Category: Management

Trends in AI – How to Prepare for AI Success

Category: Artificial Intelligence, Business, Machine Learning, Management

”Artificial intelligence and machine learning, as a dominant discipline within AI, is an amazing tool. In and of itself, it’s not good or bad. It’s not a magic solution. It isn’t the core of the problems in the world.” – Vivienne Ming

Artificial intelligence coupled with Machine and Data Learning has become an integral part of our lives and has gained acceptance across multiple industries covering biomedical intelligence, gaming, commute and financial services. Despite its far reaching advantages and benefits, organizations across the world are still grappling with multiple challenges to foster a culture of innovation that would drive enterprise level change and set the framework for growth and sustainability. Let’s look at some of the ways by which organizations can prepare themselves for successful implementation for AI for achieving competitive advantage in the future.

Before embarking on this AI journey, businesses need to review their existing processes for identifying any potential issues that need to be prioritized. Leadership team needs to have a clear agenda to fix these issues before making large investments into AI. There is a high probability that the implementation of Artificial Intelligence could result in automating some of the manual and repetitive tasks resulting in better workflows. However the top of the house issues or challenges could still remain unattended. In order to achieve a flywheel effect, businesses should view their operations holistically and not look at sporadic gains and one-off initiatives. This would help in transforming end customer experience through digital innovation and better product offerings.

The leadership team needs to defend their traditional ways of reporting and embrace new ways of developing well defined frameworks for building effective forecasting and modelling tools. Creating AI Models would help in predicting demand and supply changes for delivering customer centric solutions. Based on the demand projections companies would also be able to forecast their threats and opportunities that lie before them. Leadership team can make use of these insights for strategic planning and accelerating their investments in AI.

Leverage on the expertise of the digital workforce to transform raw data into actionable insights for achieving best results. However this cannot be done without acknowledging some of the key risks associated with AI that include data and bias risks. When they are not handled properly, these risks can cause severe damage to the reputation of the organization. Data is the lifeline of AI. While handling large volumes of data, businesses need to focus on ensuring that there is protection of customer data by enhancing their defenses against cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

Employees could fear job losses due to digital automation and replacement of many tasks with AI. This could impact employee morale resulting in poor performance and dwindling productivity. Before implementing AI, business leaders need to have regular discussions with their employees and restore their confidence in AI. Communicate openly with all staff members about the change and impress upon them the benefits associated with it. Capitalize on the skills and experience of staff members for creating focus groups and conduct training programs for making them future ready with digital competency. New jobs would need to be created for development, maintenance and management of AI systems. Collaborate effectively with all the key stakeholders and set transparent goals for achieving excellence through mutual acceptance and alignment towards organizational goals.

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo Corp are committed towards future proofing our digital leadership by operationalizing data analytics and AI for achieving scalability and excellence in service delivery.

Data Analytics: Efficient risk management

Category: Cyber Security, Data Management, Machine Learning, Management

“The risk management needs to lift up from risk control to risk intelligence which can identify the potential business growth opportunities.”― Pearl Zhu

Businesses need to constantly upgrade themselves to handle the risks emerging from a dynamic environment that is fraught with risk globally. They need to do a deep dive into their risk management strategies and look at fostering a culture of change for unlocking their business potential and achieving better business outcomes. Organizations need to think beyond traditional risk management methods through organisational transformation by adopting advancement technologies like advanced analytics. Let’s look at some of the ways by which it can be achieved. 

As a first step employees from the different levels of the organization need to actively participate in this journey for building their core competency and redefining the business processes. This would help in breaking the functional silos and unearth the value of data for building effective data models for forecasting future trends through collaboration and knowledge sharing. Customer is king and leveraging on new age analytics would help understanding the changing customer behavior by establishing customer models and identifying underlying patterns. By leveraging on data mining techniques large quantities of data can be analysed for better client engagement, revenue growth and cost optimisation. Using big data and analytics would also help businesses rethink their marketing campaigns by understanding customer behavior. 

