Save Money by Going Green
Environment-Friendly Tips for Your Small Business
Eco-friendly is no longer just a fad, it’s quickly becoming a way of life for individuals and companies alike. Organizations that operate with protecting the environment in mind are winning favor with consumers, but that’s not all. Companies such as IBM, S.C. Johnson and Xerox have saved hundreds of millions of dollars annually, thanks to environmental initiatives.
But, even small companies can benefit from eco-friendly efforts. Commitment to the environment can increase eco-conscious customer and client count. Add to that the operational costs you can cut from your budget, and you can see how going green can add some green to your bottom line. So where to start? Here’s a list of eco-friendly tips that can help your business today:
Power Down your Energy Use
There are many ways your company can save power and cut your energy bill. Here are a few:
- Buy energy-efficient equipment. Whenever you need to replace the microwave or purchase a new copier, look for an energy-efficient model. Also, LCD monitors use almost half the power of traditional models. The small extra cost for Energy Star® rated equipment will help you save up to 40-60% of operational costs, which adds up over the life of the appliances.
- Use power strips correctly. Did you know that electronic devices still use power when they’re turned off but remain plugged into an outlet? And you’re paying for every second of idle power usage on your monthly electric bill. Make sure all your office’s electronics are plugged into power strips, such as the Smart Strip. Then, create a policy of having all your office’s power strips turned to off when you leave the office, and watch your electric bill decrease.
- Replace burnt bulbs with a new model. Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are another great way to save energy. These bulbs are four times more efficient than incandescent bulbs and they use 50-80% less energy. They may cost a little more, but they also last up to 10 times as long. And, over the lifetime of the bulb, using one CFL instead of an incandescent bulb will keep a half ton of CO2 from being emitted. Plus, research has shown that each CFL bulb you use can reduce your energy bill by up to $45 over a lifetime.
Be Tree Friendly
The average consumer uses four trees per month in paper products. The average office uses 1.5 pounds of paper per employee each day. You can save money and help the environment with these ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.
- Go paperless when possible. When you can do billing electronically, why waste time and money on a paper-billing process? Consider implementing paperless processes wherever you can. This also saves processing and filing time, making more hours open for productivity. Also, don’t print out every electronic document you have. Bookmark articles you want to read again or archive e-mails electronically for future reference.
- Use printer mistakes for scratch paper. How many times have you accidentally printed 10 copies of a report instead of two? Rather than tossing these duplicates, cut them in half and use the backs as scratch paper. Not only will you save trees, you’ll also cut the cost of buying blank notepads.
- Put paper recycling bins at every desk. Most people will recycle when it’s convenient, so make sure each employee has easy access to a receptacle for recycling.
Remember the Little Things
The small things add up – literally in landfills and also as line items on your bottom line. Here’s how cutting back a little each day can help your office become greener and save cash:
- Wash the dishes. It may be more convenient to use Styrofoam and paper cups, plates and disposable utensils, but it’s really a waste of money and resources. Styrofoam and plastic utensils alike take hundreds of years to break down in landfills. Buy an inexpensive set of plates, bowls, glasses and silverware, and store them at your workplace. At a small office, these won’t pile up too much, and it takes only a few minutes at the sink to clean your day’s dishes.
- Use fewer paper towels. A non-profit called These Come From Trees has recently swept the Internet with their simple stickers that encourage people to use fewer paper towels. Each sticker affixes to a paper towel dispenser and reads “Remember. . . These Come From Trees.” The organization’s research shows the simple reminder helps save 100 pounds of paper each year per sticker.
- Avoid bottled water. Bottled water sales are soaring. They reached $10.8 billion in 2006, according to the latest report by the International Bottled Water Association. However, other research has shown that most cities have higher water quality standards than bottled water companies. Install a water filter at your office and encourage employees to use it instead of shelling out thousands for bottled water.
Using these earth-friendly tips can help your business add dollars to the bottom line and operate a more energy and resource efficient workplace.
How to Create a Successful Internship Program
Establish Guidelines Before You Hire Interns
If you’re considering hiring an intern this summer, then it’s time to create a plan for managing an internship program. To get quality work from interns, you first must create a mutually beneficial environment where they are learning and you are adding productivity to your workforce. So where to start? To establish an effective internship program, consider the following:
• Start small. Managing interns can be time consuming, since they often don’t have any prior professional experience. Hire one intern at first, and grow from there if needed. The same goes for the tasks assigned. Don’t overwhelm your interns by forcing massive projects on them. Start them out with little tasks, and as they prove their abilities, add on from there.
• Assign supervisors. Many interns find themselves serving too many masters, especially when they work in a team environment. Assign a point person for each intern to receive all their assignments from. This will keep them from getting buried under work from too many people. Tell the team to check in with the intern’s supervisor in order to assign tasks to them. This will also give a member of your team not in a management some leadership responsibilities.
• Give responsibility. If the term “internship” conjures up images of someone to bring you coffee and organize the copy room, then stop here. Hire an assistant instead of an intern. You won’t have interns singing your praises to their classmates and peers if you give them menial, trivial work. Without a good reputation at local colleges and universities, your company will have difficulty hiring future interns. Instead, create an internship program that helps establish you as a great place to work and learn by giving your interns valuable tasks that contribute to your organization’s overall success.
• Be specific. Give your interns a clear description of duties and expectations from day one. Since interns will probably not be at your workplace full-time, it is important for them to know what to focus on during the hours they are there. Also, being specific in what you want will save you from having to correct mistakes later on. Clearly defining your expectations will also be helpful if you need to offer constructive criticism or address poor performance. You may also have to give specific guidelines as to what is not appropriate behavior, such as excessive Internet browsing, reading books and magazines, chatting on the phone with friends or taking a long lunch.
