6 Workplace Safety Tips For COVID

6 Pandemic Workplace Tips For Your Workplace This Winter

As the weather gets colder and Canadians start to move indoors, an increase in COVID-19 case numbers – maybe even a second wave – is likely. Whether or not there will be further shutdowns, there is little doubt that the cold and flu season is on its way. As many of those symptoms are similar to those of COVID-19, your business will need to be ready for increased absences.

6 Tips For Preparing Your Workplace This Winter

This need to self-isolate will impact not just the individual workers, but their families as well. Many parents may be keeping their children home from school to both avoid spreading the virus and to keep children who have symptoms from potentially bringing COVID-19 to their school or childcare. So, given these concerns, what can organizations do to prepare?

1. Review Company Policis Related To COVID-19

Under occupational health and safety legislation, employers have an obligation to take all reasonable precautions to ensure their workplace is safe. As well, many organizations should be mindful of potential legal obligations to the public at large. As such, if you have not done so already, your organization should review its policies and how they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, make sure that everyone in your workplace is made aware of the symptoms of COVID-19 and what they should do if they exhibit them. What is your policy on sick leave? What about remote work? Employees should know what is expected of them should they wake up with a runny nose or start to feel ill while working 

2. Don’t Forget What You’ve Learned

Many lessons learned in the early stages of the pandemic will be helpful in navigating the coming months.

Some businesses may have the mindset of getting everyone back in the physical workspace as quickly as possible. Although this may be the long-term goal, we may still be a while yet from reaching it.

If your business has been able to adapt to employees working remotely, it is advisable to keep this option open. There will inevitably be some employees who are able to work but cannot come into the office for health reasons, but there will also be those that must stay home to take care of dependants, even just temporarily; a flexible approach to remote work is a key tool that employers will need to get through the coming months.

Keeping it as an option can help protect those in your workplace from the virus while providing a way to maintain productivity during the absence.

3. Be Ready For Those Who Might Take Advantage

There may be some that see that runny nose as a ticket to a day off, even if they might be capable of working remotely. This will be difficult to police, and employers should be mindful of employees’ privacy rights as well as potential human rights concerns related to undisclosed illnesses.

Even with this in mind, employers can monitor patterns in absences and have their policies address culpable absenteeism and the related consequences. 

4. Be Flexible

Although putting policies in place or cementing existing ones may sound to some like the employer “laying down the law,” it cannot be overstated how important it is to be flexible in such policies.

With the pandemic impacting every aspect of our society, there will inevitably be employee absences due to family responsibilities. Employers should also not lose sight of the fact that, in many jurisdictions, they not only must provide time off to workers to care for dependants; they also have an obligation under human rights legislation to make accommodations for family status rights just shy of the standard of “undue hardship” to the employer.

As such, there will be the need for some flexibility in the rules. Employers will need to be ready for such things as remote work and different start and end times, and they will also need to be ready to be as flexible as possible on scheduling not only to meet legal obligations but also to adapt to increased absences.

5. Layoffs May Be Needed

Even with a comprehensive policy in place, there may still be shutdowns and layoffs ahead of us yet. Employers should be mindful of their legal obligations and carefully review the statutory requirements in their jurisdiction, seeking legal advice where necessary.

It is also important to be aware that layoffs are a creature of statute, but even if the layoff meets statutory requirements, an employer may have contractual and/or common law notice obligations to the employees they lay off.

Moreover, even if the layoff is only intended to be temporary, an employee could challenge it, saying that it amounts to a constructive dismissal. Before you move ahead, make sure to review any employment agreements you have and get some legal advice about what the risks and potential liabilities may be.

6. Communication Is Key

As with the policy and preparatory points above, communication is key. Handled well, it may help to mitigate against potential claims.

  • Make sure to communicate any changes in policy to your employees, giving them an opportunity to ask questions.
  • Have your employees sign off to affirm that they have received and understand the policy.
  • Even without policy changes, remember how important it is to communicate with your employees. For example, if you intend for a layoff to be temporary, be sure to clearly communicate this to the employee and, where possible, keep laid-off employees up to date on the situation.

And do not forget that you have obligations of good faith to your employees. Clearly-documented communication can help mitigate allegations by laid-off employees of employers not living up to their good faith obligations. As the saying goes: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

We may not be able to stop what is coming, but there are steps your organization can take to get ready. And as we have seen, the more you can include your workers in the process as you carry out those steps, the more prepared the entire organization will be to adapt to what potentially lies ahead.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Disaster Recovery Planning: Steps to Protecting Your Organization

Disasters come in many shapes and sizes. Natural disasters are certainly caused for concern, but chances are that disruptions to your organization are more likely to involve application, communication or hardware failures.

