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Do vacation rentals need special insurance coverage?
As a short-term rental owner, is there insurance when a guest damages your home? Does your personal homeowner's insurance cover damages? A great way to generate some extra income is by owning a second home in a resort town and renting it out for additional income. This is a great way to put a little extra cash in your pocket. However, when something goes wrong for your renters, this can cause major stress for homeowners. If a toilet overflows causing flooding or heaven forbid, your renters cause damage to your property it can be a logistical nightmare for the homeowner. What is the second homeowner to do? Does your personal homeowner's insurance cover these damages? Should you go through your rental websites such as Airbnb or VRBO? These issues can cause a lot of stress for landlords. Many times second homeowners may live far away or even in a different state. Welcome to the what if's of managing a home through the online vacation rental marketplace. When renting out a cabin, you do have insurance options. So many families buy second homes in ski towns like Big Bear Lake, California with the hope of renting them out. Popular online vacation rental companies like Airbnb can make the rental process easy. It may sound like a simple way to produce some extra income. When purchasing that ski cabin amidst the pines of the San Bernardino Mountains many homeowners don't think about what kind of insurance do you need for your short-term rental property? Many second homeowners may not even be aware that companies like Airbnb and HomeAway offer their own insurance policies. Airbnb's Host Protection is here to help I decided to rent out my home through Airbnb a few years back. After months of successfully profiting off of my vacant second home, I had no idea what to do when a guest purposely damaged my home. Should I use my personal homeowner's insurance? Should I contact Airbnb and open a claim? My mountain retreat under the tall Jeffrey Pines near Big Bear Lake was my serene cabin to escape to. I decided to rent it out to skiers and travelers for some extra income one ski season. After my renter moved out, I discovered my furniture was vandalized. My carpet was destroyed and the whole cabin (A non-smoking property) reeked of cigarettes. It was thousands of dollars worth of damage. I was so shocked (and pleased) when I called my rental agency, Airbnb, to hear about their host protection policy. Short-term rental insurance plans to the rescue Your second home is your sanctuary. What do you do when a guest damages your property? When listing a home you have purchased for rental through companies like Airbnb their host protection program takes all the guesswork out of what to do if you have to make an insurance claim. This program acts as primary insurance and provides liability coverage to hosts and if applicable also to their landlords. When my property was vandalized by a renter, this insurance policy came to my rescue. It's always a good idea to let your personal insurance carrier know about rental activity in any space you own. This means whether you are renting out a spare room or that vacant motorhome sitting in your driveway. An insurance policy like Airbnb's host protection policy automatically applies to every Airbnb reservation. On the off chance, you do need to process a claim, they can be filed directly through Airbnb. Online vacation rental marketplace offers more insurance than you would expect VRBO or HomeAway is another popular way to rent out that mountain cabin you own, just sitting vacant. HomeAway offers a $1,000,000 liability insurance plan. This provides owners and property managers with plenty of liability protection for all those trips booked through the HomeAway checkout. If something goes wrong with your renter experience, and trust me, it could, this gives you $1,000,000 in primary liability coverage. That is at no additional cost to you. This could be a lifesaver for you and your property if you don't already have a liability policy. Airbnb's Host Guarantee and Host Protection Insurance are included for every booking. This covers up to $1,000,000 under each program. If you have a short-term rental property and have any issues pop up there is no worry. You just need to contact Airbnb support about their insurance protection program. Their global support is available twenty-four-seven in eleven different languages. Insurance protection is even offered for experience/adventure hosts like me! If a hiker takes a fall on one of my scenic hikes, it's good to know Airbnb's Experience Protection Policy has my back! Short-term vacation rental companies may offer better insurance protection than you would suspect. I work as a local hiking guide in Big Bear Lake California. I had no idea that if a guest takes a fall or rolls an ankle on one of my scenic guided hikes, Airbnb actually has Experience Protection Insurance. Heaven forbid if a guest hiker gets hurt this helps my guests get the help they need. This removes the stress off my back, as the hiking guide. Not only that but as the host, if I get hurt while taking guests on any of my experiences from my snowshoeing tour to my snow play adventure, Airbnb insurance policies will be there to help. As a rental homeowner and as an Airbnb experience host, it's great to know that there is actually insurance in place to help me out, if I or my guests have bodily injuries during an experience . I love the fact that these vacation rentals by owner companies help out homeowners by providing additional insurance coverage. That way if something were to go wrong with your short-term rental property from legal responsibilities to guest's property or belongings damaged to an injury during an experience, the homeowner has less stress to worry about. This article was contributed by Amber Woodyard, Big Bear’s hiking, adventure, AirBnB experience expert and nature guide. For more info and contact information please visit Amber's website/blog http://hungrymountaineer.com/ ....

