Business.com |
- 20 Skills Freelancers Must Have in 2019
- The Skills You Need to Be a Successful Remote Employee
- How to Improve Your Customer Retention Strategy
- The Importance of Healthy Business Relationships
- 'Gendered' Jobs Are on the Decline, But Stereotypes Remain
- Best Business Certifications of 2019
- Key Elements of an Amazing Mobile App
| 20 Skills Freelancers Must Have in 2019 Posted: 14 Aug 2019 11:54 AM PDT 
Being successful in the current U.S. freelance market means being able to maintain and sell your skills. After all, companies don't just hire you for your past work; they want to know what you can do for them today and in the future. To remain marketable, you need to be acquiring new skills that give you the edge you need to get good-paying gigs. Earlier today, Upwork released its quarterly list of the 20 fastest-growing skill sets for freelancers. This latest list, according to Upwork, focuses on emergent skills that are in high demand in the labor market and tech industry. Stephane Kasriel, Upwork's CEO and co-chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on the New Social Contract, said some of these newer skills could be helpful as companies seek the best talent. "In booming cities like Boston, Denver, San Francisco and San Jose, the unemployment rate has fallen below 3%, which makes finding qualified and highly specialized talent more challenging than ever before," he said. "As a result, for more and more skills, businesses are relying on nontraditional talent sources to effectively engage the best workers, no matter where they live." Out of Upwork's more than 5,000 available skills, this new list of 20 skills experienced "more than 120% year-over-year growth, while demand for the top 10 skills grew more than 400% year over year," according to the report. Tech, AI and cloud-based skills in demandGiven how important technology is to our daily lives, it's no surprise that skills involving tech, artificial intelligence and cloud-based applications were highly valued by hiring managers. According to Upwork, freelancers who are proficient in ServiceNow had the most sought-after and fastest-growing skill last quarter. The digital workflow company's cloud computing software helps manage various aspects of a business's operations, including IT, customer management and custom-made solutions. Similarly, companies were interested in hiring freelancers with knowledge in Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. As the press release said, these two skills reinforce "that digital transformation is a real and strategic imperative for businesses, as developers who can build integrations for the platform are in high demand." It also cited the skills as proof that "C-suite leaders are embracing cloud-based platforms as a critical component of their strategy." As artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to gain ground as a powerful tool for businesses around the globe, skills related to the burgeoning technology are growing in popularity. As AI technology develops, officials said companies are becoming more dependent on freelancers to fill in the gaps in their workforce. Workers with competence in the open-source deep learning program called PyTorch were high on the list of in-demand freelancers. Those with experience using Keras, an API that helps build and train deep learning models, were also on the shortlist of employers looking for AI-based skills. With companies so focused on tech skills, someone has to be able to source talent in these fields. To deal with that issue, companies have turned to independent workers with technical recruiting skills to find candidates. When companies wanted to get their employees up to speed on systems like WordPress, freelancers with knowledge of LearnDash saw an uptick in interest as well. Data-driven skills sought after tooThe ability to take data and turn it into actionable information will always be a relevant skill for any business. According to Upwork's data, freelancers with those capabilities were able to leverage their skills into gigs last quarter. With approximately 44% of CIOs calling data and analytics the "most scarce tech skill" in a recent survey, it's no surprise that freelancers and independent workers with expertise in rational databases were sought after. Individuals with knowledge on the graph database Neo4j and data visualization programs Highcharts, the D3.js framework and MATLAB also found their abilities on this new list. Here are the top 20 fastest-growing skills for freelancers in Q2 2019:
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| The Skills You Need to Be a Successful Remote Employee Posted: 14 Aug 2019 08:00 AM PDT  Remote work is on the rise. Many professionals are choosing to ditch their nine-to-five office jobs that give them the flexibility of working from anywhere. With all the technological advances available, fewer people feel the need to confine themselves to a cubicle and see the freedom in working remotely. According to research by Buffer, 99 percent of respondents said they would prefer to telecommute at least some of the time. More and more brands are accepting of a remote lifestyle for their employees, and hiring managers predict that in the next 10 years 38 percent of the U.S. workforce will work from home. Besides being able to work in pajamas, there are many benefits to obtaining a remote position. Some might think that working from home and having that freedom means less productivity and more slacking off to do other things, but studies show this isn't the case. In a recent study by Stanford University, researchers found that when employees worked from home, their productivity drastically increased. The time they usually spent chatting with co-workers, commuting to and from work, and taking breaks was now used to complete full workdays. Telecommuting is also good for your health. In FlexJob's 2018 annual survey, 77 percent of respondents said having a flexible job would allow them to adopt healthier habits such as exercising and eating better. Working from home enables people to work in a personalized, comfortable space of their choice, which encourages a healthier emotional state of mind. Working remotely is also good for the environment. Did you know that in the past 50 years alone, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history? The amount of greenhouse gas reductions due to people working from home is the equivalent of taking 600,000 cars off the road for a year. It reduces traffic congestion, uses little to no paper or office resources and decreases the consumption of fossil fuels. Now that you know why remote work is so beneficial, here are the five skills you need if you want to succeed in this type of position. 