Skip to main content

Charleston Business

Viewpoints

Last Updated: May 12, 2022 04:30PM • Subscribe via RSS • ATOM

Tips for Increasing Employee Engagement

May 12, 2022 04:30PM ● By Donna Isbell Walker

The Great Resignation has employers wondering just what they can do to retain the employees they have and recruit new ones who will be an asset to the company. Employee engagement and an inclusive workplace culture are important factors in keeping workers satisfied and not interested in seeing what else is out there, says Dan Kessler, the president and COO of Energage, the organization that surveys employees of many companies and puts together the Top Workplaces survey each year.

Read More »
#1 Small Company ‘It’s How We Interact With Others’: CBI Values Contributions of All Coworkers to Company’s Success

May 11, 2022 05:29PM ● By John C. Stevenson

Creative Builders Inc. CEO William H. “Will” McCauley III is focused on making sure that all of CBI’s more than 80 employees know they are valued and valuable parts of the company. The first step for McCauley is recognizing those people as “coworkers,” not “employees.”

Read More »
#1 Midsize Company Pinnacle Financial Partners Designed to Focus on People

May 11, 2022 05:14PM ● By David Dykes

Pinnacle Financial Partners, the No. 1 Midsize Top Workplace for South Carolina for 2022, doesn’t think of itself as just a commercial bank. It wants to be the financial partner for its clients. And to do that, bank officials say they have built a culture where associates are excited to come to work each day and they, in turn, take care of clients.

Read More »
#1 Large Company: ‘People Here Know We Care About Them’: Culture Propels Berkshire Hathaway C. Dan Joyner to No. 1 on Top Workplaces List

May 11, 2022 05:04PM ● By Donna Isbell Walker

A strong workplace culture, where employees are respected and valued and treated as family, has kept employment steady at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner REALTORS during the Great Resignation.

Read More »
The (Hopeful) Return of the Business Conference

May 11, 2022 04:49PM ● By Amy Bonesteel

Business people love to meet in Charleston: its chef-run eateries with fresh seafood, King Street shopping, and storied colonial history naturally make it a solid choice for visitors of any kind. And after a hiccup last fall (called the Omicron variant) on the road to restarting the conference and event business, the city is opening its doors once again.

Read More »
Here’s how the Top Workplaces were determined

May 11, 2022 04:13PM ● By Bob Helbig

Employers have been forced to focus harder than ever to retain and attract talent amid the disruption of the business environment during the Covid pandemic. Top Workplaces celebrates the employers that are getting it right.

Read More »
The Tiny Tassel: Builds Its Business Through Digital Marketing Strategy

May 11, 2022 03:46PM ● By David Caraviello

Mimi Striplin clearly remembers the date: June 1, 2020. That was when demand for the unique tassel jewelry she had been selling for five years took off, to the point where her website crashed. That was when she had to suddenly think about expanding her small team, of keeping more supplies on hand, of opening a brick-and-mortar storefront. That was when an online business started with $500 began the transformation into a retail force that’s now poised to exceed $1 million in annual sales.

Read More »
Despite Congressional Approval, Mental Health Parity Still Not A Reality

May 11, 2022 03:31PM ● By Liv Osby

It seemed like a simple concept – require insurers and health plans to provide coverage for mental health conditions to the same extent they cover medical conditions. But experts say that mental health parity remains elusive 14 years after Congress passed a bill calling for it, even as the need for mental health services has grown during the pandemic.

Read More »
Best Days Lie Ahead for the Rural Economy

May 10, 2022 04:23PM ● By Dr. Saundra Glover

Having spent most of my life in and around rural communities, I know firsthand the challenges many rural communities have experienced. My parents, who were both educators, left their schools every day to come home and tend to our small family farm, because they loved the land, and they understood the importance of planting and watering the land to ensure it produced good crops.

Read More »
Act 176 is Making Local Business Licenses Business-Friendly

May 10, 2022 03:43PM ● By Todd Glover

For many years, South Carolina’s business owners raised concerns with state legislators about the inconsistencies and complicated processes that they experienced when obtaining business licenses from local governments around the state. Legislators put in incredibly long hours working with the business community as well as cities to remedy these persistent issues.

Read More »
Blue (Collar) is the New Gold

May 10, 2022 03:36PM ● By Marty Flynn

Our human tendency to label things has rarely served us well because it promotes separation and division, and the only place that separation through labeling seems to make sense is in the laundry hamper. I have recently been contemplating one particular example of labeling that divided our work force, and has shaped the career mindset of many generations.

