Search CompleteMarkets

... x No Thanks Loading.. Help Your Employees Help Themselves 3/9 /2015 by Don Phin This content has not been rated yet. HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES HELP THEMSELVES by Don Phin More and more employers are discovering the advantages of helping employees through today's rough times. Don Phin explains how Employment Assistance Programs (EAPs) and Dependent Care Services can provide unique value-added benefits for both you and your employees. EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS Today's employers face more workforce challenges than ever — many of them because of problems that employees face in their personal lives. Employee Assistance Programs can help. EAPs provide face-to-face clinical counseling for such issues as relationship concerns, family problems, stress, workplace problems, and alcohol/chemical dependency. These programs also provide telephone consultations and information for such life-management issues' as financial ... , finding providers for child or elder care, tax issues, legal advice, organizing personal affairs, and pre-retirement planning. The information that employees share with an EAP is strictly confidential and not shared with the employer. Considering the fact that substance abuse alone costs businesses more than $120 billion a year in lost productivity, an EAP program can be highly cost effective. EAPs have led to significant reductions in use of sickness benefits, work-related accidents, Workers Compensation claims, and employee conflict. The three largest EAP providers are: Magellan ( www.magellan.com ), with 14 million total lives covered, ComPsych Corp ( compsych.com ), with 7 million total lives covered, and CIGNA ( www.cignabehavioral.com ), with 4 million total lives covered. DEPENDENT CARE SERVICE PROVIDERS Increasing demand for child and elder care has ...

...t she needed to agree to go into Assisted Living. I spent Friday afternoon with her an...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Develop a Telephone Prospecting System for Amazing Results 2/20/2018 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Kris Woods This content has not been rated yet. After an automated sales center is up and running, it's up to producers to act on the qualified leads that the sales center coordinator, assistant, and support staff have worked on. Prospecting is an old term; replace it with "business development." Business development requires a positive attitude, confidence, and discipline. The business development mind-set can be picked up by anyone who has a desire to step to the front line and just do what must be done. Commit to a business development plan of action, then organize and follow through. For example, track the logical order of the following scenario: A ... couples in your neighborhood for years packaging their Homeowners and Auto coverages. This creative packaging allows a lot of insurance dollars to stay in your pocket with no reduction in the protection that gives you peace of mind. Try the following for Life insurance: Our agency has a dynamic Mortgage Term policy that allows you to receive all of your insurance dollars back if you pay off the home. Many people live to pay mortgages and have commented that the return of premium coupled with the peace of mind makes the idea well worth their time. Scripts are tools to use when speaking not only to the decision-maker, but to the gatekeeper as well. Don't use a script with a gatekeeper before determining that the gatekeeper is authorized to question you. If he/she only takes messages for the decision-maker, ...

... . Handling Stress Organizational interventions include: Providing a safe environment Improving communication Including employees in decision making Assessing and modifying the job Developing peer support groups, quality circles, etc. Coping strategies include: Avoidance and escape Hobbies and recreation Reading and music Emotional discharge: drinking heavily, smoking, abusing drugs, overeating Social support and supportive relationships Relaxation Assertiveness training Off-the-wall behavior Self control Exercise Lifestyle management Humor Employee assistance programs Worker Empowerment Giving employees the authority to make their own decisions and perform their own tasks is crucial to maintaining their well-being. Freedoms characteristic of a good job include: self-paced work, participation in decision making (planning, problem solving, and working methods), influence on production quantity and quality, control over hours and rest breaks, and ability to move around physically. The Dilemma of ... x No Thanks Loading.. Stress In The Workplace 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Bill Grieb This content has not been rated yet. STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE by Bill Grieb We spend a major portion of our adult lives at work. Work can be both rewarding and stressful. Occupational stress is frequently associated with poor mental health, such as depression, breakdown, and psychosocial disability-as well as with cardiac disease, absenteeism, low productivity, alcoholism, drug abuse, family violence, and divorce. Stress results from the individual worker's reaction to a variety of factors. High-stress jobs are often characterized as having high psychological demand and low decision latitude. The personality of the individual and his family and social situation positively or negatively affect the impact of these factors. Studies show that workers ...

...most crucial strategies is frugal living. In essence, frugal living entails minimizing expenses while foc...h as possible when practicing frugal living. High-interest credit card debt i...

