Weekly Pulse - 30 November
Dynamic Business
Dynamic Business provides small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs with business news, inspiration and expertise.
Best business stories of the week:
1. Let’s Talk: Why is employer branding more important now than ever?
When we hear the word “branding,” we probably all focus more on the marketing aspect — business logos, tag lines, brand communication, and potential customer feedback.
While they frequently serve as the primary focus of brand recognition, we frequently overlook the importance of employer branding. This is true particularly now that job searchers have access to a wealth of information about a business’ hiring practices via social media, career review websites, and technological advancements.
This is what we’ll be talking about in this week’s Let’s Talk. Our experts will discuss why employer branding is important, how to ensure your company is not missing out on top talent, and how to begin developing a winning strategy.
Let’s Talk.
2. Tech Tuesday: The top 10 DevOps and ML tools for your business needs
DevOps is more than an automated software development approach and a collaborative culture nowadays. Cloud computing, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are among the cutting-edge technologies used.
Businesses are constantly modernising their operations to increase efficiency and deliver unique client experiences. The digital transformation has accelerated the timeframes for interactions, transactions, and choices.?
Companies can benefit from this data by utilising machine learning. Similarly, Machine learning (ML) models can detect patterns in massive volumes of data, allowing them to make choices faster and more correctly than people.
In this week’s?Tech Tuesday, we present our pick of DevOps and Machine learning tools to pick for your business.
3. Only one week left to apply for the mandatory Director ID. Here’s how to do it
All company directors subject to the Corporations Act must have a unique ID number by November 30. Failure to register by the deadline could result in fines of up to $13,000 per person and the loss of business licences.?
This includes directors of large corporations, numerous small businesses, charities and not-for-profit organisations, registered foreign companies, registered Australian bodies, and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander corporation companies.
Directors appointed under the Corporations Act 2001 before 31 October 2021 have until the end of November 2022 to apply for this number, according to director ID compliance. Directors appointed between November 1, 2021, and April 4, 2022, are required to apply within 28 days of their appointment.
Am I required to provide my director ID to ASIC or companies?
According to ASIC, unless otherwise requested, you are not required to give your director ID to ASIC.?You must give your director ID to the record-holder in your company or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entity as soon as you obtain it.
This could be your company secretary, another director, a contact person, or a corporate authorised agency.?Assume you are appointed directors of future firms or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entities; in that instance, you should provide the applicable record-holders with your director ID.
How to apply
Here’s a quick link to the?Australian Business Registry Service (ABRS) website.?
Disclaimer:?Dynamic Business does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This article has been prepared for informational purposes only.
4. Genius or Chief Twit? – 4 Leadership lessons from the Musk Mayhem
The new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, has made some characteristically big moves in his first weeks, but how do they stack up against the latest science and practice of leadership??
On the positive side, Musk’s approach is fast, bold, and decisive – traits often lauded in the corporate world to the point where its seductive genius sometimes blinds us.?
Musk acted swiftly. He fired half of the company’s 7,500 staff, scrapped a work-from-home policy, and demanded a ‘hardcore’ commitment to working “long hours at high intensity” or else depart the company. One thousand two hundred talented employees chose to leave.?A class action lawsuit has been filed, the office temporarily closed, and Musk faces pressure from investors over Twitter’s potential demise.
“I guess the big question is will Musk’s swift actions cast him as Genius or Chief Twit? The jury is still out, but here are four very valuable leadership lessons, backed by science, that Musk himself may have missed,” explains Pia Lee, Work Whisperer and CEO of Australian tech start-up Squadify.
Read the room
Action was indeed needed to rectify Twitter’s financial loses and weak management. However, Musk’s actions signalled a cultural misreading of a working world that is now largely hybrid and able to deliver consistent results in challenging circumstances.
A Stanford University study recently found that working from home increases productivity by 13% and has also reduced attrition by 60%. Hybrid is here to stay and the times of 40-hour weeks in the office are in the past. Face to face needs to be valuable, intentional and with a clear need to achieve an outcome. Building the communication for a compelling why, rather than creating an ultimatum, will tap into discretionary goodwill and latent potential.
Whilst Musk’s ‘hardcore’ requirements may have matched the mindset of those at Tesla who were all working for an ideal, a new world and something truly cutting edge, this approach to the ‘room’ at Twitter felt foreign and resulted in a mass exodus of talent.
Leaders don’t have to have all the answers
Research on effective leadership consistently views that autocratic styles often fail against more collaborative approaches. These seek a diverse range of views and can maximise decision-making.?Musk’s ‘from the hip’ decisions on the Blue Tick and content moderation have already negatively impacted celebrity presence and advertising revenues.
Musk is renowned for shutting down opinions that differ from his own. Asking more quality questions and resisting the compulsion to ‘tell’ as an apparent show of strength is a key leadership lesson here.?
Being a leader vs Demonstrating Leadership
Musk’s actions also define the difference between?being a leader?and?demonstrating leadership?–quite different things and mutually exclusive. A leader may be seen as rank, title, or authority – whilst leadership is a set of behaviours and skills that inspire others to follow your direction (something Musk seems to have failed at thus far with Twitter). Striking the right balance between task and people and the ‘doing’ of action and the ‘being’ or behaviours requires qualities of awareness and humility, as well as a number of trusted others who will give honest feedback and help avoid potential pitfalls.
