Canada’s business sectors require COVID-19 vaccinations among employees

Placing an ultimatum for the mandatory vaccine policies in workplaces marks a foreboding increase in terminations among workers.

Most companies and institutions have promulgated mandatory vaccine policies since variants of COVID-19 show no sign of stopping. For months now, the government has carried out vaccination policies to battle the incessant increase of COVID-19 cases.

Some of the employers have set deadlines for their workers to be vaccinated. This leaves unvaccinated workers either on unpaid leave or terminated by the company.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) voices out the concerns of its federal workers’ members. Most of the employees are in a tightrope situation since one of the strictest vaccination policies has been mandated. They said that this mandatory vaccination policy is carried out without proper consideration for workers.

Chris Alyward, PSAC President strongly said that this policy did not reconsider the situation of the employees.

“The way that this policy was announced leaves us basically with our hands up in the air saying, how is this going to be implemented?” Aylward said in a phone interview.

Canada’s large business sectors including Shopify.Inc and Sun Life Financial had already mandated COVID-19 vaccines among their employees.

Despite the country’s effort to decrease the number of COVID cases, there are still a lot of people who are getting infected by the virus. In addition to this, the highly contagious Delta variant has also been recorded.

Another dilemma has also been asked in regards to the mandatory vaccination policies of private companies and institutions.

The question is: What if the employees refuse? Do they have the right to do so?

The Toronto-based employment lawyer, Alex Lucifero, said that it can be a case-to-case scenario between the employee and the employer.

In an interview, Lucifero emphasized that there can be no “one size fits all” answer to the current situation. He further exemplified that there are potentially varying laws for different companies, industries, and the employees they hold.

Similarly, employment lawyer Adam Savaglio, addressed that there are misconceptions and incorrect assumptions surrounding the mandated vaccination policies. For him, companies must provide evidence and plausible reason to implement the mandated vaccine policy. Moreover, he emphasized that these companies have a responsibility towards their employees.

Another employment lawyer, Howard Levitt, had a different thing to say. Levitt strongly highlighted that companies have the right to terminate and fire their employees who will not comply with the said vaccine policy.

Companies and private businesses have coincided with the Canadian government’s policy for vaccination. Business sectors reiterate that their company and their employees are at stake in these increasing cases of COVID-19. An employee who chose not to get vaccinated will have no choice but to stay at home and leave the workplace.

In these trying times, the future of some businesses and companies is in a win-or-lose situation. Both the employers and the employees are at the receiving end of the COVID-19 crisis. There are only two options: mandate the vaccination policy or lose the business.

What does marketing look like in 2021 and beyond?

digital marketing

Marketing used to be neatly compartmentalized into boring boxes of conformity. Entrepreneurs of long ago stuck to rules that often made the marketing process droning, repetitive, and expensive. As you look around you now, the creative web and social media are now dominating all industries, including the marketing world.

As you know, the presence of social media and the creative web has made the elements of marketing cheaper, faster, and smarter. Things are so accessible now that the thick lines that separate public relations, marketing, and advertising have already disintegrated.

What the Future Holds for Marketing

The levels of client education and expectation are continuously changing. The constant change is brought about by the creation of online content, social media, blogging, and search engine optimization. What does the future hold for marketing? Here are some of the possibilities:

  1. Marketing Agencies Educate. In the future, there will be more people who want to educate entrepreneurs. More information-based companies are going to teach more companies and entrepreneurs about the secret to effective marketing. The goal is to enable and educate agencies for more efficient marketing.
  2. Specialized Experts. Because of easy online access, may companies prefer having many freelancers under their wing. It takes a lot of energy, time, and resources to gather people in one area to do work. With a quick online referral network, certain projects can be given immediately to freelancers who specialize in them.
  3. Content Help. Before, a client just hands in the budget to a group of people, who do all the work for you. Then, you just watch and approve the project. The future does not involve this anymore. Marketing in the future involves the participation of the client. The client will always provide the concepts and the marketer thinks of the way to create content, what kind of content should be created, and how to promote the content. At the same time, the agency also monetizes and measures it. Because of this system, promotions will become cheaper, smarter, and faster.
  4. New Media Sources and Bloggers Should Be Respected. Traditional advertising is not extinct or forgotten. Aside from the traditional means, there are other quicker means to generate trust, buzz, or sales. In the years to come, new media sources and blogs with huge advertising and sponsorship opportunities are the ones that will do far better than banner ads, print ads, and 30-second commercials. They will definitely lock on to the target market, any company wants to attract. Building a relationship with bloggers, who specialize in the product, is the key to cheaper, more effective marketing. Podcasts are more inexpensive and less laborious than paying for a TV commercial.
  5. No Outsourcing of Relationships. The future needs the client to be interactive enough to be the one who forms relationships online. Trust is the key and to establish that, the client needs to engage in conversations with customers. Marketing agencies should not be the ones to do this. Many experts believe that outsourcing is becoming a thing of the past, and businesses as well as customers are seeking deeper relationships where they’re engaged and collaborative, as opposed to communication breakdowns between the parties due to low cost labour says Tal Lifschitz who offers SEO Services Hong Kong
  6. in Hong Kong

Marketing of the future depends on methods that last and stick in the target audience’s minds. This is not provided by traditional media anymore. Online media is the one that will rule the marketing world on a long-term basis. The future is, indeed, bright for the marketing industry. Companies just need to focus on the right marketing methods as early as now.

