Until the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil’s economy had been steadily gaining momentum since the downturn experienced in 2015 and 2016. While Gross Domestic Product growth can no longer be expected to materialize in 2020, this growth is delayed—not cancelled. Economists currently forecast growth rates as high as 3.6% in 2021. Will your business be prepared for this return to growth?
Jonathan Harb, a manager at ScottMadden, joined the firm in 2014. With previous IT experience in the oil and gas industry, Jonathan works across both of ScottMadden’s practice areas—corporate & shared services and energy—and is a member of the supply chain and strategy & services communities of practice. He is the lead and founder of the &Cookies program, which offers employees a fun opportunity to gather and discuss professional development topics. These conversations are centered around TED Talks and are always paired with a sweet treat! Jonathan holds a B.S. in computer engineering and an M.B.A. from LSU.
While investors have pushed for companies to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues for some time now, COVID-19 and recent protests against racial injustice have forced some businesses to reevaluate their strategies and commitments to these topics. Businesses that are better prepared to handle these challenges are often those which evaluate ESG issues as part of their corporate strategy—not standalone initiatives.
Businesses of all sizes are shifting near- and long-term plans as they determine how to best weather and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. As a result of rapidly shifting priorities, corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities are also receiving additional scrutiny. Reading headlines about ESG in the COVID-19 era tends to prompt whiplash. Is corporate responsibility more important than ever before,[1] or are companies unilaterally abandoning sustainable practices in these difficult times?[2] The reality is more nuanced. While many companies will focus on mitigating the economic impacts of the pandemic, an effective recovery approach will also take a long-term view and address the following areas essential to ESG strategy.
While the experts are learning more and more each day, no one can say with certainty when the COVID-19 pandemic will end. What is likely, however, is there will be lasting impact on the way businesses operate. What is an absolute certainty is that even with COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror, your service center should be an integral part of how your company efficiently and effectively supports your business during a crisis, be it pandemic, natural disaster, or normal business headwinds.
To coincide with the release of the latest Energy Industry Update, ScottMadden joined forces with Energy Central to present an interactive webinar, “ScottMadden’s Energy Industry Update: Take It to the Limit.” During this session, our industry experts shared their views and fielded questions related to the future of the gas utility, 100% clean energy goals and how they may be impacted by COVID-19, and regulatory strategy during a pandemic.
Healthcare systems continue to face a multitude of challenges related to their registered nurse (RN) population, including a growing demand, increasing turnover rates, and high replacement costs. In fact, the average hospital loses nearly $5 million per year on RN turnover.[1] However, that figure does not include additional costs related to impacts on patient satisfaction (e.g., brand image, decreased patient volumes) that may also result from an instability in the patient-facing RN population. Typical initiatives to combat the challenge are often high level, such as increasing retention or shortening time-to-fill, and tackled in a narrow or siloed fashion with limited insight into core issues.
HR professionals hold the “keys to the kingdom” when it comes to employee data and must always keep in mind the saying, “with great power comes great responsibility.” People analytics, as defined in our article, “Demystifying People Analytics,” is the practice of turning disparate employee data into insights that drive business decisions. Successful and sustainable people analytics organizations are built on instilling trust and proving value for the organization as a whole, as well as for individual employees.
In this follow-up to our workshop presented at the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network’s digital Shared Services in Higher Education conference, experts Courtney Jackson and Betsy Curry go deeper with insights, tips, and recommendations on how to lean into the shared services journey.
Sussex Economic Advisors is now part of ScottMadden. We invite you to learn more about our expanded firm. Please use the Contact Us form to request additional information.
