Have You Been Hacked? How to Recover from a Data Breach

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It's every modern business's worst nightmare: You discover there's been a security breach, and your sensitive business and customer data has ended up in the hands of hackers.

While business owners may have some safeguards in place, the reality is that a data breach can happen to anyone at any time, especially small businesses. In fact, according tothe National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), 71 percent of security breaches target small businesses, and nearly half of all small businesses have been victims of cyberattacks. And unlike larger corporations, smaller companies don't always have the resources to recover: Experian reported that 60 percent of small businesses that suffer a breach go out of business after six months.

It's likely not possible to regain control of everything the hackers accessed, but you can still take action and salvage your trust and reputation with your customers and clients. Legal and technology experts shared their insights on how to best recover from a small business data breach.

Identifying a data breach

You can't start recovering from a breach unless you know it's occurred. That's why it's critical to learn how to identify when something has gone wrong. The problem, of course, is that in many cases, there aren't any telltale signs you've been hacked.

"Often, businesses discover that they have been breached for the first time months after it happened, when they are informed by law enforcement, business partners, banks or the media — who themselves discover the businesses' data being sold on the black market," said David Zetoony, a partner with the international law firm Bryan Cave LLP. "Other businesses may have been breached months, or even years, ago and still do not know."

There are, however, a few things that may tip you off to a security problem. Francoise Gilbert, founder of IT Law Group, said that slow or lagging computer response time, pop-up windows that you can't close, client reports of spammy emails from your account, or strange programs or websites asking for your credentials could all be signs of a data breach. If malware or a virus is discovered on your system, you'll also want to investigate to see if any data was compromised.

Justin Bingham, chief technology officer for digital business solutions firm Janeiro Digital, warned companies that any noticeable issues are signs of a low-quality breach.

"If you've been compromised by someone that knows what they're doing, those signs are going to be few and far between, unless you have a sophisticated team and tools," Bingham said. "The best way to determine if you've been comprised is not to look for the attack, but what is done after it, when the hacker establishes residency within the network." 

What to do when a breach occurs

Recovering compromised information from a hacker is impossible in most cases, Zetoony said. By the time you discover a breach, the hacker has already stolen or misused the information, and has often wiped his or her trail, he said. Therefore, your first priority after discovering a breach should be to piece together what happened, how bad the breach was and which customers might have been impacted, Zetoony said.

"Companies typically call their attorney and have him or her retain [a forensic] investigator who specializes in finding, preserving and analyzing electronic equipment and data," Zetoony told Business News Daily. "Lawyers that specialize in data security breaches typically advise companies concerning any legal obligation that they have to notify consumers, the public, insurance carriers or regulators."

In terms of equipment, Gilbert advised organizations to stop using the server, computer or device where the breach occurred. This will preserve evidence, so the forensic team can look into the cause of the problem.

"If the computer is not performing a vital function, disconnect it physically from its network and the Internet immediately," she said. "Copy and securely store the access and activity logs from the affected machine, [and then] attempt to identify the type, nature and categories of information that has been affected — company trade secrets, customer lists, payment and delivery information, etc."

Informing affected parties

Once you've assessed the initial damage and potential cause, your next order of business is to break the news to your business partners, vendors, customers or any other affected stakeholders. Nicholas Gaffney, a lawyer and founder of legal media relations firm Zumado, said it's important to have a response team in place that will work quickly to preserve and enhance the reputation of your organization after a data breach. This means having a team member assigned as the point person for official responses to inquiries about the breach, and being transparent and consistent in all communications about it.

If possible, your company — rather than an outside party, such as the media — should break the news of the breach. Gaffney said this will demonstrate the organization's concern for the affected parties.

"Create a statement about the breach, and communicate it through the appropriate channels," Gaffney said. "Commit to keeping all affected parties informed of developments related to the breach, following appropriate legal guidelines. Accept responsibility for the inconvenience caused, apologize, and make it clear that you will do all you can to help victims deal with the consequences of the breach."

"Provide information promptly, even if incomplete," Gilbert added. "You want the affected party to learn about the incident from you, and in your own words. Don't be vague, or if you have to be, explain why — because you are still investigating the incident and do not have all the details."

To that end, Zetoony said that any information you provide about the incident must be accurate and verified. As Gilbert noted, this may mean telling stakeholders that you don't have any information for them, and providing updates only when you are sure of the facts yourself.

"Although waiting can be difficult, providing them with speculation, or information that may turn out later to be false, only hurts trust and reputation further," Zetoony said.

Preventing future breaches

It's a long road to recovery after your company has suffered a data breach, but once you've gotten the situation under control, you can learn from it and work to prevent another incident from occurring. Bingham said there's a laundry list of best practices that should be employed, from perimeter network security to secure access mechanisms and route audits, but there is no "silver bullet" solution. 

"Establishing security for a given organization requires constant vigilance and attention by trained and dedicated people equipped with the right tools employing industry best practices," he said.

Gilbert agreed that a highly trained and vigilant staff is the key to minimizing the risk and damages of future breaches. Your employees should take extra care when using company equipment and learn to recognize clues that could indicate compromised information. Additionally, she recommended conducting a periodic "sweep" of all personnel's equipment to catch any malware and security holes.

