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Employee Monitoring
With employees working remotely and on varying schedules, many organizations are looking into monitoring strategies—not only for productivity purposes but also for employee health and safety. For instance, an employer may wish to track the GPS locations of employees travelling alone to isolated work locations. However, while monitoring employees can help enable worker safety and…
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Is Your Car Ready for Fall Driving?
Fall is arguably the most important season for vehicle maintenance. Before the winter’s brisk weather and shorter days emerge, you’ll want to make sure your vehicle is prepared. Follow these maintenance tips to ensure your vehicle is ready for fall driving: For information on auto insurance call CMB at 780.424.2727 or click here to get a…
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Preventing Loss with Fire-suppression Sprinkler Systems
Retrofitting your property with fire-suppression sprinkler systems or demanding their addition to your newly built property might add expense today but may help you achieve significant cost savings in the long term. Having an up-to-date, effective and well-maintained sprinkler system will help you achieve significantly lower property insurance premiums, reduce losses in the event of…
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Why Rising Interest Rates Should Make You Reconsider Your Lending Relationships
*This post is from CMB partner Essex Lease. Visit them for flexible lending solutions. As Canadian interest rates continue to rise amidst the intense pressures of inflation, many business owners are considering their options. Virtually no area of the economy will be left untouched by rising interest rates, so it’s essential for business owners to take…
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The Importance of Insurance to Value (ITV) for Commercial Property Coverage
When purchasing or renewing their commercial property insurance, it’s vital for businesses to ensure such coverage includes correct property valuations. Doing so can make all the difference in providing sufficient protection and preventing coinsurance penalties amid covered property losses. That’s where conducting accurate insurance-to-value (ITV) calculations comes into play. Generally speaking, ITV refers to an…
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Tips for Avoiding Vishing Scams
Cybercriminals are constantly developing new techniques to target and attack unsuspecting victims. One of these more recent methods is voice phishing, more commonly known as “vishing.” With these attacks, scammers will use fraudulent phone numbers to impersonate institutions and people of authority—such as financial establishments, government organizations, corporate executives or technical support personnel—to convince victims…
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How to Help Employees Disconnect for a Healthy Work-life Balance
Earlier this year, Ontario put new policies in place to help employees disconnect from work. These requirements were added to the Employment Standards Act, 2000, and their purpose is to give workers the right not to engage in work-related communications—including emails, phone calls, video calls or any other kind of messaging—outside work hours. This could…
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Tips for Customer Conflict De-escalation
Aggression is never an acceptable response to an unwelcome situation; yet, hostility can still creep into the workplace. Unfortunately, many Canadians have been experiencing aggression at work, potentially due to pent-up emotions amid COVID-19 and rising inflation frustrations. In fact, 20 per cent of Canadians who work with the public have recently experienced increased aggression…
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Elements of an Effective Workplace Housekeeping Program
Workplace housekeeping isn’t just about cleanliness; it’s also about controlling or eliminating potential hazards. Poor housekeeping can lead to various incidents, such as trips and slips, struck-by injuries and cuts or other skin punctures. In order to avoid these injuries and mitigate safety risks on-site, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) recommends…
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Tips for Better Budgeting
Financial stress has recently been exacerbated by inflation rates and fuel prices. In fact, this year, Canada has experienced the highest cost-of-living increase in decades, and these price hikes have become a burden for many. One way to adapt to escalating expenses is by developing and maintaining a budget. Benefits of a Budget A budget…
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Mistakes to Avoid When Applying for Auto Insurance
You may not think an error on your auto insurance application is a big deal, but the consequences can be very costly. Giving inaccurate information on your application can lead to increased premiums, policy cancellations or insufficient coverage in the event of an accident. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when applying for auto insurance:…
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Tips for Managing a Hybrid Team
Hybrid work teams have become more common in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, 43 per cent of Canadian workers say they would look for a new job if they had to work in an office full-time, according to a survey by Amazon Business. The functionality of a hybrid workplace can vary,…
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Prepare Your Business for Increased Cyberthreats
Most organizations rely on the internet to conduct everyday business. This reliance has increased in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which enabled Canadians to work, shop and socialize online from their homes more easily. However, as a greater number of everyday and business activities migrate online, individual users and organizations alike have become…