Feeling psychologically safe is an employee right
Leadership science tells us that the foundation of delivering results is something called ‘psychological safety’. Firstly, named by US academic Professor Amy Edmondson, this quality of an organisation is based on the employee’s belief that they won’t be subjected to ridicule, rejection or retribution if they make a mistake. Musk’s demand that “only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade” will be seen by many as an untenable ultimatum. Talent will depart, and often into the arms of competing platforms.?
From working with over 20,000 team members, Squadify, a team acceleration platform, found that high-performing teams value and focus on ensuring that they are listening to each other, providing a safe place to share their ideas that are positive and constructive and where the team willingly learns from failures in a ‘no blame’?environment.
It’s clearly a ‘we not me’ game, even if you are a billionaire.
5. Five key job trends to emerge in 2023?
Workplaces must adapt to a tighter labour market, as official data shows that job listings were 70 per cent higher than pre-Covid levels in October, reaching 285,700, up 0.5 per cent from September and 11.7 per cent from a year ago.?
Since reaching a historical low in May 2020, job vacancies have expanded substantially, and Grant forecasts that unemployment will go as low as 3 per cent.?
With the labour market continuing to tighten,?I have identified five key labour market trends to watch out for in 2023.?
Greater staff turnover
With skills shortages rampant in most sectors of the economy and the unemployment rate sitting at a near 50-year low of 3.4% and likely headed towards 3 per cent next year, Grant expects staff turnover to jump in 2023.?
“The time has never been better for workers to look for a new job and secure higher pay. The national turnover or ‘quit’ rate rose to?9.5% over the year to 28 February 2022, the highest level since 2012, and has likely climbed since then. That turnover rate could reach 15 per cent in 2023?as workers, especially professionals, look for more rewarding work,” says Grant.??
WFH being wound back?
Employers can’t effectively introduce a one size fits all WFH policy – ideally, an organisation’s leadership team will have discretion on how they manage their workforce and allow WFH where appropriate. Employers must consider the most effective way for a team and individuals to work without imposing blanket rules and a rigid mindset, which may result in resentment among staff, especially among those who can work more productively from home is. If told to stop, those employees might walk or ‘quietly quit’ by doing less work as their motivation diminishes,” says Grant.
The number of people with second or third jobs to jump?
“More than one million people held down two jobs in 2022, and 900,000 people worked three or more jobs, and those numbers?will inevitably increase in 2023?as living costs rise, and some Australians take on more jobs to make ends meet. Other people are cashing in on a strong jobs market and rising wage growth, taking on more work to gain more income as more lucrative offers emerge, whether it is high-paid consultants or casual workers who want more money. Their skills are in short supply, so they are cashing in.”
Higher wages growth
“With ongoing tightness in the jobs market, we are likely to see?wages growth across the economy head towards 5% in 2023.?However, in some sectors, wages are growing much faster, especially where skills shortages are most acute such as in the technology sector, where?employers are granting pay increases of up to 30% to attract new staff. That’s good news for those workers who can ensure that their real wages are maintained or increasing,” says Grant.??As the labour market tightens, employees are gaining bargaining power, so if they aren’t happy, they’ll likely begin searching for more rewarding employment if their wage demands aren’t met and sell their services to the highest bidders.”
Cyber secure shortage to become more acute?
?“We are seeing more hackers steal data from organisations worldwide, and this trend is set to increase next year. At the same time, we don’t have enough cybersecurity specialists to prevent cybercrime. Employers are not training staff to fill these important security roles, and universities too aren’t training enough cyber security professionals,” said Grant.??
“In some organisations, too, working conditions are far from rewarding given the long hour’s cybersecurity specialists often work (sometimes on call 24/7) and a lack of recognition for their work. Employers need to invest in their staff, which may include retraining IT workers from other areas to work in cyber security roles or paying existing staff more for the value they contribute. As the Medibank saga has shown, millions of dollars can be wiped from a company’s value if hackers infiltrate its systems and steal its data. We need more experts to stop this.”?
6. Australia has one of the highest average wages, but is it enough?
Australia ranks seventh in a recent study that examined incomes from across the world to find where average salaries and wages are the highest.
Switzerland has the highest global average wage, according to Tipalti, at $91,852. Because it has long been a centre for international banking, it is well-known for being an expensive area to live with matching incomes. This city also attracts international investment. Iceland has the world’s second-highest average pay, at $81,844. Iceland is another example of a country with a high cost of living, high standard of living, and high salaries.
The average wage in Australia in 2021 was $57,798. According to Xero statistics, construction and manufacturing recorded the highest rates of pay increase in September 2022. Healthcare and social support continued to have the poorest year-on-year growth (+3.4percent y/y).?
Wage growth varied little among states, ranging from 4.3 per cent y/y in Western Australia to 4.8 per cent y/y in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and Victoria. Let us now compare these figures to the 7.3 per cent rate of consumer price growth during the same period.
“Wages in Australia have been slower to respond to tight labour markets than New??However, the past two months have seen a noticeable acceleration in Zealand and the United Kingdom. This is a positive sign for small business staff, and suggests the economy is slowly starting to respond to the record low unemployment rates,” says Louise Southall, Economist, Xero.??
