Category: Leadership

Retail Trends

Online Retail Trends That Business Leaders Should Look Out For

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Now more than ever, many retailers are starting to look for ways to increase sales. In particular, online retailers who have been hard at work trying to improve their conversion rates will be looking for new strategies. Below are online retail trends that CEOs should be looking for.

 

Rethink Direct Mail Solutions

As a business leader, you might think direct mail is a thing of the past. Think again. Increasingly, grassroots strategies are turning out to be more effective than once suspected. Therefore, CEOs are starting to turn their attention back to personalized direct mail solutions. As ecommerce continues its steady surge towards omnichannel dominance, expect more and more retailer business leaders to reach out via snail mail in order to capture more interest from new and repeat customers. The intimate nature of physical correspondence gives these campaigns a unique advantage over typical email blasts or banner display ads. Personalized direct mail is a great way for online retailers to stay on top of customer’s minds as they seek the best deals and services for their online purchases.

 

Optimize for Mobile Users

CEOs and online retail leaders alike should constantly assess the functionality of their ecommerce websites. This includes making sure it is completely mobile-friendly. According to ecommerce mobile statistics, up to 72% of consumers purchase from their smartphones and mobile devices over using a laptop or desktop to shop. With this in mind, CEOs should take a hard look at their website development to ensure their company’s retail site is optimized for mobile users. Since navigating an entire website on a mobile device can be difficult, make sure that your visitors can easily access important items like product pages, pricing, and checkout. This will increase the likelihood of customers navigating and purchasing through these critical areas.

 

Invest in a Mobile App

In light of the aforementioned popularity of mobile shopping, CEOs are making the smart choice to develop mobile applications to generate more ecommerce sales.  More than ever before, companies should be investing in mobile apps for use by consumers visiting their websites from their mobile devices. Mobile apps are great ways for companies to provide more value to their customers with features such as an online shopping cart, product reviews, wish lists, coupons, and tons of other useful information that can be accessed on the go. As mobile devices continue to become more affordable, expect retailers to begin investing in these types of applications.

 

Improve Search Engine Optimization

As a business leader in retail, you know better than most that search engine rankings are both crucial and competitive in the plight to generate more sales online.  This is why it’s important that you focus on optimizing your on-site content as well as content marketing to maintain current search engine rankings and achieve better rank in search engine results. Smart CEOs are now meeting with their writers, website developers and marketing teams to create content that meets SEO criteria in order to attract customers. One way to do this is to have your teams produce SEO content that aims at increasing customer engagement by providing valuable information such as news, tips, and strategies that solve problems for your customers. 

 

Meet With Your Social Media Management Team

With social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram continuing to grow at an exponential rate, it’s important that your online retail business has a well-oiled and effective social media management plan in place. Ensure that you have enough staff on hand to manage each social network during peak times.  Also check in with your marketing team regularly and review strategies to confirm efficacy.  A common ecommerce mistake many CEOs make is undervaluing the power of customer feedback through social media. This is why it’s crucial to stay current with your marketing crew, evaluate which strategies are working and which ones are ineffective to ensure customers are engaged, connected and motivated to buy from your company’s e-commerce site.

 

Improve Checkout Outcomes With Better Fulfillment Options

Savvy CEOs are starting to take a closer look at consumer behavior patterns on their ecommerce site. When you get with your team and scrutinize your customer behavior from start to finish, you get some eye-opening insights.  For instance, if an inordinate amount of customers drop their shopping cart when they get to the shipping page, it’s time to take a look at that.  In order to improve checkout outcomes, you may want to offer better fulfillment times. For instance, consider offering customers better ecommerce fulfillment solutions such as next-day or overnight shipping.  You may also want to streamline the return process, making returns smooth and easy for customers.  Think of ways to make the fulfillment process as seamless and effortless as possible for your customers during checkout.   Assessing customer behavior through the checkout process is a vital way to collect vital information that narrates how CEOs can better serve customers. 

 

Increase Customer Awareness Through Blogging

More CEOs are discovering that content is still king – even with ecommerce sites.  In fact, according to a recent study conducted by Data Box, 68% of online marketers claim that blogging has proven to be a worthwhile and effective strategy for increasing sales and winning trust from online shoppers.  With this in mind, if you don’t already have a regular blogging strategy in place, it’s time to get with your marketing staff and see how your company can take full advantage of influencing customers through blogging.  Bear in mind, your blog content is also another way of gaining attention to your ecommerce site when it is properly optimized for search engines as aforementioned.  Discuss blogging strategies with your crew, and even outsource SEO writers if necessary.  As a CEO, you’re likely pushing for innovative ways to elevate your company’s brand and increase customer loyalty.  Fortunately, blogging is a relatively easy and affordable way to do this.  Publishing consistent blog posts about your company’s mission, products, and services by offering tips and strategies to help shoppers make the most out of their purchases can reinforce your brand presence. This will help you establish yourself as a leader in your industry as well as provide high value to visitors.

Remote Training

Overcoming the Challenges of Training Remote Teams

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

As more businesses opt to continue managing remote teams or develop a hybrid schedule, the need for efficient employee training increases. Company executives and department heads must develop a strategy to effectively educate new and existing staff on everything from policy and procedure updates to using technological software and applications. Since everyone’s not under the same roof, using traditional training methods isn’t appropriate. 

 

Fortunately, there are methods companies can use to ensure that their remote and in-person teams get the training they need. 

 

Common Problems

Let’s start by evaluating the common issues with training remote teams. That way, you can develop an effective plan that prevents or reduces the obstacles for your staff. 

 

Supervision – It’s kind of hard to determine if an employee is completing the training and comprehending the information if you’re not there to witness it yourself. Not to mention, there’s always the chance that an employee just skims the information or breezes through a video to complete the training. With everyone working from their home, trainers lose some level of control and the ability to identify employees that need assistance.

