Energy Saving Tips | How to Reduce Bills

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Energy Saving Tips | How to Reduce Bills

A recent study shows that energy usage in the United States is doubling every 20 years. If you are like most homeowners, reducing the amount of energy your home consumes is something you are passionate about. Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to conserve energy and save money.

However, implementing the changes needed to reduce home energy use can be difficult. In this article, we will discuss some methods you can use to conserve energy and save money.

Make Sure You Are Getting the Best Energy Rates

One of the main things you need to focus on when trying to reduce monthly energy costs is getting the best rate. In states like Texas, the energy sector has been deregulated. This means that the energy providers in this state are competing with each other for business. This level of competition can help you get cheaper electricity rates.

By taking the time to compare the various rates being offered by providers in your area, you can get a much better deal. Ignoring the need for this type of research may result in you paying too much for your home energy needs.

Check Your HVAC Air Ducts

Finding sources of home energy waste will usually require you to perform an audit. Inspecting the various parts of your home can help you see where problems exist. During this audit, you need to pay close attention to the condition of your HVAC air ducts. If these ducts are filled with dust and dirt, it will be hard for air to pass through them.

The longer this problem is left in place, the harder your HVAC unit will have to work. Not only will this result in higher than normal energy bills, it can also lead to the unit being damaged. Hiring professionals to clean your ducts is a great way to keep your HVAC system efficient and reliable.

Control the Amount of Natural Light Entering Your Home

During the summer months, temperatures inside of your home can get pretty hot. As a homeowner, it is your job to find ways to reduce the amount of heat that enters your residence. If you leave your blinds open or have curtains made from sheer material on your windows, a lot of natural light can enter your residence.

The more natural light you have entering your home, the higher the temperature will get. Rather than putting your HVAC unit in a bind, you need to work on controlling the amount of light entering your home. The best way to do this is by investing in blackout curtains. The money paid for these new curtains will be worth it considering the energy they can help you conserve. Just be sure to find blinds suited to your windows, such as blinds for large windows for instance.

Invest in Solar Energy Solutions

If you are trying to make your home more environmentally friendly, investing in solar energy solutions is a great option. With the addition of things like solar panels and solar-powered water heaters, you can save money and reduce your dependence on fossil fuel-based energy. Most homeowners fail to realize just how much energy their electric water heater wastes. With the addition of a solar-powered water heater, you can get the consistent supply of hot water you need without relying on fossil fuels.

Solar panels are also a great addition to your home. Allowing professionals to install these panels will allow you to avoid mistakes.

It’s Time to Take Action

Using any of the suggestions in this article can help you save a lot of money and energy. With the help of professionals, making these energy-efficient changes will be easy.

The Dark Art Of Local SEO

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, The Dark Art Of Local SEO

In 2019, local SEO was important, but in 2020, it is essential!

With people locked down in their homes and unable to go anywhere much outside of their immediate community, companies need to focus on targeting customers who live close by. They have a captive market – quite literally.

Local SEO is something of a dark art, but also a skill you can master, so long as you practice the following techniques.

Encourage Customer Reviews

Local businesses live and die by their Google and TrustPilot review scores. Therefore, you must encourage your best and happiest customers to leave reviews online about your business.

A few years ago, Google changed its algorithm to prioritize reviews in its search rankings, promoting companies with excellent performance. The more positive feedback you can generate, the better.

Create Listings For All Your Locations

YEAH! Local recently did some extensive research on the importance of using services like Google My Business to create online listings. Companies that sign up get preferential treatment because Google is able to confirm that they are, indeed, genuine enterprises looking for customers.

The smartest companies list ALL their locations so that users can see their nearest option.

The more listings you have, the more visible your site becomes.

Reference Keywords In Your Page Titles

Search engines are smart, but they still rely on keywords to inform them of the content of a page. Smart firms, therefore, include relevant local keywords in their page titles.

Here are some examples of how you might do this:

  • Honda Dealership in Swansea
  • Car Mechanic In Boston
  • Logistics Company based in New York
  • Atlanta Hairdresser
  • Music teacher in Cincinnati

You get the picture. It doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler you can make it, the better.

Optimize Your Page Copy To Reflect Your Target Geography

It is not accidental that most businesses include the name of the local area in their page titles. They do this because they know that SERPs will pay attention. The same, however, is true of page copy too. You want the text also to mention the local search terms you wish to target.