1. Time managementWhen you work from home, you don't have co-workers and bosses physically near you to remind you to stay on task and meet your deadlines. When companies build a remote team, they're looking for an independent worker who's responsible with time management and scheduling projects. If someone is consistently late or isn't good at tracking the time, remote work likely isn't for them. People don't realize that time management – and all the other needed skills – takes mental preparation. If you want to complete work and attend online meetings on time, it's essential to prepare yourself mentally for those events. Creating a space in your mind for managing time is crucial, and not just for work, but in all areas of life. You benefit when you're present at the right time and complete tasks in the expected time frame. It keeps you ahead of the game and gives you less to worry about when you make mental notes about your upcoming to-do list. There are several tools and tactics you can use to manage your time more effectively. Use a tool like Toggl to track how you spend your time and how much you spend. Use the Pomodoro technique so you work for 25 minutes at a time and take routine breaks to recharge. Use a wall calendar or day planner to list your upcoming tasks and check them off as you complete them. 2. CommunicationYou're in a completely different environment when you have a remote position. You aren't traveling to work every morning, interacting face-to-face with co-workers, or attending meetings in the conference room to discuss ideas. You don't have the type of social interaction one typically experiences at a nine-to-five job. If you face an issue, you can't simply walk into your manager's office to ask for help. Because of these obstacles, communication is a must if you want to work remotely. Without proper communication, it's impossible to succeed in a flexible position. Remote workers rely on the impeccable communication of their team members and leaders to complete projects, know what's going on within the company and build positive company culture. There's no way someone with poor communication skills will succeed by telecommuting. It's how remote businesses operate successfully, and without it, they're doomed to fail. 3. Technical knowledgeIt should go without saying that a remote position requires technical knowledge. Remote brands thrive off of technology and wouldn't exist without it. Even non-remote companies require a substantial amount of technical expertise because it's crucial for success and promoting businesses. So, whether it's your job to create websites or assist the CEO, having technical expertise is a must. It's impossible to do much of anything when working remotely if you don't have knowledge about technology and how it's used to reach brand goals. Remote companies require the right tools and software to make collaboration and communication easy. You can't expect a remote company to hire you if you don't harness the technical skills required for most jobs in the current market. 4. CollaborationHaving the skill set to collaborate with team members on projects is vital for any company, but especially those that are remote. Whether you're creating a new campaign or launching a new product, how you work with others gives recruiters an idea of what it's like to have you as an employee and co-worker. Because you only have the internet to communicate with your peers and complete work tasks, you must possess the skills to work with others efficiently. If you struggle with this, remote work may not be for you. You can improve your digital collaboration skills by familiarizing yourself with popular tools and software used to join remote employees together, including:
If you acquaint yourself with these applications before applying for remote positions, you can add that information to your resume and cover letters. It also adds positively to your job application, because it shows you're well-versed in software that would otherwise require training, time, money and resources. 5. BalanceIt's easy to get carried away and either work too much or too little. It can be challenging to find that sweet spot where you've put in enough hours doing work and staying away from it. This balance is essential as a remote employee though because it keeps you mentally sane and lets you lead a stable life. At first, it's freeing to have the flexibility to run errands during the day and work during whatever hours you feel like. However, if you aren't careful, you'll soon start to feel like life is nothing but work, which could be detrimental to your emotional and mental wellbeing. If it's difficult for you to separate work life from home life, this could be harmful to you as a remote worker. It's necessary to differentiate between the time you should work and the time you should relax and take your mind off your to-do list. Working from home can improve your work-life balance, but if you don't have the discipline or set up to follow through, you won't feel the benefits. The thought of having a remote job sounds enticing, but people need to realize that those working in these jobs require specific skill sets to thrive and prosper in this type of work setup. More people are choosing this type of workforce and abandoning their local jobs altogether because of its benefits. Staying realistic about what remote work entails will ensure that you're prepared for your next remote position and you succeed while there. