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4 Ways to Avoid High Employee Turnover

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As an employer, it’s not in your interest to go through employees all the time.  It costs money to find and train them, so needless to say it’s important to find and retain employees instead of losing them consistently. You’re much better off hanging on great employees instead of going through mediocre ones constantly.  The secret is making people want to stick around by knowing the right habits for increasing engagement and comfort. Take a look at some of the best tips for avoiding a high employee turnover rate.

Create a Safe Working Environment  

One of the biggest reasons why people quit is because they don’t feel safe on the job.  As their employer, it’s your job to keep up with safety standards and ensure that no one is in danger of getting hurt or ill. Make sure that you listen to your employees’ concerns, and stay in tune with any safety anxieties they may have. The more that you genuinely look out for your employees well being, the more inclined they will be to remain loyal employees.   

Take Time to Hire the Right People  

Rather than hurriedly hiring your team, take the time to find the right people. Don’t be afraid to take plenty of time carefully selecting candidates. Don’t let your excitement to be fully staffed make you forget the importance of making sure you’ve hired the perfect fit for the position.  

Recognize Good Work  

People want to be appreciated and valued. Show your employees that you recognize their dedication and hard work and give them incentives for staying with your company. If you can manage to reward their hard work they will reward you in return with loyalty to the company.  

Prioritize Your Employees Well-Being 

Many employees want to know that their boss values the way that they feel. If you can manage to prioritize your employees’ feelings, then you’ll ensure that they stay satisfied with their job and happy with you as an employer. If you can keep the happiness of your employees high, then you’ll find you’ll have much better luck getting workers who want to stick around.  

Happiness may seem like an absurd priority for some employers, however, in reality, it can be a key indicator in the length of time that an employee will stay with a company.  Stay in tune with the level of your workers’ job satisfaction and you’ll see a huge dip in your turnover rate. 

Use these tips to create happier and more fulfilled employees who are likely to stay with your company for years to come.  The end result will be more productive employees who have your company’s best interest in mind and ultimately more money in your pocket.

Recovering From An Injury: Tips To Help And Stay Positive

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Injuries are going to be frustrating which can make it very difficult to stay positive. You want to do this as getting down might not give you the motivation to go to physical therapy. You also do not want to lash out at those helping pick up the slack around the house due to your injury. It can be easy to give up with the wrong mindset as you might feel overwhelmed. The following are tips to recover from an injury and stay of a positive mindset. 

Focus On Your Overall Health 

People that might have injuries to their legs or hips could benefit from losing weight. The less stress on an injured part of the body the better especially if a person is a bit overweight. This is going to be difficult though as you might not be very mobile due to your injury. Focusing on your nutrition is of paramount importance as this can help you maintain or lose weight. The better your diet is, the better you will recover from rehabilitation sessions. Try to eat within an hour window after you do this to reduce inflammation and improve muscle recovery time. 

Dedicate Yourself To Rehab 

There are so many people that have injuries for the rest of their lives due to refusal to do physical therapy. This is not something that you can skip as you need to get back to your old self. There are going to be times where you are very uncomfortable and need to learn the difference between this discomfort and pain. You do not want to push yourself too hard as this can lead to reinjury or aggravation of the injury. 

Invest In A Personal Injury Attorney 

The last thing you want is to be financially responsible for paying for your medical care if the accident was the fault of another driver or business. There are injuries sustained at home that are a part of your negligence for which you will have no legal recourse. Consulting a Fayetteville truck accident lawyer will be wise as they can let you know if you have a case. The peace of mind that an experienced law firm gives their clients is nearly unmatched as the legal process can be intimidating to say the least. 

Seek Mental Health Help If Needed

Mental health help could be needed especially if you were involved in a disastrous accident. You could have developed PTSD from your accident which is more common than a number of people realize. Talking through your injury with a personal therapist online is one option. Another option is going to a support group if you have been permanently or seriously injured. This could be important as well if you have a medical professional support your claim that an accident truly traumatized you to your core. 

