Future of Sourcing - accounts payable https://www.futureofsourcing.com/tags/accounts-payable en What is the New Normal for Businesses and Accounts Payable? https://www.futureofsourcing.com/what-is-the-new-normal-for-businesses-and-accounts-payable <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/What%20is%20the%20New%20Normal%20for%20Businesses%20and%20Accounts%20Payable.png"><a href="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/What%20is%20the%20New%20Normal%20for%20Businesses%20and%20Accounts%20Payable.png" title="Post-pandemic businesses have adapted by interfacing with technology to get the same tasks done with less redundancy and bulk. " class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1941--ULupTt1zjA"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/What%20is%20the%20New%20Normal%20for%20Businesses%20and%20Accounts%20Payable.png?itok=4M5N4j1s" width="624" height="325" alt="Post-pandemic businesses have adapted by interfacing with technology to get the same tasks done with less redundancy and bulk. " title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>What is the New Normal for Businesses and Accounts Payable?</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/the-future-of-payments">The Future of Payments</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>What do the oracles say about society&rsquo;s return to normalcy? Bill Gates is pinning his hopes on a semi-normal return to life in the spring of 2021, provided we rapidly adopt the vaccine. Dr. Fauci&rsquo;s more conservative estimate suggests that we&rsquo;ll enjoy movie theater experiences, indoor dining and regular school attendance by late fall. But the experts&rsquo; jockeying of vaccine rollout timelines and predictions of how soon we can reschedule that twice-canceled family vacation leave one fundamental question unanswered: What aspects of normalcy are actually worth returning to?&nbsp;</p> <p>The pandemic&rsquo;s clarifying challenges to businesses were not thoroughly negative. Post-pandemic businesses have adapted by interfacing with technology to get the same tasks done with less redundancy and bulk. Daily operations have stripped down to bare essentials, some bearing costs to the customer, but many renewed in their devotion to make a more human connection with those they serve. Data security issues took a tremendous and necessary spotlight as <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/321800/covid-remote-work-update.aspx" target="_blank">a historic number of the U.S. workforce scrambled to telecommute</a>.</p> <p>Covid-19 shattered all illusions about how quickly any industry, company or market can change.&nbsp;</p> <p>There&rsquo;s no crystal ball to consult when it comes to making big changes with very little advance notice. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/an-operating-model-for-the-next-normal-lessons-from-agile-organizations-in-the-crisis" target="_blank">Data by McKinsey</a> indicate how businesses stayed lean and financially solvent through the initial shutdowns and subsequent quarantine measures. According to the research, businesses that transformed their processes in 2020 nodded to agility as the key ingredient of their success. In the business sense, &ldquo;agility&rdquo; is defined by smaller teams that are built to work with rapid efficiency in place of traditional business models with several tiers of leadership per business unit. McKinsey tracked 25 companies across seven business sectors in their handling of the COVID-19 crisis.</p> <p>Here is the resounding sentiment of <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/an-operating-model-for-the-next-normal-lessons-from-agile-organizations-in-the-crisis" target="_blank">what they found</a>:</p> <p>&ldquo;Through our research, one characteristic stood out for companies that outperformed their peers: companies that ranked higher on managing the impact of the COVID-19 crisis were also those with agile practices more deeply embedded in their enterprise operating models. That is, they were mature agile organizations that had implemented the most extensive changes to enterprise-wide processes before the pandemic.&rdquo;</p> <p>The benefits of agility were measured in overall customer satisfaction, employee engagement and operational performance. They found that swifter decision-making, less time determining priorities, and faster and more flexible response processes lent themselves to the business&rsquo; overall success. In other words, being agile made everything easier.&nbsp;Nimble, clear-communicating teams enabled with good technology outpaced their slower, bureaucratic counterparts.</p> <p>A clarion call from a pandemic-tested economy is this: the bustling office setting is becoming increasingly outdated. A small, remote team working closely is capable of outpacing any team that sits less than six feet apart&mdash;and with less overhead costs.&nbsp;This is a matter of understanding the amazing flexibility of a business operations model. With technology, we now have the ability to decentralize while staying connected. Sounds paradoxical, but then again, so did social distancing.&nbsp;</p> <p>While change is good, identifying the right kind of change is essential. Here are three guiding principles:</p> <h2>1. Keep Your Business Unit Nimble with an Agile Mindset</h2> <p>Examples of an agile mindset include giving up meeting-heavy schedules and manual workloads and renewing decision-making agency in small teams. Even if the organization at large is still insistent on doing things the old way, your business unit can lead small changes with great effect.