Properly planning for such unexpected events will not only help you respond effectively; it will also save you a significant amount of money.

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)?

The cost structure of potential downtime will dictate many of the specific components of the DRP and where the emphasis needs to be placed. Typically, a reasonable DRP will include the following:

  • formal documented sets of steps, lists and instructions needed to return to normal business operations
  • instructions of a precautionary nature as well as prescribed reactions for recovery
  • list of assets, key applications and data
  • important details, such as locations and other relevant information
  • contact information for all relevant personnel (both internal and external) and key third-party resources

The Business Cost of Downtime

Understanding the cost incurred by the organization when systems go down is crucial to the concept of disaster recovery planning. Building an effective DRP will ultimately involve cost trade-offs, so it is imperative that one understands the dollar impact of specific system downtime and loss scenarios. These costs will vary greatly between businesses of different sizes, industry types and technological complexities. In a recent study, Gartner determined that costs exceeding US$5,600 per minute are possible. When determining these costs (beyond the traditional downtime costs), be sure to consider the following:

  • payroll costs of idle employees
  • overtime after recovery to get business back on track
  • lost revenue that cannot be recouped
  • lost customer trust

Preparing The DRP

The purpose of a detailed DRP is to bring consistency and predictability to unplanned shocks to the business system.

The following is an outline of the steps required to develop your first DRP.

After the Plan is Ready

A DRP is not a static document. If left unchecked, a DRP will quickly become dated and create a false sense of security. Plan deliberate practices of the recovery procedures to ensure proper understanding and effective execution by all stakeholders. Schedule regular reviews, and update the plan as needed. If gaps are present in the plan, work to fill them as your budget will allow. Your environment will change, sensitivity to downtime will evolve, and new technologies will be released – all of which will impact the accuracy and effectiveness of your plan. For that reason, a DRP requires constant re-evaluation and modification to help ensure its success.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Protecting Your Business From Identity Theft

When we think about fraud committed against individuals, many of us immediately think of identity theft. Identity theft is the taking of a victim’s private information (such as their social insurance number or birthdate) to use for financial gain.

Examples of identity theft include applying for and using a credit card with the stolen information. Our awareness of identity theft as a crime has increased significantly over the past few years, because the issue has been regularly featured on the news and in popular culture, and the risks have been frequently highlighted by financial literacy organizations (such as CPA Canada).

What is business identity theft?

Though many people are well aware of the risks of individual identity theft, what is not as commonly known is that identity theft can just as easily happen to a business. Identity theft for a business has the same definition as for an individual: acquiring a business’s private information to use for financial gain.

Why does business identity theft happen?

Any person(s) committing fraud, including identity theft, will typically need to have all three of the following factors: incentive, rationalization and opportunity.

What information is needed to commit business identity theft?

For individual identity theft, a person’s social insurance number (SIN) and birthdate are key pieces of information to acquire. For a business, the key information to protect against identity theft is your company’s business number (BN) and/or provincial tax identification number. In Ontario, that would be your Business Identification Number (BIN). Other key information that may be used for business identity theft include:

  • legal corporate / business name
  • mailing address
  • supplier names
  • customer names
  • employee information (e.g., email addresses and phone numbers)

What are examples of business identity theft schemes?

There are several ways in which a business identity thief can use the acquired information for financial gain. Examples include:

  • transferring funds out of the business bank accounts
  • opening and using a corporate credit card
  • applying for and receiving a loan from the bank
  • making large business purchase orders
  • filing false tax returns to receive refund amounts from the government

Consequences of Business Identity Theft?

The consequences of identity theft for a business, much like for an individual, is lost time and money. Examples include:

  • loss of revenue and cash from the business if fraudulent purchases are made
  • reputational damage if the fraudulent use of the business’s identity is carried out in ways that are antithetical to the business
  • tax liabilities to the government if fraudulent corporate tax returns are filed

Mitigating the Risk of Identity Theft

To mitigate business identity fraud, there are both preventative and detective actions that can be taken. Preventative actions help to protect against the theft occurring in the first place. Detective actions help to discover the business identity theft before significant losses have occurred.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Avisar Charter Professionals - Scarf Model

The SCARF Model: Brain-Based Ideas For Collaborating With Others

In 2008, after interviewing researchers in neuroscience and psychology, Dr. David Rock summarized his findings in a model of behaviour based on three basic principles: people treat emotional or social threats with the same level of intensity as physical threats and rewards; people’s ability to make good decisions and collaborate is weakened when they are in a threatened state, and threat response in people is more common than reward response and often needs to be carefully managed in social interactions.