... as well. You Get in Proportion to What You Give As a case in point, I recently produced a four-hour, live talent competition show here in Branson for a particular charity. I knew that several board members would rally volunteers and get specific jobs done. These same people were also among the busiest of our board members in every facet of their lives. I also knew that I needed assistance in other critical areas and that I couldn't rely on board members to follow through and complete these assignments. So I looked to the community and found highly successful, non-board members who were fans of this particular charity. They jumped at the opportunity to help in many, many ways, and were directly responsible for much of the event's success. Is it any wonder that they're so successful? ... of serving on various boards (mostly non-profit) and helping many other boards in their strategic planning, I've come to believe in the 50-40-10 rule of community involvement. Fifty percent of board members seem to feel that they're fulfilling their commitment by simply attending a 90-minute meeting once a month. They offer their opinion when asked, vote on various measures, say their goodbyes, and go on about their lives. In their defense, they feel that they're making a major contribution to the organization, are quick to cite their board membership, and never fail to attend high-profile fundraising events. However, they're members in "name" only. Unsurprisingly, these people get their returns in name only. Social and/or business conversations usually end with the comment, "We've got to get together to ...

... purchasing this form of insurance. HOW NOT TO SELECT A POLICY These brief definitions explain how the three basic types of Cash Value Life insurance (Whole Life, Universal Life, and Blended Policies of either) work, the variations in the number of lives that are insured, and who has the obligation to invest your premium dollars. For all these variations, you'll frequently view a Policy Illustration to assist you in making your purchase decisions. The illustration, however, is not the policy! The illustration attempts to project today's experience — with respect to expenses and earnings — to give you an idea of how the policy works, or how the policy's values might look in the future. The illustration could also demonstrate the policy's flexibility in the event that the insurance company continues to enhance policy values ... the actions and representations of the agent. If nothing else, legal activities in the past few years have made it imperative for agents to provide a substantial, written record of any policy and illustration design considerations that they discuss with their clients. AND MORE VARIATIONS The policies discussed previously are typically found in both ‘one insured life' and ‘two (or more) insured lives' formats. Most people purchase a ‘one insured life' policy for income replacement or business planning. Current estate tax law has encouraged a variation called ‘Joint Lives, Second-to-Die, ' which describes (typically) a husband and wife insured under one policy with a death benefit that pays only after both die. This type of insurance can be beneficial for estate tax ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. First Aid 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Bill Grieb This content has not been rated yet. FIRST AID by Bill Grieb This article discusses medical assistance and first aid requirements. GISO 2400 requirements are listed at the end. MEDICAL ASSISTANCE Employers who are not near an infirmary, clinic, or hospital should have someone on-site trained in first aid, backed by medical personnel readily available for advice and consultation. Written procedures should be developed for medical emergencies. It is essential that first aid supplies are available to the trained medical personnel, that emergency phone numbers are placed in conspicuous places near or on telephones, and that prearranged ambulance services are available for any emergency. FIRST AID KITS Every organization should have a first aid kit available. It does not ... first aid kit designed by Howard Burkhart to meet the needs of an office of up to 50 people. The kit costs $148. It is a heavy-gauge two-shelf steel-welded cabinet, 15 X 10 X 5 inches, finished with acid- and rust-resistant enamel. PERSONAL PROTECTION Employees exposed to accidental chemical splashes, falling objects, flying particles, unknown atmospheres with inadequate oxygen or toxic gases, fires, live electrical wiring, or similar emergencies need personal protective equipment, including: Safety glasses, goggles, or face shields for eye protection Hard hats and safety shoes Properly selected and fitted respirators Whole body coverings, gloves, hoods, and boots Body protection for abnormal environmental conditions such as extreme temperatures EMERGENCY RESPONSE HANDBOOK SIC has developed a 130-page emergency response handbook that provides emergency first aid guidelines and 60 emergency ...

...ned as earning a high standard of living for as long as the principal remains ...mething more than a high standard of living through self-employment. Value in ...

... ) to minimize the stress on the next generation and/or provide the highest return of assets to the selling generation. If you don't want organizational changes, planning makes the sell-down (or sell-out) more feasible with no surprises. Internal perpetuation should include terms that are acceptable to the seller and manageable to the new owners. Life insurance is essential for crisis transition. For instance, we recently assisted an agency in a transition that will permit the selling owner to remain in the agency (their desire), while the ownership and direction of the agency transitions to the next generation over a long (15-year) period. The payments to the owner will supplement their ongoing income and be used for investment and other purposes. The length of time involved makes the obligation to the agency minimal each ... might otherwise look to greener pastures. The fact is that business continuance depends on prudent, and timely, planning: Strategic planning, financial planning, management succession planning, and personnel development planning. This can't be done in a month or in a year. A successful perpetuation plan should be written years in advance. It needs to be changeable as conditions (and people) change. It's a living, breathing document that's updated annually. A mature attitude toward succession and perpetuation will make it less of a shock and more of a normal part of business life as changes occur. STRATEGIC PLANNING Schedule the future and progress of your agency, including perpetuation and succession planning and all of their components. Many agents forget that succession is a normal part of business operations. If treated in this way ...