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How to Improve Your Customer Retention Strategy Posted: 14 Aug 2019 07:00 AM PDT  Acquire, grow and acquire some more. That's the mantra for most SaaS and subscription companies today. As an industry, we invest millions to acquire and convert customers. Ad spend is at an all-time high, and the world of martech tools is becoming increasingly saturated. With the rise of growth hacking and better customer targeting, acquisition is constantly in focus. But that's changing. Recently there's been a flurry of high profile SaaS listings, including Dropbox, Zoom and Slack. These subscription businesses have profitability at their core and know they can't survive on acquisition alone. It's just not efficient anymore given that it's now 7 times more expensive to acquire a customer than to retain one. In today's world, there's more revenue to be earned after the initial purchase, so companies must do everything they can to extend the lifetime value of the customers they fought so hard to acquire. The truth is, it pays to retain your customers. Assume that the following companies are identical in their acquisition efforts – they have the same amount of trials and conversions resulting in the same net new monthly recurring revenue (MRR). The only thing that's different is their percent of monthly churn. Small percentage points create staggering revenue loss. A company with a 4% gross monthly churn loses out on $42 million dollars in revenue, compared to a company with a 3.5% lower churn rate. It's easy to see the impact retention has on growth. So, how can you execute an effective retention initiative within your company? 1. Organize your teams around the customer relationship.A subscription business model requires proving a consistent return on investment (ROI) to your customers. You need to be set up to support customers in an ongoing relationship instead of a transactional moment. This means changing the way we sell products, the customer-facing leaders we hire and aligning to a churn goal. It's critical for companies to place just as much emphasis on retention as they do on acquisition. That means the sales organization must most likely be re-trained to make sure customers buy and are successful for 6 to 18 months. Leadership in sales, marketing and beyond must be motivated and incentivized to optimize the entire customer lifecycle – not just to close new bookings or upsells and renewals. And when it comes to measurement, a single churn goal needs to be communicated from executive leadership to the rest of the company. The entire organization needs to commit to actively showing customers how to understand and love what they're buying in order to keep them coming back. In my experience, this is much easier said than done. While every team has an impact on retention, this can lead to ambiguity around metrics and how the business is viewing success. Every department's approach to keeping customers happy and reducing churn is going to look different. This is why a company-wide churn KPI should be set at the top, so individual departments can develop their own tactics to help realize the shared goal. 2. Learn from your customers at the point of cancellation.Like I mentioned before, companies are all in when it comes to acquisition. They mobilize teams around the stages of their funnel, optimize campaigns based on what's working and are laser-focused on conversion metrics. This same thinking can be applied to customer churn. A churn funnel begins at the point of cancellation and is a personalized experience based on unique customer attributes, like account type, billing plan, geography, length of account and so on. The goal of a churn funnel is to convert customers back to your business. You optimize for giving customers what they need in order to be retained. Most companies are familiar with exit surveys. They're considered best practice, so product and customer success teams can better understand why customers leave and then make efforts to improve. But companies rarely go one step further and attempt to influence customers to stay at the point of cancellation. This is a lost opportunity given that 15 to 30% of customers cancel due to resolvable issues, like a poor onboarding experience or not being able to figure out a feature. As customers move down the funnel toward canceling their account, companies should attempt to satisfy unmet needs in the moment by making offers based on the reason for cancellation. Despite all of the labels, definitions and theories, cancellations come down to a handful of reasons related to product concerns, inability to execute, changing needs, pricing concerns, poor service and internal/company changes. Many of these issues can be resolved in the moment in order to reduce churn. Specifically, the ability to re-onboard, receive a discount or find needed product information can influence a customer to decide to stay. Cancellation isn't about finality. It's more of a signal from customers that expectations aren't being met. It's not too late to step in and help your customers find what they were looking for when they signed up for an account in the first place. Of course, there will be some customers who can't be saved, but a churn funnel is still valuable. Gathering data and feedback at this critical moment enables your teams to make improvements in order to reduce churn in the future. 3. Make retention personal.A successful retention strategy operates at scale but isn't impersonal. This is a challenge. The customer base isn't uniform for most high volume subscription businesses, specifically in the consumer industry. A large subscriber base is a collection of people who have unique opinions and can't be treated with a one-size-fits-all approach (at least, not for much longer). Personalizing the customer experience relies on accurate information. You must organize data from multiple sources, like demographic details, product usage, payment histories and support interactions in order to develop a full view of your customer. When companies operate from one source of truth for their customer data, it takes less time for companies to see trends and take action. It also helps teams be on the same page when it comes to tracking progress against the company-wide churn goal. Next, define the criteria that indicate when your customers are being successful (e.g. they watch a certain number of shows per week, use a combination of features, or reach a maturity level). Then align your engagement tools to push notifications and customer teams to engage based on this success value. You need to be doing all of this while also spending lots of time talking to customers. Hearing their raw input and conducting surveys to capture feedback in their own words will help you get the qualitative context you need to make sense of churn numbers and trends. If you're not retaining your users, it won't help much to continue pouring more water into a leaky bucket, no matter how robust your channel strategy or great your conversion metrics look. Growth without retention just won't expand your customer base substantially. Retention may not be as glamorous as acquisition, but it's no less powerful in driving business-critical growth for subscription and SaaS companies today.
