How do we prepare employees for new tasks and demanding jobs?  Traditional workplace training, if it is offered at all, often involves a day of in-person training, where new employees are inundated with information.  Unfortunately, this type of training is ineffective and costly, leaving employees no better off than beforehand.  In fact, 74% of workers feel that they are not reaching their full potential due to a lack of learning opportunities.

Microlearning is a method that can combat the flaws of traditional workplace training. It involves digitizing learning opportunities into education nuggets that workers can access on their phones throughout the day.  This is more accessible and allows for continuous learning over the course of many weeks.

So far, microlearning has proven to be effective.  It fosters collaboration, social learning, and engagement, which helps build community in addition to general educational benefits.  Microlearning also ensures that workers retain and apply their new knowledge, which they can then use to achieve their desired outcome. 

Arist Microlearning is one organization championing microlearning and has collaborated with 15% of Fortune 500 companies.  As the workforce changes and adapts to technology, it is important that training methods change as well, and microlearning is one example of innovation in motion.

Before responding to the question of how beneficial POI data is, let’s take a step back and provide a quick overview about POI data.

A point of interest (POI) is a particular location that a person would find interesting or useful. The phrase “of interest” should not be understood literally; rather, it refers to a user’s interest in a certain situation. It could be a post office, a school, a grocery shop, a restaurant, or a tourist destination in addition to more typical establishments like these. The majority of the data used to support location-based applications is based on points of interest. The majority of digital maps and navigation systems use POI data to power a variety of applications, including those in real estate, banking, and healthcare.

A geo-located, time-aware POI service can be made available to anyone with a mobile device to receive recommendations on the closest locations. For instance, consumers or end users can utilise POI data to find a store, a place to stay, the closest bus stop, or an emergency service.

Application of POI data in different industries

Any industry can use POI data in a variety of ways, but the most popular use, which is crucial for businesses or government organisations, is site selection and competitive mapping.

For instance, POI data in the telecommunications sector can be used to choose the best locations for new infrastructure development, user base growth, and service quality improvement. It can make it possible to analyse the market and comprehend user wants regionally.

In the field of retail, POI data can assist in providing the answers to queries like: What is the market share of a business? How much money may residents or employees in a particular location spend? How much of a need does the service have? Which rivals are in the area? Knowing the answers to these questions empowers marketers to take focused actions, such as deciding whether and where to open a new store or deciding when to close one due to lack of profitability.

POIs can help the public sector achieve a variety of objectives. By mapping a certain area, it is possible to assess and comprehend if already-existing services or goods are effective, which services (such as public transportation, hospitals, etc.) need to be enhanced, and where those services are lacking.

The real estate, consultancy, and finance industries all use POI data.

In real estate, location is crucial. Giving customers who wish to rent or buy a house, for instance, helpful details about the region around that location? All of those details about surrounding services, shops, schools, etc. may be found in POI data. With the epidemic, its importance has increased even more: clients now utilise online platforms to not only find the closest businesses, but also to travel virtually from their homes.

Companies in the marketing and advertising industries are also using POI data. Businesses may enhance their strategy, convey the most pertinent message to clients, draw in new ones, increase revenues, and boost the value of their brands by using location-based marketing and more focused campaigns.

Additionally, the logistics and transportation sectors use useful POI data. Tracking fleet movement, managing routes, evaluating the state of the transportation infrastructure, and many other things are made possible by POI data.

Additionally, delivery services have grown in importance as e-commerce has expanded in order to supply a variety of goods. Postal and delivery firms must therefore obtain high-quality POI data in order to preserve profitability, offer dependable and secure services, and sustain highly satisfied consumers.

In 2020, we faced one of the biggest health scares of our lifetime: The Covid-19 pandemic. With the lives of their friends and families at risk, consumers worldwide turned to the supplement market. During the pandemic, all demographics increased vitamin use by 74 to 75%, with household purchases rising to 90% overall. To put that into monetary terms, supplement sales of women, men, and children’s vitamins rose by a total of 1.09 billion. 

This unprecedented growth did not pause in 2021, with the industry reaching new records at a compound annual growth rate of 14.5%. Newfound scientific backing for vitamins has increased consumer confidence in them. Research shows that vitamins may improve physiological, cognitive, and functional outcomes, as well as reduce injuries and improve performance during workouts. Additionally, they may reduce the rate of brain shrinkage. 

