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Business TodayKingsTon

Your source for business and chamber news in the Greater KinGston area

februarY 25, 2013 Vol. 2 no. 2

By Karen Richardson

Economic conditions for Kingston have improved in 2012 from 2011, with posi-tive gains in the real estate sector, the Canadian Forces Base Kingston continuing to be stable, and relatively high levels of commer-cial construction activity. “Kingston will probably lag behind the rest of prov-ince and rest of the coun-try in terms of percentage growth, but we do have the benefit of being resilient if things turn for the worse,” says Gary Bissonette, As-sistant Professor of Busi-ness at Queen’s University. Kingston has a fair amount of stability as the city large-ly runs on a public admin-istration-based economy. This has boded well for us in terms of maintaining em-ployment through a sound base level of activity, there-by shielding us from the economic down-turns of the global economy.

But while Kingston’s economy is typically resil-ient, the city lacks “agility”, as Bissonette terms it. “The volatility of our economy is somewhat minimized, but the flip side is that when the national or provincial econ-omy is doing well, Kingston lacks ‘agility’ and diversi-fication in terms of growth and opportunity, to fully capitalize on this,” he says. Bissonette warns that an over-reliance on the non-commercial services sector may expose the city to a greater risk of stagnation. Job growth in Kingston is projected to be relatively flat for the next three-year-period, with a growing concern that jobs which are created will be centred more in the part-time and/or casual workforce sector. “Our over-dependence on the non-commercial servic-es sector may actually begin to work against us as federal and provincial governments seek to reduce spending in order to balance their bud-gets and reduce current def-icit levels,” he says.

Jeff Garrah, Chief Exec-utive Officer for the Kings-ton Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO), be-lieves this shift away from reliance on the public sec-tor has already begun. “The community has benefitted from stable growth over the past few years, even dur-ing serious global economic conditions,” says Garrah. “Kingston’s stability is of-ten attributed to our strong public sector presence, but as governments tighten their belts, it has been Kingston’s innovative private sector companies who have sought out new, niche markets and international clients to grow their businesses and com-pete.”

KEDCO is working on both supporting local busi-nesses’ growth and attract-ing new companies which will strengthen and diversi-fy the economic landscape, says Garrah. “With this also comes the need to at-tract new people to live and work in Kingston, as labour market growth is a serious consideration to sustain our economy.”

Diversifying through com-petitive “clusters”

Kingston does not have enough of a diversified eco-nomic base, and the city needs to do a better job in developing the commercial side, including manufactur-ing, and technology, as well as small and medium-sized small businesses, according to Bissonette. “Part of this stems from our dependency on retail and non-commer-cial services, neither of which produce significant numbers of high-level, higher-wage managerial and professional positions.”

He also suggests that the business community and city partners should identify specific “clusters of exper-tise” or “attractiveness”, and commit to developing a stronger business structure of support and development within these clusters.

“Clusters are areas where

we believe that, with sup-port and investment, we can develop an appropriate lev-el of economic scale with which we can differentiate ourselves from competitive regions.” Examples of clus-ters could be tourism, Lake Ontario/Rideau Canal wa-terfront, watercraft, water-craft technology, biotech-nology, energy technology and more.

Kingston should cre-ate stronger incubation and expertise of skilled jobs and technology-based op-portunities to differenti-ate ourselves from com-petitive regions, he says. A great example of this is the state of New York, particularly Upstate New York — a region which has seen a lack of growth. The state has done well to cre-ate hatching sites and op-portunities for small and medium-sized businesses, according to Bissonette. “Kingston needs to do more of this, nurturing these busi-nesses with grants or fund-ing support and access to experienced mentoring ex-pertise. We have to create an economic structure that is more diversified and that allows us to take advantage of innovative companies — small and medium busi-nesses. Innovation Park is a great example of how the in-cubation approach works.”

Creating a structure for innovation

Kingston also needs to do a better job of linking busi-ness departments in colleg-es and universities and the innovation that occurs at the student level, and assisting them to work from concept to commercialization. “We need to create opportuni-ties for students to move forward on business ideas and create a framework or structure. This will take time, but economically we have the time to do this.” Bissonette says there is a large amount of “soft in-novation” for new products and services, as well as

creative ideas for apps and social media that are float-ing around the university and colleges on a regular basis. “We just need to of-fer a vehicle for students to get them to start in Kingston and encourage them to stay.” The Kingston Economic

Development Corporation (KEDCO) is also under-funded, Bissonette claims. “KEDCO is our commu-nity’s research and develop-ment arm, yet we spend only 1% of our municipal budget supporting new initiatives for economic growth.”

Finally, the city needs to continue to work on at-tracting immigrants. “They bring significant skills, and in many cases are quite en-trepreneurial. If we can ac-tively market and create in-cubation type opportunities, we will attract that skill set.”

The challenges for Kingston’s Economy

Photo courtesy of the City of Kingston.

Welcome to our new members:

2 Kingston Business Today - February 25, 2013

Achiever Fitnesswww.achieverfitness.comAchiever Fitness is a Kine-

siology and Personal Training company offering personal and partner training, Brazilian Animal Flow Classes (exer-cise based on animal move-ments), and Active Games for Little Ones (active games classes for two to four year-olds).

Chartreuse Flower WorksWebsite: http://fancier-

thangreen.com

CISSEC Corporationwww.cissec.comCissec is fully versed in the

IT/IM sector. We specialize in information engineering, sys-tem integration and custom software development, in ad-dition to offering a full com-plement of desktop support services, including managed services.

Couloir Advisory Services Inc.Telephone: (613) 545-

9577

Disability Tax Credit Consul-tant Services

www.disabilityadvocacy.ca

Help with applying for the DTC. Back filing for up to 10 years. ADVOCATING with physician, help with funds for disability related products and services. ADVOCATING on all levels of government.

Greenshield Pest Control Inc.www.greenshieldpestcon-

trol.comGreenshield Pest Control is

a local family owned and op-erated pest control company. Greenshield provides com-mercial industrial and resi-dential pest control services including: wildlife removal, bird control, insect control, rodent control, bat control, bed bug control.

Impact Pardons Plushttp://impactpardons.caA one stop ID shop focus-

ing on fingerprints, record suspension (pardon) and US waiver applications, back-ground checks and photos for passports, Citzenship and Immigration, permanent resi-dence cards and PAL, etc.

James Brett Coiffurewww.jamesbrettcoiffure.

comAveda concept Salon with

two full aesthetic depart-ments. Our salon strongly believes in sustainability and environmental stewardship from the products we use to the way we dispose of them.

Luce Hair Studiowww.lucehairstudio.comThe best hair and esthetics

salon in Kingston. Two loca-tions: Downtown and Kings-ton East at 235 Gore Road.

Sam Rogers Consultingwww.samdrogers.comSam Rogers Consulting

helps clients improve their en-vironmental and sustainability performance. This includes helping meet regulatory compliance, developing and implementing environmental and sustainability plans, and community the results.Shoppers Home Health Care

Telephone: (613) 531-4104

With over 60 locations, Shoppers Home Health Care is Canada’s leading retailer of home healthcare equipment and supplies. We help thou-sands of Canadians every day to lead healthier, more inde-pendent lifestyles.

New Directory Members

James Brett Coiffure — Gar-diners Road

Aveda concept Salon with two full aesthetic depart-ments. Our salon strongly believes in sustainability and environmental stewardship from the products we use to the way we dispose of them.

Luce Hair Studio — Gore Roadwww.lucehairstudio.com

The best hair and esthetics salon in Kingston. Two loca-tions: Downtown and Kings-ton East at 235 Gore Road.

Maritime TravelTelephone: (613) 544-

8898

Maritime Travel has been providing superior service to both business and leisure

travellers in the Kingston area since 1970.

Rideau Marinawww.rideaumarina.on.ca

At Rideau Marina, you’ll relax in quiet serenity in our peaceful wooded river loca-tion. 104 permanent slips in-cluding boathouse dockage with room to accomodate transient boats up to 40’ in length. Located just minutes away from Fort Henry and Kingston’s downtown.

Member Milestone

Congratulations to Vic-tory Lane Auto (Mike Gib-son, owner/operator), a cur-rent Chamber member who is celebrating their 10th year in business!

Thanks to renewing chamber members

ACFO Mille-iles Altair Electronics Ltd.AMJ Campbell Van LinesBEADAPALOOZABellBel-Con Design-Builders

Ltd.Benefits Consulting PlusBickerton Brokers On-

tario Ltd.Boys and Girls Club of

Kingston & AreaCataraqui Golf & Country

ClubCintas Canada LimitedCoach Canada/Trentway

Wagar (Peterborough)

Corcoran, Len Excavating Ltd.

