Business Toolbox

Managing employee claims

By Beth O’Neal, Esq.

Is there a way I can take control over employee claims, charges or lawsuits, in terms of trying to keep the costs down, and if so, how can I do it?

Unfortunately, employees have several forums where they can bring their grievances, including the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination (the state administrative agency that handles discrimination claims), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissio...

Energy efficiency and renewable energy building technologies

By Richard J. Lorenzotti, P.E.

What are the best energy efficient and renewable energy technologies available today? With so many options emerging, how do you quantify the best options? We have researched the engineering, construction, energy efficiency, renewable energy, building science, and building technologies fields to bring you the answers. Following is an overview of our findings and the technologies that appear most promising for the near futur...

Leading the knowledge worker

By Warren Rutherford

“Every knowledge worker in modern organization is an ‘executive’ if, by virtue of his position or knowledge, he is responsible for a contribution that materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results.” (Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive, 1966.)

We all think and make decisions – every minute of every day. Think about this: most of the tim...

Choosing the right plant for the right place

By Justin O’Connor

Whether you are a homeowner looking to add or change plantings on your property or you are a professional landscape planner for a municipality, a healthy planting begins with careful planning. Here are some factors to consider when adding or changing plantings in your green space.

Height – How tall is the plant going to get? Will the plant become entangled in power lines? When the plant is m...

Obamacare: What will it cost you?

By Peter MacDonald, CIC, LIA

Massachusetts already has the highest cost of health insurance in the country. Now that Obamacare is here to stay, many business owners and self-employed wonder what the Affordable Care Act will cost them and their employees. The government expansion warrants concerns, but by educating yourself now, you can prepare more effectively for what is invariably coming.

The Affordable Care Act is the most significant ...

Small business, BIG data

By Kevin MacArthur

Over the past several years, the IT community and business owners alike have been struggling with a growing trend: massive amounts of data! Organizations are now finding themselves struggling with ways to manage this data growth.

Data in today’s world is more than just “files,” as it has been in the past. Data now represents large images, massive email databases, streaming videos, archived media commun...

Five ways you may be turning off job seekers

By Bob Nealon

When hiring, many managers are still in a recession mindset, believing they hold all the cards. The truth, however, is that, despite high general unemployment, the market for specialized talent is becoming increasingly competitive. As a result, businesses seeking in-demand skills need every advantage possible when recruiting.

As a hiring manager, one misstep on your part can send candidates running – leaving you scramb...

What Google can teach you about leadership

By Warren J. Rutherford

Yes, Google. When you search the keyword “leadership training” there are 496,000,000 results returned in 1 second. So, Google can teach you a lot about leadership training – meaning, there are lots of results to choose from. You’ll need a lot of time to sort through them, so let’s see if I can make the task a tad easier.

Narrow your search term
Those results are...

Good stewardship practices to protect our water resources

By John B. McAllister, P.E.

Running a business or commercial property (or even your own home) has plenty of challenges and distractions, so concern over your business or property’s impact on the surrounding environment isn’t usually a high priority. However, our environmental resources, including our waterways and coastline, are a big part of what makes our Cape and Plymouth region so beautiful and attractive to residents and visitors alike....

Upware offers cloud-based solutions

By Bob Cecchini

Small businesses need an easy, trusted way to find the best software to move their businesses forward. Just last year, the only real option was to do a lot of research and then wade through hundreds of software options before deciding which one may be a fit for your business.

However, the Comcast Business team realized that there had to be a better way to choose mission critical software for a small business. The criteria ...

Elevator maintenance provides safety, reliability

By Meredith Baker

Imagine you’ve neglected your car for years. You don’t change the oil in it. You don’t perform tune ups. The only time you take it to the shop is after it has broken down and needs repairs. How long will that car last?

Just like automobiles, elevators also need routine maintenance. Elevator equipment needs periodic adjustments, lubrication and examination for safe and reliable operation. Elevators also ...

Legal issues surrounding pregnant employees

By Beth O’Neal, Esq.

Over the last year or so, I have acquired a couple of new locations for my landscaping business, and I now have about 70 year-round employees, with even more in the summer months. A couple of the female employees are pregnant – one is having twins, the other has been out of work for reasons she has not shared with me – and I am concerned about my obligations under the law, both now and when they deliver. What do I...

A new concept in practicing medicine

By Lucia McNabb, M.D.

As a doctor practicing medicine for longer than a quarter of a century it was a great discovery to be exposed to the art and the philosophy of Eastern medicine.

In the year 2010, I made a decision to take an acupuncture course for physicians at Harvard University. The experience was truly revealing to me of a new dimension made of meridians, chi energy, inner balance and the process of self-healing.

Bu...

The four Cs of meeting trends

By Lynn Williams

This year’s meeting season is off to a brisk start, and several key trends are becoming the norm.

Customized
Meeting planners continue to look for added value in the form of a package, but just like at the local burger joint, it’s all about having choices and finding the package that custom fits your needs and budget. Each meeting is unique. When you plan your next event, give the sales...

Seven ways to master managing change

By Warren Rutherford

Some time ago, one of my management coaching clients asked me how to develop an effective change management process in her business. First, I needed to understand what level of change management procedures her company had in place. Second, I needed to understand what her level of interest was in engaging her employees and supervisors in the process. She indicated that she did want to involve them in the process, so I described the f...

Assess your backup plan

By Mike Pasqualoni

When evaluating your current backup plan, the first thing to consider is how much downtime is acceptable and what types of scenarios you are looking to protect yourself from.

