As I hear and read about women in business, the same question keeps resurfacing: Why aren’t more women in leadership positions? Organizations are striving to improve gender equity figures in the hopes that a more diverse workforce will appeal to an increasingly diverse customer base. In addition,…

The financial management (FM) research team at APQC is rolling out a series called Blueprint for Success. The first report focuses on accounts payable and includes definitions, detailed analysis, and benchmarking data on seven AP key performance indicators. But many of you may be wondering what a…

Today to win, organizations have to outmaneuver the competition, and this is where finance needs to step up and become a better business partner. But how are CFOs, and the finance functions they manage, driving process improvement efforts that lead to this outcome? To answer this question and more…

Turning a struggling organization around is a daunting challenge that many people would run from.  Sharon Price John, however, runs toward tough jobs and has a successful track record of turning around unstable brands and unprofitable businesses. During the Great Place to Work® conference last…

The 2016 Great Place to Work® Conference starts today in sunny San Diego and I'm thrilled that I'll be attending the conference! Last week I had the opportunity to interview one of the presenters--Ashley Goodall, Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team…

Building a high-trust culture should be on the mind of every business leader as findings released by Great Place to Work® reveal the close connection between high-trust organizational cultures and voluntary employee turnover. Organizations featured on the 2016 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For…

Margaret Heffernan coaches CEOs on how to make work more meaningful and fun. On a recent TED Radio Hour, The Meaning of Work, she discussed the productivity of groups by describing an experiment conducted by evolutionary biologist William Mure that involved chickens.   Mure set out to…

Have you experienced difficulty implementing a change initiative or getting buy-in for a process improvement? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, over 20 different people-related challenges are getting in the way of process and performance improvements, according to APQC’s recent process and…

Performance reviews can incite fear, confusion, frustration, and even tears. Fortunately, the process that provokes dread from both employee and manager alike is predicted to change in 2016 and beyond. APQC’s Talent Trends Survey Report: A Positive Outlook for HR not only debunked long-standing HR…

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, retail e-commerce sales for the 3rd quarter of 2015 were 7.4% of total retail sales—a 15.4% increase from the same quarter a year ago. What does this mean for the traditional brick-and-mortar retailers? It means they are facing stiff competition from…