RECEIVE UP TO $1500 IN FUNDING FOR EDUCATION

If you are over 19 years of age and have no formal post-secondary education, you could be eligible to receive up to $1500 in funding for business training.

The Micro-Business Training Program (MBT Program)

The MBT Program provides funding for training programs to help you improve your general business skills such as marketing, bookkeeping, operations and other areas.

 

The pilot program, funded through the BC/Canada Labour Market Agreement (LMA), runs until March 31, 2014. The program is looking to help a minimum of 1,200 participants.  Funding support is available to eligible applicants on a first come, first served basis.

Are you Eligible?

Approval for the program is dependent on whether the business owner has less than five employees and has no university of post-secondary education or credits. Additional criteria include:
 

• A resident of British Columbia
• Legally entitled to work in Canada
• 19 years of age or older
• Not a full-time post-secondary student
• Not a high-school student
• Not participating in another LMA funded program

How to Apply

To apply to be part of the MBT Program you must first complete an online application.

 

After you have submitted the form, a member of the customer service team will review your application and contact you with the next steps. Last applications will be accepted December 31, 2013, dependent on funding availability.

What Training is Included?

Training will be provided online, in the classroom and/or one-on-one. It will be made available through various universities, colleges, PCTIA accredited institutions and Private Trainers throughout British Columbia. Including your very own Small Business BC.

 

Examples of courses included in the MBT Program include:
 

• Leadership/Management training
• Marketing and Sales
• Social Media
• Computer Skills (e.g. Word, Excel, Simply Accounting, Photoshop etc.)
• Bookkeeping

Training not included in this program is training such as:
 

• Industry specific training
• Workplace Health, Safety or other mandatory training
• Training funded through another source and otherwise free to the Participant (e.g. adult basic education)

Where to Find Help

Where to Find Help

If you would like to offer this type of program to your employees, but feel like you do not have the time or resources to dedicate to it, help is available. The Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division, in partnership with Healthy Families BC, have joined together to provide a helping hand.

WellnessFits is a free comprehensive workplace wellness program that can offer you the resources and support you need to create a healthy workplace program. Resources include online tools and information on healthy eating, physical activity, healthy minds, being tobacco-free, and sun and UV awareness. There are also opportunities to address the specific needs of your business via phone, email and on-site visits.

Seven Tips to get you Started

There are many easy ways to get started with creating a healthier workplace. Here are a few quick tips to get started today:

1. Provide your employees with a refrigerator and lunch room or area.
    
2. Serve healthy alternatives at your company lunches, meetings and celebrations.
    
3. Look into your local Chamber of Commerce group health insurance plan which is designed for small businesses and guarantees coverage amounts for businesses with three or more employees.
    
4. Promote taking the stairs at work.
    
5. Promote local community events and recreation facilities such as fun runs, parks and gyms.
    
6. Have an ergonomics expert asses your employee’s work areas.
    
7. Organize a pedometer challenge to encourage people to increase the number of steps they take in a day.

FIT WELLNESS INTO YOUR WORKPLACE

In today’s competitive business landscape, it is important to assess how best to use your resources to meet the challenge of recruiting, retaining and engaging employees; while managing absenteeism, employee turnover, and an aging workforce. Studies confirm that workplace wellness programs are effective at reducing sick leave, improving employee health, boosting morale and increasing productivity.

What is Workplace Wellness?

Looking after the wellness of your employees does not have to solely focus on safety and injury prevention. Recently, businesses have introduced programs that are designed to assist employees to choose healthier behaviours, like being more physically active or quitting smoking. The programs focus on increasing knowledge and opportunities to learn new skills, to make it easier for employees to make healthier choices.

Why Wellness Programs are Important

Workplace wellness programs are an important business strategy. Not only are they essential for improving employee health and wellbeing, but they also reflect a business’s reputation as a socially responsible employer. Workplace wellness programs attract new talent, and help retain and engage current employees.

In fact, the 2007-2008 Towers Perrin Global Workforce Study showed that the most powerful influencer of employee engagement was found to be “the knowledge that senior management is sincerely interested in my well-being” (1).

For Example

For Example: If your overall strategy is to position your business as a leader in customer service, your receptionist might have a goal of answering the telephone on the first ring. Your field service representatives may have a goal of reducing equipment down time by 20%. And your customer service representative may have a goal of responding to complaints within 2 hours.

 

There are several advantages to taking the time to identify specific individual goals that are directly linked to organizational goals:
 

• Employees understand what is expected of them.
   
• Employees (and bosses!) understand where to focus their efforts and how to prioritize their work to bring the best return.
   
