Risky Business: Planning Forward

Insurance Info & Risk Management Tips

By Hadley Wood www.hlinwood-insurance.com

It’s hard to believe that 2022 has come to a close and 2023 is on us already!

Looking Back & Planning Forward

With cooler weather, shorter days and sometimes a slowdown of business due to post-holiday sluggishness, January is often the perfect time to take a few days and celebrate the past years’ successes and evaluate the challenges and missed opportunities in your business. A chance to look ahead and plan for the next 12 months.

Here are a few Risk Management suggestions to get you started:

• Self-Audit Review

• Take an open and honest look at your business and identify the top 3 successes in the last year. What was it that made those happen. Was it marketing? The right employees? A great new contract? Use this information to leverage more success in the next year. • Now, identify 3 failures or missed opportunities over the year. Why did this happen. What was lacking? Not enough customer service? Competition encroaching into your client base? Need additional capitalization? Make changes to your 2023 plan so the same mistakes are not repeated. • Identify the key risks in your business. What issues keep you up at night? Issues with employees? Distribution channels or supply chain? Rising operating costs threatening your bottom line? Technology challenges? If you can identify the big risks, you can create a plan to be prepared for them.

• Technology Review • Make sure your website is up to date on compliance law. Websites have certain regulations, and some components have to be imbedded for them to be compliant. If you are not sure, you can go to www.hhs.gov/web/ index.html to learn more about this. • Confirm that any pictures or copy is either created by you directly or legitimately licensed to you to be used for your website, social media accounts and any advertising or marketing purposes. There are attorneys standing by to send you costly claim letters - so beware! • Back up all your 2022 work to an external hard drive, USB or cloud service and label it 2022. I cannot stress this enough. Companies crumble if key data is forever lost.

• Workplace Safety Assessment

• Do a workplace walk through (even if your workplace is your own home) and make sure smoke alarms are working and updated; fire extinguishers are accessible; alarm systems are working; security lights and cameras are functioning, and emergency kits are available in case of accidents. • Make sure staff knows what to do in case of workplace injury and have Claim Forms readily available.

• HR and Employee Management

• Review the new 2023 employee compliance and min wage requirements at www.dir.ca.gov • Update Employee handbooks to include employment agreements and any new company procedures and protocols. • Sit down with key employees and get their honest feedback on what is working at the company and what changes could be made to improve morale, customer service and workplace efficiency.

• Connect with your Insurance Broker/Agent

• Discuss your concerns about your high risks. Many risks can be covered by a type of insurance product but not all of them. Make sure you understand what you are covered for and what your policy excludes. Ask specific questions – “Am I covered for ____?” and “What happens if ___ happens?”. Most business owners do not read their policies and have little knowledge of the actual coverages or exclusions. Your Agent/Broker relationship should

be honest and transparent. Cheers to a great, productive and risk-free start to 2023!

PREPARE FOR YOUR CALL TO SERVE