&nbsp;What&rsquo;s not working with your current accounting operations model in accounting, IT or even on the executive level? Can you <a href="https://www.nvoicepay.com/resources/blog/a-better-payments-readiness-model-for-the-new-world/" target="_blank">digitize any of your backlogged manual tasks to alleviate the stress on your team</a> and improve supplier relations?&nbsp;</p> <p>But don&rsquo;t mistake agility for speed. Speed is fast but can be blind. Agility is about delighting both the customer and those who serve them in the delivery of a seamless and elevated process.&nbsp;</p> <h2>2. Add Collaboration Tools as a Lifeline Resource for Your Team</h2> <p>The 2021 workforce demands exceptional collaboration tools. Since projections of remote work persist into the better part of 2021, it is essential that good communication infrastructure is in place to sustain team morale. Longevity is about more than just crossing the finish line, but lifting burdens of redundancy and frustration. As willpower to stay connected wanes and team needs inevitably change, it is essential that touchpoints are added between managers and employees to prevent burnout and ensure team goals are attainable and appropriate. Ask your team what heaving lifting they need assistance with and keep an eye toward any solution that may bolster cross-functionality and productivity within your team.</p> <h2>3. Retrofit for the Employee of the Future</h2> <p>Whether or not we retain the same jobs we had at the outset of 2020, job demands will have changed. Safety and wellness concerns have skyrocketed in the eyes of the consumer while values like convenience or ease of access have diminished in proportion to the limitations imposed on our lives.&nbsp; Product models will need adjustment. New verticals that businesses once sought to launch into may have dried up, leaving sales teams to pursue other avenues.&nbsp;</p> <p>Providing the workforce with more analytical tools, businesses can add value to employee roles by grounding decision-making in data points and allowing for greater transparency to daily tasks. Through new technology, the elimination of legacy technology, needless redundant tasks, and paper touchpoints, <a href="https://www.nvoicepay.com/resources/blog/here-are-the-top-tips-for-preventing-ach-credit-fraud/" target="_blank">the workforce can rest more securely in the face of unanticipated threats</a> to their employability.&nbsp;</p> <p>Our technology, operating models, and accepted biases of &ldquo;how things are&rdquo; must all change when presented with the data on how things can be done differently. Change is no longer a back-of-the-handbook contingency plan. Grit and ingenuity hold the silver lining to a resoundingly difficult year. Perhaps reversing to the way things were is a farce. The next normal will provide us gradations of clarity as waves of vaccinations roll out and restrictions ease in the late months of 2021. Yet what we do with the clear opportunities already here is a truer prediction of future business success.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/accounts-payable" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">accounts payable</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/coronavirus" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">coronavirus</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-workforce" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote workforce</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/telecommute" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">telecommute</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/agile-methodology" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Agile Methodology</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="What is the New Normal for Businesses and Accounts Payable? - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/what-is-the-new-normal-for-businesses-and-accounts-payable"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Sat, 20 Mar 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Lauren Ruef 1941 at https://www.futureofsourcing.com https://www.futureofsourcing.com/what-is-the-new-normal-for-businesses-and-accounts-payable#comments Uncover New Opportunities from a Return on Experience https://www.futureofsourcing.com/uncover-new-opportunities-from-a-return-on-experience <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/return%20on%20expereience%20%281%29.png"><a href="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/return%20on%20expereience%20%281%29.png" title="Everyone knows the term &quot;return on investment&quot;—or “ROI”—meaning you get more monetary value out of something than what you put into it. But money is not the only measure of value. As we take stock of our business and personal lives, I think we should re-establish a lesser-recognized concept: return on experience." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1908--ULupTt1zjA"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/return%20on%20expereience%20%281%29.png?itok=EQIr8HJT" width="624" height="325" alt="Everyone knows the term &quot;return on investment&quot;—or “ROI”—meaning you get more monetary value out of something than what you put into it. But money is not the only measure of value. As we take stock of our business and personal lives, I think we should re-establish a lesser-recognized concept: return on experience." