August 2016 Issue

Social Media at Work: Pros share what's hot, funniest/worst social media stories and the next big thing

By Ross Boissoneau

What hath social media wrought? For one thing, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and the panoply of other new media have leveled the business playing field. For another, they have given rise to an entirely new industry. Social media professionals (please, not “gurus”) can and do assist companies with everything from blogging to interacting with customers, teaching new technology, and how to best showcase their goods and services, from text to photos to shooting and posting videos.

Nick Nerbonne of FINE Design Group said one of the lures of social media is that it allows customers to understand small businesses more easily. …

New Shade of Green: Resource-efficient, smart homes become the norm

By Ross Boissoneau

“Going Green” isn’t what it used to be in the real estate and building industries. Today you hear much less about green building than you did five or ten years ago. But that doesn’t mean the trend is diminishing. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“It’s still a thing,” said Ryan McCoon, with a chuckle. “You don’t hear about it as much. It’s become the norm.”

McCoon’s Endura Performance Homes has become one of the standard-bearers …

Virtual Reality Meets Drone Technology: Software Company Partners with Samsung

By Al Parker

A Glen Lake native with a military background has helped launch a company that integrates virtual reality and drone usage with other technologies to provide answers to a wide range of workplace problems.

Aveopt is a VR/AR (virtual reality/augmented reality) IT software solutions company whose approach is to integrate VR/AR technologies with other 'disruptive' technologies, such as sensor and autonomous vehicle technologies, according to Tim Nash, vice president of technology solutions.

“We’re mostly a software …

The 'Perfect Storm' Creates Critical Labor Shortages: Lack of workers stymies home builders’ growth

By Rick Haglund

New home construction is accelerating in the Grand Traverse region, thanks to an improving economy and more people moving to what is one of Michigan’s most desirable locales.

But plumbing contractor Bob Roe says he isn’t fully participating in the building boom because he can’t find enough workers to grow his 32-employee business.

“Everyone who is qualified is working somewhere,” said Roe, who with his wife, Leslie, owns Precision Plumbing and Heating Systems Inc. in …

Growing Telehealth Field in Spotlight: Bill to provide regulatory framework, but not over-prescribe

When iNDIGO Health Partners a year and a half ago embarked on a new avenue – telemedicine – it wanted to make sure the hospital patients it assists understood and consented to the different type of doctor-patient encounter.

Through community hospitals using iNDIGO Telehealth, patients might be seen by nighttime …

By Tcbn Staff

Shining Light on the 'Dark Stores' Controversy

As a tax lawyer, I must say that it is not often that the valuation of real property generates much interest, let alone controversy, in the public sphere. Yet, the recent decisions by Michigan Tax Tribunal have done precisely that. At issue is a rather prosaic question of how to …

By Guest Author

Employee Well-Being: How to identify and manage mental health/substance abuse issues

A strategy for increasing employee well-being should include appropriate methods for handling employee mental illness and substance abuse problems. Managers and HR professionals must have knowledge and procedures in place to prevent, identify and manage these issues in order to facilitate a healthy, productive workplace. Here are some straightforward questions …

By Ryan Liabenow

On-Site, 24/7: Program brings ER trauma surgery under one umbrella

Emergency and acute surgical coverage at Munson Medical Center has grown significantly as the hospital fills its role as a regional trauma center. In response, a new general surgery service is taking a unified and streamlined approach to patient care.

Munson Medical Center launched the Trauma and Acute Care Surgery …

By Mary Bevans Gillett

Inside Job: TC company designs drones for dark, confined spaces

An energetic young company based in Traverse City is entering the fast-growing field of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones.

Interactive Aerial designs and manufactures UAV units specifically built for internal – not outdoor – applications, focusing on inspections for multiple uses.

“Our Legacy One is designed to make a …

By Al Parker

On The Job And Under The Influence: Local employers now facing opiate abuse, medical marijuana use

Substance abuse in the workplace is nothing new and historically, at least in northern Michigan, the substance of choice was alcohol. It still is today. But local addiction professionals are now seeing not only an increase in substance abuse issues, but also a significant increase in opiate abuse – heroin …

By Lynn Geiger

PAST ISSUES

View this Issue in Archives