Most importantly, Zetoony reminded businesses that, given enough time, a data security incident is as inevitable as any other type of crime — but learning from it will help you handle it better going forward.

"If you view each breach as a learning exercise, you won't be able to stop them necessarily," Zetoony said. "But you can learn how to respond to them more efficiently, quickly, and with less impact to your business and your customers."

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Working on Memorial Day? You're in Good Company

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If you have to trudge in to work this Memorial Day, you can take solace in the fact that you won't be alone.

Although 97 percent of employers have designated Memorial Day as a paid day off, more than 40 percent of companies still require at least some employees to work the holiday, according to a new study from Bloomberg BNA.

Along with Christmas, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, Labor Day and July Fourth, Memorial Day is one of the six paid days off for nearly all U.S. workers, said Matt Sottong, Bloomberg BNA's managing editor of surveys and research reports.

"However, as with most federal holidays, where most Americans receive a paid day off, some will be required to punch the clock, particularly technical workers and public safety and security personnel," Sottong said in a statement.

The study revealed that nearly 20 percent of businesses have at least some members of their technical staff working on Memorial Day, and 15 percent of businesses said they'll have security and public safety workers doing the same.

In addition, 13 percent of organizations will have professional employees working, 12 percent will have managers on the clock and 11 percent will make service and maintenance personnel report for duty. Just 10 percent of businesses will have sales and customer service employees working on Monday.

The good news for people who have to work the holiday is that their paychecks will be a bit larger for doing so. The research discovered that 85 percent of companies that have employees work on Memorial Day provide them with some type of extra benefit.

Specifically, 28 percent will give time-and-a-half pay, 20 percent will provide both extra pay and compensatory time, and 15 percent will pay double time or double time-and-a-half.

Large companies are the most likely to have workers on the clock Monday. The study shows that 80 percent of businesses with more than 1,000 employees will have at least some employees work Memorial Day, compared with just 31 percent of small businesses.

The study was based on surveys of more than 100 human resources professionals.

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Hiring Process Leaves Lasting Impression on Candidates

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Your company's hiring process might have a lot more impact on its future than you think.

The experiences job seekers have throughout the application process significantly affect their impression of a company, according to a CareerBuilder study. It influences both their decisions to apply and accept job offers and their customer loyalty.

Today’s candidates want ongoing communication from companies during the application process, and when companies fail to meet those expectations, it can be bad for business, said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer of CareerBuilder.

"Candidates remember when companies don't respond to them, fail to update them on the status of their application or don't follow up after an interview," Haefner said in a statement. "Not only do these experiences make candidates less likely to apply to the company again, but they also make them less likely to purchase from the company as customers."

To help employers, CareerBuilder highlights five strategies to ensure they are keeping job seekers happy.

Understand that candidate experience makes a difference: More than 80 percent of employers believe there's little to no negative impact when a job seeker has a poor experience during the hiring process. However, about 60 percent of candidates are less likely to buy from a company they've applied at if they don’t get a response to their application or have a bad experience in the interview. The reverse can also be true as nearly 70 percent of candidates are more likely to buy from a company to which they’ve applied if they’re treated with respect and receive consistent updates throughout the application process.

Find more outlets to connect with job seekers: Businesses might be missing out on quality candidates because they aren't promoting their open jobs where candidates are actually searching. CareerBuilder found that job seekers check up to 18 resources throughout the search process, including job boards, social networking sites, search engines and online referrals. Despite that, nearly 60 percent of employers don't track where candidates are coming from to ensure they're making the most of their recruiting efforts.

Make more of an effort: Candidates want more from potential employers. While the majority of businesses respond to less than half of candidates who apply, 84 percent of job seekers expect a personal email response and 52 percent anticipate a phone call. In addition, 25 percent of applicants want to hear from employers even if they aren't being considered for an interview.

Communicate regularly: Don't leave applicants in the dark. CareerBuilder found that 36 percent of candidates expect to be updated throughout the application process. Despite that, just 25 percent of businesses communicate with candidates about what stage of the hiring process they’re in.

Form a smooth application process: Employers are hurting their reputation by creating a frustrating application experience. Research revealed that 40 percent of candidates think the application process has become more difficult in the last five years. Of those, nearly 60 percent complain the process is too automated and lacks personalization and 51 percent are aggravated they don't know where they stand in the process.

Improving the candidate experience can really pay off for businesses. More than 75 percent of job seekers would accept a salary that is 5 percent lower than their expected offer if the employer created a great impression throughout the hiring process.

The research was based on surveys of more than 5,013 workers ages 18 and over and 2,002 hiring decision-makers.

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Microsoft Office for Tablets (Android) Review: Is It Good for Business?

The new Android smartphone apps should look familiar to Office veterans. Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft’s new Office apps for Android smartphones are the best tools for editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations on the platform.  The new mobile versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint are just as easy-to-use and feature-packed as the iPhone versions, launched last year.

Actually, the new apps aren’t the first Android-based Office apps. Microsoft already launched Android versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint in 2014, but they were only compatible with tablets. The new releases mark the first time you can use full-fledged versions of the three main Office apps on your Android smartphone.

Currently, the apps are still in a preview mode, so they’re not available to download directly through the Google Play app store. Still, anyone can sign up to get the apps now, or wait for the official launch later this year.

Wasn’t Office already on Android phones?

