How to use customer service to reduce your costs

Most people call customer service when they have a problem or a complaint. But proactively using customer service to get information or ask questions could help employers, and their employees, save on their health care costs. HealthLink’s Karen Gotsch provides best practices for the customer service in your health plan.

Your first next season

As you ponder retirement, take time to reflect on what you like and dislike, what brings you joy and what you want your legacy to be.

Lawrenceville offers authenticity and innovation in the Brooklyn of Pittsburgh

The underpinnings of a great city neighborhood have always been a part of Lawrenceville: cultural diversity and pride, civic engagement, unique businesses and a deep appreciation of the history of place. In recent years, however, Lawrenceville has become a hive of authenticity and innovation. Take a walk through the neighborhood of Lawrenceville in our enhanced digital edition of Smart Business Pittsburgh.

Adapting is a key part of the innovation process

The process of innovation is not straightforward. University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and a university spinout, Interphase Materials, share some concrete examples of the twisted innovation journey.

Hitting upon the right fit with job candidates

Perhaps the most important trait in a good leader is managing hiring and firing. Good leaders don’t hire “followers.” They hire individual thinkers who can help shape the path forward and are leaders themselves.

Consistency will erode without policies and procedures

In the infancy stages of your business, you’ll be able to survive without policies and procedures. As your employee and customer base grows, however, you will quickly learn that without policies and procedures you actually don’t have a real business.

6 tips to make your change program succeed

Many organizations today embark on change — post-merger integration, process improvement, new programs, etc. — with no plan for handling the organizational and people aspects of change. Here’s a few helpful tips for a successful change effort.

Lighten the burden of information overload

In order to be successful, we have to possess the ability to “get the right things done.” This involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive.