Office Supply discounts with Office Depot and Office Max

Office Depot, Inc. and the NBC have partnered to provide exclusive savings on all of your business needs, including deep discounts on:

• Office Essentials
• Cleaning and Breakroom Solutions
• Copy & Print Services
• TechnologyFurniture

  Let Office Depot save you time and money! Whether you're a company of five or 10,000 employees we can help!

• Next Day Delivery (in all major markets) and Free Standard Shipping for your orders over $50.
• Exclusive BEST VALUE LIST!
• Copy Paper and Toner discounted at least 15% off online prices.
• General Supplies discounted at least 30% off off online prices.
• Take 5% off everyday day online prices for products not on the BEST VALUE List (exclusions apply)
• UPDATED ASSORTMENT! Cleaning and Breakroom list of items deeply discounted from 5% to 75% off online prices.
• Copy & Print Super-Competitive pricing for print project needs at 40-60% off retail rates.

CONTACTS

Shelley Roach
Territory Development Mgr
419-360-1063
shelley.roach@officedepot.com

Group Rating Sponsor Accountability Letter

Each year Ohio employers have the opportunity to participate in BWC’s Group-Experience-Rating Program or Group-Retrospective-Rating Program. While these programs are not required, they do provide you with an opportunity to significantly reduce your workers’ compensation premiums, while increasing your awareness of safety and risk-management strategies.

Workplace safety is an important component of these programs. To succeed in accident prevention, we encourage you to use the many resources available to you. We believe a group-rating program is a partnership that includes you and your employees, your sponsoring organization or third-party administrator (TPA) and BWC. Each has specific roles and responsibilities, all designed to assist in preventing workplace accidents. This letter outlines the safety services expectations you should have as an employer enrolled in a group-rating program.

For more information and the accountability matrix click here.

BWC Division of Safety & Hygiene

BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene provides a variety of programs, services and resources to help Ohio employers create a safe and healthy workplace. Our mission is to maintain a healthy, productive and competitive workforce in Ohio by preventing occupational accidents, injuries and illnesses. Businesses that have built safety and wellness into their workplace cultures reap many benefits, including fewer accidents, lower workers’ compensation costs and more productive employees.

Your workers’ compensation premiums cover the costs of the services, education programs and resources.  Click here to see a compreshsive list of services.

BWC Group Rating Safety Training Requirements

If an employer participating in group-rating or a group-retrospective-rating plan has a claim within the green year period, the employer must attend two hours of annual safety training or complete BWC’s online accident analysis form and associated accident analysis course as stated in Ohio Administrative Code 4123-17-68.  For more details on this requirement click here.

Since 1991 Northwest Ohio Safety and Health Day has been providing free educational safety and health programs for area employers and employees.  This event provides information to approximately 500 participants annually.  Sessions include topics on General Industry and Construction, Industrial Health, OSHA/BWC updates, Wellness and Health Care and Human Resources, as well as many general topics.  We are constantly striving to make each year better than the last.

This event is possible through the dedication of volunteers from all types of industry working a collaborative of hundreds of hours.  Our 25th event this year will be held on Wednesday, May 13th, at Owens Community College from 8:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m..  This event will remain free for participants thanks to our generous sponsors and vendors.  

While attending this event, you will be able to meet with vendors at their tables in between sessions.  They will be able to help you with your questions on safety supplies or services and the newest products on the market.  Many vendors have supported this event since its inception and are very much appreciated.  Our sponsors also continue to make this event possible.  You will also be able to network with other attendees and meet up with old friends!  We hope to see you there!

The entire program remains FREE!  Online registraon is available at the Safety & Health Day website:

www.SafetyandHealthday.com

What events am I required to report to OSHA?

All employers must report

1. All work-related fatalities within 8 hours.
2. All work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations and all losses of an eye within 24 hours.

You can report to OSHA by

1. Calling OSHA's free and confidential number at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).
2. Calling your closest Area Office during normal business hours.
3. Using the new online form that will soon be available.