It’s true that the new Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps aren’t the first Android smartphone apps with the Microsoft Office branding. The Office Mobile app has been around for years. But Office Mobile is very limited; it only lets you view and make very simple edits to documents, spreadsheets and presentations, while the new apps are much more robust.

For example, Office Mobile limited document formatting to changing the color and size of text. And in spreadsheets, you can’t do much besides edit the content of individual cells and run a few simple equations. In comparison, then new apps are more lot like mobile versions of Microsoft’s desktop Office programs, giving you a lot more control over editing and creating new documents than Office Mobile. 

Requirements

The Android tablet apps carry a laundry list of hardware requriements in order to run them, but the new Android phone apps are much more lenient. Still, not every Android phone is capable of running them. Here’s what you’ll need.

• 1GB of RAM: Most Android phones easily meet this basic requirement, but some budget handsets might not have the necessary memory needed to run the new Office apps.
• Android 4.4 KitKat or 5.0 Lollipop: You’re more likely to run into software compatibility issues, especially if you’re using an older Android smartphone. The new Office apps will only work on Android phones running Android version 4.4 KitKat, or the newest version, Android 5.0 Lollipop. In fact, roughly half of Android handsets on the market don’t meet this requirement. Make sure to check your smartphone’s operating system if your’e having issues installing the apps.
• Microsoft account: You’re prompted to log into your Microsoft account when you load all three apps, so you’ll need to register for one before you can get started. Signing up is simple and free, however, and it ensures that your documents are backed up to the cloud via Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage platform.
• Office 365 subscription: You don’t need to subscribe to Microsoft’s premium Office 365 service to use the apps. However, subscribers do get some extra features in each app (more on these later in this review.)

Layout and design

The layout of these mobile apps should be familiar to anyone who regularly uses one of the two most recent Office desktop releases -- Office 2010 or Office 2013 – but things have been scaled down to fit on a cramped smartphone screen. The familiar Office sidebar can be summoned at any time in all three apps by swiping in from the left side of the screen, providing easy access to options for opening documents, creating new ones, printing and more.

The main document view in all three apps looks clean and uncluttered. The familiar formatting “ribbon” from the desktop Office apps is still here, but it’s positioned at the bottom of the screen rather than the top. It’s easy to hide or reveal the ribbon at any time by tapping a small arrow in the bottom right corner. Thankfully, Microsoft stripped away some non-essential options, leaving plenty of space for touch-friendly buttons

Since the apps were designed for small touch screen devices, Microsoft incorporated some good touch controls for navigating around the interface. That includes pinch-to-zoom to quickly zero in on an item you wish to edit. Panning around documents with my finger also felt responsive.

Features

Most of the features you could want in a mobile office suite are available with the free versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Android phones. For instance, Word lets you tweak the format of text and change paragraph styles right from the ribbon. You can also add bullet points, and edit the overall page layout.

Excel is surprisingly robust for a mobile spreadsheet application. Changing the formatting of your spreadsheets is easy, as is inserting charts and pictures. Plus, there’s a pretty extensive list of financial formulas. And you don’t have to start from scratch when you want to create a new spreadsheet, since the app comes with more than a dozen premade templates for business’ budget, invoices, online sales tracking, product inventory, travel expenses and more.

PowerPoint is the simplest of the bunch, but it has most of the functionality you’d need to tweak a presentation before your next meeting. It can also help you create presentations from scratch. Choose from roughly 20 colorful templates, then write and format text and add transitions between slides.

I was disappointed to see that – like other mobile versions of Office -- you still can only have one document open at a time in any of the three apps, so you can forget about serious multitasking.

Premium features

If you happen to subscribe to Microsoft’s premium Office 365 service – which is essentially a Web-connected version of the basic Office suite – you get some extra features in the new Android phone apps, in addition to a whopping 1TB of storage space on OneDrive.

In Word, you gain extra tools like the ability to track and review changes when editing a piece, plus options to insert page and section breaks, create custom headers and footers for each page, and more. You also unlock a few features in PowerPoint, like a pen tool for inking annotations. Subscribing won’t unlock any extra features for Excel, however.

Conclusion

Let’s face it: you you probably won’t be spending a lot of time in the Office for Android apps. Smartphone office suites are mostly meant for making quick edits to existing documents. But it’s great to see that Microsoft’s new apps are robust enough to not leave Office veterans wanting. And since all three apps sync with OneDrive, you can be sure that any document you edit on your phone can be accessed on your desktop later.

Of course, there are plenty of other options for mobile business users. The obvious alternative is Google’s Docs, Sheets and Slides apps, which offer similar functionality to Microsoft’s suite, but have fewer formatting options. WPS is another good Android smartphone app for creating and editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations on the go.

But in my opinion, the new Office apps are currently as good as it gets on Android phones.

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Rapid Revenue: How Tech Can Help Fuel E-Commerce Growth

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For most startups, especially in the e-commerce industry, achieving rapid revenue and sales growth in the first few years is a dream come true. The bigger and more powerful you get, the easier it will be to keep adding resources and expanding in the future, right? Maybe not.

