Creating a ‘contagious’ Corporate Culture

The work culture at online retail giant Amazon came under fierce criticism in a recent article on the New York Times. The employees working at Amazon are apparently harassed by the work culture which breeds insecurity. This stems from the corporate strategy at Amazon as the retail giant has listed 14 principles which are at the core of its highly customer-centric business model. Another firm BTG had a similar philosophy yet it has now diversified. There is a similar customer-centric feel to the firm, yet employees do not apparently feel the constant scrutiny due to the way a positive culture has spread contiguous throughout the firm.

How to Assess a Veteran Job Candidate

With less than a tenth of the US population having served in any branch of the military, it becomes quite a challenge for talent recruitment professionals to assess veterans during job interviews. Achievement, attitude and ambition are the three aspects on which the evaluation of the candidate must take place. These may be described as the 3 As. Within Achievement, the candidate may be assessed within further sub points. Rank advancement within the military shows how the person is good at managing politics. Awards earned will be a true measure of merit. The military school selection and completion points out the background of the candidate. Extra-curricular achievements can better indicate the suitability of the candidate for civilian job positions. Also post leaving the position at the military, the person’s records must be analyzed.

Travel and Tourism leaders welcome the Sustainable Development Goals

Tourism consulting body WTTC has welcomed the sustainable development goals as something which the industry is keeping a close eye on. Points 8, 12 and 14 specifically target cases where the industry can play a major role. Point number 8 is about creation of sustainable employment opportunities and with the rise in the number of travel jobs, this will be a non –issue soon. The industry is also developing its own tools to monitor the progress just as point 12 directs. And as point 14 says, specific focus is being made to sustainably harness global marine resources.

3 Enterprise Business Intelligence trends that can benefit your Business

Business intelligencehas become crucial for conducting complicated operations and certain trends have been identified that may be beneficial. Social intelligence has risen which basically points towards the evolution of tracking conversations on social media tools such Facebook and Twitter. This has provided digital marketingprofessionals with far greater volume of data which may be gauged. Even smart analytics have emerged which point to exact minute details marketers seek. Intelligence is now also available to combat the increased threat of analytics and cloud based systems.

Managing Performance in the 21^stCentury

Managing and evaluating performance has become much more complicated in the present business scenario. Monitoring now has further challenges yet opportunities with the digital technologies available to us.Management consulting giant Deloitte has brought out a report which states that continuous evaluation of employees is now desirable. Goals set must be revised post proper evaluation as market conditions alter quickly. Managers are now being gauged to provide coaching and mentoring sessions to their team members especially the new recruits.

Travel and Tourism to Generate 25 million new Jobs

The tourism ministers of the G-20 members recently met at Antalya in Turkey to discuss regarding state of the industry at present globally.Tourism consulting body GTAC estimates that up to 25 million travel jobs will be created over the coming period. Also this industry is poised to invest in people rather than just technologies or processes as many organizations do. Proper planning is required to recruit the right talent for the industry specific profiles.

Six Signs your Company Culture is Toxic

Company culture once formed is very difficult to dispense with. Certain signs have been identified by a management consulting publication which indicate the same being toxic. In such organizations, work is only done the way the boss feels it must be. Employees’ motivation rather than performing is to avoid getting scolded. Such organizations lack ideas and business innovation is non-existent. Employees at such places have way too many secrets within their cliques. Staff turnover is high as new recruits do not settle in very well. Also in such firms, employees are overworked and stretched to the limit of their capacities.

Three benefits of ‘tending’ to Employees

Increasing employee retention and decreasing attrition levels has become top priority for most organizations due to the work mobility now possible. In order to achieve the same, certain benefits have been identified of looking after employees well. The organizational culture gets positive over a period of time. Employee retention improves substantially. Also employees feel a greater sense of engagement. Proving constant management training to employees is one of the best ways to achieve the same. 

Six Practical ways to ensure flexible working Hours

Business research conducted by Timewise suggests that flexibility in the working hours is not being followed to as much of an extent as it should due to organizations’ natural reluctance. However, this research has thrown up some methods which can enable the same without disturbing organizations’ work. Even when working from home, specific timelines and deadlines must be agreed upon. Once completed on time or before that, praise or feedback must be delivered as this raises confidence levels. Also the colleagues of the persons working from home must be aware of the same and not imagine it is an off day. Constant communication must exist between the employee and the employer’s line managers. Instant messaging tools’ aid must be taken. The remote working employee must get constant stream of information regarding organization work and projects.

10 Ways Companies in Singapore are improving their Employer Brand

Companies in Singapore are trying innovative ways to improve their brand primarily to attract the best of talent. They are insistent on putting up a dedicated career page. All job openings are posted there. Sometimes job application processes get complicated but instant help is provided to help out in the process. The site must be optimized for smart-phone users. The same site must be linked to corporate pages on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter. These pages will also contain job openings. A share button enabled next to the link allows word about opening to spread. Another business innovation is to allow candidates to directly import content from their LinkedIn pages to the application forms. A positive work-life balance is highly valued by younger recruits and that needs to be showcased. Also existing employee testimonials must be put up on company website.

China’s Startup Boom in Online Learning

China has always been at the forefront of distance education. For years it had been imparting agricultural lessons to rural people, but now the focus has changed to upgrading the skill sets of the urban middle class. Investment in education has topped a billion US dollars in China for the year 2014. Due to the great demand for US education, MOOCs is doing particularly well in China. Some concerns though exist such as low internet penetration which may render distance education and Executive MBA unintentionally as elite level courses.

