MMA September 2014 Newsletter

Maryland

ISSUE 05/ SEPTEMBER 2014

MOTORCOACH Association

tips for powerpoint users

Hiring Temp Workers:

5 Legal Reminders 5 Reasons Your Visitors Leaving Your Website

Eden: Transportation employers, can you survive an OSHA audit?

Once again, Setra has raised the benchmark in the North American luxury motorcoach segment, with over 30 innovations in design, passenger and driver comfort, safety and environmental efficiencies. Daimler’s new, unique Front Collision Guard (FCG), for instance, is a passive safety system engineered to protect the driver and tour guide in the case of a frontal impact. Experience the all-new Setra TopClass S 417. From Daimler Buses North America, the worldwide leading manufacturer of buses and motorcoaches.

Motor Coach Industries 1700 East Golf Road, Suite 300 · Schaumburg, Illinois 60173 · Phone 866-624-2622 Distributor of EvoBus GmbH for Setra buses and Setra parts in the United States and Canada

Setra - a brand of Daimler AG

Don’t be fooled by its pretty face

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CREATE AN UNFORGETTABLE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH THESE 5 TIPS/

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Developing a specific and...

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THREE OF THE MOST COMMON DELEGATION AH-HA’S/

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FOUR EASY TIPS FOR POWERPOINT USERS/ HIRING TEMP WORKERS:/

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5 REASONS YOUR VISITORS ARE LEAVING YOUR WEBSITE/

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25 ACTIONABLE ITEMS FOR SUCCESSFUL VIDEO/ Successful video marketing may seem overwhelming. Especially if you...

Employing temporary or “temp” workers can often be a great way to fill vacancies...

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FMCSA SAFER BUS APP/

I have already booked tickets with a bus company that has a warning symbol displayed in the SaferBus app.

What should I do now?

EDEN: TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYERS/

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety ...

Your website is designed to pull...

PowerPoint users...

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SEVEN TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY/

Email marketing has the highest ...

One of the biggest shifts...

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IGNORING EMPLOYEE MORALE WILL COST YOU/

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COMMISSION SAYS “NO” TO MARIJUANA ON TOUR BUSES/

The Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission recently issued a memo to tour bus companies saying “no marijuana on the bus”.

Most entrepreneurs start their company trying to serve the best...

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from the president/

Crab Feast a Success as the MMA Member’s gathered at The Wellwood in North East, MD on September 9, 2014 and caught up with old friends and new acquaintances. A big Thank You goes out to Tim Wilson with Gunther Bus for donating the transportation to the event. “The crab’s were great said Kay Gaddy with Hubers bus and so was the chicken”. Everyone enjoyed themselves and by the end of the event it was all you could do to get up from the table we were all so full. Anyone with a recommendation for next year’s event please contact Mary Presley for an RFP at 571-312-7117.

Plans are now underway for what we hope will be another successful Stuff-A-Bus event as well. Stay tuned for a date, and location in the next week or so.

School’s back in session and we should all remember to drive safely especially on secondary roads as the student’s cross busy streets to get home. Many of our MMA Member’s own and operate school buses and we want to wish them safe travels for the school year.

Please welcome our newest member to MMA Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, the new urban two-story casino, which is the second largest casino in Maryland with a 122,000-squarefoot gaming floor. The multi-million dollar facility features video lottery terminals, table games, and a World Series of Poker room. A 20,000-square-foot Baltimore Marketplace featuring authentic Charm City food outlets, three premier restaurants, and several bars and lounges rounds out the food and beverage offerings. The $442 million casino is located along Russell Street on Baltimore’s south side, neighboring professional sports venues M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL Baltimore Ravens, and Camden Yards, home of the MLB Baltimore Orioles, as well as Baltimore’s famed Inner Harbor.

Al Spence,

President MMA A & S Midway Trailways 6

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Perfecting Customer Experience

Create an Unforgettable Customer Experience With These 5 Tips Developing a specific and unique competitive advantage is crucial for business success.

Over the years and in my work here at Xero, a company providing cloud accounting software, I’ve talked to thousands of small business owners and have found many believe that their company’s success relies solely on offering a superior product or service. Not entirely true. The often-overlooked key to success is not product-based and is actually more easily attainable for entrepreneurs than their larger corporate counterparts.

It’s about creating such an unforgettably good experience that customers are loyal for life and will recommend your business to their friends and networks.

An amazing experience is truly what creates loyal customers and helps you make more money. Because they’re smaller and more nimble, entrepreneurs and small-business owners already have an advantage for achieving this competitive advantage. Here’s how:

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1. Wear your cu0stomer’s hat. Step into their shoes and ask yourself: What type of experience would I want? It’s more than simply avoiding negative experiences. it’s about creating a memorable one that will leave your customers wanting more.

Map out your customer experience process: When do they first interact with your company? When do they stop? Extending the length of your customer’s experience will provide a greater opportunity to create a positive experience and build a 10 www.greenazine.com

strong relationship.