While none of this is news to anyone having worked with challenging projects, clients or employees, Rock’s research led him to create the acronym SCARF to explain the five basic triggers that cause someone to react with a defensive or threat-based emotional reaction:

  • Status: When someone feels more or less important than another, they will either act emotionally defensive or collaboratively, depending on how they are presented with information about their own actions.
  • Certainty: When someone feels that they can reliably predict and control themselves and their environment, they will act with less defensiveness when presented with a challenge.
  • Autonomy: Generally, people react badly when they feel they are not autonomously able to control their own decisions and choices.
  • Relatedness: When someone can relate or find “common ground” with another person, they will generally be less defensive, because they believe the other person to be like them in outlook and choices.
  • Fairness: Depending on the person’s perception of the level of fairness, they will create a negative or cooperative response to a decision made around but not with them.

Essentially, your subconscious reacts to the world in an “approach and avoid” pattern you aren’t really aware is operating under the surface.

You will naturally avoid things that feel threatening or bad (such as a dark alley or an overly obnoxious colleague) and will move toward or feel an affinity with things that you associate with positive feelings (such as a warm, sunny café table or a sales associate with a genuine smile).

These are subconscious activities that have kept us as humans alive for millennia. And if you are mindful of this threat/reward activity in your daily interactions, you can have a more positive experience in working with people.

What Are YOUR Response Triggers?

First things first though: you need to become more aware of your own threat and reward responses. If you aren’t aware of your own response triggers, you won’t be able to mindfully approach others with offers to collaborate or instruct. To become aware, you need to consider the last five interactions you had with people that were good and five that were less than ideal.

In thinking about these interactions, consider what was good about them and what was not so great. You may want to record your thoughts for further reflection. Ask yourself the following questions:

When you finish thinking about your five to ten experiences, you will begin to see patterns in your own behaviours. Being mindful of your own reactions and behaviours will help you think of the other person you’re working with from a more distanced perspective. The old adage, “walk a mile in their shoes,” is an appropriate one.

For example, approaching someone to collaborate or correct their work with the idea that your own beliefs and reactions are the same as theirs can lead you into trouble.

It would be a good idea to begin by examining how each of you likes to communicate and working with the other person on their terms rather than your own.

Breaking Down SCARF Reactions—And What Triggers Them

There are five different ways we can break down SCARF reactions:

1. STATUS

If you felt your status was threatened, was it because you believed your words and actions should have carried more weight or impression with your colleague? Did you feel that you were being dismissed or overlooked?

People will feel threatened if their status is not acknowledged and they believe they are either equal to or above the current situation or group or feel less equal to those with whom they are collaborating. You can put people at ease by acknowledging their external status, reputation, or experience with the task at hand.

2. CERTAINTY

If you felt uncertain about how your work, conversation, or project would go, did you feel less committed to the work? Were you comforted or disillusioned by the commitment of others to the task at hand?

People may be less committed and therefore less likely to contribute fully to the project if they don’t know:

  • where a project begins or ends
  • how important the work is with respect to the larger stakeholders or organizational plans
  • where their own place is in the project

Consider using agendas, milestones, responsibility charts and regular reporting on projects to help everyone feel that their work is acknowledged, accepted, and being used.

3. AUTONOMY

If you felt like you were not being listened to, not being respected for your time or activities, or were being “railroaded” into a decision, did you react by being less attached to the work and decisions? Or, did you increase your intensity with your communication?

People will feel threatened if they do not believe that they have the ability to make their own decisions or that their choices or “votes” are not being considered in the final work product or plan.

You can help people feel that they are able to contribute on their own by acknowledging the work done, recording votes, and listening carefully to those who are disagreeing.

4. RELATEDNESS

Did you feel as if the other person just didn’t understand you – or that they were so understanding that you felt they were just mimicking you? Then you were experiencing a flight response in relatedness.

People need to feel trust in order to fully commit to collaboration and development. Without trust, there can be no real sharing or vulnerability when it comes to working together on tough negotiations or over long hours. You can increase trust in your collaborative work by making yourself vulnerable or open to discussing your own concerns and ideas.

5. FAIRNESS

If you felt as if the interactions you were having with your collaborator were shallow, disingenuous, or unfair, how quickly did you want to get away from the situation or person altogether?

People’s sense of fairness isn’t always at the same level and it is important to discuss what “fair” means to all parties concerned. Having open conversations up-front about responsibilities, timelines, and work levels will help to build trust and a sense of fair play that allows all parties to work together in a more collaborative environment.