11 Unbreakable Laws of Social Media Marketing

Social media has become the bedrock behind digital marketing and thus some maxims have been framed for the sound execution of the same. Before any posting on social media, due diligence must be paid. Social media may be a virtual field, but the people concerned are real. It is imperative to listen to what others especially customers have to say about our brand. Due interaction must be done with customers before adequate response. Also the right post must be made at the right social media platform. The option to follow people must only be selectively used up for the right personalities. The content to be delivered must be as good as possible. The social media marketer must be hands-on and deliver content as per correct timing. Also there is no need to go head on with aggression, rather a calmer approach suits all stakeholders concerned. Content delivered must be consistent across timelines and social media channels. Finally, it is important to listen to what influencers have to say as they can gauge substantial audience figures.

Looking Inside the Broken Corporate Hiring Model

An experienced HR professional has provided us with management consulting on the various challenges which occur during the recruitment process and how those same may be converted into opportunities. The first challenge is to scan resumes and online applications. Searching through keywords may not be a very comprehensive method, rather it provides us with candidates who are aware of those keywords. However, in today’s technology driven business environment this can prove to be an opportunity as this shows the candidate has a sound understanding of technology. Recruitment is still a bureaucratic process though changes are afoot thanks to digital interventions. Also recruitment is a slow process, and the consultant suggests recruiters take a leaf out of matchmaking agencies which are quicker at finding life partners. Besides sports franchises, most organizations are extremely risk averse but newer and leaner business models stress on greater flexibility in terms of job profiles allocated. Job descriptions are good at identifying people with the right skill sets but cannot gauge whether the candidate will be a right cultural fit at the place. But the way organizations work nowadays, it’s difficult to pin any organization’s culture and thus better to keep open view to recruitments.

Overcrowding at the World’s most Popular Tourism Sites

The world’s premier tourism destinations are getting increasingly crowded as per tourism consulting provided to us by the WTTC. For example the Times Square in New York or the Palace of Versailles outside Paris are places which have seen so much overcrowding that they have even implemented a ‘crowded day’ signal during bookings for peak days. This has led to tourists’ lines running long for booking tickets. This has even raised security concerns during peak seasons. Thus tourist destinations are rewarding tourists who dare come during the non-peak seasons as that divides efforts throughout the year.

10 Reasons to Hire a Business Coach Now

A management consulting publication has provided us with a list of reasons why hiring a business coach is a necessity these days. Entrepreneurs will be forced to go outside their cocoons. A business coach provides personal attention while understanding the mandate completely. A coach will never be afraid of putting his / her foot down and informing the entrepreneur of mistakes committed. The entrepreneur will get to hear unbiased opinions. The coach will also enable the vision to be executed. The person may eventually end up becoming a trusted confidante. Networking opportunities will rise many fold as the business coach interacts with several firms on regular basis. Eventually this will lead to increased incomes. A sense of self-confidence will develop. The entrepreneur will now no longer be held accountable for everything but for only those issues which truly matter.

The Importance of Travel & Tourism to the Global Economy

Travel and tourism’s increasing importance to the global economy can be gauged by one simple statistic derived from specific market research conducted- about three-fourths of business travelers now add a leisure segment to their trips. Nearly a tenth of the world’s GDP was generated by the industry. Also the economic growth is greater than overall figures by one full percentage point. There exist at present around 266 million travel jobs worldwide. Of them around 4.7 million were new jobs created. This growth has primarily been attributed to the rising income levels in countries such as India, China, Russia and Brazil.  

The Color of your Logo can make all the Difference

A detailed business research has been made on the importance of colour to any brand’s logo. It’s been found out that around 93% of purchasing decisions are made on the basis of visual appeal. Colour has specifically been mentioned as a parameter for buying behaviour by six-sevenths of respondents. The colour blue gives a natural impression of being secure, calm, honest, strong and trustworthy. Visa, Facebook, Barclays and Ford are examples of companies with a blue theme. Red symbolizes action, passion, energy and excitement thus Disney, Red Bull and Coca Cola are organizations that have rightly embraced red. Orange has been adopted by Nickelodeon and Penguin as the colour signifies a happy and sociable dispensation. Similarly yellow, green, purple and black have their own influences which have further outlined the organizations that have adopted these colours.

Deloitte acquires Kaisen Consulting, forms ‘Deloitte Leadership’ Psychology Business Unit

Industry leader Deloitte has added Kaisen Consulting to its stables having acquired the same. This will create a management consulting behemoth spanning the entire globe. Where Kaisen will come handy is the leadership consulting sphere especially in the USA and UK. This segment alone is worth more than forty billion US dollars annually. In fact, business research conducted proves that around 86% of business and HR executives feel leadership services consulting is lacking. Less than a seventh of those polled feel newer leaders are adequately being created from within the firm. 

The Company Cultures that help (or hinder) Digital Transformation

Certain company cultures do not provide conducive environment to foster business innovation. They usually have a slow decision making process.Such firmsstruggle to prove their respective business values.Way too much is focused on latest technologies. Operational processes are cumbersome for new recruits to follow. There is often this sense running through these firms that much innovation will lead to a loss of control over subordinates. Rather there must exist a strong sense of purpose. There is a lack of freedom to experiment.