Mohit Tater's Blog, page 593

4 Ways to Reduce Coughs Colds or the Flu Spreading in Your Office

During
the winter months, coughs, colds and flu can spread through your office pretty
fast, unless measures are put in place to reduce germs and infections. For
employers and managers, winter sicknesses mean more sick days, low morale, and
reduced productivity, all of which have negative impacts on your company’s
bottom-line. However, there are things you can do to mitigate the spread of
colds, flu’s and winter bugs. Here are 4 tips to reduce the spread of winter
sicknesses.

Encourage Hand Hygiene

Maintaining
good hand hygiene is the best way to curtail the spread of infections at the
office. We pick up germs on the surfaces we touch, and we can spread them when
we shake hands or when we share office equipment such as phones, keyboards, and
files or do things like open doors. You should encourage everyone in the office
to wash hands more thoroughly and more frequently. Some experts suggest putting
up posters with handwashing messages around the office, especially in the
bathroom.

You
should also provide hand sanitizing products in bathrooms, lunch rooms, and tea
rooms. You can even supply your employees with free wipes, tiny bottles of hand
sanitizer, and disinfecting sprays which they can keep at their working
stations.

Hygienic Cleaning Practices

The
office should be kept clean and sanitary throughout the year, but during the
winter, you should step up the cleaning effort because the stakes are much
higher. You can increase the focus on touch surfaces like door handles, taps,
handrails and the like.  If you clean and
disinfect your office more often, you kill more germs and reduce the
transmission of both airborne and direct contact infections.

To reduce the spread of germs it’s important that your commercial cleaner understands hygienic cleaning practices, and that in winter they pay more attention to the following areas:

The kitchen and breakroom. Shared equipment in the
office kitchen tend to harbour a lot of germs. Items and surfaces such as
coffee pot handle, microwave door handle, fridge door handle, table tops,
peanut butter jars, sugar containers etc. are handled by many people, so they
need to be wiped down with disinfectant or washed as often as possible.

Handles and buttons  Surfaces such as door handles, elevator
buttons, water dispenser buttons, filing cabinet handles etc. are touched by
almost everyone, so they should be disinfected several times during the day.

Electronics Shared electronics such
as phones, fax machines, copy machines, computer keyboards, headphones, and
earpieces, can act as conduits for the transmission of infections, so they
should be wiped down with disinfectant as well.

Bathrooms All surfaces in the bathroom that
come in contact with the skin must be cleaned and disinfected as often as
possible. These surfaces include the toilet seat, the flush handle, the faucet,
and the interior door handle of the bathroom.

Encourage Employees to Take Precautions

You
should motivate your employees to take precautions so as to reduce their
chances of contracting winter sicknesses. Encourage them to get themselves and
their family members vaccinated against the flu. You can even make it easier
for them to get vaccinated by bringing in a medic at the office, or by giving
them time off to go to the doctors and get a flu shot.

Encourage Sick Employees to Take Time
Off

The best way to prevent winter sickness from spreading is to keep the sick employees away from their healthy colleagues. That’s why it’s important to encourage sick employees to stay home, especially in the first few days when they are likely to be contagious. Some people feel they have to come in to keep their job, but when they are sick, especially in the early, more contagious stages, this is just a recipe for creating an office epidemic. If you really need to, you can always encourage ill people to get critical tasks done online if they can get access to your office systems via the internet.

The post 4 Ways to Reduce Coughs Colds or the Flu Spreading in Your Office appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

How to Save Money While Getting Out of Debt

Getting
out of debt while also saving money seems like an impossible financial
achievement. But, by making smart money decisions, budgeting, and planning, you
can pay off debt while also increasing your savings account or emergency fund.

Life
is much easier when you feel confident about your finances. Even if you have
two very different financial goals, such as saving money while paying off debt,
it’s entirely doable. Keep reading to learn the tips and tricks for paying down
your debt while also saving for an upcoming vacation, wedding, or some other
expense.