Read More »
Clapping for DEI: There’s No Cookie-Cutter Approach to Diversity

May 10, 2022 03:27PM ● By Tracy R. Powell

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands! This children’s song has been in families for years, although the original release date is undetermined. When speaking about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), I often use this song as a part of my presentation, as it is a reminder of the pure innocence of children. In daycare and kindergarten, we did not choose our friends by race, class, political party, or status.

Read More »
Small Businesses Bring Jobs, Not to Mention a Unique Flavor, to South Carolina

May 10, 2022 03:18PM ● By Donna Isbell Walker

Small businesses dominate the corporate landscape in South Carolina, and that’s a good thing. Our state in 2020 had more than 431,000 small businesses, which are defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration as companies with fewer than 500 employees. That translates to 99.4 percent of all the businesses in South Carolina.

Read More »
Charleston Business
Living Color Highlights

Apr 15, 2022 03:03PM ● By Lori Coon

Informative sessions on such topics as unconscious bias, setting DEI goals, and communication strategies to promote DEI in the workplace.

Read More »
SCDOT Hitting Goals Halfway into 10-Year Plan to Improve State’s Roads, Bridges

Apr 12, 2022 05:22PM ● By Zach Mcjunkin

Halfway into South Carolina’s 10-year plan to improve and preserve the state’s roads, highways and bridges, the state’s Department of Transportation leader says the SCDOT is “meeting and exceeding” its goals.

Read More »
Bull Riding Brings Novel Entertainment, Cash to Greenville Economy

Apr 12, 2022 05:18PM ● By John C. Stevenson

Greenville is bullish on professional bull riding. That was the conclusion offered recently by an executive of the Professional Bull Riders sports organization, over a January weekend that saw a capacity crowd of 8,100 people file into the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on a Saturday night to watch 40 athletes attempt to stay atop a bevy of 1,800-pound bucking bulls, for a “mere” eight seconds.

Read More »
Designing the Future: McMillan Pazdan Smith

Apr 12, 2022 05:08PM ● By Amy Bonesteel

With a portfolio that includes repurposed historic properties, high-tech, sustainable buildings for schools and industry, as well as retail and residential projects, architecture firm McMillan Pazdan Smith (MPS) has a varied list of projects.

Read More »
‘Fighting the Noble Fight’ Trauma Doctors Make Split-Second Decisions to Save Lives

Apr 12, 2022 05:02PM ● By Liv Osby

A framed photo of a little girl pedaling a bicycle occupies a special place on Dr. Robert Gates’ desk. When she was just 1½, she was so seriously injured in a wreck it wasn’t certain she’d recover fully. But several years later, her parents sent the picture to let Gates know how well she was doing. It serves as a reminder of why he does the work he does.

Read More »
Maintaining and Expanding Upstate Infrastructure : How Laurens County is Prepared for its Future

Apr 12, 2022 04:55PM ● By Jeff Field

Laurens County has long had a strong reputation for attracting industrial development. We are a large county located in the Upstate with two major interstates and an abundance of rail access. The county has a highly successful workforce development program through the Laurens County Development Corporation with support from the local school districts and Piedmont Technical College.

Read More »
Ten at the Top Roundtable

Apr 12, 2022 04:33PM ● By David Dykes

As the Upstate’s population continues to grow, utilities and municipalities are working to ensure that the power grid and water systems are able to keep up with demand

Read More »
‘One Voice’ Performance Shares the History of African Americans Through Spoken Word

Apr 12, 2022 01:27PM ● By Donna Isbell Walker

“One Voice,” Jeremiah Dew’s exploration of Black history through the words of historical figures, uses Dew’s voice to illuminate the struggles and triumphs of Black Americans over the past 200 years. But the production, which Dew presented at First Presbyterian Church in Greenville on Feb. 13, also utilized the voices of others, of African Americans with ties to Greenville, to tell a larger story of history writ large and small.

Read More »
Worxbee: Fine-Tuning the Virtual Executive Assistant

Apr 11, 2022 05:27PM ● By Amy Bonesteel

If timing is everything, then Kenzie Biggins’ instinct has served her well. In the third year of running her business she says she was “floundering and trying to figure out what was next,” when she took a mentor’s advice and moved to Greenville.

Read More »
Charleston Business Magazine