Corus Entertainment Kingston

Cunningham Swan Carty Little & Bonham LLP

Drake International Ltd.Earl Shaw Insurance Bro-

kers Ltd.ECHO Hair StudioEngineering Seismology

Group Canada Inc.Events & Management

Plus Inc.Evertemp Inc.Fabbro Mason ContractorGrand & Toy (Develop-

ment Dr.)Hochelaga InnJames Reid Furniture Ltd.Kids & CompanyKingston Area Real Estate

Association (KAREA)Kingston Community

Credit Union Ltd. (Gardiners Rd.)

Kingston Economic De-velopment Corporation

Kingston General Hospi-tal

Kingston and the Islands Federal Liberal Association

Kingston Laser & Cos-metic Clinic

Kingston Online ServicesKingston This Weeklia sophia jewelleryLuce Hair StudioMammark Sales Ltd.Manley Financial Group

Inc.Marine Museum of The

Great Lakes at KingstonMcDonald’s Restaurants

of Greater Kingston AreaNice One NailsOngwanada

Pam’s Flower GardenPipe Specialties - Cana-

daProfessional InvestmentsQueen’s University, Ad-

vancementRackAir (Kingston) Inc.Radisson Hotel Kingston

HarbourfrontRayner, S. & Associates

Ltd.Response I.T.Richards, J.L. & Associ-

ates LimitedRideau Acres ResortRogers Radio Group

KingstonScouts Canada - Loyalist

AreaServiceMaster of Kings-

tonSt. John Ambulance

Kingston BranchSun Life FinancialSusan Creasy Financial

Inc.Tallman Truck Centre

LimitedTempleman, Menninga

LLPTempleman Consulting

Group Inc.Thomson Jemmett Vogel-

zang a div. of Johnson Inc.Thornley Stoker Adver-

tising Inc.Tim Hortons Inc.Treasure Cove AntiquesTriple D LinehaulThe Whig-StandardUpper Canada Commer-

cial Insurance Group Inc.Waste ManagementWinexpert Freeman’s

Winemaking ShopWPBS - TV

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Kingston Business Today - February 25, 2013 3

By Matt Fair and Matt Landers

The introduction of mobile ef-forts into the marketing mix is a game changer with smartphones and tablets becoming the way to reach customers on the go. Just about everyone owns a mobile device of some sort, using it for messaging, browsing, shopping, social media, email and applica-tions. Unlike a desktop or lap-top these users take their mobile devices everywhere — even the washroom.

Venturing back 10 years, we saw businesses scramble to have a website developed during the online revolution. Now there is another revolution knocking at the doors of business owners in the form of mobile websites. In-fact they are barging in and tak-ing over. Mobile marketing is here, and it is time to put out the welcome mat.

Various industries such as tourism, business-to-business, restaurants and retail are begin-ning to integrate mobile into their overall strategy, broadening op-portunities to connect with cus-tomers who are searching locally for specific products or services.

Take a restaurant, for exam-ple. You are downtown looking for a place to eat. You don’t have your computer but you do have a smartphone, so you search. The mobile website could include the menu, directions, reviews, reser-vations, hours of operation and other special features — all in the palm of the customer’s hand.

Now that you have a brief idea of the mobile website bene-fits you might be asking yourself how to integrate it with your cur-rent online presence. There are different types of mobile friendly websites, each with their own

purpose and utility for reaching consumers.

Which Mobile Option Do You Get?

The AppAn app must be downloaded

by users to their device. Think of apps designed for iPhone, Black-berry or Android. Apps are great for ongoing interaction with cus-tomers, but are not great for mar-keting and awareness. If the pur-pose of your mobile technology is to build awareness/marketing, an app is not going to meet your needs. Look at apps like Grou-pon, Cineplex and Ticketmaster. These are great examples of situ-ations where apps make sense. Think repeat customers. Another reason to have an app is to make it available when users do not have a cell signal, or when they need to download a large amount of information and would prefer to do this when they are connect-ed to wifi to avoid data charges on their cell plan.

The Standard Mobile Web-site

A standard mobile site is de-veloped separately from your main website. As users access your information, the page will automatically be displayed in a mobile-friendly screen. This technique is best used when busi-nesses require more concise in-formation on the mobile format than the main website.

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission has this type of mo-bile site. It focuses on displaying information about attractions, directions and contact details. Mobile optimized websites can look and operate just like an app, but for a lot less money and time.

The Responsive Web-site

A responsive design works as a single website with the ability to auto-matically adapt to vari-ous screen sizes and res-olutions. As the reader jumps from computer to iPad to smartphone, the website will re-spond to the change and stay consistent. Responsive is most effectively used for industries that need the same in-

formation to display consistently across all devices.

The Torontoist.com website is a prime example of a respon-sive site, which is pivotal to news readers who are not at home on their PC. If you visit their site, resize the browser window to see how the design responds to new dimensions.

Final Thoughts on MobileFailing to adapt leaves your

business vulnerable to competi-tors. Your site should fit the needs of users no matter what gadget they are using. Before jumping on the mobile bandwagon, un-derstand which option best suits your company and industry.

Consider these questions when going mobile:

Are your customers us-ing mobile devices (when and where)?

Which content is most impor-tant to users on which devices?

Do you really need an app de-veloped, or is a mobile-friendly website a better option?

Matthew Fair, President & CEO of 14 Theories Inc. has been a leader in the Kingston web in-dustry for over 10 years, with an outstanding track record work-ing with local businesses for web design, web development, mobile and social media projects.

Matt Landers is a Digital Marketing Strategist at 14 Theo-ries Inc.

The importance of mobile business strategy

By Stewart Maxwell, District Manager, Rogers Wireless Express

“It’s incredible… amazing… a thing of beauty!” these were the words of an extremely satis-fied and proud owner of the new Blackberry Z10 on the Febru-ary 5th launch day. The exciting new device from Blackberry, previously known as Research In Motion, was highly antici-pated and the launch in Canada on Rogers is reported to have seen initial sales numbering in the “thousands,” making for a record launch day for a single BlackBerry device. The new Z10 has only been released in Canada and the U.K. at this point in time.

First impressions are every-thing, and right out of the box the new Z10 delivers. Its utilitarian styling feels smart, functional and business like – just as you’d want from Blackberry. Perhaps what could be considered more important than style is the feel of the phone. With the Black-Berry Z10, BlackBerry hasn’t followed the current trend for giant phones with giant screens. Instead its latest handset sports a 4.2in display which means the whole handset is a very comfort-able size.

So what’s new with this Blackberry and what is it ca-pable of? Firstly, the inven-tive team at Blackberry has removed all home keys, now you will be able to use your device with a series of simple gestures. If inside an applica-tion, a swipe up will hide it into

the background. If you don’t swipe all the way up, you per-form a BlackBerry Peek. This is a glance into the BlackBerry Hub, and a great way of snoop-ing into your messages without actually opening up any appli-cations. The new Blackberry HUB is what has created an exceptional user experience, It displays all your messages and notifications, extending across calls, texts and emails as well as BBM, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn messages, alerts and events. This makes using your new Z10 easy and effi-

cient by having everything in one place!

So far the improvements have been great, but what are all the new customers raving about? The Camera! “Taking perfect pictures is a breeze” The user in-terface has been touch optimized and loaded with smart shooting options. The new image editor has some really cool features, with one simple touch on the pictures you just took you can “turn back time” so that loved one is no longer blinking! The device automatically records a few seconds prior to and after taking a picture so you can alter it to create that perfect moment when everyone was smiling at the same time.

All in, the new BBZ10 is set to put Blackberry back on track, and it is arguably one of the best devices on the market for you and your business. The Blackberry Z10 is available for $139.99 on a 3 year contract with Rogers, and comes in black or white. Chamber members re-ceive a $100 bill credit.

The new Blackberry 10 has finally arrived!

Matt Fair

Sustainable Kingston Welcomes the Business

Section to our Community!

Improve your bottom line by building Sustainability into

your business plan!

Find out how to become a community partner by visiting our website

www.sustainablekingston.ca

Kingston is a city that is a vital, dynamic and sustainable economic centre where research, innovation, investment, and business enter-prises thrive together and where a variety of people want to visit, live, work, and do business.