The question is, is it enough?
The Wage Price Index rose 3.1 per cent annually, according to the latest?data?from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is the highest quarterly growth in hourly wages recorded since the March quarter of 2012. In seasonally adjusted terms, this growth was primarily driven by increases in wages for the private sector, which grew at twice the rate of wages in the public sector.
Why aren’t wages keeping up?
The WPI data, which the ABS, includes sizeable pay increases for minimum wage and award-dependent workers, but average salaries are still declining by 4.2 per cent due to high inflation and persistently weak wage growth in the rest of the economy. The most recent batch of wage growth data had previously set the record for all-time real wage reductions, but this surpasses it.
The Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill’s changes to our bargaining system, which will allow millions of workers across the economy to secure their first pay raises in a decade, are urgently needed, according to the?Australian Council of Trade Unions. These figures, according to ACTU Assistant Secretary Liam O’Brien, demonstrate the limitations of what a dysfunctional system is capable of.
“Even with historic wage rises flowing through this quarter to minimum and award-dependent workers, everyone is still going backwards, at an average of 4.2 per cent.
“To get pay rises across the economy, we need to make bargaining more accessible in more workplaces. The Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill, is a critical step towards achieving that goal, and the faster it becomes law, the faster Australian workers will see the benefits.
“Big businesses are campaigning against the Bill because they will never support wage rises for working people. They are fighting to protect this system, which sees massive pay cuts for working people, while profits and executive pay continue to set new records.”
Marcus Lasarow, CEO of Cashd said: “With soaring inflation and,?in turn,?the continuous rise of?the?cost of living,?wages?have not increased in line with this exposure, workers are cornered into covering the shortfall, which is not in their budget nor accounted for, workers are falling into severe credit,?and debt traps given this shortfall.?
“The absolute need for employers to embrace?real-time?remuneration is critical in supporting workers to?instantly gain access to their earned pay?without the burden of heavy costs.”
Inflationary pressures
All four sub-metrics of the Xero SME Index led to the index’s 13-point decline to 115 points in October (sales, wages, jobs and time to be paid). While September saw the largest wage increase since the series began in January 2017 (+4.8%y/y), wages slowed to a rise of 4.2 per cent y/y in October.
However, Will Buckley, Country Manager, Xero Australia, remains optimistic. “While the October data is softer than previous months, it’s important to note that the Index remains above the long-term averages.
“There’s no doubt the rising cost of living – driven by inflationary pressures – is challenging
Australians across the country, many consumers are being forced to re-examine purchases and reduce discretionary spending. This means customers are left with less to spend at local small businesses. Despite this, it is promising that small businesses still have the confidence to hire new employees.”
7. One in five young Aussies in tech fear losing their jobs: Survey
The tech industry continues to see a massacre. Hundreds of thousands of workers have lost their jobs as a result of big tech layoffs, and financing is drying up.
In its recent financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, HP revealed the layoffs. It joins a growing number of tech giants, including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Twitter, and Salesforce, who have recently announced layoffs.?Meanwhile, in Australia, businesses such as Deliveroo have ceased operations.
The global market activity in Australia has slowed recently, and even at an early stage, round sizes and valuations are now being actively influenced by the reduction in market capitalisation for publicly traded technology businesses.
According to new research by HR tech leader HiBob, one in five (21 per cent) young Australians working in tech expect to be laid off or fired during the economic downturn, and nearly half (49 per cent) are unsure of their current job security.
A sizeable chunk of Australians in their 20s who make up the 861,000 tech workers are now concerned about how the global economic slump would likely influence their careers. In this field, over half (52 per cent) of employees are under the age of 40. The recent layoffs of thousands of employees by tech companies like Meta, Twitter, and Salesforce in Australia have sparked this issue.
The new concern for the young generation in tech — job security
HiBob’s research shows that in Australia, levels of job security depend on several factors.
In general, 50 per cent of respondents who work for tech companies hold non-tech positions, including sales, marketing, customer assistance, finance, and administration. In contrast to those in tech product roles (17 per cent), those in non-tech roles are more worried than those in those roles (25 per cent) about being let go or dismissed.
Although there is always a need for developers and engineers, those in customer-facing positions are aware that the recession may impact their jobs. Unexpectedly, young team managers are less confident in their ability to keep their jobs than individual contributors; only 29 per cent of managers believe their positions are secure and their talents are essential to the business, compared to 34 per cent of individual contributors.
Those working in mid-sized organisations also tend to be less secure than others — 54 per cent of people working in companies with 101–999 employees say they’re unsure of their job security, compared with 31 per cent of organisations with more than 2,500 employees.
Tech companies need to define clear career paths
These conclusions are from HiBob’s study of the attitudes, expectations, and employment experiences of Australians in the computer industry who are between the ages of 20 and 30. While layoffs are undoubtedly concerning, the report also reveals widespread dissatisfaction among young IT workers with their employers over a range of professional, societal, and work-life balance issues. For instance, one in five people claims that their work experience has fallen short of their expectations.
Why employees are unhappy with their employers
The youthful generation in technology is driven and invested in their own growth and development. They are dissatisfied because just one-third (33 per cent) have a clear career path laid out for them by their firm, and less than a quarter (24 per cent) have access to a structured mentoring programme.
