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infrastructure

A Rebuilding Roundup: Key Infrastructure Needed for Our New Normal

May 20, 2020 by cpdigital

I don’t know about you, but here at c+p digital we’ve noticed our thinking shifting slightly. Dare we say, toward the positive? We’re not naïve, we know there’s a long way to go before we’ll see ANYTHING resembling normal, but it almost feels like we’ve entered a new, never felt before (in our lifetimes, anyhow) stage of this particular Covid-19 grief we’ve all been going though: let’s call it cautious optimism!

Here in Canada, individual provinces are at different stages of re-opening and loosening social distancing restrictions. But loosening they indeed are! Wheeee!!

And that inspired us this week to bring you a special, “rebuilding roundup” of some of our recent 4 AM Report podcasts. Instead of the gloom and doom of March and April, we’re focused on the new normal for businesses. And we wanted to share episodes that would inspire you as you navigate these new, still slightly choppy waters.

Of course, many entrepreneurs and business owners simply aren’t ready to take next steps. We know that. But inspiration only comes to you if you seek it. So, let’s celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and doing whatever it is you have to do that takes you to the next step and keeps you from jumping off those cliffs!

We’ve curated five episodes we think you’ll learn something from. Let’s get started.

Upending a Successful Business to Follow Your Passion? That’s NUTS! Or IS it?

Sandra D’Souza, Founder and Managing Director of Sandstone Solutions Group, talks about upending your tried and true business networks, what it’s like to feel like a “newbie” while dipping your toes into a new sector, and what it’s like to start again from scratch (sort of).

As an experienced business professional with over 20 years’ experience in senior finance and recruitment roles, Sandra shifted the focus of her very successful business – going from a comfortable money-making space, into new uncharted waters!

Very BRAVE!

That said, it’s not surprising that what keeps her up at night is breaking into a new audience segment and making those solid connections we all strive for in order to grow. 🌱🌱🌱

Why Publishing a Book Can Lead to Serious Business ROI

Be honest. We’ve all thought at one time or another “I should write a book!”…amiright?

Or, maybe you’re looking at the screen cock-eyed right now wondering why a business owner/entrepreneur should put the work in and get a book out?

Well, Scott MacMillan, President and Executive Publisher at Grammar Factory Publishing, brings the receipts!

Of those who wrote a book, 86% of them grew their business, 72% got speaking engagements, and 34% saw their overall earnings double! Plus, being published gave them authority and helped them stand out from competitors.

BOOM!

Building Relationships from Behind the Screen

Video might have killed the radio star, but it ALSO provided many (if not most) of us the ability to continue working during these crazy, Covid times. It’s also added a valuable extra layer to marketing efforts, if done right.

That’s why, on this episode of the 4 AM Report, we did a deep dive into how to slay your next video meeting. This top talk with a video expert – Janine Harris, executive producer at Keyring Media Inc., specializing in video for business – will teach you:

·   Tips and tricks for looking fine on camera.

·   How to jazz up your surroundings so people are focussed on YOU!

·   And how to use video, in general, in your marketing efforts.

Pro-tip – good lighting should be your North Star! LOL

HR and Small Business – Invest in Talent Infrastructure BEFORE Crisis Strikes

We talk a lot about building out corporate infrastructure, most importantly digital infrastructure, that sort of thing. But more and more companies, large AND small, are realizing just how important it is to invest time, energy, and real emotional intelligence in your people.

Life Works Well’s Helen Patterson talks about investing in an often-overlooked part of small biz infrastructure – human resources! What better time, really, when the work-world is upside down!

You’ll learn why it’s so important to have HR policies in place BEFORE a scramble starts. Why the hiring process isn’t the best use of time for a busy entrepreneur. And why compassionate and humane leaders who treat staff with respect will sail through any crisis.

Solid content, and much needed as employees start to return to work.

Sick and Tired of Non-Stop Bad News? Get Ready to Be Covid Inspired!!

Ugh. The news-cycle these days is brutal. And as if 2020 couldn’t get any worse – we now have Murder Hornets!! Murder. Hornets. Ugh. In this episode, rather than doom and gloom and “what’s keeping you up at night?” we shift focus and bring you ALL THE GOOD NEWS!

There are some really exciting and innovative things companies are doing to stay in business and survive Covid-19, and we (Will and Susan, of course!) focused on four categories:

·   The all-in, boots to the ground, search for a vaccine!

·   Health and lifestyle/beauty (Hello! Remember haircuts?)

·   Sports

·   And technology

It’s a nice reminder that there still are great people out there and lots of good news these days. And that’s the type of content I know WE are here for!

We’re of course on Apple Podcasts – subscribe to us – you won’t regret it!

Plus, if you’re losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a line at c+p digital.

And as always, sweet dreams…well, hopefully!

Filed Under: Blog, Crisis Communication Resources Tagged With: author, book, business, hr, infrastructure, niche, publishing, rebuilding, roi, screen, social distance marketing, social distancing, video

A Rebuilding Roundup: Moving Into Our New Normal, with Helen Patterson, Sandra D’Souza, Janine Harris, and Scott MacMillan

May 20, 2020 by cpdigital

Welcome to another edition of the 4AM Report – our weekly look at what’s keeping us marketers and fellow business peeps awake at night. 😱😱😱

And as 🔓lockdowns are starting to loosen 🔓and people are starting to think about our “new normal” when it comes to business, we thought it was the perfect time to share an inspirational roundup of five of our latest episodes!

Loosely focused on infrastructure building, we talked to experts in their individual fields, and explore:

🎙 The importance of investing in HR infrastructure, with Helen Patterson.

🎙 How to network yourself into a new business niche, with Sandra D’Souza.

🎙 How publishing a business book can lead to success, with Scott MacMillan.

