In a world with automated bill paying, direct deposits and DVR, you may be thinking “what will they automate next?” If you’re a business owner looking for seasonal help or another employee, then I have good news for you. Automating your hiring process can not only save time and headaches, but it can also help identify the best applicants easier than ever.

On hot summer weekends, a 20-barrel brewery west of Winters overflows with patrons. They flood the taproom and crowd around shaded picnic tables, sipping beer while soaking in live music. A few kids play baseball in the gravel lot. Others pull wooden blocks from an oversized Jenga set by the food truck. Some are locals, but many come from Davis, Sacramento and beyond to get a taste of whatever Berryessa Brewing Co. has on tap for the week.

At 25-years-old, Kaitlyn MacGregor is the new director of communications for the California Republican Party, and she has her work cut out for her. New data from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California shows that young voters aren’t registering Republican and neither are moderates, African Americans or Latinos. With elections just weeks away, MacGregor will need to make strides quickly. 

What items gathered during the recruitment process can I share with others? We require approval from several parties before making an employment offer, and I am concerned that we may be sharing confidential information when “check complete” should be enough. 

Those long hours you’re logging at your desk may be taking a physiological toll that your morning run and bike commute can’t quite undo. We’re in the midst of a sitting epidemic that comes with some pretty scary health implications, but a simple change in our corporate culture might hold the key to better fitness for us all.

You’ve been there. You’re on a deadline with limited information, and what you’ve got to draw from is a similar episode that transpired eight months ago, or eight years ago or with an entirely different company. But hey, there are some parallels. This time sounds like that time (sort of), so you base your present reaction on your past experience. The process is called reasoning by analogy, and while it can be a powerful method in the decision making process, it can also be problematic and limiting.

Whether you’re looking for tenants or shopping for space: Here are some tips that might sweeten the deal or — if overlooked — can make one go sour.

I recently asked a gen-X friend of mine to give me her take on generational communications in the U.S. today. Her response was perfect: “In the words of MTV’s cultural phenomenon The Real World, it’s ‘The true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite — and start getting real.’”

Depending on the type of business you operate, lighting can account for 20 to 50 percent of electricity consumption. This means significant cost savings can be achieved with energy-efficiency upgrades, and due to continually improving equipment, lighting usually provides the highest return on investment of major updates.

Seventy percent of colleges now say online education drives their long-term growth strategies. And, where for-profit universities once dominated online MBA programs, now highly rated business schools like Kelley and the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School offer them.