Our NEW Toronto In-Home Care Digest

The Toronto Home Care Digest for August 2, 2013

Posted by Steve Jones

Fri, Aug 2, 2013

Get the latest home health care tips, news, and updates!

FROM OUR BLOG...

4 Ways For Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis to Avoid Infection

Sometimes, prevention is the best medicine.

• Reduce comorbidity
• Use anti-bacterial practices
• Provide good skin care
• Shift positions frequently

Home Care Services to Help You Live Longer, Happier, More Fulfilled Lives

Many people who would benefit from homecare services don't take action because they don't know about their options.

5 Dietary Tips to Help Manage COPD Symptoms

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) symptoms can be manageable via your diet. Here are five nutritional tips to manage your COPD symptoms and avoid exacerbating your condition.

FROM AROUND THE WEB...

Province Changes Physio Rules

Cutbacks in spending from the Ontario Ministry of Health means less government-provided physiotherapy treatments that many senior Ontarians need.

5 Moves for Seniors that Improve Balance and Coordination

These five exercises, provided by author Karen Peterson, can help seniors stay in shape and reduce the chance of injuries and falls.

This Weekend: Things to Do in Toronto

It's the August Civic Holiday this weekend! Don't miss out on concerts, music festivals, foodie fests, and more.

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Facebook #Hashtag Tips for Marketers

Giving credit where credit is due, this breaking news on facebook hashtags is courtesy of #Hubspot, a great source for social media marketing tools and an impressive library full of social media white paper content.   Now on to the breaking news at facebook.

A real concern from facebook users and marketers has always been the limitations when  promoting, researching or engaging in a broader discussion beyond your network of personal friends or paid advertisers.

  "there has not been a simple way to see the larger view of what's happening or what people are talking about."

Taking a page from the hashtag founders at twitter and other social media hashtag followers such as   Pinterest, Instagram, and TumblrPosters; facebook users will soon be able to add a #hashtag to their content too. Clicking hashtags in facebook will display a filtered feed of what others are saying about the same topic. 

So, for those of us in the recruitment and staffing space, it will make sense to always insert #job within every facebook job posting and another hashtag that includes the job title or industry like #nurse, #PSW, #OT, #RN, or #hospital.   I encourage you to research and find "retweeters" in your neck of the woods.  For example @Toronto_Rt will automatically retweet anything that contains #Toronto to their 4800 local market follows.  Hopefully, retweeters will evolve and extend their services to include facebook #hashtags too. 

Here are a few tips courtesy of Hubspot.  

Facebook Hashtag Tips for Marketers

1. When creating a brand new hashtag, make sure the hashtag is original and not already in use by someone else.
2. Incorporate industry or branded keywords.
3. Be careful about sentiments. Remember the McDonald's hashtag fiasco?
4. Promote the hashtag by incorporating it into other marketing channels like email, landing pages, other social networks, etc.
5. Don't hijack popular hashtags that aren't relevant to your content. It's spammy, like in this example (see #8). 
6. Keep it short. While you don't really have to worry about character count on Facebook, you do if you're using the same hashtag on a site like Twitter where you do need to consider character limitations.
7. Make sure your hashtagged posts are public. I'm not sure why you wouldn't be making your marketing posts public anyway, but yeah, don't overlook this.
8. Incorporate hashtags into your Facebook ads!

Currently, hashtags are available only to a small percentage of people and pages on Facebook, but Facebook indicates it will roll them out more comprehensively in the coming weeks.

Here is a link to the rest of the #hubspot article.  http://blog.hubspot.com/facebook-launches-clickable-hashtags .

If you require assistance with your social recruitment strategy contact Steve Jones steve@stevejonesLeadership.com 

Careers That Make A Difference - Qualicare

 Durish and Jones Team Up - Again! 




Qualicare's newest franchise owners Jeff Durish and Steve Jones are often described as dynamic leaders with a commitment to people, community and successful outcomes. They have both been involved in caring for family members through a series of complex health and medical challenges and have decided to devote their talents and effort to increasing the quality of life for others with similar challenges. Their personal values and goals are perfectly aligned with the principles of Qualicare Home Care Services.

Jeff and Steve met as young children at YMCA summer camp near Honey Harbour Ontario and have remained trusted friends ever since.   40 years later and after reaching the pinnacle of their respective careers, they have combined their business and life experiences to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others through Qualicare Family Homecare Services.

Jeff has enjoyed a successful career, assembling and leading global engineering teams in delivering high quality software systems. He is a strong believer in the importance of family and in actively giving back to the community. He recently rode across Canada raising financial support and awareness for The Sears National Kids Cancer Ride and also has honored those who have battled or are battling cancer by representing Canada in international dragon boating competition.

Steve Jones is a business and thought leader in the world of human resource recruitment and placement. In particular, Steve has helped drive employment law and standards that support ethical employment practices for both employers and employees. He has served several terms as President of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services; and has been recognized as Canadian volunteer of the year by the Attorney General of Canada for his work helping Canadians overcome employment barriers.

Steve is President of Ontario Track 3 Association for Disabled Children and is a member of the Senior Executive Health & Safety Leadership Charter with the Conference Board of Canada. 