🎙 Tips and tricks to absolutely KILL your next video meeting, with Janine Harris.

And Will and Susan bring you some really exciting and innovative things companies are doing to stay in business and 🦠🦠🦠survive Covid-19! 🦠🦠🦠.

So, kick back, have a beverage (adult or otherwise! 🍷🤣🍷), and enjoy!

Filed Under: Crisis Communication Podcasts, Podcasts Tagged With: author, business, infrastructure, innovation, network, new normal, niche, publishing

HR and Small Business – Invest in Talent Infrastructure BEFORE Crisis Strikes

May 13, 2020 by cpdigital

Let’s face it, it’s your people who are helping your company thrive. 

And right now, during these crazy times of economic uncertainty – to thrive is to survive.

Quickly kicking out a timely survey recently, The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA, Toronto) spoke to 1,107 HR professionals from organizations of varied sizes, sectors and industries from across Ontario. Their goal was to track the scale of change HR professionals are dealing with because of Covid-19.

  • 40% were able to provide work-from-home options
  • 34% introduced policies and expectations about workload for remote workers
  • 48% are providing unique mental health supports
  • 53% have implemented a hiring freeze
  • 52% have changed approaches to on-boarding

Another survey in the United States found that, “HR professionals are facing COVID-19 related challenges head-on by navigating an unfamiliar legal landscape, new technologies, and safety concerns to ensure their company and employees stay afloat.”  

  • 44% of HR professionals say their company is still hiring new employees
  • 15% reported positive outcomes of the pandemic, such as increased demand for a product or service
  • 26% report feeling little to no effect of the pandemic on their business operations (wow, lucky them! LOL)
  • BUT, 60% report experiencing anywhere from negative effects to “devastation” as a result of the pandemic.

What those surveys show is that long before a crisis strikes, you’d better have your HR ducks in a row, the right people running the department, and plans and policies signed off on and ready to run with.

We talk a lot about building out corporate infrastructure, most importantly digital infrastructure, that sort of thing. But more and more companies, large AND small, are realizing just how important it is to invest time, energy, and real emotional intelligence in your people.

Let’s hear more from Life Works Well’s Helen Patterson.

HR and Small Business – Errors, Blocks and Taking a Pause

“When I worked with some entrepreneurs that are just starting out, they’re so focused on the day to day business and growing sales. And whether it’s developing product or providing services, they’re so into the weeds and wearing a lot of hats as business owners. So, I think what’s happening is they’re making these decisions on the fly. Then they realize, ‘Wow, we’re getting all this revenue, and we’re growing and oh, maybe we better hire someone to help out because I can’t do it all.’ There’s that little bit of panic mode. In a way it’s exhilarating. But it’s exhausting at the same time, trying to be the finance person and the HR person and the tech person, right? I think what happens is they forget to take a little bit of a pause. And say, ‘Okay, well, where are we going with the business? Have I taken the time as a leader to think through not only what my business plans are for growth, but how I’m going to hire people?’ or ‘What am I going to do on my ‘people side’ to help me grow and do it in a methodical way.’ So that’s what I see often. And then they come to the point of who is the first person I hire? And they don’t often even know the whole hiring process! They’re trying to do it and figure it out on their own and maybe that’s not always a good use of their time and energy.”

Let the Pros Do Their Thing!

“There’s just not a lot of knowledge about human resources. What’s human relations? And I think that often what happens is that there isn’t the thought process that goes into ‘how do I align people I’m going to bring into what my growth plans are in my vision?’ And so what usually happens is it’s only when something terrible occurs or you get a human rights complaint or you botch hiring an employee or you’re just not able to retain people as you’re growing. Then leaders all of a sudden are saying, ‘Oh, wait a minute, something’s off here – Why is this not working out for me? And then you might see some conflict. What I tried to do is really have these leaders think about what’s going to help them grow? Not just financially but reputation wise, and to ‘How do I make this experience less painful for me?’ Because there is reputation, and there’s liability associated with the ‘people side’, right. And often, we don’t even see that unless there’s a lawsuit. A lot of things get settled behind closed doors. There’s a lot of time and energy wasted. There’s a lot of lack of productivity, and then there’s the financial expense that goes into poor employee relations.”

Good, Actionable Ideas

“If I was to list things that you could look at, one would be really making sure that you understand your business mission, vision values, whether you want to call it. How are you going to align that people strategy and who you’re bringing in, methodically, like you said, to your growth strategy. Make sure you have Action Plans for people. So they know what their role is, how they contribute set goals quarterly, monthly, weekly – but they can be flexible. We’re in an agile world, you might have to shift it the next quarter, but you’re having dialogue about it and process around that. People do like to have an idea of where they’re going. Get back to some basics – how are you communicating? I mean, it’s pretty tough right now if there’s work from home and hopefully you have some zoom or phone calls, but even when we return back to work physically – what’s the communication like? Often internal communications are lacking. Walk the talk, be open and transparent. Plus, technology – emailing someone at 10 o’clock and expecting them to answer? Well, maybe in a crisis, if you had certain rules or you’re on 24/7, but don’t expect everybody to respond. This whole zoom fatigue people are talking about right now, where it is like from a neuroscience perspective, your brain can be impacted – all that eye contact is actually not normal, right? Like in a physical meeting, you can see cues. It’s kind of interesting. But you know, definitely looking at how tech can be an enabler and help the business versus something that’s creating more stress.”

Oh. Yes. We KNOW Zoom fatigue! LOL 

If audio’s more your bag, head on over to Apple Podcasts for the full 4 am Report podcast, and subscribe to us – you won’t regret it!

Filed Under: Blog, Crisis Communication Resources Tagged With: crisis hiring, employers, hiring, human resources, infrastructure, outsourcing

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