Author: Justin Hesser

According to a new survey from OfficeTeam, 41 percent of office managers believe their workplaces to be somewhat more competitive than last year. In addition, 8 percent say their workforce is significantly more competitive than it’s previously been. This shift to a more competitive workplace may also mark an overall increase in office productivity, something that can be measured by managers with custom database software.

“A little friendly competition in the office is healthy if it inspires great individual and team performance,” said Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. “Rivalry between co-workers can become more intense when the economy is uncertain and people feel pressure to prove themselves. Although it’s natural for employees to want to stand out among their colleagues, it shouldn’t be at the expense of others.”

While competition requires a form of measurement, one group of HR managers are trying to create a national standard that gauges the value of a workforce. According to BusinessWeek, a group of 600 HR managers, academics and advisers are creating a way to measure workforce productivity, diversity, job training, turnover and other human resource issues.

In addition, this group is creating a template for a way that companies can communicate this information with shareholders, to help these important board members who are typically away from the workforce understand how productive and efficient the organization is running.

While this national metric is still in development, having a standard performance metric is a great way to induce healthy workplace productivity. By using custom database software to not only measure the standard but also rank and track employees’ progress and standings among each other, companies can help turn a normally dull work environment into one of competition and striving for excellence.

According to a new survey from staffing agency KPMG, 76 percent of Minneapolis-based business owners feel that their profits will increase throughout the year. This statistic is up from 67 percent last year, showing increased confidence in the economy.

This confidence is also translating into new jobs, as 48 percent of respondents plan to expand their workforce in the year, which is up 13 percent from last year.

"Although business leaders continue to voice concerns about economic uncertainty, they are moving their businesses forward in this 'new normal,' post-recession environment and are voicing more confidence as a result," said KPMG Minneapolis managing partner George Kehl.

As a result, these companies may need to use custom database software to maintain an accurate account of their employees, payroll and tax information. If not, they may end up in hot water much like a Chipotle branch based in Minnesota. In May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) forced the company to terminate roughly 450 workers due to invalid documents.

Throughout the investigation, which started in 2010, Chipotle was able to produce over 300,000 pages of documents for ICE's review, according to BusinessWeek. Throughout all documents, the company could still not provide sufficient proof for the validity of 450 employees' documents.

This probe also came at the same time that the Mexican restaurant chain was suing the Department of Homeland Security's E-verify program, which also validates the documents that are provided by potential citizenship.

Clearly, the importance of maintaining appropriate and verified documents is huge not only in Minnesota, but anywhere. Companies that want to ensure they are able to do so may want to consult a FileMaker developer to create custom database software that's designed specifically for their company's needs. 

A new survey from major financial consultancy Ernst & Young highlights the importance that many executives put on internal audits and maintaining a balanced company budget – a task that can be facilitated with custom database software.

“Internal audits can use the organization’s overarching organizational strategy to identify the risks that matter the most in the context of the organization’s risk appetite,” said Randall Miller, Ernst & Young’s advisory global risk leader. “Elements of the organizational strategy will vary by industry and are very specific to the business but to remain relevant, internal audit needs to use risk assessments based on the organization’s strategic objectives.”

According to the study, 75 percent of the surveyed chief audit executives (CAEs) and other C-suite executives believe that strong risk management has a positive impact on a company’s long-term earnings. In addition, 75 percent also believe that an internal audit has a positive impact on overall risk management tasks.

In addition, Inc. Magazine has spotted a few specific expenses that many companies can keep better track of, a duty that can be fulfilled by using custom database software.

According to Inc., companies may want to pay close attention to their shipping expenses, as these can easily add up. With many companies such as FedEx and UPS making overnight deliveries their default, businesses can rack up quite a hefty shipping bill fairly quickly. By using custom database software to track all shipping payments as well as their timeliness and efficiency, companies can see whether these investments are worth it.

Also, if companies aren’t careful on their workforce expenditures, these could surmount to a heavy burden fairly quickly. If businesses allow employees to use a corporate credit card or reimburse these individuals for company expenses, they should be able to track these expenses.

The advertising industry is reliant on consumer trends and behaviors to ensure that businesses can make the most out of their investments. But, trends can often be hard to quantify and understand. As such, many companies have developed their own methods to try to understand these trends, some of which involve custom database software that allows them to organize analytics and statistics. While, other companies may make major investments and acquire an entire analytics company.