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| The Importance of Healthy Business Relationships Posted: 14 Aug 2019 06:45 AM PDT 
It's common for nascent businesses to be short on supply or short on cash. Their most valuable resource, however, may not be one that appears on the balance sheet – quality business relationships. "It's absolutely essential for a startup with limited time and resources to build business relationships," said Alistair Dodds, co-founder and marketing director of EIC Marketing. "They are the key to the discovery and referral business." And unlike cash, strong business relationships are not a diminishing resource – a properly maintained network can only multiply. Depending on the business, a strong network may range from customers and clients to suppliers, buyers, outsourced service providers, the government, media or even competitors. Regardless, while the context may vary, all require the same foundation of amicability and trust. "Individuals naturally will want to expand the business they do with people they enjoy working with and, in many cases, may even create other business opportunities for those they enjoy working with," said corporate law attorney Emily Brackstone, shareholder at Baker Donelson and vice chair of the firm's emerging companies team. "There is no better source of business than referrals from satisfied customers." We spoke with small several small business owners and experts on how such relationships can be grown, nurtured and – worst-case scenario – dissolved. Types of business relationshipsBusiness to business (B2B)The highest priority B2B relations are typically those either up or down the supply chain, as operations are going to be dependent on such relationships – a cosmetics company could not do business without their upstream suppliers or downstream retailers. But while not every business has such vertical supply chains, horizontal networks also provide opportunities for partnership. Roger Wood, business development director of GSM Finance, refers to these as "adjacent" businesses. "These are businesses that are not direct competitors of yours but who have a similar customer profile," said Wood, who works with small businesses brokering equipment loans and lease deals. "One slightly left-field example could be a florist and a funeral director." SMBs may also be surprised to learn of the advantages of building relationships with competitors – if not for intel purposes, then at least for quid pro quo referrals. "I'd suggest it's better to build them whereby your geography or key services don't overlap," said Dodds, who maintains relationships with other digital marketing agencies worldwide. "We provide leads, intros and new business in the skill sets we know they specialize in – and which we don't – and, in return, they are happy to return the favor." Business to customer (B2C)Quid pro quo referrals can also have positive ripple effects in another type of business relation – customers. Businesses that put the customer's needs over an immediate sale by referring them to a better-fitting competitor are more likely to be perceived as trustworthy, which will pay dividends. "Building trust is a critical factor in fostering quality business relationships," Brackstone said. "People prefer to do business with those they can trust to act in furtherance of, or at least not opposed to, their best interests. Once that trust breaks down, it can be difficult to salvage a relationship." Other customer relationship factors to consider are product satisfaction – ensuring that the product or service you provide meets the standard your clients expect – and open communication, said Brackstone. You want to make it easy for business partners or clients to get in touch with you. Being hard to contact can make people doubt your reliability and make them feel less secure about doing business with you. Nurturing business relationshipsNetworkingThere's no secret sauce to building quality business relationships – though while the methods may be obvious, that doesn't make them easy (ahem, cold calling). "If I was starting a business tomorrow morning, my first port of call would be to contact everyone I know," said Simon Paine, CEO and co-founder of PopUp Business School. Paine recommends drawing up three lists titled "must call," "should call," and "be nice to call," and to start dialing from there. "Some people might consider making phone calls old-fashioned, but this is where your business takes leaps forward," Paine said. "Things happen when you speak to people. Emails and social media are all too easy to ignore." Another way to build contacts from nothing is to offer free samples of your work, Wood said. "This can be either local people, industry-related people if you're in the B2B space or influencers in your industry." This is where social media comes into play, not just as the mode of communication, but as the source of such contacts. Wood recommended joining a Facebook group for your industry – chances are at least one in your area will already exist. However, these are not to be treated as free promotional platforms, Wood cautioned. "The trick to making the best of these [industry groups] is to always help others more than you promote yourself," he said. "Those who promote themselves or who suck value out of the group without providing their share of input will get a bad name." The same rule applies when building customer relationships on social media. "There are common mistakes that businesses of all sizes make," Paine said. "They try and sell directly on social media and forget the social part, they don't target an audience and niche down enough – they are too broad brush – and thirdly, they don't do it consistently." Instead, rather than treating it as a passive