Only 36 per cent say their manager allows them to participate and learn new skills, emphasising the lack of learning abilities provided by companies. Less than half (39 per cent) believe their work-life balance is appropriate, and a quarter (25 per cent) dislike their company for not being innovative.
Damien Andreasen, ANZ regional lead at HiBob, said: “On one hand, today’s young tech workforce are worried about their job security, and their work experience is hindered because of lack of career development and learning opportunities. They’ve never been more conflicted, so they are taking a moment to consider their career paths to protect themselves from layoffs.
“There is now an urgent need for HR and business leaders to open or widen the lines of communications more with young employees. Key to that communication is the people managers within an organisation, and HR and business leaders should invest in their managers to help them manage the difficult situation many young tech workers find themselves in. The better managers handle the situation, the stronger the working culture will be at the organisation, and the less likely the best employees will be to leave.”
Young employees value a flexible work model
The research also finds that when it comes to the workplace conditions employees value the most, the top three are the flexible work models (highlighted by 37 per cent), the company’s strength and financial security (highlighted by 30 per cent) and family benefits like subsidised fertility treatments (also highlighted by 30 per cent).
Flexible working is notably more important to those who aren’t responsible for others within the organisation — 43 per cent of non-managers say flexible working is valuable to them compared to only 28 per cent of people managers.
HiBob’s research also finds that a third (33 per cent) would be motivated to move to another company for a more flexible work style — the biggest motivator after a better compensation package (34 per cent). While many young people feel their job security is at risk, more than half (63 per cent) of young tech workers are currently being approached at least once a month for a new role, which is also making them re-evaluate their career path.
HiBob’s research comes off the back of wider research by?Deloitte?of people aged between 19 and 27, nearly half of which feel anxious or stressed either all or most of the time since the start of the pandemic. That same research also found that the pandemic inspired 70 per cent of respondents to take “positive actions” to improve their own lives.
8. Simple and effective ways businesses can become more sustainable without sacrificing revenue
Finally, here is some good news on the climate front. Sustainability conversations are transforming into pledges of action.
The government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and is putting its money where its mouth is in the form of a healthy $42.6 million investment.
Every day Aussies are demanding action. For businesses big and small, there’s a growing imperative to get?greener.?
It’s because retailers are continuously being told?what?to do, but not?how?to do it. And, when advice is given, it’s often overly complicated, labour-intensive and costly.?
It’s no wonder that businesses (time-poor and resource-limited) are confused or just plain exhausted even thinking about sustainability. But the truth is, becoming more sustainable can be a source of competitive advantage, with 88 per cent of consumers wanting businesses to help them live more sustainably.
Here’s the trick. In the words of long-time climate change advocate Paul Kelly, from little things, big things grow.?Becoming a sustainable business is a journey; every small step along the way adds up.?
So, leveraging the power of creativity, here are some quick, easy, cost-effective ways to be greener.
Switch to Green Energy
Did you know that switching to greener forms of electricity can wipe up to 30 per cent of the carbon footprint for the average small business?
This might sound too easy, but it’s true.?A simple phone call to a certified Green Energy provider is the quickest way to reduce your emissions significantly.?
The trick here is to look for a provider that provides a carbon-neutral electricity product and actively invests in renewable energy. A good way to avoid greenwashing is to check out Greenpeace’s?Green Electricity Guide. It provides a ranking of Australian electricity providers based on their efforts to drive the uptake of renewable energy, move away from coal and fossil fuels, and minimise environmental harm.
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Get efficient with your lighting
With the cost of energy on the rise, this one makes sense in more ways than one. Educating employees on how to use lighting efficiently can make a big difference to your carbon footprint. Simply turning off lights when leaving rooms can significantly reduce your emissions, as well as shaving significant dollars off your bill with zero cost to your bottom line; but to get even smarter about it, switching to energy-efficient lighting can also be a quick and easy solution.
One such option is to use LED lighting.?LEDs produce light up to 85% more efficiently than traditional light bulbs. Whilst the bulbs themselves are a little more expensive up front; they quickly pay for themselves as their improved energy efficiency can reduce energy bills by up to 40%. They also last up to 25 times longer, so there are even more savings to both the planet and your hip pocket in the long run. The good news, most LED bulbs can be used with any standard light fixture as long as they don’t have a dimmer switch or are enclosed in an airtight cover. Just check the socket is the same size, and be sure to choose a wattage that is the same or lower than the recommended limit.?
Not handy with the toolbox or unsure what lighting is best for your store? Speak to your local electrician or check out businesses like?Efficient Energy Group?or?Ecovantage?to support you with this.
Scrap single-use and get your customers involved
Single-use plastics make up 85% of the plastic that enters Australia’s environment every year, including 275 million pieces of disposable food ware.
Where single-use items are still needed, consider switching to eco-friendly, biodegradable or compostable alternatives – like?BioPak?or?Green Pack. Encouraging customers to bring their own refillable coffee or soft drink cups by providing incentives can have a huge impact. Make it easy for your customers by having reusable alternatives available for purchase, like Huskee, KeepCup, Made by Fressko and Frank Green.
