CAPITAL IDEAS UPCOMING EVENTS JANUARY 12: IMPACT LUNCHEON 2016 Edmonton Economic Development Corporation’s CEO shares the vision for Edmonton’s continued success as a driver of Alberta’s growth. ■■ Where: Shaw Conference Centre (10310 Jasper Ave) ■■ When: 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ■■ Admission: $120. Details at eedc.ca/thinking/impact
COMMUNITY QUESTION
WHAT DOES EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELLNESS MEAN AT YOUR BUSINESS? Entrepreneurs talk about balancing work, life and health “Our employees are our most valuable asset and investment towards the overall success of our business. Their overall health, wellness, and happiness are paramount. Happy, healthy employees are more productive and loyal. As a company we want our employees to know that we care about them and their families as we see them as a part of our Beyond Vision family.” Keith Soubliere, general manager for Beyond Vision Optometrists, beyondvision.ca
JANUARY 20: NEED-FOR-SPEED MIXER The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Need-for-Speed Mixer hits the tracks at Speeders Indoor ProKarts. ■■ Where: : Speeders Indoor ProKarts (13145 149 St.) ■■ When: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ■■ Admission: Non-members: $25, Members: $15. More info at edmontonchamber.com FEBRUARY 17: L E A D E R S H I P DAY Join Alberta Women Entrepreneurs to “Learn from Alberta’s Best” at a day for innovation and ideas. ■■ Where: : MacEwan University (10700 104 Ave.) ■■ When: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ■■ Admission: : Early bird: $99, Regular: $129. More info at awebusiness.com For more great events, visit capitalideasedmonton.com/ edmontonevents.
C A P I TA L QUESTION
What’s your best customer service lesson or tip?
From finding ways to continually engage and delight customers to “firing” bad clients, business owners learn a lot about customer service in just about every industry. That’s got Wellington Holbrook, executive vice-president of ATB Business, curious to hear your advice: What’s your best customer service lesson or tip? You can answer the question in two ways: Open today’s Capital Ideas email if you’re a member or visit capitalideasedmonton.com. We’ll publish the best answers, along with your business name and website address, on January 6. See you in 2016!
Business owners helping business owners
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“Each month when preparing the next month’s shift schedule, I ask each employee to tell me which days they cannot work due to personal, medical or other commitments they have made. I construct the schedule in consideration of these requests. I can oblige all requests and still maintain shift coverage to ensure customers are take care of as well. Our staff appreciate this and come to work feeling good about wanting to be there rather than having to be there.” Alison Phillips, president and co-owner of Aligra Wine & Spirits, aligrawineandspirits.com
Anastasia Arabia, partner at Trend Research Inc. (trendresearch.ca) says workplace balance should include multiple options, including infrastructure. “We believe in flexible work schedules, which allow staff to participate in the things they love. Also we’ve set up the office to support work life balance, in that we’ve put in showers for staff who like to walk, run or workout before, during or after work. Finally, we have a company health plan. Healthy, happy employees make for a healthy, happy workplace!” P H O TO S U P P L I E D BY: A NA S TAS I A ARABI A
“Employee happiness and health and wellness is definitely a very complex challenge. For small and mid-sized businesses it can be even more demanding as you are competing with large companies with large HR Budgets and benefits. Juggling the labour costs while ensuring that staff are happy and productive becomes about creativity in crafting positive workplace environment, and morale.” Edward Langer, managing partner at ThinkTANK, thinktankads.com
“Increase in employee health and wellness is an increase productivity!” Nadine Litwin, advisor & solutions manager
“To promote employee wellness we provide a tax efficient benefit plan to cover health expenses. We invest in the necessary infrastructure to facilitate working from home whenever possible. We also provide personal days instead of sick time. Regardless if you’re sick, attending to personal matters, or just want to enjoy a day off the time is available. We find it creates an honest environment that supports the necessary time off to ‘recharge the batteries’.” Josh Spurrell, president of Spurrell & Associates Chartered Professional Accountants, spurrell.ca
“As a personal training studio we are all about employee health and wellness. Fitness in the workplace is one of our favourite things to do. Promoting fitness in the workplace is one of the best things a company can do for their employees because not only will the employee benefit but so will the company. It builds team morale, increases work efficiency and reduces the amount of sick days taken. And who wouldn’t want that?” Stacey Hogbin, owner of Wevive Fitness, wevivefitness.com
“Sustainability. Like a well-oiled machine, employees need maintenance too! We are a 24/7/365 operation; we need to ensure employees get enough rest between shifts, take care of their physical and mental health so that they can return to work fresh and ready to persevere. After difficult incidents, we ensure our employees have someone to debrief with and have the support they need to succeed!” Conrad Erbes, owner of CE Security & Consulting Inc., cesecurity.ca
These answers are in response to a question from Daryl Smith, president of Benefit Strategies Inc. (benefitstrategiesinc.ca). Here’s his take: “Meeting the needs of employees is paramount. At Benefit Strategies Inc., we include ergonomics around the office, customizable benefit packages, and healthcare spending accounts to enhance the health and wellness of our workforce. To achieve balance, and boost productivity, employees may take shortened work weeks, work from home, and enjoy flex time. It is important to be mindful of what your employees need: allowing time off for a grandchild’s birthday party, or to escort an aging parent to an appointment demonstrates understanding and support for wellbeing, both inside and outside of the office.” R O U N D U P : R E C E N T P O S T S F R O M C A P I TA L I D E A S M E M B E R S Find the full posts on these members’ LinkedIn profiles. We’ll curate a selection every Friday in our LinkedIn group, Capital Ideas Alberta. To bring yours to our attention, email it to hello@capitalideasedmonton.com or post to LinkedIn with the hashtag #capitalideas.
From “ Staying social over Christmas” by Alexandra Kulas, marketing project specialist at Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (awebusiness.com):
“Regardless of whether or not your business is open during the holidays, it is important to your business to remain active on social platforms during the break. Why spend so much prior time and investment on building and engaging an audience if you are just going to go cold turkey every time your business is closed?”
From “Sometimes down-sizing is right-sizing!” by Linda Maul, founder & managing partner of Creating People Power Inc. (creatingpeoplepower.ca):
“Overhead can be your enemy! We knew this at some level, but we got caught up in the good times and that influenced what we ‘thought we needed’ to be successful. In our case, it was our physical space that made it very difficult to move through the first downturn many years ago.”
From “The con game is alive and well” by Leanne Brownoff, business coach at Leanne Brownoff Consulting ( leannebrownoff.com):
“Building confidence with cohorts has a tainted history. Whether we think of the old snake oil salesmen of traveling road show notoriety or the more contemporary Lucy van Pelt as she repeatedly pulls the football away from the trusting Charlie Brown. Confidence continues to be an elusive business quality due to its tarnished reputation.”
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