MMA September 2015 Newsletter

MARYLAND

ISSUE 17/ SEPTEMBER 2015

MOTORCOACH ASSOCIATION

B2B vs. B2C QR codes allow smartphone access

to school bus

inspection results Is your star player

ready for a promotion?

FMSCA Continues Pre-Employment

Screening Program

ARE YOU A MICROMANAGER OR A MACROMANAGER?/

QR CODES ALLOW SMARTPHONE ACCESS TO SCHOOL BUS INSPECTION RESULTS/

IS YOUR STAR PLAYER READY FOR A PROMOTION?/

Micromanager. It’s one of the least flattering labels one can be tagged with in business....

For the first time this year, parents can check for themselves to see how the...

If you’re lucky enough to have a team with top performers, you know that eventually some of...

OBAMA ORDERS FEDERAL CONTRACTORS TO PROVIDE WORKERS PAID SICK LEAVE/

FIVE THINGS SMALL BUSINESSES SHOULD BE DOING TO CREATE A CULTURE THAT BENEFITS WOMEN/

NIC FEDERAL AWARDED NOCOST CONTRACT TO CONTINUE OPERATING THE FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S (FMCSA) PREEMPLOYMENT SCREENING PROGRAM (PSP)/

President Obama signed an executive order on SEPT. 7, 2015 requiring federal...

The topic of working mothers has been all over the news lately. From Netflix’s offer of...

MCI SPEEDS UP LEARNING/

Today’s motorcoaches are a finely tuned combination of leading-edge technology and...

B2B VS. B2C: HOW CONTENT MARKETING CHANGES BY TARGET AUDIENCE/

When discussing content marketing, industry insiders tend to speak more to the...

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T GET THE MONEY?/

How many budget meetings have you been in during your career? For me, the number...

BETTER WAYS FOR DRIVERS TO SCREEN PASSENGERS/

Airport screeners are wasting their time trying to spot bad guys simply by checking....

NIC Federal, a wholly owned subsidiary of NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) and a leading provider...

6 TIPS FOR GIVING ANY SMALL BUSINESS AN ENTERPRISE HEART/

In the “Wizard of Oz,” the Tin Man wanted a heart, but had to change strategies to find it...

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From The President/ If you attended the recent MMA Crab Feast at the Kentmorr Restaurant in Stevensville, MD you had a chance to see how viable MMA has become as a state motorcoach association. If you did not, YOU MISSED IT! Well over 80 people attended and the crabs served that night were fantastic.

Founded in 1954 by Bill Morris, Kentmorr Restaurant and Crab House has been operated by Dave and Tammy Harper and their dedicated staff since 1993. From the beginning, Kentmorr has been a great family location to relax, enjoy good food and scenery, or spend a day on the bay sport fishing with the local charter boat captains or sitting on the beach watching the kids play in the sand and swim in the bay. Check out this video for an overview of our property.

The restaurant’s location provides one of the finest views the Eastern Shore has to offer for your Chesapeake Bay experience.

Award winning crab cakes, local crabs, fish, and oysters add to your enjoyment of one of the world’s finest estuaries.

The evening started with a networking social with the group taking time to talk about the industry and catch up with some old friends. KRR Photography MMA’s official photographer was on to make sure they captured the event. Be sure to check out the video included with the EBlast. The meal consisted of what else? CRABS! Along with some great sides and apple cobbler for dessert but it was truly the crabs that were the hit of the party. As you know most Marylanders are truly efficient at cracking and consuming crabs and this event was no exception.

We truly hope if you were not able to attend this event that you try your best to come to the MMA Holiday Party being held December 10, 2015 on the Spirit Cruise Lines in Baltimore, MD. Watch for the invitation to start going out and register soon.

We promise good food, great networking, and a lot of fun as we dance the night away under the stars.

Something different this year for the party is the chance to sponsor a table and invite your customers and friends to dine with you. We hope to have each table decorated by the sponsor and maybe do some judging on the best decorated.

So far we already have ABC, MCI, and PREVOST committed, as Sponsors and we want to make sure that we show our support to them for being so generous. Watch for more details as the meetings committee work to make this night a memorable event as well.

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On a more serious note, MMA has submitted a letter to support Bill HR 2077, introduced by Congressman Scott Perry addressing passenger carrier insurance limits, in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization.

Currently, passenger carriers operating large buses in interstate operations are required to carry $5 million in liability. These limits are adequate and no one has demonstrated there is a need to increase these limits. Despite this, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is considering raising these limits to as high as $20 million.

Increasing the minimum responsibility limits would needlessly escalate the costs of travel for the millions that use large buses to travel to work, school, access healthcare, and for pleasure and threatens the very existence of this important industry.

In MAP-21, Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study regarding the adequacy of minimum financial responsibility limits. To date, no study of the passenger carrier industry has taken place.

Congressman Perry’s bill would require the Secretary to conduct a study and consult with representatives of the over-the-road bus and private school bus transportation industries; and a range of insurers and reinsurers of motor carriers of passengers and submit a report to Congress not later than one-year after enactment. It would also prevent limits from being increased by regulation. This could truly have a huge ripple affect on the tour and travel industry and our MMA members as they seek to increase their business and traveling customers.

MMA urges you to contact your state and local representatives as well and explain to them how their voice can help to encourage this bill to pass.

As we all know school is back in season and with that comes the opportunity to “BE ALERT” as your travel your local roads and highways.

Al Spence,

President MMA A & S Midway Trailways

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7

Management

Are you a micromanager Micromanager. It’s one of the least flattering labels one can be tagged with in business today. It connotes an unproductive level of involvement in the work and work products, excessive need for control, nitpickiness, attention to unnecessary details and a generally unpleasant overall workplace experience.

Nobody wants to be a called a micromanager.

Question: But, what’s the alternative?

Answer: Become a macromanager!

Macromanagement is an alternative way of dealing with employees and others that honors who they are and what they know, while at the same time driving engagement and sustainable results.

