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Cal Wilson / June 17, 2024

Don’t fall prey to fuel fraud.

If you’re managing a fleet of company vehicles, one of the risks your bottom line faces is employee fuel fraud. A recent survey found that as much as 5% of a transportation company’s total annual fuel spend might be wasted on fuel fraud.  

In this article, we take a look at fuel fraud, why it happens, and what your business can do to protect itself. 

What is fuel fraud? 

This type of fraud refers to dishonest practices by employees, such as drivers, who are responsible for refuelling company vehicles. Or, it refers to the targeting of said employees by criminals intending to use their corporate fuel card information. 

This happens in two main ways: 

  • Misuse of company fuel cards – in which employees utilize company-issued fuel cards for personal use. 
  • Falsified fuel expenses – in which employees submit false or inflated fuel expense reports to obtain reimbursement for fuel that was never purchased or was used for personal purposes. 

It can be advanced or rudimentary theft. On the simpler end, you have drivers filling up some personal jerry cans while refueling the company truck; these instances can be dealt with individually and may not have much of a long-term impact. On the more technologically sophisticated end, organized criminals may target your drivers and use card-skimming to replicate fuel card data, then use those cards to finance other purchases. 

What are the consequences of employee fuel fraud?  

This trend of fraudulent activity within your fleet can have significant consequences, impacting various aspects of your operations, finances, and reputation.  

The financial losses are the most obvious consequence. A potential 5% of your fuel budget every year is no small hit, especially considering fuel can account for as much as 60% of a fleet’s operational budget. This could lead to an increase in your operational expenses overall, meaning other opportunities for research and development are missed, potentially giving you a disadvantage compared to your competitors. 

Misuse of fuel resources can also lead to inefficiencies. When fuel is used for unauthorized purposes or in excess, it reduces the availability of resources for legitimate business activities, potentially leading to delays, disruptions, or increased downtime. This can all have an impact on your business and your customers’ perceptions of you.  

All in all, employee fuel fraud can have very serious ramifications for your business. 

So how do you prevent it? 

The best thing you can do is implement robust controls, monitoring systems, and preventive measures to detect and deter fuel fraud. This can include: 

  • Enforcing strict fuel usage policies. 
  • Conducting regular audits and inspections. 
  • Investing in fuel management technologies. 
  • Taking disciplinary actions against offenders. 
  • Training employees on ethical conduct and fraud prevention. 

The same survey that found that 5% of a transportation company’s total annual fuel spend goes towards fraud also found that “most fleets use disparate systems to track fuel spend and other operating metrics, including fuel consumption.”  Whether the source of fraud is employees or criminals, if your monitoring methods don’t catch it right away, you’ll lose more money.  

In conclusion… 

Fuel fraud is one of the biggest issues impacting organizations with fleets right now. As tactics become more advanced, ensuring you have the proper monitoring technology is necessary to protect your money, your operations, and your reputation.  

Cal Wilson / June 11, 2024

Why do some employees ‘hoard’ vacation days?

If you’re an employer, or manage a team of people, one behavior you might find taxing is vacation day ‘hoarding.’ This is the practice of intentionally allowing unused vacation days to accumulate, rather than taking them as intended.  

In this issue of The Pulse, we’re looking at vacation day hoarding, why it happens, and proactive measures you can use to remedy it. 

Why does vacation day hoarding happen?  

Employees all have individual motivations behind letting their PTO collect. It comes down to a combination of individual personality and workplace environment. Some common reasons include: 

  • Overwhelming workloads – employees may believe they cannot take time off without falling behind or burdening their colleagues. 
  • Workplace culture – depending on the culture at your company, there might be a perceived attitude against taking vacation days and not being constantly available, which discourages employees from booking time off. 
  • Fear of competition – in competitive lines of work, taking time off can be seen as jeopardizing job security or giving others an advantage. 
  • Fear of future events – employees may prioritize saving vacation days for emergencies or for a future time when they might need them more, such as during a family crisis or illness. 
  • Creating a bank of days – employees may try to save them up for a longer break, if the company policy allows for it.  

Vacation day hoarding can have serious consequences. 

For both employee and employers, vacation day hoarding is a serious concern and should be addressed to prevent consequences. 