Reusable cups are a great way to build customer loyalty and reduce overall costs associated with stocking these items. Plus, with more Australian states banning single-use plastics, keeping these items could end up costing you even more. Try applying a small discount for customers or throwing in a bonus snack when they use their own soft drink or coffee container. Or if a discount doesn’t work financially every time, consider introducing a loyalty card for bringing reusable cups. You’d be surprised at how many people will jump at a free Slurpee.
And that brings me to my next point.?
If packaging can’t be reused, recycle, recycle, recycle.?
Become king of kerbside recycling
Did you know that roughly half of Australian waste is?still?sent to landfill? Plastic is the worst by far, followed by glass and paper. The less waste that ends up in landfill, the better.
Just like reducing single-use, making it easy for your customers to be part of the solution not only reduces the impact your business has on the environment, but also helps increase shopper loyalty. It may seem like a no-brainer, but positioning commingled recycling at the entrance or exit to your store is a quick and easy way to get greener.?You can even buy recycling bins made out of recycled materials!?
If you’ve already nailed the basics and are ready to step it up a notch, why not start collecting coffee cups with a dedicated recycling station??It can be as simple as setting up your own sorting station to separate cup collections from lids and straws, or even collecting used batteries using?Ecobin?and then taking these to a local drop-off point.?Find places near you via?recycling near you, alternatively, check out organisations like?Simply Cups?or?DetPak?to arrange for your recycling to be collected.
We all know the saying, Rome wasn’t built in a day. And the same is true of sustainability. Becoming a B Corp overnight isn’t something that will just happen. But, over time, making small improvements, and switching to slightly?greener?practices, using better materials, engaging climate-conscious suppliers all add up.?
And your customers will thank you. The overwhelming majority of Aussies want to make better choices for the planet, and they want businesses to help make it easy.
Sustainability is the next frontier of customer loyalty, and this is where Greener comes in. Consumers are keen to vote with their wallets and shop at green businesses, and businesses want to become greener and reach more consumers, so we’re bringing people and businesses together to do just that. We call it the Green Economy.
We’re shining a light on businesses doing better for the planet. Connecting climate-conscious shoppers with brands that are making an effort and rewarding customers for making a better choice by turning everything you buy carbon-neutral to help end climate change.?
That’s good for the planet and good for business.?
So if I can leave businesses with just one final tip, it’s that the key to becoming a greener business doesn’t mean you have to overhaul your entire operations or supply chain all at once.?
Start small. Pick the low-hanging fruit and then work your way up. You don’t need to be a sustainability expert or even employ dedicated sustainability resources to make a big difference to your business and your customers’ loyalty.?
The trick is just to start somewhere and share what you’re doing with your customers. After all, they are starting to demand this action and will love you for being part of the solution. And when you’re ready to accelerate your ambitions, look for organisations like Greener, which can help you differentiate in the eyes of the sustainable shopper. By coming together and harnessing their purchasing power, we can solve the most pressing problem of our time.
9. Top 5 tips to turn Influencer Marketing into a secret weapon to boost your holiday sales
For any eCommerce merchant or retailer around the globe, the upcoming holiday season – from Black Friday through to Boxing Day – can make or break their 2022 sales performance.?
The surge in the volume of purchases during the holiday season has the potential to be hugely profitable for retailers and eCommerce merchants.
As such, brands or businesses cannot afford to ignore planning for the Golden Quarter. Striking the right balance between efficiency and volume is essential to maximise profitability and overall holiday season performance – and influencer marketing is an effective way to reach new and existing customers with rich, engaging, and personalised content to boost sales as well as customer loyalty.
Reports show that holiday spending has seen a continual upward trend for the past decade, with the biggest year-on-year increase occurring in the 2021 holiday season. According to a recent report by MiQ, more than a third of Australians (34 percent) are expected to spend more this holiday season compared to 2021, despite rising inflation, interest rates and cost-of-living expenses.?
Having a clear understanding of the trends that will shape this year’s “silly season”, will provide retailers and eCommerce merchants with an upper hand and will present opportunities to help them maximise their holiday sales.?
The power of influencer marketing cannot be undermined when it comes to the holiday sales season. According to a Nielsen report,?71 per cent of consumers trust advertising, opinions and product placements from influencers. Because of this, brands plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets by 53 per cent in the coming year.
There are some important steps for driving holiday sales through influencer marketing efforts that retailers need to follow in order to maximise ROI on their campaign.
Define a clear objective for their influencer marketing initiatives
The investment in influencer marketing can vary from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on a brand’s budget. In order to determine what makes the most sense for a particular brand,?it’s important for them to be clear on what they are hoping to achieve and how they are going to measure success. The two most common objectives of influencer marketing are usually to drive direct sales and boost brand awareness, though the true value of influencer marketing involves a blend of both.
If the priority is to drive brand awareness, brands might want to choose influencers that can maximise their reach to relevant target audience. When partnering with several influencers at one time, brands will also want to consider the volume of follower overlap to ensure they are reaching as many people as possible. Brand awareness efforts will typically result in lower direct sales rates in the short term, but typically lead to a strong ROI in the long term.?
When the goal of engaging influencers is to drive direct sales, brands need to choose influencer partners where they have an opportunity to get in front of their followers more than once, especially if their product or service is more of a considered purchase.