This table provides a high-level overview of how macromanagement differs from the kind of micromanagement that most of us are all too familiar with.

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r or a macromanager?

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So, how do you jump from column A to column B and bridge the gap between micro- and macromanagement. Try the following four strategies.

Internalize the big picture. Micromanagement

Macromanagement is an alternative way of dealing with employees and others that honors who they are and what they know, while at the same time driving engagement and sustainable results.

is frequently the result of focusing on the weeds because we don’t know or aren’t familiar enough with the 30,000-foot view. Under such circumstances, it’s understandable that managers might be hyperattentive to those things over which they have control, demand to be kept “in the loop” on routine matters, and obsess on insignificant details.

The antidote is to helicopter up and explore and internalize the big picture. This involves becoming conversant in the organization’s strategies, threats, challenges and tactics. Understanding where the business is headed creates the guardrails for success.

And, it allows for more flexibility and creativity in terms of getting there.

Know your audience. It could easily be argued “micromanagement” is in the eye of the beholder — or the person being managed. If I were performing a detailed, technical, and high-stakes task for the first time (like a medical procedure), I might welcome an expert looking over my shoulder, directing my every move. Managers at all levels of the organization must learn to flex their style and responses to the needs of those who report to them. An assessment of competence drives how much or how little direct instruction, guidance, support or latitude is required for an individual to deliver the required results.

•

How am I helping or hindering your progress?

Develop your powers of observation. The

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What could I do more/less of to support you better?

•

What do you need to continue to grow in your job?

objective data you gather will help to inform your choice of the most appropriate and effective ways to interact with employees. So monitor what matters.

Watch the metrics and indicators that most closely align with success. Watch and listen to the cues available to you. They will provide the “macro” data you need and guide you toward the most productive response.

Ask for feedback. While observation is a powerful

tool for managers and leaders, so is conversation.

Too frequently we try to divine what others might be thinking or feeling, when the answer is just a question away. Want to know where you are on the micro/macromanagement continuum (and where you should be)? Simply adopt a spirit of curiosity and invite your employees’ feedback. Get started with questions like:

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Given the complexity of today’s workplace, the expectations of workers, and the fundamental need to help businesses thrive, it’s essential for managers to shift their focus away from the weeds and provide just the structure and support necessary to help employees succeed — and nothing more.

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11

Paid Sick Leave

Obama Orders Federal C Provide Workers Paid Sic 12 www.greenazine.com

Contractors to ck Leave

President Obama signed an executive order on SEPT. 7, 2015 requiring federal contractors to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave a year, even as he accused Republican congressional leaders of endangering the economy and Republican presidential candidates of undercutting American workers.

Addressing a union audience gathered here for Labor Day, Mr. Obama said he was glad not to be on the ballot but then sounded like a candidate himself as he went after the Republicans who hope to succeed him in the White House. He mocked them individually and as a group for portraying themselves as champions of the middle class while opposing labor unions.

“You can’t just talk the talk,” Mr. Obama said to cheers. “You’ve got to walk the walk. You can’t talk middle class and then do things that hurt the middle class.”

He also chastised abortion opponents in Congress for threatening to shut down the federal government in an effort to cut off taxpayer financing for Planned Parenthood, saying such a move could damage the economy at a time of global volatility.

“A shutdown would be completely irresponsible,” Mr. Obama said. “It would be an unforced error, a fumble on the goal line.”

Mr. Obama’s executive order on paid leave was his latest use of executive power to change the rules of the American workplace and was designed to appeal to his union base. A fight over trade this year ruptured the usual alliance between the Democratic president and the organized labor movement.

The executive order will have no real effect until after Mr. Obama’s presidency. Because it must first go through a public comment period, it will apply only to new federal contracts starting in 2017.

But the White House hopes it will set a standard that will prod lawmakers, private employers, and state and local governments to expand their leave policies.

Speaking in shirt sleeves to more than 700 people at a Boston hotel, a relaxed Mr. Obama appeared almost gleeful as he went after the Republican presidential candidates as a group. He also singled out a few of them, including Gov. Scott Walker of

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Wisconsin and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, by ridiculing recent statements they have made, although he did not mention their names.

He noted that one candidate (Mr. Walker) said his battles with labor unions would prepare him to take on terrorists, and that another candidate (Mr. Christie) said a teachers’ union deserved a punch in the face. After each, he asked with a smile and disdain, “Really?”

Mr. Obama, who invited labor leaders to fly with him here on Air Force One, said the “constant war against unions” undermined regular workers.

“It reminds me of something our old friend Ted Kennedy used to say,” he said. “What is it about working men and women they find so offensive?

Why are they so mad about folks just trying to make a living?”

At a campaign stop later in the day at the Pink Cadillac Diner in Rochester, N.H., during a motorcycle tour of the first primary state, Mr. Walker defended his battle with unions and portrayed Mr. Obama as a tool of entrenched interests.

“It’s clear the president stands with the biggovernment union bosses,” Mr. Walker said. “We stand with the hard-working people.” He said his actions were “pro-taxpayer” and “pro-worker,” adding: “I think the president and his allies fear us more than anybody else in this race because they know we don’t just talk about it; we get it done. We fight, we win, we actually get results.”

During his speech here, Mr. Obama made no mention of his support for new free trade agreements with Asia and Europe, which has deeply angered many of the union leaders and Democratic political leaders he was addressing. Among those on the dais was Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat with whom he quarreled bitterly in the spring over legislation authorizing him to negotiate trade pacts like one with 11 other Pacific Rim nations.

