3 Ways To Find Qualified Employees for Your Small Business

Summer

Do you have a small business that is growing quickly? If you’re in need of additional employees to handle your increasing workload, sometimes you may require more assistance than just simply posting a now-hiring sign on your front door. Explore some unique ways to find the right people who have appropriate qualifications for your company instead of just waiting for them to walk in with a resume.

Hire a Recruiter

A great way to find knowledgeable employees for your business is through a recruiter or employment agency. These types of staffing companies in Boston MA specialize in finding and vetting capable associates who are eager to work at your business. This helps save time in the hiring process because the agency takes care of all the screening and paperwork for you.

Use Social Media

Another way to find workers is to post job opportunities on different avenues of social media. You could also enlist the help of your friends and colleagues to share your posts since this helps spread the word about the positions you have available. Social media accounts also help you get to know a little bit about a potential candidate before deciding to reach out and offer an interview. 

Advertise at Colleges

A good place to find qualified individuals to work for your business is at nearby colleges and universities. College students are often looking for work while completing their degrees. You can contact specific departments at local educational institutions to find interns or regular employees who are studying in a field that is pertinent to your business. 

Whether you choose to use a recruiting service, social media or higher education, there is a way to find employees for your company. A growing enterprise always needs help to expand, and plenty of solid workers are out there waiting to work for your business and help it grow.… Read More...

How To Prevent Your Business From Literally Burning to the Ground

Summer

One of the most important aspects of any business is the safety of the workplace itself, and fire is a major threat. Fortunately, there are several ways to prevent a fire from damaging or destroying your property.

Protect Your Business

Smoke detectors and sprinkler systems should be installed throughout your building. If a small fire has started inside your workplace, alarms can save your property and save lives.

Fire extinguishers should also be placed on every floor of the building. Everyone should be made aware of their location and should know how to use them.

The use of extinguishers and sprinklers can prevent small fires from becoming devastating blazes that can cause major property damage and put employees and customers in danger.

Inspect Your Business 

Alarms and fire sprinkler systems New York can save the structure of your business and help keep those inside your business safe, but only if they are functioning properly. Be sure to test these systems regularly, and make sure that you have the proper amount of sprinklers and detectors to fully protect your building.

Also, inspect all electronics inside the building regularly, looking for any loose wiring and any damage to electrical components. Avoid overloading outlets. Make note of any portable heating devices and make sure they are being used safely. Electrical fires can escalate quickly and be difficult to extinguish.

Keep It Clean

Regular cleaning can improve the safety of the workplace as well. Clutter in and around desks and cubicles can act as kindling to any fire, which means a small burn can quickly build to a massive problem. Trash and debris can cause fires if they are left near electrical components or anything that produces heat.

Cleaning efforts should also extend to the ducts and vents that make up the heating and cooling system of your office. The buildup of dust and dirt within these passages can become combustible.

Finally, keeping your office clean can ensure that all emergency exits are free from obstructions, easily visible and always accessible.

Keep It Smoke-Free

Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of fires in the United States, and it is probably the most preventable. There should be no smoking within the building at any time. Instead, arrange for a designated outdoor smoking area at a safe distance from the office including plenty of receptacles in which workers can safely dispose of cigarette butts. Remind smokers that cigarettes should be put out completely before they are discarded. 

Disasters happen. Fortunately, a fire at your business is one of the easiest to prevent. By maintaining a clean, smoke-free environment that is well-equipped with smoke detectors and sprinklers, your workplace can remain a safe space and continue to thrive. … Read More...

Types of e-Commerce Fraud

Summer

People try to find multiple ways to scam both customers and merchants on an ongoing basis. Nowadays, they don’t have to physically see or touch your credit card to do this. 

When the phrase ecommerce fraud is mentioned, many people think of stolen credit cards being utilized by thieves to acquire products from online stores. But credit card fraud is only a part of the many kinds of online fraud. 

Here are a few:

Credit Card Fraud

This is the general phrase for fraud that occurs with the use of a credit or debit card commonly called,”card-not-present fraud.” The criminal uses the stolen card details to buy goods or services from a web retailer.

A criminal may explore the dark web to buy the stolen card details, and then visit an online store using that stolen card info. This preliminary transaction misrepresents the stolen cardholder. 

Eventually, the shop owner is defrauded by the customer and could end up paying a chargeback fee to the card’s issuing bank. 

Merchants may also fall prey to “card testing” scams where cards are used to verify which ones are still working. Purchases that are small, low risk, but add up to a major hit on the merchant’s profits.

Forgery

Affiliate fraud creates affiliate fees. Affiliates receive commissions when consumers make purchases at a partner’s platform. 

Affiliates have a special, trackable web connection that leads to the merchant’s store pages. 

When the shopper clicks on a connection and makes a purchase, the affiliate is compensated by the merchant with a fee (typically a percentage of the sale price).