For example, brands can benefit from working with different influencers having significant audience overlap. This will present the brand’s product and message to the target audience through multiple trusted voices. This higher frequency of messaging will lead to a greater conversion rate.
Allow enough time to get influencers onboard
After selecting the right influencers based on their primary objectives, brands need to start the recruitment process by getting in contact with the influencers. It can be a time consuming process from initial outreach to getting contracts signed by the selected influencers. The back and forth that comes with negotiating compensation, content usage, number of posts, delivery of products or services and content approvals add up to be a substantial investment in time.
As a general rule of thumb, brands should build in at least one month for negotiations from initial outreach to the go-live campaign. If brands haven’t started reaching out to influencers by now for their Christmas Influencer marketing campaign, chances are they missed the boat.
The low hanging fruit brands might want to start with are the influencers who are already customers or followers. These individuals already understand the brand’s value proposition and will be easier to convince for a partnership.
Be clear and specific in the message and the offer
A clear and concise marketing brief is also a critical investment for the success of any influencer marketing effort. Brands need to clearly outline the objectives of the campaign, the message, the products, and the target audience. The brief should also include content requirements, the approval process, and key dates for implementation to ensure timely execution. A clear brief will speed up the process and reduce the back and forth between the influencers and the brands.
Picking the right products or services to promote through influencer marketing is paramount to the success of a campaign, especially for eCommerce merchants and retailers who have a large catalogue. The product promotion strategy needs to align with the overall objectives of the campaign. If the objective is to drive direct sales, using influencers to promote fewer products will most likely drive users on those products directly leading to higher conversion rate. However, retailers need to keep in mind that this approach may cause product stocking and availability challenges.?
Promoting many products via influencer marketing will dilute the call to action, resulting in users having to choose what products interest them the most. Having to make this decision takes time, delaying the purchase process.
On the flip side, if the objective is to boost brand awareness, showing off a variety of products in influencer’s content increases the likelihood that a user will have some interest in what the brand offers. While a brand will be less likely to run into stocking issues, they will however experience a lower conversion rate.
Monitor social media posts as a part of the overall campaign, not in isolation
As the selected influencers start to post content on their social media, brands will notice that the performance of each post will vary greatly based on the type of content (posts, stories, reels, videos etc.), the unique makeup of the influencers’ following and the consideration required to make a purchase.
It is important to track the impact of each post, story, videos, as a part of the whole campaign and how it is tying back to the main objective. Comparing engagement rates in isolation may not accurately highlight the full contribution value to the campaign until the campaign is complete.?
When working with numerous influencers across multiple platforms, it’s important to have visibility into when content will be posted. Tracking all of the content in a single calendar will give brands that full visibility and they can also use it to track the impact on their overall sales, site visits, follower metrics and more.
Build an influencer campaign that has longevity
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are peak shopping days, they are not the end all and be all of the shopping season. Brands need to diversify their investment instead of relying solely on a few days to determine whether their influencer marketing campaign has been successful. Spreading out their influencer content across a wider period, will also allow brands time to make last minute tweaks to messaging based on learnings of what is working and what is not.
For example, during the BFCM sale periods, people tend to be shopping for themselves but in the 20 days leading up to Christmas, they shop for friends and families.. Brands can use this insight to tweak the content influencers share to resonate more directly with their followers.
10. What SMEs can do to minimise their risk exposure in 2023
A published study examines the financial risks emerging in today’s challenging business environment and provides advice on how to avoid them. It highlights the risks that firms confront in the current business environment.?
For most organisations, the top three problems are inflation, interest rates, and a skills shortage. However, they are also coping with a number of other issues, including supply chain disruptions, productivity, the housing crisis, climate change, and geopolitical uncertainty.
CreditorWatch’s?Risky Business?reveals the various tools that businesses can use to understand the level of risk they face and determine the creditworthiness of their customers, as well as casting an eye over the current credit landscape to reveal what’s keeping business people awake at night and what they can do about it.
Let’s start with some facts about the running environment. While some indicators have deteriorated, overall business conditions remain manageable.?According to CreditorWatch’s October 2022 Business Risk Index (BRI), the industries with the highest likelihood of default over the next 12 months are food and beverage services (7.25 per cent), arts and leisure services (4.62 per cent), and transportation, postal, and warehousing: (4.57 per cent). According to the BRI, the probability of default over the next 12 months has grown in all regions of Australia (except for the Lower Hunter and Wyong in New South Wales).
The change in the balance between firm cash holdings and debt levels between June 2021 and June 2022 is another telling data point. When COVID struck, corporations cut debt by around 25 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, while cash holdings increased by 30 per cent. However, this stance has dramatically shifted after June 2021. As a result, most corporations’ cash holdings have decreased while their debt levels have increased. This raises the hazards in the working environment and is a dynamic that businesses must carefully manage.
CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan said it is important in trying market conditions for businesses to have as much information at their disposal on factors such as the current economic outlook and what it means for businesses.
“It’s important to be judicious when extending credit. A trend that businesses should be aware of is customers entering insolvency without any warning. As Covid stimulus payments have been unwound, this has exposed some businesses that were artificially supported during that period but have not addressed problems in their operations. These are among the businesses going into insolvency at the moment,” said Coghlan.