Keep Your Address Format Consistent Across The Web

How you write your address online matters more than you might think. Search engines want to have confidence that they’re presenting their users with the correct information about your company. Thus, they scour the web for data relating to your email address, telephone number, and physical location. If the algorithms are confident enough that the information is correct (because it is consistent across the web), they will present it to customers and boost your ranking. If it isn’t, then Google can punish you.

It is vital, therefore, to check all your social media accounts, directories and websites to ensure that the data is consistent.

The coronavirus pandemic is making local SEO more important than ever before. If you can provide services to local people, your business will be in a much better position to thrive once the dreaded lockdown comes to an end.

Secure Transmissions: 5 Tips for HIPAA Compliant Faxing

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | Secure Transmissions: 5 Tips for HIPAA Compliant FaxingHealthcare workers need to keep the privacy of their patients’ information in mind at all times. That goes for not just in-person communications with patients, caregivers, and other providers but also for information sharing processes like faxing. Since most healthcare organizations still send faxes on a daily basis, all workers should ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) at all times. Read on to find five tips for how to ensure compliance.

Switch to a HIPAA-Compliant Fax Service

Using traditional fax machines made for general use is a great way to wind up in a world of legal trouble. Healthcare facilities that still use traditional fax machines should make the switch to a secure web-based hipaa fax service immediately.

Specialized online fax services designed for the healthcare industry offer a number of security features to ensure HIPAA compliance. They use secure socket layer protocols, at-rest encryption, user authentication, and advanced data center security to ensure that patients’ protected health information (PHI) cannot be accessed by external actors. A good fax service will also keep document transmission logs and record log on/log off events associated with IP addresses for an added level of security.

Never Leave Faxes Unattended

Human error is one of the most common sources of HIPAA violations. Healthcare workers should be trained never to leave faxes that contain PHI or other sensitive information unattended. They must stay at the machines until the fax goes through, then remove the document immediately.

Before sending the fax, healthcare workers should also call patients to ensure that their fax machines are in protected locations. In this case, a protected location can be considered any fax machine located out of the line of sight of the public.

Don’t Forget the Cover Sheet

HIPAA requires healthcare providers to include a cover sheet each time they transmit protected health information. There is no official standard for what must be included on the cover sheet, but at a minimum, it should include the patient’s name, the receiver’s name and fax number, the sender’s name, fax number, and organization, the date and time of sending, and the HIPAA disclaimer. Cover sheets must be used not just when sending traditional faxes but also when using online fax apps, so make sure the app has a protocol in place for attaching cover pages when switching to HIPAA-compliant fax service.

Keep an Audit Trail

Healthcare providers must keep detailed records of all the activity on their systems, whether they use online fax apps or traditional machines. Switching to a HIPAA-compliant fax service makes keeping audit trails much easier since the app should be able to log activity automatically.

HIPAA requires healthcare providers to keep records of audit trails for at least six years. Healthcare facilities that use online fax services should keep raw records for the first six months to one year before compressing them.

Be Aware of PHI Stored Locally

Most healthcare data breaches occur when malicious actors access patients’ PHI on local devices and portable media like laptops and removable drives. Healthcare facilities that are unable to prevent these data breaches may be fined. It’s better to use a cloud-based service that automatically encrypts all documents than to keep on unsecured and unencrypted local devices.

The Bottom Line

HIPAA was designed to protect patients’ sensitive information. Healthcare facilities that do not follow these regulations can be fined and will face substantial damage to their reputations. Make sure all healthcare providers are on the same page about ensuring compliance while faxing sensitive documents.

How employees’ mental health can be looked after during COVID-19

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | How employees' mental health can be looked after during COVID-19Currently, employers are facing the most crucial test in a generation as the COVID-19 pandemic presents a massive threat to the psychological wellbeing of their staff. Remote working, furloughing en masse, and sector-wide uncertainties all pose major challenges to maintaining the mental health of the workforce.

With so many factors at play, from dealing with isolation to financial or health concerns alongside familial and caring commitments, safeguarding employee mental wellbeing is not an easy task. However, there are several initiatives you can take to protect and build mental resilience in your workforce.

Keeping people connected

Good working relationships are critical to both performance and emotional wellbeing. With remote working, there is a very real danger that the physical distance between team members can lead to social and affinity distance. Work becomes more task-focused rather than collaborative and, without face-to-face contact, important friendships and support networks disappear. In this situation, it’s all too easy for employees to feel isolated and overwhelmed.

Encouraging regular communication through online and video meetings, as well as emails and instant messaging, creates opportunities for both collaborative working and socialisation. This helps to retain the human element to the business, mitigating feelings of isolation.