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The Importance of Addressing Workplace Fatigue
There are many factors that can have a negative effect on a worker’s productivity and well-being, and fatigue is one of them. Fatigue can present itself as weariness or exhaustion, often caused by poor sleep habits, but it can also be a symptom of stress, anxiety, or prolonged mental or physical work. Fatigue in the…
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Teens in Agriculture – Preventing Injury at Work
Many teen accident and illness dangers are specific to working agriculture. Take a look at these risk factors and be sure you are sufficiently trained to deal with them before you begin any task. Tractors Dangers of tractors involve roll-overs, run-overs, collisions, exposure to moving machinery, hazardous weather conditions and uneven terrain. If you are…
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Strategies for Controlling Workplace Air Quality
Indoor air quality has always been an important workplace health and safety concern, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more of a focus than ever before. Air quality issues can occur when there are improper heating and ventilation systems in place, large amounts of airborne contaminants on-site or many building occupants present for long…
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Take Precautions to Protect Employees From Heat Illness
Working outside in the summer can make employees vulnerable to heat-related illness. Hot weather, especially paired with physical labour, can cause body temperatures to rise to unsafe levels. Normally, the body cools itself through sweating, but this is not enough in hot and humid weather.Specifically, extreme heat can result in serious illnesses, such as heat…
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Attracting and Retaining Employees During the Great Reshuffle
The labour market is a bit unpredictable at the moment. Economists previously warned of a “Great Resignation,” a time when employees were expected to quit in record numbers and leave considerable vacancies in the workforce. This has happened to a certain extent; there are an estimated 900,000 job vacancies, according to Statistics Canada at the…
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Mould & Bacteria Concerns Due to Extended Building Shutdowns or Reduced Operations
If an office or facility experiences reduced operations or is shut down for an extended period of time, it’s important to address any potential risks that may have developed. Two such hazards that can impact the health of building occupants include the growth of Legionella bacteria and mould—which can flourish in plumbing and heating, ventilating…
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Maintain Cybersecurity When Employees Travel
Now that many COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted, more employees are travelling again. Business travel provides many opportunities and benefits, but organizations face heightened cybersecurity risks; when employees travel, they often carry valuable data and may not always be careful about securing their devices. Share the following cybersecurity tips with employees to help keep their…
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What You Should Know About Monkeypox
Monkeypox, which can be passed to animals and humans, is usually found in Central and West Africa. As monkeypox cases rise in North America and other parts of the globe, health authorities are expressing concern about the unusual uptick. As such, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is urging public health authorities in Canada…
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Why Alternative Lending Solutions are Better for Seasonal Businesses
*This post is from CMB partner Essex Lease. Visit them for flexible lending solutions. Cash flow problems are a common stumbling block for seasonal businesses, so finding the right lending solutions is particularly important if your industry is seasonal in nature. Cash flow will directly impact your business’s ability to pursue growth or manage the unexpected,…
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Proof of Vaccination No Longer Required for Domestic or Outbound Travel
The Government of Canada announced that as of June 20, 2022, proof of vaccination is no longer required for “domestic and outbound travel, federally regulated transportation sectors and federal government employees.” The vaccination requirement has technically been “suspended” and may come back in force if COVID-19 infection rates spike. However, vaccination requirements at the border…
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Strategies for Filling Driver Vacancies Amid Worker Shortage
The trucking industry has been facing many challenges in the past few years, including truck driver shortages. Companies are struggling to attract a new generation of drivers to fill vacancies left behind by retiring workers. The Canadian trucking industry has about 23,000 truck driver job vacancies, a number that is expected to reach 55,000 by…
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Ladder Safety
Tips for climbing with caution Falls from ladders are one of the most common injuries suffered by Canadians each year. Most of these incidents occur because victims violate the basic rules of ladder safety. To help prevent ladder injuries on the job, be sure to practise the following safety tips: Set Up Safely Use Caution…
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Password Rules to Implement
Helpful tips for keeping your identity and company data safe Did you know the average Internet user has 25 accounts to maintain? Despite this, people only use an average of 6.5 different passwords to protect them, according to a Microsoft study. With identity theft and data breaches an ever-growing problem, it’s important to not only…
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Hair and Beauty Salon Insurance
