Several interesting pieces of research were published this week. They included the Adobe Digital Trends report that found that many leading brands are investing in content creation and workflow. Research from Nosto found 69% of consumers go straight to the search bar when they visit an online retailer. However, 80% admit leaving because the on-site search experience didn’t meet their expected experience.
Slack published findings from a Future Forum Global Pulse Survey, which found that flexibility is key for organisations. Infosys published its Future of Work 2023 report highlighting reskilling, talent diversity and need for digital automation for businesses.
Domo
Domo published a report on worker productivity and strategic engagement. It found that access to company data and modern technology impacts workers’ ability to meaningfully contribute to business results.
- 31% say they feel uninformed about their company’s overall strategy
- 45% say they wish they had more access to data to inform strategic ideas.
Perhaps it is more concerning that 62% of respondents said they could do more work with better tech tools. The inference, in what the report describes as “Sleepworking”, is that employees cannot reach full productivity with the right data and better tools.
This is having an impact on retention. While 24% day there is a higher turnover in their organisations, if they work in organisations without the right technology, that figure soars to 71%. As business leaders consider well-being, the technology people use is also important. 62% of workers say better access to useful tech would make them happier.
John Mellor, Domo CEO, commented, “In this economy, organizations of all sizes must optimize every aspect of their business. And while one of the biggest and most strategic investments a business makes is in its people, organizations are not unlocking the full potential of their workforce if employees are ‘sleepworking’. However, the results of this study show that with access to the right data and tools, every employee can be happier in their jobs, and become multipliers of business impact.”
Experian
Buy now pay later products usage was up 33% in the last quarter of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, according to Experian. The analysis found that November and December saw a 73% in demand compared to the preceding six months, as consumers looked to spread costs during the peak Christmas shopping season.
Paul Speirs, Managing Director of Digital Consumer Information at Experian, said, “The BNPL sector has grown rapidly in recent years, and, although it’s generally thought that the younger generation are the driving force behind this, our latest analysis shows demand coming from a much wider range of consumers and income bands.
“Now that BNPL payment information is available to all lenders, they can make better decisions based on a more complete view of their customer’s credit risk and affordability. The benefits of sharing of BNPL data also extends to helping validate the identity of a consumer. This new source of information can be added to help protect lenders and consumers from the dangers of fraud.”
With the energy cap ending on March 31st, the number of businesses at heightened risk will double from 16% to 30%. That is according to data analysed by Experian from ONS, Gov.uk, and BusinessView.
James McGarva, Managing Director, Information Services, Experian, said: “Businesses need to prepare for the April energy shock by building their financial foundations. Practice good cash flow management, understand the factors influencing your credit score, and give energy suppliers sufficient notice if you think you’ll struggle to make payments. The future looks daunting, but there are steps that can be taken to improve financial resilience.”
Experian also highlighted that credit card fraud has soared to a ten-year high, 18%, in the last three months of 2022 alone. In India, Experian published a white paper titled Fintech-led Digital Lending: Coming of Age by Experian India in collaboration with the Digital Lending Association of India (DLAI).
Sage
Sage released the Managing Modern Finance in a Time of Unprecedented Change report. According to 200 Canadian financial leaders, 60% of respondents said the time they spend on accounting, compliance, and the financial close inhibits their work on strategic projects. It highlights five top priorities for finance and accounting leaders
- Improving efficiency / reducing costs – 67%
- Improving the accuracy of data for real-time decision-making – 60%
- Strengthening security controls – 54%
- Improving financial reporting capabilities – 54%
- Improving data availability – 49%
These priorities are hindering the time finance leaders want to spend on strategic issues. The report highlights three technological approaches that can help overcome these challenges.
- Adopting a single cloud platform
- Automate tedious manual processes
- A unified financial management platform
Daniel Oh, VP Medium Segment Leader in Canada for Sage, commented, “The current economic volatility has introduced complications businesses, and their financial teams are struggling to keep up with. The new challenges underscore the need for responsiveness and automation in a digital age. Canadian business leaders know they must pick up the pace. Taking the right steps to modernize accounting management systems will help finance teams overcome legacy challenges and gain insights that will help them to stay agile and drive growth.
“In today’s hyper-competitive and volatile economy, businesses can no longer rely on inefficient manual processes, scattered data, and reports that are stale by the time they’re published. Speed, agility and accurate insights delivered in real-time help businesses grow and are becoming the gold standard for success. By integrating applications and data on a cloud-native platform, finance leaders can automate tedious processes and gain real-time insights into operations, which will help future-proof them during times of unprecedented change.”
SD Worx
An IESE-SD Worx study revealed that while Belgium has 24% part-time workers, there is no impact on productivity. Belgium is one of the top five countries for part-time workers in the EU. It is unclear whether the other countries also see no reduction. The other countries where part-time work is popular are:
- Netherlands – 43%
- Austria – 30%
- Germany – 28%
- Denmark – 24%
Seismic
Seismic published the Seismic 2023 Value of Enablement Report. More than 9 in 10 respondents (over 600 US sales, enablement or customer success managers or above) use enablement technology. 80% of those that use enablement technology say it frees up time to focus on revenue-generating activities. Beyond that, 78% agree that enablement tech helps them provide a better customer experience.
The study found that enablement technology saves 15 hours per week and explores where those savings are made. For the minority, without access to sales enablement technology, the time spent on non-revenue generating activities lowers morale.
Irina Soriano, Vice President of Enablement, Seismic, commented, “As go-to-market teams continue to navigate an uncertain economic landscape, enablement technology proves to be critical to their success.
“The data is clear: enablement empowers teams to produce better results, operate efficiently, and drive smart growth. But it’s also evident from our findings that it’s equally important to invest in your people as it is to invest in your technology. Particularly for members of the Millennial and Gen Z generations, professional development opportunities are significant factors when it comes to their employer of choice – and businesses need to invest accordingly to meet employee demand.”
What would have been interesting to see is the survey expanded beyond the US to see whether other countries are behind or ahead of the US.