Get the Most Out of Saving

There
are many different programs you can participate in to leverage your savings
potential. The best place to start is your employers’ 401(k) matching program
or some other employer-sponsored program, such as loan repayment.

By
taking part in these programs, you can effortlessly save money. For example,
with a 401(k) matching program, your company will match a certain percentage of
the funds you put into the retirement account. Most companies match anywhere
between 3%-6%. This means that if you contribute 4% of your paycheck to a
401(k), your company will also put in that amount. This offers 100% growth.

By
using employer-sponsored programs, you’re able to take advantage of saving for
the future, namely retirement. These programs may also make you eligible for a
tax credit.

Another good tip is to look for ways you can save money. Many banks and lenders offer a slight discount when you set up automatic payments. This is the prime opportunity for saving money and Get Out of Debt.

Prioritize Your Debt

If
you’re like most people, you carry a variety of debt. Most people have credit
card debt, a mortgage, a car loan, and student loans to pay off. So how do you
choose which debt to tackle first? Prioritizing your debt is a must do.

Most
people prefer to pay off their high-interest rate debt first. Credit cards and
high-interest loans can make it impossible to save money, especially when you’re
paying high double-digit interest rates.

Make
a list of all your debt, including the creditors, monthly payment, and the
interest rate. Prioritize your debt and make a plan to pay off the loan or card
with the highest interest rate first.

To
make more progress on high-interest rate debt, you’ll need to double up on
payments. This way your secondary payment is applied directly to the principal
balance and not towards interest. Once you have a debt repayment plan, stick
with it!

Pay on Time & More than
the Minimum

When
paying off debt, there are some golden rules you’ll always want to follow in
order to keep yourself in good financial standing. Be sure to always:

Make payments on timePay more than the minimumKnow which payments to double up on

But
how can you live by these rules? Making payments on time is easy if you have a
payment calendar to follow. You can also sign up for automatic payments which
most banks and lenders offer. This way you don’t have to think twice about
whether you made a payment, it will have already been made for you!

Paying
the minimum is like taking one step forward and two steps back. You won’t be
able to make a serious dent in your debt if you only pay the minimum balance.
Figure out how much money you can afford to put towards each of your debt and
stick with it. The more money you put towards debt each month, the sooner it’ll
be paid off.

Have Savings Goals

Saving is already hard enough, so not having a plan or goals to work towards makes it much harder to save. In order to successfully save money by paying off debt, create a timeline for meeting your savings goals.

For
example, you may have the goal of saving enough money to pay for a family
vacation next year while also setting aside money for a down payment on a bigger
home. Figure out which goal is more important as well as which one is easier to
achieve. In this instance, it’ll take a lot less time to save up for a vacation
compared to the time needed to save up for a down payment.

After setting your goals, turn them into reality. Open up a
different savings account and have money automatically deducted from your
paycheck to your vacation fund and your down payment fund. Even if you can only
afford a little bit of money in the beginning, something is always better than
nothing.

Conclusion

Having
two conflicting financial goals, such as paying off debt while saving money,
may seem impossible. But, with the right plan of attack, you can see your debt
numbers decreasing as your savings account balance increases. Use these tips
and tricks to work your way towards financial security.

The post How to Save Money While Getting Out of Debt appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Most Common Content Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Not sure what content marketing is? A fast definition: Content marketing is a marketing procedure of creating and conveying relevant and important content to draw in, acquire, and connect with an obviously characterized and understood target group of onlookers – with the goal of driving productive customer activity.

Note the striking terms – relevant and important, plainly characterized and understood target gathering of people, gainful customer activity.

These three areas are the most basic parts of content marketing, yet are regularly not dove into profoundly enough by BtoB marketing professionals. Amid my underlying exchanges with customers about their content marketing technique or an explicit bit of content they need me to create, most have a general thought of their identity marketing to, what is important, and what activity they need the group of onlookers to take. Yet, as we talk about these areas further and really expound, numerous customers either can’t portray points of interest or they make suspicions, the two of which can prompt failure.