The Sustainable Kingston Plan recognizes that everyone has a part to play in advancing the vision of Kingston Canada’s Most Sustain-able City. The vision is simply a statement of what we want for the future and Community Partners have a key role in achieving this vi-sion. The Sustainable Kingston Plan recognizes that both individu-als and organizations, through relatively small changes in our indi-vidual behavior’s and business practices, we can collectively make a difference. Sustainable Kingston Community Partners are a diverse network of Kingston organizations which embrace and support this vision in their planning and operations. Partners are striving to make a posi-tive impact in our community by working together to achieve cul-tural, economic, environmental and social sustainability. WHAT IS A COMMUNITY PARTNER?The Community Partnership is intended to build capacity, commit-ment and collaboration among a large and diverse group of local businesses, organizations, and membership-based groups. Part-ners champion community sustainability by examining the activity of their own organization, identifying how their actions are making positive contributions to one or more of the themes and goals with-in the Sustainable Kingston Plan and then sharing that information to promote collective awareness of the sustainable actions taking place in our community. HOW DOES THE PARTNERSHIP WORK?Partners to the Sustainable Kingston Plan contribute in a way that is most appropriate to their organization. For example, you can dem-onstrate your support by:

Sharing your vision of sustainability with the Kingston commu-•nity through actions, programs and policies that make Kingston a more sustainable communityImproving and implementing your own organizational plan•Taking part in community forums to raise awareness of current •practicesSupporting community sustainability and the Sustainable Kings-•ton Plan by communicating to employees, volunteers or mem-bers

BECOME A COMMUNITY PARTNER TODAY! Email us at [email protected] for an information package.

Together we can achieve and be the difference that makes the difference.

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By Jennifer Baker

Facebook recently released new easy-to-use privacy set-tings for its users. While these changes only apply to personal timelines, it is important for business owners to be confi-dent in what is shared with oth-ers on social media platforms.

The privacy settings have not changed significantly, but are now categorized into three basic questions: Who can see my stuff? Who can contact me? How do I stop someone from bothering me? Privacy settings can be found by click-ing on the lock icon in the top Facebook menu.

Tip #1: Who Can See My Stuff?

This is a common question voiced by business owners. In-dividuals want to be confident knowing what photos, posts and information is visible to friends as well as the public.

Clicking on Who Can See My Future Posts?, and select-ing Friends will ensure that any new updates you post to your Facebook personal time-line will be shared only with your Facebook friends. It is important to remember that us-ers have the opportunity to up-date these settings and include alternative groups in the future if desired.

Tip #2: Who Can Add Things to My Timeline?

This is the second most common concern expressed among business owners. Typically, individuals are concerned about friends post-ing personal photos or tag-ging them in personal photos, which then appear on their Facebook personal timeline. It is important to be able to control and curate the infor-mation that others post about you on your timeline.

Clicking on Who Can Add Things to My Timeline?, and selecting Review Posts

Friends Tag You In will give you the power to determine what will and will not appear on your Facebook personal timeline.

Tip #3: How Do I Stop Someone from Bothering Me?

Although not common, business owners sometimes encounter users who abuse their Facebook privileges via excessive posting and mes-saging of others.

Clicking on How Do I Stop Someone from Both-

ering Me? and then adding that user’s email address to the list will completely block their account from accessing yours. As a result, that user will no longer be allowed to post on your timeline or mes-sage you.

The next time you log into your Facebook account, take a moment to view and confirm your account’s pri-vacy settings. This will help establish a greater sense of confidence as you move for-ward with future business en-deavours.

Three tips for using the new Facebook

privacy settings

Jennifer Baker offers social media training seminars, one-on-one personalized training, and corporate group training. Jennifer Baker Consulting (www.jen-niferbakerconsulting.com) is located in Kingston and is a proud member of the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce.

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Save money and help protect our environment by conserving electricity.

Visit www.kingstonhydro.saveonenergy.com for information about electricity conservation incentives for homes and businesses.

For more information, please call (613) 546-0000 or email [email protected] with the subject “SaveOnEnergy”.

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This month, Utilities Kingston is pleased to an-nounce two new online re-sources to help its custom-ers save electricity, water, gas and money.

Utilities Kingston and Kingston Hydro customers can access the MyUtilities customer portal for detailed information about their en-ergy and water use. Also available is a comprehen-sive collection of energy and water conservation tips.

When combined, these two resources provide cus-tomers with new ways to better manage their utility use. Follow the collection of conservation tips to modify your household’s consump-tion behaviours, then get feedback using the MyUtili-ties customer portal.

Utilities Kingston cus-tomers in the “old” City of Kingston (from the Cat-araqui River in the East to Little Cataraqui Creek in the West, and from the 401 South to Lake Ontario) re-ceive just one bill for elec-tricity, water, wastewater and gas services. These cus-tomers benefit from conve-nient access to MyUtilities for detailed information per-taining to all their services. Utilities Kingston water and wastewater customers in the

former Kingston and Pitts-burgh townships can access their water consumption data through MyUtilities.

MyUtilities features more in-depth information about your water and en-ergy use than is available on your Utilities Kingston bill. It’s easy to register; all you need is your account number and the amount of your last payment. You can view your historical water, gas, and electricity con-sumption, along with your transaction and payment history.

MyUtilities also shows you how temperature can af-fect your gas and electricity use and heating costs, and helps you identify oppor-tunities to lower electricity costs by shifting use to off-peak periods when it costs less to generate electricity. You can even download your historical data into a spreadsheet to help you track expenses and monitor your conservation progress. To do this click “Download Consumption History to Spreadsheet” and open with Microsoft Excel.

Here is an example of how the MyUtili-ties portal can be used: The TOU Summary pie chart indicates what per-

centage of your electricity use is off-peak, mid-peak and on-peak. This customer uses the least amount of their electricity during on-peak times (the red area of the pie), but can save even more money by shifting some or all of that use to mid or off-peak times (the green and yellow areas of the pie), when it costs less to generate electricity.

Another chart in the portal overlays the average daily temperature plotted against the average out-door temperature. If your gas use changes dramati-cally when the temperature is very high or very low, it may indicate that a large portion of your electric-ity is consumed by space heating and/or cooling. In-creasing your building’s air tightness and insulation are two cost-effective ways to reduce your energy use in this circumstance.

Water consumption can also be linked to weather. Examine your monthly wa-ter consumption history – is it highest in the summer months? If you water your lawn during the day, much of that water is evaporating before it reaches the roots of yours grass. Most lawns need only an inch of water

a week. Also make sure to abide by local water use bylaws: water early in the morning and only on the days that match your civic address – even numbers on even days and odd numbers on odd days.

Learn more about the MyUtilities customer por-tal at http://www.utilities-kingston.com/MyUtilities.aspx and register today.

Want to learn more about how you can conserve wa-ter, gas and electricity in your home or business? Check out nearly 100 con-servation tips at www.utili-tieskingston.com/conser-vationtips.aspx. From this web page you can also ac-

cess instant rebate coupons for a variety of electric-ity saving goods available from participating retailers including Canadian Tire, Lowes, Home Hardware and The Home Depot. Cou-pons are available for com-pact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs)s, Energy Star light fixtures, timers and dimmer switches, electric hot water heater insulating blankets and pipe wrap and even baseboard electric pro-grammable thermostats.

Questions or comments? Please call Utilities Kings-ton at 613-546-0000 and say “conservation”. Staff will help you find ways to conserve and save money

through Utilities Kingston and Kingston Hydro pro-grams, many of which of-fer financial incentives for your home and business.

Utilities Kingston introduces two new online resources for customers to save money

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The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released its economic agenda, Emerging Stronger 2013, in partnership with the Mowat Centre and Leger Marketing.

A year in the making, Emerg-ing Stronger 2013 is a transfor-mational agenda aimed at ac-celerating Ontario’s economic growth. It identifies Ontario’s challenges and advantages, and sets out practical and detailed recommendations for govern-ment and business.

It provides a non-partisan platform that will appeal to all three parties.

In the lead up to the release of the agenda, the OCC and Leger Marketing conducted a survey of nearly 2,400 Ontario businesses. The Ontario Busi-ness Confidence Index shows that most Ontario businesses are confident in their own outlook and are planning to expand over the next five years. However, the same businesses are unsure about the overall direction of Ontario’s economy.

For additional Ontario Cham-ber of Commerce advocacy and activities, please visit their web-site: www.occ.on.ca

Kathleen Wynne named Ontario’s next Premier, What’s her plan for Ontario Business?

Kathleen Wynne was named Ontario’s 25th Premier, chosen by Ontario Liberal delegates at the Ontario Liberal Leadership Convention.

Recently, the Ontario Cham-ber of Commerce asked Ms. Wynne to answer five questions on how she would advance the Emerging Stronger Agenda and help business grow and prosper in the province.

Here’s what she said. 1. What specific policies will you put in place in order to fos-ter a culture of innovation?