Led by Ms. Warren and egged on by labor union leaders, most of Mr. Obama’s fellow Democrats voted against him in Congress on the trade negotiation measure, which passed only with the active leadership of Republicans. As he sought to

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repair the rift on Monday, Mr. Obama emphasized his working-class message after the speech with a stop at Union Oyster House, where he ordered clam chowder to go. He also gave Ms. Warren a ride back to Washington on Air Force One. The paid leave order is the latest move by Mr. Obama to use his power over federal contracts to institute changes on a small slice of the labor market when he cannot persuade Congress to enact those measures for the whole country. Among other things, he has signed orders requiring contractors to pay higher minimum wages, banning retaliation against workers who discuss their compensation, providing employees more information about their pay and protecting gay and transgender workers from discrimination.

Mr. Obama’s assertive exercise of his authority over federal contactors has generated objections from business groups that argue he is going too far and from lawmakers who complain that he is circumventing the legislative process. Critics say he is piling expensive directives onto companies doing business with the federal government as a sop to his political base without accounting for additional costs.

The National Federation of Independent Business, while acknowledging that Mr. Obama has the authority to place conditions on federal contractors, said his latest action was another burdensome government mandate on private firms.

“No business in America would require its suppliers and contractors to increase costs that will naturally boomerang back in the form of higher prices,” said Jack Mozloom, the federation’s media director. He said any call by the president to follow suit would ignore the fact that most employers are small businesses that cannot afford the benefit.

The president’s order will guarantee both full- and part-time federal contract workers an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, for a total of up to seven days a year. The workers could use the leave to care for themselves, a member of their family, a domestic partner or another loved one, or they could take the leave to recover from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Officials said the order would affect about 300,000 workers who otherwise would not have paid sick leave and grant other workers more days than they would otherwise have. Cecilia Muùoz, the president’s domestic policy adviser, said the rule should not cost taxpayers more because the benefits of a more efficient work force should outweigh any additional expenditures.

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In regards to the Motorcoach Marketing program, we love it. So far, we have made the 1000 postcards, and we did some full page handouts. We just got a stand up banner.

When I get some time, I’ll be making new rack cards for both offices. We made 500 church theme postcards and 500 in the safety theme.

We sent out the church cards through a local mailing company to every church within 50 miles. So far, we have had a great response and 4-5 people booked trips from it. I plan on using the safety ones soon by sending them to our new customers. All of our staff and drivers love the modern design and the finished products. Only one of my staff has watched the videos so far, but we will be working on that next month. So far I’m very happy with the service. It works well and looks great!

Chris Knittel

Owner/General Manager New Mexico Texas Coaches, LLC

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Speeds Up Learning

An online training system equips technicians and drivers with tools to succeed

We’re up to 110 companies using the system, and that number is growing quickly.

18 www.MCIcoach.com 32 www.greenazine.com

Today’s motorcoaches are a finely tuned combination of leading-edge technology and luxurious interiors.

All are designed for optimal safety and comfort. et each requires a professional team equipped to properly maintain and operate the motorcoach.

24/7 and can be accessed anywhere on a tablet, laptop, or other Wi-Fi enabled device, there’s no lost time in the shop or behind the wheel.

Users can fit the courses into their schedule, or managers or operators can create schedules incorporating LMS training time.

Motor Coach Industries (MCI) understands that ongoing and relevant training is the key to keeping every motorcoach running smoothly, safely, and on time.

As an added bonus, LMS includes a tracking option, allowing managers or operators to set goals, monitor technician progress, generate reports, and offer incentives for courses completed.

That’s why the company recently added a comprehensive, web-based training program called Learning Management System (LMS), available free upon request to all MCI and Setra operators. The convenient online library includes courses for both technicians and drivers. Courses are interactive by combining video, audio, and realtime quizzes to engage users and encourage participation.

Since LMS is available on demand

The system also creates a transcript for each user, as well as a printable numbered certificate for all completed courses. Currently there are about 200 courses with new ones uploaded regularly.

What’s more, MCI’s Technical Training Manager Scott Crawford creates new courses based on customer feedback. If a topic a customer wants isn’t in the existing library, he can quickly create and

LMS is available on demand 24/7 and can be accessed anywhere on a tablet, laptop, or other Wi-Fi enabled device

” The LMS course catalog is classified by skill level beginning with Tech 3 (entry level) to Tech 1 (advanced). Users access the courses at their skill level. Courses are also cross-referenced by topic (such as brakes or disc brakes), so users can take a specific subject if needed. Users always can retake a course as a refresher.

upload a new course.

Crawford says the response to LMS has been “amazing.”

“We’re up to 110 companies using the system, and that number is growing quickly,” he adds. “That’s about 1,200 individual accounts at 160 locations. As owners see what the system does and realize its value to them, more and more are getting on board.”

He points to Lakefront Lines, a Coach USA property, as a recent success story. It recently signed up all 251 of its drivers and 40 to 45 of its technicians.

Charting a Course for Success How operators, managers, and their teams use the library is up to them.

This flexibility makes it easy for operators to customize LMS training to fit their company’s needs.

“Some customers offer financial incentives to technicians and drivers

to take as many LMS courses as possible,” Crawford says. “Others tie completion of LMS courses to pay increases and promotions.

Others pick specific courses they want employees to take and mandate that they them in certain time period.”

Perhaps the biggest value of LMS, according to Crawford, is the clear career path it creates. He designed the system so that technicians, in particular, can develop foundational knowledge and build on it at their own pace. People who are motivated to advance quickly can do so— building confidence, competency, and a transcript as they complete each LMS course.

“Owners need a way to attract young talent and retain them,” Crawford says. “With LMS, there’s a clear path to advance. If owners offer incentives such as increased pay, it creates motivation to learn the new systems as quickly as possible.

“In the motorcoach industry, it used to be the more experience you had, the more valuable you were,” says Crawford. “But with advanced systems, it’s knowledge that matters. LMS gives technicians and drivers a convenient way to build that knowledge and quickly advance their careers.