5 Budget Friendly Marketing Tips For A Small Business

If you own a small business, you might be wondering the most budget friendly marketing strategies you can apply. This is especially because you might be operating on a strict budget and your scope might be limited too. However, you do not have to worry because there are different cost effective marketing strategies you can apply and get the best results. Here are some of the strategies you can apply.

Invest in the right social media

Social media has become one of the most cost friendly marketing platforms used by many small businesses. In addition to the fact that you will reach a large audience, you will also spend less. By using the correct social media, you will have conversations and engage with customers and even potential customers. All you need to do is to ensure that you have the right conversations with the correct content. To get the best results, you should use wide range of social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest and others. You will be able to develop interactions that will lead to strong customer base and more sales.

Brand where your potential customers are

Conversions are very important to turn a browsing customer into a paying one. Brand recognition is just as critical. Display advertising gives positive impressions to clients looking for a site, but the entire costs are reduced substantially. You have to note that you might not get instant results, but later on you will reap a lot of benefits.

Develop a customer loyalty program

It will cost you five times to get a new customer, than retaining the current one. To ensure that your clients keep on coming back, you can create a loyalty program by giving points for every purchase your clients make. Once they hit a certain number, you can give them a specific discount on their following purchase. Another kind of a customer loyalty program is offering discount for every referral or online review that customers make. Keep on reminding your customers about your small business loyalty programs through email marketing or social media.

Email marketing

Email marketing is also another budget friendly strategy you can use in your small business. Through regular email campaigns, you will be able to share timely offers with your potential and existing customers. You can start by sending monthly email newsletter that shows new services or products, special offers or your small business news. Make sure that your emails are interesting and in simple form in order to boost opening rate of your emails by your customers. You should also have more email addresses in your database in order to have stronger email marketing results.

Understand how to do SEO Right

Applying the right SEO strategies allows your business to be more visible online through unpaid search engine results. Studies have shown that site traffic comes from organic search results. This is why you should make SEO part of your small business strategy. The good thing is that you do not have to spend anything to have a strong SEO strategy except your time.

The Importance of a Startup Hiring A Business Development Manager

So you decided to build your own startup business, but you’re not sure where to start. You have a product or service that you feel confident about but what do you do now? Do you start looking for employees? Do you search for business space? It’s your startup, so at first you will try do everything yourself. That is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Starting and running a business is complex and has a lot of moving parts. If you spread yourself too thin, then none of those parts will be moving at a level they should be. It is recommended that the first thing you should do is hire a business development manager.

What does a business development manager do and why do you need one before you even have any employees? The main responsibilities of a business development manager is to generate and follow up business leads, develop clientele and produce productive business proposals. They’re job is also to develop a strong marketing plan for your company’s products or services. Without clients and a plan of how to market your product or service, what would you do employees and the space you have now invested in?

But the job of a business development manager consists of more than just finding clients and developing a marketing plan. He is also responsible for identifying trendsetter ideas through researching industry, publications, and announcements that can affect your business. You may think you have a great product or service, but a business development manager can help predict future trends. If your business has great potential to grow, then you can hire more employees so you can effectively handle the growth. If it is predicted to stay the same or slow down, then that will also affect the number of employees you will need to hire.

Another job duty the business development manager is responsible for is to create financial projections for growth and profitability. They will let you know when you need to make cuts or hire more employees. You want to make sure that you are able to run your business efficiently and at the same time make a profit. Making a profit is usually the main purpose of creating a startup business after all.

A business development manager also has the responsibility of researching potential mergers with other ventures that may potentially benefit and grow your business. If your business grows, then of course, this will also affect the number of employees you will need to hire.

In short, the business development manager is responsible for the growth of your business. Without clients, a marketing plan and strong idea of how your business will grow, it is impossible to know how many employees you will need to run an efficient and profitable startup business. Everybody in a business has a role, when you allow the right person to concentrate in their area of expertise, then they help everyone else do their job better, which in turn will help your business succeed.

What are some legitimate areas that small business can perform well

There are many areas in which a small business can enter into and make some noise. These areas are:

Skilled Trades:

Skilled trades are mostly looked down upon by many people. They require small capital to start and returns are also promising, Skilled trades include construction, carpentry, masonry, steel working, plumbing, metal work and welding. These jobs pay high salaries and have a high demand and ready market.