So as to prevail with content marketing, BtoB advertisers should concentrate on those three key areas and keep away from these 10 major mistakes:

Oversight #1: Not Developing Buyer Personas

When you’ve decided the intended interest groups you need to impact, create “purchaser personas” for each objective gathering. A purchaser persona is a nitty-gritty profile of a precedent purchaser that represents the real group of onlookers – their objectives, concerns, preferences, and choice process that impact their decisions. Creating purchaser personas encourages you to understand precisely your identity marketing to, and therefore what content will be most significant to them.

Oversight #2: Not Understanding the Needs of the Audience

On the off chance that you need individuals to read your content it ought to be about them, not about you. On the off chance that your content gives commonsense, accommodating learning to the reader that they can use to tackle an issue or improve their lives, they will keep on reading it and recommend it to other people.

However, on the off chance that your content reads like an ad and needs valuable data they will leave and not return. Rely on your purchaser personas and free internet ‘listening posts’, for example, Google Alerts and Twitter to figure out what is (and isn’t) interesting and supportive.

Slip-up #3: Failure to Plan

Plan out content ahead of time and you won’t need to race to get content out. Set up an editorial date-book including topics, composing due dates, distributing due dates, advancement due dates, who each bit of content is appointed to, and whatever other data that keeps the procedure sorted out and reasonable.

Oversight #4: Lack of Focus on a Niche

With so much data freely accessible on the Internet, you have to stand out by concentrating on a specialty that interests your purchaser personas. This empowers you to show and share your novel information and draw in a devoted group of onlookers.

Mix-up #5: Not Keeping Content Fresh

More than once per year, complete a “content review” to figure out what content is as yet relevant and forward, and what recordings, white papers, contextual analyses, customer meetings, articles, and other data should be refreshed. You can likewise refine your content dependent on criticism from readers.

It’s additionally critical to continue distributing new, unique content on a regular premise so as to pull in a devoted group of onlookers.

Mix-up #6: Not Asking for Help

Numerous organizations rely entirely on their inner marketing or PR staff to do everything included with content marketing. Be that as it may, in view of my own involvement while overseeing marketing and PR for numerous B2B software organizations, these individuals have numerous different responsibilities that frequently push creating content procedures and creating the content itself to the back burner and it can take weeks or months to achieve one white paper or article. All organizations can stand to join forces with an autonomous specialist or essayist that has the ability in content that is critical to their crowds.

Oversight #7: Giving Up on Content Marketing Too Soon

It requires investment to assemble a real relationship with your gatherings of people and build up a devoted after. A few organizations begin a blog, bulletin, or other strategy and hope to see incredible results in three months. It doesn’t as a rule work that way. Be that as it may, remain with it, and your understanding will be rewarded!

Mix-up #8: Not Integrating Content Marketing with Overall Marketing

In a few organizations, a corporate pamphlet, magazine, articles added to different productions, and comparative content is done independently from other marketing activities like the organization site, blog, and occasions. Incorporating these activities so they bolster each other is extremely ground-breaking.

Error #9: Forgetting Search Engine Optimization

Your content technique really satisfies when it shows up in an initial couple of pages of Google, Yahoo, and Bing web search tool results. This will drive a lot more individuals to your content, at no extra expense. However, for this to happen you have to enhance your content and its landing pages so the web crawlers can discover them and rank them. Receiving joins from different sites and sites to your content is additionally key to receiving high internet searcher rankings.

Misstep #10: Using Social Media as a Bullhorn Instead of a Two-Way Radio

Online life is certifiably not a vehicle for basically advancing your organization and content, without communicating with others and sharing supportive data that you didn’t create yet may help somebody you’re associated with. In the event that you utilize Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other web-based life roads essentially to toot your very own horn, you are passing up on a priceless chance to draw nearer to your key groups of onlookers and start to more readily understand their necessities

Conclusion

We have discussed most common mistakes you’re making with your content marketing and how to solve them. EssaysMatch offers all services that solve some problems with writing, lack of free time and money. Go to rapidessay.com for more information.

