No resource is more valuable to a business than capable, dedicated employees. As such, it’s only natural that businesses looking to ensure long-term viability would seek to retain top talent. However, given the way many employers treat their most talented team members, you’d be forgiven for thinking this wasn’t the case. Needless to say, any enterprise that wants to prevent high-performers from fielding other offers or simply quitting altogether should carefully consider what types of incentives they’re providing these individuals to stick around.

Promote from Within

Every person likes to feel as if their efforts will culminate in some sort of grand payoff. More often than not, this means receiving promotions – and the pay raises synonymous with them. Promoting from within helps ensure that your team members know how much their dedication and hard work are appreciated and gives employees a reason to put forth their best efforts. On the flipside, refusing to promote from within – even when people’s efforts more than warrant it – may result in diminished enthusiasm, company loyalty and employee retention. After all, why would your top talent want to stay with a company that doesn’t appreciate them?

Provide Relocation Assistance

Expecting employees to relocate – even if it’s for the purpose of being promoted – is a tall order. The longer someone has resided in a particular area, the more likely they are to have put down roots and formed lasting connections. So, before asking that a team member completely uproot their life, take care to consider the ways such a change stands to impact them and their family.

Additionally, if an employee is instructed to relocate, the absolute least you can do is provide relocation assistance. This means, among other things, taking care of their moving fees and paying their lodging costs until they’re able to find a permanent residence. If you want to simplify the entire process for all parties involved, it’s worth considering getting help from a corporate relocation services company.

Offer Schedule Flexibility

Over the past few years, it’s become very obvious that many jobs don’t actually need someone reporting to an office and sitting behind a desk for eight hours a day. A significant number of modern jobs can be done effectively and efficiently on timetables set by employees instead of employers. As long as desired deadlines are adhered to, it shouldn’t really matter when – or where – the work is completed. Unsurprisingly, people whose employers continue to force outdated models of efficiency on them are often miserable at work and won’t hesitate to accept jobs from employers who offer a higher degree of schedule flexibility.

Providing employees with a fair amount of control over their schedules can benefit your company in a number of ways. In addition to heightening employee happiness and overall productivity, schedule flexibility can help foster company loyalty and dissuade top talent from jumping ship.

Allow Remote Work

As discussed above, many workers value schedule flexibility – and there’s no purer form of schedule flexibility than remote work. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, countless people got a taste of remote work and came to realize how needless formal workplaces are for certain jobs. Additionally, since the most stressful parts of the work experience are commuting and navigating office politics, it’s not hard to see why remote work has become so popular.

Remote work is so popular, in fact, that a sizable number of workers would sooner quit their jobs than give it up. So, if you have any team members who prefer working remotely to the traditional workplace experience, allowing them to work from home can be a great way to display your commitment to employee happiness. Embracing remote work can also provide top talent with incentive to stick with your company for the long haul.

In the absence of dedicated talent, any enterprise is likely to have trouble staying afloat. Talented, hardworking employees are the backbone of any business, and if you’ve been less than accommodating to their needs, you shouldn’t be surprised if they begin jumping ship. Fortunately, retaining top talent is much easier than you may think – provided, of course, you put the tips outlined above to good use. In the quest to keep high-performing employees, a little bit of understanding and a willingness to alter longtime behaviors can go a long way.

It was not so many moons ago that online payments on major eCommerce were either by debit or credit card. Plenty of people had a PayPal account, but this was primarily used for peer-to-peer transactions or to buy goods won at auction on eBay. Card transactions needed the user to undergo an additional verification step to prove they were the cardholder, but it was all a relatively unsophisticated system.

PayPal had been created as a stand-alone company at the dawn of the dotcom boom and had been a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay in 2002. However, in 2015 eBay spun off PayPal, and while the companies retained close working ties, both companies were free to find new partners.

For eBay, this meant they could offer customers the chance to complete purchases using new digital payment providers. As a result, PayPal became an option at major online checkouts, from high street stores to travel agents and online casinos. People liked using PayPal as it was quick, easy, and secure; their email address was all they needed to remember.

While PayPal might have been the original fintech company, by the time eBay sold it, there were other operators in the space. For example, Apple launched its digital wallet, ApplePay, in 2014. At the time, for most people, it was just an app that came with the latest phone, but most people carried on using their plastic cards. Google first introduced a digital payment service in 2013 and their Google Wallet in 2018. The Google Pay app, which is now installed on millions of Android phones, was introduced in 2020.

