Most people do not realize the high rate of inflation on drug expenses in a health and dental plan. On average, they are between 13 to 15% every year. This high inflation rate is the very reason why the provincial budget allocated to medical expenses keeps increasing. Likewise, the provincial government makes cuts to other areas to support the increasing medical expenses. Left unchecked in a company, drug expenses can quickly account for large increases in employee benefit expenses. Huge companies like Telus, can see the increase quite easily and can react to make plan changes accordingly. A single employee [More …]
Choose The Right Business Tribe And You Will Thrive
If you have ever watched Survivor on TV you know that which Tribe a contestant belongs to determines their fate. The same is true in business. Choose the right business tribe and you will thrive. Choose wrong or become tribe-less and you may find yourself voted off the island by your competition. The roman legion was legendary in their ability to create a group of men who came from various walks of life and became one as a fighting unit. If we are to go beyond survival in business to become those who thrive and conquer we must find our [More …]
Use Your Core Values To Filter Out Life Draining Work
One of our big revelations and transformations has come from our focus on our core values. I thought I understood Core Values, but I did not really get it until just recently. I only truly ‘got it’ when I started to practise it. Like so many things we talk about it (core values, mission, vision, values statements), it is always transformational when we begin to walk it and apply it daily. To truly enjoy your business use your core values to filter out life draining work. We now filter everything we do as a business through a set of core [More …]
If You Hate Staff Meetings Have A Daily Huddle Instead
Have you ever wondered how some companies develop riveting cultures, while others are stagnant? I used to think that corporate culture was reserved for 100+ employee size companies, but now I see it starts from the ground up. Culture exists any time you have people interacting with each other. Sadly, unless we are consciously creating culture, it will be created by the personalities of the loudest individuals. Unfortunately, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and the squeaky employee creates the most cultural influence. How are you creating and managing your company culture? Many companies rely on their weekly staff meetings [More …]
Financial Planning For Your Employees
Does financial planning for your employees affect your bottom line? Incredibly, the answer is yes. Personalized financial planning for your employees matters because employees who become financially positioned to purchase a home are generally more stable and productive. This is because employees who are working toward a goal like home ownership are generally more loyal, making it less likely they’ll go through your training and leave shortly after. There is an invisible link between the financial well-being of the employee and the employer. In supporting one, you support the other. There truly is a symbiotic relationship between the two. Employee benefits [More …]
Have You Listened To A Good Audiobook Lately?
It’s not so common today for someone to ask, ‘Have you read a good book lately?’. However, I am now a huge fan of Audible and listen to audiobooks regularly. Maybe we should be asking, ‘Have you listened to a good audiobook lately?’ Although not everyone is an auditory person (myself included), I have found audiobooks to be great background music as well as travel entertainment. My hard-core business geekiness really came out when I yearned to listen to the “Intelligent Entrepreneur” while I was on vacation. Sadly, I could not or did not because I was spending so much [More …]
StrengthsFinder Unlocks Productive Energy At Work
One tool that has made a huge difference in our company was shared with me by one of my business mentors in EO (Entrepreneur’s Organization). This tool is called StrengthsFinder (SF). What we have found is that StrengthsFinder unlocks productive energy at work. Upon completion of the SF assessment, it provides examples and scenarios of how to best exert these strengths in life and in the work place. In terms of employee management and productivity, their studies showed that people who had the opportunity to focus on their strengths were 6 times more likely to be engaged in their jobs [More …]
Review of Business Expenses Saves Money
A review of business expenses will often result in money saved. What expenses are you getting high value for? And which expenses can be reviewed and assessed? It’s time to evaluate and say ‘out with the old, and in with the new’. One major business expense to review regularly are Employee Benefits. These benefits are typically 2-4% of payroll and reviewing these benefits can result in sizeable savings. Recently we saved a construction company 20% on their rates through our exclusive wholesale rates. For another construction supplier firm, we saved them 14% on their employee benefit expenses. In one exceptional [More …]
Alter Your Self Image By Hitting A Financial Milestone
Have you ever felt really proud of helping someone achieve their goal? One of my most fulfilling accomplishments is helping my personal friend save her first $10,000. This may not sound like a huge amount of money for some people, however, the truth is, we all have to start somewhere. But the long term benefit is that you alter your self image by hitting a financial milestone. When my client and I started working together, saving $10,000 was not even in her consciousness. However, as we set the savings plan in place, and gradually increased it as she received raises [More …]
Are You One of 1 Million Qualified Canadians Who Didn’t Get Your Government Grant Last Year?
There are certain government programs that will help a person and their family operate more efficiently. By this I mean tax free grants, incentives, tax credits and so on. Most people do not take the time to look for government programs and tax incentives (doesn’t that just sound soooo exciting). Fortunately, there are people like us who love finding this information and sharing it with those we care about. One program that most people are unaware of is the registered disability savings plan (RDSP). In a nutshell, for every annual $1,500 contribution by a qualified RDSP applicant, the government will [More …]