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What is the Game Theory and How do Businesses Use it?

The Game Theory was formulated back in the 1950s. It is also one of the most followed and practised formats in recent times too.  In simple terms, game theory is the study of mathematical models of deliberate relations between two business partners or any rational decision makers. A lot of companies make use of this strategic analysis in their business to keep up their ventures in a successive continuation. This model of business strategy is applied in a lot of fields like social science, biology, computer science etc. Game theory has it implications in not just subjects but also in human behavioural relations.

The strategic games that happen between two
players in different companies: the games are just mathematical scenarios. The
games ascertain the logical decisions that the players should adopt to reap
good benefits. This is actually a powerful tool that probes the company to
predict better outcomes. The participants need to have a clear idea about the
needs and functions of the other as this is a complex arrangement that one
decision could affect the other in a huge way. There needs to have an
understanding between the two companies. Both the parties will look into the
strategy of others and the understanding between the two while taking into the
account of payoffs; it will help to formulate an optimal strategy.

Game Theory utilizes the strategic
calculations through some social or individual models. When analysing the
behaviour of the firm, a thoughtful and logical understanding could be reached
about their strategic choice that is laid bare to them. They will have the
option to raise the money or bring it lower or even holding it still. The
theory formulates whether their production should be paused or develop new
products. The Game Theory also formulates an idea about what to do about the
promotional aspect of the product: whether more money should be used for
advertising or spending less on them or even sparing anything at all. The
options and choices are many and a final decision can be approached when the
strategic dialogue will be over. The possible payoffs would be like more
profits for the shareholders, greater market share or even eliminating a
possible rival.

In proper truth, no two companies trust the
other no matter what the consequences are. Game Theory suggests this nature of
the companies too. The Theory is also helpful to the managers of the firms to
understand the expected positive and negative payoffs. Adopting this way would
possibly reduce business risks and also gain a strategic idea about the other
firms while keeping in tab with their own shortcomings. Gaining an insight into
their own business will prompt them to think deep and intense. More sensible
decisions will be made and firm will slowly recuperate if there were any
downfall.

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4 Best Legal Pieces of Advice For Startups

Are you a tech-savvy & adroit entrepreneur with a worthy idea ready to launch your inspirational startup? While setting up your own brand new business from scratch is certainly an uphill task, what’s more challenging are the ensuing legal matters that must be on your radar during the planning phase. It makes management easier if you hire an experienced attorney such as Roberts Legal to manage your flank of layers as your startup grows. Here is an insight into the sort of legal aspects you should expect to handle as a startup owner.

Select your
Business Structure

The core part of organizing your new set up requires you to choose a specific company structure. This is because it can have possible legal implications in the offing, once you are fully ready to operate. Essentially, you will need to register your firm as either a Corporation or a Limited Company. Usually, large businesses tend to structure themselves as either an LLC or a sole proprietorship but for startups, this normally is not apposite due to taxation liabilities and administrative dynamics. With your startup registered as a limited company or a corporation, you get the empowerment and man a over handling legal aspects and any conflicts or disputes with stakeholders.

Have
Contracts & Official Documents Prepared

You’ll have to
ask your selected commercial law attorney to prepare different documents including
legal drafts, employee contracts, papers for vendors, government entities,
clients & contractors, and official business documents for your startup
such as partnership agreements etc. In business operations, policies are a
pivotal part of a company’s everyday management. These must be carefully
drafted to avoid any ambiguities and esoteric clauses that could lead to
serious legal proceedings. With strong policies in place, your startup is well
positioned to tackle any litigation matters.

Have Your Business
Insured

Once you have
arranged the above matters, you need to get your company insured by a trusted
business insurance provider. This is vital to save your investment and all the
diligence you have put into your brilliant idea. This will also protect you
against all types of possible outcomes. Have your business attorney guide you
regarding all necessary procedures and documents needed to get your startup’s
credibility augmented with a reputable insurance provider.