2. Don’t fight the feedback. There is no better way to determine what’s working and what’s not than hearing it from customers themselves. Direct customer feedback is valuable -especially for new and emerging companies -- because they provide a significant opportunity to improve your company’s experience early on. Use existing review sites like Yelp, Facebook or Angie’s List to see what your customers have to say and

determine the best way to improve their experience. Also, be sure to respond to your customers’ feedback to ensure their opinions are valued.

And lastly, don’t neglect the negative reviews. Though they may seem like a bullet to dodge, negative reviews provide a valuable opportunity to address, salvage and potentially build a loyal (and profitable) customer relationship.

3. Advise, don’t just supply. Instead of focusing on selling your product,

come back for repeat purchases in the future.

4. Work on the “unfun” parts. Many entrepreneurs focus primarily on their product or service, because it’s easier than thinking end to end.

And simply put, it’s not always fun.

However, the “unfun” parts typically require the most attention and are often the determining factor of a great customer experience. Start with identifying areas you frequently try to avoid. What’s the payment or billing experience like? What happens immediately after you finish the job itself? Consider making small adjustments to improve the commonly dreaded payment process or schedule follow-up calls after you complete service. Your customers will appreciate the added attention and consider you a trusted partner rather than a one-time purchase.

offer expert advice on what’s best for your customers’ needs -- even if it’s outside of your product offering. This type of professional guidance will build trust with your customer and contribute to a positive experience and long-lasting relationship.

Just like in the classic movie Miracle on 34th Street, offer alternative options if your product is not what they’re looking for. This may result in a lost sale initially, but customers will remember your support and

5. Don’t be TOO efficient. Getting the job done quickly is a common priority. However, spending a few extra minutes to ensure your customer is fully satisfied will be worth it in the end by attracting customer referrals. People want to feel special. Showing them extra attention will result in a positive experience, positive word of mouth and earned mindshare for your company overall. The opposite is also true: If customers feel rushed with no real, special attention they will walk away with a negative experience and probably won’t come back.

As a business owner, it’s critical to take advantage of any opportunity to get ahead in the industry. Though you may not have control of your competitors’ product advancements, you have complete control of your customers’ experience and ultimately, their loyalty. Take the time to provide an unforgettably good customer experience and it will pay off.

Don’t fight the feedback. There is no better way to determine what’s working and what’s not than hearing it from customers themselves.

Direct customer feedback is valuable.

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Power Point Made Easy

Four easy tips for PowerPoint users PowerPoint users of all expertise levels can benefit from applying a few of Susan Harkins favorite shortcuts.

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Everyone agrees that PowerPoint is a powerful presentation tool. Knowing your way around is the key to working efficiently and productively. Whether you use it all the time or infrequently, you can probably put a few of my favorite tips to work for you. These tips aren’t related in nature, but you’ll likely find them useful.

Tip 1: Don’t print the slide background Most presentations share a common background, whether it’s a simple color, a graphic, or a builtin design theme. Using the same background is a good practice, but it can get in the way when you’re printing. Printing the background wastes ink, and not everything that looks good on screen prints equally as well. Often, the slide background renders the printed material difficult to read.

Tip 2: Make pictures seem to fit the slide Pictures (and other large graphics) don’t always completely fill the slide. These files either fit or they don’t. Trying to force a fit usually distorts the picture.

When this happens, the background graphic or color shows, which you might not want. A picture can look a bit out of place surrounded by the presentation’s other design features or a background color that competes or even distracts, as shown in Figure B. Figure B

If you’re printing handouts via the Print tab, PowerPoint will exclude the background graphics automatically. On the other hand, if you’re printing the actual slides, you might want to hide the background while printing. Here’s how: Right-click a slide’s background and choose Format Background.

Check the Hide background graphics option (Figure A).

Figure A

The contrasting background draws the viewers’ attention.

It’s true that you can’t force the fit, but you can give the illusion that the picture fits. The technique is incredibly simple: change the slide’s background color to black. That’s it! Because the screen is black during a presentation, the slide’s black background disappears and all your viewers see is the picture, as shown in Figure C. Figure C

Click Close or Apply to all. Close will hide the graphic of only the current slide. Choosing Apply to all will hide the graphic for all of the slides.

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The black background allows the picture to stand out and the viewers see the picture, not the contrasting background.

Double-click an object, slowly. The first click will select the actual shape. The second click will insert the cursor for editing (Figure E). If that doesn’t happen, try again, clicking slower.

Figure E

Tip 3: Name objects When you add an object -- picture, shape, and so on -- PowerPoint assigns it a default name. These names aren’t descriptive, and if you have only a few, that won’t matter. However, if you have numerous objects, it’s helpful to give them names that mean something to you. That way, you can easily select them. Figure D shows a few overlapping oval shapes of different colors. In the Selection pane, you’d not know one from the other.

Some versions of PowerPoint will select the name, but PowerPoint 2013 doesn’t. Replace the name with a more meaningful name (Figure F).

Figure F

Figure D

Repeat the above until all the objects have names (Figure G).

Figure G PowerPoint’s default object names aren’t particularly meaningful.

Giving each object a meaningful name will help you find and select the objects you need quickly. You can name objects as follows: Click the Home tab.