Business intelligence company RJMetrics recently published its 2015 E-commerce Growth Benchmark report, which analyzed anonymous data from its e-commerce clients to uncover trends in growth, sales and revenue. The report found that the smallest companies — those with less than $1 million in annual revenue — grow at a rate of nearly 140 percent each year. This annual growth slows significantly when a company reaches each new revenue bracket, dropping to 40 percent at $1 million to $5 million, 25 percent at $5 million to $10 million, and about 10 percent at more than $10 million.

The report's authors wrote that it becomes harder to sustain rapid growth as a company gets bigger and that the business will eventually need to explore new ways to boost its revenue.

"The most successful e-commerce companies ... target a very specific niche of customers," said Jake Stein, chief operating officer of RJMetrics. "This hyperfocus allows them to acquire customers quickly and grow incredibly fast in the early days. But [as] they start to max out customers in that target niche ... growth often starts to slow. This forces them to expand their product line or distribution network so they can reach a bigger market. In order to maintain that rapid growth, a company needs to continue to excel at customer acquisition but still retain that core market."

Stein said that although it's tough to make that leap as a growing e-commerce company, it's doable with the right strategy and tools. Online retailers can start to achieve this balance of old and new business by building a product and brand experience people want to come back for.

"Our report found that product-market fit emerges early, within the first six months of sales," Stein told Business News Daily. "If you're not seeing these indicators of rapid adoption from the start, it's a sign you need to either change your product or how you're presenting it to the market, Stein said.

The report identified six factors driving fast e-commerce growth in today's market:

• Increasingly tech-savvy consumers spend more money online than ever before.
• Mobile purchases made via smartphones and tablets have increased by nearly 50 percent year over year.
• Third-party and in-house warehouses and shipping services are becoming more efficient.
• All-in-one logistics providers have made it easier to enter international markets.
• Niche retailers are differentiating their product and brand experience to compete with larger companies like Amazon.
• Brick-and-mortar retailers are expanding into online sales and adjusting their in-store strategies accordingly.

While these trends are indeed fueling e-commerce growth, a company's choice of tech tools remains one of the most important factors in maintaining sales growth. According to the RJMetrics report, e-commerce startups that were launched in 2013 saw a tremendous spike in monthly revenue growth in their first 18 to 24 months in business, reaching an average of more than $2 million. Businesses founded in 2010, 2011 and 2012, on the other hand, grew more slowly, barely reaching $1.5 million by the 36-month mark. Stein believes this is because companies getting started today have access to technology that older e-commerce companies could only dream of.

"Major shopping-cart platforms offer beautiful, mobile-optimized sites," he said. "Facebook has made it easier than ever for very new companies to do brand advertising. SaaS [software as a service] products make it easy for brand-new retailers to send great emails, run A/B tests and make sense of the data they have at their fingertips. All of these products make it easier for new retailers to grow quickly from day one."

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12 Reasons to Do What You Love for a Living

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Making a career out of something you love doing may sound like a pipe dream — or, at the very least, the exception to the rule.

But whoever coined the phrase "do what you love and the money will follow" may have been on to something. Numerous studies have shown that happy people tend to earn higher salaries — and it stands to reason that these high-earners are happy — at least in part — because they have jobs they love.

There's never been a better time to start looking for your dream job, either. According to a recent report by the Indeed Hiring Lab, there are just 1.7 unemployed job seekers for every open position, which means that since there are more jobs, you can spend more time looking for the right opportunity, instead of taking a job you're not completely passionate about.

"[During] the recession ... many people, especially those in less skilled occupations, were not focused on finding the right job — they were thankful just to have a job," said Tara Sinclair, chief economist at Indeed. "Today, however, job seekers are now in the driver's seat to search for and find a job they love. [They] are more in control to ramp up their job search to find more opportunities ... that better align with their degree, personal goals and interests, or family needs."

In case you need more convincing, here are 12 great reasons to do what you love for a living.

You feel more fulfilled. "It's becoming increasing important to love your job or industry. As the lines between working life and personal life blur, a job is as much as about personal fulfillment and growth, as it is about a paycheck. People don't want to make widgets, they want to change lives, including their own." – Philip Ryan, director of E-Edge, Vivaldi Partners

You are more productive. "Studies have shown that employees who are engaged in their work have a higher productivity rate. Especially since employers are asking more of their employees than before, it helps to love what you do so that you can meet the challenges of the job." – Cheryl Palmer, career coach and professional résumé writer

You're more motivated. "A job that you love ... gives you extra motivation to meet your goals, and when you do, the sense of accomplishment is outstanding. As I see the Internet of Things continue to grow and gain acceptance across the world, it's that much more meaningful because I'm passionate about [technology] and my company has helped drive the momentum."– Masanari Arai, CEO, Kii

You become a source of motivation to others. "Someone who genuinely loves their job ... is unlikely [to] complain or begrudgingly complete tasks at the minimum level of effort. Instead he or she will be engaged in his or her work ... and interested in motivating co-workers in the [company's] mission and goals." – Mary Hladio, founder and president, Ember Carriers Leadership Group

Your family and peers look up to you. "As a mom who works, it is so important to me to be a role model for my young daughters. While there might be busy weeks that require more time at the office, my girls know that I love my job, that it's meaningful to me, and that I am proud of the work. It is my hope that as my girls grow up, they are inspired to find a careers that fulfill them and they are passionate about."– Keli Coughlin, executive director, The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund

Your mental health improves. "It is important to do something we love for a living because our work lives will then provide meaning and purpose, which are associated with psychological well-being and health." – Angelo Kinicki, organizational culture expert and professor, W. P. Carey School of Business (Arizona State University)

You want to keep learning and improving. "If you are passionate about your job, you are likely to take an active interest in learning every aspect of the business. This not only sets you on the path toward success, it also helps you get through the daily grind." – Patrice Rice, CEO and founder, Patrice & Associates

You're a more effective leader. "Without a deep-seeded conviction for the work you do, it is impossible to convince others to engage and follow your lead. When you love your work, people will take note. How you perform at work is contagious. Be joyful, work hard, build a team that communicates failure is never an option, and you will succeed."– Gary Chartrand, executive producer, "Messenger of the Truth" (2013)

You're excited to tackle new industry challenges. "I've always been fascinated by behavioral economics and the way individuals make decisions based on given conditions. My company is a business travel platform, but at a deeper level, it's also a behavioral economics platform. We're aligning incentives for companies and their employees. It's a fascinating challenge and one that makes me eager to get out of bed each morning." – Dan Ruch, founder and CEO of Rocketrip

Your work doesn't feel like a chore. "It's important to enjoy what you do. When you love your job, it doesn't feel like work. It makes it easier to get through the trials and tribulations of business ownership. – Michael Phillips, CEO of Coconut's Fish Cafe

You can serve others better. "Your passion translates into being the best in your field. In the service and selling industry the combination of passion and ambition results in superior customer service. That's when you know you can be a game changer." – Steve Gefter, managing director, IDDS Group

You push yourself to succeed even more. "When you love what you do, you are compelled to push against yourself. You want to be where you are challenging yourself, and you are competing with yourself in achieving your vision. I have been fortunate to find my passion in social media and technology at Zoomph, and we are meticulous on the culture and people we bring into our organization. We feel like we are more than a company — we are a movement, a force, a way of life and we are only achieving this because we love what we do." – Amir Zonozi, chief strategy officer, Zoomph

Originally published Sept. 27, 2012. Updated May 19, 2015. Additional reporting by Business News Daily senior writer Chad Brooks.

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LG G Stylo: Is It Good for Business?

The G Stylo has a large 5.7-inch screen and a built-in stylus. Credit: LG

A built-in stylus can turn a smartphone into a handy digital notepad. But so far, there haven't been very many stylus-equipped options outside of Samsung's pricey Galaxy Note line.

That's why LG's new midrange, pen-enabled phablet is so interesting. The awkwardly named LG G Stylo looks to be a more affordable alternative to the Galaxy Note 4 for budget-minded business users. The device can now be purchased via T-Mobile for $289 upfront, or $12 a month for two years.

While it looks a lot like LG's new flagship smartphone, the LG G4, the G Stylo doesn't come with the same top-of-the-line specs. For example, LG dropped the phone's RAM from 3GB for the G4, down to 1GB for the G Stylo, which means that apps probably won't launch as quickly and multitasking won't be as snappy. Additionally, instead of getting the G4's 32GB of internal storage, you get just 8GB on the G Stylo. That could be an issue if you want to store a lot of work documents on your smartphone. 

Meanwhile, the G Stylo's display has roughly half the resolution of the standard G4, so its picture quality won't be as sharp. On the bright side, LG bumped the G Stylo's screen size up from 5.7 inches (the G4 has a 5.5-inch display), which will give you more room to jot down notes with the included stylus.

The G Stylo's basic hardware should be sufficient for the average business user, but here's the killer: Unlike Samsung's Galaxy Note pen, LG's pen isn't capable of detecting varying levels of pressure. Instead, you get a basic capacitive stylus — the same kind you can buy for any other smartphone. In my experience, those sorts don't offer the level of precision and line control required for comfortable handwriting. 

On the bright side, having an internal silo on your smartphone in which to store a stylus is a handy feature. We'll have to wait until we get our hands on the G4 Stylo to see if it's a worthy alternative for business users in the market for a digital notepad.

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Starting Strong: How to Successfully Onboard a New Hire

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In recent years, "onboarding" has become a popular human resources term to describe the new hire initiation process. While it may sound like a corporate buzzword, onboarding is actually an extremely important step in ensuring that employees start their new jobs on the right foot, and remain engaged throughout their tenure.

"Companies that fail to have an official onboarding process increase their risk of having employees with low productivity and higher turnover rates," said Jeanne City, executive vice president of human resources at weight loss program Medifast Inc. "Therefore, it's critical to adopt proven techniques to engage new employees before and after their first day at work."

"The moment when an employee first accepts a job is ... when they are most thirsty for knowledge and receptive to coaching and molding," added Jack Hill, Director of Talent Acquisition Solutions at PeopleFluent, a human capital management (HCM) software company. "This is a prime opportunity organizations have to take advantage of an eager employee looking to succeed and also give a great first impression as well."

HR experts and business leaders shared their thoughts on creating a successful employee onboarding program.

Onboarding: Day one

Before a new employee's first day on the job, all relevant staff members — HR, the person's manager, direct teammates, etc. — should be prepared for his or her arrival.

"You worked diligently to recruit this new employee but the process is not yet over," said Erika Kauffman, partner and general manager of 5W Public Relations. "A [good] first impression on day one of the job is the most essential step in proper onboarding."