Recovery times are going to differ drastically depending on a number of factors including age. Younger people tend to heal faster and have less of the nagging impacts of an injury later on.

How IT Services Will Protect Your Client and Company Data

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Having your company’s data and your client’s data secure and protected is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Protecting data promotes and creates trust between you and your clients and keeps everyone safe. This can only be effectively done with expert IT services. 

Go With Professionals

IT companies have the skills and resources to protect data in a way that you cannot do for yourself. Unless you are a skilled IT expert yourself, the professionals are going to need to set you up for success. Finding proper data protection services is essential when you start your business. Experts will ensure you will never have to face a hacker or lose information. 

Firewalls

We have all heard this term thrown around in TV shows and movies where an IT expert tries to help the hero get vital information on the bad guy. But what are firewalls? Firewalls monitor the traffic coming into and out of your database and systems. Firewalls are put in place to prevent unknown entities from coming into your business. 

Imagine a firewall is a huge brick wall that cannot be climbed. IT professionals will put up these walls so that everything behind it stays protected. 

Cyber Security

Cyber security is essential in providing a safe place for your information and your client’s information. Cyber security is also unique because it is security you can’t see. It’s not as if a large man in a security jacket is standing in front of a room of files protecting them. IT pros will be able to create the cyber version of that and place it into your system. 

The security will prevent information from getting lost, damaged, or accessed by the wrong people. Cyber security is sort of a babysitter for your information. There is always a watchful eye on everything ensuring no one has gotten over the firewall and is looking through files they are not allowed to see.

Penetration Testing

One very important thing an IT professional can do for you that you cannot do for yourself when it comes to protecting your data is performing penetration testing. This is also referred to as a pen test, and what a pen test does is run a simulated cyber attack on your system to see how secure the system is and if there are any weak spots in your firewall. 

Organized Data Cloud

IT professionals can build an organized data cloud where you can have backups of all of your information so that in the event of a system crash, everything is secure in the cloud. This is the most sought after way to protect information from being lost. You will always have a backup of everything you need. 

Although it may seem like an unnecessary cost or a luxury, having an IT team help you set up and maintain your cyber security is one of the best things you can do for your business. IT can keep you safe against hackers and thieves. 

How To Protect Your Data And Company From Cyber Attacks

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Cyber attacks against businesses are on the rise. 2020 saw a spike in cyber attack incidents, which has continued into 2021. This trend is likely to continue in the future. 

The intention of cyber attacks is often to access sensitive data. Data may be infected with a virus and a ransom payment may be demanded (known as ransomware). In other cases, cybercriminals may sell your sensitive data on the dark web or use it to break into accounts such as bank accounts, email accounts and social media accounts.

A data breach can often have a destructive impact on your business. You may have to pay huge amounts of money to recover from the cyber attack as well as paying compensation to customers who may have had data stolen. It could also have a negative impact on your reputation, affecting your ability to generate future business. 

There are many ways in which you can protect your data and company from cyber attacks. Below are just some of the best ways to protect your data.

Firewalls

Firewalls are devices or applications that help to monitor incoming and outgoing network traffic. They can be used to prevent unauthorized access to your company network – which could include potential hackers.

By installing the right firewall, you can have full control over exactly who can access your network. This could help to prevent cyberattacks.

Train Your Employees

Employees should be trained on how to protect against a cyberattack. Training employees on how to detect phishing is very important – 75% of organizations around the world experienced some form of phishing attack in 2020. Knowing how to react to a ransomware attack is also important as such cyber attacks are also on the rise. 

Make sure that you take your employees through some kind of cybersecurity training. This could include conducting cyber attack drills and showing employees how to spot signs of phishing in emails. 

Protect Your Passwords

Many cybercriminals gain access to data by stealing passwords. Passwords can be gained through various means – cybercriminals may use phishing tactics, they may use keylogging malware or they may simply attempt a brute force password attack. 

Try to always use strong passwords – this post offers a few examples of how to set a strong password. Change your passwords regularly in case the wrong types of people get hold of them. Make sure that password lists are kept safe and never share passwords with people you don’t completely trust. 