In the Editing group, choose Selection Pane from the Select drop-down menu.

Once you give the objects meaningful names, you can quickly select the object you intend the first

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time. Names are especially helpful when objects are stacked, hiding objects beneath the top one. Simply select the object by name in the Selection pane instead of moving objects on top of the stack to access those buried beneath.

Tip 4: Quick access to the master slide While working in Normal view, you might want to visit the master slide to make modifications. You can do this the long way or the short way. Using the scenic route, you click the View tab and then click the Slide Master option in the Presentation Views

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group. When you’re ready to return to Normal view, click Close Master View in the Close group. Here’s the shorter route: simply hold down the [Shift] key and click the Normal icon (Figure H) on the Status bar. To quickly return to Normal view, click the icon again, without holding down [Shift].

Figure H

The Normal icon provides quick access to the master slide.

We can all benefit from each other’s experience. What are your favorite time-saving PowerPoint tips? Share your favorite tips.

Admittedly, this route isn’t a lot quicker than the ribbon route, but it’s easily accessible, and knowing more than one way to do something is always helpful. Here are a few more [Shift] key shortcuts: Hold down the [Shift] key when drawing a line to get a straight line.

Hold down the [Shift] key when drawing an oval to get a circle.

Hold down the [Shift] key when drawing a rectangle to get a square.

Hold down the [Shift] key while clicking Slide Sorter (on the Status bar) to access the handout master.

More tips?

We can all benefit from each other’s experience. What are your favorite time-saving PowerPoint tips? Share your favorite tips in the discussion thread below.

Send me your question about Office I answer readers’ questions when I can, but there’s no guarantee. When contacting me, be as specific as possible. For example, “Please troubleshoot my workbook and fix what’s wrong” probably won’t get a response, but “Can you tell me why this formula isn’t returning the expected results?” might. I’m not reimbursed by TechRepublic for my time or expertise, nor do I ask for a fee from readers. You can contact me at susansalesharkins@ gmail.com.

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Delegation Ah-ha’s

Three of the Most Common Delegation Ah-ha’s Going through the TRACK checklist only takes around five minutes and creates a set of talking points.

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One of the biggest shifts that most rising leaders have to make is the shift from being the go-to person to someone who builds teams of go-to people. As you take on more and more scope in your leadership role, you can’t continue to operate as the go-to person who acts as if you’re personally responsible for everything that happens. You need to be accountable and own the results but you can’t expect yourself to do everything that leads to the results.

That, of course, means that you need to be really effective at delegation.

Unfortunately, a lot of leaders aren’t that

good at it. Too often, they delegate something to a team member and it doesn’t get done well, or on time or at all. One of the big reasons this happens is because too many leaders take a “one size fits all” approach to delegation.

As I’ve written here before, effective delegation needs to be custom-fit to the people involved and the tasks that need to be accomplished.

That might sound like a lot of work, but it doesn’t really have to be. For several years now, I’ve been teaching the executives in our leadership development programs how to use a

simple delegation checklist I came up with called TRACK™. Using the TRACK checklist, a leader can come up with a really clear picture on how to custom fit the delegation by considering: - the what’s and why’s of the Task, - how to make a clear delegation Request, - what full Achievement would look like, - the depth and frequency of Checkin’s needed along the way

- and the Knowledge and Kudos that should be gained and shared as a result of the work.

Given time to think about and practice their delegation techniques, the leaders I work with come up with some pretty big ah-ha’s about what would make them more effective in sharing the work with their teams.

Here are three of the most common delegation ah-ha’s:

A little bit of prep goes a long way: Going through the TRACK

checklist only takes around five

minutes and creates a set of talking points for an effective delegation conversation and plan. Most of the leaders I work with are surprised by how much value there is taking five to ten minutes to think through a delegation conversation rather than just jumping into it.

It’s not about me:

When they practice their delegation conversations with some peers, many leaders are surprised and a little chagrined to hear how much they’re talking about themselves in the conversation. (As in, “This is why

this is important to me,” or “I need you to do this.”)

The leaders who have ninja level delegation skills are the ones who tune into “you” (As in “Here’s what you could get out of this assignment,” or “What questions do you have?”)

Check-ins reduce anxiety and micromanaging: A lot of leaders are reluctant to

delegate because they’re afraid they won’t have all the answers when they get the pop quiz from their boss about what’s going on with a project. Most of the leaders I work with are finding that being clear up front with the person they’re delegating to about the depth and frequency of the check-

in process alleviates the urge to micro-manage and the anxiety behind it. It also makes it much less likely that they’re going to drive their team members crazy.

Which element of the TRACK delegation checklist do you think needs the most attention?

What have been some of your big ah-ha’s about effective delegation?

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Hiring Temp Workers

Hiring Temp Workers: 5 Legal Reminders 22 www.greenazine.com

Employing temporary or “temp” workers can often be a great way to fill vacancies in your business, but you’ll need to get your legal ducks in a row.

Temps are often hired through staffing or “temp” agencies and may not be actual employees of your business. However, many companies have instituted temp-to-hire policies in which an employee has a short-

term contract with that company which may lead to a full-time position.