Learn More About SCARF

If you are interested in learning more about the SCARF model or brain-based techniques for collaboration and influence, you should visit the Neuroleadership Institute website or consider purchasing Dr. David Rock’s book, Your Brain at Work.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Bullying & Harassment: Your Requirement As An Employer

Workplace bullying and harassment can have significant costs to both employers and employees; it can create a hostile work environment that leads to stress and health issues, absenteeism, loss of productivity, lack of commitment to the company and even legal issues.

Workplace bullying and harassment include any inappropriate conduct or comment by a person towards a worker that the person knew, or reasonably ought to have known, would cause that worker to be humiliated or intimidated.  It excludes any reasonable action taken by the employer or supervisor relating to the management and direction of workers or the place of employment.

Under the Workers Compensation Act:

Employers must:

  • Not engage in bullying and harassment.
  • Develop a bullying and harassment policy statement.
  • Take steps to prevent or minimize bullying and harassment.
  • Develop and implement procedures for reporting incidents and complaints, including procedures for reporting when the employer, supervisor or owner is the alleged bully or harasser.
  • Develop and implement procedures for dealing with incidents or complaints.
  • Inform workers of the policy statement and prevention measures.
  • Train workers and supervisors.
  • Annually review the policy statement and procedures.

While the list of employer responsibilities may seem daunting, WorkSafeBC has provided a wealth of resources to enable employers to comply. 

Following are some simple steps and links to resources to comply with WorksafeBC requirements:

  • Use this WorkSafeBC template to develop a policy statement:
  • Take steps to minimize bullying and harassment:  If an employer is aware of circumstances that present a risk of workplace bullying and harassment, preventative measures must be in place.  For example, in an environment where clients are known to be verbally aggressive, an employer might have a screening process for phone calls, and a policy to escalate angry customers to a manager.
  • Use this WorkSafeBC template to develop reporting procedures:
  • Use this WorkSafeBC template to develop investigation procedures: 
  • Inform workers of the policy statement and prevention measures:  Create a bulletin board that is prominently displayed in the workplace to display the policy statement, reporting procedures and investigative procedures. Make sure each new employee is aware of the bullying and harassment policy as part of their orientation process.
  • Use this Powerpoint presentation for training workers and supervisors.  Make sure to have each employee sign an attendance record that can be kept in their files. 

Once you have established bullying and harassment policies and procedures, make sure you hold an annual meeting to review these with your employees.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Workplace Accommodations: Choosing To See Ability in Disability

When most people think of a disability, the image of a wheelchair or prosthetic comes to mind. Yet, for those with an invisible disability, the mental image is often less kind and many people tend not to disclose their disability for fear of stigma or discrimination. However, some employers are discovering that the key to successfully integrating workers with invisible disabilities lies in meeting employees where they are – which means being willing to adapt workplaces, workspaces and processes to accommodate workers with differing needs and workstyles.

What Is An Invisible Disability

Generally, a disability or impairment that is not visible to the eye is an “invisible disability.” For example, persons suffering from depression, anxiety, Lyme disease, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or lupus can experience hindrances, pain, or physical limitations that are not readily perceived by those around them.

A 2011 Canadian survey revealed that 88% of people with invisible disabilities had a negative view of disclosing their disability (Holland, 2017), primarily due to fear of reprisal from their employer.

Why Are Employers More Accepting Of Invisible Disabilities?

While employers can gain from a workforce that includes diverse cultures, backgrounds or gender, there is an increasing willingness to accommodate invisible disabilities in exchange for valuable employee contributions. Some employers have discovered that people with ASD, or “non-neurotypical” people, also bring their own strengths including attention to detail, innovation, value, creativity and loyalty.

In other instances, employees who have been open and transparent about their needed accommodations have found that their employers have willingly provided necessary adjustments – gaining back that employee’s long-term commitment and loyalty.

What Accomodations Are Required By Law?

Legislation and the Ontario Human Rights Commission have long expected employers to accommodate persons with disabilities in the workplace, but the fact that employers are less familiar with invisible disabilities sometimes means they are reluctant to employ persons with such disabilities. 

Employers can successfully engage employees with specific needs by implementing some basic strategies:

  • First, it is imperative that the employer know the individual, their needs and what, if applicable, triggers reactions or discomfort. For example, if sound causes overstimulation for them, the employee may simply need to wear headphones when working around others or in areas with disturbing noises, or have a soundproofing divider installed.
  • Flickering monitors are another trigger for people with vision problems or who suffer from migraines, so adjusting lighting or screen brightness can help that person stay productive.
  • Another strategy is to consider flexible working hours and locations; employees who may be experiencing pain from something like Lyme disease can adjust their work hours or even work from home where they may have devices or access to equipment throughout the day.

