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In Business

Why do businesses not take their credit function more seriously?

Many businesses suffer from cash flow problems. You hear small business representatives talk about the lack of funding available for cash flow when the simple answer is that the answer to most problems lie in the effective collection of the money owed to the business. With proper training, education and support, your credit function can become the cash generating machine at the heart of your business. Never accept things as they are, always look to achieve perfection and never settle for anything less.

Nov 3, 2015

It Doesn’t Matter Where You Start to Improve Your KPIs

To make useful progress with KPIs, we have to get over our obsession with getting it right, doing it perfectly and waiting for all all the planets line up before we get started. We’d be waiting for ever. And one way to get over these types of procrastination is simply to start where the energy is. Performance measurement processes like PuMP are linear. They are a sequence of deliberate steps that choose, create and use performance measures that are more meaningful and engaging.

Nov 3, 2015

ECJ rules that workers without fixed office are entitled to count time spent travelling from home to First Meeting as Work

European Court of Justice rules that workers who do not have a fixed office are entitled to count time spent travelling from home to their first meeting of the day as work. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on Friday 11th September 2015 that workers who do not have a fixed office are entitled to count time spent travelling from home to their first meeting of the day as work. “The ECJ recently released a judgement in a case involving technicians employed by a Spanish company whose jobs required them to call to client sites. The point at issue in the case was whether the journeys which the workers made from their home to the first call of the day, and from the client site to their home at the end of the day, should be regarded as part of their working time.

Sep 22, 2015

92% of Ireland's CEOs Confirm their Investment in Ireland is a Success

An overwhelming majority (92%) of multinational CEOs confirmed that their investment in Ireland is a success. This is supported by fact that nearly half (49%) of these CEOs plan to increase this investment, up from over a third (37%) last year. This is according to PwC's 2015 CEO Pulse Survey results. Given our successful track record, our highly skilled workforce, our ease of doing business and our competitive tax regime, Ireland continues to offer huge opportunities for US investment. The American Chamber of Commerce recently revealed that Ireland is the number one destination for US foreign direct investment. Ireland is also perfectly located to act as a 'hub' and a gateway to Europe and Asia. Exports from US firms based in Ireland are four times higher than American firms in China (American Chamber of Commerce, March 2015).

Sep 22, 2015

Implementing a Performance Management System

You thought having a Performance Management System was the end of the exercise and all would be well after that! We are all interested in creating better performing companies, increased productivity, competitiveness, value and your organisation reputation in the community. Having a performance system can be the start of a long, but very rewarding, path to improve your company’s performance. There are several elements which are not mentioned in a Performance Management System, but which have an important bearing on the performance of your company. I will highlight these issues, which are as important in any company’s Performance Management System: -

Sep 22, 2015

Irish Family Businesses Confident About Growth Prospects

A new survey by KPMG has found that Irish family businesses are significantly more confident than their European counterparts about the economic outlook for their businesses for the next six months. The results are published in KPMG’s Family Business Survey for 2015, which compares the views of Irish family businesses with their European equivalents, and shows that 89% of Irish businesses are confident about future growth prospects versus 74% of other Europeans.

Sep 22, 2015

The Credit Decision to Extend Additional Funds to Greece

So, what lessons could a humble credit manager teach the heads of the ECB who have decided to extend additional funding to Greece? The whole basis of Credit Management is trust. When you extend credit, you are providing goods or services now and you trust your customer will pay you as agreed in the future. No matter how complex your risk assessment tools get, the simple answer is can I trust them to deliver. How do you think Greece rates on this scale?

Aug 25, 2015

7 Essential Project Performance Measures

When we think about measuring the performance of a project, it’s not really the same as measuring the performance of a team or a process. So we need to think a little differently about the kinds of measures that will tell us what we really need to know.
When we measure the performance of the business process or team, we’re interested in how a particular business result produced by that process or team is changing as time goes by. When we’re measuring the performance of a project we are interested in the impact the project has at a point in time, or over a fixed timeframe.

Aug 25, 2015

Human Resources should be every company’s ‘killer app’

Jack Welsh, the former GE Chief Executive, stated recently that Human Resources should be every company’s ‘killer app’. What could possibly be more important than who gets hired, developed, promoted or moved out the door? After all business is a game, and as with all games, the team who puts the best people on the field and gets them playing together, wins. It’s that simple!