Hire a Cybersecurity Specialist

The best way to protect your data and company from cyberattacks is to hire a cybersecurity expert to help you. A cybersecurity expert will be able to recommend the best firewalls to use. They’ll also be able to offer training tips for employees. On top of this, they can help you to protect your passwords.

When you choose to work with a managed IT service, you get to work with a team of cybersecurity experts. Consider hiring a managed IT service today in order to protect your data and company. 

How to Revolutionize Your Workspace with Cloud Computing

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Every so often, the way businesses organize their workspaces goes through a revolution. In the first half of the 20th century, it was the introduction of the typewriter. Then in the 1980s and 1990s, it was personal computers, followed closely by the internet. 

In the 2020s, it’s the cloud. This remarkable technology has the ability to fundamentally reshape the way we think about and organize our workspaces for the better. 

What is the Cloud?

The cloud is a form of distributed computing technology where endpoints (generally office workers’ computers) access software running on third-party servers. Unlike traditional server-based IT models, though, the cloud doesn’t have a central hub. Instead, any server, anywhere in the world, can provide users with services. 

Services using cloud computing abound. Well-known examples include Netflix, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. Users can access these servers from any device via the internet using their regular login credentials. 

Why Will it Help Your Business

The cloud is based around the software-as-a-service concept. Instead of installing individual programs natively on PCs, the user’s computer acts as an access point for services stored and distributed remotely. As such, the cloud offers businesses multiple benefits

For instance, cloud computing can help companies save on costs. Instead of running their own servers, they can get third-parties to do it for them, paying only for what they use. 

They can also get better security. Cloud service providers automatically update their programs and fix bugs in the background, ensuring that their clients have the most secure systems. 

The cloud also offers flexibility. In contrast to legacy IT networks, it is easy to add new accounts and scale with your business. There is no need to rip out and replace your existing setup every few years and start from scratch. 

The cloud benefits companies that need mobile workers too. As discussed, cloud-based services are available on any device. This means that field employees can access software and services via their smartphones and tablets, making it easy to remain connected to HQ. 

The cloud facilitates new levels of collaboration. Team members can work jointly on projects anywhere in the world, each seeing the edits and alternations of the other in real time. 

Quality control is another factor. Cloud-based systems allow businesses to improve reporting, store all their files in a single format, and root out human error. Information is no longer siloed, but available to all. 

Lastly, the cloud is a great tool for easy backup recovery. Even if your primary server goes down, cloud systems regularly back up data across multiple data centers in different countries, ensuring that there is always a copy of your information somewhere in the world. 

How Do I Implement a Cloud-Based Workspace?

Implementing a cloud-based workspace is actually far easier than many businesses recognize. You don’t need to do it all yourself. Instead, you simply hire an IT company to do it for you. They can migrate your documents, company data and anything else you need to transition to the cloud. 

How to Take Your Backyard Pool to the Next Level

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A swimming pool is a beautiful feature for the home. It offers luxury, sophistication and style. Although there are always ways to upgrade and update your pool. Many companies offer services such as this to ensure your home has added value. Let’s see some of the best ways to take your backyard pool to the next level.

1. Waterfall

Installing a waterfall on its above ground pool or on an in-ground pool is very easy. You bring a touch of modernity with the design pool waterfalls that we offer. You will also enjoy a unique moment of relaxation.  A waterfall not only adds charm and style but waterfalls (or water slides) can be created in many ways.

2. Lights

The lighting of the pool is a key element not only to ensure safety around the pool and inside of it, but also to create a friendly atmosphere to the garden. The lighting of the swimming pool must therefore be worked on upstream so that the electrical installation, the installation of spots and the choice of lighting are not made lightly.  

You can add underwater lights or around the edges. If your pool is often used for night swims, consider installing floodlights. They can be submerged or placed on the walls of the basin – generally incandescent 300W-12 volts and of diameter ranging from 700 to 3,000 lumens – which operate simultaneously or independently.