Analytics help in assessing the exposure of the organization’s risk and its ability to measure and predict likely scenarios through forecasting techniques. In this process the analysts would come across huge volumes of data which could be structured or unstructured. Structured data are more qualitative in nature that would include numbers and values sourced form online forms network and server logs etc with limited usage and storage options. These can be used with the help of Machine Learning algorithms by business users. Unstructured data include posts in social media, website, internet of things which is gaining widespread importance due to its native format and scalable storage options. The availability of data can be both internal and external to the organization. Risk analytics helps in integrating them for deriving valuable business insights vand effective decision making. 

By analysing myriads of data sets and repetitive trend risk analytics helps In identifying and detecting any threats in their businesses, example frauds. Leadership can track the changes that resulted in transformations to the industry and take appreciated actions in the midst of crisis. It would help in preventing any damage done to the corporate identity and protect the brand image of the company. Organisations need to learn from the mistakes of their past and ensure that they are not repeated. Analytics help in understanding the reasons behind such mistakes and preventing them from happening again by applying preventive measures. All companies irrespective of their vintage or size need to have a dedicated team of risk managers who can use big data and analytics to evaluate risks in real time and quickly what gears and take appreciated actions during uncertainty. Creation of alerts for monitoring deviations in real time would help in identifying any outliers for problem solving and evaluating performance. 

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo Corp make use of latest technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Internet of things for evaluation risks and manage them proactively with the help of risk analytics tools for achieving business growth and resilience.

Covid19 and Organisational Resilience

Category: Business, Leadership, Management, Organisation

“Resiliency is the ability to spring back from and successfully adapt to adversity.” – Nan Henderson

Covid19 has created an unprecedented impact on the business world and the leadership team needs to imbibe some important lessons as a fallout of this crisis. The C level executives need time to fit themselves out and keep pace of this tectonic shift for maintaining their competitive edge in the digital landscape. Let’s look at some of the ways that can help build organisational resilience during Covid. 

It is natural to get impacted by a crisis with a flurry of negative emotions like fear, grief, anxiety and mental sufferings. Organisations need to be wary of this and learn to engage with their staff that would help them overcome mental and psychological afflictions. Staying connected with the employees through video calls and developing an empathetic understanding of their pain points would help in laying off their anxieties for physical and mental well-being. Extending a helping hand to the team members through collaborative leadership would provide the much needed fillip for positive reinforcement of value system and beliefs. 

Leaders need to prioritise the physical, psychological and emotional wellness of their employees and be attentive to the needs of their team members in all the interactions. Creating health and safety awareness programmes through webinars, podcasts and video conferencing would help in clearing any misconceptions and keep a tab on the mental and emotional health of team members. Conducting vaccination drives and getting all the employees to participate actively in these initiatives would help in reducing the risk of fatality through immunisation. Welfare measures like medical reimbursement, enhancing the insurance coverage limits and extending the benefit to the employees and their family members would go a long way in providing the financial support needed during uncertainty. 

Build a culture of trust and transparency by building positive relationships with the employees. Structure meetings and ensure all the team members are given a platform to share their thoughts. There would be some team members who may not be willing to share their thoughts during the first instance. Reiterate faith and belief by having iterative discussions with team members. Respect differences within the team and be willing to give people their space to share their thoughts and feelings. Set expectations clearly about their goals and share developmental feedback that would drive inclusivity and team alignment. Create a positive environment through mentoring and assign buddies for monitoring their performance. Recognising talent and rewarding performers  would help in keeping the employee morale high. 

Sharing best practices and conducting training programmes would help in improving the staff awareness. This would help in understanding the challenges faced and responding appropriately during crisis situations. Avoid being judgemental and weed out actions like blame game that would impact relationships and disrupt team bonding. Be prepared to amend organisational routines, schedules of work and the processes based on inputs from staff members. This would be helping in giving better flexible working options to people based on their requirements. Reschedule tasks and adjust work practices to suit the needs of employees and client expectations. Modelling vulnerability would help in assessing the preparedness and organisational ability to rise to the challenges posed by unforeseen threats and measure its ability to stay resilient. 

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo Corp have responded positively to Covid Pandemic by leveraging on strategic resilience measures and we continue to meet our client expectations with the help of our skilled workforce.