While the future of the supplement industry is unclear, we know it will both feature new categories, companies, and ingredients. The popularity of novelty supplement irish moss has increased 650% over the last five years, numbers that are reflected in other products. The popularity of DTC supplement brands are also rising, with the revenue of company truBRAIN hitting 11.8 million. Finally, new pre workout ingredients such as beta-alanine and caffeine are now used by 87% and 86% of supplement manufacturers respectively. As the supplement industry and its nutritional complexity grows, it is more important to understand than ever.

To prepare for the future ahead, medical facilities need operational technology more than ever. To elaborate, the technology needed for hospitals to be more efficient is using the pneumatic tube system paired with today’s advanced technology which may be the solution to a long-standing problem of material waste. In a study by SwissLog, they reported that on average 16% of pharmaceutical inventory is wasted. A prominent reason for this waste is due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since hospitals prioritized speed when it came to transporting pharmaceuticals and supplies, Many materials couldn’t be stored properly and thus had to be discarded. With the pneumatic tube system, materials are moved faster and waste is reduced.

How these tube systems work is like a subway system for materials within the walls of the medical facility. Materials are transported into carriers and will reach their destination by sensors. This tube system is versatile because it can be integrated into all parts of the medical facility so you can move materials between floors or buildings. Moreover, the pneumatic tube system aids in correct medication management with the help of real-time tracking. SwissLog tracked the number of medication errors in a hospital over four weeks. After that time, the hospital with the tube system has zero medication errors as opposed to 16 errors without it. Tube systems reduce operating costs by eliminating the need for human couriers thus mitigating staff shortages.

Workers are changing jobs twice as often as older generations as they become less satisfied with their current jobs. Over 60% would switch jobs for the opportunity to work from home and over 90% are happier with the option to work remotely and flexible hours. Knowledge workers, such as software developers and writers, are leaving their jobs because they aren’t allowed to work remotely. It’s no wonder that employees want to work from home as its flexibility allows for more time with family, increased overall morale, and increased overall savings. 

With AI taking over many smaller, more routine parts of work, skills that are important in human relationships and creativity will become more central to how businesses operate. Nap rooms or other activities and areas may seem silly now, but with a future so reliant on employee wellness and ability to stay creative, steps like these might not be so ridiculous. Work will be based more around collaboration, with teams not divided by a hierarchy, rather working together to achieve their goals. Work is changing and jobs of the future will need to adapt to the needs of employees to stay ahead of the competition. 
Learn more about how working remotely and creativity is the future of work and how to be prepared for it here.

Printers are often thought to be a thing of the past. Why would I need a printer if everyone has a screen on them at all times? But printers are not something to look down at. Printed paper has been proven to encourage longer attention spans in readers, as well as a stronger working memory when reading off a paper as compared to a screen. 29 lab studies found that readers will learn more when reading from paper than from screens. The printed word is also vital to businesses around the world. Law, auto, and healthcare companies print hundreds of pages per day and half of businesses say they cannot operate without a working printer. Printers are also key in the small business space, with 8 in 10 small businesses relying on printers for daily operations.

But printers break very commonly and when they do, small business owners are forced to respond by buying printers that can’t fit their needs. Small businesses already have a hard time finding reliable sources for office supplies, and finding a new business printer can take a very long time. The printers they buy in the meantime aren’t capable of the scale that many businesses need them to. With printer ink costing over $12,000 a gallon, this can quickly become a very expensive money sink for ink that can’t even be used to the correct printer when it arrives. 

Don’t let a bad printer slow down your business. Learn more about how to pick the best small business right printer and what printer best suits your needs below:

Networking is critical to professional success. Yet for many, it’s also intimidating. You may feel like you’re asking too much of a complete stranger. The truth is that many people are happy to help others and you know more professionals than you think. 

When deciding who to consider part of your professional network, alumni groups are a great place to start. The good news is that you don’t have to maintain these groups yourself. Both colleges and businesses maintain alumni networks for their own benefit. Universities rely on alumni donations for fundraising and businesses use alumni to drive referrals and access larger labor pools. 

Yet for members like you, benefits include community, mentorship, and access to exclusive opportunities. Professionals of all ages rely on alumni connections to get informational interviews, promotions, and even investment into new business ventures! Entrepreneurs who went to schools with large alumni networks raise more early-stage capital than other entrepreneurs. In the initial stages, founders’ connections to education networks matter more than school quality or geography. 

How can you connect with old classmates or coworkers? Send them a message through email or on LinkedIn. Invite them to lunch. You get what you give from your network.