Brad Parker opened the Parker Tire and Service Center in 1991 to meet the need for an automotive store in his community. The company employs 11 people in the Tallassee, Ala., area, and Parker says he has worked to support community causes.

Many businesses know that quickly asking for customer feedback is better than sending a survey days or weeks later, writes ServiceDock CEO Oisin Ryan. Brick-and-mortar businesses can solicit real-time feedback by asking shoppers about their experiences in-store, by text or using app-based messaging.

Using an internal communication tool, holding weekly meetings and scheduling days for employees to spend time with one another can help if you are leading a remote workforce, writes Neal Quesnel, CEO of WhatArmy.

The National Labor Relations Board has released new guidelines outlining the kinds of rules companies may include in their employee handbooks. The board has moved away from its Obama-era stance that certain seemingly neutral rules were presumptively invalid if employees could interpret them as restricting protected activity.

Getting a business up and running can take time, but entrepreneurs also need to think about their exit strategies. Kayla Sloan reviews several reasons a business needs one, including the potential for unexpected medical emergencies.

Leaders concerned about competitors undercutting their businesses should create a moat by incorporating features into their products that improve upon what customers already value most, writes Heather Morgan. In addition, leaders must be willing to take chances and to create new categories to broaden their customer base.

More than half of employees say workplace technology affects whether they want to work at a company, while 51% of employers say outdated technology is keeping them from hiring and retaining skilled workers, according to a Harvard Business Review Analytic Service report. Offering more data access, allowing employees to choose their work devices and offering self-service setup can help keep skilled workers at your company.

Despite headlines about a tight job market, many people still cannot find work or have elected to stay in a lower-skill position out of fear of not finding another job, recruiter Jack Kelly writes. Moreover, most employers aren't raising pay and aren't competing with other companies to woo talented candidates, Kelly writes.