The High Cost Of Failing To Market
In spite of those who claim that “marketing costs too much,” John Graham provides four major reasons why just the opposite holds true. “We had to stop the mailings to our hospitality database,” says Tom Helbach, president of Mosinee Insurance Agency in Wisconsin. “We were getting so many calls that we couldn’t process the work efficiently until we made some internal changes.” Marketing gives Mosinee Insurance a statewide reach and allows it to compete successfully against an association-endorsed insurance program. The next step is to begin marketing in neighboring states. But this isn’t all. This marketing strategy demolishes the myth that companies only want to do business locally. It’s true that this marketing initiative as well as others costs money. But business is coming to Mosinee Insurance without face-to-face calls. It costs money, but it’s also efficient and effective. What Mosinee Insurance is doing offers a perfect example of the benefits provided by a marketing-driven strategy vs. one that’s sales driven. In spite of those who claim that “marketing costs too much,” here are four major reasons why just the opposite holds true: 1. Marketing bulletproofs your business against competitive attack. Most companies don’t give marketing serious attention until something goes wrong. It might be the activity of an aggressive competitor, falling sales, or some internal crisis. Then everyone expects marketing to kick in instantly and solve the problem. Companies all companies are vulnerable to competitive attack when they fail to create a legacy of marketplace credibility. This means projecting and protecting the company image and constantly caring for the way the brand is perceived and appreciated. This takes time, effort, and money. But when a problem arises (and it always does) there’s a reservoir of goodwill, knowledge, and value that offers protection against the attack. The hundreds of millions of dollars that tobacco companies are committing to smoking education aren’t at cross-purposes with selling cigarettes. Those sales are far less important than having the public view these corporations as responsive and responsible, thus helping mitigate possible legal, legislative, and regulatory action. 2. Marketing creates your company’s future. When someone calls and says, “I’ve known about you for years,” you know that marketing has been at work doing its most important job. Here’s what effective marketing contributes to a company’s success: Before customers make the decision to buy, they must make the decision to go to you. The objective of marketing is to help customers form a picture in their minds that you’re the right company with which to do business. Behind all this stands a carefully designed and thoughtfully implemented marketing program with one aim: At the moment of need, the customer either seeks you out or welcomes your call. Today, we’re seeing many companies that have been in business for a long time, but are now in decline. Why? In some cases, their customers have closed their doors, merged, or been acquired; or new competitors have entered the market and grabbed their accounts. And quite possibly, the “inside” customers who knew them so well buyers, purchasing agents, and managers have gone elsewhere or retired. Unless your company is actively prospecting two to 10 years in advance, you’ll always find yourself pushing for sales! 3. Marketing makes selling easier.If customers have a predisposition toward doing business with your company, product, or service, making the sale becomes far easier. This empowers salespeople to become consultants (and not just to call themselves one). Such common selling problems as overcoming objections and closing techniques become irrelevant. In fact, relying on “selling skills” to get the order is an indication that a company has no marketing. Everyone in business receives calls that start out something like this: “A couple of weeks ago, I sent you information about our company ” This is a call that goes nowhere today. Of course, salespeople (very good ones, too) run from such antiquated and stifling working conditions. Trying to make the sale when prospects lack a clear understanding of why it’s in their best interest to talk to you wastes your company’s time, personnel, and money. Jacking up commissions or lowering the price only drives up the cost even higher. The role of marketing is to create the right environment for selling to be successful. Without marketing, the cost of doing business becomes too high. 4. Marketing extends your reach. Whether it’s drilling down into existing companies to find new opportunities, further penetrating a market or market area, or opening the door to new markets and new territories, marketing is the engine that drives the effort. To grow your business today, the task is one of going from “nobody knows us” to “everybody knows us.” Few companies are willing to acknowledge the height of the wall that this creates for anyone in sales. Firms enter a new market where they’re not known and then wonder why sales lag. More often than not, it’s the sales force that gets the blame for the debacle, even though the fault was a lack of marketing. Onstar offers a perfect example of a company that literally drove customers to GM dealers by creating demand for their product. Motion pictures are pitched the same way: “Coming in October.” CONCLUSION Here’s the message: It’s failing to market that’s too costly. The bottom-line value of marketing becomes clear when you take into account these three factors: Sales that are going to a better-known (but not necessarily more competent) competitor, sales opportunities that are missed because you’re unaware that they even exist, and thin-margin sales that are being made to save accounts or “get in the door.” That money is going out the door now. The goal of marketing is to keep it where it belongs on your books. ...

