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Cellulitis – Again!

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Pins, needles and fire.

Imagine your leg has fallen asleep and is now waking with pins and needles. Then light it on fire.

Two years ago (2013) I contracted this nasty infection called cellulitis. I remember sitting at my desk trying to convince myself that I had the energy to ride my motorcycle home safely. Turns out I did make it home safely that afternoon two years ago but after the ride home it was three days before I got out of bed. I only got out of bed at Tracy’s (my wife) insistence that I was really sick.

Like most I thought some chicken soup and sleep would put me right. “My body has fought off everything else,” I thought to myself. Nope. Not this time. My kidneys began to shut down. The infection had crawled up my leg and into my groin. I laid down and took all the medicine they gave me. After ten days of intravenous treatment at the Jubilee‘s infectious disease out patient lab I continued taking “the good drugs” for ten more days.

Scared but mending.

It looks yucky but it’s mending well.

So when the same signs of infection showed again two weeks ago (2015) we didn’t wait – off to emergency! An unfortunate effect of this type of infection is that I am more susceptible to infection now. The infection also leaves scarring within the veins restricting blood flow. This means I’m trying to bring sexy back with compression socks.

I’m good now. Almost finished the course of antibiotics prescribed. Here’s a few pictures to turn your lunch.

More yucky pictures.


We are hiring: PHP Programmer

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We are looking for a PHP Programmer to join our team. If you are an experienced, intelligent, enthusiastic individual and a master at frameworks, ideally the CakePHP Framework, with complete fluency in PHP 5 and MySQL, a passion for usable application design, and a borderline OCD for web technologies, we want to hear from you!

We:

  • Offer a benefits package.
  • Work Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm with the option of flexible hours.
  • Feed you: BBQs and lunches.
  • Have great coffee and a fully stocked kitchen.
  • Send our staff to workshops, conferences and courses to update their skills.

You:

  • Have strong working knowledge and experience with the Cake PHP framework, or another object oriented web framework, and a willingness to learn the Cake way.
  • Are experienced with technologies related to web programming including online application development, cross-platform scripting languages, data modeling, and database construction and administration.
  • Have practical knowledge of work flow and processes for common online applications including content management systems, forms, shopping carts, payment transactions, log-in authentication schemes, bulletin boards, etc.
  • Have solid knowledge in at least one Javascript framework, such as JQuery, Prototype, or Mootools.
  • Are comfortable working with the Model-View-Controller (MVC) code design paradigm.
  • Are experienced with at least one version control system, preferably Subversion or Git.
  • Are able to troubleshoot and fluently hand-code clean, compliant, and semantic HTML 5, CSS, AJAX and JavaScript.
  • Are constantly looking to improve your phenomenal-ness as a programmer. You read blogs and tutorials, listen to podcasts and anything else you can get your hands, eyes or ears on!
  • Love collaborating and learning from your peers (bonus points if you can teach us something!).

Required Skills:

  • You have thorough comprehension and experience with MySQL and Apache.
  • You are competent and comfortable with the *nix command line and Linux operating systems.
  • You have a thorough knowledge of object-oriented PHP.
  • You believe in using the power of frameworks.
  • You have a thorough comprehension and experience with FTP, Shell, TCP/IP, MySQL, Apache etc.
  • You are a hard-working team player who is responsible and pays atention to the little detials
  • You love making sure code works, and works well.
  • You have a passion for W3C validation, accessibility, and properly structured semantic markup.

To apply, send an email to hr (at) radarhill.com and include:

  • URLs to your online portfolios & examples of your phenomenal-ness.
  • Your resume and references.

Closing date: Monday, January 16, 4:00 pm.

**Bonus points if you can find the typos in this posting.**
Only those applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

Christmas Wishes

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closed for christmas from December 26th to January 2ndWe would like to thank all of our clients and supporters for a wonderful and successful 2016! Our newsletters and workshops, in both Duncan and Victoria, have shown us the value of staying in touch, which is never more important than at this time of year.

Enjoy this time with your family and friends, and may your days be filled with peace, hope, and joy this holiday season.

Please note that our office will be closed from December 24th, 2016 to January 2nd, 2017, so that so that we may enjoy the holidays with our family and friends. We hope that you are able to take time to relax as well, and we’ll see you in the New Year! We reopen on January 3rd, 2017 at 9 a.m.

If you have a critical emergency during the holidays you can contact us at info@radarhill.com or fill out our contact form.

As always, thank you for your business, loyalty, and support.
The Team at Radar Hill

What’s Up on the Hill: January Edition

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What’s Been Happening On The Hill

Wondering what we’ve been up to lately? Here’s your chance to catch up on all the latest news on upcoming workshops, tech news and staff activities.

New Client Parking at Radar Hill
Google Workshop Invitation
We’re Expanding: New Staff
Tips, Tricks & Shiny Stuff
Great Websites Launched for Great Clients


Visiting Radar Hill: Parking Changes

Our building has undergone some major changes over the last year, and it is now beautifully renovated. With the fresh new look, there has also been some parking changes. The lower parkade is now closed to the public and visitor parking is located on the upper Douglas Street parkade. There is a beautiful glass entrance to the lobby, where you can take the new elevator up to our top floor office.


You’re Invited: Google Partners Connect – Measurement

During this event, we’ll discuss the importance of measurement in digital marketing and share trends, research and insights that can help you reach your audience in all their moments of need.

This is an event live steamed from Google to our office.

When: February 8th, 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Where: 5th Floor, 3301 Douglas Street, Victoria (Google map & directions)

Online registration is required as seating is very limited.


Joining Radar Hill

We welcome Ben Norbury to the Radar Hill Team! Ben joined us in May as a front-end website developer. Ben completed the Computer Systems Technology program at Camosun College and we’re excited he chose to come to us. His skills and expertise are a great addition to our team!

We’re Hiring!

We are adding to the team at Radar Hill and have an opening for an experienced and enthusiastic PHP Programmer. Do you have the skills and aptitude to join us?

See our job posting to apply or feel free to forward this to someone you think would be a great fit.


Tips, Tricks & Shiny Stuff

Using social media incorrectly actually has a negative effect on your followers, and could cost you business. Jennifer explains some of the do’s and don’ts with automatic posts.

As you plan for 2017, consider what the future holds in Disrupt or be Disrupted.

Need help staying on track with your 2017 goals? Whether those goals are personal or business, these 5 tips will help you to stick with them throughout the year and achieve success.

Concerned about the time, accuracy, and security of dealing with cash in your retail business? Read how one US restaurant chain, Sweetgreen, is going fully cashless in 2017.

Big ideas to improve your business in the new year.

Are you a Gmail user who clicks send too soon? Gmail has made it easy to recall an email before it gets to its destination, provided you act fast enough. Read how to unsend your last Gmail message.