Business is inherently risky. But there are many steps firms can take to mitigate their risks.
Collaborate with suppliers
From a payment perspective, companies have an opportunity to collaborate with suppliers in a mutually beneficial manner. For instance, large construction companies should bring suppliers along on the tendering journey. The idea is to identify points at which all parties have an opportunity to renegotiate contract terms to take account of changes in the external environment.
Match inflows and outflows
CreditSource CEO Shavantha Mallawa said many businesses are facing specific short- and medium-term risks. These include escalating input prices, labour shortages and the rising cost of labour. An inability to pass on cost escalations to customers exacerbates these risks.
“It’s also essential in this part of the cycle to match inflows with outflows, says Mallawa. “Companies with low cash reserves or liquidity issues struggle more in this environment because there is?a?reluctance to offer payment terms seen previously. We are seeing some firms pay suppliers?on time and?ahead of time to secure their products and services. So, companies with low cash reserves will struggle to compete.”
Stay close to customers
One of the best ways to reduce the risk of non-payment or late payment is to understand customers’ circumstances, says Pilavidis.??
“Now is the time to stay close to your customer. Get a feel for how a business is tracking by visiting their sites. Understand individual customers’ situations?to identify the risks and?secure opportunities for your business, for instance,?maximising sales from good customers.?
“Access to technology is key, as well as automation to improve processes and procedures. This frees?credit managers from building customer relationships?and proactively?identifying?risks. This also allows you to harness data to identify changing customer behaviours. For instance, unusually prompt payment of invoices may be a sign of stress,” he adds.
Enhance working capital management
Working capital management has always been a business fundamental to help guide business decisions. In an uncertain operating environment, it’s never been more important for organisations to optimise this part of their enterprise?to?maintain sufficient?cash flow?to meet short-term operating costs and debt obligations. Reworq Consulting Founder and CEO John Field?say?it’s essential to recognise working capital as a source of value.?
“Working capital is not straightforward. So,?implement?robust measures to improve accounts receivables, accounts payables and inventory management. Better?working capital management?preserves cash and can provide a critical lifeline when the business faces significant trading or liquidity constraints.”
He says most businesses have plentiful chances to identify?opportunities?across their operations to enhance working capital management. The idea is to develop a roadmap to support the company’s strategy and business objectives.?
“The key to success lies in embedding the right behaviours across the whole business, not just in finance, but driven by executive management with a sustained focus on change and future financial success,” he notes.
Consider accessing trade credit insurance
Interest in credit insurance is higher than it has been for a long time, especially among exporters and the construction sector. This is a sector that traditionally makes good use of trade credit insurance. “The smartest guys in the room take out trade insurance through the cycle,” says Bastos.??“With trade credit insurance,?you can sleep at night in the knowledge you’re going to be able to pay your suppliers and your employees, and your business is going to be viable,” he adds.
Read the paper in full?here.
11. A hundred UK businesses are switching to a four-day work week with no pay cut
In the UK, 100 businesses have agreed to implement a permanent four-day workweek for all employees without reducing wages.?
The 100 enterprises collectively employ just 2,600 people, but the 4 Day Week Campaign hopes they will be able to bring about a significant change in the country. Out of the 100 companies, Atom Bank and global marketing company Awin, which both employ about 450 people in the UK, are the two largest corporations in the country and have committed to adopting the four-day workweek.
According to reports, they have received accreditation from the 4 Day Week Campaign, demonstrating that they have cut staff members’ working hours rather than just packing the same number of hours into fewer days.
The UK campaign is also organising the largest four-day workweek trial in the world with researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Boston College, and thinktank Autonomy, involving about 70 companies and 3,300 employees.
A poll from the UK pilot programme of the organisation 4 Day Week Global, which assists businesses in switching to a four-day workweek, was published in September.?
For 49 per cent of the participating firms, the change to four days resulted in higher output, while for another 46 per cent, productivity remained the same. Most companies in the pilot programme (86 per cent) will probably continue working a four-day week even after the trial. These results are also consistent with research from Iceland that has inspired pilot projects worldwide.
Joe Ryle, the UK campaign’s director, said there was increasing momentum in adopting the four-day week, even as companies brace for a long recession.
“We want to see a four-day week with no loss of pay become the normal way of working in this country by the end of the decade, so we are aiming to sign up many more companies over the next few years,” he said.
Sam O’Brien, Chief Marketing Officer of performance marketing platform?Affise,?explores the industries that would gain the most from a four-day week and its benefits on customers, employees, and business owners.
Social Media Influencers
Social media influencers rely significantly on audiences reacting to the content they create across platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter. If these social media users are only in the office?four?days a?week, realistically, they will have more free time during their days off to browse and engage with their favourite apps and creators, a huge bonus for influencers.
Several influencer agencies are already operating a?4-day?working?week, including Engage Hub, whose employees will have either a Wednesday or a Friday off, rotating every eight?weeks.
Their goal is to drive forward and achieve priorities on health and wellbeing, workplace inclusion and becoming a carbon-negative business.