The Electronic Lobby
How the telephone can convey a positive first impression of your business. Salespeople who call upon businesses have a saying: The owner is the one outside picking up the cigarette butts. Why? Because the owner knows that a clean, attractive entrance is crucial to getting the prospect inside the store. Today, for most businesses, the first contact comes over the telephone. The telephone is your “electronic lobby”-the vital first impression that many prospects receive (and, in some cases, the only impression). Yet, ironically, the same business owner who is out “picking up the butts” may not even interview applicants for the position of telephone receptionist. FIRST-LINE OFFENSE The telephone receptionist — not the producer — is your front-line offense. Restaurants pay particular attention to hiring their hosts/hostesses. A host’s smile, personality, friendliness, and ability to function under stress are important assets that predispose the customer toward a satisfactory experience. Within the insurance industry, the telephone receptionist is the host, the greeter. A well-trained, personable receptionist can make or break the sale before the customer ever gets to a producer. Over the years, I’ve heard many good telephone receptionists, a lot more incompetent ones, and only a handful of what I would classify as exceptional. The exceptional ones made me feel immediately welcome with their words and personality. In a nutshell, they cared about the caller! You know the ones I’m talking about — you enjoy talking with them. They keep you posted on the status of your call; you’re not left on hold for two minutes wondering whether you’re going to talk to anyone. And they take good messages, if need be. TIME FOR A TEST Try this little test: Inconspicuously watch your telephone receptionist. Do you sense a rush to process the calls — or does each caller receive a good level of attention and concern? Is the receptionist smiling? A physical smile comes through as warmth in the voice. Are other workers hanging around and talking with the receptionist? If so, discourage the practice. Your customer’s call might come second to the interoffice conversation. Is the receptionist juggling a personal call with the incoming calls? Same problem: The customer comes in second. START WITH TRAINING The insurance industry is revered for its dedication to education and training. Yet, how many of us train our telephone receptionists? Unfortunately, too few. The first level of training must be within the agency, company, or brokerage. The telephone receptionist should be given a solid understanding of the nature of the business, the types of calls you receive, and routing of callers to the correct department or personnel. Invite the receptionist to attend occasional meetings and training classes related to the industry. This provides an opportunity to allow clients to meet the person who answers the phones, and vice versa. As with every facet of our industry, it’s a relationship-builder. Plus, the receptionist then feels like a part of the team. But don’t stop there! Knowing the business and clients is only the first step. Send the telephone receptionist to specific educational sessions on telephone etiquette and personality development. Just call your local telephone company and ask about educational programs. They will provide you with the tools for telephone training. As for the personality angle, Dale Carnegie classes are an excellent investment for every telephone receptionist. CHANGE THE TITLE If you haven’t noticed by now, I’ve refrained from using the term “operator,” which automatically instills a condescending tone. This individual does far more than process calls. They’re the host for your electronic lobby — a telephone receptionist. If you’re into high-tech terms, the job classification could be communications coordinator. Build importance into the position and it will pay you back in untold dividends. WHAT ABOUT EQUIPMENT? On a final note, let’s talk about equipment. Many telephone receptionists now are provided with the convenience of headsets. Take a few minutes to check the voice transmission quality. Is it tinny? Does it have an echo effect? Is the voice thin and hard to understand? Inferior equipment can cripple a good telephone receptionist. You might have purchased your current headset on a price-only basis, without any regard to quality and value. Or it’s possible that no one ever checked for voice quality before making the purchase. Or maybe the headset was the best at the time of purchase several years ago. There have been dramatic strides in voice transmission quality during the past couple of years. Maybe it’s time to update the equipment. Last, but definitely not least, did you invest in an automated, voice-mail telephone system? Did this system replace your telephone receptionist? Are clients’ calls answered with an automated voice and a menu list of extensions? If so, shame on you! According to the voice-mail inventor Gordon Matthews in an interview with the Dallas Morning News, “The biggest mistake is using voice mail as a company’s receptionist, forcing callers to work their way through a maze of menus instead of having a human direct the initial calls.” (Such systems might also violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, since they are not compatible with telephone devices for the deaf). Give the telephone receptionist/communications coordinator/electronic lobby host position its due. It is much too important to be taken for granted....