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/the-future-of-payments">The Future of Payments</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Though terrible, the pandemic has given us much-needed time to pause, reflect, and perhaps make some changes to the way we live our lives. We have a chance to reevaluate what is really important to us. What brings us happiness? What drains our energy? What experiences add meaning to our days? Which ones take it away? We have an opportunity to face this challenge in a way that makes us better people.</p> <p>Businesses are on a parallel path. With the diminishing of old norms comes the possibility of reimagining our aging processes. That has brought about an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-covid-19-recovery-will-be-digital-a-plan-for-the-first-90-days" target="_blank">acceleration of technology adoption</a>&nbsp;across virtually every industry. Still, there&#39;s another storyline emerging as well&mdash;the rise of what Heather E. McGowan calls&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/heathermcgowan/2020/11/05/the-coronavirus-ushers-in-the-human-capital-era/?sh=7927c59422dd" target="_blank">The Human Capital Era</a>. McGowan believes that the workforce has exhibited incredible resilience and creativity during the pandemic. They&#39;re &quot;an asset to develop rather than a cost to contain.&quot;</p> <p>I&#39;m all for it.&nbsp;</p> <h1>Return on Experience</h1> <p>Everyone knows the term &quot;return on investment&quot;&mdash;<a href="https://www.nvoicepay.com/resources/blog/blindly-chasing-roi-the-perils-of-short-term-thinking/">or &ldquo;ROI&rdquo;</a>&mdash;meaning you get more monetary value out of something than what you put into it. But money is not the only measure of value. As we take stock of our business and personal lives, I think we should re-establish a lesser-recognized concept: return on experience.</p> <p>Return on experience is significantly more objective than a return on investment since the measurement varies by opinion rather than hard numbers.&nbsp;</p> <p>For example, we all have gone out to have dinner and found that the bill was more expensive than expected. Maybe the food was just so-so, you had a long wait time, or the server was brusque. Whatever the reason, it just wasn&#39;t a great experience. But you might gladly pay twice as much for dinner where the food is delicious, or the service is kind and attentive. That&#39;s what I think of as a return on experience&mdash;getting value beyond what money can buy.</p> <p>We embrace this concept more easily in our personal lives, where there&#39;s less accountability for how we spend our money. For example, pre-COVID, I enjoyed traveling with my wife and two kids. Those trips were expensive, even after accounting for the hotel points and airline miles I&#39;d collected. But the memories will stay with us forever, long after the cost has been absorbed and forgotten.</p> <p>When you think about your business and your accounts payable team, what is the return on experience from antiquated methods like <a href="https://www.nvoicepay.com/resources/blog/6-hidden-ways-paper-checks-are-hurting-your-business/">processing checks</a>? What is the opportunity for growth? One person can&#39;t cut or sign checks much better than another. There&#39;s a limit to the impact you can have by stuffing checks in envelopes every week. It&#39;s the opposite of a good experience.</p> <p><a href="https://www.nvoicepay.com/resources/videos/webinar-embrace-the-shift-to-automated-payments-pt1/">Incorporating automation</a> in your back office is an excellent way to tackle ROI and ROE simultaneously. When you have removed mindless tasks from your AP team&#39;s plates, they are free to spend their energy on more interesting, strategic, and valuable tasks. I think that&#39;s an initiative that&#39;s well-aligned with the Human Capital Era.</p> <p>As we re-examine our lives and our businesses, let&#39;s remember what it means to evaluate something in the first place: to judge or calculate the quality, importance, amount, or value of something. And in that calculation, consider the return on experience in terms of your business, beyond money. It&#39;s about setting yourself and your employees up to live and work in a high-quality environment&mdash;one that encourages personal and professional development.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/automation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Automation</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/return-on-investment-roi" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Return on Investment (ROI)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/return-on-experience" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">return on experience</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/accounts-payable" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">accounts payable</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Uncover New Opportunities from a Return on Experience - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://www.futureofsourcing.com/uncover-new-opportunities-from-a-return-on-experience"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Thu, 14 Jan 2021 22:02:48 +0000 Derek Halpern 1908 at https://www.futureofsourcing.com https://www.futureofsourcing.com/uncover-new-opportunities-from-a-return-on-experience#comments