“For operators, LMS provides clear documentation that people driving and working on their vehicles know how these advanced motorcoach systems work and are working on them correctly,” he adds. “In the old days, you could hire an experienced mechanic or driver off the street. That doesn’t work any more. Motorcoach technology is advancing so fast that you have to stay up to speed.” ●

To learn more, email Crawford at training@mcicoach.com. MCI also offers monthly public webinar tours of the system. Crawford can schedule private webinar tours for companies upon request

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19 33

B2B vs. B2C

B2B vs. B2C: How Content Marketing Changes

by Target Audience When discussing content marketing, industry insiders tend to speak more to the experiences of B2C companies that are targeting consumers directly. They talk about things like how to get a branded entertainment video to go viral or how to reach consumers across different channels to increase the odds of a purchase decision -but these two considerations are not always relevant to people in B2B marketing.

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A company trying to reach decision-makers at another company requires a different mindset and strategy. Seeing Jean Claude Van Damme perform his epic split on a set of Volvo trucks isn’t enough to persuade commercial truck buyers to choose the brand when compared to other variables such as pricing and warranties. Neither will making sure Volvo ads appear concurrently on the buyer’s smartphone, desktop web browser, TV, and trade magazine. That path to purchase is much more complex,

often requiring a combination of the above tactics (and more).

in a meaningful, engaging way. Below are a few ways in which B2B and B2C marketing differs.

It’s clear that there are some significant differences to be addressed in the way content marketing changes for B2B versus B2C target audiences. Understanding these distinctions and applying them to your campaigns gives you the best possible chances of reaching your prospects

Intent One of the first areas where B2B content marketing diverges from B2C campaigns is in the overall intent of the initiative’s messaging.

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If you’re a B2B content creator, you’re likely one of the 85% using content to build your brand and establish thought leadership. If prospective customers recognize your business’s name and acknowledge your authority in your field, they can skip the Initial Research” stage of the consumer buying process -- moving directly from “Recognition of a Need” to “Evaluation of Alternatives,” with your business at the top of that list.

But while thought leadership is great, it just isn’t as important in B2C industries. Did you choose a Coke over a Pepsi because you believe Coca Cola’s depth of knowledge of the industry exceeds Pepsi’s? Did you pour a bowl of Wheaties for breakfast because of General Mills’ perceived authority when it comes to cereal?

B2C buyers are driven by different motivations -usually, feeling safe, secure and informed -- than B2B purchasers. As a result, both the intent and the messaging of your content marketing campaigns must be different.

Key takeaway: Those creating B2B content should keep the imperative of building thought leadership in mind.

Those who are more active with B2C content should consider other goals, such as establishing exclusivity or cost effectiveness.

Messaging The way you craft the messaging of your content marketing campaigns depends heavily on your target audience -- and that’s true whether you’re reaching out to B2B or B2C buyers.

Interestingly, though, some research suggests that B2B buyers will, as a whole, engage more strongly with certain types of messages, while B2C customers will respond more positively to campaigns that target different benefits. According to Katie Rosehill, writing for Chron’s Small Business page: “Different marketing tactics are used in B2B and B2C, although the methods of advertising, promotions, and publicity are the same. If the final customer is a business, the marketing message is based on value, service, and trust. B2C marketing is focused on price and the emotional satisfaction of obtaining the product.”

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Obviously, these benefits aren’t exclusive to either B2B or B2C companies. An auto repair shop’s messaging will likely appeal to both value and trust, while a cloud storage provider might market based on price as a way to differentiate itself in a crowded market.

That said, it’s still important to keep these competing principles in mind when drafting your campaign strategy and creating content. Begin with these benefits and then customize your messaging to hone in on the elements that are most likely to appeal to your target audience.

Key takeaway: If you’re a B2B content creator, begin with a message of value, service, or trust underpinning your content, and then adjust your voice as needed to serve your target market. If you reach a B2C audience, on the other hand, focus on proving your price and demonstrating emotional satisfaction first.

Channel Channel is another campaign aspect where B2B and B2C content marketing initiatives often diverge.

B2C companies are virtually unlimited when it comes to potential opportunities to reach prospective customers.

Besides the social networks and popular websites that typically form the backbone of a traditional content campaign, B2C customers can be reached via more traditional mediums (such as advertising), geotargeting apps (which allow content and promotions to be served up when a prospect nears a shop), and more.

B2B businesses, on the other hand, sometimes have a more limited scope of potential engagement opportunities. Posting a piece of native advertising to BuzzFeed, for example, might appeal to individual consumers, but is unlikely to sway larger groups of potential business buyers.

That isn’t to say that opportunities for B2B advertising are inherently worse; indeed, plenty of great channels exist that are specific to B2B advertisers. LinkedIn’s Sponsored Updates, for example, give B2B content marketers an opportunity to get their messages in front of highly-targeted business buyers.

HubSpot’s seen these results firsthand. They’ve generated 400% more leads within their target audience

using LinkedIn Sponsored Updates than lead generation efforts on other platforms.

Pretty impressive, right? Although the bulk of the content marketing conversation is centered around B2C buyers, it’s clear that B2B companies can make their mark as well with the promotion strategy.

Is There Really a Divide Between B2B & B2C? This last point highlights an important trend to consider when developing and implementing a content marketing campaign: the increasingly blurred lines between B2B and B2C buyers.

Key takeaway: While B2B marketers might have more

Consider the following comment left by Doug Kessler on a Content Marketing Institute blog post on the subject:

Format

“Sometimes I wonder if the B2B vs. B2C thing is a dead end. It’s funny that we marketers -- the experts on segmentation -- are still banging our heads against the B2B/B2C segmentation. Maybe it’s not the most meaningful way to segment brands.

limited promotional channels than B2C, they should look for highly targeted, relevant channels for their content promotion efforts to be successful.

The ideal format of the content to be created is another interesting area where B2B and B2C marketing campaigns tend to diverge.

•

•

According to the Eccolo Media Technology Content Survey, B2B buyers prefer to read blogs and white papers during the pre-sales cycle.

Additionally, those who identified as technology buyers who want to receive ongoing vendor content prefer white papers (98%), case studies (66%), and technology guides (37%).