Increasing numbers of people now use fintech solutions when making online payments. Fintech comes in many guises but essentially refers to the use of technology to change our relationship with financial products and services. For example, Starling is an internet-based bank that is accessed via an app on mobile phones. While Internet banking had been around for a considerable time when it launched, the process was slow and cumbersome and required users to verify their identity through a card reader. Starling’s app enabled customers to make payments directly without needing a reader and notified them of all transactions in and out of their accounts. The central banks now offer a similar service through their apps, and we accept this as standard.

With all the advances in internet banking, eWallets, and digital payments, having access to a bank account is not even a requirement anymore in order to make online payments. This is where a service like Boku comes into its own.

Boku is a mobile processing system that allows customers to buy digital goods and services without a bank account. The services are charged to their mobile phone bill; no credit card or bank account is needed. It is a convenient and popular payment method for online content, including games and entertainment. There are even an increasing number of online casinos that accept Boku, like NetBet and MrQ. Players just need their mobile number to use the service and do not need to download a specific app or anything.

Another enormous revolution in how we pay online is the growth in Buy Now Pay Later services. Klarna was the name that brought this way of paying to our attention. However, there are multiple operators now in this market, including PayPal Pay in 4 and ApplePay Later. In 2022 more than seventeen million people had used BNPL services. It is particularly popular with 18–34-year-olds, where sixteen percent of this age group uses this payment method.

The use of BNPL in the UK and worldwide in general is on the increase, as can be seen when comparing year-on-year figures. For example, the figure from 2022 was almost double 2021’s eight million people.

The same goes for the use of fintech apps. Fintech app installation was up two percent in 2022, and payment and banking apps account for more than ninety percent of those installs. If these numbers are any indication of the future of fintech, we should brace ourselves for even more groundbreaking innovation and changes to how we pay online.

Photo by Andre Taissin on Unsplash

Choosing the right food sticker for your brand can be a daunting task, especially if you are uncertain of what aspects to consider. If you know what to look for, then you will be in a position to save yourself a lot of money and time. However, if you are uncertain, this guide highlights some of the most critical factors to put into account when choosing a food sticker for your brand.

How the Label Fits Your Brand

When choosing a food sticker, you need to establish which between the food security labels and the tamper labels fits your brand. The latter is best suited if you are looking to enhance the safety and security of your product. When the label is tampered with or removed, the front face often breaks. The breakage of the sticker offers clear evidence that someone has tampered with the contents of your package.

The food safety label, on the other hand, utilizes permanent adhesive. These are designed to ensure food containers remain closed throughout the delivery process. Although they lack tamper-evident labels, the adhesive used allows for the easy sealing of your packaged products.

Label Size

The size of the label is important because labels that are too small or too large will give a bad appearance to the package. If your products are put in large packages such as pizza or small ones such as cookies, it is imperative to make sure you use labels consistent with the package. Make sure you consult label printers about the size of the sticker you need to avoid finding one that does not fit well with your packaging.

Materials and Adhesive

Matte papers are often ideal for those in need of handwritten labels.  This allows you to include information about the food as well as the delivery information. However, when using matte paper materials, make sure you use a gel pen or marker.

Apart from the matte labels, the film label stickers are also suitable for use if you are looking for a long-lasting material that comes with added weather and waterproof features. Furthermore, film label stickers are suitable for use if you store your food products inside a refrigerator.

Design of the Label

The design is the most significant aspect of the food label. That is because when it comes to designing a label, you are required to think of the brand and other details to include in the label. Different aspects such as the tagline of the company, logo, as well as social media handles should be taken into consideration when it comes to branding your label. Furthermore, you need to think about important details such as the expiration date and ingredient list to include on the label. Such information is critical, especially for a customer who wants to know your product.

When deciding on the kind of food stickers to use, you need to consider the above factors. In addition to these pointers, label designers can assist you with idea formulation and also present samples that could make your choice of food sticker easier.

When we think about the objects that usually keep us safe, our mind goes to helmets, seatbelts, and even bulletproof vests. You may be surprised to learn that one of the most common and important safety measures in many towns and cities is actually a humble block of concrete: a bollard.

Bollards are short posts designed to prevent vehicles or even people from entering restricted areas. They can come in various materials, such as wood or metal, but concrete bollards have been proven to be the sturdiest option due to their dense construction.

Concrete bollards may seem like an unglamorous addition to city landscapes, but they serve a crucial purpose – protecting citizens from accidents and deliberate malice. In this article, we will discuss why concrete safety bollards are becoming increasingly important in today’s world.

1. Protecting Pedestrians

The first major reason for needing concrete safety bollards is pedestrian protection. Whether it’s an outdoor dining setup or a crowded festival street party area, having vulnerable pedestrians shielded from out-of-control cars driving into walkways should be paramount.

