When Last Did You Review Your Insurance Portfolio?

November 25, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

It seems like there are always too many things to do and never enough time. Yet, reviewing your insurance portfolio might be one of the most important items on your “to-do” list.

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Why do you need to review your policies?

First of all, it’s an opportunity to ensure that you or your business aren’t paying more than necessary for coverage;
Secondly, it could identify coverage gaps;
Thirdly, you can oftentimes find ways to save money by combining products – property and liability (general), errors & omissions (E&O) with property (commercial) policies;
Fourthly, if you have positions within some of these policy types that you don’t need anymore, there is always the potential to remove them from the policy portfolio.

In addition, if your business has been growing or changing, these changes may impact your insurance needs and how much you should be paying for coverage. For example, say that you have a D&O policy with a carrier but over time have decided to conduct all transactions internally instead of through a broker. In this case, have you actually reviewed whether or not it is necessary to keep this coverage?

The other reason to review your insurance portfolio often is because carriers do change their rates – some as frequently as every quarter. So those 20% savings you were getting one year ago might now be 60%. If nothing else, reviewing your coverage at least once a year will allow you to stay on top of rates.

The point is, whether you are reviewing your coverage twice a year or every ten years, it is well worth the time. Whether that time results in savings, just knowing what your business needs, or eliminating unnecessary expenses – it’s all good. As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”

Make sure that you review your insurance portfolio often to ensure that you are covered properly and pay less for coverage. Do not neglect this vital step. If you don’t have the expertise internally to make sure everything is completed correctly, consider hiring an independent agent or broker who should be able to help.

What if a claim is delayed or rejected?

Your insurance coverage is ineffective if you can’t get the business interruption or other claim paid. If your current carrier won’t pay what you think is covered, it’s time to investigate another insurance company that will honor their commitment to providing effective protection for you and your business.

“Bloated” policies are problematic & unnecessary – but carriers don’t always agree with that opinion. Don’t let your policy become bloated because of “excess” coverages that either cause premiums to rise or force exclusions because clearly stated limits were exceeded. A good example would be looking closely at the definition of contractors under an E&O policy (or, even better yet, ask your broker/agent about this specific issue). The same goes for other types of policies, including workers’ compensation.

What about identity theft or personal injury claims?

Many business owners are not aware that in addition to property damage or liability, many errors & omissions policies also provide identity theft coverage. Some even offer medical malpractice insurance products. Another important point here is that it is key to check your policy limits for these types of claims – if they are reasonable ($2 million/$5 million), you should consider increasing them ($5 million/$10 million). While this may increase your premium, having larger limits can be comforting when a claim does arise.

Exhausting All Appeals Available

It is important to note that if you do have any disagreements with your carrier about coverage issues, then it’s best to pursue all avenues available before considering taking legal action. Filing a suit against an insurance company can take months and cost thousands in legal fees. If you do decide to move forward, we recommend you consult with sympathetic injury lawyers as soon as possible so they can guide you through the process and potentially save you money.

Can an independent broker save you money?

One of the most common questions is whether or not an independent broker can save money on insurance coverage. The answer is “yes,” – but it’s more complicated than that question suggests. While you probably won’t find a company that will charge less for every policy, if there are multiple products, then some carriers may offer cheaper rates overall. Also, keep in mind that while one carrier might always be slightly higher on price, they could also have better service or broader product availability.

So while some brokers will still think about how to get you switched right away, others are really focused on asking questions so they can help you get the best risk protection today with competitive prices, so your business runs smoothly tomorrow.

As always, if there are questions or concerns, please get in touch with your insurance advisor.

Building A Strong Team For Your Business

November 19, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Every successful business has a strong and effective team working behind it, but no team starts off as strong. You can’t just expect your employees to excel the day they are hired, nor can you expect people to get along well together when they’ve had no time to understand one another. It’s important that you give them the chance to settle in before they’re placed under high stress.

Putting people on a stressful group project is not a great way to start out, and can create a lot of tension between colleagues. Instead start off with something challenging, but not too stressful. It will force them to work together to get to the bottom of it, and they can get to know each other better in a positive environment.

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Start with leadership

Before you start to build your team, you need to take a look at your own abilities. A strong team requires a good leader, and it’s not going to be easy to develop those skills. To be able to communicate and properly understand the needs of your employees is important.

You’re not going to be the best leader right off the bat, but you could at least understand what it is that you need to do. Work towards getting a good understanding of what other people work well with, and where others struggle. With that knowledge, you can help your team to grow and improve without making things too difficult for them.

Finding your team members

The recruitment process can be challenging, but remember that whoever you recruit is going to need to adjust to a new work environment. You might not find someone perfect straight away, but that’s okay.

If you’re having a lot of trouble finding applicants, you should consider going through a recruitment agency to get the message out to more people. With this, you can fine-tune the people who apply to you and have your vacancy regularly viewed by those looking for openings.

Communication in the workplace

As mentioned before, communication as a leader is highly important to help your employees grow. However, you need to encourage them to communicate, too. If they struggle to communicate their needs to you or their colleagues, forming a strong team is going to be difficult. You need to be aware of their strengths and weakness, and they need to be aware of what’s required of them while they work. If you can come to a good middle ground, then you’ll find that work gets done a lot more efficiently.

Team-building
Team building exercises are very important if you’re going to have a team that understands each other. You want opportunities for people to witness how others handle certain situations, and how they can rely on each other with different things. A team that understands what each member is capable of can get things done a lot easier. Consider investing in weekend retreats for a more easy and casual environment. Like mentioned earlier, getting to know each other in a more positive environment can be a lot easier.

How You Can Juggle Many Clients Without Panicking

November 19, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Can you juggle many clients without panicking? When starting a business, your goal is to get one client…any client. As your firm expands, you’ll need to split your time between new customer relationships and existing ones.

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You may even reach the point where you can pick and choose who you work with. Regardless, you’ll need to understand multi-client management. As a freelancer, you want to keep your clients without being overwhelmed or burned out.

Here are some suggestions and tactics for managing several clients.

Prioritize Your Clients Every Week

Depending on how many clients you have, you may need to divide your job to focus on each client separately. In a week with five clients, you may wish to devote a couple of hours per day to each.

Why work Monday through Friday if you have more? Almost certainly, your clients’ needs vary. Others may be more hands-off and assign smaller duties.

Each week, plan your schedule so you know which clients and how much time you’ll need. Larger clients may need to be prioritised earlier in the week. Keep in mind deadlines and create a timetable that works for you and allows you to provide your best to each client.

You can easily do this by using appliance service software.

Manage Client Expectations

Early on, discuss with clients their expectations and how you can meet them. Be honest about your schedule/availability and that you have other clients.

Inform clients if you don’t work weekends. Inform clients when to reach you to discuss projects and other matters. If you prefer to prioritise a client from Monday to Wednesday, let them know. They will likely feel special and valued.

Plan A Meeting Day

If you have many clients who want to meet, consider arranging them all on the same day. This may sound excessive, but it can actually increase your productivity. Regular meetings can slow you down.

Because you have to stop working to attend your meeting, many of your projects will be completed late in the day. Arrange all client meetings on one day. So you don’t have to worry about refocusing on crucial things.

Also, bill clients for meetings that keep you from working or include them in your project rate.

Keep It Simple

You may think you need to multitask since you have multiple clients, but this is untrue. I’ve tried working on multiple projects at once, but it never works. Instead, keep to your timetable and focus. If you start the day feeling overwhelmed, focus on one client project and don’t switch until it’s finished. Schedule breaks or email time, but try to stay focused on the task at hand and finish it before moving on.

Say No Fearlessly

To manage several customers efficiently, you must know your boundaries and be comfortable with no. If 10 clients are too much for you, either employ help or boost your pricing. It’s hard to say no when you feel like you’re wasting money, but remember there will be other opportunities. If you don’t have the time or energy to take on an extra customer or project, don’t do it.

Schedule overload will degrade your quality and attention to detail. This will lead to excessive exhaustion. Instead, realise your limits, employ the necessary help, and schedule time to relax and unwind.

How many clients do you have and how do you handle them all?

How You Can Create A Trustworthy Business Image

November 18, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

One of the most important things as a business is how the public sees you. You want to be seen as a reputable business that stands as a positive part of the market. You want people to look at your business as a worthy competitor, and a store they can trust, but how can you achieve that? Well, improving your image as a business is something that can take time and quite a bit of investment if you have it available. Other than earning it through operating, the investments you make can make a lot of difference.

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First impressions

First impressions are important in most interactions, inside and outside of business. It’s where people get their initial idea of your business from, and has the ability to dictate whether or not they want to use your services. But where do your customers get their first impressions? How can you work on it? Well, it will differ per business.