I will work with small busi-ness by specifically proposing an increase in the Employer Health Tax (EHT) exemption threshold if this can be shown to accelerate job creation.

I will also work with finan-cial institutions and government agencies to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises have ease of access to capital required for expansion and innovation.

We also need to continue with our successful Southwest and Eastern Ontario Development Funds, which are supporting in-novative companies in those re-gions.

I will expand our economic development initiatives prov-ince-wide: build on our com-prehensive regional economic development initiatives, focus-ing on specific communities to enhance opportunities at the very local level. This includes a rural and northern economic develop-ment strategy.

Additionally, my educa-tion plan will support increased opportunities for graduate education and the entrepre-neurial spirit of our under-

graduate and graduate students. 2. What specific policies will you put in place in order to build a 21st century workforce?

I’ll introduce community hubs for adult education and training - coordinating govern-ment, non-profit, and private

sector resources to give recent graduates, new Canadians and the unemployed practical tools to participate in the workforce.

We must also develop a sus-tainable model for wage negotia-tion - a structured dialogue with our partners in the broader public sector to create innovative mod-els for engagement and nego-tiation. We cannot afford regular cycles of labour instability in the delivery of our valued public ser-

vices.I will continue to build upon

record McGuinty Liberal infra-structure investments.

We will better prepare our students for the labour market by working with educators, col-leges, business and industry to expand student work placements,

internships, and co-op programs so more students gain valuable work experience.

We’ll also promote better use of credits by increasing their trans-ferability between institutions and expanding our dual credit system. 3. What specific steps will you take in order to restore fiscal balance?

All Ontarians will prosper if we stay the course on our eco-

nomic plan - eliminating the deficit by 2017-18 so we can get the province where it needs to be: deficit free, paying down debt, and ensuring Ontario is a prime environment for investment.

I’m also committed to restrict-ing overall spending increases to 1% below GDP growth after 2017-18 until Ontario’s debt-to-GDP ratio returns to 27% - the pre-recession, 2007 level. 4. What specific policies will you put in place that will en-able Ontario to take advantage of new opportunities in the global economy?

I will support the diversifica-tion of Ontario’s trade to global markets. I will follow Dalton

McGuinty’s lead by leading trade missions to vital markets, including China and India.

We also need to promote ef-ficient cross-border movement through capacity improvements to the Detroit River Rail and Peace Bridge crossings.

In order to attract investment from around the world, we need to build on our record invest-ments in infrastructure and trans-portation. That means working with the federal government on a national transit strategy - includ-ing a dedicated national transit fund that includes investment for Ontario, particularly for the Metrolinx transit projects in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

I’ve also called on the fed-eral government to support an Ontario-Quebec Continental

Gateway and Trade Corridor - an efficient and secure mul-timodal transportation sys-tem for access to US markets. 5. What specific steps will you take to ensure Ontario makes the most of its competitive ad-vantages?

I’m running because I be-lieve that freedom and fairness and prosperity are indivisible. That’s the promise that I will keep as a Liberal, as Premier, as a mother and a grandmother: the promise of an economy that leaves no one behind.

That’s why investing in the public services Ontario families rely on is the centerpiece of my campaign. Implementing my four part plan will create jobs and grow the economy:

The Way We Grow - creat-ing jobs, attracting investment, and supporting innovation

The Way We Care - invest-ing in health and long-term care, reducing poverty, and pro-tecting the environment

The Way We Learn - build-ing on our success in primary, secondary, and postsecondary education

The Way We Govern - On-tario’s fair share from the fed-eral government and enabling Ontario communities to pros-per.

Questions? Contact Josh Hjartarson, VP Policy & Gov-ernment Relations, at 416-482-5222, ext 2320 or [email protected].

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Anti-spam regulations conclude second public airing


Industry Canada has closed the public comment period on the country’s long overdue anti-spam legisla-tion, paving the way for the newest manifestation of the rules and continued resis-tance from the private sec-tor.

Since legislation on unso-licited email and other elec-tronic exchanges was adopt-ed in 2010, regulations on what defines spam and how far organizations must go to stop it have been in a state of flux, with the government wrangling over provisions with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Following claims by the Chamber and others that the initial regulations, released in July 2011, put too much of a burden on businesses which rely heavily on email to market their products, ad-vertise and find new custom-ers, the government issued revised regulations Jan. 5 and asked for input.

Although the legislation has been credited with tack-ling the proliferation of spam in Canada — one of the last developed countries to crack down on unsolicited com-mercial email — the Cham-ber argues the rules are un-clear, too onerous and do lit-tle to deter spam originating from outside Canada. “(W)e are increasingly concerned that the government has not achieved balance,” Scott Smith, the Chamber’s direc-tor of intellectual property and innovation policy, wrote in the organization’s official submissions to Industry Can-ada prior to public comment closing February 4th, 2013. “The objectives of promot-ing online economic activ-ity and allowing responsible businesses to continue using this channel for electronic communication (have) not been met.”

“It is the most compre-hensive legislation in the world,” Smith told iPolitics.ca, adding that while his or-

ganization supports the need to stop spam and welcomes the government’s willing-ness to change the rules, the Chamber’s ultimate aim is to see the legislation redrafted. “As-is, it impedes business and the compliance is diffi-cult.” The rules define spam as emails and electronic mes-sages sent to social network-ing sites that are commercial in nature and include hyper-links. They put the onus on businesses to get consent from potential customers be-fore sending emails — but don’t allow the businesses to send an email requesting consent. Each email sent out to a potential customer must also have an “unsubscribe” option and businesses must keep a running inventory of who is willing to receive their emails and who is not — a condition Smith said would be costly.

Canadian Chamber Unveils Top 10 Barriers to Competi-tiveness for 2013

On February 12 the Cana-dian Chamber of Commerce unveiled its Top 10 Barri-ers to Competitiveness for 2013. The Canadian Cham-ber undertook this initiative last year to draw attention to the barriers that are holding back Canada’s progress and to urge all levels of govern-ment to act more swiftly to improve our country’s abil-ity to compete globally.

Canadian Chamber Presi-dent and CEO Perrin Beatty declared the initial year of the initiative a success.” As we take stock of the first year of the Top 10, we made prog-ress on several of the items we targeted,” he stated. “For example, our members re-corded a major victory when our appeal for change to the regulatory processes around natural resource projects was overwhelmingly accept-ed by the government. For a country so dependent on the success of natural resource projects, implementing a

more efficient process is a huge contributor to competi-tiveness,” said Beatty.

The Canadian Chamber’s number one issue last year, as identified by the mem-bership, was Canada’s skills shortage. “We held consul-tations across Canada that enabled us to gain a better grasp on this critical issue. We were very satisfied to hear the Prime Minister also identify the skills shortage as the major challenge fac-ing our country,” added Mr. Beatty. The Canadian Cham-ber intends to maintain its focus on skills in 2013.

Addressing the Top 10 Barriers to Competitive-ness will go a long way to-wards restoring Canada’s competitiveness. The Ca-nadian Chamber is calling on its own membership, on governments, on educa-tors, on labour organiza-tions, and others to tackle and overcome these bar-riers. Tolerating them is simply not an option. Ef-fectively addressing these 10 barriers will sharpen Canada’s competitive edge and allow us to prosper in the global economy.

The 2013 Top 10 Bar-riers to Competitiveness were identified as:

Skills shortages Barriers to world markets for Canadian energy products Inadequate work-force productivity Inadequate public in-frastructure planning Tax complex-ity and structure Poor innova-tion performance Deficient strategies for trade success in new markets Internal barriers to trade Uncompetitive travel and tourism strategies Lack of access to capital

More information on the document, or addition-al Canadian Chamber of Commerce advocacy and activities can be found at www.chamber.ca.

News from the Canadian Chamber of CommerceBy Jim Barber

A hockey analogy might be an appropriate way to describe the challenges faced by a small business owner or start-up en-trepreneur who often has little resources and staff to work with. Imagine your favourite hockey team has one of the top goalies in the game. This player has worked for years to hone his or her skills: the cat-like reflexes, strength, flexibility and mental acuity and emotional toughness. In the crease, he or she is equipped with the latest and greatest equipment in the industry, from specialized lightweight pads to a blocker, catching glove, skates and mask. Game in and game out, the net-minder is depending on the player’s specialized abilities and training to play a big role in the overall success of the team.

Now, all of a sudden, the same top goalie is asked to strip off his or her gear, change skates, put on a regular helmet, grab a forward’s stick, skate the length of the ice and try to score a goal. He or she is then expected to race back to his own end, and slap all the equipment on again to pre-vent a scoring chance from the opposition. Oh, and he is also mandated to renegotiate the con-tract of the star rookie defence-man at the same time.