Further research from the Content Marketing Institute’s 2015 B2C Content Marketing Research Report for North America reveals that, compared with their B2B counterparts, B2C marketers use more user-generated and real-time marketing.

Again, this isn’t to say that B2B companies shouldn’t use user-generated content in their marketing campaigns, or that B2C businesses should avoid white papers or case studies. However, these recommendations do provide a starting point for deciding on the content formats that should be included in your campaigns. These guidelines can then be modified to suit the interests and needs of your unique target audience.

Key takeaway: B2B publishers should focus the format of their content on blogs, white papers, case studies, and product guides. B2C content creators will appeal more to their target audiences by crafting usergenerated content and real-time marketing (especially on social media).

Maybe something like ‘long sales cycle’/’short sales cycle’ is more meaningful. Some B2B brands sell off the web page (anti-virus software, say) and some B2C brands have sales cycles that last for months (cars, mortgages).

So maybe it’s so hard to nail the differences between B2B and B2C is because they have a fair amount of overlap.”

Take, for example, a company selling medical devices.

This single company may sell to both organizations (such as hospitals and clinics) and to individual consumers, who will use the devices at home. How then, should this company develop a strategy that appeals to both B2B and B2C buyers, given the differences described above?

It all comes down to developing an innate understanding of your target audience. Developing buyer personas is helpful to this process. However you go about developing an awareness of your customers, keep in mind that the knowledge you gain about their interests, fears, activities, and preferences should be the factor that ultimately guides your decisions on your content marketing campaigns’ intent, messaging, channel, and format.

If you’ve worked with both B2B and B2C audiences in the past, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment describing how you approached each group -- and how similar or different your approaches were -- in the comments below!

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QR Codes

QR codes allow smartphone access to school bus inspection results.

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For the first time this year, parents can check for themselves to see how the buses their children are riding fared in their last inspections by Michigan State Police.

Part of the inspections concluded this year included attaching QR codes to the service doors of each school bus in Michigan.

QR stands for Quick Response.

The codes allow parents – or anyone – with a QR code-reading app on their smartphones to see how a bus was rated in its last inspection. Each bus has its own unique QR code that looks like a small square with black blotches on it.

A yellow tag means a bus is still operational but there’s a 60-day window to fix what’s wrong with it. Those types of defects can include latches that don’t work as intended or leaks resulting from rust or cracks, according to the state’s bus inspection manual.

Among Oakland County’s 28 public school districts, state police inspected 1,393 buses.

For the county’s public school buses, the rate of inspection failure is 2.3 percent, well below the state average of 9.54 percent.

Likewise, the number of public school buses tagged as failing but operational is 2.66 percent, below the statewide average of 5.18 percent.

“We want to make our process as transparent as possible,” said state police Sgt. Michael McLaughlin, who supervises the school bus inspection unit of the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.

Buses drew red tags in a dozen Oakland County public districts: Hazel Park, Southfield, Pontiac, Ferndale, Oak Park, Avondale, Rochester, Novi, Walled Lake, Troy, Birmingham and Farmington.

For the state police, the codes are also a way to do a little crowdsourcing.

Only two districts had numbers that exceeded the state average for red-tagged buses: Southfield and Hazel Park.

“Once people got used to scanning, they might come up with different things they’d like to see available,” McLaughlin said. “We’re open to suggestions on how to improve that.”

McLaughlin said another use of the data the inspections and feedback generate is to identify recurring problems so that bus manufacturers can possibly make changes that will gradually reduce inspection failures.

SCHOOL BUS INSPECTIONS The state police annually inspects every school bus in Michigan.

Recently concluded from the 2014-15 school year, nearly 15,987 school buses were inspected that are in use by 810 public school districts, charter schools and districts, and private schools.

Statewide, the failure rate averages about 10 percent.

Southfield Schools, which provides student transportation through Durham School Services, had 11 of its 67 buses red-tagged. Hazel Park had two of its six buses red-tagged.

Calls to Durham School Services and to transportation operations at Southfield Schools weren’t immediately returned Friday.

Hazel Park has an agreement with Ferndale Schools, primarily for transporting special education students.

Ferndale Superintendent Blake Prewitt said the district reached a deal with Hazel Park in the spring to sell buses to Hazel Park to replace that district’s redtagged buses. “They took theirs offline,” Prewitt said.

There’s some difference of opinion on the use of QR codes on buses to make inspection records immediately available.

Buses receive either a red tag, yellow tag or green tag.

A red tag means a bus cannot be used for transportation until the defects are repaired. Examples of defects that earn a red tag include almost anything to do with brakes, steering, and red or yellow flashing lights.

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Small Business That Benefits Women

Five Things Small Busines Create A Culture That Ben 26 www.greenazine.com

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The topic of working mothers has been all over the news lately. From Netflix’s offer of up to a year’s paid maternity leave, to KKR’s policy of bringing nannies on work trips, to IBM’s service for shipped breast milk -- it looks like big companies are fighting to outdo each other to keep working moms, well, working.

In this highly competitive job market, what can smaller companies do to develop policies and a culture that attracts and benefits employees?

Small companies have an advantage because they typically have a culture that is more personal and familial. It can be easier to implement policies that promote lifestyle values. Small companies, on the other hand, often lack the structure, knowledge and resources of larger companies and are more likely to struggle with lower profit margins and situations where each employee is essential to the daily business operations.

Below are five solutions for small businesses to develop a culture that benefits women:

Plan Ahead and Set Policies on Day One Many small companies don’t have maternity leave or similar policies in place until they need them. This often leads to confusion for management and employees. When policies are set early, they can lead to decisions that shape the organization as a whole.

Lactation rooms, which are required by law in some states, are a great example of this. When planning your office space, you can use your policies as a guide for space requirements.