 

Distractions – Everyone can admit that working from home comes with a lot of distractions. Everything from the kids and pets to the doorbell and television can throw you off course. Unfortunately, there’s no way for trainers to eliminate distractions that can slow progress and reduce comprehension levels. 

 

Technical Difficulties – Another major problem with training remote employees is technical difficulties. Everyone is working from different devices using a variety of internet services. Something as simple as the internet lagging or the software not being compatible could throw the entire training session off.

 

Creating An Effective Training Program

So, how do you create an effective training strategy to keep both remote and in-person employees on the same page? There’s more than one approach to consider, but here are some basic instructions to get you started. 

 

Blended Learning – Your employees learn and comprehend things in different ways. Ultimately, you need to come up with a blended learning strategy. This is a concept in which you offer training that is both synchronous and asynchronous (group sessions where training is live and interactions are in real-time combined with options for self-learning at the user’s preferred pace.)

 

Sound Content – Whether you’re creating onboarding training for new employees or teaching your marketing team how to use new software, you need helpful content. You have to ultimately make manuals, guides, instructions, and modules that take complicated concepts and relay them in a way your employees can understand. And try to find a solid, simple to use, standardized software solution; if you’re a law firm, look for a complete law firm CRM package, and if you’re an accounting firm, look for one created specifically for accounting firms. In addition to alleviating complex workarounds to make a general-purpose solution meet the demands of your industry, these specialized solutions will most likely come with high-quality training materials.

 

Engage Employees – You may not be able to control your employee’s work environment or distractions, but you can ensure they get trained effectively by keeping them engaged. You can stream live lectures, encourage interaction through chat platforms, offer incentives, or even provide a certification of completion, which can be beneficial for future promotions. It also doesn’t hurt to ensure that you select a trainer with good people skills to keep everyone entertained. 

 

Accessibility – Whatever platforms you plan to use for training your remote teams, ensure that it’s easily accessible. Opt for cloud-based software and applications to reduce the chances of technical difficulties. You should also provide proper instructions on how to access the materials in advance. 

 

Offer Support – Online training isn’t always easy. While some employees will excel, others may have a difficult time keeping up. You can ensure that everyone is on the same page by offering various methods of support. Have the trainer provide a phone number or email for any questions or concerns, allow employees to work in small groups or pairs, and offer additional sessions for those who need more time. 

 

There are many advantages to managing a remote workforce. If you have decided that a virtual or hybrid business setting is best for your company, you’ll need to develop an effective training strategy to keep your team up-to-date. Although there are some obstacles in training a remote or hybrid team, they can easily be overcome by using the suggestions provided above.

Law Degree

7 Reasons a Law Degree Makes You a Better CEO Candidate

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Ask any seasoned CEO, and they will tell you that the path to getting into such a coveted position is never linear.  Every professional goes through an arduous and often twisted journey to earn the title of chief executive officer. While many companies and businesses might seek candidates with an MBA, more organizations are seeing the benefits of hiring CEOs with a legal background.  With this in mind, here are a few ways a law degree could make you a more formidable CEO candidate.

 

A Testimony to Your Determination

If your LSAT scores reveal impressive results, and you’ve successfully completed law school as well as passed the bar exam – these are impressive testimonies as to your ability to accomplish the goals you set out to achieve.  For an employer, applicants who master the challenges entailed with earning a JD (Juris Doctor degree) make a statement about that candidate’s determination to succeed. 

 

You Can Save the Company Money

According to a study co-authored by Feng Chen, Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Toronto, companies who have JD CEOs on board are 74% less likely to be stricken with lawsuits.  This makes sense because having an attorney as a CEO discourages other companies from litigating for obvious reasons.  Less litigation means a ton of savings for any hiring company.  Furthermore, as a JD CEO, you can save a company the expense of hiring a litigation team if a lawsuit does transpire.

 

Built-In Protection

Because you are familiar with the law, as a JD CEO, you are in the perfect position to protect the company from making egregious mistakes.  Knowing the law is key to avoiding costly decisions. Therefore, your background in law is essential to helping a company skirt legal missteps and makes you more effective at dealing with possible legal issues as well as navigating the company to more successful outcomes.

 

Communication

Understanding the law is certainly an asset in any CEO candidate. However, understanding people and how to communicate with them is an even more crucial asset that employers are looking for in CEOs.  JDs are trained to scrutinize abstracts and formulate a skillful argument for or against the topic. This not only requires impressive analytical thinking, but it also takes powerful communication skills. In other words, lawyer CEOs are trained and skilled to have a precise way of getting their team, clients and management on the same page in terms of communication.

 

An Asset to Startups

When startup companies are looking for a chief executive to lead their new business into success, they may assume an MBA is the best option.  In truth, as a JD you are likely equipped with rock-solid understanding of business legal structures.  Your knowledge of contracts, liability issues, property law and other legal areas can put a startup on solid footing to succeed long into the future.

 

Negotiation Skills

As an attorney, you are uniquely trained to win cases for your clients.  In a CEO setting, that determination and ability to advocate successfully is translated into the business world.  That means you are excellently qualified to negotiate better deals on behalf of your hiring company.  It also makes you fiercely competitive, which is a crucial asset many hiring companies are looking for in a CEO candidate.

 

Critical Thinking

Anyone who has gone through law school knows that critical thinking is one of the most important skills that is taught through coursework. In essence, those three years of law school teaches you how to think in a way that renders amicable results in even the most disagreeable situations. The process of deconstructing arguments down to essential parts in order to move forward with optimal decision making power is at the core of critical thinking.  And, as an attorney, you’ve learned this in spades.

 

The Last Word on What Makes Lawyers Better CEOs

At the end of the day, a hiring company is looking for a qualified candidate who fits in with the culture of the company. They are also looking for skilled professionals who know how to handle high-pressure situations. 