What is most critical, however, is that employers take the time to get to know their employees and be willing to meet them where they are, working together with their employees to develop accommodations that will work best for them. This practice engages the employee, giving them a voice in their working conditions that also demonstrates that their employer cares.

Changing Internal Processes

Perhaps the biggest adjustment for employers can be revisiting internal processes such as hiring practices, training and career development. As persons with invisible disabilities may be reluctant to disclose their disability, they may not even be able to get past a company’s interview screening. Expecting standardized practices to work for those who struggle in a standardized world, is simply not going to open the door to workers with needs that don’t fit the “cookie cutter.”

Once they have hired someone who needs accommodations, employers will also want to spend some time providing workplace education and training to help all employees understand various disabilities, so that relationships can flourish and resentment does not develop. Without understanding why a colleague wears headphones, arrives and works late, and has a private cubicle, or why they never make contact or require frequent breaks, other team members may develop jealousy or have less-trusting relationships with that colleague. Hence, having a plan to train all employees can go a long way in fostering a supportive work environment.

Another way to help employees with invisible disabilities integrate well is to discuss their future with the organization, to provide some reassurance that the employer has confidence in their ability and is willing to support their career development. Put in some time up-front to establish, monitor and revisit a growth and career plan to support these employees with future planning, skill development and goal-setting.

As most of us tend to believe what we see, invisible disabilities can be difficult for us to comprehend and accept. Yet, as employers are quickly discovering, within every disability, there often lies great ability. Hiring an employee with an invisible disability may not only result in good productivity and a loyal employee, it can also lead to a more tolerant and sensitive workplace for all, making minor accommodations seem trivial when compared with the greater overall benefits reaped.

REFERENCES

Holland, J. (2017, June 6). The hidden challenges of invisible disabilities. Retrieved from www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170605-the-hidden-challenges-of-invisible-disabilities

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Why Should You Care About Your Health Care Spending Account?

Families may not realize that they have a great opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of medical treatments and therapies through a health care spending account (HCSA). These accounts are not well understood and, if available, are typically underutilized due to a lack of awareness of how they can help.

In essence, the HCSA helps families pay for eligible medical expenses by using pre-tax money. For families who incur medical expenses that are not traditionally covered by their employer’s group benefits plan, an HCSA can be a very powerful tax-saving tool. Typically, if you are an employee of a company, you have access to the HCSA as a supplement to your traditional group benefits program. If you do have this access, you may receive a portion of your total compensation in the form of HCSA funding, up to a certain limit.

Tax Savings Available

If your family has qualifying medical expenses above $2,302 (2018) or 3% of your income per year and your marginal tax rate is greater than 20%, then the HCSA could be a valuable tool for your family.

To estimate your potential tax savings from using an HCSA, simply take the difference between your combined marginal tax rate and the federal and provincial tax credit (METC) amount on qualifying medical expenses. If you are an individual in the top marginal bracket living in Ontario (53.53%), the tax savings are your qualifying medical expense amount (incurred during the year), multiplied by the tax rate difference between your marginal tax rate (53.53% less HCSA administrative costs of 8%) and the METC credit (15% federal plus 5.05% Ontario resident), which is approximately 25.48%.

For a family with large medical expenses during the year (such as respite services), the resulting tax savings can be significant. For instance, if a family incurs qualifying medical expenses of $15,000 in a year, the resulting tax savings from using an HCSA instead of the METC is close to $3,822! In addition, if qualifying medical expenses are incurred regularly every year, this is an ongoing tax savings to the family.

Business owners can improve both their financial situation and that of their employees by making a health care spending account part of their benefits offering

Implementing an HCSA as part of your benefits offering can be very valuable for you as a business owner. Up front, the business receives a tax deduction on contributions to an HCSA, while the employees do not pay tax on contributions to the HCSA or on eligible expenses. As a result, the employee is farther ahead by avoiding income tax on HCSA eligible expenses. In addition, the business owner has clarity of costs with an HCSA, as it is the employer that elects to contribute and at what amount. This contrasts with a traditional group benefits plan, which can have variable costs due to the group’s unpredictable claims experience.

In some circumstances, business owners might just offer an HCSA without a traditional group benefits plan. In this case, the employee has full flexibility to use the HCSA dollars for whatever purpose they prefer, while the business owner doesn’t have to worry about escalating benefits costs.

If, however, the employee would still like the option of a traditional group benefits plan, they can use their HCSA dollars to purchase a plan for themselves, as premiums are an eligible expense for HCSA purposes.

