problems from occurring. Sadly, there are too many things to go through all of them. But, I’ve picked out a few of the most common, and most effective techniques.
Firstly, I found that many business owners employed the rest tactic. What does this mean? All it means is that they give employees some time to rest. They don’t overwork them throughout the day. Instead of working long hours in a row, employees are given a couple of breaks. They’ll get one or two short breaks during a normal day’s work. These breaks won’t be any longer that ten-fifteen minutes. They’re used to help refresh workers and give them a rest. Of course, they’re entitled to a lunch break as well. By allowing employees to rest, it ensures they don’t burn out or get stressed. Overworking can lead to health problems like high-stress levels and also physical injuries. Standing or sitting for a long time can give people back problems. And, business owners don’t want to inflict pain on their staff.
Another thing they do is provide a comfortable place to work. Office chairs are comfy and won’t cause any back or neck problems. It’s a simple thing to do, and will have a huge difference on employee health. By providing comfortable seating, it shows a boss cares about health in the workplace. In conjunction with this, they also make sure the workplace is safe. Providing a safe working environment is crucial. It means there’s very little risk of employees getting injured at work. Thus, they lower the risk of having to pay workers compensation.
The final thing is fairly modern and quite interesting. In some countries, employers will make their workers take part in physical activities. In Japan, the day will often start with a few minutes of yoga or stretching. Obviously, the aim is to try and keep employees fit and healthy. By doing physical activities before work, they also make them more alert and ready for the day ahead. It’s a clever tactic and can end up benefitting a business. More and more businesses are starting to employ this idea too. Some are starting to put days aside devoted to exercise. Instead of having a training day, businesses have days where they go and do physical activities as a group. It’s designed to help employees bond while keeping them healthy.
The importance of health in the workplace can’t be understated. After reading this article, you can now see why it’s such a big thing. Employees with poor health will be a problem for people that own businesses. If everyone is healthy and feeling good, a business will prosper. So, it’s no wonder that owners are doing all that they can to keep their staff healthy. A successful business is built around its employees. But, they must be in good health and able to work to a high standard at all times.
There are many prime ministers and parliament members throughout the world who have one thing in common. This common thread is the fact that many of these successful politicians have roots in the business world.
Although the US seems to dominate the discussion regarding business people making it into politics, a look at Azmi Mikati’s profile, as well as others online, demonstrates that this trend is quite true abroad as well. There is a long list of politicians with prior business experience, which has helped give them the tools they need in order to resolve some of the most pressing economic issues that face countries.
Politicians with experience in business have often been involved in telecom and other industries that account for a good portion of a country’s economy. In the Middle East, telecom has become especially popular is the environment becomes more business-friendly, leading to a rise in influential leaders with strong business backgrounds. Influential business owners in the telecom business have a broad reach that often includes several countries outside the Middle East, giving them a bigger picture of the global economic situation that will influence.
Politicians and would-be politicians can forge relationships with leaders in other countries far more easily when their companies have operated on an international level. Several skills from the business world translate well into politics. Negotiation is an important skill that business professionals learn that also translates well to the political world, especially in an era where there are so many sources of conflict in the world.
Many politicians who rise to national prominence in their respective countries start by initially holding cabinet or ministry positions. Although it may seem as though these positions are of little consequence, they allow business professionals to put their experiences to use and gain a greater knowledge of the political experience.
Philanthropy often plays a major role in the lives of successful business people, and this interest influences how well they are often able to address their countries’ most difficult problems as politicians. In addition to philanthropy, many business professionals who go into politics also serve in an educational capacity. Examples of educational activities that some politicians take part in include serving on a Board of Trustees or being on advisory councils. An involvement in educational and philanthropic activities also leads to a greater ability to develop and oversee programs that result in economic growth in countries affected by war or other hardship.
Some of the most popular philanthropic activities among business owners with political ambitions include setting up foundations that provide ongoing support. Foundations are often in honor of a professional’s parents or other important people in their lives who have helped shape who they are.
Some of the charitable organizations and foundations that business professionals in politics favor include groups that assist with health care, as well as educational and cultural needs. As many countries today have seen a lot of warfare, politicians engaged in humanitarian causes have had a positive following. Helping to make a genuine difference in the lives of those in need is one thing that makes a difference for politicians.
