Disaster Preparedness Part 2

 

Data, data, and data.

The world runs on data.  Your business runs on data. Most businesses cannot operate for long without data, both current and historical.

Data backup is critical. System backup is critical. Hardware redundancy is critical. 

The Cloud

Cloud storage is one way of avoiding physical jeopardy to your data collections. 

Downside, you need functioning Internet service to access the cloud, which may not be available immediately after a disaster.

Hardware Storage

Before the cloud physical backup (often tape) was a daily occurrence.

Now many skip that step.

Given the low cost of massive (terabyte level) storage, keeping some periodic data backup on a hard drive may be valuable.

Hardware Backup

A flood just destroyed all of your hardware.

Consider keeping a laptop, loaded with your primary software packages, at a remote location and off of the network.

At least there is one machine that can be used to communicate with the outside world while other services are restored.

A large portable battery pack, always kept charged, can run a laptop for quite a while (small portable charger packs will do smart phones, but not a laptop).

Where to Back Up

If your home is in the same danger zone as your business, that will not work.

Find a place that would not be subject to the same flood or brush fire as your business.

Disaster Preparedness Part I

Hurricane Ian should remind all of us that some level of disaster preparedness is necessary for each and every small business.

Assets and inventory must be protected. Records must really really be protected.

Complete protection usually impossible. Tornados are quick and nasty. Location may require a flood protection plan. Fire safety should be a daily event but no plan is guaranteed 100% effective.

An assessment of your risk levels, especially with flooding, forms the basis of your evacuation and recovery plan.

Next entry, document and data protection and recovery.

The Loyalty Question - Part 2 - Wage Compression

 

"I've worked hard here for three years and the new hires are making the same wages as I am. I am job hunting."

Real quote from a frustrated worker.

The last three years have been difficult for employers and employees alike, and some employees who remained loyal and did not leave are feeling put upon.

How do you adjust to the current labor market and not leave loyal employees behind?

Regular evaluations and regular pay adjustments are a valuable approach.

What if you just cannot afford to pay more?

Silence is not a high value management strategy. If the news is bad tell the loyal employees and let them decide their own fate. Look for other means of compensation, such as increased paid time off. Try something.

Silence does not work out well.

Why Does Your CPA Look Frazzled and Why Are the Fees Going Up?

 

The public accounting sector is hitting the perfect storm.

        many CPAs are at or near retirement age

            fewer young people are enrolling in college accounting  programs

            there is more work

            the IRS code (and state tax codes) are becoming more complex

            costs are going up

            technology demands are greater, and costs are going up

This will cause higher fees, and your accountant may "fire" you from the client roster, due to the above factors.

The Loyalty Question

Business leaders are in a dither about the loyalty question.

Why so little loyalty from employees?

We will explore this question and the answer will not be pretty.

So for starters - loyalty has largely been a one way street for forty years, the Reagan era started  a change in employer-employee relationships that persists to this day.

Employees owe loyalty to employers, but not the other way around.  This is no longer working.

The pandemic period changed everything, plus the demographics of retiring baby boomers and low birth rates.

Stay tuned for a longer discussion.

Quick Hits #3

 

If you are going to terminate or layoff an employee who has key knowledge of your computer security and/or operational systems, you might want to do this carefully.

Six months from now the former employee might have a very poor memory or be hard to contact.

A severance agreement with a cooperation clause might be worth the cost.

Tell the Turth to Job Candidates

 Telling lies to job candidates is not a healthy practice.

As employers look to expand and restaff following the pandemic, another pandemic seems to be mushrooming - misleading job candidates about work practices and rules, especially work-from-home (WFH) practices and expected work hours.

If WFH is discouraged or not allowed, say so. If employees are expected to work 10-12 hours a day, or work on weekends, say so.

Tell.....the....Truth