3. Cool Tiles

With beautiful pool tiles, your own swimming pool can be easily beautified. When choosing the right pool tiles, there are some aspects to consider. Usually pool tiles have rounded edges and corners – this is one of the most important requirements for the right tile. Because in this way water can always be transported reliably. 

And if you have already decided on large swimming pool tiles, you should know that there are increased requirements for the subsurface, substructure, waterproofing and bonding of a swimming pool in relation to tiles. Or mosaics work beautifully and can add a Mediterranean feel.  

4. Resurfacing/Remodel

Concrete pool shells need them because they are prone to cracks or other concerns. If left untreated, it can lead to serious problems with the waterproofing of your pool. Resurfacing an old concrete pool shell will extend its life. Plumbing is also vital. Examine the existing plumbing and conclude if it is still good enough for use. 

Sprucing up and a good thorough cleaning process also helps to know if the existing plumbing has held up and if repairs or replacements are needed.

5. Stairs

Whether it is buried, above ground or semi-buried, your swimming pool must be equipped with a staircase. This allows swimmers access to the pool. Well chosen, the pool staircase is also an element of comfort of the pool and gives it an aesthetic touch. You can add silver or gold hardware to add style where needed. So that your pool fits easily into your exterior, you can choose to make it disappear entirely by installing a raised terrace that will surround the pool.

Evaluating Your IT Infrastructure: Areas That Can Be Improved

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1. Firewalls and Cyber Security

Firewalls are like the security that stands guard outside your servers. They monitor who comes in and who goes out. They are the access point that hackers and cyber security threats will try to attack first. 

So before they even enter, you need to set their slings and arrows on fire, using brilliant data encryption and virus protection. Working with managed IT services can not just help you monitor breaches and suspicious activity, but improve data encryption and password policies. 

2. VoIP Communications

Let us say for example, that you have been breached, who do you tell? You will need to contact your employees, such as department managers, directors and your IT team to get on and find the attackers and stop them. 

But surely you don’t expect to communicate via personal mobile phones? 1, that is unprofessional, 2 it’s not going to help you keep a record of what was communicated, when, to who etc. regulators might want the whole story and if you can only give them pieces, you are more likely to be fined for having inadequate practices concerning the protection of customer data and escalation of incidents.  

3. Cloud Storage

You can never have enough storage, but this is only possible by having a cloud storage system. As your business expands and operations become more complex, you will require more and more storage. 

Businesses find that since they do have more storage, they can provide their customers with more options. Not only that, but their daily business practices improve, such as more thorough marketing campaigns, better profiles of customers, working with more distributors and clients from abroad. 

4. Business Continuity

Business continuity planning must not be confused with disaster recovery planning. The former is about keeping a business alive and running, during an event that could potentially cease operations. 

This could be something like a fire in your warehouse. Working with a great managed IT services company, allows you to keep a hold of your customer data, so you can keep orders flowing as you seek to get your other services online again. 

5. Disaster Recovery

A disaster recovery plan can be seen as a way to get our business back up and running, after an event. So chances are a major risk event has materialized and you have not been able to prevent it harming your business to some or great extent. 

To get back online, you need to focus on your mission critical areas. And without a doubt, this will involve your entire IT infrastructure and network. But when you don’t have an on-site IT infrastructure, you don’t need to worry about this, as your servers and data are already ready to go. 

How to Avoid IT Disasters

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IT disasters are becoming all too common. Every year, thousands of companies fall prey to computing failures, costing them potentially millions of dollars in lost revenues. 

However, despite these risks, relatively few firms are prepared. According to data collected by Statista, the majority – around 58 percent – only test their disaster recovery plans once per year, with around a quarter not bothering at all. 

As you might expect, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to IT disasters. But what can the average business do to stop them? Let’s take a look. 

Hire a Professional

The first step is to hire a professional who really understands IT disasters and the kind of risks that your enterprise faces. They can identify problems with your current setup and make suggestions for how you might improve. 

For example, professionals can protect your systems by training your other colleagues on safe internet use. They can also create digital barriers between your business’s IT network and the rest of the internet, tracking all packets of information that flow in and out. 