Taxation
Responsibilities

With entrepreneurship,
comes tax liabilities for your startup that must be fulfilled in order to
continue business operations. Depending on the type of business structure you
have opted for (LTD company or corporation), you might be required to pay
various taxes. These may include commercial and withholding tax aside of filing
your startup’s tax returns on the scheduled date. Ask your legal expert for
more details to avoid any hassles in the future.

The post 4 Best Legal Pieces of Advice For Startups appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Tips for Creating the Best Consulting Resume

Preparing
a glowing resume marks the first step in your career path as a consultant. It is furthermore one of the most critical steps in your preparation
plan. Not only will your resume form part of the foundation of your career but
will additionally be what determines your success in the first screening phase
of the application. Your resume will
represent you and will be responsible for properly securing you a place in the
next round of extensive interviews.

Start
Your Journey With A Plan

Carefully
planning every key step of your application is crucial. To prepare a resume that will represent why you are the best fit for the
position, you need to start by comprehending what the firm you are applying to
is looking for. Merely depending on a standard resume template will without a
doubt result in being dropped from the interview process during the screening
process. Your resume, along with likely thousands of other applicants will be
carefully screened. How can you ensure your resume stands out?

Planning your resume will ensure your
resume adheres to the requirements of the application. When preparing your
plan, be sure to include:

Confirm the application requirements.Understand what the recruiters are looking for.Know which skills to use
to make your resume to stand out.Which achievements best represent your skill set.What format and guiding
principles have the recruiters included in the position post.Invest time researching the firm.
This will not only give you a feel of the work environment but additionally
provides you with insight into what activities and achievements you should
include in your application.



Information
Is Key

Information is the core of your resume. Therefore it is important to ensure that all information included in
your resume is:

Accurate and truthful.Summarize information without
overlooking the value of the data.Less is better so make sure
to choose the data and information that will support your application and
represent the best of you.Understand what skills the
recruiters are looking for, this will ensure you can include the skills and
achievements that best represent you.



Keep It Brief

While
information is significant, it is equally significant to remember that information must be presented in a logical
manner.

Choose The Right Template

While there are hundreds of free resume templates to download, it is vital to recognize what the recruiters are expecting. Take the time to research the available resources that offer applicant consultants guidance and tips to preparing the best consulting resume. These resources often provide you with templates which have been created by experienced consultants and designed to conform to the industry standards. While minor variations might be required to the format, these professional templates will represent the basis of your resume.

Important To Remember



Your resume will represent you in the screening phase of the application. Do not oversell your skills, achievements, and experiences. Most often, simply presenting factual, concise information in the right format will satisfy the criteria the recruiters have noted.Be honest and use only factual and accurate information.Do not overlook the basics. You often find that the applicants focus all their attention on how to present their skills and achievements, they overlook the value of the basic information.

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How To Create Effective Content

Content marketing is not only a savvy way to highlight unique aspects of your business or service, it’s also an effective way to engage customers and interact directly with them. According to research compiled by CoSchedule, 61% of customers in the US made purchases after reading a relevant blog post. In order to reap the benefits of increased customer engagement and leverage the potential power of content marketing, it’s key to understand how to create effective content.

Know Your Audience

An important first step in creating effective content is understanding the audience the content aims to reach. If the content will be published on your own company’s channels, consider what information your customers would be interested in. If you are posting on other sites, consider the age, gender, income, and geography of that publication’s target audience, and gear the angle of the article towards the interests of this demographic. An audience of female persons in their early twenties would not likely be interested in content pieces that cater to retirees, and vice versa.

