Small Business

Despite years of warnings, the skills gap is on the rise — not just in the United States, but around the world. The PwC Talent Trends 2019 report found that 79 percent of CEOs worldwide “are concerned that a lack of essential skills in their workforce is threatening the future growth of their organization,” compared to 53 percent in 2012. The Society for Human Resource Management, in a survey of 20,000 U.S.-based members, found (pdf) that the skills shortage is “a top concern that needs to be addressed.” Three-quarters of HR professionals who are having difficulty recruiting “say there is…

Terming the shut down of six debt schemes by Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (FTMF) as an extreme step that has created panic, an umbrella body of brokers on Friday sought markets regulator Sebi and the Ministry of Finance’s intervention to protect investor interest. FTMF stunned all by deciding to shutter operations of six schemes with assets under management of more than Rs 25,000 crore late Thursday evening, citing redemption pressures and market volatilities in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund house has said that capital markets regulator Sebi was informed in advance about the decision,…

It’s one thing to simply conceive and publish; it’s yet another to earn consumer loyalty and trust.Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Despite content marketing having been a much-discussed topic for several years, many businesses still don’t have a solid strategy in place. In fact, the Content Marketing Institute’s 2020 report found that only 41 percent of respondents had a documented marketing strategy, regardless of the fact that 84 percent of brands classified as “most successful” said their content helps build customer loyalty. Clearly, there is massive potential for using content marketing as part of your company’s…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought home the significance of health and life insurance like nothing else earlier. Even those who were blasé about these covers in the past are now looking to buy a new policy or want to enhance the sum insured on their existing ones. Meanwhile, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has been issuing a slew of guidelines to health/general and life insurance companies aimed at easing matters for customers. MEDICAL INSURANCE: Pay health insurance premiums in instalments: Through a circular dated April 20, 2020,…

After hitting all-time lows last month, shares of Coal India (CIL) have recovered by about 10 per cent. While a part of these gains were led by stock valuations hitting a trough, some relief for CIL was also expected with the resumption of business and industrial activity, leading to some uptick in coal demand from thermal power generators and other end-user industries. However, the benefits are likely to be limited, and the persisting challenges will likely limit significant upside. This is also a reason why the 10 per cent gain in CIL’s share price since March…

April 21, 2020 6 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. When my book came out, I was a recent college graduate who lacked a real understanding of the world of press and PR, and I know there are others like me out there. Many see PR as mystical and ever-changing, which leads them to hire publicists and PR companies to figure it out for them. Because I was a 22-year-old entrepreneur, I decided to try to figure it out myself.  With trial and error, I slowly began to understand what it is that journalists and publications…

As companies all over the world reel from the effects of the novel coronavirus, a multitude of challenges, including slower growth, seem inevitable. Although taking care of employees and customers is paramount, prudent leaders must also pull themselves out of crisis mode and think about the future. Focusing on culture should be a priority, because a company’s culture can either support or potentially derail its progress. By identifying the critical behaviors that must be embedded in your organization to bring that growth-enhancing culture to life, you can help your company weather these turbulent times and come out of them even…

Even as the volume pressure was evident on ACC’s March quarter performance and realisations disappointed, cost controls pulled up the company’s operating performance. With both, operating and net profit ahead of estimates, the ACC stock gained more than 8 per cent on Wednesday. With the lockdown in progress, cement sales volume at 6.56 million tonne (MT) declined 12 per cent year-on-year and 16 per cent sequentially, in March quarter (Q1, for the company follows January-December accounting year). Realisations at Rs 4,702 per tonne improved marginally by 0.9 per cent sequentially helped by price hikes taken by…