City advised publicizing the new hire through a companywide email, and perhaps even sending the employee a welcome package. Similarly, Deb LaMere, vice president of employee engagement at HCM software company Ceridian, suggested reaching out to new employees before their start date to express enthusiasm at their joining the team and outline the plan for their first few days on the job.

Logistically speaking, you'll want to have all the requisite HR paperwork and tech equipment set up and ready to go on an employee's first day. But you'll also want to make sure you block off the time to go through everything together and help him or her process the information.

David Almeda, chief people officer of workforce management software company Kronos, said that many managers greet employees when they start and then send them to their desk to pore through handbooks, org charts and manuals, but they should be facilitating integration into the company's culture and community.

"Make it personal," Almeda told Business News Daily. "Have the [new] employee's co-workers decorate his or her cube and leave personal welcome notes.Invite the new hire to a yoga class or play basketball at lunch. Host a meet-and-greet lunch. Folding new employees into your culture will increase their engagement and productivity, and lower your turnover."

Almeda says his company thinks of onboarding in terms of four broad "C's" that can guide your general strategy:

• Company: Giving employees information about the company's mission, strategy, goals, customers and operational structure, and how their job fits into that bigger picture.
• Career: Laying out employees' individual objectives and how those will be measured, as well as setting expectations for success and advancement.
• Culture: Ensuring that employees not only understand the company's culture and environment, but can thrive in it.
• Connection: Helping employees forge relationships with their new colleagues, both formally and informally.

In terms of specific actions to take, LaMere advised scheduling detailed training sessions in an employee's first week of work, and emphasizing — and demonstrating — the importance of open communication.

"During the first few days of the new hire's onboarding process, [frequently] check in with them via email, or better yet, in-person," LaMere said. "It could simply be a 'how's it going,' or even sending them company information or industry news until they are added to the distribution lists.  The more you can communicate and share with the new hire in the first few days, the better the experience is for him or her."

Kauffman said it's also important to thoroughly explain the day-to-day personalities of co-workers, clients and executives to give new hires an idea of the people they'll be interacting with.

"Nuances such as clients who prefer a phone call to a detailed email outlining action items or vice versa are key pieces of information, which new employees need to know in order to be successful when interacting with both internal and external decision-makers," she said.

Mistakes to avoid

It takes some time to develop a strong, consistent onboarding process, but there are a few crucial mistakes employers should be aware of and avoid at all costs, if they hope to make a new employee's initiation period successful.

Giving new employees too much, too soon. The first few weeks at a new job can be an overwhelming adjustment for an employee. While you may want to get your new hire involved right away, you don't want to overload him or her with too much work before he or she is ready, LaMere said.

Assuming new hires understand everything. By the same token, you can't expect an employee to pick up on all the nuances, buzzwords and procedures involved with his or her new job after one quick run-through. Hill reminded employers that even new hires with industry experience should be given the chance to digest and absorb all the information they're given — including co-workers' names, company policies and norms and their own work flow.

Failing to measure the onboarding process. As with any business process, measuring the results of your onboarding efforts is the key to improving it. City noted that managers tend to forget the "assessment" step of the process, which is crucial to helping you determine if you're achieving the intended results.

Maintaining employee engagement

As you might have guessed, onboarding doesn't end after the employee's first couple of weeks. It's an ongoing process that ensures engagement and involvement long after day one.

"Today's employees are looking for immersive and interactive communication channels, content libraries, and more that continue the experience post-hire," Hill said. "Onboarding [goes] beyond just learning tools and paperwork, [and is] really being seen as a part of career development."

To ensure continued engagement, Kaufmann recommended outlining a new employee's goals for 30, 60 and 90 days post-hire, and providing direct feedback at each of these markers so the employee can measure his or her progress.

LaMere noted that the new hire's colleagues should also be a part of ongoing engagement efforts, and advised employers to give new team members the opportunity to meet with and learn from other employees.

"This can happen through formal orientation sessions, mentorships, as needed check-in meetings, or even through the assignment of a buddy who can answer general questions," La Mere said.  "Rely on top performing employees who have been employed by the company for a significant amount of time and are well immersed in the organization's culture."

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Dell Latitude E7250 Laptop Review: Is It Good for Business?

The Dell Latitude E7250 earns 4 out of 5 stars. Credit: Jeremy Lips

If you don't mind sacrificing screen space for a more portable design, Dell's new Latitude E7250 is an enticing portable workstation. The business notebook comes with a compact, 12.5-inch screen, plus a durable design, a comfy keyboard, good security features and all the ports you could ask for in a work laptop. But starting at $1,079, it's a little pricier than some competing machines. So does the Latitude E7250 do enough to stand out as the compact business notebook to buy?

Design

 

The Latitude E7250 sports a simple, understated design, and that's a good thing. Its magnesium-alloy chassis comes with a matte-black finish that will look right at home in a business meeting. The lid, meanwhile, sports a woven carbon-fiber texture that's a bit more interesting to look at than the smooth finish on Lenovo's ThinkPad notebooks. Likewise, the E7250's tapered edges give it a more streamlined look than that of a boxy ThinkPad.