As we observed in the aforementioned examples, your law degree can help you shine over your competition.  When you add up all the advantages your law degree implies, you will see you should be a highly-coveted candidate for any company seeking a superior CEO.

Reputation Management

Key Benefits of Reputation Management for CEOs

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Like it or not, a CEO is the face of a company. They are the one who is most likely to be applauded when things go right, but also the one who will be held accountable when they don’t. CEOs who engage in activities that go against the company image can even impact sales for that company. CEOs who understand this know that they must represent their corporation in all aspects of their life. This means that information shared online should shine a positive light on them.

Online reputation management, or ORM, focuses on helping them do this well. Outside of normal marketing strategies, ORM ensures things like online reviews, employee feedback, and other media don’t speak poorly of the CEO and the company. They might even go as far as using a press release distribution service to ensure all quotes and information about a topic are consistently communicated. If you’re looking to incorporate ORM, here are some of the key benefits for CEOs.

 

Increases Consumer Trust

A good CEO implies that the company they work for is also doing things with integrity. Consumers like to buy from companies they know, like, and trust. Using ORM helps to increase consumer trust. If they believe the face of the company, then they will also believe claims made by the company about the products and services. Good ORM makes them more trustworthy. Even when something bad happens, using ORM to help mitigate the fallout shows that they are willing to fix mistakes which also makes them more trustworthy.

 

Improves Brand Reputation

Brand reputation is hard to earn and easy to lose. The second a brand makes a huge mistake, they will pay for it in sales for a long time. Some companies can never quite overcome a huge scandal or faux pas. Companies with a good CEO, who is visible in the community and their industry, are more likely to have a good brand reputation. When consumers read articles about CEOs giving to important causes or helping their communities, they associate good things with the brand the CEO represents. Additionally, when a company uses ORM to help repair a CEO’s damaged reputation, it also improves brand reputation.

 

Helps Your Company Attract High-Quality Candidates

People love to work for companies where they feel like their ideas are heard and their work is valued. Nothing speaks worse of a company than the quality of its CEO. Since leadership is top-down, if the CEO has a bad reputation, it doesn’t speak too highly of the quality of management under them. For CEOs who want to improve employee retention and gain better staff in the first place, they need to focus on reputation management. People feel good about working for places with great leadership.

 

Sets You Apart From Competitors

Want to be at the top of your industry? Then get a great CEO with an excellent online reputation. Using ORM to promote the work that your CEO does in and out of the boardroom is a good way to stand out in a sea of competition. Giving to causes, attending fundraisers, and doing good things are all ways to help improve ORM. This means that every time the CEO does something good, someone should be sharing about it on his or her behalf.

 

Impacts Sales Volume

Nothing will hit your wallet more quickly than a scandal. Businesses who find themselves entangled with a CEO who is doing something the public doesn’t like will also find their sales dropping. A benefit to ORM is that it can also cause sales to increase. People like buying from companies that have leaders they feel like they can trust. And because they trust the leader, they are more likely to buy a product and tell their friends about it.

 

Key Components of Online Reputation Management

Doing online reputation management is a strategic decision with key outcomes in mind. Much like a marketing campaign, ORM uses multiple channels to ensure they are effective. This means addressing customer complaints online, sending out press releases, and addressing customer feedback about products. The three key elements include monitoring, repairing, and building. When companies do all three of these regarding their CEO, they are more effective overall as a company.

Female Leader

What Are the Important Qualities to Become a Good Leader?

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Anyone can launch a business or hold a high-ranking position in an established organization, but it takes a person with specific qualities to be a good leader. How can today’s greats like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates accomplish so much and continue to excel? More than just having innovative ideas, they invested years of time and effort into being influential leaders in their industries. What does that entail? Keep reading to learn more.

 

Visionary

One of the first qualities of a good leader is being a visionary. It means you have a vision for the future. You see a need in the community, nation, or world and believe strongly in your ability to contribute to positive change. As a visionary, you don’t just dream; you are motivated by your desire to create plans and put them into action.

 

Driven or Passionate

A good leader is driven by their passions. They work hard to accomplish tasks that will get them closer to their ultimate goal. They are not easily swayed or discouraged by negative opinions, setbacks, and obstacles. A successful leader’s passion is so high that their efforts inspire those around them to invest just as much.

 

Thirst For Knowledge

It’s a common misconception that you know all there is to know when you’re on top or considered a leader. However, that’s not the case. A true leader knows that there’s always room for growth. Their thirst for knowledge inspires them to invest whatever is necessary into learning more about their industry, colleagues, employees, and customers. Whether that’s obtaining a PhD in leadership or taking professional development courses, good leaders will continuously seek opportunities to evolve.

 

Effective Communicators

How can you lead if you can’t effectively communicate with those working with you? A successful leader understands this and strives daily to connect with their team. They speak clearly in a manner that is easy to comprehend and respectful to others. Leaders also understand that communicating effectively means being able to actively listen to the opinion of others and be receptive to their input.

 

Sound Decision-Makers

Leaders are charged with making decisions every day. They aren’t impulsive. They don’t allow their emotions to make decisions for them. Instead, good leaders evaluate the circumstances, gather as many facts as possible, seek outside counsel, and make an informed decision that’s best for the team, company, and overall objectives.

 

Accountable

Influential leaders are open, honest, and accountable. When things go wrong, they don’t point the finger at others. They evaluate the situation and take accountability for their actions and even the actions of their team. They are forthcoming with the truth, have a willingness to learn from their mistakes, and take steps to avoid problems in the future.

 

Team Players

A good leader knows they can’t make it alone. They don’t attempt to take everything on their shoulders. They also don’t kick their feet up while their team handles all the work. True leaders are great collaborators and team players. They rely on the help and expertise of others to help them accomplish goals. A successful leader is also not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get into the mix.