According to the Wall Street Journal, TiVo will buy advertising analytics company TRA Inc for roughly $20 million, a deal which will be finalized before the end of July. TiVo's acquisition of TRA – which stands for The Right Audience – is believed to be a move to help advertisers target their campaigns more effectively.

"With this new level of unique audience insights and analytics, TiVo will be able to provide insights nobody else has in an industry increasingly seeking alternative ways to measure audience behavior accurately while increasing efficiencies in media spending," said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers to the Journal.

In addition, Perks Associates – a market research company – released a survey showing that more individuals are using smart TVs to consume media than ever before. In fact, 75 percent of smart TV owners in the United States watch on-demand online movies or TV shows at least monthly, which has gone up from the 57 percent in 2011. Also, 71 percent of viewers watch online TV shows at least monthly, which increased 20 percent from last year.

Clearly, it's become important for advertising companies and broadcasters to maintain an accurate view of their analytics, regardless of whether these are coming from live programming or on-demand sources such as TiVo.

If these agencies wish to gain clear insight into their analytics and overall effectiveness of their advertisement campaigns, they may want to use custom database software that can efficiently store and categorize the major data these companies need. 

While overall retail sales may have dropped by 0.5 percent in June, a recent IBM survey reveals that mobile and online shopping rose in the last three months. According to the survey, mobile device sales grew by 15 percent while social media sales actually dropped by 20 percent. In addition, IBM also points out that June 2012's retail sales are 3.8 percent higher than the same time last year.

"Shoppers today are shifting from a singular online approach to a multichannel experience that includes both mobile and social media. As a result, retailers must be prepared to connect with their customers on all fronts, or lose them to the competition," said Craig Hayman, general manager of IBM's Industry Solutions. "As we enter the home stretch for the 2012 holiday season, we will continue to watch how CMOs and CIOs tackle these challenges and create social media efforts that deliver value to the customers while driving revenue for the business."

According to Inc. Magazine, there are a few things retail owners can do to ensure that they effectively take advantage of the upswing in mobile and online shopping methods. One such example is for retailers to make the return process for customers much easier.

This can be done by using custom database software to not only store vital return information, but to also upload all returns accurately and efficiently so inventories are unaffected and customer satisfaction is ensured.

Also, Inc. suggests that retailers use limited time offer sales opportunities for their online and mobile purchases where customers who purchase a product via mobile device or online are eligible for a temporary sale that is only available through those platforms.

While this requires consumers to reach a certain number of qualifications – the right product via the right platform – custom database software can help them manage these prerequisites and determine which purchase order qualifies for which deals. 

As technology advances, the ways in which many businesses operate change as well. In fact, more individuals now have the option to work remotely rather than in the office than ever before and even more wish they could. Recent survey results may prompt some business owners to allow working from home more often.

According to a survey by Citrix, a Florida-based software company, many employees desire more freedom when it comes to where they actually work. While 64 percent of respondents say they've never worked remotely, 32 percent said they would give up lunch breaks to be able to.

Working remotely is becoming a main fixture in the American workplace. In fact, the National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) is beginning an initiative to allow its employees to work more effectively out of the office.

"This strategy seeks to create an experience by the use of mobile technology allowing them to function more efficiently or effectively from wherever they are and whatever device they are using," wrote Linda Cuerton, NASA's CIO, in the organization's blog.

BusinessWeek claims that in order for companies to effectively operate remotely, they will need a central database where everyone can access and upload key documents and projects. FileMaker – as well the mobile version, FileMaker Go – easily creates this solution. Also, database software can allow employees to access project task lists that they may not have been able to remember if they weren't in the office, which can also aid in productivity away from the workplace.

If other managers or business owners wish to allow their employees to work from home and, potentially, boost morale and workforce satisfaction, they may want to invest in custom database software such as FileMaker Pro. 

Companies that are using Twitter and other social media platforms to market themselves may not know exactly what their efforts are worth, especially as many of these platforms just started allowing companies to officially advertise themselves on these avenues. In order to gain more insight into online marketing campaigns, companies may want to invest a custom database software that will allow them to track how much they're actually investing in these endeavors.

Twitter recently started to let companies advertise on its website in addition to maintaining their own company accounts. According to Businessweek, one Austin, Texas-based T-shirt retailer named Glennz Tees was contacted by the social network last November about advertising with them. Walter Stokes, CEO of the shop, told the source that he spent a little over $15,000 to advertise for three months on Twitter. Every few weeks a representative from Twitter would contact him to check up on the advertising campaign.