Navigating the details of a health care spending account program is challenging. Despite the complexity, it is an important planning tool for families and business owners to use, to improve wellbeing and financial outcomes.

Links Of Interest

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) – Eligible medical expenses you can claim on your tax return: www.canada.ca/en/revenueagency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/deductions-credits-expenses/lines-330-331-eligible-medical-expenses-you-claim-on-your-tax-return.html

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) – HSAs the best health plans you’ve never heard of: www.cbc.ca/news/business/hsas-the-best-health-plans-you-ve-never-heard-of-1.990547

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Diversity and Inclusion: Proven Returns For Innovation and Business Performance

Canada has recently experienced the lowest jobless rate in almost 40 years. On the one hand, that’s great for the economy overall. On the other hand, if you are an employer looking to fill positions or do transition or succession planning, this is a real challenge!

New and expanding research, however, is really helping to broaden the traditional management and line leader (think revenue line) roles in consideration of non-traditional or alternative employees.

Research Overview

Just this past December, the jobless rate was 5.6%. That means that of all the people in Canada eligible to work or in the job market, 94.4% of Canadians were employed.

The expectation from the Canadian government is that the jobless rate may climb higher but will remain, on average, only at 6.3% until 2022 (this is as far into the future as the government is willing to forecast).

Many organizations, including most universities and big research groups in Deloitte, McKinsey, and others have been conducting longitudinal studies on diversity and innovation, bottom-line performance, and customer experience satisfaction.

The results are pretty startling and fairly homogeneous – making it difficult to challenge their validity in the face of so many different, repeated studies with the same results.

In summary, here are four thought-starters that emerge from that research, which may help you if you are considering succession plans, expansion, or even just continued growth in your organization.

1. DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION

According to a Deloitte study published in January 2018, increasing the gender and other major diversity markers in your employee base enhances innovation by 20%! Can you imagine adding that much organic innovation to product development, customer experience, or internal infrastructure maintenance – just by making sure that your workforce is more diverse?

They also determined that overall innovation risk can be reduced by as much as 30% if you include a cognitively diverse perspective in addition to demographic diversity. The reason, they report, is because solving complex problems requires the consideration of the evidence, options, outcomes, people, process and risk.

Cognitively diverse populations approach their complex challenges differently. Having them work on your problem together decreases the risk of falling into thinking traps.

In a study ranging multiple years, Deloitte also discovered that diverse and intentionally inclusive teams, over time, were six times more likely to be innovative and agile, and twice as likely to meet or exceed set financial targets.

2. DIVERSITY AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

In a 2017 study, McKinsey Consulting engaged in a wide-ranging global diversity study of large organizations with more than 500 employees. Their repeated results were astounding.

According to the repeated study, gender diversity accounted for a 21% outperformance in Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) margin and a 27% outperformance margin in long-term value creation to their nearest likely competitors who did not actively practice gender diversity in their hiring practices.

This is an interesting result because McKinsey was very careful to state that they only compared organizations within the same culture or country, as every country area was not equivalent in their baseline.

Further to organizational performance, McKinsey also noted that in companies where executives were more balanced in gender roles, there was approximately 9–10% outperformance in line roles.

Adding a better gender balance to sales leadership contributed to revenue performance without adding any additional bonus or performance incentives to those lines.

3. MARKERS OF SUCCESS

Both studies, as well as work done by Catalyst and post-secondary institutions, conclude that there are behaviours within an organization that can drive the increase of diversity and inclusion.

Chief amongst those is the commitment from leadership and formal definitions and agreements.

4. GETTING STARTED

Getting started includes awareness of the principles of inclusion and some reflection on how that manifests in the behaviours (conscious and unconscious) of leadership from the board down to the line or admin manager.

Inclusive behaviour includes a commitment to:

  • fairness
  • respect
  • valued belonging
  • empowerment
  • growth opportunities
  • a safe and open workspace.

Highly inclusive leaders repeatedly display the following characteristics:

  • commitment
  • courage
  • cognizance of bias
  • curiosity
  • cultural intelligence
  • commitment to collaboration.

If you are a leader or board member, would others describe you this way?

Formal statements and accountabilities tied to your business’s strategies for growth and sustainment are the next steps. This includes hiring, compensation, and internal growth opportunities for people and products.

Conclusion

It isn’t easy and may require a mindset shift, but considering how your organization handles cognitive and demographic diversity may help you improve up to 30% over your next competitor, expand your employee pool in a shrinking Canadian labour group, and increase your ability to innovate and grow – all by changing the way you think, not by paying more money or adding perks or increases.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

Strategies To Help Businesses Comply With Canadain Privacy Laws

Privacy and data security are becoming an area of significant concern for both businesses and individuals. It is important you understand the laws and your obligations in this area to reduce and mitigate risks.