For employees, vacation day hoarding can lead to: 

  • Burnout due to lack of necessary downtime. 
  • Decreased productivity. 
  • Health issues. 
  • Strained workplace relationships, as well as relationships with family and friends outside of work. 
  • Missed personal opportunities. 

Employers can feel the effects as well, leading to: 

  • Increased employee turnover due to burnout. 
  • Decreased staff morale. 
  • Potentially reduced output and quality. 
  • Healthcare costs related to burnout. 
  • Legal compliance issues with PTO regulations.  

What can employers do to prevent vacation day hoarding? 

Employers who are noticing PTO hoarding behavior would be prudent to take several steps to remedy this. Or, even if it’s not an issue yet, and you simply wish to prevent it from becoming one, you can try the following: 

  • Emphasize the importance of work-life balance in the company culture. 
  • Lead by example and take regular vacation days yourself.  
  • Clearly communicate the company’s vacation policy and any rollover or expiration rules – if a policy like this doesn’t exist, it may need to.  
  • Remind and encourage employees to plan vacation time in advance, as much as possible. 
  • Provide flexibility in scheduling as much as possible. 
  • Respect employee time off – ensure they can separate from the job. 
  • Address and resolve concerns from employees who are hesitant to use their vacation days – sometimes, reassurance from a superior can go a long way.  

In conclusion… 

Despite it being a common practice, vacation day hoarding can have detrimental effects on both employees and employers. However, by fostering a company culture that respects time off and encourages a work-life balance, as well as implementing vacation day policies, employers can remedy these issues.  

Brittany Powers / June 3, 2024

Are you overspending on office supplies?

When it comes to office supplies, it can be difficult to distinguish between what is a “want” and what is a “need”. It becomes even more confusing when employees aren’t on the same page and preferences differ. The question left is, how do you support varying office supply needs while ensuring your budget isn’t converted into untouched sticky notes?  

Do you know how much you’re spending? 

Based on research performed by United Stationers, one of the largest distributors of wholesale office supplies in the B2B space, companies allocate between $186 and $544 annually per employee for office supplies, with expenses varying based on the company’s scale.  

Regardless of your company’s size, trimming unnecessary costs will enhance operational efficiency and boost your profits in the long run. This article looks at the different strategies you can put in place to make sure you’re not spending more than necessary for your employees to do their best work.  

Order office supplies thoughtfully. 

It’s tempting to buy in bulk if that’s when discounts appear. However, this can quickly eat away at your bottom line if the supplies aren’t being utilized or if they are being taken advantage of. Purchasing office supplies thoughtfully means you’re investing time into finding out which supplies are crucial and appreciated by each employee. It also means you’re investing time into figuring out what kind of shipping options it takes to deliver said supplies.  

Employee surveys are one way to determine internal office supply needs. By collecting data on employees’ office supply needs, you’re facilitating an environment with open communication while learning more about how your employees complete their in-office work.  

Setting a consistent purchasing schedule is another way to make sure you’re thoughtfully ordering supplies. This keeps both you and your employees accountable for ensuring your office supply reserve isn’t over-consumed and sustainable long-term.  

Be aware of alternative vendors.  

Chances are, you didn’t randomly select your vendor, and you use them for good reason. However, saving money with your vendors that deliver office supplies doesn’t necessarily mean severing ties with them. Instead, a closer examination of how you allocate your funds to such vendors will help to establish a financially symbiotic relationship.  

For example, businesses often overlook the shipping and mailing rates associated with their ordered office supplies. While one can’t control the vendor that delivers their products, they can control which vendor they choose. Choosing office supplies based on their tacked-on shipping prices reduces the total in the long run. While that might feel obvious, finding economical shipping solutions that don’t trade cost for convenience is a tedious, but must-do action. Comparing and consolidating all the options is time-consuming but critical given the changes that rapidly occur in carrier pricing structures. However, if thoroughly compared, the best-priced solution becomes more apparent and easier to implement.  

Buy generic.  

In most cases, the differences between the name brand and the generic brand are slim. It’s smart to bulk up on items that are the generic brand, especially for supplies that can be expensive like ink cartridges for example. Generic ink cartridges designed for desktop inkjet and laser printers frequently come at a price that’s only half of what you’d pay for name-brand alternatives, yet they often exhibit negligible discrepancies, if any, in print quality. 