Set Up Firewalls and Cybersecurity

Next, you’ll want to set up firewalls and cybersecurity. 

Firewalls are security systems that prevent unauthorized access of your computer network. They stop parties external to your intranet or private network from directly accessing information without the right permissions. 

Cybersecurity is a much broader field that covers all topics related to computer security.

Firms can boost cybersecurity by prioritizing software updates, controlling access to files on a “need to know” basis and using multi-step authentication. They can also hire specialist firms to monitor their networks in real-time, instantly informing them of developing threats. 

Data Backup Plans

Data backup plans are another powerful tool for avoiding IT disasters. 

A good data backup plan should encompass the following: 

  • Onsite backups on your premises 
  • Offsite backups via the cloud
  • An optimized backup schedule where you continually add freshly-created data to your backup archive
  • Backup testing where you check that you can recover your files if your main server goes down
  • Organized storage making it easy to recover and relocate files in the event of an emergency. 

IT professionals recommend at least three copies of your data across two storage types (for instance, SSD and HDD). They also suggest keeping at least one copy of your data off-site (usually in the cloud). 

Safe Passwords

Avoiding IT disasters also requires ensuring that every member of your team uses safe passwords. 

Safe passwords have the following characteristics: 

  • They aren’t regular words (such as “password” or “mother”)
  • They use a combination of letters and numbers
  • They are more than 10 characters long
  • They are changed regularly
  • They have a mixture of upper and lower case letters

Train Employees on Safe IT

Colleagues can put enterprises at risk by following malicious email links or downloading certain files. Hence, you may want to consider hiring a company to train your employees on safe IT. 


Training can prevent security breaches and ensures that the business and its data remain safe. 

7 Important Tips to Improve Your Driving Skills

The average person will drive their vehicle every day. Every time you get into your car and drive away from your home, you risk getting into a car accident.

Although you can’t change how other people drive, you can take steps to improve your own driving skills. This can greatly reduce the chances of getting hurt or damaging your car due to a car accident.

No one wants to admit their fault in a car accident, but most “accidents” are a direct result of one or both drivers failing to adhere to good driving habits.

Here are seven tips that you can use to improve your driving skills and reduce your chances of getting into a car accident:

1. Don’t Drive Distracted

A distracted driver is a dangerous driver. There are many things that can distract a driver from the task at hand. It’s your responsibility to reduce any of these from keeping your focus off your driving.

Things such as texting, eating, putting on makeup, and even talking to a passenger can distract you from the road. All it takes is a few seconds for a tragedy to strike.

2. Practice Defensive Driving

When you are in the driver’s seat, you are in control of your vehicle. You aren’t, however, in control of the vehicles around you and you can’t always expect them to do what they are supposed to do.

Just because there is a red light, doesn’t mean all vehicles will stop. If you are coming up to an intersection, be aware of the actions of other drivers.

If you notice one car that doesn’t look like it is coming to a stop, take action to ensure they don’t t-bone you while you drive through the intersection. 

This might mean that you have to slow down and interrupt your normal pattern of driving but it’s better than getting into an accident.

It’s always wise to be aware of your surroundings and don’t assume other drivers will obey traffic rules. 

3. Don’t Tailgate

Tailgating, when done to you, is really annoying but tailgating is high on the list of one of the many common driving errors.

The reason tailgating is so dangerous is because it doesn’t give you enough time to react if the person in front of you suddenly slams on their brakes.

This may cause you to run into their car, which can give both you and them a serious case of whiplash or worse. 

You learned the amount of space you are legally supposed to leave between yourself and the car in front of you. Different factors can cause the safe distance to become farther than normal. Get a refresher course here

4. Make the Necessary Adjustments

When driving, you need to be comfortable and able to see all around you. When you get into your car, before you drive off, you should always make sure you make any necessary adjustments.

Check your review and side mirrors to ensure you have the best visibility of the cars around you. It’s impossible to get rid of all blindspots but when positioned right, these mirrors will greatly reduce them. 