A typical offsite backup solution allows you to backup certain files and folders from your computer. This type of backup is very effective if you happen to delete a file on your computer, but in the event of server or computer hardware failure, it ...

Avoiding painting pitfalls: Getting what you pay for

By Paul Dunn

As a professional painter, let me share a common scenario of a potential customer.

In preparing an estimate, it always begins with what they need and what their budget is. What we strive to do is offer our expertise in providing accurate estimates so that when we finish the project, not only is the customer happy that it’s finished on time and on budget, they also have a quality, long-lasting job.

In this...

Training for a marathon is a lot like running a business

By Terence J. Shepherd

As I’ve been training for the Paris marathon, random thoughts about training regimens have fi ltered in and out of my consciousness while going through the paces. As I’ve struggled up hills and added miles to each run, it dawned on me how training to run a marathon really is a lot like running a business.

Let’s start at the beginning; the end goal. Both the marathon runner and a successful business...

Open a Health Savings Account; reduce your taxable income

By Peter MacDonald, CIC, LIA

Since 2003 — when Federal Law transitioned Medical Savings Accounts into Health Savings Accounts — millions of Americans have opened up HSAs, reduced billions on health care premiums, and saved the difference in the tax-advantaged bank account. The most disciplined among them have an extra source of investable, tax advantaged medical expense funds now and forever, and extra income in retirement. For this reason, ...

Small business tax planning after the fiscal cliff

By Emily Pina, CPA

Can we all breathe a sigh of relief now that the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 has been enacted? Not exactly – now we need to examine what the fiscal cliff deal really means for each of us. I am sure the major headline that most of us focused on was that tax rates are not going up for the majority of Americans and that the high-income taxpayers are the ones that will be impacted by the deal. While it is true that the hig...

Late winter tree pruning

By Christopher J. Joyce and Steven T. Davis

The winter season is often bleak and boring when it comes to gardening. Hopefully one can look to the calendar and know that spring will soon be upon us once again. Late winter (February through March) is a great time to delve into some tree pruning. Proper pruning will ensure healthy growth and structural integrity for the season ahead. Many trees can be pruned in the late winter before bud swell, but you sho...

Changes possible to wage and hour laws

By Beth O’Neal, Esq.

It seems like there are changes taking place all the time with respect to a lot of different employment laws, some of which apply to my business, and others do not. What I am really interested in knowing is whether there is anything going on with wage and hour laws. Can you give me some direction?

You are wise to be concerned about such things, especially given that employers of Massachusetts employees ...

Winning the competition for candidates in 2013

By Bob Nealon

If you’re thinking recruiting new employees this year will be a cakewalk, think again. Conditions are changing and many employers are surprised at just how competitive the market has become in a number of fields.

In accounting and finance, for instance, financial and business analysts as well as staff and senior accountants are in strong demand. Often, candidates are considering multiple offers, which is driving up sal...

Environmental due diligence – Keeping that real estate deal alive

By Jon Kitchen

Environmental due diligence plays a key role in any real estate transaction, identifying potential environmental risks and liabilities. For many buyers, the most desirable locations for commercial development are on parcels that have been previously developed (many times corner lots). Attractive deals can be found, but these properties could include a past history that may present some environmental issues. Some of the issues result from ...

Leaders vs. managers

By Warren Rutherford

There appears to be an eternal divide between the concept of a leader versus that of a manager. I’ve found that interest in training managers as coaches is not as keen as training someone to become a leader. See, leaders can make things happen. Managers, well, they manage and are viewed as risk averse. Leaders are viewed as risk takers. Think “exciting” as opposed to “steady.” What’s your preferen...

Obama wins re-election; health care reform law here to stay

By The Rogers & Gray Employee Benefits Team

After hard-fought campaigns by both candidates, President Barack Obama has been re-elected for a second term in office. Obama’s victory in the 2012 election, along with last summer’s Supreme Court decision upholding the health care reform law, cements the Democratic Party’s dedication to the legislation.

While opponents of the law have called for its repeal, health care ref...

Protecting your digital life

By Kevin MacArthur

Last summer I read an article about someone who had their entire digital life turned upside down in less than an hour. I found this story not only interesting but at times disturbing, and it leaves us with some important lessons.

The story I am referring to was written by a senior writer for Wired.com, Mat Honan, on August 6, 2012 (an Internet search for his name will turn up the full story, where you can read all of th...

Cape Cod Healthcare, local physicians introduce Regional Cancer Network

By Cape Cod Healthcare Medical Staff

In October 2012 Cape Cod Healthcare announced that a group of oncology specialists, primary care physicians, trained nurses and other healthcare professionals and entities have now joined forces to create Cape Cod Healthcare’s Regional Cancer Network.

The Regional Cancer Network expands on Cape Cod Healthcare’s track record of caring for cancer patients by offering patients more of a multid...

Solar panel installations keep shining on

By Tony Shepley

What produces electrical power without making a sound, with no moving parts, and with no impact on our environment except positive benefit? Solar panels!

With all the hot air being blown around about the pros and cons of wind turbines, photovoltaic solar arrays are quietly generating power. Solar panels have been around for decades, but technology is making its expected leaps and bounds forward and has resulted in huge gai...

5 tips on how to give a great job interview

By Warren Rutherford

In our job placement company we interview job applicants every day. Some of the applicants are applying for specific employment while others are being interviewed so that we can place them into our talent inventory for future employment.

We consider ourselves job placement coaches for two reasons – first, our employer client often needs assistance defining the type of person they require; and second, because our...