How to Change a Dissatisfied Customer in an Angry One
PERSONAL PRESENTATION One of the things that can irritate an already upset person is your personal presentation. If they feel that your grooming and dress are unprofessional or inappropriate, they're more likely to hassle you. Some areas of personal presentation, if not seen to, might have a negative influence on an upset person. Check to make sure that your: Hair is clean, brushed or combed, and well kept. Clothing is pressed, neat, clean, and in good repair. Breath is fresh. Hands and fingernails are clean, with no chipped polish. Face is shaved, or mustache/beard is neatly trimmed. Makeup is applied neatly, moderately, and appropriately. Stockings are run-free. We all make initial assessments of others based mainly on personal presentation. According to some experts, we make decisions about people within the first four seconds of our meeting them. Says Bay Alexander, President of Professional Impact (Santa Cruz, CA): “If you're in a position where you're likely to interact with angry customers, you have a chance to use your image as one of your more effective tools to signal your power, control, knowledge, and composure. If you're dressed inappropriately or too casually for your position and business, customers are more likely to push to get their way, and call for a higher authority if they don't like your response.” You might have experienced the power of your appearance when you are a customer. Have you noticed how much easier it is to return an item to a store when you're neatly dressed than when you wear torn jeans and a dirty tee shirt? You never get a second chance to make a first impression. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION Here are some ways that your body language and voice tone might affect an upset person: Facial Expression. When people complain, do you ever roll your eyes, scowl, or have an inappropriate smile? Be aware of your facial expression when you communicate. Ask friends, coworkers, and your supervisor whether you have facial expressions that could be annoying, especially to upset customers. Keep a calm, concerned, sincere, and interested facial expression that shows the customer you care. Some people smile when they're tense, but you don't want to smile while a customer is expressing anger. If you do, the customer might feel that you're not taking them seriously. Body Posture. Do you tend to loll or slouch at your workstation? Show that you're attentive to your customer by standing and sitting up straight. When you loll or slouch, you might seem inattentive or disinterested. Maintain a nonthreatening, open body posture. Stand far enough away to give the customer room; crowding them might increase their irritation. Movement. Upset customers want to see you respond to their needs speedily. This doesn't mean you have to sprint to help, but don't mosey, either. Gestures. Do you stand or sit with your arms crossed? Do you hold your head up with your hands? The most common interpretation of the arms-crossed gesture is that the person is closed and unwilling to listen. When communicating with an upset customer, uncross your arms to show that you're listening and have an open mind. Smoking. Don't smoke in front of customers, even if your employer allows you to smoke in your work area. Put that cigarette out, even if your customer is smoking. Chewing Gum or Eating. Don't chew gum or eat when you're on the phone or in the public eye. Even if your employer allows it, these acts can be annoying and can escalate an upset customer into an irate one. Touching. Avoid touching an upset person, especially if they appear potentially violent. This could set off violence. Voice Tone. Do you sound annoyed? Does your voice go up at the end of a statement? You project your attitude through your voice as well as your body language. Remember, helping customers is your job. If you can't stand to help upset people, get transferred to another job. Make sure your attitude is always “I'm here to help as best I can.” People respond more to how you say something than to what you say. When your voice is annoyed, impatient, or condescending, the customer will become angrier. When your voice sounds confident, they'll believe you know what you're talking about and it will be easier to calm them. When your voice goes up at the end of a sentence, it sounds as if you're asking a question. Listen to yourself in a tape recorder; if your voice goes up at the end, practice keeping an even tone, or one that ends on a lower note. You'll sound confident and competent. Speak with a calm, firm, caring, soothing tone. Sighing. Sighing often suggests annoyance or impatience. Don't sigh in front of an upset customer. Cursing. Even if the customer