Sound ridiculous? Well, in the real world of hockey it may be, but for many entrepreneurs it’s exactly the scenario they find themselves in as they start their business, or expand or strengthen existing business.

The staff at the Kingston Economic Development Corpo-ration (KEDCO) Entrepreneur Centre can assist business own-ers or start-up entrepreneurs. Us-ing the methodology employed

by Italian sustainable economic development expert Dr. Ernesto Sirolli, the Entrepreneur Centre helps business owners under-stand that taking on every key aspect of their operation is not al-ways the best plan to ensure their business is a success.

The centre emphasizes the value of managing the business as a “trinity”, with three distinct

Small Business: How the “Trinity of Management” can work for you

Continued Pg. 9

Mary Ann Walmsley, Mark Hanley and Rebecca Darling of the Entrepreneur Centre.

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Where’s My Cash?! is Right on the Money: Book review

By Ron Turley

Stu Woolley has mined his 20 years of experience chas-ing money as an accounts receivable professional and distilled it into a packed 237 pages in his book Where’s My Cash?!. This is an important book for own-ers and CEOs of small- to medium-sized businesses that bill their customers as well as for managers of accounts receivable (A/R) departments.

The book is chock-full of great advice. Woolley argues the importance of cash flow, not just sales, but the end of the process when the customer actu-ally pays for the product or service. Lack of cash is the reason most businesses fail. You need the sales, but even more, you need the cash. Cash is king.

Like a good coach, Woolley inspires, mo-tivates, encourages and cajoles, but also adds an ele-ment of shaming while exhib-iting vexation with business owners who avoid the often painful task of dealing with past-due customers. Where’s My Cash?! is a serious book that is entertaining and fun to read. Trust me, how to collect on receivables can be a good read.

Woolley provides detailed advice on techniques and

strategies: the importance of the paper trail, when to make the first past-due con-tact, whether to write or call, what to say in the letter, how to conduct a phone call and when to give up on a delin-quent and send him or her to

the collections woodshed. But it is not all “tough-

guy” talk. Woolley’s ap-proach is firm but fair, per-sistent and polite. He points out that there is a customer service aspect to A/R: some-times lack of payment is due to a product or service failure that is good feedback for the supplier. He states that occa-sionally there are times when some slack should be given,

circumstances that require some sympathy.

What I like best is that the sections on technique are accompanied by those that address the psychological impediments to taking on the task: We would lose a “good

customer”; there could be social implications as the debtor is a friend, relative or neighbour; and so on. As well, he tackles the issue of having the wrong person in the job: the difficulties when sales people are ex-pected to chase the money, or when the assigned per-son just does not have the temperament. The organi-zation of the book allows the reader to open it at any section, read 10 or 20 pag-es and pick up a tip or two.

This, if I may, is the “bible” of A/R. As such, it needs to be kept on the desk of every money chas-er to remind them of the importance of cash flow, the problems with procras-

tination and the best practices that will bring home the cash while keeping customers buying.

Ron Turley, MBA, is a financial planner in Kings-ton with a background in accounting. He has written articles on life insurance, taxation and investments. He has recently begun advising Kingston small businesses on cost management.

By Lorne Matthews-Glasspoole

If you’re like me, you will be sitting down at some point this month to begin the annual ritual of coor-dinating the various forms and T-slips that will accom-pany your annual income tax return. That’s always fun. My father, chartered accountant that he was, used to say that tax prepa-ration was the “heavy price we pay” for the arrival of spring. Of course, he lived “B.C”: before computers – not to mention tax soft-ware, which he would have completely frowned upon - of that I am certain. He was seriously old school. Nev-ertheless, with the thought of warmer, sunnier days ahead (not to mention tax filing deadlines) we are continuing last month’s theme of “looking forward” to your well planned retire-ment – this time from the perspective of optimizing tax efficiency.

To supplement your sources of early retire-ment income - perhaps de-rived from the sale of your business - you may need to take additional income from other non-registered investments. Eventually, it will be imperative that you also begin to draw income from your registered in-vestments, excepting your TFSA. How you ultimately choose to draw your total “retirement paycheck” may have a big impact on the stability of your income, and on the size of your tax bill.

As you move into the fully retired phase, you’ll

begin drawing on your ac-cumulated wealth to meet various lifestyle expenses. With average life expec-tancy rising, your reliance on retirement capital could last for many years, perhaps even several decades. As my own clients are all too familiar with hearing me ask, “Will your income last as long as you do? What if you live to be 100?” The very idea of needing to generate thirty plus years of retirement income is not nearly so far fetched as many might believe. That’s why it’s a good strategy to balance between “capital preservation”, with less volatile investments that produce a regular and sta-ble income (such as fixed income and dividend-pro-ducing investments), and “growth” investments that can add to your retirement income and protect against inflation over the coming years.

The impact of taxes on your retirement income will depend on the specif-ic sources of that income. For example, every dollar of interest income from a non-registered invest-ment source will be fully, and inefficiently, taxable. However, if your income is derived from the sale of non-registered equities, the resulting profit is con-sidered a capital gain, and your tax liability is reduced by 50%. It is also essential that retirees over the age of 65 be aware that reporting large amounts of taxable income from all sources can result in the reduction or “claw-back” of income-tested government benefits such as Old Age Security (OAS).

There are also the “tax-ing questions” related to when and how best to dis-pose of non-registered assets. Through years of investing, you may have accumulated sizeable unre-alized capital gains in these accounts. Should you de-cide to realize these gains in a single year through a

one-time disposition – for example to fund an annu-ity – the result could be a significant tax hit. A simi-lar deemed disposition or “taxable event” may occur when transferring non-registered investments into your TFSA. Triggering of any capital gain should be considered in advance, and certainly not be dis-covered as an after-the-fact surprise. Ultimately, it’s important to develop a tax-reduction strategy that will minimize taxes, both in advance of, and during your retirement years. One strategy is to hold relative-ly more equity investments in the non-registered part of your portfolio, and rela-tively more fixed-income securities in registered in-vestments. This approach preserves the tax advantage of equity investments over the relative tax-inefficien-cy of your interest bearing (and other) fixed income investments. Of course, in-troduction of the Tax-Free Savings Account has added a whole new dimension to retirement asset planning, and will be addressed in a future column.

Once you know the right tax-reducing conversion strategies, and remain vigi-lant about “planning to pay less tax”, you’ll preserve your wealth and make your retirement as fulfilling and worry-free as you truly deserve. Talk to your pro-fessional advisor, who can help you explore all of the tax strategies available to you. With that knowledge, you can develop an invest-ment approach that works best for you, both now and throughout the decades to come.

This column, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc., and Investors Group Securities Inc. presents general information only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any investments. Contact your own advisor for specific advice about your circumstances.

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By Mary-Alice ThompsonPartner, Cunningham Swan’s Wills & Estate Practice Group

Recent changes in the Estate

Administration Tax (EAT) have caused some Ontarians to panic, and consider drastic changes in their asset holdings. We all need to take a deep breath.

In Ontario, an executor for a deceased person may need the court to confirm his or her au-thority under the will; in that case the court can issue a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will. Part of the Applica-tion for the Certificate includes paying Estate Administration Tax (formerly known as probate taxes) at about 1.5% of the fair market value of the estate. On-tarians have tried reduce or avoid EAT, but the techniques are often awkward or expensive to imple-ment, costly to administer over time or have unanticipated con-sequences. However, one simple planning device that is especially helpful to those with shares in private corporations is the use of multiple wills.

What Is Probate?Probate (now called a Cer-

tificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee) is judicial evidence of the authority of the executors to deal with an estate. It is not man-

datory, but often an estate cannot be effectively administered with-out it. Assets such as real estate in land titles, securities, and invest-ment accounts will often not be transferred to the executors or beneficiaries without proof that a court has validated the will and the authority of the executors named in it; otherwise institu-tions cannot know that the will is not being challenged. Probate is not, however, always required: it is not generally required to trans-fer shares in private companies, personal property, or land in the registry system.

When an application is made for probate, however, the ex-ecutor pays EAT on all the assets passing under the will - those that require probate to effect transmis-sion as well as those that do not.

Planning With Multiple Wills

One of the most reliable tech-niques to reduce probate tax in-volves using two or more wills, the concept being to separate those assets that might require probate from those that do not. Where there are multiple wills, only the will covering assets needing probate is submitted to court for certification, and pro-bate tax is limited to the value of the assets governed by that will.

