By Jill NAgy The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the dynamics of how offices run and how business meetings are held as companies work to meet health and safety standards. “Everyone’s jumping on the Zoom,” said Rose Miller, head of Pinnacle Human Resources, an Albany company with an office in Saratoga Springs. Miller is quick...
Business Report: Protect Your Biggest Investment
By Michael Cruz
When working on annual planning, we often look at the company’s strengths and its weaknesses. Most often, I see “our people” as a strength. I often see “bench depth” as a weakness.
My advice always is to build on your strengths. Then, do what is reasonable to mitigate your weaknesses. There is one simple thing you can do to reduce that bench depth pain. Invest in the people you already have. We already know that it costs less to keep our customers than it does to acquire new ones.
The same is true about the people that work for you. Hiring is difficult, it is expensive, and it is not a 100 percent solution. Many years ago, I worked for a very fast-growing software company. When I joined it, the company’s sales were $18 million. When I left, seven years later, sales topped $450 million.
One of the most stunning attributes of that industry was that we were all fairly young and inexperienced. We were a young company and we were a young management team. We worked to figure out our weaknesses and we brought in experts to address them. And that personal growth kept me loyal to the company even when I was offered more money to leave.
I outlasted every person that joined the company when I did. Many others quit. When asked why I stayed, I said the growth afforded me opportunities. Remember, it is cheaper to keep customers.
It is also cheaper to keep customers than it is to replace them. The same is true of employees. They are harder to find than customers. They are hard to train. The whole process is expensive. You want to keep your better employees. And your better people want to stay. They want to grow with you.
AARP Report Says 26 Percent Of Those Over 55 Are Victims Of Cyber Identity Fraud
A report in November from AARP shows that 26 percent of Americans aged 55-plus have been victims of identity fraud, according to the organization.
However, more are taking additional precautions to prevent losses of personal information, as 29 percent have placed credit freezes on their credit bureau information following an identity theft incident. More than half have enrolled in identity protection or credit monitoring services, the report said.
The report, “Identity Fraud in Three Acts,” was developed by Javelin Strategy and Research and sponsored by AARP.
“Older Americans are leading more digitally infused lives, with two-thirds using online banking weekly, so it’s encouraging to see that many are taking proactive steps to protect their identity following a data breach,” said Kathy Stokes, director of AARP Fraud Prevention Programs. “Passwords still represent a security threat, however; using repeated passwords across multiple online accounts makes it easy for criminals to crack one of them so that all of your accounts, including financial accounts, become accessible.”
According to the report, consumers 55-plus want to bank using stronger security authentication. Roughly 90 percent state a desire to use more fingerprint scanning, and 80 percent view facial recognition capabilities as trustworthy forms of technology for financial transactions and private business matters.
The report also said identity fraud victims age 65-plus do not necessarily change how they shop, bank or pay following a fraudulent event, with 70 percent exhibiting reluctance to change familiar habits.
Mountain Media Expanded Data Center Assures Protection In Power Failures, Disasters
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Mountain Media, a website development firm, has expanded to provide fully redundant data centers with near-instantaneous connections and automatic switchover services.
According to the company, the expansion assures clients’ ecommerce and other mission-critical applications remain accessible in power failures or other disasters.
The firm, which recently moved its offices to 1252 Saratoga Road, Ballston Spa, from Saratoga Springs, took in a capital partner to assist in developing the data center. Working with Kincaid Network Solutions, Mountain Media now offers what it calls “one of the best-connected and most-scalable web hosting environments on the Eastern Seaboard.”
“We have a long history of working collaboratively with Kincaid Network Solutions and its founder, Bob Priest,” said Mountain Media President and CEO James Curley. “We’re pleased to work with Kincaid as we move our hosting capabilities to the next level for mid-tier ecommerce and business application websites.”
Adirondack Trust App Allows Customers To Get Discounts At Various Local Businesses
By Christine Graf
Adirondack Trust Co. has launched a free smartphone app that provides consumers with the opportunity to receive discounts and other perks at participating local businesses.
The app, called Beyond Savings, uses customized software developed by a third party provider.
According to Adirondack Trust Executive Vice President Charles Wait, it was Robert Ward who first came to him with the idea for the app. Ward is vice president-marketing manager at the bank.
“I knew we needed a rewards program, and Rob came to me with the idea,” said Wait. “It was very easy to say ‘yes’ to. It uses technology to provide local shopping rewards. If I go to one of the vendors on our list—Forno Bistro for example—and I have the app on my phone, I can get a discount. So that benefits not only the user but also the merchants who are our customers. It’s a nice partnership.”
Business Report: Passwords Are A Necessary Evil
By Vicki A. Marking
Here’s a quick test. What do these seemingly random alphanumerical groupings have in common?
1. 123456
2. password
3. 123456789
4. 12345678
5. 12345
6. 111111
7. 1234567
8. sunshine
9. qwerty
10. iloveyou