Add to your daily reading. Here are the Top 15 Marketing Books of 2016.

websites
Great Websites Launched for Great Clients

Thermoproof Windows & Doors – Vancouver Island manufacturer of high quality windows, patio doors and skylights. Optimized website with content management. | Read More…

Fly China – Discount flights and tour packages departing from Canada to China and other Asia destinations. Optimized website with content management. | Read More…

The Village Taverna – Cook Street Village restaurant serving a fusion of traditional and contemporary Greek cuisine. Optimized website. | Read More…

Hooper Access and Privacy Consulting – Specialized consulting services on information access and privacy fields for both private and public sectors. Optimized website. | Read More…

Grace Point Square –  The shopping and business centre in Ganges on Salt Spring Island, located footsteps away from the famous Saturday Market. Optimized website. | Read More…


From Dan, Roger, Shawn, and the staff at Radar Hill, we wish you a most successful, productive, and profitable 2017.

Sincerely,
The Team at Radar Hill

We Are Hiring: Amazing Administrative Assistant

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We are adding to the team at Radar Hill and have an opening for an awesome admin assistant, a new role for our agency to assist in the smooth running of our office.

If you are an intelligent, astounding individual with a high attention to detail, like to talk with people by phone or email, consider organization as one of your strengths, and can concisely put a message across, then we want to hear from you!

You are:

  • Polite and friendly when dealing with clients
  • Able to transcribe handwritten notes and audio recordings
  • Effective when answering the phone and can relay messages promptly
  • Proficient in MS Office
  • Enough of a proofreader to pay atention to detail and knows its not enough too just spill check.
  • A hard-working, responsible team player
  • Analytical with critical thinking skills, with the ability to improvise and adapt to challenges
  • Organized and can keep track of numerous clients

This role involves assisting with client care by providing phone support, e-mail support, and in office client assistance (including helping clients with email troubleshooting – only with emails hosted by Radar Hill), updating website content, or passing along the information for website updates, contacting clients and leads about updates and booking appointments, proofreading documents from quotes to newsletters, and being a general office assistant – you, operating within your strengths, assisting the rest of us to operate within ours.

Bonus:

  • Nice handwriting
  • Web design knowledge
  • Ability to analyse Google Analytics

We:

  • Offer competitive salary and benefits package
  • Have been in business for 16 years
  • Work 35 hours a week in our office, Monday to Friday – no pain of overtime
  • Have comfortable desks (not drab and windowless cubicles) in a beautiful office, three decks, and great views of the city
  • Are a motley crew of designers, carnivores, smoothie drinkers, coders, programmers, writers, and animal lovers
  • Are an equal-opportunity, wheelchair/handicap accessible office
  • Are fun, but love to work hard to play hard!

Think this is the job for you? To get our attention: send an email to hr (at) radarhill.com and include:

  • A catchy subject line
  • A list of your top 3 skills
  • What you offer and why you want to join us
  • Your resume including references

Closing date: Monday, May 29th 4:00 pm.

**Bonus points if you can find the typos in this posting.**

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. Those who cannot follow these instructions will not be shortlisted.

May: What’s Up on the Hill

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Wondering about what we’ve been up to? Here is your chance to catch up on all the latest staff adventures, event updates, and great website launches.

Disneyland

Dan spent a few days walking around Disneyland carrying around a couple heavy packs – named Erik and Violet. It was their first time and they definitely enjoyed it, even if there were several naps taken during big moments! There was great weather for Dan and Vanessa to take their adorable little kids around, a good thing as it was many, many kilometres of walking every day. This picture just about sums up their trip.

 

Mexico
In April, Roger and family went to Mexico and stayed in lovely Loreto, a historic town protected as a World Heritage marine site. They stayed in a fantastic villa that had the ocean just 3 houses away, and was next to the golf course. Bathtubs in the bedrooms, a double shower, and a few bikes – everything you need to make it a perfect vacation! One of the highlights was having the pool right in the middle of the house; when temperatures are consistently over 30 degrees Celsius you end up spending a lot of time in the pool. This beautiful place is well worth going to, just look here to get your own piece of the stunning views and great environment.
Maui

Mike and his wife Mariah went to Maui for a lush 2 weeks where they swam, snorkelled, hiked, explored, ate poke, and lounged around on the beach. In general, a very nice vacation, minus being woken up every single morning before sunrise by wild chickens. That’s right – not songbirds, not sparrows, but chickens. Then their flight was cancelled and they were stuck in Maui for an extra 36 hours, which meant having to eat even more poke. Mike’s highlight, which he shared as soon as he got back to Victoria, was this lizard that he met at a tiki bar, licking a cherry in a tiny cocktail umbrella!

Staff Changes

Kind of new, but also not new, is Shawn’s daughter Caitlin, who for the past year has been working part-time on and off at Radar Hill. Since April she has been here full-time doing social media, writing blogs and emails, assisting with client support, and organizing for our next hire.

We are Hiring!

We are hiring an Amazing Administrative Assistant! Someone who will help with client support, from phones to emails, as well as proofread documents and assist in the smooth running of the office. We are looking for someone who is friendly, efficient, and organized. If you are looking for a position like this or you know someone who wants to be part of an awesome office, then apply!

 

Golden Gavel

Kendra and Shawn are avid attendants of Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organization that operates thousands of clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. Feel free to visit Kendra and Shawn’s Toastmaster Club at Uptown every second Wednesday if you’re interested in finding out more!

In February through Toastmasters, Kendra participated in the annual local Golden Gavel Novice Speakers competition, for people with less than one year of formal speaking practice. It was her first time participating, and she placed second! Her speech was about living with depression, and as a prize Kendra received this lovely plaque and a book of famous quotes.

 

Andrea sees U2!

Andrea and Garrett went to Vancouver for the U2 Concert, which they say was fantastic! It was a bit of a mess at BC Place due to ticket machines being down, so many people ended up missing the opening act of Mumford and Sons. Luckily Andrea and Garrett were able to get in on time and watch it all, where nothing could detract from the amazingness of seeing U2 perform live. They started strong and it was a smooth and superb concert – absolutely well worth going to.

Social Media Camp
Caitlin and Kendra attended the 9th annual Social Media Camp in Victoria, the largest social media conference in Canada. They went to many great talks and left with renewed inspiration for where to take Radar Hill’s online social presence. Stay tuned for videos! Kendra was also lucky enough to be the winner of a wine draw, courtesy of theVancouver Island Economic Alliance.

 

Google Talk in Duncan

Our office is of course located in Victoria, not quite downtown but still far enough from the Cowichan Valley to make it a bit of a trek for our clients there, so we decided that we would bring some of our office up Island. One of our added services and advantage of being a local company is giving talks and workshops to our clients and guests, whether it’s about password security, CRMs, or online marketing strategies, there is always something concrete to help your business.

Our most recent talk was in Duncan, hosted at the Best Western Cowichan Valley Inn, with a fantastic lunch afterwards at the CV Station Pub. Kendra gave a good overview of AdWords to a receptive audience, and there was a very engaging Q&A session at the end – just the way we like it! Look out for email invitations to our next talks.

Upcoming Google Event

Our next Google Partners Connect Event will be June 14th from 8:30 am – 11:00 am, so save the date if you are interested in online marketing for your business! During this event, we will discuss the importance of digital marketing for the Classifieds and Local Industries, share trends, research and insights that can help you reach your audience in all their moments of need.