If your business runs primarily online, then you’re going to want to focus on the landing page of your website. It’s important that your website is made to impress, and won’t have any features that put people off of browsing further. A clean design is a great thing to have, but how does it do in terms of functionality? You’ll want your site to be easy to navigate, and also free from too many pop-ups. A lot of pop-ups can make your side seem cheap, even if they’re made to be informative.

If you want to really go the extra mile, there are a lot of companies and software that can help you. Quality assurance every business should invest in if they have the finances available. If your current question is “what is quality assurance?” you can find out anywhere online.

Alternatively, if your business is store-based, you need to think about how people are finding you. Is it through stumbling across your store? Is it from an advertisement that you’ve put out? You need something that tells your customer you’re providing quality. A fancy storefront is a good start and can be done with good graphics and tasteful design.

Your goods and services

No matter if you’re providing a service or selling products, they’re going to say a lot about your business. It’s not about first impressions anymore, but you need to make sure the impressions made will hold up. The quality that your customers receive will determine whether or not they’re going to return or recommend you to family or friends.

If your products or services are lacking in quality, it’s going to immediately affect your business’ image. You need people to talk about you, and you need that talk to be a positive subject. Sometimes as a business you need to forsake profit for value. That’s not to say you should completely disregard your profit; you’ll need that to keep operating! However, selling cheap products for high prices isn’t something that can work forever. If you don’t yet have a good image, then you might have to wait a while to increase your profit margin.

How Can Your Manufacturing Business Do More With Less?

November 18, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Time is money, as the old saying goes. That is definitely true when it comes to a business in manufacturing. When you can do more with the time that you have, then ultimately, the more money that you will be able to make. You may be struggling to take steps to improve production, or have everything running smoothly. Either way, there are a number of things that you can do to make sure that you’re able to do more as a manufacturing business, without having to sacrifice the quality of your production. So with that in mind, here are some of the ways that you can increase productivity and enable yourself to do more with your time, for your manufacturing business.

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Look at what you are already doing

You aren’t going to know what you’re able to improve on until you are clear on how everything works and how things are currently done. Some key areas should be assessed to look at this, so you can gather information that can help you with potential changes.

The people: does your team have the right knowledge and skills in place to be as productive as possible? Is there a clear plan for them, with a project manager to oversee production processes?
The processes: what are the current processes that are laid out in place, and do they need to have an update? Have you looked at where there are some pressure points in the process or potential bottlenecks that can hold up production?
The technology and equipment: how up-to-date is your technology and equipment? Is the equipment that you have enough for your needs or could you implement new software such as production monitoring software? How easy will it be to make changes like this?

You can’t go in straight away and look to make changes when you don’t know what needs to change and what is already working well. If things are working well, then there may not be a need to change them. However, it can be worthwhile changing the things that aren’t working well, in order to get the outcome that you want.

Train your employees

Employee education needs to be part of an ongoing process. In a number of industries, there will be some training that is mandatory, such as operating equipment. But for some in the manufacturing industry, they can get initially trained and then just left to it. If they start to forget or aren’t trained on updates or more efficient ways of doing things, then it can cause problems that cost the business money. By updating your technology and equipment, you will also need to update your training. Employee education is also a good way to retain the staff that you have, as it shows that they do have value and play a vital role in the business.

Some of the things that you can do to help to train and educate your employees could start with scheduling in some training sessions for when there is anything new installed. Of course, this takes some time out initially for the business, but will mean that employees are much more productive in the long run. As part of this, make sure that you keep some accurate records of the training that has been received, and make sure that you look up any refresher courses as or when they are needed. You could also offer some extra educational opportunities for employees that want to do more, learn more, and advance their skills further. This could not only be on processes and equipment, but on policies, communications, and other areas that will help to make them a more valuable employee.

Organize the workspace

You can’t be productive and improve production if you are working in a messy space. Clearing clutter helps to save time and means that you have much more efficiency. A better layout means employees can move around the office or warehouse in a more effective manner, and if they have access to everything that they need at their fingertips, it can really make a difference. Anything that is excess or extra should be removed, and better organized put in place to reduce how long things take to find and source.

It can seem a trivial thing, but if employees can save a couple of minutes here and a couple of minutes there, from walking back and forth, then it can have a big impact on the production process as a whole, and mean that you can get more done as a business than before.