Industry Voices

SMB Employers Want to Hire More Workers

by Katie Lee May 13, 2022

— By Chuck Casto — While the majority of SMB employers want to hire more people, the percentage of small businesses facing labor shortages continues to rise in key industries. The U.S. Jobs Report was a highlight of the economic news during the first week of May. However, across the small business landscape, the job situation for many employers is growing bleaker as 2022 proceeds. While the majority of SMB employers want to hire more people, the percentage of small businesses facing labor shortages continues to rise in …

May 13, 2022

Are You Experienced?

by Katie Lee May 12, 2022

— By Charlie Meyer — How brick-and-mortar retailers can leverage in-store technologies to beat the online competition. The last 2 years have been absolutely awful for owners of physical stores. Online competition has been around for decades, of course, but during the pandemic things have gotten even worse for independent stores, franchises and chains. Thanks to an ever-shifting world of lockdowns, social distancing requirements, mask mandates and constant battles between government agencies and health departments at the federal, state and local level, merchants have been at a disadvantage against …

May 12, 2022

disaster recovery Industry Voices

Before The Flood

by Katie Lee May 12, 2022

— By Tiffany Largey — 5 steps to prepare your property for a flooding emergency. Flooding is the most common natural disaster and leading cause of weather-related deaths. It is becoming a larger threat each year with 25-30% of all flood losses being in low to moderate flood zones. With global warming, different weather patterns, climate change and inaccuracy of flood maps and zones, we must have a set plan in place to prepare for Mother Nature’s most common catastrophe. There are 5 steps that will help you to …

May 12, 2022

Industry Voices security/loss prevention

Be Prepared

by Katie Lee May 5, 2022

— By Bill Flynn — Preparedness is the best protection against workplace violence. Restaurant and retail workers have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning. Every day these essential workers are exposed to the risk of violence, potentially exacerbated by societal stressors including health concerns, economic uncertainty, political divisiveness and social unrest. In that heightened emotional state, the threat of active shooters has only increased, evidenced by a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that since April 2020, there …

May 5, 2022

energy management Industry Voices software/technology

Power…Full

by Katie Lee May 5, 2022

— By David Sansenbach — Efficient energy management requires high-quality power, not just high-quality equipment. For businesses in an industry that operates on tight margins, restaurants have incredibly intensive energy demands that continuously increase costs and challenge the bottom line. Estimates from the last decade show restaurant spaces require an average of 38 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power per square foot of space, with quick-serve restaurants in particular surging to even steeper costs of 81 kWh per square foot. A fair share of this energy is consumed by critical electronic …

May 5, 2022

disaster recovery exterior services/landscaping Industry Voices property management

In Case of Emergency

by Katie Lee April 27, 2022

— By Amanda Anderson — Do you have a team in place to react and respond? It is nine in the evening and the doors to your business are locked, drawers counted, shelves faced for a successful tomorrow. The day has just ended for you, but disasters don’t keep time. There has been a leak detected and it’s coming from behind a wall. The drywall is soft, and water is seeping onto the floor, drenching the carpet. It might be the end of day for you, but it’s the …

April 27, 2022

Industry Voices restaurants

Inflation’s Impact

by Katie Lee April 22, 2022

— By Aliyah Kaye Crawley — How is inflation affecting the restaurant industry? Inflation impacts everyday decisions in restaurants: how they price their food, what type of service they provide, which menu items they can afford to serve, etc. The fiscal conservatism that comes with inflation can also negatively impact a restaurant’s overall brand image, if marketing and maintenance are allowed to slide. This was discussed in Retail & Restaurant Facility Business’ February 2021 article titled “Maintain Your Brand,” written by Trip Jobe of the strategic marketing …

April 22, 2022

construction and design exterior services/landscaping Industry Voices lighting software/technology

Immersive Entertainment 2.0

by Katie Lee April 21, 2022

— By Chris Roy — The next level of tech experiences for retail and restaurant venues. Before the pandemic, immersive entertainment was an emerging trend in the retail sector. After a year and a half of reduced experiences, consumers’ appetite for this type of entertainment is stronger than ever. To slake this appetite, retail entertainment stakeholders are seeking increasingly tech-oriented features at their properties. In fact, there is a call for technology that enables all-encompassing immersion with more nuance. We live in an increasingly digital world, and people expect …

April 21, 2022

Industry Voices

Embracing a New Normal

by Katie Lee April 21, 2022

— By Mark Kapczynski — Why we should never go back to a pre-COVID supply chain. For the past decade, global supply chains have been running a seemingly normal path. However, when COVID hit the U.S. in March 2020, it exposed many of the vulnerabilities that have been affecting these networks. Even a year and half later, industries across the board are experiencing the impacts of supply chain disruptions. With massive labor shortages and continual shipping delays, there is an increasing desperation to return “back to normal.” Instead of …

April 21, 2022

construction and design Industry Voices restaurants

Sign of the Times

by Katie Lee April 14, 2022

— By David Tracz — Modern restaurant design and its evolution. If there is one common experience that (most) humans share a love for, it’s probably food — especially when that food is cooked by someone else. Enter: the restaurant industry. It’s one of the most fast-paced, efficient and timely fields that everyone plays a part in, whether as a consumer, chef, server, manager or restaurateur. If you’re looking for a sign of the times, you can usually find it reflected in the variety of restaurants lining the sidewalks. …

April 14, 2022

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