Great Updates and Websites Launched for Great Clients

We are always happy to update existing clients’ websites; to take our old work of what was current then and bring it up to the latest standards in web design is a satisfying process. Creating new sites for new clients is also a great process, here are a few sites that we have done in the last couple months:

Wendy Bowen
www.wendybowen.com for Wendy, a physiotherapist, Wellness Coach, and motivational speaker based in the Cowichan Valley.

Andre Erlank
www.victoriaskincancerscreening.com for Dr. Erlank, a skin cancer specialist new to Victoria.

Your Honey-do List Guys Inc.
www.yourhoneydolistguysinc.com for a Handyman service that specializes in to-do lists.

Out of Ireland
www.outofireland.ca for a boutique store on Government store with a wonderful collection of Irish knitwear, clothing, and jewellery.

Island Mediquip
www.islandmediquip.com for locally owned and independent home medical equipment specialists.

RE/MAX® Nipawin
www.nipawinrealty.com for the best real estate team in Nipawin, Saskatchewan: a place that is beautiful where the fishing is great!

Thank you for reading this edition of What’s Up on the Hill and your continuous support.

We Hired! Our Hiring Process

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Have you ever sent in your resume to an employer and thought, “this doesn’t represent me in the best way. If only they knew me they’d hire me. If only I could put myself across, instead of only having this cold, dry resume.” Well, at Radar Hill we really try to get to know our applicants, by conducting group interviews. Why do we do that? Let’s use an example from a recent hiring we did for an administrative assistant.

We had 75 applicants. Yes. 75 for just one position. How do we possibly go through that many? We don’t have a dedicated HR department nor do we employ hiring services to find employees, preferring to do everything personally and in-house. To begin with, we take a quick look through their resumes and cover letters to see who is basically qualified. That eliminated 15, so now we are down to 60 people. At an hour an interview, that’s 60 hours, and we just can’t do that. Even doing a very in-depth look at their resumes would take many hours and is not the singularly most conclusive or accurate representation of someone.

So, what next? We then send out a “typo test” to judge their ability to edit documents and their level of attention to detail. It was a section of one of our previous newsletter’s that was modified to be full of typos and inconsistencies, as we wanted to allow applicants to showcase their proofreading skills. From those who responded, we shortlisted further, rated them, and the people who could not reach an adequate score were crossed off. We then had 40 candidates who all seemed superficially qualified, and we proceeded to give each of them a more in-depth look at their resume. Previous administrative experience was not vital. What we wanted was someone who could use Microsoft Office well, be consistent in their formatting, was looking for a long-term position, and had some customer service experience.

From those 40, we almost halved the list to 22 applicants who seemed all well qualified for the position. However, a resume and cover letter is not enough – we want to get to know all of them. What is their personality like? How will they fit in? How well will they work with others? We have found that one of the best to ways to get a glimpse of their personalities is to do a group interview.

Before the group interview, Dan conducts a very brief phone interview and arranges for them to come by for an in-person interview, leaving out the fact that it will be a group interview. To start off the group interview, we go into the boardroom and we introduce them to the company. We ask them questions and look to see who has given an indication of knowing anything about our business and who has at least visited our website. We look for eye contact, friendliness and enthusiasm. We also look out for who wants to stay in the corner and whimper, who is sober, who is not stoned– yes, we have had someone like that. Ask Shawn or Dan in person for that anecdote.

We want to see who we can communicate with. Because this role involves dealing with our clients, we want to see who can really stand out; who is too chatty, who is too vague, who is too silent. Being shy is fine, being quiet is fine, but someone who doesn’t have any questions for us or someone who only speaks when asked directly and with as few words as possible, is not the personality type that would fit this specific position. We don’t have a severe authoritarian atmosphere in the room when conducting the interviews, there is room for joking and laughter, and we appreciate those that can join in and be conscious of the environment around them.

We conducted a total of 3 group interviews, all in the same day, as in the end only 14 people responded to Dan’s phone message. We had a group of 6, one with 3, and one with 5 people. From that we decide who we would like to bring back for an individual interview. For this recent hire, it was a difficult decision as many of them were qualified and eager. We eventually shortlisted down to 5, and we would have been happy with any of them, but at the moment we do not need 5 administrative assistants. Many hours were spent discussing who we were to ultimately hire, but the group interview helped immensely with the entire process.

To summarize, the reason we do group interviews is because we find it to be the most efficacious way to get a face to face introduction with the largest number of applicants for our positions in a time efficient manner. It should be noted that if we have few applicants then a group interview is not necessary, or if a position is not required to have people skills, then we would be less likely to do group interviews. There are a couple people working at Radar Hill now for if whom we did a group interview they probably would not have been chosen, but their positions do not require much client contact. Our hiring process is reflective of the position, and in this case for the administrative assistant the ideal candidate will be eager and enthusiastic, to assist in the smooth operations of our business and handling of clients.

Cellulitis – Again!

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Pins, needles and fire.

Imagine your leg has fallen asleep and is now waking with pins and needles. Then light it on fire.

Two years ago (2013) I contracted this nasty infection called cellulitis. I remember sitting at my desk trying to convince myself that I had the energy to ride my motorcycle home safely. Turns out I did make it home safely that afternoon two years ago but after the ride home it was three days before I got out of bed. I only got out of bed at Tracy’s (my wife) insistence that I was really sick.

Like most I thought some chicken soup and sleep would put me right. “My body has fought off everything else,” I thought to myself. Nope. Not this time. My kidneys began to shut down. The infection had crawled up my leg and into my groin. I laid down and took all the medicine they gave me. After ten days of intravenous treatment at the Jubilee‘s infectious disease out patient lab I continued taking “the good drugs” for ten more days.

Scared but mending.

It looks yucky but it’s mending well.

So when the same signs of infection showed again two weeks ago (2015) we didn’t wait – off to emergency! An unfortunate effect of this type of infection is that I am more susceptible to infection now. The infection also leaves scarring within the veins restricting blood flow. This means I’m trying to bring sexy back with compression socks.

I’m good now. Almost finished the course of antibiotics prescribed. Here’s a few pictures to turn your lunch.

More yucky pictures.


What’s Up On The Hill: 2017 Recap

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Wondering what we’ve been up to this year? Staff adventures and cat pictures are detailed below, in this edition of

What’s Up on the Hill 2017

Stunning Scotland

Caitlin finally moved to Edinburgh! After talking about it for years, she got on a plane and arrived in beautiful Edinburgh this September. It is a wonderful city that she visited for the first time almost 5 years ago, and hasn’t stopped thinking about since. She is not abandoning Radar Hill, rest assured that blog posts detailing Radar Hill services and website tips will still be written. However instead of her working in the Pyramid, she will now be working near a Castle! The old buildings, history, accents, and stunning views were just too irresistible to stay away from. “I have my own flat in a great area of the city, and things are going great!”