In conclusion… 

Office supplies are not as straightforward as one thinks and implementing a regular schedule for auditing stock, pricing structures, and general employee needs is integral to ensuring you’re not overspending on a category that easily be overlooked.  

Rebecca Enter / May 28, 2024

Success looks different to everyone

When we are young, we often have a specific idea of what it means to be successful. Things like earning a big salary, owning a nice house, a luxury car or boat, etc. All the things grown-ups and the media tell us we are supposed to want. As we age, we often find that maybe those milestones aren’t actually what fulfills us; that success does not have one definition but many. 

Society often bombards us with standards and expectations, but true success isn’t about fitting into a mold; it’s about carving our own paths.  

Defining success in our lives. 

What exactly does success mean? The definition of success is, “the accomplishment of one’s goals.” Notice how it says nothing about money, a house, or a fancy car? That’s because success can take the form of whatever you choose for it to be. The sooner you embark on your journey of self-discovery, the sooner you can channel your time and energy into pursuits that genuinely resonate with you. 

Focus on what success looks like to you. 

A recent study by analytics company Gallup showed that individuals often, “have a nuanced definition of success – but think everyone else only cares about money.” Our backgrounds, cultures, and upbringing influence how we define success. But we need to reflect and determine if society’s goalposts work for us as individuals. 

For some, success means climbing the corporate ladder, earning big bucks, and achieving higher titles. But for others, it’s about finding joy in their hobbies – mastering a painting technique, reaching a fitness goal, or travelling to new places. Or maybe success is somewhere in between, whatever that might look like. Ultimately, success if what you decide it means to you. 

Success might look different one day. 

As you age or even complete some of your goals, you might find that they don’t fulfill you the way you thought they would. You might not even want to achieve them in the end. That’s because success isn’t static; it’s a journey, not a destination. 

Just because you’re not there yet, doesn’t mean you’ll never get there. Setbacks are lessons, not losses. It takes tenacity and determination to achieve any goal. 

In conclusion… 

Whether you’re reaching for the stars or enjoying life’s simple pleasures, your version of success is valid and worth celebrating. 

In the end, success is what makes you smile, what fills your heart with warmth, and what gives your life purpose. So, embrace your journey, embrace your uniqueness, and know that success looks different for everyone – that’s what makes it beautiful. 

Brittany Powers / May 21, 2024

What is bottle-less water?

Water cooler chat is the backbone of a socially healthy workplace, but contrary to its name, it doesn’t rely on the presence of a “cooler” at all. Rather, the ‘water cooler chat’ phenomenon is a socially stimulating environment that stops continuous workflow with a slight change in environment, to prolong productivity throughout the workday. It’s also a place where you can break away from individual thoughts and merge ideas, work-related or not. You don’t need a water cooler, or an office, to create this kind of environment, but regardless, the name has stuck and now represents a space where employees can switch gears. 

With the increased percentage of employees working remotely, especially those who primarily work in office spaces, water cooler chat experiences are dwindling. They are difficult to replicate within hybrid/remote work environments, yet the human need still exists, even if employees don’t always realize it. In this article, we take a look at why water cooler chat is vital to the workplace and how to make sure sourcing water for your breakroom is both cost-efficient and sustainable.  

Traditional water coolers – what’s the problem?  

At this point, you might be thinking, “isn’t it a law to provide available drinking water to employees?” While there are regulatory standards for employee breaks and breakroom supplies, that doesn’t mean you can’t optimize the costs required to fulfill them.  

Most offices adopted a water cooler system using bottled jugs, often delivered on a recurring schedule and requiring physical installation each time. No matter the kind of work, the costs it takes to keep your team hydrated add up quickly, especially in fields where the headcount is high, and physical labor is required.  

Bottle-less alternatives to water coolers. 

To reduce breakroom supplies expenditures, many businesses are switching to bottle-less water coolers, offering a physical location for water cooler chats without the hassle or cost of dealing with five-gallon jugs. Bottle-less water coolers are both an economical, and a sustainable solution requiring a one-time installation where the cooler is connected to the building’s existing municipal water supply. Not only do they work in tandem with your existing water system, but some offer advanced filtration abilities such as reverse osmosis and activated carbon.  

Reduced expenses. 