 

Problem Solvers

Problems will arise in business, but good leaders possess the skills to solve them. They identify the issue, determine the cause, and develop alternative strategies for a better outcome. If necessary, a good leader will turn to others to give them different perspectives and understandings of problems to make the most informed decisions to resolve them going forward.

 

After reviewing some of the qualities of a good leader, where do you measure up? If you don’t possess all these characteristics just yet, don’t be discouraged, as there is always time to improve. Start by evaluating your skills and qualities, identify your strengths and weaknesses, then invest in methods to evolve in these areas. Whether you get a mentor, obtain a degree, enroll in professional training classes, or learn through experience, you can become a better leader with determination and effort.

Business meeting discussing recent company growth

How to Create a Workplace Culture that Unlocks Growth

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

By John Harte, Managing Partner at Integrity Governance

For real, tangible business growth having a positive culture in the workplace is essential. This requires having healthy day-to-day attitudes, behaviours and work ethics within an organisation.

For those boards who have put off reviewing the culture at their business because they were in crisis mode during the pandemic, now is the time to undertake a review. With the world experiencing another crisis with the invasion of Ukraine, uncertainty and volatility are the new normal.

Also, at a time of intense competition for talented people, the culture at organisations is an enabler or, in some cases, a limitation on being an “employer of choice”.

It is therefore timely for boards to assess the culture of the board and their organisation to ensure that the culture is fit for purpose to deliver long term growth.

 

Boards are custodians of company culture

Effective boards recognise that they are responsible as custodians of culture – keeping, protecting and nurturing the good things, the “assets”, in company culture.

They also need awareness to address where the culture is not appropriate and must change for the business to be “fit for the future”. This requires that they understand and address the cultural liabilities of their organisation.

In fact, effective boards enact their role in culture by inspiring it, ensuring alignment, demonstrating authenticity by both reflecting and demonstrating the behaviours implicit in the culture, while guiding, encouraging and assuring themselves about it.

 

Three types of directors on the issue of culture

Culture is a hot topic for boards. We observe three populations on the boards that we work with:

  • The”Jurassic”: To them, culture is the latest management fad, which will fade like previous ones; for example, total quality management and mindfulness.
  • The “restless”: This group acknowledges that culture is important, but just don’t understand or know what to do, or how to deal with it as a board.
  • The “effective enablers”: These are directors that not only comprehend how critical culture is to their organisation, but are vigorous in actively engaging and enacting their role as shapers and custodians on culture.

 

The pillars of culture that support business success

Effective and successful boards over the past couple of years have demanded adaptability, resilience, courage and candour. These remain just as relevant today with the current volatility in the world, and must be the pillars of company culture moving forward.

  • Agility and adaptability are critical factors for evolutionary success, and are now required of boards and businesses as they navigate and stive to thrive in a more uncertain world. To create and deliver a culture of adaptability and agility requires boards to promote an entrepreneurial spirit, which releases the potential of their people to provide new ideas to help take the business forward. It also necessitates that boards engender a curiosity and fearlessness to inspire creativity, innovation and continuous improvement. To achieve this boards must lead by example in demonstrating diversity of thought and ideas in the boardroom, as this will give confidence to the rest of the business to follow suit. However, it’s important to realise that it’s only those boards that have diversity across demographics, skills, experience and thinking styles which will have a true diversity of thought.
  • Resilience, the capacity to bounce back from setbacks, is a prized cultural characteristic. Resilience can only be delivered by businesses with a strong, transparent and visible leadership, engaged and empowered employees, and strong brand trust, both internally and externally.
  • It is time for directors to be courageous in confronting reality. This requires them to have a healthy scepticism, but avoid the corrosion of cynicism. However, it shouldn’t just be those at the top that have courage – a culture of courageousness must run throughout the organisation. This will see all staff having the opportunity – and responsibility – to speak up, to do the right (if difficult) thing. To achieve this there additionally needs to be a culture of psychological safety to encourage employees to speak up and protect those that do.
  • Finally, an open culture where bad news comes more quickly to the board than good news is critical for effective governance and leadership by the board. This way they can swiftly focus on and solve challenges before they potentially become bigger problems.

 

Ignore culture and face the consequences

Ignoring culture will more likely than not see boards preside over an organisation with poor company culture. It can lead to a major disconnect between the behaviour that was promised and what was actually delivered by the business, along with bad practices which will damage the reputation and performance of the organisation. Also, the damaging practices and harmful outcomes caused by a poor culture is motivating governments and regulators around the world to make directors legally liable for the culture within the companies they lead.

In a volatile world, it is more important than ever that boards step up and become “effective enablers” when it comes to culture. Fostering a culture of adaptability, resilience, courageousness and candour in the workplace will play a critical role in ensuring their organisation delivers a strong performance in uncertain times. However, to achieve this boards must support and demonstrate the culture they shape at all times, and help provide assurance around it. If they don’t the culture they nurture will not be effectively adopted throughout the organisation.

John Harte, Managing Partner at Integrity Governance
John Harte, Managing Partner at Integrity Governance
RPA

Why CEOs Should Care About RPA In Their Companies

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

The recent leap in artificial intelligence has revealed that in addition to the software being able to carry out tasks for the human workforce and interpreting complex scenes in straightforward sentences, they can also oversee tasks by other machines. Robotic process automation (RPA), for instance, can process transactions, crunch data, and communicate with other systems to ensure processes are carried out efficiently and quickly. With the availability of machines that go beyond RPA, businesses can automate the operation of their entire IT stack.

This self-healing/self-learning software can perform 90% of IT tasks, relieving your IT staff to focus on technological and innovation progress. Implementing RPA can challenge CEOs to transform their business paradigm into one that influences high performance, productivity, and efficiency. However, most CEOs are concerned that adapting to this technology could disrupt the workplace.

