How The ‘Silo Effect’ Is Hurting Cross Team Collaboration

The term “silo effect” when used in the workplace, is a term that describes the occurrence when separate departments or teams within an organization don’t have a system to communicate effectively with each other. Because of this, productivity suffers. Despite that technology is an effective tool for communication and collaboration in the workplace, the silo effect is still a problem to some teams. Lauren at Trello shares how the silo effect is hurting cross team collaboration and what we can do to fix it.

Every company has different departments working for their own supervisors. While these different teams don’t communicate on a daily basis, it’s important that the management does. It’s the only way a company can function with all these moving parts. as Lauren describes, sometimes silos can develop because of differences in opinion or down barriers between department leaders over priorities. This can be alleviated with open and honest meetings. She suggests having meaningful creative collaboration between employees with various skill sets as it is is a great way to facilitate long-term communication within a silo. Giving employees the chance to work closely together on large-scale projects will foster healthy communication across the firm. If you’re company is fast moving or simply too large to have people physically meet in one place, fear not because that’s what the cloud is for. Online chatrooms, forums, task and meeting spaces are a great virtual setup for individuals to collaborate almost as effectively as being in the same room. There are so many tools out there that are specifically designed to facilitate communication between employees wherever they are. Some examples include Google Drive, Google Docs, Slack, Dropbox and Trello meeting boards and other Trello based platforms. Having different and distinct departments is a good thing, but it is also good if these different parts still work together. The bottom line, Lauren explains, is differentiation across departments and teams is a good thing, but sometimes it can also be beneficial to create a mashup of skills and duties.

 

Original article posted by Lauren Marchese at Trello.

For Full Article. Click Here

The CRM-ization of Healthcare

Customer relationship management (CRM) has taken over the healthcare sector for quite some time now. According to CRM Buyer, CRM works remarkably well with some aspects of healthcare. Call center tools and techniques proactively remind patients of a pending appointment or to take their medications. Customers are enjoying the ease and convenience of healthcare services with CRM app-integrations and the convenience of having in=person doctor visits at home and/or at various walk-in clinics. A study shows that 94 percent of patients want access to walk-in clinics, 76 percent want in-home visits, and 68 percent want mobile apps for health coaching. This is all possible with CRM. It’s good to note that today a lot of service or information that patients might need doesn’t have to come directly from healthcare providers. CRM has also aided in the medical device area. With wearables transferring real time health information to app-enabled programs and devices, CRM helps patients and doctors stay in the know with their health vitals in real-time. Converting dated healthcare techniques to digitally enabled processes will be more and more the “norm” on healthcare, thanks to the impact of CRM.

 

For Full Article, Click Here

Transitioning Open AR from one ERP system to another

, ,

Things to consider:

  1. Do your addresses need to be cleaned up?
  2. Do you have duplicate customers that need to be consolidated?
  3. Do you currently have abbreviations in your addresses that you don’t need in your new system?
  4. OR – do you not have abbreviations in your current ERP and need them in your next one?
    1. Create an abbreviation cross reference to easily make the abbreviations needed
  5. Cleaning up the addresses is often very time consuming and can be expensive when waiting until the last minute paying a consultant to do it. Hire a temp now and get it done early and much less expensive
  6. How much history do you want to bring over to the new ERP system?
  7. If you are moving off Lawson, are you using National Accounts? If so, make sure to apply all open payments at the National Account level unless you are sure the new system will allow this same functionality.
  8. Is there anything special about your AR processing that needs to be considered when moving to a new ERP?

Avoiding the seven stages of ERP grief

As complex as enterprise resource planning (ERP) can be, it’s silly not to have to implement an ERP system for your business. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to ERP systems because each business is different. To be successful, you must do extensive research to find the ERP that’s right for your budget, your business model, and your team. An article on ITProPortal by Claire Mason explains the many steps of ERP grief when implementing this change into your company. Mason shares how to overcome these setbacks so you can continue to be successful with your implementation.