These are but some of the legal concerns when employing temp workers, but these five legal reminders can help keep your business on the up-and-up:

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Hourly temp workers are entitled to overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week, and they must be paid at least minimum wage for every hour they work.

1. Staffing Agencies May Save Some Time Staffing or temp agencies work by hiring qualified applicants, “temps,” which they then essentially “lease” out to companies who need skilled workers to fill gaps in their workforces. Temp agencies may charge a surcharge of up to 30 percent of a temp’s wages, but it may be worth the money not to have to deal with paying or gathering tax information from that person.

2. Don’t Treat Temps Like Employees If you do end up going your own route and hiring an independent contractor to fill in for a temporary employment gap, make sure you don’t treat him or her like an employee. And make sure to get a Social Security Number (SSN) or some form of Taxpayer Identification Number, you may need it for sending that outside-agency temp a 1099 MISC form.

3. Be Careful with Temp Contracts In any contract with a temporary worker, make sure that the language specifically distinguishes the worker from your regular employees. Temp contracts via a staffing agency don’t usually have this issue, but you may need to pay specific attention to the temp’s scope of work (buried somewhere in the boilerplate language).

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4. Abide by Minimum Wage and Overtime Requirements Hourly temp workers are entitled to overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week, and they must be paid at least minimum wage for every hour they work.

Forcing temps to work early, late, or through their breaks without paying them will put your business in a legal bind.

5. Follow OSHA Guidelines The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released guidance on protecting temporary workers in your business. Even though temps may not be employees, their host employers still may be obligated to keep them safe, manage their injuries, and track their health.

If you need further guidance on how to legally accommodate temps, consult with a business attorney.

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Increase Email Deliverability

Seven Tips to Increase Your Email Deliverability Email marketing has the highest return on investment of any marketing medium. It’s a powerful tool that’s not going away any time soon.

High success rates come when you put forth the effort to ensure your lists are clean and current, your content is sound and simple, and your ability to track results helps you fine-tune future campaigns to increase engagement.

Most small businesses operate on a very tight marketing budget. They usually have one person dedicated to handling email marketing; often, that person is also wearing other hats. Being able to efficiently create, send, and track email campaigns that work takes trial and error and lots of practice.

Below are seven tips to help you be successful in getting the most out of your email marketing efforts.

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Tip 1: Start with clean-list-building practices. It’s important to create a

Tip 5: Test. Trial and error is very

list based on people who have already expressed an interest in hearing about your product or service. When you have consent or the proper permission to send an email to someone, success rates and deliverability go way up. You want the sender to recognize you when you send them an email. You also might consider segmenting your list so you can be more accurate when personalizing your content to a more specialized audience.

valuable for testing email campaigns.

We provide our customers with an A/B or split-test function, which allows them to divide their lists and test campaign content. One quarter of the list is sent one concept while another quarter is sent a different concept. Based on which quarter’s content has the higher opening rate, the winning concept is sent to the remaining 50% of the list. These tests give emailers a better understanding of what works.

Tip 2: Keep lists current. The age of

Tip 6: Track performance over time.

your list also matters. People’s interests change and their addresses change. Send a campaign at least every three months to make sure your list is still good. Lists that are over a year old put you at risk of getting blacklisted or blocked; once that happens, it is very hard to get your emails delivered. If you are concerned that you might already be blacklisted, see the current list of sites at the end of this article; use them to search your domain and IP address to ensure you’re in the clear.

Tip 3: Have an online presence. Stop using a Gmail (or Yahoo or Hotmail) address to promote your brand. Get your own domain and website. Include an email submission form on your homepage to help build your list. When you send an email with your domain name in the address, it is more likely to be recognized and opened. To improve delivery in the future, add a call to action at the beginning of each email asking your email recipients to add your address to their address book.

Tip 4: Develop engaging content.

Personalize emails when you can. Keep content simple with a good balance of text and images. Spammers don’t usually “waste” time doing so, whereas some marketers want to dazzle with too many images. Emails with JavaScript and attachments also send a red flag.

Gaining a window into your campaign’s open rates and click-through rates will help with tracking growth and success over time. This data helps you to get insights into what content and subject lines are successful and how to improve your approach.

Tip 7: Hire an Email Service Provider (ESP). ESPs help with monitoring your email deliverability and bounce-backs and ensuring your compliance with anti-spam regulations. When you send your email campaign through an ESP, it will include a standard opt-out and global opt-out link as well. If you have no design experience, ESPs can help provide templates to make email campaigns look professional.

Never underestimate the power of email marketing. Although social media has been getting a lot of buzz, not everyone is always logged into Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. But most people constantly check their emails, even when they are not at their computers.

Meet people where they are at and have fun while you are doing it!

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Keep website visitors

5 Reasons Yo Leaving Your

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our Visitors Are r Website

Your website is designed to pull in visitors, engage with them, and then eventually convert them into new customers, but what if it is really causing your visitors to leave your site and do business with your competition?

Attracting high quality traffic to your website is a time consuming and very costly process, so the last thing you want to do is cause your visitors to quickly leave. Often times it is caused by something simple that can be changed to eliminate that problem.