• Define success. Clearly establish how each project, task and assignment should be completed successfully. Include deadlines, guidelines and a description of the finished product. Also, establish your terms for an overall successful internship, including length of assignment. Typically, internships last for a summer or semester but can be extended if it is agreeable to both parties.
• Address problems immediately. Give constructive feedback on projects, attitudes, work ethic and any other aspect of your interns’ work. Remember that they may or may not have had previous work experience, so you should address problems directly and in a timely way.
• Offer the big picture. Show your interns the company and its culture, not just your department or location. Inform them about what your organization is really about so if you do choose to hire them, they already know what to expect and can jump in with a solid understanding of the company.
• Move them on up. When you have interns who are capable of handling their assigned tasks and have proven that they can take on more responsibility, it may be time to see if you can add them to your full-time payroll. If your team can’t function without the person, you know for sure it’s time to offer them a full-time position.
Using these tips for creating a successful internship program will not only help you get the most out of hiring interns, it will also ensure they gain positive work experience as well.
Be the One Encouraging Work/Life Balance
Create a Flexible Workplace
The topic of work/life balance has grown increasingly important to workers. Many cite sky-high stress levels, little personal time and high on-the-job demands as reasons why they left a job for one with more flexibility. As workers continue to press the issue with employers, it’s time for top companies to step up and offer solutions for flexibility.
Organizations that do so may be surprised to find that this increases their recruiting and retention efforts exponentially. In fact, studies show that companies that actively promote work/life balance reduce turnover by 50%. Additionally, companies experience increased revenue, productivity or both by 20%. One of the main ways employers of choice can help promote work/life balance is to establish flexible schedules and other policies that help workers find more time in their days. Check out these examples of top companies that have made the change to flexibility and have reaped the rewards:
- Genetech – This biotechnology firm has a flextime policy that 90% of their workforce participates in. Their success and growth are linked to their emphasis on work/life balance so much that in 2006, they were No. 1 on Fortune’s 100 Preferred Places to Work list.
- Hewlett-Packard – In the U.S., 70% of their employees use flexible or part-time work schedules, job sharing or telecommuting. They made Working Mothers’ 100 Best Companies list. In Canada, the company was on MacLean’s Top 100 Best Places to Work list.
- S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. – Of their workforce, 50% work outside the office, and voluntary turnover is a mere 2%. They also made Fortune’s top list, coming in at 10. They are also number 20 on the Best Places to Work in Canada list.
- Best Buy – This company’s corporate office is the poster child for a flexible workforce. They have gone so far as to implement a no mandatory meetings, no schedule workplace. Employees are allowed to come in to the office whenever they want. Employees must simply complete their work, but they face being fired if they don’t. Since the program started, workers participating in the program have increased productivity an incredible 35%, and there is essentially zero voluntary turnover.
So how can your small business implement flexible work options? Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Offer Flexible Schedules
Arrange work schedules so that employees can have the flexibility to decide when they start and end their workdays. For example, you can allow some employees to come to work at 6 a.m. and leave at 3 p.m. and others to arrive at 9 a.m. and leave at 6 p.m. You’ll actually have more hours in the day for customers to interact with your company. This is probably the easiest of flexible work options for small business owners to offer. Not only can you increase productivity by giving workers some non-peak time to accomplish their work, you’ll expand your operating hours and bolster your customer service possibilities. You can also look into a compressed work week program, in which employees work longer hours but fewer days a week.
Consider Telecommuting
For certain jobs, you may be able to allow some workers to telecommute a few days a week. This simply means they’ll complete a portion of their work where it’s most convenient for them. Telecommuting is a great option for jobs that are telephone or computer intensive. Professional, customer service, support and information-based jobs are great candidates for telecommuting. When using telecommuting for a part of your workforce, it’s important to require regular in-person updates with supervisors and work teams to ensure telecommuters still feel like a part of your team.
Use a Flexible Approach
When it’s not possible to implement a schedule change or allow offsite work, you can still create a flexible work environment by simply changing the way you manage your workforce. Showing that you care about your employees and their needs outside of work can go a long way when other options aren’t possible.
Remember that a flexible workplace isn’t merely good for employees, it’s good for employers as well. Promoting work/life balance through flexibility in your workplace can help increase employee engagement and retention with little or no costs. It can even lower stress-related health care costs. Start encouraging work/life balance in your workplace today to reap the rewards of decreased turnover, added productivity and a happier, more fulfilled workforce.
Employment Situation Summary
United States
Non-farm employment rose by 180,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%.
Major Industry Employment for March 2007
• Construction: + 56,000
• Manufacturing: - 16,000
• Retail Trade: + 36,000
• Professional & Business Services: - 7,000
• Educational & Health Services: + 54,000
• Leisure & Hospitality: + 21,000
• Government: + 23,000
Canada
Employment increased by 55,000 in March, and the unemployment rate remained at 6.1%.
Major Industry Employment for March 2007
• Construction: - 2,000
• Manufacturing: + 1,000
• Trade: + 27,000
• Transportation & Warehousing: + 1,000
• Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Leasing: + 9,000
• Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: - 6,000
• Business, Building & Support Services: - 11,000
• Educational Services: + 6,000
• Information, Culture & Recreation: + 14,000
•
Accommodation
and Food Services: + 15,000
• Public Administration: + 5,000
e-Xchange is a publication of Express Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2007.