Resources

How much power can one sign hold? The answer: #insurmountable. The hashtag has become a revolutionary icon in businesses worldwide. From reporting purposes and gaining followers, to finding out who is talking about your company or what is popular within your industry, this sign — heretofore known as the pound sign on your phone or an empty tic-tac-toe grid waiting to be played — is arguably the Internet’s most popular icon.

Do you know that everything you do matters? Every move you make and every action you take matters, not only to you but to everyone that’s part of your life and organization today, tomorrow and even after you’re gone. Think about it for a while. Say someone creates a new accounting process, eliminating two tedious steps, essentially streamlining how your business operates moving forward. Wow, what an impact that would have on any business. See one single action can have a resounding impact on your company for years to come; this is known as the Butterfly Effect.

Some say performance reviews are a thing of the past; a waste of time for everyone involved. If you’re part of these naysayers then most likely you haven’t been part of a culture that embraces the year-round significance of performance reviews. Performance reviews are essential to workplace management yet often times they hold lower weight amidst a sea of projects, to-do lists, meetings and more. Supervisors tend to look at performance reviews through jaded lenses, but what they may be overlooking is the fact that effective performance management leads to improved productivity.

Oil and gas production contributes 7.5 percent of gross domestic product and supports 9.2 million jobs nationally. With a booming industry that continues to rise, it is imperative for the executives to curtail tunnel vision on profits and realign its focus on another essential element of the business: the wants and needs of employees.

With Baby Boomers on the brink of retirement, one of the impending issues facing organizations today is the ability to identify leaders. This could be partially blamed on the fact that less than half (48 percent) of UNC’s Leadership Survey respondents reported that their companies have a formal process for developing high-potential employees. Companies looking to accelerate employees to leadership positions should seriously consider developing a formal process.

For years now, members of the Baby Boomer generation have been running operations at major corporate entities, but recent data suggests that the workforce is changing and so too is its leadership. According to a recent Gallup poll, 31 percent of today’s workforce is approaching or reaching 61 years of age – the average age of retirement – or 65 – the traditional retirement age. With impending retirement threatening the frontlines, businesses need to prepare for new leadership to take reign. Enter Generation X.

A new generation will soon be entering the workforce, specifically referred to as, Gen Z (those born between 1995-2009) or the connected generation; whatever you call them. This group of digital wiz kids is a new breed of employee, never knowing life without high-speed internet, smartphones and unlimited access to media technologies. If you’re down and out trying to manage millennial workers, just wait until Gen Z starts knocking on your door.

Has your nonprofit recovered from the impact of the recession? For many nonprofits the time period following the 2007 recession was challenging as many experienced a decrease in donations and increased competition for what funding was available. Fortunately, charitable giving has begun to rise, with a reported 4.9 percent increase in 2013 alone. However, a new trend has arisen: donor accountability. Now more than ever, the nonprofit sector has to juggle not only achieving its mission goals, but also showing good financial stewardship.

What do the NBA and your business have in common? More than you might expect, from bench play to developing winning game plans and more. At the core of each are competitiveness, teamwork, innovation and a results-driven focus. As the NBA Playoffs kick into high gear, there are business lessons to be observed from all the on-the-court chaos. Here are four lessons to help you make a slam dunk toward success:

Whether in a business or educational environment, our culture is dazzled by the idea of collaboration as a means for creativity. Managers are so insistent on finding “the right fit” for the team that a whole group of people are forgotten: the individualists. With collaboration becoming the new way of thinking, those with introverted personalities are left on the outside looking in.

Employee benefits have become a hot topic in the business realm, especially in regard to the federal government’s Affordable Care Act. Ultimately, it comes down to dollars and cents, and companies are finding that a more affordable route may exist beyond offering traditional health coverage. However, if you are thinking of finding a loophole through lowering employees’ hours, you might want to think twice.

The constant demand to remain a reliable source for customers is keeping grocers on edge. In a highly competitive market, grocers have to constantly keep up with ever changing price/value trends in order to remain relevant. Knowing the landscape of your competitive market helps grocers tremendously when marking items and increasing efficiencies across the board. Grocers who are armed with the proper tools to identify inventory, competitively price products, update old technology and maintain labor costs will ultimately win the battle.