Here are five reasons that your website could be potentially pushing away new visitors, and causing your business to lose revenue.

1. Poor User Navigation Your visitors must be able to land on your site and quickly identify how to move around your website, and they need to be able to do this regardless of what kind of device they are using to browse your website. Mobile, tablet, and laptop/ desktop screens of all sizes must all have a great user experience.

If they can’t locate your menu or there isn’t a clearly defined purpose they will become aggravated and leave. You could have the best content, products, or services, but if the visitor can’t easily locate them your website isn’t doing its job.

Solution: Have one single navigation menu that is easy to access and clearly defined. Make sure that your menu is responsive and provides desktop, mobile, and tablet users alike with an effortless navigation experience.

To get complete insight as to what your visitors are doing once they

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land on your website use a tool like Crazy Egg, a heat map tool that helps you identify the most popular areas of your website. It also shows your how far down visitors are scrolling, what parts of the website are working and which are not, and also what your users are doing on your pages.

2. Animation & Audio Years ago many web developers felt that music and an abundance of animation was the key to success.

Nobody wants to hear cheesy elevator music or be forced to watch animation before they are able to access the meat of your website.

Web design is constantly evolving, and music and animation aren’t what your visitors are expecting (or wanting) to encounter when they visit your website. This also slows down your load time.

Solution: Focus on a very simple website design that loads fast and allows the visitor to immediately identify the product or service you are selling. If it takes your visitors a long time to figure out your website they will most likely leave quickly and visit another website.

3. Slow Webpage Load Time Have you ever landed on a website and just sat there waiting…and waiting…and waiting some more for the page to load? It is extremely annoying, and you probably never returned to that website again because of that terrible experience.

According to KISSmetrics, 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

Solution: Run a Google PageSpeed Insights report and GTmetrix performance report for your website.

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These free tools not only give you a score and grade, but they also provide suggestions to help you improve the speed and performance of your website.

4. Lacking Fresh Content You could have a fast loading website, with a pleasant design and easy navigation, but if your website isn’t updated on a regular basis with fresh content you could still be pushing potential customers away. If a potential customer revisits your website you want them to be welcomed with fresh content.

Solution: A blog that is updated on a regular basis is a great way to ensure there is always something new for returning visitors to find value in.

The frequency in which you update it will vary greatly depending on how often your visitors are returning and your ability and budget to keep your website updated. Once create a publishing schedule it is important that you stick to it, whether it is daily blog posts or weekly updates. Make sure that your visitors always have something new to engage with.

5. Forced Registration & PopUps That Load Immediately Your website also acts as a lead generation tool, but that doesn’t mean you should hassle or out-andout aggravate your visitors by asking for their information before you provide them with anything of value.

The use of pop-ups that display immediately after the page loads or locking blog content and requiring an email registration to view the content will push your visitors away. If you provide useful content and information your visitors will want to sign up for your updates or mailing list to stay connected with your brand because they see value in

According to KISSmetrics, 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

what you offer.

Solution: Focus on providing value to your visitors and your leads will grow naturally. If you want to attempt to convert visitors before they leave your website use a pop-up that features exit-intent technology, displaying the offer once the visitor has decided to leave your website. According to Bounce Exchange, 70% – 96% of the visitors abandoning your site will never return, so an exit-pop is a good way to try to convert some of those visitors that will never return.

revenue opportunity at a disadvantage by falling victim to those five common mistakes. Focus on providing a great user experience before anything else.

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Video Marketing

25 Actionable Items for Successful Video Marketing 36 www.greenazine.com

The good news is that there are several affordably priced HD camcorders on the market, and your phone may even be able to shoot HD as well.

Successful video marketing may seem overwhelming.

Especially if you have the thought in your head that you have to hire a full video crew and have all the expensive equipment to go with it in order to produce videos.

The good news is that there are several affordably priced HD camcorders on the market, and your phone may even be able to shoot HD as well.

Combine that with affordable or free video editing tools, and you have what it takes to start promoting your business and its products or services on YouTube, Vimeo, and beyond. Below are actionable tips you can start implementing right away to get you started.

How to Perform Successful Video Marketing Cross Post Cross post on Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, Google+.

Google+ and YouTube are connected, but be sure to promote that you have a new video on all social networks as soon as it’s out.

Share Snippets Share snippets of video on Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine, as you are recording your full-length video as teasers.

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Embed Your Videos Into Blog Posts

Invest in Simple Accessories

Embed videos into blog posts with a quick explanation for more visibility and extra content (which can help drive more traffic to your website and blog).

Buy a portable tabletop tripod for interviews and testimonials. There’s several affordable options on Amazon or eBay that can fit in your camera bag.

Create Product Videos

Record Interviews

Create product videos for products to show how big an item is compared to a person (this is especially good for clothing or accessories), or how easy it is to use.

Conduct interviews with people from your industry at conferences and networking events. Have an interviewer with a wireless mic and someone to hold the camera (or a full-length tripod).

Videotape Company Events

Display Product Durability

Take videos of company events with employees to increase familiarity and the feeling that users know you personally.