marketing tool – where ads are blasted every so often and communication is one-sided – social media should be seen as an opportunity to interact with your target base. Customers are already expecting this level of engagement from businesses; for example, when they "at" brands on Twitter to declare appreciation or, more often than not, call them out on poor customer service. SMBs can take advantage of this by meeting customers where they are – lurking on Twitter – rather than waiting for them to reach out through formal channels. Settling disputesDuring business deals, it's very common for disputes to occur, as the interests of different parties sometimes conflict. When this happens, keep things professional and refrain from lashing out with emotion. Brackstone advises calm, direct communication, preferably in person. "Getting the parties together face-to-face in a room can often go a long way toward clearing the air," she said. "People often will behave badly over email, or even over the phone but suddenly become much more reasonable when they are sitting across the table from the person. Be strategic about who is included in the meeting, however, as including someone with bad energy or a domineering personality can set the wrong tone." For more tips on resolving disputes, visit this Business News Daily guide. Is it time to dissolve a business relationship?If it is clear that a business relationship is not working, the individuals and companies involved should try to dissolve the relationship without creating further damage, Brackstone said. "They should address the issue head-on, explain what is not working and suggest a reasonable course for the parties to extract themselves from the relationship," she added. For the sake of your company's reputation, don't rush out of a bad client relationship without coming up with a viable compromise. Knowing how to resolve these issues properly can be the difference between one unsatisfied customer and a PR nightmare. Additional reporting by Shimon Brathwaite. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Gendered' Jobs Are on the Decline, But Stereotypes Remain Posted: 14 Aug 2019 06:30 AM PDT 
It's telling that when Googling "male nurse," you're immediately prompted with the question "what is a male nurse called?" (The top answer, by the way, is "a male nurse in the UK is called a nurse." This applies to every English-speaking country, as far as I know.) It seems that some professions are so gendered that it's become built into their de facto definition. Gender-marked job titles such as "midwife" and "mailman" actively encourage gender being part of their definitions. The arbitrariness of gender rolesWhile some gendered jobs are clearly rooted in stereotypes – e.g., women as nurturers, men as financial decision-makers – others seem to be more randomly assigned. Like, who decided that bank telling is women's work and driving taxis is men's work? The history of computing gives further testament to the arbitrariness of gendered occupations. In the early days of the industry, computer programming was considered on par with secretarial work, meaning programmers were typically women – known as "computer girls." As the field became more complex, demanding higher-skilled, better-paid workers, computing was "upgraded" to men's work, deemed too advanced for women. Today's male-dominated tech industry is the result. Pop culture can also play a role in promoting occupational stereotypes. Whitney Joy Smith, president of Smith Investigation Agency, has to not only explain to people that real private detectives don't surveil people like in the movies, but also reckon with their gender assumptions. "As women in the industry, we hear shock from a multitude of clients when they ask to speak with an investigator while over the phone and we inform them they are speaking with one," Smith said. "This is an older stigma that we are looking to break. The days of a retired cop in a homburg hat are long behind us." Meanwhile, the men and women who do break down gender boundaries are often perceived as less masculine or feminine. Even academia reinforces this – a paper from the '80s said men in female-dominated professions were more likely to have greater "'tender-minded' emotional sensitivity" and distant relationships with their fathers. While such Freudian analyses may no longer be in vogue, the stigma remains. It's no wonder that men entering female-dominated professions tend to abandon them. How giving a job a gender affects its credibilityDecades of man-as-breadwinner stereotyping have led to the view that if a job is high-skill and high-paying, it's man's work; the programming example illustrates this. A 2017 study, however, found the converse to also be true: When a profession is arbitrarily assigned to men, it's perceived as more credible. The study reached this conclusion by examining a relatively gender-neutral profession – loan managers – for a Central American bank. They found that when borrowers were paired with male loan managers, they were more likely to be compliant than those paired with female managers, who were more likely to miss a payment. Interestingly enough, when those initially paired with female managers were switched to a different manager, noncompliance rates remained the same, regardless of the second manager's gender. Apparently, all it took was knowing one person of an occupation to assign it a gender, and when that gender was female, the occupation was taken less seriously. No need to explain why this is harmful for women, but it also disincentivizes men from crossing gender barriers. "Both have made strides of improvement in the past few decades, but likely women in male-dominated industries have made more significant strides than men in