Dell's notebook is a bit on the heavy side. It tips the scales at 3.4 lbs. when configured with a touch screen, though it's a more manageable 2.76 lbs. without one. The notebook is still heavier than the ThinkPad X250, which weighs 3.66 lbs. with a touch screen. Other ultraportables are lighter than both of those notebooks, such as HP's featherweight EliteBook Folio 1020, which weighs 2.68 lbs. but runs on a less powerful Intel Core M processor. 

 

The E7250 is also a bit bulky compared to its closest competitors. Measuring 12.2 x 8.3 8 0.83 inches, it's larger and thicker than the ThinkPad X250 (12.03 x 8.21 x 0.8 inches) and Folio 1020 (12.2 x 8.27 x 0.62 inches).

The bottom line is that while the 12.5-inch E7250 is a relatively compact business notebook, other laptops will feel lighter on your daily commute.

Display

 

The E7250's 12.5-inch display is a bit smaller than what you'll find on the average 13-inch consumer laptop, but it's still sharp and spacious enough for everyday productivity tasks. The 1,920 x 1,080-pixel panel on our review unit produced crisp, clean text, though colors are a bit muted. On the bright side, it delivers a whopping 360 nits of brightness at its highest setting, which is significantly higher than the category average of 255 nits. 

Our review unit was equipped with a touch display, but I would recommend forgoing that feature. Touch panels add weight and cost, without adding much useful functionality on a traditional notebook like this.

Keyboard and touchpad

 

A great business notebook should come with a great keyboard, and the E7250 doesn't disappoint on that front. The notebook's keys offer a generous 1.8mm of travel, which is noticeably deeper than the average laptop's 1.5mm of travel. That's a perk for business users, since deeper keys generally mean a more comfortable, desktoplike typing experience. The E7250's keys feel nice and snappy, too, with a good amount of feedback on each keystroke; no mushy key presses here.

The 3.9 x 2-inch touchpad is a bit on the small side for my taste. It features discrete buttons instead of built-in buttons, which allows for more-precise right clicks than you'd get on a touchpad with built-in buttons. On the other hand, the dedicated buttons reduce the amount of overall space available for pointer navigation. 

 

Pointer navigation feels responsive, and multi-finger gestures like two-finger scrolling also work well. I don't love the matte-plastic finish of the touchpad, though; my finger glides more easily on pads with a softer finish.

The larger, 14-inch Latitude E7450 comes with a second cursor-control option in the form of a pointing stick positioned in the center of the keyboard, but that feature isn't included on the E7250. Pointing sticks are nice for making precise mouse movements without moving your hands from the keyboard. If you want a pointing stick on a 12.5-inch business notebook, you can find it in the ThinkPad X250.

Ports and connectivity

 

Every port you could want on a business notebook is here. That includes three USB 3.0 ports, including one with PowerShare functionality, handy for charging your smartphone while your notebook is in sleep mode. 

The back of the notebook houses an HDMI port and a mini DisplayPort for connecting to a larger monitor, or linking your notebook to a projector for a presentation. There's also an SD card reader to expand your internal storage, and an Ethernet port for connecting to wired Internet and secure company networks.

BUY Dell Latitude E7250 on Dell.com

Security

 

Business users will appreciate the extra security features included with the E7250. That includes Dell's Data Protection software, which lets you set secure encryption policies for your system. The notebook also comes with full hard-drive encryption via Microsoft's BitLocker. Meanwhile, a smart card reader on the notebook's left edge will let you configure the machine to require a physical card to verify your security credentials.

It's possible to order the E7250 with a fingerprint reader, though my review unit didn't come with one, so I wasn't able to test this add-on's reliability. The upgrade costs just $14, though, so I recommend that business users go for it. Fingerprint readers are handy for keeping your work laptop locked down, since fingerprints are more secure than passwords.

Videoconferencing

 

The E7250's front-facing shooter won't impress you with its image quality, but it’s more than good enough for meeting remotely with colleagues or clients. A selfie I snapped with the notebook's 1,920 x 1,080p webcam came out a bit grainy, but no more so than the average notebook that comes across my desk. Additionally, the E7250 produces loud audio, topping out at 98 decibels, compared to an average of 73 dB for the average ultraportable notebook. That means you'll have no trouble hearing the person on the other end of the line. The machine's small speakers are positioned under the notebook's front lip, so audio quality suffers a bit when you're using the keyboard.

Battery life

 

The E7250 will easily get you through the end of the workday and well beyond. The machine lasted an impressive 9 hours and 18 minutes on our battery life test, which simulates continuous Web browsing over Wi-Fi with the screen set to 100 nits of brightness. That's longer than the average ultraportable notebook (7:31), and it also beats out the E7250's primary competitor, the ThinkPad X250 (7:39). On the other hand, that machine has an optional battery that can boost its longevity to an unbeatable 15 hours and 12 minutes, though this adds significant extra weight and thickness to your notebook.

Configurations and performance

Dell sells the Latitude E7250 in a variety of configurations, with a top-end model that includes a Core i7-5600U processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) and a full-HD touch display for $1,948. A more affordable sweet spot for business users comes with a Core i5-5300U processor, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1,366 x 768-pixel display for $1,365.