It is also important to check in regularly with staff to discuss performance, as well as their mental and physical health. Allowing them to raise issues and speak freely, means you can offer support if needed and be proactive about potential problems before they occur.

Balancing work and life commitments

Balancing personal and professional life is also important for protecting mental health. However, with remote working, it can be very difficult to manage. With work notifications popping up outside office hours, and the demands of childcare or other significant responsibilities, home and work commitments run the risk of getting tangled up, contributing to stress.

Helping employees set a clear line between work and personal priorities by building mental barriers is key. Employers should encourage their staff to set a designated area of work, where they won’t be interrupted. It’s also important to remind employees of setting a schedule. A daily routine, perhaps starting with a call with a manager or the team, can help give employees an idea of when to begin and finish work. Defining a start and end time ensures they know when it is OK to ‘switch off’, turn away from the screen, and save those emails for the next day.

Highlighting support options

In situations like these, it is paramount that employees are aware of the resources available to them, and that they are encouraged to take advantage of them. Employers should consider building a community page where employees can connect, and HR managers can share tips, such as effective stress management and maintaining work/life balance.

You can also point them towards vital support networks. These might range from company-provided employee assistance programs and counseling services to links to organisations that offer guidance and support. The NHS and MIND are excellent resources you should consider.

Providing helpful resources demonstrates you care, and communicating clearly and openly that employees should not be afraid to seek help if they need it, will help them sleep easier

Beware the media

The way in which we consume our news can also have an adverse effect on our mental wellbeing. Keeping up to date with COVID-19 coverage is tempting and thanks to social media, these stories are highly accessible. However, it’s very easy to get lost in a sea of misinformation and fear.

Though organisations can not directly influence how their workforce is consuming media, leaders can and should provide clarity and guidance to their staff, communicating clearly about the situation and what it means for the organisation.

With the government announcement that employees should continue to work from home where they can, it’s clear that for many, remote working and social distancing will be the ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future, prolonging potential dangers to mental health.

Businesses depend on their people, and people need support. If an organisation is to survive and thrive, taking a proactive approach to employee wellbeing – both mental and physical – has to be at the heart of a successful business strategy.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Will JacobsWill Jacobs, a graduate of the London School of Economics, heads social media and authors content at Cezanne HR, a leading supplier of modern Cloud HR and payroll software.

How To Start A Successful Business In A Niche Market

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A lot of businesses now are within a niche area. There are plenty of ways to be successful still. The industry of plumbing for example, is a highly skilled area that will take you some additional steps before you can really see the business flourish. This is because it is a skilled job, as many niche industries are, such as building, architecture, medical equipment manufacturing, car manufacturing and they require a lot of hands on work.

Here are the first fundamental steps for starting in a niche market:

  1. Know your niche.
  2. Get training and experience – this includes knowing about plumbing as well as business and also the implications of hiring staff and their wages, insurance.
  3. Take care of the legalities with the necessary insurance needed and all the important information relating to your businesses’ tax.
  4. Make a business plan and look at what you would like to achieve in the first year or two of business.
  5. Have a unique logo and create a business website to help drive sales – you should look at good web design to ensure that your business is being advertised in the right way.
  6. Generate leads and be a good salesperson.
  7. Have a license – this may vary from state to state, but often you’ll find that being a trade qualified plumber isn’t enough to obtain your licence. You may also need to prove you are capable in business, whether that is exams or additional skill sets that you can prove on paper and in practice.

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | How To Start A Successful Business In A Niche Market

Look At What You Need

If you are looking at the world of plumbing for example, you are going to need to look at a big supply of tools and equipment. With wholesale plumbing supplies, you can be sure that your business is well equipped to deal with all types of plumbing situations and that you can do your job well with good quality supplies. You want to ensure that you have reliable equipment and tools that will serve you well. You want to keep your customers happy with being able to carry out the work effectively and efficiently without any problems. This will keep your customers coming back time after time. This depends on how well you do the job, your expertise and the staff that you employ.

Another important thing to remember is that when you are working as a business, you will need a team of people behind you, so employing the right people is vital. You need friendly and reliable team members who will be qualified for the job and be able to prove their skills as well as offering a personable attitude to customers. Without this, your business is dead in the water. You must be able to look at the positives of business too, because you will need a lot of focus and determination. Look at the competition. What companies are you currently competing with before you start your business? What are they doing differently to you and how can you outsmart them and do better?

Starting any business is an exciting prospect but there are some additional things to consider in the plumbing industry. Start small, know your craft and see the benefits.