Happy Hires

This summer welcomed Helena and Ramneet to our team, and we are glad that they are enjoying their time so far. Helena answered our call for an Administrative Assistant, and quickly learned that not only does Radar Hill create websites, but also delivers on making our clients a success. She helps keep the office running smoothly, whether it’s adding content, troubleshooting email issues, or arranging Dan and Shawn’s schedule. The first point of contact when you call the office, if she can make your day easier, she’d love to help.
Ramneet came to us as a programming co-op student from Camosun, and has been a great addition. She appreciates the friendly atmosphere and is an eager learner.

Exceptional Eclipse

In August a total solar eclipse occurred in a small geographical strip in the USA, and Shawn brought 3 of his daughters on a road trip to experience this majestic natural phenomenon. It turned into a three-week trip, because driving to Idaho isn’t so far from Utah, which isn’t too far from Las Vegas, which is close to California. It was a fantastic trip, and probably the longest that he has gone without doing work in 20 years, so a well-deserved vacation! The eclipse itself was absolutely stunning; the hours and hours of driving was definitely worth the 2 minutes of totality. Such a beautiful sight to behold that pictures cannot do it justice. Other highlights include the red Zion National Park in Utah, Disneyland, and Universal Studios. Over a year of planning went into this trip, and although arguments were had, it was a wonderful trip that they are so glad they took.


Kendra and Kittens

Kendra had a busy year, although it started painfully with a popped shoulder. A personal highlight was winning tickets from the Zone 91.3 for a Hollerado concert which included a meet & greet. She also has been volunteering with GVAC to help socialize the kittens they have up for adoption at the PetSmart at Uptown by cuddling and playing with them. From orange to red to purple, if you came into the office often you might have noticed her hair changing colours – unless you’re Dan in which case it took him 2 weeks to notice the bright red was gone.


Hot-Off-The-Press Helena

Just before starting at Radar Hill, Helena got to enjoy Las Vegas for the first time – although she doesn’t recommend going in June, unless you like 40+ degrees heat. A couple highlights were the thrill ride at the top of the Stratosphere, and the New York New York Rollercoaster. She also took advantage of the lovely West Coast summer weather and headed up to Lake Cowichan for weekend camping, with her favourite spots being Pine Point Campsite, and Nixon Creek.


Wonderful Workshops

We hosted 11 Google Partners Connect workshops this year, with subjects including the real estate, health services, and home services industries, which were a big success! These monthly events detailed what businesses could do to get ahead with their online advertising by targeting prospective clients. Stay tuned for more workshops in 2018!


Loreto Living

In April the Whitson family visited Loreto, Mexico, a beautiful little town on the Baja California Peninsula. Nathan was finishing high school and looking for work so Tracy and Roger thought they had better take a nice family vacation before he’s too busy. They stayed in a fantastic vacation home – see here to rent your own piece of paradise – for 10 fantastic days. While walking or biking around the developments it seemed like Disneyland sometimes being so clean and friendly, although the one complaint by Nathan and Sydney was that “there’s nowhere to spend money” which makes it a wonderful ‘fault’ when compared to actual Disneyland. With so much to do, from the beaches, eating, golfing, hiking, scuba diving and snorkeling, it was a great vacation and they can’t wait to go back.


Talented Toastmasters

Toastmasters runs the largest communications and leadership training program in the world. This year, Shawn made it through three levels to win the District 21, Division A Table Topics Contest. At these contests, each participant is brought on stage, given a surprise question or statement, and must speak on it for a timed two minutes. Table Topics as they are known, are great at improving one’s ability to think on the spot and to think extemporaneously in front of an audience.
Kendra participated in the 71st annual local Golden Gavel Novice Speakers competition, for people with less than one year of formal speaking practice. It was her first time participating, and she placed second!
Feel free to visit Kendra and Shawn’s Toastmaster Club at Uptown every second Wednesday if you’re interested in finding out more.

Irresistible Island

Andrea celebrated 14 years at Radar Hill in March, and with Helena concentrating on client contact, Andrea can focus on the accounting which makes everything run smoothly and efficiently for our clients. A personal highlight of the year was travelling with Garrett and Brielle up island to Nanaimo, Parksville, and Cathedral Grove where the trees are around 800 years old. They spent time visiting family, enjoying the beautiful beaches of Vancouver Island, and Christmas toy shopping in Coombs. Yes it was August when they went, but it’s always a good time to do some Christmas shopping!


Birthday and Beer

Dan turned 50, and to celebrate this milestone birthday he and his family went on a short trip down to the Oregon Coast. There were stunning views of the ocean, sand dunes, steam trains, and beer to keep the grownups happy!


Shawn’s Success

Shawn is a member of BNI, the world’s largest referral organisation. Every week his chapter, known as Valley Voices and comprised of local business owners, trades people, and professionals, get together to generate referrals. At the beginning of this year the members of Valley Voices considered him to be one of the most valuable players in the group and voted to award him the Master Networker of the Year, which he humbly received. A well deserved award, if there is a service you require, Shawn can readily refer you to the relevant person.
Networking is more than just shaking hands and passing out business cards.
The key is to build mutually beneficial business relationships, and to not make it all about yourself. Being a BNI member has given Shawn a platform to actively share ideas, contacts and, most importantly, business referrals with the world’s largest business networking organization.

Website Wants

Over the last few months we’ve been publishing articles about what a website requires in 2017 to stay current. There are of course many aspects to a successful web presence, and many more topics to cover in 2018, but here is a list of a few that can be easily added or done to your website today.
Read more:
Then and Now Part 1: RWD – Why having a responsive mobile friendly website is important
Then and Now Part 2: Schema – A code to make your site more attractive in Search Engine results
Then and Now Part 3: SSL – Keep your website and your clients’ information secure
Then and Now Part 4: Open Graph – Share things effectively on Social Media

 

 

 

Why Scotland?

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I moved to Scotland almost 9 months ago, and am now joining BNI on behalf of Radar Hill. Because the question has been asked of me many times, I thought I would write an extended post about what has led me to living in Edinburgh. Short story – it’s a beautiful city. Slightly longer story – I like Britain (despite all of its current political difficulties), and Edinburgh is the perfect city. Even longer story – see below.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

First Contact with Britain

When I was 11 years old, I began asking my parents to bring me to London. I had been reading historical fiction books about the Tudors, and another series of books set in the 17th century, and I wanted to see the castles in person. So, for a year, almost every day, I annoyed my parents with “can I go to London? Can you please bring me to London? I want to go to London. When can we go to London? Let’s go to London.”

Big Ben in London

Big Ben in London

I was very persistent. And determined. I needed to go to London. So, I looked online for flights and hotels, and found a good deal – 7 nights in a hotel and flight for 2 people, at a decent price. It surprised yet absolutely delighted me when my parents accepted! I flew to London with my dad, and we had a one-hour stopover in Glasgow. I was so tired, having been 9 hours on a plane, but felt absolutely enchanted and entertained being surrounded by Scottish accents for a brief moment, as we switched planes. At the airport I read a headline in a newspaper “Oysters to now work on trains” and it was the funniest headline to a sleep-deprived 12-year old. I didn’t understand what it meant at the time, but the visual I imagined was amazing.