Overview Of The Privacy Regime in Canada

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5 (PIPEDA) is Canada’s federal privacy law for private sector businesses. It sets out the ground rules for how businesses must handle personal information.

PIPEDA requires businesses to obtain a person’s consent when they collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activity.

Commercial activity is defined as “any particular transaction, act, or conduct, or any regular course of conduct that is of a commercial character, including the selling, bartering or leasing of donor, membership or other fundraising lists” [s.2(1)]. What constitutes commercial activity depends on the facts.

For example, a court-appointed trustee-in-bankruptcy who collects personal information to administer a bankruptcy was found to engage in commercial activity because it received remuneration for administering the bankruptcy [PIPEDA case summary 2006-336]. Similarly, a non-profit daycare that was subsidized by a municipal government was found to engage in commercial activity because it received payment for child care services [PIPEDA case summary 2005-309].

Some organizations may be exempt from PIPEDA in provinces that have enacted their own privacy legislation that is substantially similar to PIPEDA.

To date, Quebec, Alberta and B.C. have enacted provincial privacy legislation that is deemed substantially similar to PIPEDA. Nevertheless, PIPEDA continues to apply to international and inter-provincial transfers of personal information by private-sector businesses in those provinces.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information is defined as “information about an identifiable individual” [s.2(1)]. This includes both factual and subjective information about a person.

Factual personal information includes information such as a person’s name, address, phone number, email address, ID numbers, and more sensitive information such as credit card information and financial information. Subjective personal information includes information such as a person’s opinions, evaluations and comments.

Canadian courts have interpreted personal information so broadly that it also includes information that does not alone identify an individual but when combined with other information, does identify an individual.

PIPEDA’S 10 FAIR INFORMATION PRINCIPLES

Businesses subject to PIPEDA must follow a code for the protection of personal information. The code consists of 10 fair information principles that are set out in Schedule 1 of PIPEDA.

In addition to requirements around how to collect personal information, the fair information principles require businesses to appoint a chief privacy officer who is responsible for the business’ compliance with PIPEDA, make their personal information handling policies publicly available, and allow individuals access to their personal information.

The fair information principles also require businesses to adopt security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.

For example, more robust security measures must be put in place to protect sensitive personal information such as financial information and medical records whereas less stringent security measures may be adopted to protect basic personal information such as name and email address.

COMPLIANCE STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESSES

The following six strategies will help businesses comply with their obligations under PIPEDA.

  1. Develop a privacy policy and post it on your website.

    Businesses should develop a comprehensive privacy policy that sets out in detail what personal information it collects, why it collects it, how it uses it and to whom it discloses it.

    This privacy policy should also address other items such as what security measures are in place to protect personal information and whether the information is transferred across borders. The privacy policy is an outward public-facing document that informs your clients and customers about how you manage their personal information.
  2. Develop a privacy management program and train your employees.

    A privacy management program is an internal “how-to” manual for businesses and their employees. It sets out in detail the policies, practices and procedures the business must adopt in order to comply with its privacy policy. In addition, businesses should train their employees on their privacy management programs.
  3. Develop a data breach response plan that complies with PIPEDA’s new breach reporting requirements.

    On November 1, 2018, PIPEDA’s new mandatory breach recording and record-keeping requirements came into effect. These new provisions impose requirements on businesses to keep track of every “breach of security safeguards” and report significant ones to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and individuals affected by the breach.

    In order to comply with these requirements, businesses should develop a data breach response plan, which acts as the company’s “playbook” in the event of a data breach.
  4. Adopt appropriate security measures and ensure data security is up-to-date.

    Businesses should adopt security measures that are appropriate to the sensitivity of personal information. Businesses should also ensure that all data security is up-to-date.

    This may include, for example, ensuring all critical security patches are applied as soon as possible or within a reasonable period of time.
  5. Obtain express consent whenever you can.

    While PIPEDA allows businesses to rely on an individual’s implied consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in appropriate circumstances, businesses should nevertheless obtain an individual’s express, written consent where possible and maintain a record of that consent in order to avoid any ambiguity in the consent process.
  6. Conduct a periodic review of your personal information handling practices and policies.

    Businesses should review their privacy policies and personal information handling practices annually to ensure they are up-to-date or make any amendments as necessary.

In the age where privacy breaches are splashed across the media, it is important for businesses, both big and small, to ensure they have appropriate privacy practices in place. This not only complies with the law but also demonstrates to clients and customers that you care about the personal data they entrust you with.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.