curses, there's never an excuse for you to curse. No matter how many insults they shout at you, remember that you're a professional. Compose yourself as best you can, and avoid responding to abuse. It's a sign of strength, not weakness, to stay calm and respond with patience when someone is cursing and insulting you. WORDS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE The words that you use with customers can help communications — or they can start a fight. Here are some common Fight Starters and suggestions on replacing them with Communication Helpers. Keep It Impersonal Fight Starter: “You didn't do this right.” Communication Helper: “There are a few areas on this form that we need to complete.” If the customer did something wrong, point out the mistake indirectly. They will often be embarrassed at their mistake, get angry because of this embarrassment, and try to blame you. Avoid sarcastic, blaming, or condescending statements. Even if the customer is wrong, the time to make it known is notduring a rage. Use ‘I' Instead of ‘You' Fight Starter: “You're wrong.” Communication Helper: “I can see there's been a miscommunication (or misunderstanding).” Fight Starter: “You're confusing me.” Communication Helper: “I'm confused.” Don't blame the customer. When explaining what went wrong, use either the indirect approach or “I” statements as much as possible. Avoid Giving Orders Fight Starter: “You have to ... “ Communication Helper: “Will you please … ?” Fight Starter: “It would be best if you ... “ Communication Helper: “It might be best if we ... “ People don't like to be given no choice. Ask them pleasantly to do something or explain how it will be to their benefit. People don't like to be given orders. Rephrase your statement more politely as a question. Fight Starter: “You should have done ... ” Communication Helper: “We want your next visit to go as smoothly as possible. This will assist you.” Fight Starter: “Wait here.” Communication Helper: “Would you mind waiting while I speak to my supervisor?” When people hear “should,” they often think of their parents or some other authority figure telling them what they did wrong. Instead of telling them what they should've done last time, tell them what will be helpful for next time. The past is past and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Focus on the future — the next time — instead. Take Responsibility Fight Starter: “I can't ... ” Communication Helper: “I don't have the authority. However, Mary should be able to help you. Let me get her.” If you can't help, connect the customer with someone who can. Fight Starter: “It's not my job.” Communication Helper: “Let me see what I can do to help. John is the specialist in that area. Let me get him for you.” Even if what the customer needs isn't within your job responsibility, instead of telling them this, tell them how you can help. Avoid Causing Defensiveness If people think they're being criticized, they'll react defensively — that is, angrily. Fight Starter: “You never do it right.” Communication Helper: “This is often not done correctly.” Fight Starter: “You're always late.” Communication Helper: “This payment is often late.” Always” and “never” sound critical and uncompromising; use “often” instead . Fight Starter: “You filled this out okay, but ... ” Communication Helper: “You filled this out well, and ... ” People don't listen to what you say before the “but.” They concentrate on what follows. Use “and” instead, so they'll listen to the whole sentence. Fight Starter: “It will cost you ... ” Communication Helper: “The rate is ... ” “Cost” sounds negative, and costs can imply time, aggravation, and other things in addition to money. Fight Starter: “What's your problem?” Communication Helper: “Please tell me what happened.” People don't like to have problems, and they don't like others to know they have problems. Use the inquiry instead. There's plenty to work with here. Practice even with customers who aren't upset. Also, engage a co-worker or your supervisor in helping you become aware of any habits you have that might make a customer more upset. Then work on eliminating these annoyances. This article is reproduced, with permission, from the VuPoint Newsletter of the IIABA Virtual University. Rebecca L. Morgan, CSP, CMC, is a professional speaker and seminarist. She is the author of four books, TurboTime: Maximizing Your Results Through Technology, Calming Upset Customers, Life's Lessons: Insights and Information for a Richer Life, and Professional Selling. For information on her speaking services, books, and tapes, contact her at 1440 Newport Ave., San Jose, CA 95125, (408) 998-7977, (800) 247-9662, fax (408) 998-1742, e-mail rebecca@RebeccaMorgan.com, or Web site www.RebeccaMorgan.com...