The owner ended up moving 60 to 70 percent of his advertising budget on Twitter and even spent $100 to $200 per day during the holiday season. Subsequently, the campaign tripled his Twitter followers and significantly boosted revenue.

It can be hard to measure the value of a Twitter campaign, let alone the value of a tweet. In order for businesses that are advertising on Twitter or using internet marketing campaigns to accurately determine the cost of their efforts, they may want to use database software to store and manage the necessary statistics.

By analyzing click-through rates, Facebook likes, retweets and converted leads through custom database software, these businesses may find an advantage by crunching the big data, allowing them to make better informed decisions on their marketing efforts. 

Regardless of how well a product is made or how applicable it is to problems that consumers or businesses may face on a daily basis, if a sales representative can’t move it, then that business will not stay afloat. In order for managers to increase the effectiveness of their sales teams – no matter how big it may be – they may want to not only invest in a custom database software to help share necessary information and leads, but also adhere to a few sales tips from Inc. Magazine.

In order for sales reps to get the most out of their meetings, they must conduct thorough research on exactly who they are meeting with. By understanding that company or individual well enough, they are able to sell the product as a solution to what they need, and greatly improve their chances of making a sale.

It can also be very helpful if companies use custom databases to store this research and share it among other sales representatives that may be in contact with the client. Many sales teams rely on popular products such as FileMaker Pro and web-based software Salesforce.com.

Furthermore, goals are an increasingly important part of selling products. Representatives shouldn’t just have goals for each individual meeting with a client – they should know exactly why they are at the meeting and what they hope to get out of it – but also sales goals for each month. Tracking and managing these goals and employees’ progress can be performed with database software, which offers employees visibility on how well they are progressing in their development and productivity.

But, the most important part of creating a successful sales team is confidence. According to Inc., any sales rep can memorize scripts and do the best research on clients, but if they don’t have the confidence to really sell the product, the customer isn’t going to bite.

While owning a small business may offer many personal and professional perks, the administrative work that is necessary for legal compliance is often seen as a bit of a burden to many owners. This may result in a company having financial records in subpar form, something that Entrepreneur Magazine recommends should be dealt with in a few ways that involve the use of custom database software.

Before small businesses start, they may want to take some time to identify how their business should be classified. Whether they're a sole proprietorship, limited liability company or a full-on corporation is important for tax reasons as they all have different levels of liability protection.

In addition, companies should always know their tax responsibilities, which can change very easily. Owners can store and access all of these details along with other tax forms and tasks with custom database software.

Furthermore, maintaining necessary employee information for payroll and taxes is another key responsibility for business owners attempting to get their financial records straight. It is also something that can be effectively managed with database software.

Entrepreneur also recommends that when companies take the time to straighten out their accounting, they also begin developing better financial and bookkeeping practices with the tools that technology can offer. By using custom database software, companies can upload and share documents. They can crunch budget numbers and calculate payroll hours while also managing to-do lists and other essential workplace tasks that can alleviate the necessary administrative work that comes with owning a small business. 

The American work scene is changing. In a new survey by data protection company Mozy, managers revealed that the once-heralded nine-to-five work schedule is beginning to change to a more ambiguous regimen with the emphasis put on productivity rather than time spent in office.

“Workers around the world are making the most of the technology available to them to create more flexibility in their day for work and family,” said Russ Stockdale, general manager of Mozy. “Hard work isn’t going unnoticed and mobile technology is having more of an impact on employer attitudes than people think.”

According to the survey, the average manager is indifferent to employees arriving up to a half hour later than the usual 9 a.m. punch-in. Managers will also let their staff spend a quarter of the week working from home.

Furthermore, while many managers may not mind where or when their employees get their work done, nearly 75 percent of them actually provide the tools they need for their workforce to maintain productivity from anywhere. Also, 20 percent of U.S. employers provide the tools that allow workers to access material from mobile devices, using database software much like FileMaker Go.

Also, 48 percent of managers responded saying they don’t mind when employees take longer lunches and are often fine with their workforces enjoying “office banter” and taking regular breaks. In return, over half of all employees surveyed “think nothing” of leaving work early for a personal appointment or errands.

While the work world is shifting toward a more relaxed and lenient lifestyle, it may benefit managers who work in these cultures to consult a FileMaker developer that can create a custom database that allows all employees to track projects remotely and know exactly what is expected of them and by when.