The most notable benefit that comes with the implementation of these systems is reduced longterm costs. On average, one single five-gallon jug of water costs about $15 per month when you factor in shipping and delivery. Normally, you won’t just need one per month, that number could fluctuate drastically. It’s not uncommon for a business to spend upwards of $200 a month just on bottled water.  

With bottle-less systems, you’re not only paying less for the water itself, but you’re eliminating the delivery service fees that come with traditional water jugs. Although bottle-less water is directly connected to your building’s water and electricity lines, you will certainly not be paying more for it. Municipal water line prices vary but are usually within a range of $0.00025 – $0.0005 per litre, and rates are always public, so you can prepare for invoices ahead of time.  

Improved workplace culture. 

Another benefit to this system is the conservation of places where employees can take a break and chat, improving workplace culture. By making filtered water accessible, you’re encouraging a more productive and supportive environment. This is especially emphasized when employees don’t have to test their biceps changing coolers out.  

Reduced carbon footprint. 

Lastly, a bottle-less system will undoubtedly reduce your carbon footprint. Every year, jugs fill up landfills if they aren’t properly reused. They are made of material that does not decompose quickly, and although they are better than cases of individual plastic bottles of water, their usage will directly lead to increased waste. It’s not often that the most sustainable solution will also save you money, but when it comes to your breakroom supplies, bottle-less water integration addresses both sides.  

In conclusion… 

In the interest of curating a productive workplace environment, perfecting the basics is a great place to start. Reassessing your current office water solutions will help uncover hidden areas that generate unnecessary costs and carbon.  

Cal Wilson / May 14, 2024

Your online presence matters when nearly a third of all business is happening online.

The importance of having a strong online presence for your business in the modern world cannot be overstated. If you’ve been hesitant to update your digital presence, or are skeptical of its impact, in this issue of The Pulse, we look at some of the statistics that show just how critical it is.  

Nearly a third of all business is conducted online.  

In our current digital age, 28-29% of all business is conducted online. This number has only been on the rise since 2020, and shows no sign of slowing down. As of 2023, approximately 71% of all businesses have a website, most of which utilize various tools and hosting platforms that make implementing a brand vision possible, without the required design expertise.  

This means, if you’re not active online or using a website to attract customers and build credibility, you’re not only missing a huge amount of potential business but allowing your competitors to fill that gap.  

Social media isn’t enough. 

While having a social media presence increases brand awareness, and generates consumer transactions, social media engagement does not replace the value of a website. Rather, both can work together to drive customer loyalty and business legitimacy through a well-rounded, and accessible presence. Unsurprisingly, nearly 92% of global web traffic comes from Google, further emphasizing the importance of meeting the potential customer where they already are, or rather, where their cursor is. 

This matters for small businesses, too. 

If you’re operating a smaller business, you might be thinking that you can rely on word of mouth or a Facebook page to get by. And, sure, that can be sustainable for a time. However, in the long run, you are missing opportunities to better market yourself. A lot of this boils down to credibility and trustworthiness. Customers want to make informed decisions when spending money; a reliable digital presence is one of the best tools to make choosing your business easy.   

In 2023, 43% of small businesses invested in the performance of their website. Once again, if you won’t, your competitors will.  

Convenience is key for consumers.  

Part of the reason online business is so important in this day and age, is that your customers are going to be prioritizing convenience and accessibility more than ever. Being able to find information, answer questions, and make purchasing decisions easily, on any size screen, in any place.   

This applies, especially, if you have the capacity to sell products or services online. In this case, not only is the quality of your website presence critical to having a leg up over your competitors, but the seamlessness of your online payment portal is too.  

Quality matters.  

If your website is outdated or dysfunctional, it’s important to invest the funds and effort to resolve that. Here are some things you should know about user experience when it comes to a business’ website: 

  • It takes users just 0.05 seconds to form an opinion of your business based on your website.  
  • Users will only spend an average of 5.59 seconds looking at written content on a site.  
  • Videos on a website can increase user retention by 88%. 
  • 47% of users won’t wait longer than two seconds for a website to load. 
  • Slow-to-load websites cost retailers an estimated $2.6 billion USD in sales each year. 

Likewise, with 54% of web traffic in North America coming from mobile devices, ensuring your website is mobile-compatible is essential.  