• Employees are motivated when they see how their work supports the overall business strategy.
   
• Managers have a basis for providing objective feedback and performance evaluation.

The following are some ideas for setting individual goals linked to organizational goals:
 

• Engage the employees in the goal setting process. Because they are closest to their day to day work, employees are often in the best position to know how to improve it. And they will be more invested in working hard to achieve goals when their input is included.
   
• Set SMART goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant to the business and Time-bound (have time parameters, such as “complete X project by May 15).
   
• Make sure employees understand both what is expected of them (the goals) and how to achieve them.
   
• Write out the goals and make sure both employees and their managers have copies. If priorities change, review the goals and make adjustments as needed.

2. Ongoing, Constructive Feedback on Employee Performance

Performance management is not a once-a-year proposition. Now that both employees and their managers know what is expected, it becomes easier to provide day-to-day feedback on performance that is objective and fair. Employees value recognition for good performance and will strive to do more of what is seen and appreciated. When it’s delivered in a constructive way, and includes coaching on what changes are needed, employees will also tend to respond to negative feedback with improved performance. Here are some tips on delivering ongoing performance feedback:
 

• Frequently praise and express appreciation for good performance. This often overlooked practice is a powerful motivator, but it must be sincere and specific.
   
• Focus negative criticism on the performance – how the current performance varies from expected performance as defined in the goals -- rather than the person. Include coaching on what needs to change to improve the performance.
   
• After delivering negative feedback, watch for the opportunity to acknowledge small improvement steps. This encourages the employee to continue efforts to improve.
   
• Feel free to praise positive performance in front of others, but always deliver negative feedback in private.

3. Development Opportunities to Support Goals and Performance

As you develop goals and assess performance, you may discover that employees lack knowledge or skills to perform to your expectations or can benefit from increased development. Providing training and development opportunities will not only help employees improve performance, but will demonstrate your confidence and investment in them and their careers. Often small businesses have limited opportunities for advancement, but formal and informal development can raise the competence and performance level of your entire organization as well as encourage employees to give their best. Yes, some may choose to move on to larger organizations where they can stretch their careers, but others may stay to help you take your business to new heights.

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: NOT FOR BIG BUSINESS ALONE

Many small business owners think of formal employee performance management as "overkill" administrative activities that they can put off until their business gets bigger. After all, you spend every day working closely with your employees. Why should you implement a formal process that adds administrative burden and stress? 

Actually, a good deal of research shows that effective employee performance management enhances employee morale and performance, and helps drive better business results. As a small business, you likely can’t afford to ignore any program that is proven to help you better run your business. And it isn’t as hard as it may seem. 

3 Basic Performance Management Practices 

There are three basic performance management practices every company, regardless of its size, should have in place to gain advantages in human capital.

1. Individual Goals Linked to Organizational Goals 

Developing a business plan and strategy with goals and milestones is an accepted business practice that most small businesses employ. You can take this strategy a giant leap forward by tying your employees’ efforts to your business strategy. You can do this by helping them plan individual goals that support your larger business goals and by clearly defining what you need them to know and do to achieve them. 

 

For Example: If your overall strategy is to position your business as a leader in customer service, your receptionist might have a goal of answering the telephone on the first ring. Your field service representatives may have a goal of reducing equipment down time by 20%. And your customer service representative may have a goal of responding to complaints within 2 hours.

Monitoring Twitter

Monitoring Twitter 

If your target market is active on Twitter, it’s not enough to simply monitor your @mentions. Not everyone talking about your business will bother to mention you. You can easily keep tabs on conversations surrounding your business by using Twitter search, a function that will allow you to see any tweet that includes your business name. 

 

Even if you’re not on Twitter, there could potentially be conversations going on about your business. You can still search for these conversations without an account or you can set up an account purely for research. 

4. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a great free business tool for monitoring your online reputation. Simply go to Google Alerts, set up an alert for your business name, and you will be emailed whenever it’s mentioned on the web.  There is no need to sign up for a Google email account if you don’t already have one, alerts can be sent to any email address of your choice.

 

These alerts are a great way to keep tabs on what is being said about your business on a website and respond to any comments made. 

5. Address Trends and Ingrained Beliefs

Depending on your industry, there may be misconceptions or misunderstandings about your product or service or there may have been some recent press around an issue relevant to your business. These influences can easily impact the reputation of your business, and make potential customers hesitant about buying from your company if not managed correctly. 

 

Address these misconceptions directly on your website, in your blog, and through your other communication channels. By giving your side of the story in an open and transparent way, you will boost your credibility, and may gain some new customers along the way.