How about a Bring Kids to Work policy? Many companies that don’t 28 www.greenazine.com

offer back-up childcare may offer employees the option of bringing their child into work on a school holiday rather than working from home. Not only is this a great experience for a child but also helps foster a workplace community.

Be upfront with prospective and current hires. The transparency and planning goes a long way. There are tons of resources available online to help with this. And, ask other business leaders. Brainstorm creative ideas and best practices. Strive to create something beneficial and impactful for the whole company, and do your research so you can create and communicate a policy from Day One.

Develop a True Flex-Work Environment, and Stand Behind It Today’s workers are constantly tapped into work. Email, calls, texting, and cloud-based file storage all lead to a 24/7 work day.

happy to do it because my employer allows me to define a workday that fits well with my life.

Encourage A Slower Transition Back From Parental Leave Many small companies, even those that understand the value of extended leave, have a difficult time managing the expenses associated with maternity leave.

There is a middle road, however, that can work for both employee and employer. For two of my three children I was able to ease my way back into the office post maternity leave. Adapting to a new morning and evening schedule with a child is difficult. The flexibility to return to work slowly -- either working parttime at first or, working from home a few days a week for the first few months back -- helps relieve a lot of the burden. Helping employees ease back into work leads to less stress, less angst and greater satisfaction for all.

It is important to have an open conversation about what routines and hours work best for your employees, managers, and the business as a whole. Is it okay for a parent to leave early to coach his daughter’s soccer team as long as he is the first one in the office every day? Are you comfortable with an employee who takes a long lunch to go to the gym as long as she always gets her work done and typically puts in a few extra hours from home?

Men Need Attention Too

I’ve found that when employers give a little, they get a lot in return.

I leave the office at a set time every evening but I’m always back online for an hour or two at night. This is a schedule that works for me and I’m

The same goes for paternity leave.

Maternity leave is a crucial time to bond with your child. This is so important for both parents.

Companies, regardless of the size, should offer this option to all employees.

Men play an important role in the home as well. My husband and I share 100 percent of parenting and housework. Pick-up, drop-off, packing lunches, bedtime, baths and sick days -- you name it. As a father he needs the same flexibility that I’m afforded. Since he is able to share in the parenting, we are both happier, less stressed and more productive at work.

Approach the Employee/ Employer Relationship as a Partnership In small companies teamwork is important. A workforce that is passionate about the business, engaged in its success, and willing to give 110 percent is a goldmine.

Don’t underestimate the power of transparency, respect, and openmindedness. Be open to employee ideas around drivers for increased satisfaction and mutually work on solutions.

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Marketing Budget Cuts

What Happens if you Don’t 30 www.greenazine.com

You may want to do ten training sessions, but rather than do nothing, consider reducing your request. Five high impact events will certainly add more value than zero. The scope of most projects can be reduced.

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How many budget meetings have you been in during your career? For me, the number would have to be in the hundreds, maybe thousands. I’m guessing our drill is similar to yours… infinite ideas chasing finite dollars. Today, we were trying to rank order our budget requests.

After several impassioned pitches, each extolling the value and priority of the initiative in question, it was apparent we once again had more ideas than we had dollars. Then, a new member of the team asked a profound question:

“What happens if you don’t get the budget approved for this work?”

I love that question! Budgeting is not a binary function – you get the cash or you don’t; or at least it shouldn’t be. That would be like playing baseball and only counting the home runs. In reality, you can score a lot of runs without ever hitting it out of the park.

walking away from the work forever. Today, 26 years after we started talking about becoming a team-based organization, we added a statement about teams to our list of guiding principles.

5. Consider a new approach – This is often

the hardest and most productive outcome of a “no” during the budgeting process. How else could you do this work? Not a scaled back, less expensive, phased approach; rather, something fundamentally different. How could you do this work in a way you have never considered before?

The lack of funds could be the breakthrough you have needed in disguise.

6. Piggyback on another project – This

Here are eight ideas to consider if you DON’T get the cash…

response does require some mental agility and good judgment. It is not intended to blur the lines of integrity, hide money. It does however require some ingenuity. If your travel budget is cut for one project, can you combine trips with another project that is funded? If your focus groups are not in the budget, can you add some questions to someone else’s focus group agenda?

1. Scale back your request – You may want

7. Reallocate money from existing work –

to do ten training sessions, but rather than do nothing, consider reducing your request. Five high impact events will certainly add more value than zero. The scope of most projects can be reduced.

2. Break your project into phases – Yes, the ideal scenario might be to execute all three phases of your idea in one calendar year. So what? The second best way is probably to break the work into multiple parts – each funded in separate years.

Even if it takes three, four, or even five years to fund a major initiative, that should still be better than doing nothing.

3. Pursue a less expensive path – Let’s face it, most of us don’t recommend the least expensive way to do anything. However, faced with the option of doing nothing or a less expensive version, I will almost always choose the cheaper version. During a recent budget cutting effort, our catering became pizza. It still worked.

4. Delay the work – If you can’t secure the

funding you need in the upcoming budget cycle, one option is to defer. This is NOT the same as

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Again, this is not intended to play fast and loose with the budget. However, many organizations give a high degree of discretion regarding how allocated dollars can be invested. If this is true in your case, look for something you’ve done in the past that has less value than your new idea. Stop doing the old work and fund the new.

8. Don’t do the work – If all the options above

fail, you can decide not do the work. However, if you can’t find any legitimate way to proceed, but you can’t live with the idea of never doing the project, see number four above. You may decide to hold your initiative until the time is right. How long? It depends on how much you believe in your idea.

By the way, the real goal is not to have to do any of the things above. Your primary objective should be to secure the funds you need.

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Setra - a brand of Daimler AG

Don’t be fooled by its pretty face

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

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Screen Passengers

Better ways for drivers to Airport screeners are wasting their time trying to spot bad guys simply by checking out the body language of travelers.

That is the conclusion of a new report published by the American Psychological Assn. It said security agents are 20 times more successful at spotting deception when they question passengers than when they simply look for physical clues.