Only fatalities occurring within 30 days of the work-related incident must be reported to OSHA. Further, for an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye, these incidents must be reported to OSHA only if they occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

• 29 CFR 1904.39

The Top Five Small Business Issues of the Election

As the campaign season officially swings into high gear, Paychex has identified the top five issues most likely to impact small business owners this election year.

1. The Affordable Care Act. The health care reform law continues to be a source of controversy, as well as an ongoing target for opponents of the law. Regardless of its legal challenges, there are components of the law and important requirements that business owners need to prepare for now. These include Employer Shared Responsibility (ESR) provisions, ESR reporting requirements, the 90-day waiting period limitation, use of the orientation period within the 90-day waiting period, renewal of non-compliant plans, health insurance marketplaces, and the small business tax credit.
2. Immigration Reform. Following President Obama’s recent expression of frustration over congressional inaction on this topic, it’s widely speculated that the President will use executive authority to address aspects of the Immigration Reform debate, potentially expanding amnesty through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and employing the use of prosecutorial discretion, which allows the government to prioritize which court cases it pursues.
3. Employment Regulations. Among the most closely watched issues by business owners are changes to the rules and regulations that employers must comply with while running their business. Of these issues, the U.S. Department of Labor’s upcoming proposed rule impacting the number and types of employees eligible for overtime, the pending adoption of a final rule revising the definition of “spouse” in the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the potential for a hike in the federal minimum wage are among those that have been recent areas of focus.

4.      Privacy and Data Security. Comprehensive privacy and data security protection is a global priority as the United States and other countries introduce and pass legislation to protect the personal information of citizens. At the heart of the respective pieces of legislation being crafted on this issue is how the information is collected and used.

5.      Retirement. There are several retirement-related issues small business owners need to be aware of as the election nears; included among them are debates over fiduciary responsibility, social security uncertainty, and an overall lack of adequate retirement savings for many Americans.

Northwest Business Council members will see overall savings of up to 30% through our OfficeMax Discount Program

You and your employees are eligible to receive Northwest Business Council’s FREE OfficeMax Retail Connect Discount Cards that offer you a convenient way to buy the office supplies and print services that you need at any OfficeMax location nationwide—at the Chamber’s discounted prices. All you need to do is sign up for an account to receive a card you can distribute to your employees. The cashier will scan your card to access your special pricing. All items included in your agreement are automatically priced at your special pricing and instantly displayed on the register and on your receipt.

For more details and the application form, please click HERE!

With many banks offering fraud alerts for credit and debit cards, it can be easy to fall for fake versions. Watch out for automated phone calls and text messages that claim your card has been deactivated. It's really an attempt to get you to share banking information.  

How the Scam Works:

You get a text message or automated phone call claiming that your credit, debit or ATM card has been deactivated. Reactivating your card is easy. You just need to call a customer service number and confirm some information. One commonly received message reads: "Your ATM card has been put on hold. Call Customer Department now 1-205-XXX-XXXX."

 You dial the number given, and you get an on hold message.  The message to instructs you to enter your 16 digit credit card number. Don't do it. It's a scam! Share your card information, and you will open yourself up to credit card fraud.

 Spotting This Scam:

These tips will help you spot and stop scam text messages:   

·         Call your bank or check out their website. Find your bank's phone number on the back of your credit/debit card and call to confirm the status of your card. Don't call the phone number given in the text message.

·         Ignore instructions to text "STOP" or "NO" to prevent future texts. This is a common ploy by scammers to confirm they have a real, active phone number.

·         Forward the texts to 7726 (SPAM on most keypads). This will alert your cellphone carrier to block future texts from those numbers.

·         Be familiar with your bank's communication methods: Did you sign up for text messages alerts? Be aware of how your bank communicates with you, because anything out of the ordinary may be a scam.   

For More Information

Learn what your cellphone carrier has to say about stopping spam. Click here for advice from ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.