female-dominated industries," Smith said. Male-dominated occupations have traditionally had more respect, higher pay and more fringe benefits – all ample reason for women to break the stereotype. Men in female-dominated professions, meanwhile, face stigma without the financial incentive. Breaking boundariesThere are two ways to solve the gendered professions problem. One is to stop viewing female-dominated professions as less credible. The other is to eliminate such arbitrary gender designations altogether. Luckily, there seems to be some evidence on the latter. A study by recruiting company CareerBuilder attempted to track the blurring of gender lines, measuring the percentage of new jobs in gender-skewed occupations filled by members of the opposite sex. The findings are promising, as many male- and female-dominated fields are becoming more balanced. "Women and men are sidestepping preconceived notions and crossing over into roles that historically have been heavily populated by the opposite sex," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder at the time of the study, in a statement. The study found that nearly one-quarter of the new jobs in typically male-dominated occupations, such as CEOs, lawyers, surgeons, web developers, chemists and producers, were filled by women between 2009 and 2017. Overall, 23% of all jobs traditionally held by men are now held by female workers. [Related: Want more job applicants? Use gender-neutral wording.] Similarly, men filled 30% of the new jobs in positions typically held by women over the last eight years. The research shows that 27% of all female-dominated occupations, such as education administrators, pharmacists, interior designers, cooks, accountants and human resources managers, are currently held by male workers. "Over the last 10 years, women have been gaining ground in management, law and various STEM-related roles," Haefner said. "More men are moving into education and training, support roles, and creative fields." The study is based on an analysis of data in 2009 to 2017 from Emsi, CareerBuilder's labor market analysis arm, which pulls information from multiple federal and state labor market sources. While the data ranks jobs according to gains made by the opposite gender, what it doesn't show is the original gender breakdown of the occupation, meaning some may have only slightly skewed one way or the other. This may explain some of the more surprising distinctions, like marketing managers as "male" jobs or accounting and auditing jobs as "female" jobs, neither of which have strong associations with either gender. According to the research, these are the male-dominated jobs where women made the most gains, and the percentage of women filling those roles:
The study shows that these are the female-dominated jobs where men made the most gains, and the percentage of men filling those roles:
"While there is still room for improvement in terms of finding balance, there seems to be less gender bias when it comes to hiring and choosing career paths," Haefner said. Changing expectationsAs men and women have begun to branch out their career aspirations, consumer demand is also a driving force of change. On the rise of men in the wedding planning industry, "I think client expectations drove industry change to make it more gender-inclusive," said Lauren Grech, CEO of LLG Events. "Wedding planning is no longer just the bride and her mother or the mother of the groom … LGBTQ+ couples have changed the dynamic of the wedding industry to allow all couples to embrace planning together, because there are no longer gender-specific roles." Even the events industry has its gender marking, however. "It's very difficult to kick the habit of calling it a 'bridal industry,'" Grech said. There are also advantages to bringing new perspectives to tired fields. "Most people know that women are intuitive, creative, trusting … so they quickly understand that working with female investigators can have better success," Smith said. "It's especially beneficial as many people assume investigators are men, so women in the industry tend to go more unnoticed, which is very helpful while investigating a person of interest." Additional reporting by Chad Brooks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Business Certifications of 2019 Posted: 14 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT  A shrewd business professional looks for ways to move up (or over) to improve their salary, benefits and job opportunities. One way to reach that goal is by getting a business certification. It's tricky to nail down what constitutes a "business certification." Think about the sheer number of lines of business (LOBs) in U.S. companies, and that most LOBs can have multiple associated certifications. To narrow our focus, we looked at general business and management credentials, as well as customer resource management, supply chain, sales and purchasing certifications. Although most of the certifications we selected are vendor-agnostic – not tied to a specific system or application – we researched several credentials from SAP, SAS and similar companies that specialize in business applications. Whether you're just starting out in a professional track or have been at it for a while, you should find one or more of the certifications described in this article of interest and value. Top 5 certifications, by the numbersThe following table lists the top business-related certifications based on the number of open positions on a single day that call for the certification specifically. This isn't a scientific analysis in which every job description is examined (especially when the numbers reach into the hundreds or thousands); it's just an overall glance at search numbers. Job site search results