Employee Motivation
EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION Most workplace accidents occur in 'safe' workplaces. Why? Employee error. What can you do? Employee motivation. This article tells you to develop and implement an employee motivation program. If you do this and eliminate even one accident, this may be the most important article you read this year. Nobody wants to get hurt on the job. The purpose of a safety program is to realize the goal of an injury-free workplace. Still, people get hurt at work. Sometimes, injuries are due to lack of appropriate safety equipment or unsafe processes and procedures. Workplace safety laws have been established to correct these types of problems, but possibly the most pervasive cause of workplace injury is employee error. The employee may take unnecessary risks without even thinking about it. An employee may suffer a back injury despite having been trained in back safety, having a safety belt available, and knowing that there is a risk. Why don't employees minimize their risks? There may be several reasons, both related to and independent of the job. Job-related excuses might be: 'I've picked up bigger boxes than this before without hurting myself.' 'Back belts are for sissies.' 'I'm too busy to stop and get a belt.' In these cases, the employee at least thought about possible danger in lifting and alternatives. Non-job-related reasons for ignoring safety procedures might be: 'I'm mad at my spouse. My kids are a pain.' 'How am I going to get my car fixed? Where will the money come from?' 'What should I wear tonight? Do the Joneses like asparagus?' 'I sure need a cigarette. When's my break?' In plain words, the employee is distracted from possible risks. The solution to this cavalier attitude toward safety is to develop an employee motivation program. Employee Motivation Programs The first step in an effective safety motivation program is marketing. You must instill the value of safety, communicate a commitment to safety, and motivate supervisors and employees to think and act safely. Rather than emphasizing management and control of responses to injury or illness, businesses should work toward preventing them and promoting safety. Such efforts could pay big dividends. Management must support your motivation program. They must commit to costs, promotions, and the total employee-motivation effort. While employee motivation programs have been shown to provide a terrific savings-to-cost ratio, there are costs. If you save $25,000 on Workers Compensation, you won't automatically get some of this money to spend on safety. The rate of return on an effective safety program can be $4 to $10 for every dollar invested. You need to sell management on the idea and get a commitment. Promote and maintain safety awareness. You need to set goals, reward success, and acknowledge failures. The employee motivation job isn't complete till the paperwork is finished. Training must include program evaluation and trainee feedback. Both supervisors and employees must be trained. A variety of motivation programs are based on rewards, contests, premiums, etc. The key is to publicize rewards. Lottery tickets, selected gifts, savings bonds, and cash have all been used as effective rewards. But none, of these will be effective without the basic structure of a workplace safety program. Reprinted with permission from Safety Information Currents, Volume V Number 3....

Help Workers Keep Themselves Safe
HELP WORKERS KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE Most on-the-job accidents occur in “safe” workplaces. Why? Employee error. What can your Commercial Lines clients do about it? Invest in a comprehensive employee safety motivation program that will reduce injuries in the workplace – increase productivity – and save them money. Some workplace injuries result from lack of appropriate safety equipment or unsafe processes and procedures – problems that workplace safety laws can help correct. However, the most pervasive cause of these injuries is employee error (taking unneeded chances without thinking about them). For example, a worker might suffer a back injury despite having been trained in back safety, having a safety belt available, and knowing that there’s a risk. Employees might fail to minimize their workplace risks for a number of reasons, either related to or independent of the job. Job-related excuses for a back injury might include: “I’ve picked up bigger boxes than this before without hurting myself.” “Back belts are for sissies.” “I’m too busy to stop and get a belt.” In these cases, the employee at least thought about the possible danger in lifting and alternatives. Some non-job-related reasons for ignoring safety procedures might be: “I’m mad at my spouse. My kids are a pain.” “How am I going to get my car fixed? Where will the money come from?” “What should I wear tonight? Do the Joneses like asparagus?” “I sure need a cigarette. When’s my break?” The solution to this cavalier attitude toward safety is for the business to develop an employee motivation program. The first step in an effective safety motivation program is marketing. Management must instill the value of safety, communicate a commitment to safety, and motivate supervisors and employees to think and act safely. Rather than emphasizing management and control of responses to injury or illness, they should work toward preventing them and promoting safety. These efforts could pay big dividends – and lower the client’s premium. The company should support the motivation program by committing to needed costs, promotions, and the total employee-motivation effort. Although employee motivation programs provide a terrific savings-to-cost ratio, they do involve costs. If a client saves $25,000 on Workers Compensation, they won’t automatically get some of this money to spend on safety. However, the rate of return on an effective safety program can be $4 to $10 for every dollar invested. Stress the need for your clients to promote and maintain safety awareness by setting goals, rewarding success, and acknowledging failures. The employee motivation job isn’t complete until the paperwork is finished. Training must include program evaluation and trainee feedback for both supervisors and employees. Base your motivation program on awards, contests, premiums, and so forth. It’s essential to publicize such rewards as lottery tickets, selected gifts, savings bonds, and cash. However, no rewards will work without the basic structure of a workplace safety program. ...