Most people won’t read content that’s an obvious hard sell. Instead of focusing on espousing the benefits of a specific product or service, consider the knowledge available in your company and tap into that. Create content that solves a problem for the reader using the expertise of your company. For example, at StickerYou, we sell customized die-cut sticky products such as stickers, labels and decals, which many people use for branding and marketing small businesses. A large part of our target audience is comprised of small business owners and entrepreneurs. To engage this audience, we create content that draws on our experience as a startup to create articles on how to build a business, create effective marketing and branding strategies, or navigate the changing SEO landscape. We also have an audience of creatives that use our products for personal expression. The content for this audience highlights the creative potential of our products. One interview with an artist on the StickerYou blog garnered an 88% organic CTR.

Do Your Research

It may sound obvious, but when creating content, make sure to know what you are talking about. Today’s audiences have Google, and are much more adept at navigating the media landscape. The point of content marketing is to build trust with your audience and from that garner increased engagement with your brand. Content that is false, or based on flawed information, breaks trust. Think of it as in-house journalism. When researching for your content piece, pay attention to the sources used and make sure they are reliable. Fact-check quantitative data and put it in context to make sure it’s relevant or helpful. Data that’s out-of-date or from an unreliable source reflects poorly on the publisher may result in a loss of readership.  

Be Active

Writing matters. Pay attention to the basics of writing well. Use the active voice whenever possible as it gives the writing a sense of immediacy. Be specific, avoid vague writing and generalities. Use spell check. Make sure the language and writing style used are in line with your target audience. These may seem like small details, but spelling mistakes, vague writing that is difficult to understand or a tone that misses the mark all work to break a readers’ trust, the opposite of what content marketing seeks to accomplish.

Try Every Type

Different demographics consume media in different ways, and offering different types of content can increase the overall effectiveness of a content strategy. Younger audiences, for example, may be more interested in watching videos rather than reading long-form articles, and their searches may reflect that. Some readers might also retain information better if it’s presented in an infographic rather than a list. Experiment with different types of content to find the right mix for your content marketing objectives.

Effective content is truthful, useful and well-crafted. Ineffective content isn’t well thought-out, convincing, or relatable. Spending the time to ensure content quality is high, that it is aimed at the intended audience, and experimenting with a variety of forms is an investment that pays off in an effective content strategy that gets results.

Author: StickerYou Founder & President, Andrew Witkin

As the founder of a global e-commerce leader in custom-printed,
die-cut products, Andrew Witkin is widely recognized as a leading
authority on e-commerce, customization, startups, marketing and the tech
economy. Witkin has also served as VP North American Licensing for
Nelvana/Corus Entertainment and Director of Marketing for
MegaBrands/Mattel.

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The Type of Résumé That Will Land Jobs

You graduate from high school and head off
to the university that you worked so hard to get accepted into. After four to
five years, that include countless hours of studying, exams, and interning, you
graduate with your degree (in the major that took you two years to decide on). Hooray,
you accomplished what you set out to do, you are officially a college graduate.
Now what?

If you are one of the lucky few, you have
a position waiting for you upon graduation. For everyone else, well now it is time
to job search and the first thing you are asked for when you apply to your
dream role: a résumé. You have spent the last two to three years training to
work in the industry of your choosing, that you completely ignored the fact
that you will need a résumé.

If you are a recent graduate or someone
looking for a new position, below are six things that should be done on a résumé
to give you a boost over the competition.  

1.
Experience

Understand that you will need to tailor
your résumé (and cover letter when applicable) to each position that you apply
for. Off the top, your résumé will be reviewed to ensure that you possess the
experience that corresponds to the job announcement. Be mindful that you must
come across consistent and relevant, therefore the job titles and responsibilities
you include in your résumé match the position that you are applying for. If
your job experience does come from outside industry experience, highlight the skills
that are relevant to the hiring company to show that you do have the value they
are looking for.  

2.
The Necessary Skills

As a continuation of experience, list all
the relevant skills that you will bring to the table. If you are unsure which
ones to highlight, use the job duties in the position announcement as a
starting point. Include all relevant skills that will be required in your new
role. Ultimately, your skills should complement your experience.  