The fake activity can be used to both fraud online merchants and to raise online retailer commission levels.

A popular typosquatting scheme involves registering matching domain names that tend to be misspelled versions of the business’s real URL. The fraudster redirects the domain name to a web page with a referral address.

Chargeback Theft

A chargeback is a claim that a credit card company gives to a seller to reimburse a fraudulent or contested transaction but merchants can now utilize a chargeback management system to alleviate that problem.

Fraud may occur when an online customer makes a payment, receives the purchased item, but then demands a refund from the credit card company, which pushes it through the bank that issued the card. 

This form of fraud leads to the card issuer mandating that the merchant refund the sales sum to the issuing bank. When a customer requests a chargeback, the company must refund the money.

A typical chargeback fraud scenario involves an individual making a transaction online. Criminals wait a few weeks or months after delivery, then contact their bank and challenge the transaction, arguing it is illegal or fraudulent. 

Scam

Almost all ecommerce stores retain personal information, financial details, and purchasing history. Cybercriminals hack accounts via phishing schemes. 

In one of the most popular scams, fraudsters use phishing to steal usernames and passwords. They log in to customers’ accounts, change login info, and make … Read More...

Proper Care of Casters

Summer

In many shops, wheels and casters are subjected to abuse and wear quickly. To prevent this, you should use the best casters for your needs. Then, you need to make sure that you take care of your wheels through proper maintenance. 

Tighten Fasteners

Periodically tighten any loose bolts or nuts. Also, check your adapters and make sure they are still in place. While doing this, check for any distortion or bending of bolts. If you have heavy loads, check for fatigue cracks as well. These issues can put an uneven load on the wheels and shorten your caster life. If you have stem casters bolted onto a steel stand, make sure the stem is not bent and that the nut is secure. Ensure that the locking nut or washer is still functional. 

Lubricate Friction Points

Using high-quality grease, lubricate all of the bearings on your casters. The bearings on your swivel wheels will last longer if you regularly lubricate them. If you have fixed wheels, put grease on the washers, wheel hubs, and leg surfaces to reduce drag, improve reliability, and increase shop safety. Under normal conditions, you should lubricate your wheels every six months. However, you may need to grease them as often as once a month if your shop is filthy or has many corrosive materials. Additionally, anytime you wash your equipment, you should grease your casters. 

Examine Wheels

Regularly check for a visible tread on any wheels you have. If you notice a flat spot, a foreign object in the hub is likely causing your wheel to bind. Install thread guards to help prevent objects from entering your wheel hub. Frozen or loose wheels can also produce flat spots. Tighten any loose axles immediately. 

Keep replacement wheels or casters on hand in case you have any serious wheel issues. For example, when you experience erratic rolling, you should replace the wheel or entire caster. Make sure the axle nuts are properly tightened after installing a new one. Be sure to use a locking washer or nut on all axles. Discard the damaged wheels or casters. 

Check Frames

Look for loose swivel assemblies that need replacing. If it will not swivel, ensure the raceway is clear of dirt and debris. Check rigid caster frames for bends or bows. Ensure the frame still fits with the bottom of the equipment. If it does not fit, you should try reinstalling or replacing that caster. 

Casters take a lot of abuse in shops. The result is that they tend to wear quickly. However, you can prolong their life by using proper maintenance techniques. … Read More...

Strategies That Small Businesses Can Use to Ease Onboarding

Summer

Hiring is a critical component of any business; however, it can also be lengthy and arduous. For small businesses, there is often not enough time in the day to get to everything that needs your attention, and onboarding can feel like one more thing. While it can take time, it is also an important part of the employee experience. If you want to improve your onboarding process, here are a few strategies that may help.

Background Checks

It is essential to conduct a review of potential new hires before sending out an offer. These types of tedious processes can be delegated easily. Consider hiring assistance to manage your review process and conduct each employee hr background check.

Standardized Process

Oftentimes the inefficiency of hiring and onboarding stems from lacking a standardized process and procedure. If you are wasting time determining the onboarding process every time you hire someone new, you are likely losing valuable time. Standardize the key steps in the process and then each manager can add additional items from there.

One Step At a Time

Onboarding should happen gradually, one step at a time. While setting goals for their introductory period will be an important part of the onboarding process, you don’t want to overwhelm them on their first day, before you’ve even made introductions.

Enthusiasm

Regardless of how seasoned you are, keep in mind that this is brand new for any new hire. Getting excited about this next chapter for them can be an impactful way of welcoming them to the team. What many managers don’t realize is that their level of excitement during the onboarding process can influence the satisfaction and retention of their staff, so start strong on day one.

While onboarding can be tiresome and complicated, you need to take the time to approach it correctly. As a small business, you can increase efficiency and efficacy with a few changes to your process, a positive attitude and delegating lengthy tasks to trusted resources.… Read More...