Whenever you need a software developer — whether it is to build a website, create an app, for a smartphone idea, or to enable a more integrated CRM and accounting system for your business — quotes from American companies can feel prohibitively expensive. So outsourcing the work to far-flung countries like Colombia, India, the Philippines or Vietnam for a fraction of the cost … [More]
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How Businesses Are (Carefully) Promoting Their Brands during COVID-19
by Mike Hunter
Thanks to COVID-19 and social unrest, 2020 brought an unwelcome wrinkle to public relations game plans. Put out the wrong message – or even the right message with the wrong approach – and a business can end up sounding insensitive or opportunistic, driving away both the media and the potential customers they are trying to reach. Yet, despite the difficulties, many … [More]
How to Reach Out to People You Don’t Know … Yet
by Cheryl Hyatt
A healthy network is a growing network. Successful professionals are constantly cultivating new connections and keeping in touch with individuals they’ve collaborated with. When an opportunity to connect with someone new presents itself, don’t hesitate to take it. When reaching out to someone new, your approach matters. The tone you strike and method you use can make the … [More]
Is Market Concentration Leading to Fewer Startups in the U.S. Economy?
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Many economists, market analysts, and antitrust hawks claim increased market concentration over the past 30 years has stifled new business creation, leaving the U.S. economy with fewer start-ups and economic vitality. But a new report released today by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, shows … [More]
How to Help Employees Thrive, Even When Their Career Goals Are Uncertain
Mike Hunter
These uncertain times filled with racial unrest, a global pandemic, massive unemployment and economic anxiety have caused some people to reevaluate their lives and their priorities. Within that introspection, there are a few potential outcomes, whether it’s reassessing career goals, losing sight of them, or coming to the realization that some workers are happy in their job and … [More]
Are Your Favorite Companies Eco-Friendly? Even They May Not Know
Mike Hunter
Corporations around the world love to promote their environmental bona fides, touting their at-times Herculean efforts to minimize their carbon footprint. But desiring to be environmentally friendly and truly accomplishing that goal are two different things, as illustrated recently by Amazon’s acknowledgement that its carbon footprint grew 15% last year despite efforts to … [More]
MY TAKE: Good Things Happening Despite Pandemic
by Brian Elisco, CEO at Abrazo Health
The relentless pace of the coronavirus pandemic has challenged hospital and healthcare workers across the Valley and the country. Long days are spent caring for COVID and non-COVID patients. The stress of managing personal lives while balancing family needs and commitments adds yet another layer of challenge to manage. While we acknowledge the seriousness of the pandemic, I … [More]
Why Businesses Should Expand their Storytelling Skills and Focus on Contextual Commerce
Source Digital
Storytelling is something that is part of human history. From cave drawings to oral traditions to the written word, it’s something that continues to evolve and today is ever-expanding in video. It’s also an increasingly important marketing tool for businesses that know how to harness the power of telling a story and making an emotional impact. Today’s ad-based storytellers, … [More]
Apparel Co. Sees 167% Direct-to-Consumer Growth amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
Sportiqe
With more people working from home than ever before, Sportiqe, a global Modern American apparel company known for its elevated basics with superior fit, has seen a 167% direct-to-consumer growth over the last few months as the company shifted its focus from its bread-and-butter wholesale division to bolster e-commerce sales as demand for quality, comfortable clothing grew … [More]
Talent Acquisition in Pandemic: Employers Can Make Better Hiring Decisions
EmployTest
With the pandemic causing seismic shifts in the economy, millions of Americans are searching for jobs, which creates opportunities for companies to upgrade their talent to face the challenges ahead. Inundated with applicants, hiring managers and HR need a way to remotely pre-screen applicants to make the best hiring choices. “In the coming year, hiring companies will be … [More]
Workplace Survey Reveals Employees Have Only Modest Faith in their Bosses to Lead
Mike Hunter
Only slightly more than one-half of businesspeople surveyed believe their company’s leaders have the right mindsets to successfully guide them forward in tackling today’s demands of the digital economy. This was the conclusion of the study conducted in the fall of 2019, by MIT Sloan Management Review and the Cognizant U.S. Foundation which further concluded that “A generation … [More]
China and United States to Generate 65% of All Digital Payments in 2020
BuyShares.co
As the largest revenue source of the global Fintech market, digital payments are set to reach $4.4 trillion transaction value this year, a 5% drop compared to pre-COVID-19 figures. According to data gathered by BuyShares.co.nz, China, and the United States, as the world's two largest digital payments industries, are expected to generate 65% of that value. Transaction Value … [More]
Executives See Value of Employee Engagement, but Lack Strategic Commitment and Integrated Systems
Quantum Workplace
Quantum Workplace, a leading provider of comprehensive employee engagement and performance software, announced today the release of a pulse survey report, A Winning Approach to Employee Success, produced by Harvard Business Review (HBR) Analytic Services, an independent commercial research unit within the Harvard Business Review Group and sponsored by Quantum Workplace. A … [More]
Leading a Small Business Through COVID and Other Troubling Times
Mike Hunter
With the coronavirus shaking up the economy and upending the day-to-day operations of businesses, it’s perhaps more critical than ever that corporate CEOs and small business owners summon up all their leadership skills. Employees who usually are just down the hall are now working remotely from home. The supply chain is disrupted. And customers and clients may be changing … [More]
U.S. Shift Work Slumps as Weekly Growth Hits Lowest Rate of Recovery
Kronos Incorporated
According to the U.S. Workforce Activity Report from Kronos Incorporated for the week of July 13-19, the average weekly growth rate for shift work1 during the recovery continues to decelerate and currently sits at 0.7% per week for the month of July. This has declined by more than half of the 1.9% average weekly growth in June and is only approximately a quarter of the 2.7% … [More]
Don’t Abandon the Office Just Yet. Business Leader Boldly Re-imagines the Workplace
by Joe Jackman
The pandemic is presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not to abandon the workplace, but to reimagine it into a bolder more human-centric office space that caters to the changing needs of employees and clients. It also creates a unique opportunity for improved communication and trust between employees and leadership teams. Below are some of the key elements of this … [More]
Apple Commits to be 100 Percent Carbon Neutral for its Supply Chain and Products by 2030
Apple
Apple unveiled its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. The company is already carbon neutral today for its global corporate operations, and this new commitment means that by 2030, every Apple device sold will have net zero climate impact. “Businesses have a profound opportunity to … [More]
Economic Average Uncovers a Drop in Total Business Closures, Rise in Permanent Closures
Yelp
Yelp Inc., the company that connects people with great local businesses, today released second quarter data for the Yelp Economic Average (YEA) report, a benchmark of local economic strength in the U.S., which has been adapted to reveal the dramatic impact COVID-19 has had on local economies. YEA uncovers longer term trends, including a correlation between increased interest in … [More]