We spent a brilliant week in London doing all the top tourist attractions, from the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court – all the great Tudor destinations. I later learned that my parents brought me because they thought it would placate me, feed the desire to go and then that would be it, I would drop the incessant asking to visit. But no, as soon as I got back to Canada, it was “I want to go to Europe. Can I go to Europe? When can you bring me to Europe? Let’s go to Europe.”

Europe Trip

A few years later, my uncle gifted me and my mum a trip to Europe, a 3-week coach tour where we went to 11 different countries, and then we stayed a whole week in Paris. Moral of the story being persistence and determination – it works! Also having an amazingly generous family. It was a wonderful trip, but again it did not placate me, just made me think that yes I want to be in Europe. I wasn’t sure exactly where in Europe, just somewhere on the continent would suffice.

Study Abroad in Wales

I then spent a couple years not sure exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I contemplated being a chef, but then realised that working in a kitchen is actually really stressful. All I really wanted to do was move to Europe. But I didn’t know the best way of living there. I considered being an Au Pair, or doing those One Year Working Holidays, but the more comfortable way to go was to participate in a student exchange. So, I went to college, with the intention of doing an exchange. I spent one year at Camosun College, taking 3 buses to get to it from my house in the suburbs, and then just after I turned 18, applied to do an exchange.

I ended up at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Lampeter, Wales, a teeny tiny town in the middle of the countryside. When I say teeny tiny, I mean, it had literally only 2 roads. The university itself was about as big as the town. So not a lot going on there, but it was pretty, and peaceful. I went there because that was the only place in Britain that Camosun did an exchange with. When choosing the schools to attend, I was far too much of an Anglophile to turn down the chance of actually living there.

Exquisite Edinburgh

As any good student on exchange, I travelled whenever I had the chance. A week before the second semester began in January 2013, I decided to go to Edinburgh. I had been to London of course, and I had been to Cardiff, a mere 4 hours away from Lampeter, so it was only fitting that I should go next to the Scottish capital. I had vaguely heard some good things about Edinburgh, unlike Glasgow, where I was told not to go or I’d “get knifed” – not exactly a glowing review. Not that I actually believed it, but I still decided on just seeing Edinburgh. I booked a train and a hostel, and was going to do my first ever solo holiday.

I can’t remember the exact route, but it was at least 6 hours by train, if not 8. It was January, and I was heading to a place even more notorious for having no sun. It was dark when I arrived, and all I wanted to do was get to my hostel. I walked out of the train station with my suitcase, slightly terrified that I was in a big city all by myself – and I remember thinking 10 seconds after getting out of the station and onto Waverley Bridge “Oh my god this is beautiful. I need to live here.”

North Bridge

North Bridge

I need to live here

That was it. It was instantaneous, the feeling of needing to belong in Edinburgh. I’ve never gotten that with any other city, and I have been to many places since then. Even though it was freezing cold and dark, the way the light hit the buildings, the way the road curved, it made my heart happy.

I spent an amazing week in Edinburgh doing all the touristy things, falling more in love with the city every day I was there. Pictures do not do it justice. It is simply beautiful, with its preserved Old Town, perfect cobblestones, and gorgeous gardens. There are many bridges in the city, but no actual water – just layers of buildings and roads.
When I checked out of my hostel I thought I wouldn’t mind if I had to stay in Edinburgh forever – and then when I got to the train station my train had been cancelled. However,I had school to finish, so I did get on a replacement train, but it wasn’t a quick or easy decision.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

 

Since then, I always had Edinburgh at the back of my mind as somewhere that I would like to go to. I returned in January of 2016 for a week, and again was enthralled by the beauty of the city. The architecture is simply stunning, and Arthur’s Seat is awesomely close. At the edge of the Parliament and Palace there is a huge hill. I won’t say mountain, as I am from British Columbia, but it is definitely a good hill. And there is a castle in the middle of the city!

What Now

2016 was a weird year. I spent a few months in Britain, then a few months in Canada, then a few months in the Netherlands. I worked in the summer at Radar Hill and Claire’s Accessories, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life, thinking that there could be and should be something more, just not knowing what it was.

In 2017, I thought I should focus and concretely decide what it is that I want to do as a career. I had options – I just had to focus on one. I graduated with a BA in History, although the degree was an excuse to travel, rather than for any job at the end. So, I went back to Radar Hill. Nepotism may have gotten me the job in 2016, but they asked me to come back in 2017, so I did some things right.

Moving to Scotland

Careers are a difficult thing to choose, and I could not focus in on anything. The only constant thought in my head was “I want to move to Edinburgh.” And I kept talking about moving, and not wanting to be a hypocrite because it annoys me when people say they are going to do something and then they don’t, I decided I would just do it. There was nothing really tying me to Canada, except my cat, but I knew he would be looked after. There was no good reason why I shouldn’t move to Edinburgh, so in May I bought a one-way plane ticket and booked an AirBnB for 2 weeks.

I arrived on 27 September 2017, and was wildly optimistic about how long it would take me to find a flat and get a job. I was still going to be working for Radar Hill, although it would not be full time. Why and how I am now a Virtual Assistant is another blog post. This personal post has been to explain why I am living in Scotland: basically, I have been obsessed with Britain for far too long, and I fell in love with Edinburgh immediately when I visited it 5.5 years ago. There was just something so alluring about this city. It was my “backup” plan for a couple years until I decided that I should just go for it. And now I am joining BNI on behalf of my dad’s company. I did not expect that when I moved, but I welcome this new exciting opportunity! Stay tuned on our social media for more Edinburgh pictures.

From Canada to Scotland

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Caitlin at 7, in their first office

I, Caitlin O’Hara, started working at Radar Hill officially in May 2016. I had of course been around it nearly my entire life as it began when I was 7 years old. In 2001 Dan Lundgren, Roger Whitson, and my dad Shawn O’Hara merged their respective 2 companies together to create Radar Hill Technology Inc., a business that would focus on making custom websites in Victoria. Previous to this my dad had been working from home in the downstairs office, the stereotype of the emerging IT guy. However, not being content with fulfilling this stereotype of basement-dwelling web people, they decided to rent out a proper office.

I remember Radar Hill’s first office being on the second floor of a slightly sketchy building, where you had to go up what we termed “death stairs” – the awful metal kind with holes in them. Luckily they only stayed there a few years, as they soon moved to a much better place – the top floor of a pyramid-shaped building. Many years later and they are still in that great office space that has a lift (elevator) instead of death stairs. Anyone who comes by the office gets a full tour, as they like to show it off.

Radar Hill's boardroom

Radar Hill’s boardroom

Why I Work At Radar Hill

More details of my travels can be read about in this post, but this blog is to explain how it is I came to be working at Radar Hill. My first ever cheque came from them when I was about 14, and I made samosas for their open house. Finger food is of course the best thing about an open house, and being an entrepreneurial teenager I saw the opportunity to make something and sell it, and Radar Hill obliged. My samosas were a great success, and I have made them many more times for Radar Hill events. For several years that was the extent of my working relationship with Radar Hill, simply occasionally catering for them.