The study is significant because it supports a report by the Government Accountability Office last year that criticized airport screeners in the U.S. for relying primarily on “nonverbal indicators” to spot potential security threats.

In addition to full-body scanners and metal detectors, the Transportation Security Administration employs more than 3,000 so-called Behavior Detection Officers who try to spot bad guys at airports by their actions and verbal clues.

The TSA defends the program, saying both methods—observing passenger behavior and questioning them—are effective at spotting fliers with bad intentions. The agency said the work of the detection officers resulted in 118 arrests and 13 citations in 2013.

“Over the last several years, BDOs have demonstrated that these techniques are an effective means of identifying people engaged in deceptive and or illegal activity,” TSA administrator John Pistole told a congressional committee, in response to the GAO report last year.

The new research by professors at the University of Sussex and the University of 34 www.greenazine.com

It said security agents are 20 times more successful at spotting deception when they question passengers than when they simply look for physical clues.

Wolverhampton in England recruited 204 college acting students and undercover police detectives to try to get through eight European airports with mock cover stories.

In the study, security agents who got extra training in spotting deception through questioning caught liars 66% of the time, while officers who simply looked at physical clues, like fidgeting and lack of eye contact, only spotted deception 3% of the time.

“The suspicious-signs method almost completely fails in detecting deception,” said Thomas Ormerold, a researcher and head of the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex. “In addition, it costs a lot of money, absorbs a lot of time and gives people a false sense of security.”

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o screen passengers.

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Promotion

Is your star player ready f

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for a promotion?

If you’re lucky enough to have a team with top performers, you know that eventually some of them will move on to larger roles in the organization. Do you know which ones are promotable?

Many companies have programs for developing “high potential” (HIPO) employees – those employees deemed to have the skills, willingness and commitment to the company to take on senior leadership positions. Is it a given that everyone who is a star player is qualified as an executive-intraining?

Not necessarily, says Devin Lemoine, president of Success Labs, a management consulting firm that helps companies develop their high-potential talent. She cautions managers not to confuse “high performing” employees with “high potential.”

“Research shows that superior performance in your current role doesn’t automatically guarantee success at the next level,” says Lemoine. In reality, fewer than 30% of high-performing employees have the skills, ambition and personality for moving into senior management roles.

Superior performance in one’s current role is the “entry ticket” that allows access to higher levels of responsibility. Outstanding performance doesn’t ensure success at the next level, but lack of it does guarantee failure.

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player is more comfortable deepening the skills he already has, then he’s most likely a “high performer.”

Comfort with new situations. Think of past situations in which your team member was placed into chaotic or ambiguous situations.

How did he or she handle it? True highpotential employees thrive on being tossed into the figurative “deep end” of a situation and finding a way to swim triumphantly to the surface. a high-potential leader, be sure they are truly ready for — and interested in — the challenge. These elements signal potential for promotion: Comfort with new situations. Think of past situations in which your team member was placed into chaotic or ambiguous situations. How did he or she handle it?

True high-potential employees thrive on being tossed into the figurative “deep end” of a situation and finding a way to swim triumphantly to the surface. Your team member is ready if she thrives on the uncertain and sees it as “fun” to tackle new challenges. If your star

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A track record of learning. A hallmark of highpotential employees is the ability to learn from any situation they encounter. How does your superstar employee handle mistakes? If he recovered quickly and didn’t repeat the error, he’s on the right track. How did she cope with a sudden change in direction? If she came up with a creative solution, and loved doing so, she’s a good candidate. People who are ready to take on bigger responsibilities are those who learn quickly and roll with the punches.

They aspire to it. One element that’s often overlooked: Does the employee in question want to move up?

Some HIPOs meet all other criteria except for this very important final hurdle — the desire to reach for the next level of responsibility. I recently spoke with a high-performing middle manager whose team leader is ready to promote him. The problem is, he’s not 100% sure he wants the promotion.

And he’s not alone: nearly 50% of high-potential employees say they don’t sufficiently desire a promotion, according to a Corporate Leadership Council survey. When working with your highpotential employees, talk with them candidly about the challenges that the next level brings. They need to clearly understand the demands of a promotion.

Nobody benefits from promoting a reluctant manager.

Not all of your star employees are cut out to move into a more senior leadership role. And that’s OK, says Sharlyn Lauby, author of the blog HR Bartender.

Lauby observes that both types of employees bring tremendous value. Lauby writes, “High performers help the company achieve their goals today. High potentials will help the company achieve their goals in the future.” Don’t set your current stars up for failure if they lack any of the attributes necessary for future success. Instead, find other ways to capitalize on their talents. Not everyone’s cut out for senior leadership.

It’s up to you as the leader to help your team members accept this reality.

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Pre-Employment Program

NIC Federal Awarded No-Cost Cont the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Employment Screening Program (P

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tract to Continue Operating Administration’s (FMCSA) PrePSP) NIC Federal, a wholly owned subsidiary of NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) and a leading provider of digital government services and solutions to the U.S. federal government, announced today it has been awarded a three-year, no-cost contract to continue operating the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Following a competitive and open bid process, the contract consists of a one-year base period with two, one-year renewal options that FMCSA can exercise taking the contract through August 2018.

Since 2010, NIC has partnered with FMCSA to improve highway safety by providing a simplified and secure process for hiring officials at commercial truck and bus companies to check the safety records of applicant drivers upon receiving written consent from the individual.

NIC delivers full operational support of PSP, including all web site maintenance, dedicated customer service and support, educational outreach, and proactive promotion at no cost to

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the government through a unique contracting model funded entirely by transactional fees paid by end users of the service.

Since 2010, NIC has partnered with FMCSA to improve highway safety by providing a simplified and secure process for hiring officials at commercial truck and bus companies to check the safety records of applicant drivers upon receiving written consent from the individual.

NIC delivers full operational support of PSP, including all web site maintenance, dedicated customer service and support, educational outreach, and proactive promotion at no cost to the government.