In 1998, the Division Court in

Ontario confirmed that the value of assets covered by a separate will not submitted to court would not be included when calculating the probate fee.

The Better Tomorrow for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2011

The 2011 Act introducing changes to the Estate Adminis-tration Tax regime has two stag-es. Some of the new provisions came into force on the 1st of May 2011, but new regulations and forms will likely come into force in 2013, probably mid-June. We have not yet seen what they will contain.

The first stage introduced as-sessment and re-assessment of EAT any time up to four years after the executor applies for pro-bate, or longer if there has been neglect, carelessness, wilful de-fault, or fraud. The legislation is retroactive, so the Minister can reassess an application for pro-bate made before it came into force.

When the second stage comes into effect, it will likely require a more detailed list and valuation of the estate. There are significant penalties for failure to comply.

What To ExpectThere has been some sugges-

tion that the new regulations will

end the ability of small business owners to use multiple wills to shelter their private corporations and other assets from EAT. But regulations cannot change the statute on which multiple will planning is based.

What we can expect is that accurate and complete lists of a deceased person’s property will have to be filed with a probate application. Accuracy has always been required, although there are now mechanisms to enforce it. Our best guess about the new forms is that assets outside of the estate – such as private corpora-tions under a separate will as well as life insurance, registered plans, and jointly owned property – will have to be listed even if EAT is not levied on them. This is reason for caution, but not panic!

Probate Planning, Multiple Wills, and Changes to EAT

Mary-Alice Thompson

“Trinity of Management”

components or areas of special-ization. The first is the individual at the core, who is usually the one with the idea for the product or service and the passion behind the project.

The second component of the “trinity” is the financial expertise, while the third is marketing acu-men.

While the person with the idea, product or service may have some experience or know-how in these two other areas, there is no way one person can do all three, or often even two of the three, without it impacting the main idea and the overall success of the business.

At the Entrepreneur Centre, an Enterprise Facilitator walks an entrepreneur through this pro-cess and helps him or her find the resources to complete the trinity. Dr. Sirolli believed in what has been termed a “person-centred approach to local economic de-velopment,” and that someone is never going to be equally pas-sionate about developing a prod-uct or service, as well as market-ing it and managing the finances. Dr. Sirolli, and those involved in enterprise facilitation, believe that no one will be able to do something well if he or she is not passionate about it, and that small business owners are usually only passionate about the product or service they are creating.

The Entrepreneur Centre can

help clients explore their passion, and also help them find the peo-ple who will make up the “trin-ity”. These people may be full-time partners, fee-for-service part timers, or even volunteers, but they are necessary components of the business.

Ideally, the financial manager needs to be someone who doesn’t just look after the accounting for the business. He or she needs to look ahead to help develop plans to maximize revenue streams, to anticipate future costs, and also help develop financial contingen-cies in times of difficulty.

The third member of the trin-ity is someone proficient in sales and marketing. He or she will define who the customers are, what the market is, and how to most effectively and efficiently get the product or service out to these people.

As the familiar adage goes, “solitude is the death of the en-trepreneur,” and the myth of the lone wolf, swashbuckling business person is just that — a myth.

The Entrepreneur Centre is working hard to ensure enter-prising, talented, hard-working entrepreneurs never have to work in solitude, and never have to go at it alone. All services are confidential and free of charge. For more information visit www.kingstonentrepreneurs.ca or con-tact KEDCO at 613-544-2725.

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The first rule when nego-tiating internationally is to forget what you learned back home about talking busi-ness. If you’re not armed with the right negotiating skills in markets such as India, China or the Middle East, you may well lose out, says Ned Nedungadi, Busi-ness Development Bank of Canada (BDC)’s Regional Director for Global Expan-sion.

Nedungadi tells the story of one deal that went off the rails because of a lack of understanding of the nego-tiating style in India. A Ca-nadian entrepreneur became impatient towards the end of a lengthy meeting with potential partners in Delhi that was heavy on niceties and light on deal making.

At the end of the meeting, the entrepreneur decided he would rather prepare for his flight home rather than ac-cept a dinner invitation from his hosts. Wrong move. In the eyes of the Indians, the dinner was the venue for sealing the deal. When the Canadian declined, they were insulted and negotia-tions fell through.

“Not knowing that in some cultures the real nego-tiations come after a busi-ness meeting can cost you millions of dollars,” Nedun-gadi says. “In many of these cultures, time is more elas-tic than in Canada. So you should expect your partners to be patient and be patient yourself.”

Nedungadi has advised and accompanied many BDC clients on business prospecting trips abroad and has also operated companies in Singapore, the Middle East, Europe and Canada.

He offered some tips to en-sure your international ne-gotiations go smoothly.

Be Prepared: It’s impor-tant to prepare for the nego-tiating style you will find in your target market, Nedun-gadi says. Let’s say that you are negotiating in Canada, and your business partner asks $10 for a product. You want to pay less and ask him to take 50 cents off.

The same negotiating process, this time in Asia. You have to start your dis-cussions by slashing 70 per-cent off your potential part-ner’s initial asking price, Nedungadi says. After long deliberations, you will get to a compromise at 40 or 50% of the initial price.

“If you negotiate the Ca-nadian way overseas, you leave a lot of money on the table.”

Also, it’s wise to spend time learning about the background and the history of the country. “The history is what makes the people.”

Be Patient: The typical North-American attitude is to fly to another country with the intention of sign-ing a contract. But that’s not necessarily the attitude of your business partners. “Flexibility is imperative and patience is paramount.”

Don’t rush things. A simple deal that might take two days to close in Canada can go up to 10 days in Arab or Asian countries.

Think long-term: In some cultures, business people don’t think in terms of sin-gle deals, but rather build-ing an entire future business relationship with you. This colours the amount of time they are willing to spend on negotiations.

Be respectful: Your deal may hang on to some appar-ently insignificant cultural detail.

It goes without saying that it’s always wise to stay clear of politics and religion when negotiating.

On the other hand, don’t be surprised if things get personal and you have to answer questions about your age or your family. It also isn’t unusual for people to invite you to their home even if you have just met.

Find experienced allies: Whether you are selling something abroad, look-ing to find a distributor or someone to represent you in a specific market, you will be better off if you have someone on site who knows the language, understands the market and is on your side.

“We travel with our cli-ents and also have partners in selected markets. This gives Canadian entrepre-neurs a sense of comfort during negotiations,” Ne-dungadi says.

Plan your moves in ad-vance and always be ready to move on to a “B” sce-nario.

“It is a good thing to ex-pand your business. But the key is to be prepared.”

Article provided by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Lisa Ilan is Senior Manager of BDC. She offers tailored financ-ing and consulting solutions to business owners to help them grow and prosper.

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By: Connie Carrillo

Apex Health Products man-ufactures products for hospitals. Recent changes to government regulations have rendered un-profitable a significant propor-tion of its operations. To survive, Apex must change how it does business, by strengthening exist-ing areas of practice and identi-fying new products and services to replace lost revenue streams.

Responding to these shocks requires Apex to look back at why it is in business and what advantage it has over its com-petitors. Academics refer to these as “core competencies.”

A “core competency” is a specific factor that a business sees as being central to the way it works. It has three character-istics:

It is difficult for com-• petitors to imitate;It can be re-used widely • for many products and markets; andIt benefits its custom-• ers.

Examples of core competen-cies include technical skills, spe-cific knowledge of a business, a manufacturing or business process, and close relationships with customers and suppliers.

These core competencies represent the attributes and re-sources the business can use to outperform its competitors. In this context, by identifying what makes Apex unique, it can sur-vive these challenges and pros-per.

For Apex to survive its chal-lenges, it must identify its core competencies. Then, it must direct its human resources to-wards those very activities. This is “strategic human resources management.”

How well do most business-es understand their core compe-tencies? For many businesses, if management and employees

alike were asked the simple question “What do we do?” the answers would show a lack of consistency, focus and clarity. But asking this simple question throughout the business may reveal organizational troubles and more positively, important directions for future growth.

Apex should first identify its core competencies

As a first step, Apex should carry on an exercise directed toward identifying its core com-petencies. This would involve, among other activities, survey-ing management and employees to identify the knowledge, abili-ties, and expertise that makes Apex unique. It should also consider how to measure these core competencies, so it can plot its progress toward reaching its goals.

This exercise showed that one of Apex’s key core com-petencies was innovation.

Apex’s next step was to change how it did business so that it could benefit from the characteristics and attributes that made it innovative. This involved focusing on its hu-man resources.

This meant involving ev-eryone, including employees, in discussing how Apex could be more innovative. It meant creating a culture where inno-vation could flourish. Doing so required Apex to imple-ment human resources pro-cesses to encourage its em-ployees and teams to develop, test and share ideas.