Concrete bollards’ sturdiness makes them ideal protectors for public space; if installed correctly, they can easily stop wayward vehicles before they cause casualties on sidewalks which would have otherwise resulted due to a lack of proper traffic control measures put in place.

2. Securing Entry Points 

Securing areas with high foot traffic and those who need special protection, such as government buildings, would require specific access control methods aside from manned operations at checkpoints which may not always suffice.

Installing automatic barriers powered by CCTV cameras might still pose security risks, thus making use of something more robust than mere gates locked with padlocks; this calls for the installation of concrete security bollards that will offer total obstruction whenever necessary, preventing unauthorized entry or exit except through designated ways while also offering comprehensive monitoring opportunities essential in surveillance techniques applied by security. 

3. Mitigating Terrorist Threats

Unfortunately, we live in a world where terrorism is a reality. Concrete bollards act as an effective buffer zone by serving to checkmate the activities of terrorist incidents, including ramming vehicle attacks, and prevent them from causing maximum carnage.

Concrete safety bollards have saved numerous lives due to their ability to halt wandering vehicles that can cause severe bodily harm to pedestrians and ensure that buildings don’t collapse or crumble due to repeated impact from car bombs. With an increasing number of countries witnessing upticks in terrorist acts, it’s vital for both residents and tourists alike throughout these nations to feel more secure and protected whenever out and about by installing concrete safety bollards at any potential targets prone to such attacks like airports, government buildings, stadiums among others.

4. Enhancing Aesthetic Considerations

One major misconception about concrete bollards is the assumption that they are unsightly installations. But the beauty lies within applying authentic design when incorporating them into surrounding architectural features such as modern bridges over rivers or even simple park-like settings where the practicality adds just much aesthetic appeal greater than those times with flowers only floral gardens bring forth because security touches our very core best when seamlessly blended with visual harmony of our surroundings rather than disrupt it while delivering its ultimate purpose.

To conclude, whether seeking protection for the public or safeguarding infrastructure against nefarious activities – having reliable concrete safety bollards installed where necessary – provides excellent peace of mind for all involved parties: offering pedestrians assurance of knowing they are safely shielded while going about their daily life routines; governments adequate control methods needed so their citizens can easily move around secure areas alongside heightened threat levels resulting from terrorists incident spiked localities lately alongside adding aesthetic appeal without compromising on security features of modern urban serenity. Overall, the importance of concrete safety bollards cannot be overstated. It is high time we give bollards the credit they are due and invest in them accordingly.

Many business owners want to know how to improve marketing and increase sales, and these are both important things. However, it is just as important to keep your resources and employees safe. Without these things, you wouldn’t have a business. There are a few ways you can improve your organization’s safety.

Evaluate Fleet Safety

If you have a fleet, it’s a good idea to evaluate the safety of each vehicle. One way to make this task easier is to implement dash cams that have GPS tracking. It is easy to learn more and evaluate dash cams with GPS technology, as well as review a checklist of the top features to consider. Implementing this technology is a great way to reduce costs, improve safety, and keep drivers safe from false claims.

Be Careful with Money

You may be more open to cash or check payments than digital payments because of the fees associated with accepting credit cards. However, if you primarily deal with cash, you are leaving yourself open in many ways. Having too much cash on hand may leave you open to a robbery, as cash is easy for thieves to steal. Employees may be tempted to steal if there is a lot of cash around. While this does not mean you should not accept cash at all, it does mean you should allow your customers to pay you digitally. If you accept checks, it’s a good idea to check on those regularly. Keep track of every check you receive, and make sure the funds actually end up in your account. Dishonest employees may be tempted to try to keep the funds for themselves.

Consider Going Paperless

You may fear getting hacked by storing important information online, but if you choose the right cloud provider, you will be less vulnerable than if you kept everything on location. If you only rely on a physical server, phones, and computers in the same location, it is easy for them to be stolen or compromised by a hacker. You might have a plan to back up on a regular basis, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. Disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or fires, can have a negative impact on operations if you can’t get to your accounts. That makes it harder to receive disaster recovery funds or even get back to work. Physical documents can get lost or stolen even more easily, so it’s a good idea to convert those to digital copies for storage in the cloud. You should create a companywide cybersecurity culture that protects all your data. Having access to a cloud allows you to set up automatic backups.

Make Sure You Are the Administrator

When you create a business website it’s a good idea for only one person to be listed as the administrator for your website and any online services. While you might trust someone else to have access, letting too many people have access can increase the risk of a password getting stolen. If someone else has admin access, they could remove your access and hold your data hostage, halting operations until you meet their demands.