3.
The Required Education

List all your education including degrees
and specialized certificates. In addition to your education, recruiters and hiring
managers love to see results so highlight all of your achievements. Do not be
afraid to brag on yourself and your achievements. Remember you cannot leave it
up to others to be your cheerleaders, so you have to do it yourself.

4.
Formatting

The formatting and layout are just as important as the content is. If your résumé is sloppy or uneasy to read it will be tossed aside regardless if you possess all the necessary experience and desired skills. The format and layout of your résumé need to be clear and consistent. Make sure that your résumé has only one font type. You can use bold and italics to emphasize, bullet points to outline your skills, achievements, education, and responsibilities. If you are in doubt with regards to your résumé formatting, the Copy My Résumé writing guide can assist you so that you are on par with industry standards.

5.
Accuracy

This may seem like a no-brainer, however,
proper grammar and the correct spelling are a must. By not running your
document through the spell check tells potential employees that you are lazy,
lack follow through, or that you are not as proficient in Microsoft Word as you
say you are. Ensure that you are using consistent verb tenses. In addition to
the basic spelling and grammar, also make sure the names of important industry-related
terms are accurate.

6.
No Inconsistencies

Lastly, make sure your résumé does not contain any inconsistencies. Inconsistencies will cause red flags with any recruiter or hiring manager. Therefore, make sure that your résumé runs in reverse chronological order and that there are no unexplained gaps in your work history.

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Dwayne Rettinger, Executive Financial Consultant, On Leadership in Financial Services Industry

Dwayne Rettinger is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and an Executive Financial Consultant with IG Private Wealth Management. Based in Oakville, Ontario, Rettinger has more than two decades of experience in the financial services industry.  He has been with IG Private Wealth Management since 2007 and leads Rettinger & Associates Private Wealth Management.

As a CFP,
Rettinger’s mandate is to ensure that detailed financial planning is integral
to every decision a client makes. Whether that means making a major purchase,
running a business, taking on debt or saving for retirement, his goal is to
make sure clients are in a healthy financial situation and are never exposed to
unnecessary financial risks.

You place detailed financial planning at the
centre of every client decision. Why is it so important?

Dwayne Rettinger: Navigating the investment world is complex and
every client needs a road map of sorts so that each financial decision is
carefully thought out and implemented. A financial plan ensures that clients
know their short- and long-term goals. The plan also helps me as an advisor
select investments that are right for the client, depending on their individual
situation. For instance, a registered retirement savings plan can be a helpful
savings vehicle for retirement, but also has shorter term tax planning
advantages.

You’ve been with IG Private Wealth Management
since 2007 and now have your own team Rettinger & Associates, what are the
keys to leading a team in the financial services industry?

Dwayne Rettinger: My team consults with individuals, business
owners and executives on the spectrum of investment decisions that helps them
build and protect their wealth. I have an incredible team that takes care of
the details, so I can keep an eye on the big picture and spend more time with clients.
All successful people need a support structure to allow them to focus on what
they do best. I believe in delegation, which means handing off tasks to team
members who are well trained and highly skilled.

What skills do you think today’s financial advisors
need to be successful?

Dwayne Rettinger: Successful advisors need to take control of
each work day. That means blocking out your day so you can spend the right
amount of time on each task. Ensuring that you have the right processes in
place results in the knowledge that when things leave your hands, they will be
processed correctly and efficiently. The best advisors are also voracious
learners, with multiple designations and licenses. They take time each day to
study and improve their craft. I begin each day with reading, which helps me
get in the right mindset to focus on the day ahead. Clients want advisors who
are well read on current issues and the latest thinking on investment ideas.

Today’s top advisors also have to be
entrepreneurs, particularly if they are leading a team. Are there any
entrepreneurial skills that are key in the financial services industry?

Dwayne Rettinger: Entrepreneurs who find long-term success know exactly where they want to go in life. And they know what needs to be done to truly live that vision. For me, writing out my vision in my own voice is a great way to stay focused on success. The best advisors use this technique to remind themselves of their long-term goals every day. This keeps me motivated and allows me to keep moving forward, even when there are challenges.