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“NIC is proud of the work we do with FMCSA to improve the safety of our country’s roads,” said Robert Knapp, Chief Operating Officer for NIC. “FMCSA and NIC have developed a private-public partnership that simultaneously supports the agency’s mission, achieves cost savings, and mitigates risk for the industry. We appreciate the continued confidence FMCSA has placed in NIC.” The Pre-Employment Screening Program offers access of up to five years of driver crash data and three years of inspection data regardless of the state or jurisdiction. By using driver safety information during pre-employment screening, commercial carriers will be able to better assess the potential safety risks of prospective driveremployees. PSP also gives drivers additional opportunities to verify the data in their driving history and correct any discrepancies.

All individual driver records are strictly protected in accordance with federal privacy laws.

According to a study released by FMCSA in 2013, PSP positively impacts the safety of America’s roadways. The study shows that carriers using PSP have, on average, decreased crash rates by 8 percent, and driver out-of-service (OOS) rates by 17 percent. It is estimated that in the 12 months studied, the carrier group using PSP prevented 863 crashes and more than 3,500 driver OOS incidents. A summary

of the study can be found at: https://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/ psp/D o c uments/PSP-Safet yImpact-analysis-brief.pdf.

About NIC Federal Headquartered in Arlington, Va., NIC Federal, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NIC Inc., delivers secure, user-friendly, and costeffective information technology and digital solutions to the U.S. federal government. Additional information is available at http:// www.nicfederal.com.

About NIC Inc. Founded in 1992, NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) provides digital government services and solutions to more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” six times, most recently ranked at No.36 (2014), and the company has been included five times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http:// www.egov.com.

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Tips For Small Business Grow

6 tips for giving any small b In the “Wizard of Oz,” the Tin Man wanted a heart, but had to change strategies to find it.

To compete effectively, a small business requires more than a better product or service or smarter marketing. It needs an internal upgrade. It must professionalize operations and use efficient processes.

If the team is the heart of a small company then, consider an infusion from the lifeblood of enterprise operations. These best practices are a starting point:

If it’s not documented, it doesn’t exist.

Track every operation: marketing, administration, sales, development, and document every process in it as a transparent “project”. Typical project management platforms don’t get (or stay) adopted, because they force the organization into a particular workflow. A highly flexible and open-ended system like Trello can accommodate any operation, making it easy to scrutinize, evolve, and optimize processes over time. Distinguish overall operational areas (the aerial view), initiatives (or “projects”) within those areas, ‘campaigns’ or activities within those initiatives and precise process steps within those campaigns. In Trello, for example, those distinctions can be represented by boards, lists, cards, and checklists. Fully documenting current states of all company

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business an enterprise heart

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behavior creates an upgradeable environment for any and all business processes.

meetings are actionable conversations that truly respect everyone’s time.

Less talk, more communication.

Number in, numbers out (NINO).

The norm is drowning in e-mail. General info, carbon copies, and FYI’s (to stay in the loop) are mixed in with to-do’s and actionable information.

E-mail doesn’t distinguish priority, severity, or even purpose. A daily zero-inbox strategy is nearly impossible, so we resort to chat or shouting (or going) down the hall, but that further delays productivity by stealing immediate attention. In contrast, Slack or similar enterprise tools, with Twitter-like channels for #sales, #training, #HR, or other operations, allow all team members an optional 360 view to stay educated and involved, while permitting each person some mental filters for content topics. The initial process upgrade is increase the value of communication while reducing the burden.

GIGO (“garbage in, garbage out”) is a way of saying there’s a qualitative relationship of actions to outcomes. There’s also a quantitative one; what isn’t measurable isn’t real. So, of course we want “measurable outcomes” but, really, we want to track numbers for all inputs as well as outputs for the business - to compare efforts with results.

We want specific measures in the “What have you done, and what are you doing?”, and we also want a periodic check on outcomes: “What has been the result of your efforts?” The upgrade makes quantitative optimization truly possible and, since we’re measuring input, not just output, we can now truly optimize quality.

All working documents are collaborative

Random or frenetic behavior is the bane of a small business, but there is a way for every person in every organization to always know their highest priority and what to do next. Ask for and consistently support a commitment by every team member to own their area of responsibility, yet remain transparent and open to collaboration.

Ownership means deciding and acting on the next thing that delivers the highest value to the company’s goals. Permitting this requires a better way of documenting processes, communicating efficiently, collaborating effectively, and attaching measurements to behavior. Process upgrades have a cumulative effect, allowing the company to build a critical mass of internal momentum.

E-mail attachments are convenient to send but create bottlenecks for collaboration as people download to review and make edits, and take turns waiting while different versions are created, sent, and lost in the endless e-mail pile. By contrast, shared documents (e.g. Google Docs) let team members comment or edit instantly, and the document is always current. Optionally, a final version can be sent as an attachment to a client while, internally, the history of all past changes is preserved in a document log. Once shared, a document URL can even be pasted into Slack and be opened instantly. The upgrade is simultaneity, not linear collaboration.

All meetings have outcomes Powerful conversations break the rules of traditional meetings. Enterprise project teams meet daily for a ten-minute “standup”. If they have to sit down, the meeting is too long. Three questions are asked: What have you done since last time? What are you doing next? What do you need from someone here. If a need requires a longer conversation, you call out with who, and that happens “offline” - meaning later, with only the people who really need to be included. If you end a meeting with great ideas but nothing new to do, it was an ineffective meeting. Upgraded 46 www.greenazine.com

Always act on the next highest value.

Upgrading a small business with a better ticker doesn’t mean adopting an enterprise gimmick like Six Sigma, but it does require standardizing and formalizing routines, tracking everything, and keeping all communications powerful. Any company, in any industry, of any size can achieve more, sell more, and be more by overhauling its internal processes. Put an enterprise heart in a small business skeleton, and watch it beat out better results.

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