^The APQC Blog

Earlier this month, APQC released the latest financial management (FM) Best Practices Report Building a Best-in-Class Finance Function. This research describes 14 best practices common among best-practice organizations.

Business practitioners often use the term “best practices” when discussing improvement initiatives. That term represents practices that, when adopted, will have a positive impact on business performance. But there is more to best practices. To move past the label, business leaders must answer the question, "How do I know this practice is truly ‘best’?” Benchmarking can help answer that question.

There are often several things that can be critical mistakes for an organization. This article, courtesy of the Process Excellence Network (PEX), suggests five different errors that are made, according to Peter Drucker.

Job stress is the aspect of employment that U.S. workers are least satisfied with according to Gallup’s Work and Education poll (“U.S. Workers Least Happy with Their Work Stress and Pay,” Gallup.com, November 12, 2012).

Recently, APQC launched a new stress-reduction initiative—a sabbatical program for benefits-eligible employees. Designed to reenergize and retain its work force, APQC’s sabbatical program offers extra paid time off (PTO) at different points in an employee’s tenure.

You can download a recording and the slides from APQC's November 2012 Supply Chain Management Community Call.

Hurricane Sandy should be a warning call for businesses to take a thorough look at their crisis plans and procedures. According to The New York Times, economic losses from Hurricane Sandy could exceed $30 billion. Sandy’s impact will be felt to varying degrees in businesses around the world. Being prepared for the next storm doesn’t just mean having extra batteries and bottled water. Preparation should start with knowledge management. 

Big Data refers to a collection of data sets so large and complex that capturing, storing, searching, sharing, analyzing, and understanding them is beyond the capabilities of commonly used databases and tools. Organizations are being inundated with a plethora of data that has the potential to revolutionize the way strategic decisions are made. Unfortunately, they are ill-equipped to manage, analyze, and translate that information into useful, actionable decisions.

In the run-up to today’s U.S. presidential election, I’ve been struck by the way data and analytics have taken center stage. More and more people seem to be obsessing over polling data, “polls of polls” that synthesize data from disparate sources, and statistical models spitting out different predictions. In addition to telling voters who might be ahead in the horse race, these analyses tell both campaigns where they should invest their (not so) limited resources in order to get the best return.

Recently at the APQC 2012 Process conference, several people asked about how to adopt and adapt APQC's Process Classification Framework (PCF). A previous post, Case Studies for Implementing a Process Classification Framework, identified several organizations that implemented the PCF in their unique environments. We have another to share.

 “HR ‘has wasted the past 20 years,’ says survey.” This headline, from a recent Personnel Today article, sure got my attention. The article presents the results of a KPMG Management Consulting/Economist Intelligence Unit survey. Whether you agree with the conclusions or not, the article and the survey raise an important question:

How can HR best prepare for a value-adding future?