Dwayne
Rettinger

Investors
Group Financial Services Inc.

https://www.investorsgroup.com/en/legal/disclosures

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Do Uniform Build Team Spirit

Most companies have a dress code for their
employees. While degrees of formality vary, you can expect shorts, flip-flops,
and extremely casual attire to be banned. Startups are an interesting exception
since they’re notorious for being lax with their dress codes, and some don’t
even have one—so you’ll be perfectly fine as long as you’re wearing something!

Since dress codes only consist of a set of
rules, employees are generally free to choose whatever outfit they want as long
as these conform to the dress code. However, here’s a question that every
company, whether a corporate multinational or a startup, has to consider: what
about coming up with a uniform for employees? Touted for boosting solidarity,
uniforms are popular among schools and athletic teams, and it’s not too much of
a stretch to apply them to a work context as well. In fact, it’s more or less
common practice for businesses in specific industries such as health, food, and
service.

For startups, uniforms can seem
counterintuitive because of the laidback, restriction-free thrust of typical
startup culture. Consider, though, that startups are famous for having implicit
uniforms—hoodies, T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers are especially popular among
techies. Many notable figures such as Steve Jobs of Apple and Mark Zuckerberg
even have their own “uniform,” turning to the same outfit everyday.

Do uniforms really build team spirit? Here’s
how they make an impact in the workplace:

Belonging and Allegiance

 When
employees wear the same uniform all together, it fosters solidarity and makes
individuals feel that they belong, grounding their sense of identity within the
company. Regardless of how different they may be individually, uniforms
emphasize that they’re on equal standing and striving together towards a common
goal. This sense of unity is especially important for startups fresh off the
ground, which are still in the process of establishing their story as a
business. In fact, a study revealed that students with uniforms were more
socially comfortable and less bullied; in a work context, employees with
uniforms tend to be invested in mutual growth and care about their colleagues.

Branding and Professionalism

Team spirit is first and foremost felt on the
inside, but it also makes its mark on the audience—in this case, potential and
current customers. Uniforms effortlessly show off your company’s branding,
exemplifying what your company is about. On a practical level, they’re
especially helpful for employees dealing directly with customers or when
attending events and industry shows where representation is important. Research
shows that customers react more positively to airline carriers with uniformed
staff. In a fiercely competitive market, the visibility can give your company
an edge and emphasize an air of professionalism. 

Productivity and Efficiency

Uniforms can affect performance directly. It’s well-known in psychology that what you wear influences your mindset and you act, and employees have been shown to shift their thinking when they put on their work clothes, which helps set apart their professional life from their leisure time. In another study, students taking a test while wearing a doctor’s white coat performed better. Having a uniform can make employees more detail-oriented and productive. A side effect is that preparing for work gets easier—employees spend less time and energy choosing what to wear, and overall punctuality might improve!

Uniforms or Not?

There’s no hard and fast answer as to whether
you should make uniforms a staple for your company. On the flipside, uniforms
lead to additional expense for the company, not to mention updates might be
necessary every year or so. However, uniforms give a huge boost to team spirit,
and there’s a lot of room for flexibility. For one, they don’t have to be used
daily. You can opt to enforce uniforms only for certain days or special events,
and there can even be slightly different designs per team.

A major concern is that employees might not like how the uniform looks. Worse, they might feel like uniforms constrain their individuality and self-expression. To address these, creating the uniform should be a democratic process, with employees participating in the brainstorming process. During the design process, put your branding at the forefront. Think about your company’s personality and what look would be best. Custom-branded T-shirts are especially popular with startups, for example.

Another important point is to give room to
personalize. Maybe employees can wear certain accessories or belts, or pair
whatever they want with a uniform top; you might also offer several choices for
designs. In line with their work culture, startups can let their creativity
loose on this. The right uniform conveys your brand well, and it has staying
power—evolving over the years with your company, always inspiring comfort and
loyalty among both employees and customers.

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