The following sections provide details on the top business certifications according to job site searches, as well as other certifications from their various organizations. Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)The Project Management Institute (PMI) has been around since 1969, helping business workers develop careers in project management, mainly through professional development and certifications. The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is ideal for up-and-coming PMs. You need to show proof of a high school diploma, associate degree or global equivalent. The single exam has 150 questions, costs $225 for PMI members or $300 for nonmembers, and is available through Pearson VUE. By the time you take the exam, you need to have attained 1,500 hours of project experience or 23 hours of project management education. The certification is valid for five years, and you must retake the exam to maintain the credential. PMI has other certifications aimed at the business community, such as the Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA), Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP), Program Management Professional (PgMP) and PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP). Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)If you're interested in analyzing business needs and coming up with solutions, take a look at the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). The CBAP is an advanced certification aimed at managers and leaders with more than five years of business analysis experience. More precisely, you need at least 7,500 hours of business analysis experience over the last decade, and 900 of those hours must directly relate to four of the six BABOK Guide knowledge areas. On top of that, you need at least 35 hours of professional development credits (earned over the last four years), plus two references. The CBAP exam has 120 multiple-choice questions, based on scenarios and case studies, and is available through Prometric. The exam costs $325 for IIBA members or $450 for nonmembers, and a $125 application fee is required. To maintain the CBAP, credential holders must earn at least 60 continuing development units within three years of achieving certification. The IIBA offers related credentials, such as the Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA), Certificate of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA), Agile Analysis Certification (IIBA-AAC) and Certification in Business Data Analytics (IIBA-CBDA). Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)APICS is all about supply chain management. As part of its goal to develop qualified operators, supervisors and leaders, it offers the Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) as well as a few other certifications. The CSCP covers supply chain concepts and technology, plus strategies for end-to-end operations, from supplier to company to consumer. To earn the CSCP, you need a bachelor's degree or equivalent, at least one other approved certification, and at least three years of related business experience. You also need to pass an exam that costs $695 to $965, depending on your APICS membership status. Project Management Professional (PMP)The Project Management Professional (PMP) from PMI is among the most recognized and sought-after certifications for both business and IT. The requirements are stiff. Option one requires a high school diploma, associate degree or global equivalent; 7,500 hours of experience leading projects; and 35 hours of project management education. Option two is a four-year degree, 4,500 hours leading projects and 35 hours of project management education. [Read related article on our sister site Business News Daily: Best Project Management Certifications] You must pass a 200-question exam to earn the PMP, which is available through Pearson VUE. The exam costs $405 for PMI members and $555 for nonmembers. You maintain the PMP certification by earning 60 professional development units (PDUs) every three years. SAP Certified Application Associate – CRMAre you SAP savvy? SAP, a European multinational software program, stands for "systems, applications and products." The software is used by companies around the world to manage business operations and customer relationships across several lines of business, including human resources, marketing, sales, manufacturing and supply chain. The SAP Certified Application Associate – CRM certification recognizes a consultant's skills in understanding and using SAP CRM software, including how it integrates with other SAP solutions like NetWeaver. SAP recommends that candidates have a combination of experience and training before sitting for the certification exam; a host of training courses are available if needed. The exam has 80 questions and costs $571. You can take the exam through Pearson VUE. What else?The American Purchasing Society, a membership organization, is behind the Certified Purchasing Professional (CPP), Certified Professional Purchasing Manager (CPPM), Certified Green Purchasing Professional (CGPP), Certified Professional in Distribution and Warehousing (CPDW), and Certified Professional Purchasing Consultant (CPPC). If your career involves the creation, use, retrieval and disposal of business records, check out the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM), Certified Records Analyst (CRA) and Certified Records Manager (CRM) certifications. On the global front, the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) offers the Certified Management Consultant (CMC) certification, and NASBITE's Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) focuses on global business management and marketing, supply chain management, and trade finance. Finally, the Business Relationship Management (BRM) Institute, dedicated to supporting the BRM community, has two certifications: the Business Relationship Management Professional (BRMP) and Certified Business Relationship Manager (CBRM). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key Elements of an Amazing Mobile App Posted: 14 Aug 2019 05:30 AM PDT 