Essentially, Apex’s core competencies become the di-rection for managing its em-ployees. Having identified its core competencies, Apex then modified all of its job descrip-tions, to match these compe-tencies with employees’ activ-ities. Similarly, job descrip-tions measured employees’

performance against how they advanced Apex’s core compe-tencies, including innovation. These job descriptions were then used, in turn, for all hu-man resources activities.

Among the most important use of competencies is in the hiring process. Well defined employee competencies can be used to help develop inter-view questions that determine the job candidate’s fit for the job and the business. Using an example of innovation, a hiring manager could ask can-didates about their experience introducing new processes or products into the workplace.

Similarly, competency-based evaluations are a valu-able tool to help businesses align corporate goals with their expectations of how em-ployees should achieve them. Knowing what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated brings out the best in employees.

Core competencies should also be integrated into all oth-er human resources processes, including orientation, training and development, promotions, and succession planning. Do-ing so ensures that all em-ployee activities are directed toward Apex’s success.

ConclusionIf you would like to know

more about how to obtain a competitive advantage by developing your business’s competency model, consult a human resources profes-sional.

Connie Carrillo is a hu-man resources consultant, operating as HR on Target. You can visit Connie at her website, www.hrontarget.com , email Connie at [email protected] or phone her at (613) 389-3265.

Are your employees aligned with the goals of your business?

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When you think about occupational health and safety, do you consider the inclusion of attending to the psychological (mental) health and safety of employ-ees as a critical measure of compliance? Realizing that psychological health and safety has not received the same attention or resources as physical health and safe-ty needs in the workplace, the Mental Health Com-mission of Canada is cham-pioning the development of a National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. This voluntary standard of guidelines, re-leased January 16, 2013 is to help Canadian employers enable the development and continuous improvement of a psychologically safe and healthy work environment for their employees.

Given that most em-ployed people spend ap-proximately 60% of their waking hours at work, un-derstanding the financial and human costs of work-place mental health are es-sential to helping employ-

ers develop an action plan for improving both the bottom line and employee well-being.

Managers need to be-come more aware of the duty of care they have to protect the mental health of their employees at work and to accommodate employees with psychological health problems. In a September 2012 judgment, a Wind-sor, Ontario court awarded a former Walmart assistant manager $1.46-million dol-lars as a result of being bullied by her supervisor in the workplace. This deci-sion sets a precedent being the richest such award in Canada.

According to the Ipsos Reid survey released in Oc-tober 2012, 7 in 10 (71%) of Canadian employees sur-veyed report some degree of concern with psycho-logical health and safety in their workplace. Further-more, 14% disagreed that their workplace is psycho-logically healthy and safe. (According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada - A psychologically

healthy and safe workplace is one that promotes work-ers’ psychological well-being and actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health in-cluding in negligent, reck-less or intentional ways.)

Workplace depression afflicts an estimated 18-25% of employees and has been linked to disability, heart disease and prema-ture death. This is one of the many reasons organi-zations must begin to ad-dress stress, mental health, and mental illness in the workplace. Further, 84% of manager and supervisors maintain the belief that it is part of their job to inter-vene when an employee is showing signs of depres-sion and 63% are seeking better training to address this type of situation.

The financial impli-cations on the Canadian economy that are associ-ated with mental illness are staggering, with an esti-mated $51 billion annually being spent on health care and lost productivity. Men-tal illness related disability

claims account for up to one third of the workplace claims, equaling approxi-mately 70% of workplace costs and translating to $33 billion dollars annually. There is no question that psychological health im-pacts in the workforce are substantial.

Corporate Learning and Performance Improvement

(CLPI) at St. Lawrence Col-lege provides you the oppor-tunity to customize a health and wellness program for your organization. Using an evidence-based approach, we assess the health needs of your employees and design a program administered to you through a flexible de-livery model; allowing you, regardless of the size of your

organization or budget, to have us work together to implement the right program and attain optimal results that affect change.

For more information about our psychological health and safety programs, please contact Kristina Hul-ton (Manager, Wellness Pro-grams) at 613-544-5400 x 1766.

Psychological health & safety in your workplace

news

PotentialClarity is seeing the path to your

The Professionals at Collins Barrow offer the insight you need combined with objectivity and actionable advice to maximize opportunities in virtually every area of your operation, whether you’re a multi-million dollar enterprise or an entrepreneur who aspires to be one.

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For Plans, Plants and Pointers, it’s Potter’sServing you since 1963 • Open Year Round

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By Nick Docherty

The Kingston Commu-nity Credit Union has deep roots in the community - it started out in the basement of City Hall, after all. Since then, KCCU has become a major player in Kingston’s financial industry.

Brian Dennie, Branch Manager at the KCCU on Gardiners Road, is commit-ted to offering his clients the best service available. So when the right people are available for a job, he’s willing to put in the extra effort to secure them.

KCCU has six staff members who immigrated to Canada, which speaks to KCCU’s commitment to diversity in the workplace and their willingness to make the effort to hire the right people, regardless of extra paperwork. “It took a little more administrative work, I won’t deny that, but for the gains that we got, it was well worth it.”

Brian also dismisses any potential difficulties with cultural adjustment to the Canadian workplace. “The language barrier and the cultural differences, I find that you overcome those

quite quickly.”Firdaus Jahan was sure

to do her research before applying to the major bank-ing institutions in Kingston. There were opportunities to apply for positions online, but Firdaus decided to take a more personalized ap-proach. “I found it’s easier to go directly to the bank and talk to somebody.”

Brian hired Firdaus as a teller at his branch, but she was soon able to prove that she could make addi-tional contributions to the credit union and its clients, and became involved in the loans and investment divi-sion of the business. “Put-ting [new employees] on the front line is where they learn the core of the whole banking system, and then you get to see their true skill sets come out,” says Brian.

Firdaus had previously worked in a large multi-national bank in India, but found that she enjoyed the smaller and more personal-ized nature of working with a credit union like KCCU. “Being a small institution, you have to learn how to do so many things. I can do company payroll, I can do

sales…. They gave me an opportunity to do all these things – they gave me train-ing, and a lot of opportunity to prove yourself.”

Firdaus also enjoys the support that she gets from such a close-knit work-place. “I know that what-ever I do, I get encourage-ment, a positive response. I’m really fortunate to be part of this big family.”

Looking towards the fu-ture, she hopes to take on a more senior position within the company. “I’m devel-oping my skills to be more involved in a managerial role, so that I contribute to the decision making pro-cess of the credit union.”

For new immigrants to Kingston, Firdaus stresses the importance of knowing what employers are look-ing for. “Any immigrant should focus on developing their communication skills and their adaptability. They should work on those things. Those are the quali-ties that employers here want to look for.”

Firdaus admits that find-ing a job can be difficult, but in the end, perseverance is important. “There are no shortcuts when it comes to

employment. It’s a bit of pa-tience, a bit of skills and a bit of, in my opinion, luck. You have to enjoy the journey. Be consistent. Be focused. Keep on trying. Never give up.”

Brian feels that many em-ployers need to reevaluate their view of internationally

trained professionals. “Even though we’re Canadian, we all come from different backgrounds. If they’re the best candidate, [employers] should simply do the paper-work needed. They shouldn’t let a little extra paperwork discourage them.”

This story is part of the second volume of “Global Talent, Local Business”, produced by the Kingston Immigration Partnership (KIP). Find the full publi-cation at www.kipcouncil.ca

Global talent, local business: Kingston Community Credit Union

Firdaus Jahan and Brian Dennie behind the desk of the KCCU Gardiners Road branch


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Don’t miss Kingston’s largest ever event to cel-ebrate women in business, entrepreneurship and cor-porate leadership. Come be inspired!

Top 10 Reasons You and Your Employees Should attend I2W!

1. A rare opportunity to see nationally-renowned speakers in Kingston

2. An excellent opportu-nity for networking

3. Special group rates available (buy 10, pay for 9)

4. An excellent profes-sional development oppor-tunity for staff and manag-ers

5. A great way to show appreciation to your em-ployees

6. Personal development through increased motiva-tion, developing a positive attitude and clear goal-set-ting

7. Improved soft skills such as communication, creative problem-solving, strategic thinking, team-

work, conflict resolution and negotiation, and im-proved interactions with coworkers and customers in the workplace

8. Investing in employ-ees gives you a higher re-turn in productivity

9. Employees will be in-spired by business success stories

10. An inexpensive rate for a full day of learning and inspiration

Who Should Attend? Business leaders, em-

ployees, managers, HR professionals, moms, or anyone wishing to pursue their career or motivational goals.