In actuality, adapting RPA doesn’t eliminate positions; it frees up resources, streamlines processes, and takes over mundane tasks to relocate human capital where it’s needed most – helping your business grow. Most markets are yet to realize the benefits of smart automation, but the premise behind RPA can do a lot more for companies than most CEOs recognize.

 

Why CEOs Should Integrate RPA in Their Companies

RPA Improves Customer Experience

RPA has a multi-faceted benefit on customer experience. In addition to speeding up processing times, reducing communication errors, and ensuring accurate data collection, it can administer the kind of customer support consumers expect. For instance, NICE offers contact center software that helps address the needs of modern consumers to develop a personalized customer experience.

Companies need to have systems that help enhance customer service efficiency. RPA can streamline customer support processes significantly as it is designed to adapt to and learn from repetitive tasks.

 

RPA Helps Manage New Employee Onboarding

Whether you own a small business or a well-established company, employee onboarding is integral to your organization. HR Directors often have a hard time managing and organizing onboarding documents.

RPA can help make the process more timely and foster consistent communication with employees, freeing your HR Director to focus on staff recruitment, overseeing employee programs, etc. RPA ultimately creates a more fulfilling work output from HR Directors and a satisfying employee experience.

 

RPA Helps Keep Track of Resources

Many companies leave a substantial amount of money on the table in collections every year since they cannot keep up with the follow-up. Utilizing RPA frees up time by taking over the follow-up process and helps catch never invoiced items and recover millions in uncollected money.

 

RPA Enhances Returns Processing Time

RPA technology can take over the tedious task of processing returns. By enhancing the processing time of returns with RPA, your team gets more time to offer the right solution, increasing customer satisfaction. However, if you want to automate both processes, RPA is capable of processing returns while simultaneously offering new product or service suggestions.

 

RPA Helps Streamline Sales

If your sales team takes a lot of time putting in new orders, you’ll end up selling a lot less. Deploying RPA can help run accuracy checks on new sales orders, therefore simplifying the whole process for your sales teams.

This way, they can enter new orders in a few clicks rather than filling out multiple forms. Plus, RPA helps keep track of all sales by storing and reporting all orders entered by sending a summary email to your sales director at the end of each day.

 

RPA Helps Simplify Data Collection

Legacy systems can often complicate data collection for companies. Implementing RPA can significantly simplify this process for your accounting team. Eradicating the need to aggregate and extract all the data gives your team more time to focus on putting together your R2R and analyzing the results.

 

Stay Competitive By Deploying RPA in Your Company

According to The Economist, 70% of CEOs confirm that RPA and AI are essential to meeting strategic objectives. Once more business leaders realize the benefits of automation, several businesses will be eager to adopt RPA. If you don’t deploy RPA in your company, your competitors will, and then no marketing strategy or acquisition will help you catch up to them.

Sleepy CEO

CEOs Who are Sleep Deprived are Grumpy and Distracted: Here’s Why They Need More Sleep

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Numerous business leaders will tell you that they do not get enough sleep.

However, the majority of managers and CEOs would never admit to being a little tipsy, distracted, less creative, or more likely to be abusive to their workers.

According to a survey conducted by Potential Project in collaboration with the Harvard Business Review, only 28% of leaders report sleeping seven hours or more per night.

Nonetheless, these are the repercussions of sleeping fewer than 7 to 9 hours per night on a consistent basis.

According to a frequently cited study, someone who is up for 19 or 20 hours (i.e., someone who sleeps 4 to 5 hours per night) performs tasks as if they are legally inebriated.

Another study discovered that sleeping six hours a night for ten days results in the same level of impairment in performance as pulling an all-nighter.

Christopher Barnes, a sleep researcher and management professor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, has conducted studies that demonstrate sleep-deprived managers have less emotional self-control. This increases their likelihood of being abusive toward subordinates, which might result in decreased workplace engagement.

“Do CEOs who sleep six hours a night perform optimally? They are not,” neurologist Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep, asserted. “And it is not only a matter of efficacy; it is also a matter of efficiency. When you are sleep deprived, you are extremely inefficient. Why would you attempt to boil water on a medium heat setting when you can do so on a high one?”

According to Els van der Helm, a sleep researcher and cofounder of Shleep, which provides corporate clients with company-wide sleep regimens, only around 3% of the population is genetically programmed to function well on less than six hours of sleep every night.

Increased consciousness

It appears as though CEOs and other leaders are becoming more aware of the critical nature of sleep for their ability to perform at their best, particularly their capacity to focus. 250 CEOs of Fortune 500 businesses were interviewed by The Potential Project, a global leadership development and research firm. A total of 200 of them stated that they sleep between 7 and 8 hours.

Recently, seven CEOs — from firms such as Mass Mutual, Red Hat, Basecamp, and Eventbrite — told CNN that they make a point of obtaining 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night.

Are CEOs who sleep six hours a night functioning optimally? They are not. And it is not simply a matter of effectiveness; it is also a matter of efficiency. When you are sleep deprived, you are inefficient.

Meanwhile, some leaders are beginning to understand the value of sleep. And not just in terms of hours worked, but also in terms of sleep quality, which can be improved by increased physical activity and the establishment of consistent nighttime rituals. This involves going to bed at a consistent hour each night and putting their phone and other electronics away.

Martina Bender-Scheel, Deloitte’s head of talent and culture in Switzerland, argues that sleeping more has increased her productivity and emotional resilience at work.

Martina Bender-Scheel, Deloitte Switzerland’s head of talent and culture, used to sleep 5 to 6 hours a night during the week and an additional hour on weekends.

“I would get up early to prepare the children and myself for the day, commute to work, and then return home for supper, put the children to bed, and then work on the computer until after midnight,” Bender-Scheel explained in an email. She now sleeps at least seven hours per night during the week and another hour or two on weekends.