In a recent interview Durish said “We’re committed to helping people navigate the healthcare system and to supporting them so they can remain comfortably in their home.  Steve and I want to help people live longer and better while reducing stress on them and their loved ones. It's great to have careers that make a difference.”  
 

sjones@qualicare.com

Weird is Normal in Canadian Employment Data

Statistics Canada continues to prove its lack of credibility by reporting another set of bizarre employment numbers for October 2012.  Amidst all the doom and gloom employment reports that pour out of US media, Canadian job creation seems to continue on its consistent but lackluster path to prosperity. In typically Canadian understated fashion, things look pretty good on the north side of the 49^th.

Statistics Canada Employment 1000's

The employment graph shows that Canadian jobs have grown constantly since the low in June of 2008 to our current record high.  While little changed in October 2012, jobs grew over the previous 12 months by 157,000 (+1.4%) in the private sector and 74,000 (+2.1%) in the public sector.  All job growth has been primarily full-time.

In a similar report today from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, America created 171,000 new jobs in October but not enough to budge their persistent unemployment rate off of 7.9%.  The Canadian unemployment rate also remains unchanged at 7.4%.   Canadian net growth of 1,800 jobs in October evoked the same insignificant response as 171,000 new jobs in the US.  It seems that size really does matter. 

The Bizarre

It’s difficult to understand how Statistics Canada can report (with a straight face) that Quebec gained 23,300 part-time jobs during the month of October while Ontario lost 39,800 part-time jobs in the same one month period.  Was there a barista boom in Quebec and a corresponding coffee crash in Ontario? Certainly Quebec students did not all rush out and find part-time jobs in October to start paying for their education. Education in Quebec is practically free!  Notwithstanding the low tuition, they think they shouldn’t have to pay regardless.

It is also difficult to believe the StatsCan monthly report claiming self-employed Canadians decreased in October by 14,900 while employee status workers increased by 16,600.  There aren’t any reasonable explanations for this.  I’m newly self-employed and loving it. I assure you that their estimate is off by at least 1 person if not by 100%.  They reported it, but it probably did not happen.

Do you think it’s true that the Canadian Goods Producing Sectors lost 19,300 jobs while the Services Producing Sector gained 21,000 new jobs? They reported it, but it probably did not happen.

It seems odd (unbelievable) to me that that the bean counters could stand behind a report that points to a huge shift from goods manufacturing jobs to lower level service sector jobs while they also report a counter intuitive shift from part-time to full-time employment?  They reported it but it probably did not happen.

The transportation, logistics and warehousing industry and staffing industry recruiters across the country are struggling to find drivers, warehouse workers, sales representatives, customs brokers, dispatchers and management yet Statistics Canada says the sector lost 7,700 jobs.  They reported it but it probably did not happen.

Statistics Canada can be given some benefit of the doubt.  These numbers are pretty small and small numbers lack statistical significance and therefore lack credibility.  That’s not their fault.  But, if the stock markets and governments are going react, as they typically do, to a jobs report that says we only created 1800 jobs, they should first look a little deeper into the crazy components that make up the overall statistics.   

The reality is that employment opportunities abound.  There are good jobs for good workers.  Employment matters and it’s a great time to be a Canadian.

               Steve Jones

PS: Check out my new company facebook page and LinkedIn Company page for Steve Jones Business Leadership Corp..  Become a follower, like my facebook page and share your views. 

 

http://www.facebook.com/SteveJonesBusinessLeadershipCorp

http://www.linkedin.com/company/steve-jones-business-leadership-corp

Great Recruiters Make a Great Commitment

Not all staffing companies are the same and not all recruiters are the same either. Four more of The People Bank/Aimco Staffing professionals have just joined the ranks of the most respected industry professionals by successfully completing and achieving their Certified Personnel Consultant designation.

We are very proud to announce that Kathy March, Tracey Arseneau, Alfredo de Leon and Aaron Campau have received notification of their accomplishments from the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services.

As employers and hiring managers, we always look deep into the credentials and qualifications of the people we hire so it only makes sense that when selecting a staffing company or recruiter, we should also look beyond the agency’s brochure and ask a few questions about recruiter and agency credentials.

Ask whether your staffing agency is a member of ACSESS. Every member of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services has pledged to uphold the industry’s code of ethics and standards. This code addresses everything from disclosure of information to adherence to laws and respect of individuals.

Also look for the initials “CPC” behind a recruiter’s name. The Certified Personnel Consultant is the only certification for professionals working within the Canadian staffing industry. A recruiter with the “CPC” credentials has made a commitment to the industry and to professional performance.

Kathy March, Tracey Arseneau, Alfredo de Leon and Aaron Campau have taken courses and passed CPC exams that address important topics such as the legal aspects of staffing services, human rights, privacy laws, employment standards, employment equity, health and safety, selection techniques, and industry ethics. With the CPC designation, a staffing professional is not like all the others. We are very proud of their commitment to professional conduct in our industry and to our company. We are equality proud and confident in the services they each deliver to candidates and clients.

Whether you are a job seeker who wants to receive professional quality treatment or an employer who wants to hire with confidence, always look for the ACSESS logo and the initials “CPC” following your recruiters name.

Kathy March, CPC
Tracey Arseneau, CPC
Alfredo de Leon, CPC
Aaron Campau, CPC

Thank you and congratulations!

Steve Jones

President

The People Bank/Aimco, Allen Professional Search & La Banque de Personnel