Make videos that show your product’s durability. “Will it Blend” from Blendtec and Otterbox’s communitygenerated YouTube videos are good examples:

Create a Series of Videos

Create Explainer Videos

Let one person or team from each department in your company have a “Day in the Life” video that explains what they do all day. Splice different segments together from throughout the day.

If you specialize in accessories or complements to a main product (like iPad cases), buy the latest main product and do an explainer video about it with your review.

Create Video Testimonials

Poll People

Shoot video testimonials instead of having clients or customers write them down. It personalizes the testimonial and makes it more authentic.

Poll Twitter, Facebook, and your website for questions from your audience and create an Ask the Expert video series with their answers.

Provide Incentives

Create Video Podcasts

Give incentives (products, gift cards, drawings) for user-generated videos that promote your products or services. Share these videos on your video channels.

Create a podcast with audio and video versions so users can view or listen, however they’d prefer.

Create Playlists

Host a Contest

Create Playlists on YouTube of related videos or series so they are easier to find.

Hold a contest to create an infomercial for your company, product, or services for employees and/or your customers. Make it fun and promote cheesiness!

Use Google Adsense Look into Google AdSense for your YouTube videos to make a little more income for your efforts.

Provide Employees With Cameras Give employees GoPro cameras to record company events or their experiences during their work day.

Invest in an HD Camera If you need a high quality camera anyway, consider buying one that shoots HD video as well. Superzoom cameras are in between point-and-shoots and DSLRs and are an affordable option.

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Optimize Your Videos Be sure to implement correct video SEO for your videos’ titles, descriptions, categories, and keywords.

Be sure to always include a link to your home page or the most accurate interior page, as well as your phone number, in the description.

Answer Customer Questions in Video If your customer service or support team keeps getting the same questions repeatedly, answer each one in a separate video, making the title the optimized version of the question they get asked.

Create Video Roundups Include of roundup of that month’s new videos in a

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monthly newsletter or email blast, or as an addition to your existing scheduled emails.

Use Freelance Services Use Fiverr or another freelance service to get a custom intro for all your videos to make them more professional.

Use Video Editing Software Utilize free or affordable video editing software (such as Windows Movie Maker) and scale up according to your needs.

principles and how to use your current technology to the best of your abilities. Things such as interviewers should always look at the camera occasionally when interviewing, and you should never shoot in front of a window where sunlight is coming it to reduce glare.

It’s easier than ever before to start creating video content for your business. And this can lead to more visibility, credibility, and easy-to-digest information for your audience.

Record in Front of a Backdrop Use a white sheet and PVC pipe to make an easy backdrop if you don’t have a blank wall to shoot your videos in front of.

In addition, before actually shooting your videos, it might help to do some reading on basic video

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41

Employee Morale

Ignoring Employee Morale Will Cost You. Here’s the Solution.

Most entrepreneurs start their company trying to serve the best steak in town, offer the best massage or build the best product they can. That’s where their heart and passion is. But then they quickly realize that they have to recruit complementary talent to help turn that dream into reality.

Not only do they have to learn how to motivate, inspire and retain their best employees, but they are also juggling accounting, marketing, sales, product

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development, etc. In this environment, focusing on culture -- ensuring high levels of employee satisfaction and engagement -- typically falls by the wayside.

But ignoring the cultivation of employee morale is one of the costliest mistakes an entrepreneur can make.

Research reveals that: Letting employee engagement slide can result in 20 percent less revenue

growth than your competitors with motivated employees.

Disengaged employees are nearly 87 percent more likely to find a different place to work.

You can expect to spend 21.4 percent of an employee’s annual pay on replacing him or her.

There’s also the collateral damage inflicted when unhappy workers taint

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all the other good apples in the barrel.

down to my favorite five:

The solution is an improved information flow between employees and managers to stay on top of these issues before dissatisfaction spirals out of control. While the “opendoor” policy is the generally accepted approach for this, the truth is few employees will be completely honest and forthcoming to someone who controls their livelihood.

1. Anonymity. If you keep your surveys anonymous, employees will have the freedom they need to be completely honest. Having a portal to receive bad news is necessary to make organization improvements.

Searching for a better solution, I found that anonymous employee surveys work best to improve the feedback channel. These anonymous engagement surveys cut through the fear and give leaders the valuable, direct feedback they need to know when problems arise.

A recently released guide by TINYpulse gives a solid overview of what your survey should include. They provide 20 best practices when conducting an employee survey, and I’ve distilled it

2. Short, simple surveys take less time to complete. This makes them less burdensome to complete resulting in higher response rates.

3. Feedback sharing. No one likes to air their dirty laundry, but sharing all survey results with your team signals that you are listening to employees and receptive to all types of feedback.

4. Feedback action. One of the most notable pieces of research I’ve seen is that one in three employees will become disengaged if survey feedback is not acted upon. If you plan to conduct an employee survey, be ready to act on whatever feedback is shared.

5. Regular survey cadence. A one-time survey gives you a quick read on your culture. Repeating that survey over time lets you see how your feedback is trending and if your morale is improving or declining.