“I notice a significant difference. I am able to accomplish more during the day since I am able to concentrate better and think more clearly. Additionally, I achieve more creative outcomes when confronted with challenging problems. My emotional fortitude is greater. And I’m more merry,” she added.

By committing to at least seven hours of sleep per night, Filippo Rossi, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, claims he has improved his focus for clients and improved his health.

“I spend the final hour before bed reading or conversing with my family, walking the dog, or taking a bath. When I’m on my computer after supper, I immediately realize how tough it is to fall and stay asleep,” Rossi explained.

Apart from feeling better, he believes his clients receive a significant return on investment from his increased sleep.

“Who wants to pay for a consultant who is ‘drunk’? Because my job requires a quick mind and constant presence, I choose to use sleep as a strategic lever to recover more quickly and perform at my best as frequently as feasible,” Rossi explained.

John Bowers, CEO of JCC Bowers, a firm that developed an app for controlling your electronic devices, is a work in progress when it comes to sleep.

Bowers received a wake-up call, so to speak, when he was hospitalized for fatigue after only four hours of sleep in three days.

Bowers used to wake up many times a night to deal with incoming demands, he claimed.

Not any longer. He is now normally in bed by 11 p.m. and sleeps for around 5 hours.

He admits that he still thinks about work while sleeping, but believes that the quality of his sleep enables him to think creatively about difficulties.

“It’s a significant improvement over the previous state,” he remarked.

Productive CEO

How to Be a Successful and Productive CEO

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

1. You must have a clear mission.

A clear vision is essential for company success, but is your entire team on board with it? Is that mission in line with their own personal goals? It’s not as straightforward as stating, “Here’s what we need to do, now go do it.” You must also establish the why behind the activity, as well as guarantee that each employee’s own ‘why’ is specified. They will stall and pull performance down with them if they aren’t involved in the company’s future.

ACTION STEP: Hold a Goal Workshop with your team to describe the company’s vision as well as each employee’s mission.

 

2. You must establish a culture.

One of your responsibilities as CEO is to establish and maintain a culture that distinguishes your organization. A company’s culture encompasses more than simply a stylish office, flexible work hours, and Friday beer at 4:00 p.m. The intrinsic beliefs, enthusiasm, and behaviors that push you and every team member to accomplish their best job establish a culture. A culture is formed by a wide range of elements such as objectives, benefits, surroundings, incentives, tasks, respect, and personality traits. If your employees do not fit within and appreciate these characteristics, you will be held back.

ACTION STEP: Conduct a thorough assessment of your company’s culture to determine where you are now, where you want to be, and the gaps you need to close to get there—then put your plans in place.

 

3. You must be reasonable in your expectations.

Many CEOs arrive with their weapons drawn, eager to shake things up and change the game. Change, on the other hand, brings tension. Workload shifts occur as a result of change. Change brings with it a variety of approaches to bringing it about. This may cause havoc in the workplace. If you want to be a successful CEO, you’ll establish realistic and attainable goals for your staff that don’t burn them out, annoy them, or overwork them in order to keep them fully functional and pleased.

ACTION STEP: While being strategic and vision-oriented is important, you must also be aware of what is going on in the trenches. You, too, were once there. Take care of your employees, and they will reward you handsomely.

 

4. You must control your tension.

Stress causes sick days, decreased productivity, interpersonal troubles, moodiness, and a variety of other challenges for you and your team. It’s important not to underestimate the impact of stress. It has an influence on health-insurance costs, innovation, employee turnover, and overall work satisfaction. Successful CEOs understand that they must not only manage their own stress at work and at home, but also provide organized training, resources, and perks to their workers. Because there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all stress treatment, you must tailor resources to each individual employee.

ACTION STEP: Collaborate with a wellness coach or consultant (or find someone inside your firm) to develop a thorough stress-management program that is tailored to each member of your team.

 

5. Benefits should be tailored.

As a wise CEO, you understand that benefits cannot be tailored to each individual. Some people place a premium on compensation and benefits, while others place a premium on flexibility and independence. Smart CEOs get to know their employees on a personal level to ensure that they are providing perks, prizes, and incentives that are tailored to each individual’s requirements and desires in order to accomplish a great job and bring their best to work every day.

ACTION STEP: Conduct a survey to learn more about your team’s benefits preferences. Then get creative with what you can give to suit their demands.

Four women in a business meeting

Celebrating Women in Leadership for International Women’s Day

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

The latest FTSE 100 data on female representation at the board level has shown that we continue to make positive moves towards more gender equality in the upper echelons of business.

Nearly 40% of board-level executives at FTSE 100 companies are female, compared to just 12.5% only 10 years ago. Across mid-sized businesses, this number stands at 32%. This is positive news, particularly in light of this year’s International Women’s Day theme: #BreakTheBias.

While there is still more work to do, we continue to improve our representation. Some businesses, however, are leading the way in their female representation. Customer service outsourcing provider Kura has a leadership team made up of 50% women, and a huge 70% of its senior management team is female.

Here, we talk to some of the women blazing the trail in leadership positions at Kura to find out more about their careers, how they find being a woman in leadership, and how they support other women looking to break the bias.

 

Varying career paths

The women in leadership roles at Kura have all taken very different paths throughout their careers. Leigh-Ann Paterson began at Kura in 2009 and has risen through the ranks from an advisor position to her current senior management role of Head of Estate Services.

Leigh-Ann says of her journey: “My personal growth and development is a key achievement in my career. After hard work and determination, I was appointed as Head of Estate Services in 2016 and became a member of the senior management team.” Kura is all about developing people, so it’s positive to see women start in advisor roles and progress into senior management quickly. It’s indicative of an environment that actively supports women.

Client Delivery Leader Senga Kane has had a varied career that included 10 years in the hairdressing industry. Senga took a 28-month career break to have her children before returning to education to undertake a Marketing & Economics degree.