May 12, 2015

What is the ROI on KPIs?

We can easily forget that performance measurement isn’t about filling up the KPI column in the strategic plan. It’s not a bureaucratic hoop to jump through. Performance measurement, when it’s done well, makes a very important difference.

May 12, 2015

New Account Set Up Process

I am often amazed at how little thought and effort is put into this vital area of a business. We put huge effort and resources into prospecting for new customers, then the whole sales process and even customer service. The job of opening the account is usually a clerical exercise that is stuck in somewhere in the middle, and in some cases is done at the last minute because someone, somewhere is looking to print a delivery docket to get the goods out of the stores or in the case of service to log a service call.

Apr 22, 2015

The Journey to a High-Performance Culture Works on ‘Congo Time’

We all want a high-performance culture in our organisations. We want people to be results-oriented, to act with a scientific curiosity, to be relentlessly solution-focused, and to have a continuous-improvement mindset. And we want it now. A central bank in Africa has a great approach to changing the culture of their organisation. The corporate strategy team wants to create a results-oriented performance culture, a shift away from a culture of action-orientation and maintaining the status quo. And this current culture is embedded in parts of the leadership team, so change isn’t going to happen from the top.

Apr 22, 2015

Protected Disclosures Act 2014

Protected Disclosures Act 2014 – Practical steps for an employer to take to ease the worry of facing potentially high profile, high cost cases under this Act. Employers cannot afford to ignore the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (the ‘Act’). While the redress provisions for employees who have been penalised are significant with the possibility of compensation of up to five times an employee’s pay, penalties under this Act are avoidable if employers take practical steps to manage communications regarding wrongdoing in the
workplace and react appropriately to workers who make disclosures which are deemed to be protected under the Act.

Mar 31, 2015

Tips for Building A Strong Customer Service Team

We love receiving great customer service. That’s no surprise. But did you know that great service can actually elicit a physical reaction? A recent American Express Service Study found that 63 percent of its 1,620 respondents said they felt an increased heart rate when they just thought about great service. And for 53 percent of those studied, great service caused them to have the same cerebral response that results from feeling loved. The trick, of course, is developing a customer service team that has the skills to provide such an overwhelming reaction amongst your customers.

Mar 31, 2015

Releasing Orders In Credit Control

One of the jobs credit controllers spend a lot of time doing is “releasing orders”. In fact it is a task that is not even questioned anymore because it is so much part of the working day. Well I am going to question it! Why are you doing it? The only reason an account should go on hold is if the customer is either over the credit line set for the account or they are exceeding the number of days permitted. For each class of customer, depending on the risk category, you should build in a tolerance level showing how many days beyond terms you are prepared to let the customer go before you stop supplies or withhold service.

Mar 3, 2015

4 Rules for Getting It Wrong – and Getting It Right – in Building a Service Culture

Building a superior and sustainable service culture is a vital and complex project that can deliver positive social consequences and lasting commercial results. Many elements will contribute to the success or failure of your service culture building program. Getting It Right means doing what works and following a proven path. Getting It Wrong means ineffective efforts, wasted resources, and unnecessary frustration.

Feb 17, 2015

Absence Costs Small Business Over €490 Million Per Annum

Absence costs small business over €490 million per annum - 4,052,222 days lost in 2014; Back pain and anxiety/depression are the biggest contributors. The Small Firms Association has today published its Absenteeism Report 2014, which shows that absenteeism is costing small businesses over €490 million per annum. However, the report does indicate a lower level of absenteeism in smaller business when compared to their counterparts in larger enterprises.

Feb 17, 2015

Maximising the Results of Selling your Company

As we embark on the first quarter of 2015 opportunities are emerging for business owners. There are however challenges associated with these opportunities. Many business owners have never sold a business before and while opportunities are emerging in the market, it takes time and careful planning to optimize the sale price from any such transaction.

Feb 3, 2015

How to Help People Measure Results, Not Activity

Measure Up reader, Kenneth, works in a hospital and has this measurement challenge: “Different people want to follow up on different things. The nurses, for example, think it is crucial to follow up on how many phone calls they answer. I reckon it is because they want evidence to show management how they spend their time at work. But I do not think this is a critical KPI or success factor for our hospital. How do I draw the line? Do I need to draw the line? How can you get all people to accept this? The bigger question here might be: Who should have access to KPIs?”