I finished attending university in December 2015, and did not know what my next step should be. I didn’t get my BA in History because I wanted a job in that field, it was more just an excuse to travel. I spent the first few months of 2016 in the UK, staying with friends, not thinking about future plans. When I returned to Canada, I finally decided to think about career prospects. My dad was talking about hiring a part-time person to phone clients, and after several weeks of discussing it with him, I formally put in an application, and him and Dan agreed to hire me for a few months.

My role involved initially just calling clients to ensure that they were satisfied with their website, but soon it evolved to include more administrative tasks, and more writing. Hence why you are reading this blog now – I choose most of the blog topics. However, my employment was only for the summer and part time, and so once I made enough money I went back to Europe for a couple months at the end of 2016. As much as I wanted to live in Europe, I was not prepared at that point, and came back to Canada, with absolutely no career plans whatsoever.

Getting More Involved with Radar Hill

Deciding on what you want to do with your life is stressful. I knew that whatever I chose could be changed easily and nothing is permanent, but I didn’t know what to even choose to concentrate on. My dad asked if I would be willing to come back to Radar Hill, and I accepted. In 2017 I was no longer phoning clients, rather it was more of an administrative assistant role, where I also did social media and email marketing. I learned more about their process, and what clients come to expect and appreciate from them – notably the relationship that develops, with the integrity and honesty in which Radar Hill operates.

If you are a business, having a website in the 21st century is expected. Thus being ubiquitous, it could easily be thought that a site is just a basic digital brochure where services and contact info is listed. But in this increasingly online age, a website is the engine in which a business can operate on. If properly executed, a website can increase your leads, which increases your business, which increases your income, which will transform your life.

To achieve such a transformative website, there needs to be a lot of trust and cooperation between a business and their web developer. The very core of a business needs to be examined, to know what aspects the website should focus on. Radar Hill makes websites that will work for you, and isn’t necessarily just a list of your services. Working in the office I learned just how much actually goes into a website, as there are so many components and different parts that can be added to one. No one person can be an expert on all of these things, which is why Radar Hill has expanded to now have 8 employees, plus me.

Radar Hill in Scotland

As a child I didn’t appreciate how much work my dad did, but now I see how much he has evolved his own position from website maker to now coordinating projects, and how much effort and care goes into maintaining happy clients. Client service is fundamental at Radar Hill, and those kinds of relationships are exactly what I want to do with Scottish clients.

I moved to Edinburgh in September 2017, and thought that would be it for my time at

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Radar Hill. However, my dad asked if I would continue doing some things for them, and as all I would need is a laptop, I agreed. I managed to do some writing and audio transcriptions part time for several months, all the while working full time in a shop in the city. However, I did not move halfway across the world just to work in retail. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, but it was not that. So I soon left that position, and decided to focus on working for Radar Hill.

Working in Scotland

Because I was doing things remotely, I thought I could do that sort of thing for other people, and the term Virtual Assistant came up. It seemed to fit everything I was doing and what I wanted to do, as it means being flexible and self-employed, while doing projects and work that is enjoyable. I soon visited a BNI chapter, as my dad has been part of BNI in Canada for years, and highly recommended that I visit a chapter to announce my new VA business, and begin to build a network in the city I just moved to.

While at a BNI meeting, it was stated that a website designer would be welcome to join the chapter. While I personally am not a website designer, I do know of a company that is an expert in it. Thus the opportunity for Radar Hill to expand to Scotland with BNI became apparent, and I am pleased to announce that I am now a member!

I am committed to maintaining the same level of client service that people on Vancouver Island have come to expect from Radar Hill. I will be the front person, the one that clients in Scotland will communicate with, and the website will be built in Victoria. Being the liaison is a new and exciting challenge, something I did not think I’d be doing when I first moved to Scotland, but I welcome the chance. This company has had a huge impact on my life, and I have seen how Radar Hill has evolved over the years, and I am so pleased to be part of their next big step.

Be Compliant with Worksafe BC Legislation

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Every week we do a live Facebook video bringing you the latest news from the Hill and online marketing tips. Recently we spoke about Worksafe BC and its anti-bullying training session.

A few months ago we had our Worksafe BC Bullying and Harassment training session. We brought in Ingrid Vaughan, who is an HR specialist. The session took an hour and a half, and we did this because since 2013 it has been a legal requirement in British Columbia that businesses have to conduct these sessions, to deal with harassment and bullying.

As much as we’d like to think things are common sense and won’t just happen, one third of people have experienced some form of bullying or harassment in the workplace. In some businesses it is rare, in others it is rampant. Because of all the implications, such as for personal productivity, absenteeism and lost productivity, it is a huge concern, which is why Worksafe BC now legislates it. Having rules and regulations clearly established will help the entirety of the working environment.

What counts as bullying and harassment? The definition is if anything humiliates someone, whether that is verbally, in person, 1-to-1, in a group, or through any kind of electronic communication. It is important to note that it is not the intent that matters, it is how it is perceived.

For example, you might know somebody that has a gruff nature who may say things intending to be nice, but it can be interpreted in different ways. That is the point of the training session, to make people aware that even if they don’t have bad intentions, things can be perceived negatively.

Under the act, workers, managers, and supervisors are obligated to ensure the health and safety of all workers. A variety of things can include bullying, such as snide comments, excluding staff, or taking credit for someone else’s work. Cyberbullying is becoming an increasing problem as well, where it is online harassment.

We are all obligated to report bullying if we see it happening. We can’t ignore it. If you want to find out more, to have a training session in your own office, because not only is it a legal requirement, but it is also for the overall benefit of your staff, you can contact the HR specialist that we use at www.smart-hr.ca or you can find out more at www.worksafebc.com/bullying.

To watch these broadcasts live, stay up to date by liking our Facebook page!

We Are Hiring: Web Designer / Front-End Developer

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If you are an astounding individual with a high attention to detail, an eye for design, HTML & CSS skills, and are comfortable taking direction from a client, then we want to hear from you!

We are adding to the team at Radar Hill! We have an opening for an awesome Web Designer / Front-End Developer, a role to assist our Graphics Department with creating beautiful and effective websites.

We need someone with a solid foundation in the fundamentals of graphic design, specifically as it applies to web development, using: HTML, SCSS and CSS Preprocessors, Adobe Xd, moqups or similar wireframing software, JavaScript and jQuery, Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator, UI and UX, PHP, FTP, Web Hosting Configuration (cPanel or similar), and have experience with at least one version control system, preferably Subversion or Git.

You can:

  • Create clean, modern, and well crafted websites
  • Create mobile friendly websites and have knowledge of responsive website design
  • Create design briefs and project guidelines documents based on client needs
  • Organize and manage client content and assets
  • Conduct thorough testing and review to make sure websites validate based on W3C standards
  • Follow Google best practices
  • Turn a design proof into code

You have:

  • Attention to detail in the fine tuning of original customized web layouts
  • A passion for W3C validation, accessibility, and properly structured semantic markup
  • The desire to look for ways to enhance the function and usability of web layouts
  • An inquisitive nature, that allows you to learn about modern technologies and adapt to new coding practices
  • A passion for collaborating and learning from your peers (bonus points if you can teach us something!)
  • Analytical, troubleshooting and critical thinking skills
  • The ability to improvise, work within set budgets, and adapt to challenges

We:

  • Offer competitive salary and benefits package
  • Have been in business for 17 years
  • Work 35 hours a week in our office, Monday to Friday – no pain of overtime
  • Have comfortable desks (not drab and windowless cubicles) in a beautiful office, three decks, and great views of the city
  • Are a motley crew of designers, smoothie drinkers, coders, programmers, writers, and animal lovers
  • Are an equal-opportunity, wheelchair/handicap accessible office

Apply!