Marketing Roles
While marketing jobs can offer higher salaries, the heavy workloads and extreme competitiveness can take their toll on employees?working?in the notoriously fast-paced sector. Some advertising and promotions managers regularly boast about their 40, 50 or even 60-hour working weeks on social media.
Sam O’Brien says, “Those?working?in marketing can have the stress of competitors and keep up to date with the digital world, which has not been easy during the pandemic. The effects of the past two years have resulted in many extra hours spent isolated, at home, and looking at computer screens while sitting in uncomfortable chairs- extremely bad for both your mental health, vision and posture.”
High Street Retailers
During the pandemic, introducing a?four-day?working?week?was believed to boost high street sales by an estimated £58 billion.
This is because three-day weekends would give shoppers 20 per cent more time to buy and increase spending related to hobbies, gardening and DIY.
Therefore shortened?weeks?could boost areas that have been hit the most-?including hospitality – as people will be able to spend more time eating out and socialising with loved ones during their extra free time with the same disposable income coming in.
E-commerce companies
Nearly all businesses rely heavily on the internet to stay afloat, providing a faster, more convenient, and more efficient way of performing business transactions.
With many e-commerce sites offering services online daily and at night, employees will be required to offer customer service support around the clock, making them feel overworked.?
Sam O’Brien says, “Starting a business takes a lot of time, energy, money, and creativity, and opting for a?four-day?week?is one way many businesses choose to reduce expenses.”
In August 2019, Microsoft Japan implemented a?four-day?week?giving their 2,300 employees five Fridays off in a row – and the results were a success. Productivity jumped 40%, meetings were more efficient, and workers – who were also happier – took a lot less time off.
Aussie fintech rolls out?the?four-day?workweek
InDebted switched to a REAL four-day work week (4DWW) for all employees globally in October of last year, with no catches, exclusions, or conditions. The same salary and benefits will be provided to employees who will work one fewer day per week, and many of whom will stop working on Fridays permanently. InDebted stated that the power of digitisation is what allowed them to go to a four-day workweek.
“The reason we’re able to move to a 4-day workweek is thanks to the power of our technology and debt collection platform. Today, more than 93 per cent of all money that InDebted recovers for its clients doesn’t involve any human interaction whatsoever.?
“InDebted sends customers electronic communications, and these customers overwhelmingly choose to self-serve their accounts online, at a time and place that suits them.”
The four-day workweek’s continuous success raises two key questions: first, whether Australia would eventually adopt it, and second, what it would look like in various businesses. What adjustments would be necessary for Aussie businesses to switch to a four-day workweek? What would impact the move’s impact various industries with various staffing requirements?
Probably best to wait and watch!
12. The Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill, must take into account real-time jobs and wages data?
You would have noticed that things are moving at rocket speed regarding the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill. On 27 October 2022, the Bill was introduced in Parliament against the backdrop of Labor’s election promise to “get wages moving again.”?
With a deal now struck with Independent ACT senator David Pocock, the legislation is on track to pass before the last sitting day for this year, as the Government had hoped.
The contentious nature of the Bill is well documented. It is even more contentious than people realise, though: Employment Hero’s?SME Index?shows the entire premise of the legislation, to lift stagnating wages, is false.?
Employment Hero’s SME Index shows median wages have increased by 8.4 per cent (October 2022) and are outpacing inflation. Note 8.4 per cent is starkly different from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Wage Price Index of 3.4 per cent (September 2022).?
Our data set is 70 times larger than the ABS, takes into account 1.3 million private sector Australian small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees, and we use a holistic data set including penalty rates, bonuses, and allowances.
Wage growth aside, multi-employer bargaining makes it easier for workers at different companies within one industry to collectively seek increased pay and conditions.
For the Government and unions, multi-employer bargaining would apply pressure on wages by incentivising businesses to negotiate new enterprise agreements with staff. This could lead to widespread strikes, complex and expensive bargaining negotiations, and high levels of industrial conflict.
As of today, a parliamentary inquiry into the Bill has led Labor to adopt specific recommendations, including:
By adopting such recommendations, Labor has sought to appease employers and business groups worried (rightfully so) that bargaining provisions only make employment more complex and arduous for Australian SMEs.
There is a material risk the Bill will lead to job destruction and increased inflation. We want to avoid seeing one job lost by unnecessary overreach by the Government, as job preservation is our top priority.?
Employment must become easier and more valuable for everyone – employees and employers alike – because employment is an equation. It relies on two parties where one cannot prosper without the prosperity of the other. Employers and employees have already adjusted salaries without needing third-party intervention, as Employment Hero’s SME Index demonstrates.
SMEs are already concerned about the troubling global outlook, labour shortages, and rising interest rates. When economic uncertainty and a potential recession looms, why make it harder for SMEs and their employees to thrive?
We should constantly look for ways to reduce the complexities of employment. This promotes greater trust between employer and employee. And to state the obvious, it allows employers and employees alike to get on with running their businesses, creating even more employment opportunities and contributing to our economy.??
Let’s harness real-time jobs and wage data to encourage employee mobility and increase competition for labour.
We live in a digital age and should leverage every opportunity it offers before returning to industrial relations (IR) settings from the 1980s – especially when our SME Index shows rocketing real wages and contradicts the very premise of the IR proposals.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own.
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Academic writer & Freelance, self-employed
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