Senga joined First Direct as an outbound sales advisor, moving quickly up the ranks to coach, trainer, dialler coordinator, and then Call Centre Manager before joining Kura as an Operations Manager in July 2012. She progressed into further senior roles at Kura before achieving the role of Client Delivery Leader in October 2021. Senga is proof that women can incorporate breaks in their careers to care for their children while still progressing into senior roles.

 

Being a woman in leadership

Being a female leader can bring its own challenges with it, so how does Kura look after its high-ranking women? Leigh-Ann says: “We don’t apply labels at Kura. Gender doesn’t play a part in who is right for the role. Being a leader, regardless of gender in Kura, is a privilege and rewarding.”

While recognition of female leaders is important, businesses should also ensure that everyone in senior roles receives equal treatment and respect. Leigh-Ann continues: “Being a leader, regardless of gender, in Kura is a privilege. We don’t apply labels in Kura. I don’t think of myself as a female leader. I am just a leader.”

Operating in global locations including the UK and South Africa presents differing challenges for the women at Kura. Shakti Naidoo, HR Business Partner at Kura South Africa, says the local culture has an impact on her and other female managers. She says: “In South Africa, women – and women of colour – have rarely shared a seat at the same table.” So how does the business counteract this? Shakti says: “At Kura South Africa, we have inductions and monthly sessions where we directly address conscious and unconscious biasedness.” Initiatives that tackle gender biases in the workplace are important to creating a workplace that allows talented people to progress, regardless of their gender.

 

Supporting women around the business

Women in leadership roles are in a great position to help others who are looking to progress into these roles, especially if they encounter gender biases and obstacles. For Shakti, this is especially important in her office. To offer support to other ambitious women in the business, she says: “We initiated ‘Kura-Queens’, a platform where women meet and freely discuss and raise matters around gender.

“It is also a platform to recognise women at Kura who are leaders, future leaders, and role models at Kura South Africa.” Through this platform, Shakti says she has a “team of strong women who support, motivate, and raise each other”.

Seeing other women in senior leadership positions is vital for women who want to pursue these types of roles in the future but feel like it’s harder to reach the upper levels of business. Role models help to show us what is achievable and they provide aspiration. With COVID-19 exacerbating gender inequalities, these role models are more important than ever.

According to Leigh-Ann, one of her favourite things about her role is the ability to support others. She says: “The ability to coach and develop others makes my role hugely rewarding.”

Tertia Van Staden, Head of Operations for Kura South Africa, feels the same: “I feel privileged to give the ladies on the floor the encouragement to know that they too can achieve big things if they work hard.”

Creating an environment that supports women and creates equal opportunities for them is a key ethos of Kura and its leadership team. Tertia continues: “We continue to be committed to working to create opportunities for the women of our community. We are proud to be making a difference in our people’s lives, and at the forefront of that is empowering our women in their roles and in their lives.”

 

We’re making positive strides towards gender equality at the highest levels of business. While we aren’t quite there yet, there’s no doubt that we’re on the right path. Businesses like Kura are leading the way in supporting women into senior roles and businesses and are reaping the rewards. In order to achieve more gender equality in the workplace, businesses must both recognise that women may face more obstacles on their career journey while ensuring they are treated as equals to their male counterparts.

CEO

How to Become a CEO

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

In the race to the top, some people soar, some people climb up slowly and some people never get there. Most people assume that in order to have a great career in management, they have to attend a prestigious business school, and get an MBA, and they will get a high powered job in a big firm, ans rise to the top, all the while avoiding any semblance of risky moves. The reality, however, is different.

According to data from the 10-year CEO Genome Project, our common notions of what it takes to become a CEO are very different from reality. The project looked at over 17,000 CEOs, studying 2,600 of them in-depth, to see what the typical path was for a CEO and what the typical CEO looked like. Finally, or looked at the “CEO sprinters” who had become CEO faster than the average 24-years it took to get to the top.

Contrary to popular wisdom, CEOs take risks with their careers, making bold bets to get to the top. Their careers aren’t conventional, they’re outsiders. There were three distinct bets taken by these CEOs, with 97% taking at least one and 50% taking at least two. And for those who think that having an MBA was important to their development, well, just 24% had an MBA.

These bets, or catapults, helped forge the specific qualities that set these future CEOs apart and led to them being picked for their roles. These catapults are so powerful that they can help anyone rise in their organisation, even if they don’t aspire to become a CEO.

 

Go Low to Go High

We think of success as a linear thing, but for many CEOs, their path to the top meant taking a step down to get ahead. Over 60% of sprinters took on a smaller role sometime during their career. They may have launched an innovation within their company, taken a role in a smaller firm because it offered then a greater range of responsibilities, or they may have founded their own business. Whatever they did, they used their step down to build something from ground zero and demonstrate their ability to make an incredible impact on an organisation.

One of the sprinters in the study, let’s call him, “Mark”, had a job in strategy and development in a multibillion dost marketing and communications business. When he was starting out, he had been offered the chance to keep a new business unit. When he looked at that offer, he felt like it was a demotion or, more charitably, a lateral move. The task was largely undefined and the business unit’s prospects were uncertain. When he took over, the company had no revenues, but by the time he was done, it had revenues of $250 million. Taking on this task forged the management skills he needed and that are so rare. He became a master at finding the right strategic posture of a business, working with a budget, and running a P&L. More than 90% of CEOs had some management experience. They were willing to take on challenges that others spurned because they saw the opportunities that going small offered. Thirteen years after taken on that blank slate company, Mark was the CEO of an education and training company worth $1.5 billion.

 

Take a Big Leap

Over a third of sprinters took the “big leap” within the first 10 years of their careers. They said yes to an opportunity they often felt underqualified for or too inexperienced to take. They backed themselves to learn and to do well even though their education and experience seemed so limited in the face of the challenges they faced.