Feb 3, 2015

Irish Organisations Still Unprepared for Inevitable Cyber Attacks

Half (50%) of Irish organisations have no real-time insight on cyber risks, lacking the agility, budget and skills to combat rising cybercrime; Almost half (47%) of Irish organisations believe it unlikely they would detect a sophisticated cyber attack; Organisations need to maintain a constant state of readiness to respond to cyber attacks and anticipate where new threats may arise

Jan 13, 2015

The 90-day Performance Improvement Cycle

Annual planning has a few drawbacks that result in unachieved targets, wasted time, and exhaustion in the end. We set the goals and targets for the end of the year, but that feels so far away that we often delay our start, fail to respond as the world around us changes, and consequently lose momentum and interest.

Jan 13, 2015

The 8 Minimum Requirements For Performance Management

Robert D. Behn is a lecturer at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a passionate advocate for public sector performance. His regular Performance Leadership Report is always succinct and salient. His definition of performance management, versus performance measurement, clearly puts the responsibility on leadership’s shoulders.

Nov 25, 2014

Managing Credit for SME’s

One thing has always struck me that while small and owner managed businesses talk a lot about credit. They complain about the lack of credit, they moan about cash flow and not getting paid on time, they give out about people and companies who won’t pay their bills, they really don’t do anything about it. I have been invited to speak at a number of business groups over the years from Chambers of Commerce to Enterprise Boards and I am always amazed at the whole attitude to managing credit. While it may be a popular topic for discussion the reality is often very different when it comes to action.

Nov 11, 2014

Irish Water Bonus

Irish Water intends to pay bonuses to their employees even if they had a ’Needs Improvement’ rating on their performance Review. You might ask what is so unusual about paying bonuses in a company, don’t all companies do this and isn’t this the way to stimulate performance in a company and from what we have seen of Irish Water so far their performance definitely merits improvements. Paying bonuses to employees for their performance is counterproductive and doesn’t do anything to increase the performance of employees, the opposite is true.

Nov 11, 2014

Why Building a Strong Service Culture Answers CEO Top Challenges

Each year The Conference Board publishes survey results of the Top CEO Challenges for global organizations. In 2014 the top four challenges are: 1. Human Capital; 2. Customer Relationships
3. Innovation; 4. Operational Excellence. The Conference Board says business leaders are seeking to drive growth by “focusing on people, performance, reconnecting with customers, and reshaping the culture of work. They see a renewed commitment to customers, innovation, and the corporate brand.”

Nov 11, 2014

Increased Innovation Helping Future Proof Irish Business

81% of respondents believe that Irish companies are more innovative since the onset of the recession; Nearly nine out of ten firms (87%) surveyed believe that Irish companies are either more innovative or just as innovative as other countries; Over three quarters (76%) of Irish firms are currently innovating;
Nearly two in five (39%) surveyed are dissatisfied with the government’s efforts to help nurture innovation in Irish firms

Sep 16, 2014

What Does a KPI Owner Do?

The best and most meaningful performance measure in the world can be rendered utterly useless if no one is clear about who should interpret and use it…Likewise, too many cooks spoil the broth. If everyone tries to take control over improving the same area of performance, then time, effort, and resources will almost certainly be wasted.

Sep 16, 2014

Five Major Mistakes to Avoid for Business Success

2014 will bring changes, opportunities and dangers for your business. Industries are collapsing, careers are converging, and work is migrating or disappearing altogether. Each of us must orient ourselves in a world of constant disorientation, and find new ways to create value and provide service to others. Make the right choices and next year will be your best year yet. Make these 5 mistakes and things will be more difficult for your business and your life.

Aug 19, 2014

4 Uncomfortable Truths About Getting Great KPIs

Most managers and executives will never have truly transformational performance measures because they aren’t prepared to pay the price for them. The price isn’t a consultant’s invoice, or a training registration fee, or a swanky dashboard. The price is discomfort. And for many, it would seem, this price is simply too high.

Aug 19, 2014

Improving Service is a Journey that can be Engineered

Think of the companies in our world known for outstanding service. One thing is common across these organizations – founders and leaders who have declared service to be a top priority, and who align all other practices in the company to make it so. Senior leaders who lower the priority of service should not expect a culture of service excellence to grow.

Jul 22, 2014

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