If you’re sold and want to focus on employee happiness, I would suggest two free services that many companies start with. One is the ever-popular SurveyMonkey. I’m sure everyone has either administered one of these surveys or taken one. The second one is Google Forms, a more recent option that integrates seamlessly with Gmail and Google Docs, which is a bonus if your company is already using Google’s Productivity Suite.

Best of luck as you strive for employee satisfaction. As Lord Kelvin states, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”

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FMCSA Safer Bus App

The following FAQ’s have been taken from the FMCSA’s website and are what they are telling end users about the SaferBus App. Knowing what they are saying will help you understand the calls and requests that are coming from your consumers. u I have already booked tickets with a bus company that has a warning symbol displayed in the SaferBus app. What should I do now?

Consumers should contact the bus company with any specific questions they have regarding its on-road performance. u I have found consumer information about bus companies on other search engines. Is the SaferBus app the same as these?

Popular search engines are a good source of information for comments from bus users about their personal experience with the company and related information. Instead of consumer information, the SaferBus app uses safety enforcement information from violations, inspections and investigations reported by state law enforcement. u I have already booked tickets with a bus company that is not allowed to operate. What should I do now?

Contact the company, cancel the trip and request a refund. Also, contact FMCSA at 1-888-368-7238 (DOT-SAFT) to

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notify us that the out of service company is still selling tickets. Hearing directly from consumers gives us necessary information to shut down unsafe companies. u Where does the bus company data in the SaferBus app come from?

The information in the SaferBus app is the result of 24 months of roadside inspections/violations of company drivers and vehicles as well as USDOT/FMCSA investigations of the company’s safety practices. The information is stored in databases that USDOT/FMCSA and its state partners use to evaluate a company’s on-road compliance behavior to prioritize companies for investigation. u What if I don’t have an iOS or Android device to access the SaferBus App? Please visit the Motor Carrier Safety Measurement System web site to search for bus company safety information.

The SaferBus app draws its safety information directly from this database. u Why isn’t the bus company I am looking for appearing when I search the SaferBus app? Does this mean they are not allowed to operate?

No, not necessarily. USDOT registered bus companies should appear in your search results regardless of whether or not they are allowed to operate. The company may be using a trade name instead of, or in addition to, its official business name. Try verifying the company’s official business name and redoing your search. Or, search by the carrier’s USDOT or MC number instead. There are many similarly named companies. Searches based on USDOT/ MC number will provide the most reliable results.

Search results will provide safety information on USDOT registered bus companies that are licensed to transport passengers from one state to another and that are subject to Federal regulatory oversight. Companies that only operate within the borders of a single state generally are NOT included. u What does the yellow attention symbol indicate when displayed in the SaferBus app?

A Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) status of Warning Symbol indicates that, based on the data, the bus company may be prioritized for further monitoring. This is either because the company’s onroad performance (BASIC percentile) is above the intervention threshold or a serious violation serious violation icon was found during a carrier investigation. A company with a BASIC status of [Warning] should not be viewed as unsafe.

The symbol Warning Symbol is not intended to imply any Federal safety rating of the carrier pursuant to 49 USC 31144. Users should not draw conclusions about a carrier’s overall safety condition simply based on the data displayed in this app. Unless a company in the SMS has received an UNSATISFACTORY safety rating pursuant to 49 CFR Part 385, or has otherwise been ordered to discontinue operations by the FMCSA, it is authorized to operate on the nation’s roadways. Motor carrier safety ratings are available in the SAFER database and motor carrier licensing and insurance status are available int he Licensing and Insurance (L&I) database. u I am having difficulty with technical aspects of the SaferBus app. Where should I go for help?

Please send an email to SaferBus@dot.gov.

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u I have questions about the information being displayed in the SaferBus app. Where should I go for help?

If you have additional questions about the data or how it was calculated, please visit FMCSA’s SMS Web site or contact us directly. More information can be found on the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) site. u Why are some companies deemed “not allowed to operate” in the SaferBus app?

A company shown as “not allowed to operate” has either been placed out of service by FMCSA or does not have the proper operating authority and is NOT legally permitted to operate. u How does the SaferBus app help me select a bus company?

The SaferBus app helps consumers make more informed decisions by making the on-road performance data of bus companies more readily available to the public. SaferBus displays a bus company’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) results organized by Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). More information about the available data can be found on this web site.

The SaferBus app will also help you avoid bus companies that have been placed out of service or that do not have operating authority. In either case, these companies are operating illegally. u How does the SaferBus app work?

Simply enter the name of a bus company, or the company’s U.S. DOT number or Motor Carrier (MC) number to access information related to that company in the FMCSA database. This will allow you to review information about a company’s safety performance and whether or not the company is legally “allowed to operate.” u How do I find the USDOT number or MC number of the bus company?

FMCSA requires all bus companies to display their USDOT and/or MC number on the side of the vehicle. If you are not near the vehicle, you can contact the bus company or search for the company on FMCSA’s web site by entering the company name and the location where the company is headquartered. u Are there other reasons why a bus company name may not appear when I search the SaferBus app?