8 Reasons Why Clients Leave (And How To Retain Them!)

Creating a loyal customer base is about more than providing products and services. Business needs to consider all the issues that may impact customer loyalty while ensuring that they understand customer expectations and proactively address them to avoid bigger problems down the road.

8 Reasons Why Clients Leave

Owner-managers work hard to build a client base. So losing a client, especially in situations where they’ve established a rapport, is especially hard. Examining why customers leave may shed light on areas that your business needs to improve on.

1. OVERPRICED

Clients that go elsewhere often cite cost as a reason for no longer wanting to conduct business with a company.

Consider that clients are cost-sensitive and will search the internet to determine whether your pricing is competitive.

Certainly, internet comparison does not always consider the additional service, product quality or add-ons that your firm provides. That said, a good business practice would suggest that reviewing what the competition is doing would help be prepared, should cost become an issue with clients.

2. COMPLACENCY

Maybe the competition provides more up-to-date products, services or ideas. Perhaps your business became complacent with the product or services provided and you failed to see that the client was moving in a different direction and needed to be helped to understand the value of what you offer.

Even if your company provides different levels of competence and product, if sales representatives or marketing material do not provide insight on what you have to offer, they may not see a future with your business.

3. CUSTOMER SERVICE

There are times when everyone acts out of character or accidentally offends someone. If it is brought to your attention that a company representative may have a bad customer attitude, ensure that the client can explain the issue, the employee and the circumstance, and deal with it immediately.

4. DELIVERY SERVICE

Same-day delivery, next-day delivery, delivery to their location, on-time delivery … everyone wants what they want now – or even yesterday. Slow response to client needs is a sure way to guarantee that the client will seek different suppliers.

If a product is not available, or delivery time will be delayed, it is important to contact the client immediately, outline the issues, the steps taken to resolve the issue, and the expected results.

Clients have expectations of goods or services that fit their needs; when they fail to materialize, unexpected rescheduling of equipment and personnel means additional cost to the client.

However, clients can accept changes to products or timetables if they understand the underlying reasons, but they will find unexpected and unexplained delays intolerable. And remember, making promises that cannot be kept is a no-no.

5. RETURN POLICIES

Sometimes consumers purchase a product, only to determine that it’s not what they wanted.

Naturally, this may create issues as to whether the product can be returned. To avoid any misunderstanding, ensure that the client is well-informed about the product or service, especially its limitations. Make sure they know whether the product or service is suitable for their purposes and provide an unequivocal statement about the return policy.

Certainly, customers may be unhappy if they order something that doesn’t meet their expectations even after a comprehensive explanation. But, if you’ve informed them as outlined here, they must then accept responsibility for their decision.

6. BAD PRODUCT

Aim to never provide a product that is defective in its design. Certainly, warranties and arrangements to repair defective products reassure the consumer, but in the final analysis, the costs of downtime and delays caused by defective products far outweigh the price of the equipment or the warranty.

Fixing an occasional problem or providing a temporary workaround when a defect occurs is an expectation that clients will accept – but they will not tolerate regular breakdowns.

7. TRANSITION

People are averse to change, whether that change is hardware, software or personnel. Thus, if you are planning on revamping the production line, engaging software programmers, or refreshing customer contacts, ensure that the transition is seamless. For instance:

  • If bringing on a new product line or breaking your connection with longtime suppliers, ensure your clients know that you will still support their needs.
  • If changing the operating software platform, ensure testing and all glitches are resolved before updating the software, provide training sessions for the client, minimize the downtime for the client system, by installing when the client’s need for the system is at its lowest.
  • Your employees who make customer contact should become familiar with your client contacts, order history for the last number of years, equipment or material at the client’s site, and the personnel they will be working with. Whenever possible, arrange for replacement personnel to shadow with the regular contact person.

8. ONLINE CRITIQUES

Product or service reviews from online sites can be a make-or-break for business products or services. It is rewarding to see a good review, but one negative review published online can place a product in the trash or destroy a business overnight. Today, social media can destroy years of research, development and marketing with negative comments not only on the product or service but also on the personnel within or owners of the organization.

Most readers of corporate online critiques are skeptical about the authenticity of good reviews. Thus, owner-managers should not be complacent and assume that all consumers are pleased with the product or service provided. It is important to develop, monitor, and improve the business acumen within an organization.

You and your employees must fully understand that every action that you take while on the job – and in many cases, off the clock – will reflect how consumers react to the company they represent.

Presenting a negative image not only impacts the employee; it also has the potential to negatively impact the well-being of the company and its other employees.

Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein.

Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.