Women, men, people of all ages - anyone who wants to be inspired or mo-tivated by leading, success-ful women.

Anyone seeking profes-sional or personal develop-ment.

Those interested in en-trepreneurship, home de-sign, managing money and

debt, work-life balance, wellness, athletics or moti-vation.

Visit www.inspiration-2women.ca or follow

@I2W2013 on Twitter and Inspiration2Women on Facebook for updates!

Sponsorship opportuni-ties still available – contact the Chamber office to learn more about the chance for your business to gain ex-posure at this high profile event. Contact Dana at [email protected].

Thank you to our exist-ing sponsors:

Inspiration2Women: April 25, 2013

Speakers include: Sarah Richardson, Designer and host of Sarah 101 on HGTV; Catriona Le May Doan, Bilingual Olympic Speed Skater & World Record Holder; Deborah Kimmett, EMCEE & Comedian; Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Canadian Money Man-agement Wizard “Til Debt Do Us Part”; Susan Sly, Balance Living Expert, Author. Info at: www.inspiration2women.ca

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Business TodayKingsTon

375 Select Dr. KingSton ontario K7m 8r1 • 613-546-8885

group publiSher: Duncan Weir

general manager: Donna glasspoole

SaleS coorDinator:Kate lawrence

printeD byperformance printing

proDuction:rob purvis, adele Webster,

Jennifer palmerSaleS repreSentativeS:

rick SchuttKevin Dillon

Kerry Sammonbarb revelle

Jennifer piribauer

Contributors

Jennifer BakerJim BarberNick DochertyMatthew Fair

Matt LandersLorne Matthews-GlasspooleStewart Maxwell

Karen RichardsonMary-Alice ThompsonRon Turley

As the Chamber enters into the second year of its five-year strategic plan, we continue to learn and grow into our role as Kingston’s “Voice of Business”. We have worked hard to build the relationships necessary to become an effective ad-vocate, not only locally, but provincially and na-tionally as well.

We have established re-lationships with City staff and City Council, and have been working actively on local issues around such areas as procurement and business regulations. We have been engaged with the work of the Mayor’s Task Force on Develop-ment, and will continue to monitor the implementa-tion of the recommenda-tions it developed. We try to work both behind the scenes as a partner by try-ing to help identify solu-tions where possible, and also present our position on issues when necessary in the formal setting of Council chambers.

But we all know that our businesses face chal-lenges from issues that stem from beyond our mu-nicipality, and are of pro-vincial or national man-date. Your Chamber has been actively working to ensure we have a voice in those discussions as well, by participating in and contributing to the policy development of the Ontar-io and Canadian Chambers of Commerce. We have

worked closely with other Chambers and the Ontario Chamber policy staff on issues that include skilled trades and apprenticeship ratios, pooled registered pension plans, WSIB re-form and other consider-ations that affect Kingston businesses, and are of pro-vincial jurisdiction.

So, we’ve laid the foun-dation, and now it is time

to build. One of our key goals with respect to our advocacy in 2013 is to en-gage our members and the local business community more directly. We need the benefit of your experience and expertise to help us to identify issues, research-ing options and determin-ing a position.

In 2013, your Chamber will be establishing some

“expert roundtables” to help us in the assessment and monitoring of specific issues. We’ll also be tap-ping into local expertise to help us evaluate policy resolutions from the On-tario and Canadian Cham-ber policy debates, to de-termine our position. We need you to help us in such complex areas as taxation, transportation and infra-

structure.And, most of all, we’ll

continue to seek your in-put on a variety of issues through surveying, both on local issues of our own, and by distributing policy surveys from the Ontario and Canadian Chambers for you to have your say.

We have readily accept-ed both the task and re-sponsibility of being your

voice, the advocate for the Kingston business commu-nity, and will continue to work at doing it better and better. We encourage you to let us know how we’re doing, and welcome your comments and input at any time. Together, with your help, we can effectively advocate towards an even more positive environment for business in Kingston.

Chamber advocacy – You have a role

Donna Woodbury

coming events

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EVENTS ARE PROMOTED BY BELL MEDIA EVENTS SuPPORTED BY VIA RAIL

Watch for these exciting upcoming events!Chamber Annual General Meeting Keynote Speaker: General Rick Hillier (Retired) Tuesday, March 20, 12pm – 2pm. Harbour Restaurant

Chamber Annual General Meeting Lunch featuring key-note speaker General Rick Hillier (Retired). Sponsored by Altair Electronics, speaker sponsor is TD Commercial Services. Cost for Chamber members, $45.00 plus HST, $65.00 plus HST for non-members. 72 hours prior no-tice for cancellations.

Born in Newfoundland

and Labrador, General Rick Hillier joined the Canadian Forces as soon as he could. Having enrolled in the Cana-dian Forces in 1973 through the Regular Officer Training Plan program, he graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. After completing his armour officer classification training, he joined his first regiment, the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) in Petawa-wa, Ontario. Subsequently, he served with, and later com-manded, the Royal Canadian Dragoons in Canada and Ger-many.

Real Estate Investor Clinic (with KB Realty) Wednesday, March 27, 8:30 am – 10:30 am Cost for Chamber members - $15, non-members - $30 + HST Innovation Park, 945 Princess St. Front boardroom Sponsor: KB Realty

Kingston reached the $1 billion mark in real estate

sales in 2012! The concept of acquiring a portfolio valued at over $1M in five years is pos-sible. Let us show you how to build your multi-million dol-lar portfolio.

Inspiration2Women Event Thursday, April 25, 8am – 5pm K-Rock Centre

Sponsored by Thomson Jemmett Vogelzeng and Union Gas. Be inspired by lead-ing Canadian women at this unique one-day event. Speak-ers include Sarah Richadson, designer and host of Sarah 101 on HGTV; Catriona Le May Doan, Bilingual Olym-pic Speed Skater & World Re-cord Holder; Deborah Kim-mett, Emcee & Comedian; Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Canadian Money Management Wizard “Til Debt Do Us Part”; Susan Sly, Balance Living Expert, Author. Inspiration2Women is the largest-ever event in Kingston designed to cel-ebrate women in business, en-trepreneurship and corporate leadership.

All speakers have one thing in common: a genuine desire to inspire and help oth-er women from all business sectors be successful profes-sionally and in all spects of life. The event provides the opportunity to network and build relationships with oth-ers who are like-minded and share in the desire for growth and inspiration.

Chamber Tourism Mixer Thursday, May 23, 5-7pm Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises, Island Star

Enjoy a cruise on the Is-land Star while mingling with other businesses at this event to kick off tourism. Door priz-es and more! Business Hall of Fame Induct-ees Tuesday, June 11, 7:30 am – 9 am (registration 7 am) Kingston Banquet and Confer-ence Centre Sponsor: Bell

The nomination commit-tee will be meeting to choose

this year’s Business Hall of Fame Inductees. Four awards will be given based on the fol-lowing categories: visionary, builder, mentor and enable.

24th Chamber Classic Golf Tournament Thursday, June 20, 2013

Tee off times: 7:30am and 1pm Colonade Golf Club

Sponsored by TJV. En-joy a great day of golf with prizes, food, networking and more at the 24th Chamber Classic Golf Tournament!

Thank you to our partners

ENTREPRENEUR CENTRE WORKSHOPSKEDCO SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES

TOURISM KINGSTON SERVICES AVAILABLE

The Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) is committed to the key issue of long-term economic sustainability for the City of Kingston. As a Corporation, our collective success is based on the pursuit of business development opportunities and the resulting economic impact on our community - business growth and retention, job creation, labour force enhancement and sustained quality of life for all citizens. We believe people want to live, work and do business in a community which recognizes them and support their endeavours. KEDCO is your source for economic development information and assistance. We help site selectors, business owners, entrepreneurs and local organizations enhance and grow their business.

FEBRUARYFeb 26 Business BasicsFeb 27 Exploring the World of FranchisingFeb 28 CYBF Info Session

MARCHMar 5 Business Planning (Harrowsmith)Mar 26 Business Basics

Tourism Kingston Visitor Information Centre 209 Ontario StreetTel: [email protected]

Kingston Economic Development Corporation 945 Princess Street at Innovation Park Tel: [email protected]

Tourism Kingston supports marketing and development initiatives to grow Kingston as a destination of choice for visitors from all over the world.

We believe in making our visitor’s stay a first- class experience and we strive to ensure guests to our city experience Kingston to its fullest. Tourism Kingston works with local tourism partners, businesses and organizations to support and promote their services, activities, meetings and event needs.

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