When “John” was 24, he became a senior accountant at a $200 million business selling creative cabinets. Within eight months of being hired, he was offered the role of CFO, rising above the controller who had brought him into the organisation. He was young and inexperienced, but he backed himself. He understood that CFOs aren’t typically as young as he was, and that he was being trusted despite his lack of experience. He used his time as CFO to learn about the organisation, good to lead and perform a range of functions, and perhaps most importantly, his to thrive in an uncertain environment. None years later, by way of a role as COO, he had become CEO.

People often respond to such stories by referencing the role of luck. But, research shows that luck is something that we generate, and we can actively work to create luck for ourselves. Increasing your “volume” of effort increases the odds that something will fall tour way. You can look to get involved with projects that touch many parts of a business. You can try and get on the team working on a merger. You can ask your boss to give you more responsibilities. Don’t just say “yes” to opportunities, actively seek to create opportunities, excel in them, and you can earn a ticket to the big time.

 

Get In When It’s Ugly

All the books on careers advise you to avoid taking on big challenges, messy situations, pour projects on the brink of failure. Play it safe, they say. But that’s all wrong. Everyone plays it safe because everyone is afraid of failure. And when everyone is doing something, the reward for doing it is limited. To stand apart, you have to dare to be different.

The greatest blessing you can get is the opportunity to inherit one hell of a mess. It’s counterintuitive, it’s daunting, and it’s risky, but the upside is massive. Take on the challenge of turning a failing business unit around, or working to get a business out of bankruptcy, per working on some problem that nobody wants but whose impact on a business is huge. Nearly a third of sprinters found their stride leading a team through a big mess. The messier, the more impressive your efforts are if you succeed.

 

Get more tips and get on the fast track to becoming a CEO. 

Coworkers taking a lunch break together

“Please, Do Not Disturb”: How to Help Staff Disconnect After Work Hours

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

With all that has happened in the last couple of years, it is fair to say that our lives have been completely overturned. If commuting to the office every morning used to be the norm, more and more employees are now working from their bedroom, kitchen table or home office on a regular basis. This may seem like a tremendous advantage at first, and, in many ways, it can be – no early wake-ups, no rushed breakfasts, and no morning traffic.

However, working from home can conceal a few challenges. One of them is that employees find it difficult to switch off and relax after office hours. It has been found that 76% of people struggle to disconnect from their jobs at the end of the working day, with it taking them an average of one hour and 39 minutes to unwind after leaving their desks. In addition, a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that working from home makes it even harder for people to detach. With many more internal emails circulating inside their inbox, workdays from home are becoming longer.

As a business, it is crucial to always ensure high standards of health and wellbeing in the workplace. Employees are a company’s most valuable asset and their wellbeing deserves special attention. This article explores some ways in which businesses can help their home-working staff wind down after office hours.

 

Encourage breaks and hobbies

When working from home, it is very easy to stay glued to the work laptop for an extra hour or two. Whether it is checking emails or polishing presentation slides for the following day, employees may end up losing precious ‘me time’. With no sight of colleagues leaving the office when the shift is over, it may be tricky to realise that it is time to stop for the evening.

One way to make sure your staff are not overworking is to encourage them to take up a hobby. The promise of going to dance classes or for a kick-about with friends may spur them to switch off when they should. For instance, playing an instrument is an excellent solution too. Strumming a guitar or improvising tunes on a piano can reset their mind. In this respect, you may also want to encourage your employees to take short breaks during the day and have a go at their favourite hobby – whether it is singing, gardening, or cooking, it will actively refuel their energy levels and get their creative juices flowing, ready for work again.

 

Promote socialising with co-workers

Working remotely means that employees’ workplaces no longer include co-workers. Colleagues may still see each other during meetings from time to time, but that is only through a screen. What’s more, conversations will always be about work and the current tasks at hand.

Why not promote virtual, social meetings at the end of the working day? This will allow staff to have casual conversations with co-workers that, in an office setting, would generally happen in hallways or at the coffee machine. By encouraging informal interactions, you will help employees detach from their duties for the day.

 

Lead by example

One of the most effective ways to ensure your workers switch off after office hours is to lead by example. Why would homeworkers turn their laptop off if their manager is still online?

Outside of typical office hours, HR and managers should not reply to emails (unless truly urgent, of course). If a task can wait until the morning, it will alleviate the pressure on your people to continue working. That way, you and your employees can quickly indulge in some well-deserved after-work rest.

 

Turn technology to their advantage

As mentioned, workers may feel hesitant to close their laptops after office hours. If a task or meeting request appears on their screen at the end of the day, they may feel pressured to crack on with it regardless of what time it is. Ultimately, they may end up being overburdened with work.

In this respect, you may want to encourage your staff to turn technology to their advantage. There are apps, including Google Calendar, that allow employees to set specific timeframes and work hours. This means that if anyone sends meeting requests outside their office hours, they will be informed that the colleague is currently unavailable and the invitation will be declined. Similarly, apps such as Microsoft Teams can also be set to alert users during core work hours only.

These are simple but effective ways to eliminate people’s temptation to check their work inboxes and messages outside their working hours.

 

Write a to-do list

Why not motivate your employees to write their own to-do lists for the day? Jotting down the tasks for the day has a number of advantages. Firstly, ticking off items is satisfying and spurs staff to keep going, improving productivity and efficiency. More importantly, seeing a completed agenda at the end of the day will help workers settle down for the evening, as it’s evidence that there is nothing else that needs doing.

Writing a to-do list will also allow employees to prioritise their tasks. They will be able to plan out their day to focus on the more pressing duties at times that suit them. If their minor tasks are not finished that day, they could be picked up the next morning.

 

It is true that working from home has its benefits. But there is also no denying that it comes with some challenges, with employees finding it difficult to turn off their work devices and enjoy some all-important ‘me time’. You can also read more tips on how employees can switch off on our blog.