Think this is the job for you? To get our attention: send an email to hr (at) radarhill.com and include:

  1. A list of your top 3 skills
  2. Your design portfolio, with at least 3 designs
  3. What you offer and why you want to join us
  4. Your resume including references
  5. A catchy subject line
  6. An answer to the question: “How do you recognize a good design from a bad design?”

Closing date: Friday, January 11th, 4:00 pm.

Must be located on Southern Vancouver Island. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. Those who cannot follow these instructions will not be shortlisted.

Behind The Curtain At Radar Hill – Helena Wiebe

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I’ve been working at Radar Hill for over a year and a half now as an administrative assistant, and I’m very excited to share with you a little insight into what my experience has been, and why coming here every day brings me genuine joy.

For me, the best part about my job here at Radar Hill has been the way in which no two days are the same. There’s always something different or a new challenge that arises and it really helps to keep me on my toes.

In terms of what I do here on a day to day basis, my role involves a lot of taking care of things for Dan and Shawn, or even other members of the team, to make sure they can focus on current projects and establishing a connection with our clients.

A huge part of my job every day is making phone calls to clients and other key figures, which means I’ve come to appreciate the value of a clear connection, one where I can actually hear the other person!

Even before I took the job at Radar Hill, I knew it was going to be a rewarding and exciting place to work. Having found one of their blog posts announcing their search for an ‘Amazing Administrative Assistant’, it spoke directly to me. They asked for applicants to put a small joke in their subject lines, and after all, what could be more appealing about a company than a good sense of humour?

When you call Radar Hill I will be the first to answer, and I look forward to hearing from you and helping however I can!

Helena

Behind The Curtain At Radar Hill – Andrea

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Having worked at Radar Hill for over 16 years now, I’ve had a front row seat watching the company grow and develop, and I’m still just as excited to come into work every morning. In all that time, the most rewarding part of my job has always involved people, whether it’s working closely with the other staff members, or liaising with clients in order to make sure their needs are met.

It’s safe to say that my daily routine is a busy and hectic one – but I wouldn’t have it any other way! Most of my duties revolve around taking care of bookkeeping, something that takes a great degree of skill and patience, as well as providing support and assistance to our valued clients.

What drew me to Radar Hill is the same thing that has kept me here all these years; the reward of working for a passionate organization, one staffed by people who help to make sure that my work is never dull and always valued.

Having settled in with both in my work and in the glorious View Royal area of Victoria, I look forward to many more years with the company.


It’s All In A Name: The Birth Of Radar Hill

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In celebration of our 18th anniversary, we’ve decided to tell our own origin story here at Radar Hill. People often ask us how the company came to be, and especially how we chose the name Radar Hill, and we love telling them. It’s a great reminder of how far we’ve come, and of why we began this journey in the first place.

Before there was Radar Hill, we each had our own ventures. Way back in the year 2000, Shawn had his own company called Right-of-Way which he ran from his home basement, while Dan and Roger were running their Realassist company out of offices at DFH. Together we established a strong personal and business relationship, trading services with each other for years – but we wanted more.

This is where the conversations about Radar Hill first began to take shape; the idea that we could build on this relationship and grow together as a company. But there were still some details to be ironed out. Chiefly, what would this new business be called?

But, where to begin? Naming a company is just as difficult as naming anything else, as I’m sure anyone with a child or pet can relate to. Thankfully, fate had handed us a starting point, as both of our original ventures began with the letter R, it made sense the new one should do the same.

People often overlook the importance of a name, and for us we needed it to be an effective one. This meant short, easy to remember, easy to spell, and with a domain name we could use immediately.

In true startup fashion, we set about finding this perfect name in Shawn’s basement office, in a manner that must seem ancient to the 2019 reader. With a stack of reference points – National Geographics, atlases, and dictionaries – we set about refining the criteria.

We landed on the idea of something geographical and technical, as that would resonate with the image we wanted to present. The whole process had a chaotic auction house feel, with names being shouted out by Dan and Shawn, and Roger checking to see if the domain was available. It took hours, but it was narrowed down to two – Radar Hill, and Red Nile. Because the domain was better, and a closer geographic association (there is a Radar Hill on Vancouver Island), we settled on Radar Hill.

We incorporated on April 15th, 2001 as Radar Hill Technology Group Inc. The name of a company which began as a sliver of an idea, and has now seen nearly two decades of success and growth – with much more to come.

Roger, Dan, and Shawn in the mid 2000s. Still cool.

BNI National Conference – May 2019, in Montreal

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Each year the BNI National conference is held in a different part of Canada, last year it was in Ontario, next year will be in Vancouver. This year’s event was held in Montreal, a city that has a special place in my heart.

The BNI BC team in Montreal

Not only did my mother grow up in the area, but I also spent some great years there while I studied at Concordia University in the late 80s. I’ve only returned a few times since I left in 1991, but it’s always nice to go back and visit the campus and my old neighbourhoods. Not much has changed, except being able to ride a bike around where I lived as a student – a death wish in the 80s.

Of course, Montreal also makes a great host for a BNI conference. We were lucky enough to enjoy a cruise along the St Lawrence with people that included members from BNI chapters across the country, as well as some from local chapters.

The bringing together of the mix of chapters is what makes these conferences so special. With representatives from across Canada, it’s a great chance to contrast and compare. This was the focus of our sessions, with presentations from executive directors and spirited discussions.

These allowed us to approach solving some common problems, for example, one session looked at what we call ‘category cowboys’ – people who claim multiple categories within a chapter. As with a lot of problems, the solution lay in clear communication, listening, and providing supportive but instructive feedback. My team did a skit covering 19 categories of lawyer, including space law, employment law, property law etc…

As you would imagine, it also offers a tremendous opportunity to further your own network and business, and I will be following up with a few people that I met. It was also great to take advantage of the chance to connect with some people from the web design industry.

One of the big takeaways I have is that we need to share our success stories on Vancouver Island more. Many stories were shared from members of various chapters, including one from a cleaner who joined BNI 4 years as a single operator, and through a very precise target market and BNI, now has 6 employees. BNI helps people grow businesses, and these success stories are important to share.

The conference was a great opportunity to reflect more on what we do as a chapter, the many things we do well, and a few things I think we should look to improve going forward. For example, we should be using more live streaming and other video platforms. We should also be clearer about communicating the BNI structure to members and prospective members, not just what it is, but how following it will lead to more leads and increased business growth.

On a final, personal note, I was very grateful to be given a dedicated award during the closing conference banquet. I’m exceptionally proud of all of our chapters back here on the island, and to have that and my work as an area director recognized was a wonderful moment, thank you Hazel and Mark.