As part of our ongoing efforts to modernize our operations and provide better service to Ohio's employers, we will be transitioning to a new prospective billing system beginning in July 2015. Prospective billing is an insurance industry standard practice that will enable us to collect premiums before extending coverage. Currently, Ohio employers pay for coverage they have already received.

When will this transition happen?

• July 1, 2015: for private employers
• Jan. 1, 2016: for public employers

Transition credits to cover the cost

BWC will cover the $1.2 billion transition cost with transition credits for private and public employers. This means the switch from a retrospective billing system to a prospective billing system will come with no additional cost to Ohio employers.

In July 2015, we will provide an eight-month premium credit for all active (non-lapsed) private state-fund employers. This credit will cover the August 2015 payroll report (for January-June) and the first two months of the 2015 policy year.

For public employers, the plan is to provide the equivalent of a one-year transition credit in March 2016, when they receive their 2015 payroll report and 2016 invoice. The invoice will include a 50-percent credit for both the 2015 and 2016 premiums.

Rating plan and program deadline changes

In the near term, our switch to prospective billing also means we are making significant changes to the private employer sign-up dates for several rating plans and programs.

• Experience snapshot: Sept. 30
• The group-rating sign-up deadline is now the Monday prior to Thanksgiving (starting in 2014 for policy year 2015).
• The deadline for group-retrospective rating, individual-retrospective rating, the Deductible Program and One Claim Program is now the last business day of January.
• The deadline to sign up for Destination: Excellence programs is now the last business day of May.

Benefits of switching to prospective billing

As previously mentioned, switching to prospective billing brings us in line with the industry standard used by nearly all insurance providers. Other benefits of these changes include:

• An overall base-rate reduction of 2 percent for private employers and 4 percent for public employers;
• Opportunities for more flexible payment options (one, two, four, six or 12 installment payments);
• An increased ability for us to detect non-compliance and fraud, which can provide long-term savings.

We’ve made it easier for you to find the products, services and expertise to support your business.

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The Best Values on Top Brands

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CLICK HERE to receive $10 off your next purchase of $50 or more

Every Small Business That Hires Employees Will Have to Answer

Make sure you can answer these questions before and after you hire employees:

1. What do I need to know about classification, compensation, and overtime rules?

2. What insurance do I need?

3. What benefits can I offer to attract and retain talented employees?

4. How can I make benefits more affordable?

5. How do I pay employees accurately and handle deposits, returns, and taxes?

6. How do I handle employee garnishments and child support? 

7. What do I need to know about terminating employees?

Strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by a company's top management on behalf of owners, based on consideration of resources and an assessment of the internal and external environments in which the organization competes.^[1] Strategy is defined as "the determination of the basic long-term goals of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals."^[8] Strategies are established to set direction, focus effort, define or clarify the organization, and provide consistency or guidance in response to the environment.^[9]

Strategic management involves the related concepts of strategic planning and strategic thinking. Strategic planning is analytical in nature and refers to formalized procedures to produce the data and analyses used as inputs for strategic thinking, which synthesizes the data resulting in the strategy. Strategic planning may also refer to control mechanisms used to implement the strategy once it is determined. In other words, strategic planning happens around the strategic thinking or strategy making activity.^[10]

Strategic management is often described as involving two major processes: formulation and implementation of strategy. While described sequentially below, in practice the two processes are iterative and each provides input for the other.^[10]

Opening a business is a labor of love and commitment. It often occupies more hours in the day than you have. When that business is having troubles, you want to find out what is happening and why so you can correct the problem quickly. Most of the time, common mistakes can get in the way of a business growing and prospering. 

Here are ten of the biggest blunders businesses commonly make when it comes to small business growth strategies:

1. Failure to test and measure
   When trying any strategy, it is important to test whether it is a good fit for your company and your goals. Many companies do test runs before fully implementing a strategy. Measuring where you are and the progress will tell you how well a strategy is doing.
   
   
2. Stopping successful strategies because of boredom
   This one happens all the time. If a strategy is not fun and exciting every day, boredom sets in. Avoid falling into this trap. Are people talking about your company? What are they saying?