“Our entire way of life has transformed in recent decades,” observes Glenn Dean, president and CEO of MeMD. Noting that technology — specifically the Internet — is at the heart of this transformation that has made it common practice for a person to use a mobile phone to order a ride or purchase groceries that are delivered to his front door, he says, “Technology has transformed … [More]
Robert Gould, Cancer Treatment Centers of America®, Phoenix
Advancements in technology have changed life as we know it. As consumers, we now have the ability to immediately search for — and find — information related to just about anything … including healthcare. Healthcare is always a popular topic this time of year as employers consider open enrollment options — options that provide their employees access to high-quality care that’s … [More]
Menacing Mistakes on Social Media
Social media marketing was once relatively new and mysterious and many just weren’t sure how to effectively use it. Today, it’s a much different story. The online world has changed dramatically and we see widespread use — and misuse — of social media by businesses all the time. Organizations of all sizes and in all industries struggle to meet the challenge of using social … [More]
From Customer Service Mishap to Opportunity
A couple of months ago, Frontier Airlines provided us with a brilliant case study on the importance of customer experience. It’s a great example of how one simple customer service failure can have serious consequences in the form of a social media maelstrom. It began when poor weather conditions caused Flight 1756 from Des Moines to Orlando to be diverted to Atlanta on July … [More]
Employers: Reject Sexual Harassment (Part II)
This article continues last month’s discussion of steps businesses can take to address the seemingly perennial issue of sexual harassment. But it is worth reflecting again on the fact that, although legislation in recent decades has begun to reflect a growing social consciousness of this as unacceptable behavior, laws, best practices and policies have failed to completely … [More]
Sara Silver: Challenging the Status Quo in Business Tech
When Sara Silver started her career in the ’80s, she was usually the only woman in the room. She was also a recent college graduate, so she kept a low profile, focusing on learning as she began to navigate her career. “I never really thought much about it,” says Silver. She admits, “I don’t really consider myself a woman in tech — just a person in tech.” However, Silver has … [More]
Rango Honey: Social Mission as Business Model
Founded in 2015 on what company president Jason Zimmerman describes as a “simple and pure promise - to offer only the highest-quality raw, natural honey from the Sonoran Desert,” Rango Honey has grown to the point where it now harvests raw honey and bee pollen from more than 1,500 hives located throughout the Sonoran Desert. “By far the most challenging component of … [More]
Fullbay: Full Care for Truck Shops
“No one cares about truck shops. For the most part. But we all share the road with the heavy-duty trucks these shops take care of,” observes Jacob Findlay, founder and CEO of Fullbay, which fills the previously neglected niche. He created Fullbay to bring these shops into the 21st Century with a cloud-based platform. The software handles the process from the repair request all … [More]
Riding the Pine: How to Manage Rising Construction Material Costs
Commercial building is at a high point in Phoenix, and it has never been more exciting or challenging to be in the industry. Federally imposed tariffs — some as high as 25 percent — are making waves in commercial real estate, but it is just one of many contributing factors to the rise in construction costs. And the American Transportation Research Institute reported a driver … [More]
Innovative Design Concept for Deer Valley Industrial Park
TTR Industrial Park, a 12-acre project east of the Deer Valley Airport, is being designed with all metal buildings that have an emphasis on contemporary architectural design. The design vocabulary focuses on the clean and crisp architectural surface and qualities of metal buildings that maintain their allegiance to several benefits over other construction methods, namely clear … [More]
Arizona on the Threshold with FinTech Blockchain
Blockchain, if used to its potential, allows communities and innovators to create economic games that no one controls or commands through incentive design that rewards good actions. In financial services, that can allow decentralized networks to create protocols or tools to enable low-cost, low-overhead loans, settlement, peer-to-peer payments and even alternatives to debt or … [More]
Online Shopping Serves the Disabled
Alexandra Connell, her own experience making her keenly aware of how disabilities and looking or acting differently can impact a person’s life, launched PATTI + RICKY LLC, offering an online shopping destination that caters to people with special needs due to disability, disease or stage of life. “Most people with physical disabilities have no choice but to tailor clothing … [More]
Actionable Workforce Insights
ADP recently launched Executive and Manager Insights on its ADP® Mobile Solutions app. This solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, continually sifting through wage, time, location, industry and many other types of data to provide actionable workforce insights directly to business leaders and front-line mangers in real time. Powered by ADP DataCloud, … [More]
Employment for Americans with Disabilities
Accommodations are an important factor in the successful hiring of people with disabilities, and in the retention of employees who develop new disabilities. Employers that are open to providing accommodations and have the capability to provide them, will have greater success in meeting their need for staffing. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released in … [More]
Beat the Workday Slump
It’s not uncommon for people to feel tired during their workday — whether it’s just trying to hide an embarrassing yawn during an after-lunch conference or staying energized throughout the workday — and there are several causes to that workday slump. Too little sleep, stress and a blood sugar roller coaster caused by unhealthy food and drinks are some examples. Here are some … [More]
Pawn Ups the Image
Completed this month, Pawn 1st’s renovations were designed to have an impact beyond sprucing up the outward aesthetics of the stores. Upgraded lighting, new floors and several other cosmetic upgrades inside and refreshed walkways and landscaping outside are part of expressing the company’s core value to be “green and clean” in order to attract more customers and make the pawn … [More]
NAWBO Phoenix Launches the Phoenix Knowledge Network
The Phoenix Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners is deepening the roots of its mission: growth — growth for our members, our corporate partners and our community. This month, we are launching the NAWBO Phoenix Knowledge Network, a speaker’s bureau of NAWBO Phoenix women business owners. Jean Briese, my co-director, explains, “Our corporate partners … [More]
Blockchain Job Board
Through the use of blockchain technology, BHIRED offers a platform by which both recruiter and applicant know the skills and experiences listed on a résumé are completely truthful and transparent. The blockchain record-keeping system that BHIRED has created has the ability to store more than just résumés; it can also store test scores, reviews and testimonials from applicants … [More]