In conclusion… 

Establishing and maintaining an accessible, informative website is crucial to your business’ success, especially when nearly a third of all business occurs digitally. Failure to do so might literally cost you.  

Cal Wilson / May 6, 2024

Should practices pay for employee scrubs or let them buy their own?

Across the United States and Canada, whether your practice provides scrubs to employees is going to depend on several operational factors. If you find yourself in the position of choosing whether or not to buy or rent scrubs for your employees, or pass the cost off onto the individual, there are several advantages and disadvantages of either scenario to consider.  

In this article, we break down some the factors to weigh before deciding.  

It’s cheaper to pass the bill.  

If we’re looking at a black and white cost analysis, it’s less expensive to have employees supply their own scrubs. Not only do you avoid the initial purchase, but you may also avoid recurring laundering, replacement, or damage fees.  

Especially for smaller practices or those with limited budgets, providing scrubs to employees may be burdensome. Many of these practices may opt to reimburse employees for the cost of purchasing scrubs or partner with a provider who will sell scrubs to employees at a discounted rate. 

Money isn’t the only consideration.  

There are some advantages to supplying uniform scrubs that you might want to weigh against the cost disadvantage. These include: 

  • Maintaining consistent standards of professionalism across all employees. 
  • Maintaining consistent quality standards, including investing in materials with fluid resistance. 
  • Contributing to employee satisfaction and retention by providing them with a uniform, rather than putting the onus on them. 

Owning or renting your employees’ scrubs means you also have better control over their laundering. Depending on the line of work your practice does, this might be in the best interest of everyone, including your patients. Bacteria and other harmful agents can linger on scrubs long after a shift ends, leading to increased chances of infection inside and outside your practice.  

Why do some employees prefer buying for themselves? 

Despite the cost on them, some staff may actually prefer buying their own scrubs. Not only does it give them control over the fit, color, and style, but some individuals have sensory preferences when it comes to factors like fabric, necklines, etc. Depending on the size of your staff, and their individual needs on the job, allowing them the freedom to make these decisions for themselves might make for a more harmonious working environment.  

In conclusion… 

Deciding whether to pay for scrubs or let employees buy their own is going to depend on your line of work, staff size, requirements, and other unique variables. 

However, if you do choose to supply your employees’ scrubs, ensuring that you’re paying fair market rates, and have an optimized laundering and delivery schedule, should those needs apply, is crucial for your practice’s financial wellbeing.   

Cal Wilson / April 30, 2024

How to get motivated even when you don’t feel like it

Explore the psychology of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and dig into how these forces contribute to our drive. 

Motivation is complicated. Psychologists define motivation as the desire or impetus to initiate and maintain a particular behavior. But sometimes, no matter how passionate you are about a goal or hobby, finding the motivation to actually do it can be difficult. Why is motivation so fickle? Explore intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and dig into how these forces contribute to our drive. 

Cal Wilson / April 22, 2024

Should you expect your LTL costs to rise?

This year, the Journal of Commerce announced that Less-than-Truckload (LTL) shipping rates will increase by 4.1% on average in 2024, following a 2.4% increase in 2023. This marks more of the increases we’ve been seeing over the past half decade. At the moment, LTL rates per pound are over 50% higher than they were in January 2018. 

If you’re locked into a contract with an LTL provider, this might not seem like a huge deal. However, if you’re paying for non-contracted shipments, looking for a new contract, or facing the end of a contract term, this could potentially represent another inflated cost to your business.  

In this article, we look at the current state of the LTL market, and how your business can make decisions to avoid paying more than it needs on LTL shipments.  

What’s going on with the LTL market? 

As with other areas of freight, rates have been on the rise since 2020. If you have experienced renewals, signed, or even just inquired about LTL contracts, there’s a good chance you’ve already felt the effects of this upward trend.  

With the pandemic in 2020, and the subsequent supply chain disruptions, freight services like LTL were in high demand. Carriers ramped up their capacity, leaving the market in a state of oversupply when demand balanced out again.  

Last summer, the LTL industry was thrown into a bit of turmoil, when freight giant Yellow Corp. exited the market following a bankruptcy filing. This left tens of thousands of workers without a job, and many shipping partners looking for alternative options. The ripple effect of a shutdown like this is often inflated rates and market instability.  

It’s not as bad as predicted. 