My review unit, which sells for $1,776, came with the following hardware:

• Intel Core i5-5300U processor
• 8GB of RAM
• 256GB SSD
• 12.5-inch, 1,920 x 1,080-pixel touch-screen display

This model returned good results in our performance tests. On the Geekbench 3 test, which measures overall performance, it scored a solid 4,866, which beats out the ultraportable-category average score of 4,037, as well as the EliteBook Folio 1020 (3,814), though that machine runs on a lower-power Intel Core M-5Y71 processor. A similarly configured Lenovo ThinkPad X250 performed slightly better than the E7250, though, netting a score of 5,259.

Regardless, the E7250 feels fast. Apps opened and ran smoothly during my testing period, even when editing a large spreadsheet and streaming HD video from YouTube with more than a dozen tabs open in my Firefox Web browser. There's more than enough power here to handle the average workload.

The competition

Lenovo's 12.5-inch ThinkPad X250 offers a slimmer design, and Lenovo's TrackPoint pointing stick, but it doesn't last as long on a charge as the E7250 — that is, unless you opt for the X250's bulky six-cell extended battery.

The 12.5-inch HP EliteBook Folio 1020 is thinner and lighter than the E7250, but it offers a less powerful Core M processor and shorter battery life.

Lenovo's 12.5 inch ThinkPad Yoga 12 laptop is powered by a slightly slower processor than the E7250, but it's a bit cheaper and has a flexible design so it can be used as a tablet.

The 13-inch  is lighter and has much longer battery life than the E7250, but it has a lower-res screen.

Bottom line

 

There's a lot to like about Dell's compact business notebook. From an excellent keyboard to a durable design and strong performance, the E7250 has what it takes to tackle the most demanding of workloads.

Lenovo's ThinkPad X250 is another strong competitor, with a slimmer design and slightly faster performance. It died about an hour and a half sooner in our battery life test than the E7250, though. That makes Dell's new ultraportable a really good option for mobile workers.

BUY Dell Latitude E7250 on Dell.com

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Live Chat Wins Over Customers Looking for Quick Answers

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Live chat is quickly turning into the customer-support option of choice for consumers, new research finds.

Customers who use live chat for support come away satisfied more often than those who call, email or turn to social media for help, according to a study from customer service software provider Zendesk. The company offers a variety of customer service software, but discovered that live chat is the feature customers like most.

Specifically, customers who need support come away content 92 percent of the time after a live-chat session. That's compared to just 88 percent of the time when calling on the phone, 85 percent when filling out a form on a website or sending an email, 84 percent when using Facebook, and 77 percent when using Twitter.

"Customers are gravitating more towards live chat as their preferred channel," Jason Maynard, senior manager of data and analytics at Zendesk, said in a statement. "Organizations who use live chat move customer requests away from Web forms and feedback tabs to real-time chat, where questions can be answered directly in the Web or mobile experience."

Customers seem to like live-chat support because it provides a back-and-forth conversation style. The research revealed that customer satisfaction increases with live chat as the number of chat messages exchanged rises. The study's authors said they believe one reason for this is that consumers are happier when customer service agents are more engaged in the support process, such as by asking more troubleshooting questions or finding out how the customer's day is going.

The study discovered that the average live-chat response time is 1 minute and 36 seconds, with the most popular time for consumers to use live chat options coming between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Another sign of the growing popularity of live-chat support is that after adding the option, businesses see a drop in the number of help requests they receive via their websites

"We found that 30 days after implementing live chat, ticket volume from embedded Web forms plummets, suggesting that customers prefer to communicate with support directly from the company website, instead of waiting for a response to arrive via email," the study's authors wrote.

When it comes to overall customer-service satisfaction, regardless of option, the following industries were rated highest: government and nonprofit, IT services and consultancy, and health care, the research showed. Social media, Web hosting, and manufacturing and computer hardware were the industries that showed the most improvement over the past three months.

The study was based on data from 2,261 Zendesk customers. To be included, companies must have conducted at least 25 chats in the first quarter of 2015.

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Buy Buttons Turn Google Into Mobile Marketplace

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Google has been putting serious effort into making Search more mobile-friendly, from prioritizing mobile-optimized websites to revamping ad units. Now, the company is further upgrading the platform by diving deep into e-commerce.

Google will soon be adding buy buttons to search-results pages on mobile devices, a report by The Wall Street Journal revealed. The search giant raised controversy last year when it announced these plans, which will now be implemented over the next few weeks.

This move will essentially turn Google Search into an online marketplace, challenging giants like eBay and Amazon. Like Google's previous changes to mobile search, the new buy buttons aim to make Search more functional and user-friendly for the increasing number of users searching on their mobile devices.

The Google buy button will appear on paid product listings on search-result pages that are viewed on mobile devices.

When users perform a search, relevant products will appear above search results in the "Shop on Google" box. Sponsored listings will have the buy button, while nonspored products won't.

To make a purchase, customers just have to click on the buy button and finish the transaction on a designated Google product page. Google is said to support different types of payments, but payment details remain confidential and will not be sent to retailers.

Although this essentially turns Google Search into an online marketplace, note that Google does not directly sell to consumers; its role is limited to increasing visibility for sponsored products and processing transactions. Retailers remain as merchants and are also responsible for fulfilling orders.

The service also works a lot like the Google Ads system. Unlike other marketplaces that take commission from each sale, retailers pay on a per-click basis like the current ad pricing model.

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