What kind of insurance do hair and beauty salon businesses need to consider? The following is a list of common exposures that should be considered when designing a risk management plan. The experts at CMB Insurance are here to guide you to the best hair and beauty salon insurance coverage. Beauty Salon Risk Management There…
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Commercial Photographer Insurance
What kind of insurance do commercial photographers need to consider? The following is a list of common exposures that should be considered when designing a risk management plan. The experts at CMB Insurance are here to guide you to the best insurance coverage for your commercial photography business. Commercial General Liability Insurance A CGL policy…
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The Staggering Cost of Workplace Bullying
According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, almost 40 per cent of workers report having been bullied. Bullying can cause emotional and physical damage to employees; such damage often includes feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem, which can lead to problems like anxiety, depression, hypertension or migraine headaches. Bullying can also financially damage your company. You…
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Doctor Office Insurance
What kind of insurance to doctor’s offices need to consider? The following is a list of common exposures that should be considered when designing a risk management plan. The experts at CMB Insurance are here to guide you to the best insurance coverage for your office or medical clinic. Property exposure Property exposure is high…
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Working Safely in Warehouses
A safe, efficient and orderly warehouse is crucial to business success. Warehouses are like the heart of a business—they are the central transfer point, storing and sending raw material or manufactured goods onward to distribution, thereby keeping the pulse of the business beating. Many business operations become impossible without a warehouse. Warehouses are vital, but…
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The Importance of Updating Your Property Insurance Values
With the growing inflation concern, largely resulting from a culmination of labour and supply trends brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to review your property insurance coverage. Increased prices for building materials mean the cost to have damaged property reconstructed could now be much higher than the value stated in your policy. This…
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Holidays for Federally Regulated Employees
The Canada Labour Code was created to protect the rights of employees in federally regulated businesses and industries across the country. These laws set minimum standards of employment, including regulations for holidays, hours of work and overtime pay, leaves of absence and termination of employment. Federal employees comprise 6 percent of the Canadian workforce. Employees…
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95,000 Canadians Impacted by Ikea Canada Data Breach
Ikea Canada recently experienced an internal data breach that exposed the data of 95,000 Canadians. The breach took place March 1-3 when an Ikea employee made a “generic search” in the company’s customer database, and some personal information appeared among the results, the company reported. Exposed data may have included customer names, email addresses, phone…
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Structural Issues and Aging Buildings
While modern building codes and structural engineering have made buildings extremely safe, facilities managers must maintain a high level of upkeep for them to remain that way. As buildings age, they can lose their structural integrity. As such, if simple repairs are left untended, they can balloon into bigger issues, potentially causing significant damage that…
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Cyber Hygiene Best Practices
As cyberattacks become more frequent and severe, it is increasingly important for organizations to practise good cyber hygiene to minimize their exposure to risk. Cyber hygiene refers to habitual practices ensuring critical data and connected devices are handled safely. Importance of Cyber Hygiene Cyber hygiene helps keep computers, networks and data safe from threats, including…
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Does a Contractor Need Errors & Omissions Insurance?
As a contractor, you work hard to create a quality product and satisfy customer expectations while building a profitable business. However, no matter how careful you and your employees are during the course of business, mistakes do happen. In today’s business environment, small disputes with customers over projects can quickly escalate into costly legal disputes….
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Do you have the 6 Types of Insurance Every Contractor Needs?
Don’t be caught without the right insurance when the unexpected happens! How do you know you’ve got the coverage you need? So many options and not enough time make it overwhelming and can leave you wondering if you’re properly insured. We take the guesswork out of insuring your contracting business by providing comprehensive policy bundles…
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How Flexible Payment Terms Can Benefit Your Business
*This post is from CMB partner Essex Lease. Visit them for flexible lending solutions. In business, good planning is essential. Business owners need to be prepared to manage everything from typical seasonal ebbs and flows to major unforeseen emergencies like a global pandemic. So whether your business is looking to unlock working capital, finance new equipment…
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Cybersecurity Tips for Organizations With Remote Workers
Work environments have changed rapidly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, around 5 million Canadians are working at home instead of at their workplace. This accounts for more than 20 per cent of workers, which is up from 4 per cent in 2016, according to Statista. Additionally, 14 per cent of employees are splitting their…