News
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Government Considers Capping Debit and Credit Card Surcharges
- October 16, 2024
Small business owners may soon need to adjust how they handle debit and credit card transactions. The government has indicated it is considering imposing caps on the surcharges that consumers pay when using their cards. This initiative aims to alleviate financial pressures on households and bring New Zealand in line with recent changes in Australia, which plans to ban debit card surcharges altogether. What's Happening? Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced that over...
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Inflation Hits Lowest Level in 3.5 Years
- October 16, 2024
As small business owners, we often find ourselves navigating the unpredictable waves of the economy. Recently, there's been a significant shift that's worth our attention: inflation has slowed to its lowest level in three and a half years. This development could have meaningful implications for our businesses, from cost management to pricing strategies. A Welcome Slowdown in Rising Costs The consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, has risen by only 0.6% in the last quarter,...
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Healthy homes standards put strain on NZ power grid, alternatives needed
- January 5, 2023
New Zealand’s national grid will continue to experience serious strain even through summer in part as an unforeseen consequence of the new Healthy Homes Standards that put an over-sized air conditioner in almost every home. The director of Vital Solar and a leading Auckland solar energy specialist, Cameron Dick, said today that following a few touch-and-go moments during the winter on 2022, national grid operator Transpower added additional capacity after a still-unexplained 3% jump in pe...
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Horror stories a job turn-off for high quality law candidates
- November 30, 2022
In this tight labour market, high-quality law candidates can afford to be choosy, with many looking beyond salary to the hearsay of what friends, contacts and reputation may have to say about a potential employer. Louise Hall-Strutt, founder of legal recruitment company Altitude, said today that it is now not unusual for candidates to be guided by what they have heard about a firm, and whether they believe the senior partners of a potential employer would make a good mentors. "With the une...
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NZ’s talent shortage may be due more to employer bias than reality
- October 13, 2022
New Zealand's talent shortage may be less 'a shortage' than a tendency to overlook the hidden potential in people who don't fit within the narrow bias that has dominated employer thinking for decades--change is needed. Employment coach and director of recruitment company M2M (Move To More) Kathryn Sandford said today that some employers' obsession with finding the right 'fit' is a significant reason behind much of New Zealand's so-called talent shortage. "In a so-called talent shortage, th...
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Carmel College Tik Tok campaign helps girls close self-confidence gap
- July 27, 2022
The confidence levels of girls plunge sharply between 30 and 50 per cent between the ages of 8 and 15, and Auckland's North Shore College aims to address this gap as part of a proactive Tik Tok marketing campaign launched by the College. Carmel College Principal Christine Allen said research reveals that tween and teen girls face a massive drop in confidence during this time—hitting a low point at age 14 compared to boys—for a variety of reasons like puberty, new friends and peer pressure...
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Ricoh teams up with local tech company ‘Tether’ to help monitor the quality of the air we breath
- July 19, 2022
Homegrown building performance tech company Tether has caught the eye of Japanese multinational imaging and electronics giant The Ricoh Company Ltd. Tether delivers a CO2 monitoring solution for managing COVID-19 risk within any government or protection framework. COVID-19 can be spread by breathing in air exhaled by another person, hence high CO2 levels in the environment mean a higher percentage of the air we breathe is shared with other people, which leads to a higher exposure risk. ...
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Independent schools take the lead on indoor air quality
- March 8, 2022
Covid measures help improve classroom attentiveness. Over the last four months, building performance technology provider Tether has installed hundreds of its devices at private schools across New Zealand in partnership with the Independent Schools of New Zealand (NZ). In addition to a safer environment, children are using the technology to learn about air quality, said Tether chief executive Brandon van Blerk. Van Blerk said the goal of the rollout is to create a robust data set about t...
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Too many companies neglecting to elect health and safety reps
- March 3, 2022
Despite statutory obligations that work site health and safety representatives be elected by their colleagues – which helps ensure better health and safety outcomes – the majority of safety reps who attend health and safety training appeared to be appointed by their employers. Jason Braithwaite, the General Manager of New Zealand health and safety training provider Besafe Training Ltd, says elected health and safety representatives are more passionate about safety. As the voice of the ...
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NFTs a minefield of scams warns cybersecurity expert
- February 28, 2022
New Zealanders are being urged to avoid getting sucked into the current mania around non-fungible tokens (NFTs) because scams are as common as promises of profit. Host of Radio New Zealand's Tech Tuesday and author of the book 'She'll Be Right (Not!) – a cybersecurity guide for Kiwi business owners – Daniel Watson says the completely unregulated NFT market is effectively one giant Ponzi scheme. "There's massive hype, much of it fuelled by paid advertising and social media campaigns pai...
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3 cheap tech tools to help you run your business more efficiently
- January 18, 2022
SMEs looking to 'go digital' in the new Covid-19 disrupted business environment are being advised to avoid big, expensive glossy software solutions that promise the world but don’t always deliver. Director at business technology solutions company OneHQ, Mark Anyon, said it's easy to get sucked into expensive technology platforms from overseas because they make it seem that everything is done for you when this is rarely the case. "Getting that software in place and working reliably with y...
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Warning to employers to act on absenteeism now
- January 18, 2022
A combination of the increased sick leave entitlements to ten days, Covid-19 control measures that tell people to stay home if they feel ill and traditionally high absenteeism rates in the Kiwi workplace mean that local companies need to brace for a potential surge in absenteeism in the coming months. Chief executive of national labour-hire company ELE Group, Brent Mulholland, said that in line with trends overseas, New Zealand companies could expect to bear a higher than average burden of pe...
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Access | Partners in Property continues growth with an acquisition and appointment of a GM
- January 12, 2022
One of New Zealand's leading facilities services companies, Access Partners in Property based in Wiri – has reorganised its senior management team hot on the heels of acquiring The Building Wash Company in recent weeks. Founders and shareholders, Lance Pearson and Richard Cawson, will continue as Access Partners in Property Directors and Board members following the appointment of Craig Pearson to the role of General Manager. This GM role encompasses three synergistic brands Access – Gu...
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Waikato DHB attack just the beginning of handsfree cybercrime tsunami
- May 25, 2021
The relatively low risks associated with online crime and the rise of international cybercrime syndicates mean that New Zealanders must brace for more attacks such as that carried out on the Waikato District Health Board. Author of the book 'She'll Be Right (Not!) – a cybersecurity guide for Kiwi business owners – SMB cybersecurity expert Daniel Watson, said it's past time for Kiwis from boardroom level down to get serious about their cybersecurity. "It is not acceptable that the W...
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Is gentrification driving small traders out of the suburbs?
- May 6, 2021
Higher house prices contributing to the rapid gentrification of suburbs across New Zealand pose yet another challenge for small businesses owners, who may find the products and services that served them well a year ago no lo [caption id="attachment_10913" align="alignright" width="300"] Alister Siew[/caption] nger meet the changing neighbourhood's needs. BetterCo Business Advisors and Chartered Accounting firm director, Alister Siew, says his firm is working with some small businesses w...
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Data breaches enabling blackmail, extortion and intellectual property theft
- May 6, 2021
Data breaches and cyberattacks are no longer just an online issue as, increasingly, sinister players use personal information to gain leverage over individuals and organisations online and offline. The author of a cybersecurity guide for Kiwi business owners, Daniel Watson, says many Kiwis may be too comfortable when it comes to supplying their personal information online. "Free offers, downloads, trial transactions, apps and other online offers designed to capture personal details prolife...
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