If you are purchasing a ticket online, you may be buying a ticket from a ticketing service or ticket broker and not directly from a bus company. Ticketing service and ticket broker names will not appear in the SaferBus app. Contact the company selling the ticket and ask for the USDOT number of the bus company making the trip. u How do I get the SaferBus app and how much does it cost?

The SaferBus app was developed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for Apple iOS and Android devices that have the ability to connect to the internet. It is available free of charge through the Apple iTunes App store and Google Play.

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Survive OSHA audit

Eden: Transportation employers, can you sur an OSHA audit?

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rvive

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are tag-teaming transportation employers. They’ve signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which they agree to share information about allegations of safety, coercion and retaliation.

And last week, OSHA ordered a Michigan asphalt company to pay almost $1 million to a foreman and two drivers who claimed that they were fired in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act for engaging in protected activity related to driver hours of service.

It’s a mistake for trucking employers to breathe a sigh of relief when the FMCSA auditor drives away – the OSHA inspector may be right behind.

Here are some areas you should look at before any auditor or inspector arrives: » Forklift compliance: Are forklifts in good working order, with legible data plates and functioning seatbelts that are consistently used? Are attachments approved by the manufacturer?

Do you regularly conduct required pre-shift inspections? Have all operators been trained and evaluated, and then re-evaluated every three years? » Loading docks: Do you regularly review procedures and check equipment used to prevent trailers from mistakenly pulling away while being loaded? And, if any loading dock is 4 feet high or higher, to prevent forklifts or employees from falling off the dock? » Terminal shop and fuel islands: These are considered “low-hanging fruit” for OSHA inspectors, who frequently find unguarded or unanchored grinders and drills, use of

compressed air without safety nozzles, lack of eyewash facilities, trailer top repair work without fall protection, and unlabeled containers of oil, antifreeze or even window washer fluid. » Safety shoes: OSHA inspectors have even been known to cite employers for not requiring dock employees to wear safety shoes with protective toes. » FMCSA compliance: Yes, even the OSHA inspector may tell you in the closing conference that employees alleged FMCSA violations, such as exceeding hours of service, falsification of logs, or improper maintenance of tractors and trailers. The OSHA inspector may also notice and refer visible FMCSA compliance issues, such as improperly loaded trailers, missing or erroneous hazardous material placards, or hazardous cargo that is improperly packaged and leaking, or missing the required labels. » Whistleblowers: Of course, because the primary focus of the MOU is whistleblower protection, either an FMCSA auditor or an OSHA compliance officer would quickly refer any claim of safety-related retaliation.

Those complaints would be referred to OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Programs division for investigation.

All trucking employers should already have in place an effective whistleblower protection policy, with training for managers, supervisors, and employees.

With a good safety and whistleblower policy in place, you should be ready for the FMCSA-OSHA “tag team.”

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No Marijuana on buses

Commission says “no” to marijuana on tour buses SPOKANE, Wash - The Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission recently issued a memo to tour bus companies saying “no marijuana on the bus”.

Transportation and safety regulators told state charter and excursion bus operators that consumption or use of marijuana products on their buses or chartered vehicles are “prohibited by state law”. The UTC says it issued the memo because “several” transportation companies filed permits to provide marijuana themed tour services.

The memo went on to say that tour buses and its driver and passengers are considered to be in public view. Washington state law prohibits marijuana consumption in public view which has mainly been considered public parks, public streets public bars and buildings. The UTC says charter license holders are at risk of losing their license if they don’t comply.

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STATE OF WASHINGTON

UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION 1300 S. Evergreen Park Dr. S.W., P.O. Box 47250 ● Olympia, Washington 98504-7250 (360) 664-1160 ● www.utc.wa.gov

August 21, 2014 Subject: Marijuana Use on State-Permitted Charter and/or Excursion Vehicles Dear Permit Holder: The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is advising you that under state law you may not permit consumption or use of marijuana products on state-permitted charter and excursion vehicles, nor permit a driver to be exposed to marijuana smoke or vapor. 

RCW 69.50.445 states that it is “unlawful to open a package containing marijuana, useable marijuana, or a marijuana-infused product, or consume marijuana, useable marijuana, or a marijuana-infused product, in view of the general public.”



RCW 70.160.030 provides that “No person may smoke in a public place or in any place of employment.”



WAC 480-30-221 incorporates by reference certain federal safety regulations, 49 CFR 382.213, which prohibit use of marijuana by drivers of commercial motor vehicles.

The commission believes activity in your vehicles is “in view of the general public” for the purposes of RCW 69.50.445; your vehicles are “a public place” or a “place of employment” for the purposes of RCW 70.160.030; and your drivers may be subject to WAC 480-30-221. For these reasons you must prohibit consumption or use of marijuana on your vehicles.

If you fail to comply with these state requirements, the commission may commence a proceeding to cancel your permit for violation of state law.

If you have questions regarding this notice, please contact David Pratt, Assistant Director for Transportation Safety, at (360) 664-1100 or dpratt@utc.wa.gov.

Sincerely, [signature on file] Steven V. King Executive Director and Secretary

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