Getting my MVP award

Four Ways You Can Make Working From Home Feel Like An Office ( And What You Should Really Do Instead)

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Welcome to the brave new world of remote working! To some this will feel very familiar, and for others, this may be a completely alien experience.

If that describes you, don’t worry, working from home can actually be identical to working in an office, here’s how. 

Dog looking at cookies on desk

Pets Are Your New Coworkers

Yes, it’s absolutely vital you get your pets in on those zoom meetings and video chats, but there’s absolutely no reason you should stop there.

If you’re missing the camaraderie and structure of the office, why not try : 

  • Instead of asking a coworker to fetch you those documents, ask your dog to fetch what you need. Just be prepared to only get toys and treats from here on in. 
  • Missing the structure of being told where to go and what to do? Get a cat. Cats love dictating terms and soon you’ll be operating to a tight schedule.
  • If you miss working alongside someone—a hamster running on a wheel could be just the work companion you need for those sprints of productivity.

Replicate The Culinary Delights Of The Office 

Food in tupperware container

For some, this new era of working from home may be the ideal time to finally turn to home cooking and baking as a hobby. But if you’re less than excited about joining the sourdough starter revolution—there may be a more authentic way forward.

  • Try leaving some fresh pastries on the countertop for a few days to get that disappointing stale croissant experience.
  • Throw out your new coffee machine, and replace it with a pot to brew up some watered down cups that you and your work from home colleagues can complain about.
  • Store your lunches in plastic tubs with different people’s names on them—now you can sneak food from fictional co-workers instead!

Turn Getting Up Into A Daily Commute 

Getting to and from work is a big part of our daily routine—but now that it involves nothing more than a short walk down a corridor to a different room, that has been taken away from us.

If you miss the crowds or the traffic, all you have to do is set up an Indiana Jones-esque obstacle course in your hallway, after you’ve stepped over traps and waited by the swinging pendulum, you’ll feel like you’ve just run the commuter gauntlet and finally made it to work.  

Dress For Success 

If there’s one thing no one can quite agree on when it comes to working from home etiquette—it’s the best way to dress.

With opinions varying from staying in your pyjamas to keeping things business casual, and if you’re working alone, it probably won’t matter either way.

But, if there’s a few of you, if you have kids, or if you even have pets, why not institute a uniform policy— even if it’s just an excuse to put the cat in an adorable suit!  

Now For Some Real Advice 

As you can see—you can’t really replicate your normal routine. And, joking aside, that’s a huge part of what is daunting for so many people about these changes— the upending of normality.

This is why the best advice for working from home is as follows—find a new routine that works for you, and stick to it.

Some people are going to want regular distractions, and others are going to want a dedicated space to just get their heads down and keep working, but you’re going to need to figure out what works for you, not someone else.

After that, it’s all about taking things one day at a time, and you’ll soon find yourself settling into a pattern and feeling like you’re once again in control.  

Toastmasters International – Supporting a Winning District

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When it comes to community involvement — or even just getting together and doing the things we enjoy — we’ve all had to work a little harder and find some creative solutions when it comes to organising. Something I’ve had some personal experience with.

For a long time now I’ve been involved with Toastmasters International, a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. 

Usually, the format is a club meeting every week or every other week, depending on the club, with Club, Area, District, and Division level speech contests being held in the Spring for people to test their skills. Of course because of COVID-19 everything changed. 

Not only that, but we were having to adapt and change things quickly, as everything began shutting down right in the middle of contest season. The District wanted to figure out how do we continue to meet online, and how will the contests be run. They set up a taskforce to solve these issues, and I stepped forward to be a part of it. 

I thought it would be straightforward and simple, basically a rubberstamp. I thought I could improve a few things, have some discussions, and that’s it. Then we have the contest. I was so wrong. 

I attended a couple of area contents online and realized the depth of the issues.

For one, in a normal event, the Master of Ceremonies would direct proceedings. But during this virtual session, this mostly just meant one person monologuing and telling “jokes” while everyone else was muted. 

The second problem is these events are timed, which works great in person, but is really difficult to do online. This contest had the timer sitting back looking grumpy and holding up a piece of paper in front of the camera for a few seconds only.

The whole effect was a little awkward, a little amateur, and a poor substitute for the in-person experience. We needed a plan for how to handle these events going forward.

The issue we ran into was that if we hold up the old timing cards, with a Zoom background those cards disappear. Plus depending on the device and the screen and the resolution of the camera, the colour that one person is holding up in front of a camera may not be perceived as the same for everybody.

To solve the timing issues, we borrowed an idea from District 2 in Seattle who’d been using the virtual background function on Zoom to display the timing lights. We needed to set it up so that the speaker gets to see the timing lights at the right time, easily and simply

This was just one small part of what we had to figure out. Really, we were trying to configure the whole Zoom experience, everything from getting the judges and people into the meeting, to breakout rooms for contestants, renaming people – there was a lot that had to be done correctly.

We also had to identify what led to the previous events going so poorly. It wasn’t just a lack of the right setup, people were being forced to adapt to completely new circumstances without any preparation. A lesson we’ve all had to learn in the past few months.

We started running mock contests, where we would find an area that was having a contest and they would come to a Zoom meeting beforehand to do a trial run. We would walk through all of the details and steps we’d put in place, and a lot of the people were really struggling with Zoom, but eventually they got the hang of it.

As the contests progressed, we had to start being really specific with how we were structuring the speaking areas, as in person everyone would be sharing the same stage.

The guidelines from Toastmasters International stipulated that there were to be no virtual backgrounds, and the size of the speaking area for all contestants was to be taken from the smallest example. Meaning if one contestant is set up with a high quality camera and has 4 meters of walking space in front of the camera, but another contestant only has 1 meter and no place to move, then all contestants had to participate within that 1 meter.

The process wasn’t perfect from the beginning, and we were often having to adapt and figure it out for ourselves – what becomes the best practice? All in all, it was a very collaborative process with  mock meetings, as well as helping to host other area contests.

After each contest, the task force and contest officials held a debriefing to determine exactly what happened, what we could do better. And after each meeting, our process changed, as there was always something to tweak, to improve.

And for all that hard work we were able to put on a brilliant District Contest. All our effort came to fruition.

We also ended up organizing a couple Club Officer Training sessions which had 500 attendees from within District 21 and visitors from other districts. This exceeded our Zoom account. Online training is here to stay, and with such large numbers in attendance, we are reuniting some of the contest task force to look at our options for future training sessions.

And now District 21 is the only district in the world where 100% of the clubs in good standing have opted for online attendance. We are also number one in the world for new members, number one for Education awards, and number one for Club Growth.

Michael Bown, the head of District 21 says “I give a lot of credit to the taskforce for injecting some energy and really elevated the level and that was a huge part of the momentum that pushed us forward for those awards. So to stand number one in the Region cross the board, winning everything we could win, that’s a good spot to be in, good energy to have, and hopefully help with the recovery of Toastmasters and BC in general”

We are a Distinguished District and that’s all down to individual clubs being successful at running an online meeting. Only 5 other Districts in all of the Americas received Distinguished status – and it’s been really neat to be part of making that happen.

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