Children’s services:

Children services are vast in nature, they include; offering golf lessons, swimming lessons, tennis lessons, events where children can have fun, art classes. Small business can provide children services and make high profits. Working with kids is an awesome experience.

Home Renovations:

Home renovation is a good space where a small business can venture into. It involves offering repair services in different houses. Small businesses can perform well in this area. Dedicated team of employees can make your business make major steps in terms of building a brand.

Bike services, sales and rentals:

Companies that are small in nature can easy do well in this area. Anything that is healthy and environmental friendly is highly promoted. The business can focus in renting their bikes, offer bike services and also involved in sale of bikes. It is a good business bet and bound to perform well.

Therapy and counselling:

Counseling and therapy services experience high demand. Starting a private firm that offer counseling services for individuals who have different life problems and how they can recover from those issues. There is also demand of family and marriage therapist. Small business can perform perfectly in this area.

Financial planner and adviser:

Individuals have no idea on how to plan for their money. Starting a business dealing with advising people financially is highly recommended. Financial advisers are highly demanded, a business can do well in this field.

Facilities support services:

It involves painting, maintenance of buildings, cleaning and security. Private business can provide cleaning services to entities and also institutions. Security services can be in terms of providing security personnel, who will provide security to different organizations. It is easy to prosper in this business area which is profitable.

Food trucks:

Food truck involves selling hot dogs, fries or even burgers by use of a mobile track. Mobile vendors will distribute the products in different places. It is a good business with good returns. In future the company will be able to secure big order for the products. It is easy to succeed in this area.

Coffee Gourmet:

Coffee business has a high demand. Starting a coffee shop in a convenient location can guarantee success. offering beverages of high quality and served by well trained baristas can make your business popular hence more customers. Coffee business require small capital to begin and operate. This makes it ideal for any small business.

Senior care services:

senior care services is one of the best business one can start. The services may include: Many seniors cannot be able to drive their vehicles and do their house chores. Private company can offer these services. Other services involved are cleaning, cooking, caring for their pets, entertainment while at home. It is a good business venture with high returns.

The 7 Best business Books On The Market Today

Performing better at work is one of the resolutions that a lot of people have now considering that they want to start the year performing stronger than ever. Whatever the motivation is for performing better at work, there are 7 books that one can read to gain the necessary advantage in the corporate world.

The first book on the list is Can You Learn to Be Lucky? by Karla Starr which goes into a deep dive on what luck is all about and how it affects the different opportunities that a person experiences in life and at work. Starr looks a bit closer to how people fixate on a particular opportunity while completely overlooking other potential opportunities that might be better, and thus dictating their overall luck. In this book, Starr has based all her writings on different sources such as personal experiences, scientific research, and personal interviews with different people. She believes that all the things that are happening to us are results of all our small decisions to do certain things.

The next book on the list is My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired by Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander. This book focuses on the proven fact that whatever time of day a person wakes up, the first thing that is done can set the tone for the rest of the day. Xander and Spall believe that it is difficult to have a good and productive day when one does not start the day with the intention to do well and improve from the previous day. And instead on just relying on concepts and beliefs, this book focuses more on the morning routines of the most successful people today and prove how the routines say a lot about their successes.

The third book on the list is Imagine it Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change; this book is a part-biography and part-memoir. It covers the different experiences of GE’s former vice chair, Beth Comstock, who talked about all the experiences she’s had and how she was able to overcome the thought of being an outsider, as well as mastering how to identify when a battle is worth fighting for.

Another book on the top of the list is Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones that was written by James Clear. He focused on the thought that all the small habits that a person has says a lot about the ways in which a person is able to achieve all goals in life – be it personal, career, health, or even financial. The problem is that a lot of people fail to sustain all the necessary habits to get to the goal that one wants to attain. James Clear mentioned that the most effective way is to make changes in oneself one small step at a time so that the effects are sustainable and long-lasting.

The fifth book on the list is Calm Clarity: How to Use Science to Rewrite Your Brain for Greater Wisdom, Fulfillment, and Joy by Due Quach. This books contains all the personal experiences of Quach from being an outsider while she was growing up. Because of this, she got inspired to learn more about how one’s thinking can greatly affect how one can overcome all the challenges in life. She shares how very much possible it is to rewire the brain and get better results in life.

The next book is entitle Wisdom @ Work: The Making of A Modern Elder by Chip Conley. This books tackles the truth about how more and more people choose to be employed for most of their life, and gives suggestions on how one can continuously improve their skills so that they can stay relevant in the industry for a longer period of time as well.

The last book is called Building on Bedrock: What Sam Walton, Walt Disney, and Other Great Self-Made Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Building Valuable Companies by Derek Lidow. With technology governing most of the businesses today, there is a misconception that all start-up companies need to be technology related as well. In this book, entrepreneur, CEO, and business professor Lidow, explains how successful and long-lasting businesses are really built from the bottom up.

With these excellent list of books, one will surely be more inspired to do well at work and make their goals a reality this year and in the years to come.