Next, adjust your seat to ensure you are comfortable and able to reach the pedals well. You may also want to adjust the steering wheel to get a better grip.

Lastly, make sure all your windows are clear of debris, snow, or fog for safe driving conditions. 

5. Prioritize Safety at All Times

Driving a car is a great responsibility. You have a lot of power in your hands and you need to take that power seriously.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 36,096 deaths in 2019 due to car accidents. Car accidents happen and many of them result in someone dying. 

These statistics should only reinforce your desire to practice road safety at all times. If it comes down to convenience or safety, always choose safety!

6. Always Follow the Law

Laws are put in place for the safety and good of the people. Driving laws aren’t any different.

This means you should drive the speed limit, obey traffic lights and signs, and follow directions from police officers directing traffic. 

These laws are all put into place to keep drivers and pedestrians safe and the roads as organized as they can be. Without these laws, chaos would reign and no one would dare chance driving at all. 

7. Use Smooth Driving Techniques

Sudden moves while driving can be the direct cause of an accident. Anytime you slam on your brakes or take a quick turn, you aren’t giving other drivers enough time to react to your movement.

As much as you are able to, try to drive smoothly. Don’t accelerate or slow down too fast. Ease onto the brakes and gently increase your speed. 

Not only will you keep the roads a safer place, but you will also slow down the wear and tear of your vehicle. 


Conclusion

It might sound cool to drive like a rebel, screeching your tires and speeding around turns, but the fun is over fast when your reckless driving gets you into a fender bender, or worse.

Be smart and put these driving tips into effect in your daily habits. You never know when your good driving could actually have saved your life. 

How HIPAA Goes Hand in Hand With Your Business

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Any business that is required to be HIPAA compliant needs to have the help of the right managed IT services to ensure that the information to which they are privy is safe. There is a big responsibility in looking after the medical data of others, and with the right help and support, you can ensure that your business keeps information for clients safe and HIPAA compliant. 

What is HIPAA

HIPAA is the acronym for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It’s mostly heard of in the medical profession because there is a requirement for medical professionals like doctors to keep the medical secrets of their patients. 

Health facilities like clinics, hospitals and private practices need to ensure that they take care of the Protected Health Information (PHI) they have on file. Patient data must be protected, and any time a healthcare facility outsources this information, those services have to be compliant with HIPAA, too. 

If all companies that deal remotely with medical information are HIPAA compliant, they will have exceptional data security. HIPAA has a series of standards for business to adhere to to remain compliant.

Why You Need HIPAA Compliance

Protected Health Information is data used to identify a client of a healthcare facility. Consider names, addresses, medical information, phone numbers and more, and you get information that HIPAA is there to protect. 

Any of this information shared digitally comes under HIPAA regulations, too. If you don’t have HIPAA compliance, this becomes a problem for the business. There are two types of businesses that are required to have HIPAA compliance, and those include covered entities and business associates. 

A covered entity is defined as an organization that collects and transmits and collects PHI electronically. A business associate is defined as any organization that encounters HIPAA in any way – like those outsourced providers we mentioned earlier.

What happens if you don’t have HIPAA compliance

Any company that is in breach of HIPAA compromises the integrity of PHI. A HIPAA violation is not the same as a data breach. Not all data breaches, for example, are HIPAA violations. It becomes a violation when the breach is due to incomplete and ineffective HIPAA compliance programs. 

If an employee has a company laptop that’s unencrypted and they have access to medical records and that laptop is then stolen, this is a data breach. A HIPAA violation would be the case if the clinic or hospital didn’t have a policy in place to prevent the employee from removing the laptop from the premises in the first place. 

If a business doesn’t have HIPAA compliance, they will be fined by the federal HIPAA auditors. The fine works on a sliding scale but can run up to $50,000 per incident. This depends on the level of perceived negligence. The best thing to do to avoid any HIPAA regulations violations is to speak to the best managed IT services available. They will ensure that your clinic remains compliant at all times, and that you have all that you need to offer better to your customers.