2021-EDITIONS
Top HR Trends to Expect in 2021
The coronavirus craziness of 2020 set the world – including the business world – on its ear, and certainly many of the changes we’ve seen in HR will carry over well into 2021 and beyond.
However, the savvy HR professional knows that there will be other important trends to manage. After a nod to the recent upheavals, we go deeper and reveal a half dozen non-COVID trends you need to embrace to position your company for 2021 success.
How to Set (and Achieve) a Realistic Target Profit Margin
When you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. That’s why knowing how to set your target profit margin is so important.
But if your knowledge stops there, frankly it’s useless. That’s why in this article we not only teach you how to set your target profit margin, we give you the practical advice you need to actually hit it! That’s a winning formula in anyone’s book.
Weed in the Workplace: Employers Struggle with Growing Marijuana Use
Currently a crazy quilt of marijuana laws stretches across the nation from sea to shining sea. What’s legal in one state is often against criminal law in a neighboring state. Toss in the fact that even in states where marijuana use is legal, it may be for just medical purposes or for both medical and recreational use.
Want to complicate it even more? Layer the entire situation under insurance liability, productivity issues, testing problems and a host of other complications. Yes, it is a thorny issue and that’s exactly why we talked to experts in the field to help you safeguard your business.
Agile marketing: Is It an Option for You?
There’s no doubt that all aspects of business today are moving at head-spinning speeds, so keeping pace with your marketing and product development is paramount to your success and even survival. And, this is exactly where Agile marketing shows its strength.
But do you know enough about Agile marketing to understand what it would mean for your business? We’ve distilled it to its essence and by the time you’re through this quick read, you’ll have the knowledge you need to make the right decision for your company.
What Rocket Engineering Can Teach Us About Software Engineering – And Work in General
The wise student of business is always looking for object lessons from the world in which we live. And, while as business professionals, we have to solve a lot of big problems, few of us has probably ever tackled a problem as big as putting a man on the moon.
Zapier software engineer Justin Deal takes a deep dive into the space race to glean important lessons that all of us can use when we’re tackling big projects. Go ahead, take that small step, it could lead to a big leap.
“Engineering (and product) goals are often notoriously vague. We want to ‘improve onboarding,’ or we want to ‘make our product easier to use.’ In an effort to make it less vague, we often make it arbitrary. ‘Double the rate of activation’ or ‘cut the setup time in half.’ While we're at it, we often make the deadlines arbitrary too and just stick ‘by the end of the year’ on the end,” writes Justin Deal in his Zapier blog.
Justin continues, “As a result, our goals aren't always exciting and tangible like getting to the moon, and they probably aren't realistic either. Chances are there are specific problems standing in the way of onboarding or making the product hard to use. Those problems may be huge, but as long as they're specific, why not solve those instead?”
Get all of Justin’s insights on what we can learn from rocket engineering over on Zapier. Trust us, it’s a great read.
Photo by Bill Jelen on Unsplash
How to Motivate Your Team to Deliver in 2021
It’s no secret that 2020 took its toll on the workplace and employee motivation was one of its victims. In fact, nearly half our workforce is unhappy on the job today. But, savvy business leaders won’t let that bleed over into 2021 – it’s time to turn the situation around.
Your team will appreciate it, as will your productivity, sense of satisfaction, and bottom line. Fortunately, many of the strategies you can use to boost motivation and morale are not expensive and after you read and digest the insights offered here, you’ll have them securely in your playbook.
When, Why, and How Your Company Should Appoint an HR Officer
Are you at that tipping point when the smart move is to bring a fulltime HR officer on board? Or are you still small enough to handle the duties yourself, or let an employee split their time between HR and other tasks?
To answer those questions, you absolutely must understand the trade offs, the benefits, and the downsides.
With the insights we provide here, you can be sure your HR strategy is ideal for the size of your company today and its ability for future growth.
How to End Unproductive Employees - Get Higher Returns on Your Employee Investment (ROEI)
You can sell the best product or provide the best service, but if your offerings aren’t backed up by a savvy and motivated staff, you’ll never reach your company’s potential for growth and profitability.
In fact, your company could even fail. The key is to make the smartest and most cost-effective investments in your staff. But what are they?
In this article we lay out proven strategies to transform your employees into a creative and loyal dream team.