The seven stages of ERP grief

  1. Shock – You find out your ERP system isn’t supporting the latest innovative technology. You make think you’re behind, but believe it or not, you’ve got competitors in the same boat. technology is always changing so don’t worry if you haven’t yet caught up. That’s what upgrades are for and your ERP vendors will assist with upgrades.
  2. Denial – ERP projects are often daunting. You might find that your staff is taking shortcuts, processes are inefficient, inconsistencies creep in and ultimately you lose productivity, and your view of the entire picture. All of this costs money, and if you don’t want to waste any more than you need, address the situations and make some change.
  3. Desolation – ERP can get very complicated very fast. The best way to solve this is to think deeply about what outcomes you want to see from an ERP system in your organisation.
  4. Bargaining – Nothing comes cheap, but don’t be deceived by high prices meaning high quality. You need patience and planning for this stage. This is a 10-15 year purchase – it will take time to get the right buy-in.
  5. Reflection – ERP implementations have a high first-time failure rate. IF you chose wrong, you run the risk of disappointed staff and wasted money. However, if you get it right, you will be behind the best version of your business. You’ll create a flexible, scalable and agile platform, with an efficient and innovative culture.
  6. Working through – What exactly do you want from your ERP solution? Employees are your biggest source of information – ask them what would make their lives easier and what their issues are. They can tell you what clients’ issues are relating to the how the processes are run in your business.
  7. Acceptance – You’ve made a match with an ERP provider, now the real work begins. You must now appoint a system administrator, clean your data before migrating to your new system, train your staff. and work on a strategy that will utilize your ERP to it’s maximum potential.

By knowing the stages of “grief” in ERP implementation, you can better prepare your team on how to handle these obstacles so you can experience the return on investment from your ERP solution.

 

For Full Article, Click Here

SQL Server Copy Database Wizard

, ,

An alternative to a SQL database backup & restore is to use the Copy Database Wizard in SQL Server.

Right-click on the database, and select Copy. The source and destination can reside on different servers. You can opt to copy without taking the source database online. It will take longer, but it doesn’t require downtime. You can also copy to an existing database if you select the option to drop the database before adding if it exists. This tool is especially useful if you are trying to copy data from a new version of SQL Server to an older version such as 2008. We have come across that configuration many times in Lawson PROD to DEV environments.

Storm To Perform: The 4 Stages Of Team Productivity

What makes companies like Apple or NASA successful? It’s the people behind it – teams. Group development theory claims that team dynamics play a big part in pushing people toward success. Leah Ryder at Trello explains how maximum productivity will allow teams to work at high levels for more successful outcomes. She takes the main ideas from group development theory -forming, storming, norming and performing – and walks us through 4 stages of successful team productivity.

 

Stage 1: Forming A Real Live Team

First meetings are all about first impressions. We figure out our dynamics, how the team will approach the given situation and decide our team leaders and approach. Getting comfortable with one another is the goal here as it can lead to closer connections, better communication, and a better-flowing dynamic. Ryder shares that in order to get to real productivity, teams need to move past the small talk and be ready to engage on a more real level, potential conflict and all.

 

Stage 2: Storming Into Authentic Connections

No matter how sturdy you form your team in the first stage, there will at some point be a roadblock.  Whether it’s a missed deadline, grueling hours, or an imperfect launch, some team members may no longer be enthusiastic about the work. This is where storming happens, but it;s not usually the best feeling in the world. There will be conflict, sub-grouping, or discontent from private frustration to straight confrontation. If teams can’t identify the issues, communicate constructively, and work to resolve them, they will get stuck at this stage. Ryder suggests using these situations to reevaluate and reassign tasks. The key to this is to emphasize positive intent, especially from the leader. Trying different tactics to promote teamwork or finding common ground or resolving concerns is the best way to get past the storming stage.

 

Stage 3: Norming Out The Kinks

If your team can make it past the storming stage, you’re already proving to be a potentially successful group. The norming stage takes observation, identification, and action on things that are working (and not working). Teams in this stage are constantly working out things like communication preferences, recognition of achievements, and workflows. Leaders and team members alike are building trust, understanding, and support with their peers and these attributes will help teams towards the right path to success.

 

Stage 4: Performing At Peak Productivity

The performing stage is the nirvana of synergy. Team dynamics are good and team performance is really good. This doesn’t mean there’s no more conflict. It just means teams at this stage are better at handling conflict and resolving situations faster. Ryder explains that the best thing a leader can do here is to empower team members to get everything they need to be the most productive and innovative as possible. They should also celebrate milestones and validate great team work.