Guidelines For Firing Employees
GUIDELINES FOR FIRING EMPLOYEES by Don Phin When employers ask if they can terminate employees, they’re really asking, “If I fire them, can they sue me?” Before you fire an employee, I’d recommend taking these steps: Be aware that you might easily face litigation. For a filing fee of about $150, anybody can sue you! Ask if the firing will surprise the employee. The answer says a lot about your performance management. If the employee has been performing poorly, to what degree have they addressed this challenge? Have you provided disciplinary notices or performance plans? Check to see if the employee falls into any protected categories. Although employment is “at-will,” the exceptions have, in a sense, swallowed the rule. If an employee fits within a protected category (such as race, religion, age, gender, etc.), they might claim that the real motivation behind their termination has nothing to do with performance. Bear in mind that courts will usually uphold “mixed motivation” cases in which a poorly performing employee faced discrimination. In other words, the employer treated them differently than other employees who have performed poorly. Determine whether discrimination played any role in the termination decision. Give the employee a way to complain if they feel that discrimination played any part in their poor performance reviews or termination decision. Review employee complaints. Employees who complain about health or safety issues and other concerns regulated by state or federal laws often file whistleblower and retaliation cases. If these people have also complained about discrimination or harassment, you might well face a claim of retaliation. As a loose rule of thumb, most attorneys and judges will consider any adverse action taken within three months of a complaint as “retaliatory” which means you’ll have to prove that it wasn’t. Good luck! Make sure your documentation is in place. Do you have performance evaluations which show the deficiency for which you’re firing the employee? What about their disciplinary notices or performance plans? What benchmarks apply to determining the employee’s performance? Did they sign an employee handbook acknowledgement identifying the impropriety of the conduct at issue? Although it’s always easy to say that you’re firing someone for poor performance, every employer faces this challenge: If you’re going to claim that the poor performance was going on for a while and you didn’t already fire the employee, they might allege that the situation couldn’t have been that bad which means that something unique was involved such as discrimination or retaliation. That’s just one trap employers face when they don’t discipline and document in a timely fashion. Be careful in terminating “damaged goods” employees. An employer might be concerned that the employee is sick, in failing health, or addicted to drugs or alcohol. They could have also been injured in a Work Comp claim. In a sense, they’re “damaged goods.” If this is the case, be aware of your obligations under the ADA (15 employees or more) and FMLA statutes (50 or more employees). The advice is always the same: Don’t play lawyer, doctor, or psychologist -- unless you are one. Treat the employee as you would a loved one. Focus on their performance and what reasonable accommodations, including leave, might help them to meet legitimate performance standards. Do this regardless of whether the employee is sick, inured, disabled, or otherwise limited in their ability to perform. Don’t forget the possibility of human error. We all make mistakes. In one case, a CEO asked if he should fire one of his warehousemen for throwing a cigarette into a tire pile, which then ignited and burned down the warehouse. If you face a similar situation, consider signing a “do one more stupid thing and you’re out of here” agreement with the offending employee. As a last-ditch effort to defuse a possible claim, consider doing an exit interview. Following these guidelines should go far to reduce your exposure to employee lawsuits. ...

... Focus on their performance and what reasonable accommodations, including leave, might help them to meet legitimate performance standards. Do this regardless of whether the employee is sick, inured, disabled, or otherwise limited in their ability to perform. Don't forget the possibility of human error. We all make mistakes. In one case, a CEO asked if he should fire one of his warehousemen for throwing a cigarette into a tire pile, which then ignited and burned down the warehouse. If you face a similar situation, consider signing a "do one more stupid thing and you're out of here" agreement with the offending employee. As a last-ditch effort to defuse a possible claim, consider doing an exit interview. Following these guidelines should go far to reduce your exposure to employee lawsuits. Don Phin ... employment law, and risk management. He serves as the Human Relations Key Consultant for IMMS.com. You can reach Phin, a past president of the American Academy of Employment Law Attorneys, at (800) 234-3304; e-mail [email protected] ; or visit www.hrthatworks.com . Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole lot of time & money when you use our directory of carriers, wholesalers and service providers. Negotiate lucrative contracts with carriers and wholesalers. Net result. More revenue for your agency! Clients & Prospects will research you, your co-workers and your agency here. The most comprehensive online insurance industry reference library ...