Despite the vacuum left by Yellow’s closure, which caused a significant surge in LTL rates, the rate increase predicted is looking better for businesses than previously expected. This is because, by this point, most of Yellow’s former business has been absorbed by other providers, and the LTL industry is facing the additional challenges of “low freight demand, excess capacity, and lower than pre-pandemic productivity.”    

In fact, labor hours are down for LTL workers. According to the Journal of Commerce, “weekly hours worked by LTL non-supervisory employees were down to about 38 hours in late 2023, compared with 43.1 hours in January 2019, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).” 

What does all this mean? Essentially, though you may see an increase in the price of your services, it’ll be less than it could have been, all things considered. And, very likely, with demand down, LTL shipping providers are in a position where they’re going to need to be flexible to hold onto their already dwindling business.  

What should you do if your LTL contract is reaching its term? 

LTL providers are in the position of having to try to raise rates – like by the margins discussed above – to cover the cost of operating with less business. However, given the current market, they’re not in an excellent position to let clients walk if they’re unhappy with those rates.  

Business owners, operators, CFOs, etc. should take the time to review any new contract terms given by their incumbent LTL providers, and not accept rate increases at face value. Even if their provider says that’s the set-in-stone price, there is likely significant room for negotiation.  

Researching alternative options, advocating for your organization, and working with third-party specialists capable of getting you better pricing can ensure that your business doesn’t shoulder the expense of LTL market slowdowns.  

In conclusion… 

Despite rate hikes overall – a trend that has been going on for years – LTL providers aren’t in a great place to demand more money from its clients. Overall, negotiation and persistence will be your friend, especially when it comes time to renew your contract or enter a new one.  

Cal Wilson / April 16, 2024

Is your business alienating employees by using too many buzzwords?

We’ve all experienced the cycle of a new term or idea going from groundbreaking to cliché over time, largely due to it being used to death in corporate circles. But is your company guilty of doing that? And, if so, are your employees taking notice and maybe taking you less seriously, too? 

In this article, we take a look at a recent survey that delivers some interesting insight on the overuse of buzzwords in corporate settings.  

What exactly are buzzwords? 

Everyone knows them. Every industry, group, or sphere of influence has them. Buzzwords are terms or phrases, typically jargon, which are fashionable at a particular time or in a particular context. You’re going to hear them used over and over as a way for organizations to position themselves within the current climate. 

But do employees believe them? 

A recent Preply survey found that 20% of employees across all levels of business, with varying levels of education, disliked the use of corporate buzzwords. Despite this, 40% say they hear them daily, and 70% admit to using them themselves.   

Some of the most common buzzwords Preply’s survey identified American employees as hearing were: 

  • Win-win (63%) 
  • Culture/company culture (61%) 
  • ASAP (58%) 
  • Think outside the box (57%) 
  • Moving forward (56%) 

What does this mean? Well, when crafting copy for your staff or contacts to read, it’s important to remember that some of these terms are going to come across as overused or insincere to a significant percentage of the workforce. 

Likewise, the Preply study identified which words annoyed employees the most. These should also be taken into consideration when drafting official communications. They were: 

  • New normal, when in relation to the pandemic (43%) 
  • Culture/company culture (43%) 
  • Circle back (43%) 
  • Boots on the ground (42%) 
  • Give 110% (41%) 

What to avoid when recruiting new talent. 

Preply found that 70% of employees have been influenced on whether to apply to a company based on the use of buzzwords in the position description. The following terms were considered by many to be ‘red flags’: 

  • Rockstar (53%) 
  • Wear many hats (50%) 
  • Thick skin (48%) 
  • Work hard, play hard (47%) 
  • Schedule TBD (44%) 

Do people latch onto buzzwords?  

Preply’s survey also found that at least 75% of employees think using buzzwords makes them sound more professional. That might not always be a good thing. For SEO and marketing purposes, identifying keywords is important. But in other situations, relying on them to sound professional or ‘in the know’ might be responsible for miscommunication and a general lack of comprehension.  

When observing your employees’ communication patterns, be aware of what is legitimate, and what might be for show. Buzzwords only mean so much if you can’t back them up.  

In conclusion… 

Buzzwords are helpful, to an extent. When they leave your communication efforts feeling cliché or insincere, or allow your staff to cover for knowledge gaps, they’re doing more harm than good.