 

It is important to note, as Ryder concludes, that just because your team is grooving, you shouldn’t stop investing attention into team development. It’s always possible to revert back to an earlier stage when factors change, or a team member withdraws from the group effort for personal or interpersonal reasons.

 

Original Post by Leah Ryder at Trello

For Full Article, Click Here

Transitioning Open AP from one ERP to another

, ,

Things to consider:

  1. Can you pay off all your existing AP prior to transitioning to a new system?
    1. This is preferred whenever possible and start your new ERP with fresh AP
  2. Consider the length of the address fields in your new ERP
    1. Do you need to come up with some abbreviations that work throughout your addresses in the new system?
    2. Have you used abbreviations you no longer need to use and therefore want to undo your abbreviations and make them full words in your new system?
    3. Do you have duplicate addresses that need to be consolidated prior to transitioning? If you are moving off of Lawson, Vendor locations often have duplicate addresses which other ERP systems can’t accept
  3. Cleaning up of inactive Vendors or addresses
    1. This is work that should be done now instead of waiting to the last minute. Paying a consultant to clean up your addresses is expensive.  Hire a temp now and get it done early and less expensive.
  4. Is there anything special about your AP processing that needs to be considered when changing ERP systems?

 

The Strategic Value Of AI In Healthcare

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the disruptive force of healthcare. AI-driven benefits are visible across patient case, clinical research, insurance, and pharmaceutical development. More recent areas that AI is influencing in this sector are clinical care, disease detection, medical image processing, precision treatments, drug creation, and cost reduction. AI is also being leveraged to read imaging data to more accurately diagnose cancers.  Chuck Whinney, Sr. Director Healthcare Strategy for Infor, shares in an article that with the “widespread adoption of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) over the last decade, emerging technologies have evolved to the point of taking the growing volumes of patient clinical data to help physicians and caregivers make more informed decisions on targeted, individualized care.” Whinney continues with explaining the latest AI-enabled capabilities are elevating organizations strategically, which enables them to advance beyond data regurgitation and static dashboards to make better operational decisions. The article further explains that AI would need a more agile environment to work more efficiently and that we shouldn’t let ourselves take the technology that is AI for granted. Rather we should embrace it and help us in more industries.

 

For Full Article, Click Here

Technology hubs pushing business innovation

In today’s business world, technology has been the central focus for innovation, development and change for everything from cloud services to internet security. In an article from Tech Radar, as technology continues to evolve at an ever-quickening pace, hubs have become the engines driving implementation and ensuring that products and services with genuine impact continue roll out to market. Hubs are spaces that promote innovation. Business growth and innovation go hand-in-hand in order to survive today. Tech hubs are important as they set an innovative environment for teams and encourages open communication. The article concludes by adding that technology hubs can foster a collaborative and inspirational culture that will be central in shaping the future, not just of individual businesses but of large-scale economies.

 

For Full Article, Click Here

BL vs. BR What are the major differences?

, ,

BL vs. BR What are the major differences?

As a summary, BR allows for different billing options that are not only item – Quantity times Price to invoice.

BL allows for creating automatic recurring invoices by running a job that creates the invoices.

BR has jobs that will book the revenue recognition as defined for the contract

 

Feature / Module BL

(Billing)

 BR

(Billing & Revenue Recognition)
Using IC for item tracking Y N
Can bill ad-hoc Items Y N
Can Set up Products for billing Y – in IC Y
Can you Print an Invoice to send to the customer Y Performa only
Interfaces to AR Y Y
Requires Activity Module N Y
Auto Create Revenue Recognition entries N Y
Uses Allocations to create Revenue Recognition Entries Y N
Has an Invoice Entry form that looks like an invoice Y N
Create Recurring Invoices Y for various intervals N
Cost Plus Billing Y – based on pricing Y
Pass Thru Billing Y Y
Time and Materials Billing Y Y
Units of Production Billing Y Y
User-Defined Billing Needs to have an item with Quantity times rate associated with invoiced lines Y
Milestone Billing Y- if there isn’t a system generated trigger for the milestone, any invoice item quantity*Price invoice can be created Y – needs to be triggered by something