App development is a tool many businesses have adopted to increase access within a market and to increase reach to a larger target audience. While it is one thing to understand the need of an application, it is also important to have a good grasp on why it is important and the key factors that will help you develop an application that is successful. The problem with conventional business modelsIn today's world, business engagement has gone digital and for businesses to evolve with this trend there's an immediate need to move away from conventional brick and mortar stores to e-commerce platforms, and have a strong online presence. People are looking for maximum convenience and the opportunity to salvage as much free time as possible in a highly competitive market. So, if a business requires customers to find the time to drive to a store and shop, it's probably going to lose customers, which is a common mistake that most startups and small businesses make. Lack of time has become a problem for stores which require an investment of energy and time from customers, to access their services. To resolve this issue businesses have to adopt a swift, convenient and accessible model of engaging with their clientele. Getting an application developed to bridge that gap is the future of businesses. Here are a few ways app development can help your business grow. Editor's note: Looking for a mobile app development solution? Fill out the questionnaire below and our vendor partners will contact you about your needs. It saves timeBusinesses need to provide maximum value to their clients, to survive long term. This value usually is usually highlighted in advertisements and content as a quality product or service, an incomparable bundle of features, or highly competitive pricing in the market, etc. However, a key value that businesses tend to overlook is time. An app that allows users to interact with businesses while they're at home and involved in meager tasks, does one extra thing that brick-and-mortar businesses can never do – they bring the shop to the customer and highlight the importance of their time. App users can go to a shop, see a catalog and find something they would love to buy, without wasting time, money on transportation or any other form of physical effort. It increases market reach and improves engagementOften, businesses fail to get customers to buy a certain product because they haven't been updated about a new catalog, service or product, or recent promotional offers that are being offered. This communication gap puts brick-and-mortar businesses at a severe disadvantage. How can such a business let their customers know of an offer, a new product or an improved service? Imagine if a conventional store calls a random client or sends them a message to inform them of a new service. One of two things will happen: The customer will be annoyed about the call, or the customer politely takes the call and must rely on the caller's word without any visual proof or additional information. In both situations, conversion chances remain fairly low. [Are you in the market for app maker software? Check out our reviews and best picks.] With an application though, this problem can be solved to a great degree. For example, with push notifications enabled clients will be updated about any new feature, promotion or change in your operations or services. Furthermore, having an app provides a visual representation and required information that clients can access at their own convenience. For businesses, this is a great way to market new arrivals or promotional offers, and successfully convert masses of people into clients. Key elements you need to consider for developing a successful app
Your app should be considered as an important point of contact between your clients and your brand. This app will be responsible for telling users what your brand is about. Choosing the right images, color themes and feature sets that are consistent with your brand identity adds value to your product and reinforces its identity in the market. These little things are what makes successful apps stand out from the rest, and brings them a step closer to loyal customers who understand and engage with your brand, through your application. One of the key factors to consider when building a convenient app includes ensuring that the most used options are positioned in the most accessible locations. People use their thumb most of the times to navigate through an application. Understanding this allows you to position features or options that users are most likely to use to ensure swift user experience. This helps in making things more convenient for users. Similarly, the way the application flow works and the navigation through different tabs or pages of an application is also important. Streamlining this user flow is an important part of crafting an efficient user experience. For this, hiring a professional app developer or a professional app development company is important. These branding and design solutions will allow your business application to retain customers, generate more revenue and create loyalty in your consumer base. For businesses, it is important to evolve with time and adapt to changing trends within the market. Digitization of businesses in a technological world is an important step in scaling a business to make sure it reaches its potential. |
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