Covid19 Crisis: Inspiring Innovations

Category: Business, HealthCare, IT staffing and consulting, Management

“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable”. – William Pollard

The Covid Pandemic has dented the spirit of the world leaving it in a state of weltschmerz. In the unprecedented crisis, all the countries are coming up with their ideas and innovations to collaborate among themselves and combat the deadly pandemic. Let’s look at some of the ways by which low and middle income countries are working together towards effective remediation of this Pandemic. 

The effective usage of mobile phone communication has resulted in improved data collection, reporting and better communication between healthcare staff, frontline workers, clinicians to take proactive steps in controlling the widespread transmission of covid against low and middle income countries. Use of ticketing apps for harnessing passenger data in public transport in Kenya has helped in contact tracing and forecasting future clusters. This has also helped in sending a deterrent to passengers and limiting the number of commuters to prevent community spread. These approaches are not only simple but also sensitive to social and cultural ethos of the people and have been successful despite resource crunch. 

The first line of defence consists of people who are involved in detection, prevention and controlling the infection. Vietnam has come up with an innovative idea of making use of robots for cleaning the hospitals and formation of special groups for distribution for food and help items to the vulnerable sections of the society. These measures have not only controlled the infection at large but also helped in reducing the impact of lockdown and restrictions. The routine health monitoring systems developed in South Africa are being reinvented to monitor pandemic response and track vaccination distribution in different countries. 

Re-engineering existing resources in the intensive care unit of Saudi Arabia has helped in workforce optimization and reducing workflows resulting in better efficiency and turn around time. Tasks which require specific skill sets have been earmarked and resources deployed based on current demand. Specialists have been identified to carry out the tasks cut out for them which helps in unlocking human potential. Despite an increase in patient frequency clinicians could provide adequate care and respond to their medical requirements seamlessly thanks to the proactive steps taken towards restructuring. 

User centric approach is giving way to driven methodologies resulting in better business outcomes and value generation. Any crisis presents itself with hidden opportunities that need to be unearthed for deriving the benefits for society and building a competitive edge. The need for personal protective equipment was identified by a network of enterprises in Mumbai who collaborated with others in the market and delivered more than one million safety masks within a short span of time to meet the demands of healthcare providers and end users. This is a good example of bottom of the pyramid innovation through creation of prototype and service delivery. 

New age techniques like data modelling have played a significant role in prognosis of the pandemic and developing strategies for accelerating the responses for control and resilience. Countries like Rwanda which is strapped with resource constraints have come up with new data driven pool testing methods which has helped in reduction of the number of tests required to narrow down on the infection count. Analytics and data comparison have also been effective in India for control of spread in large states with the help of low-cost paper based tests carried out in mobile labs. 

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo Corp are committed to our fight against Covid and support the geographies in which we operate through social inclusivity and innovative management practices. 

Ways to Improve Virtual Methods of Working and Adapt to the New Normal

Category: IT staffing and consulting, Leadership, Management

“Giving employees great autonomy and flexibility allows people to feel independent and empowered while still feeling like a part of something bigger. This leads to happy, loyal employees with a rich quality of life, which in turn leads to an amazing culture.” ― Larry English

The unrelenting pandemic has ushered in new ways of working, capable of delivering far reaching benefits in the future in order to tide over this crisis and move towards flexible working models to remain competitive in the digital landscape. In this process, it’s not uncommon to find that the employees get fatigued due to digital overdose resulting in feeling of isolation and negativity. Let’s look at some of the ways by which zoom fatigue can be remediated with the help of virtual collaboration. 

New techniques like webinars, podcasts, video conferencing have shrunk the geographical boundaries through digital enablement. Businesses need to revisit their recruitment strategy and leverage on candidate skills irrespective of their work location. Brainstorming with people from different cultures and backgrounds can churn out creative ideas promoting inclusive growth and resulting in enhanced productivity. Employees would feel more emotionally connected when they feel that their voice is heard and realise that the organisation is inclined towards addressing the challenges that they face. Reimagining the workspace would help in creating multiple communication channels that would help in understanding the concerns of staff and taking quick actions to address them appropriately. 

Investing in the well being of staff would remain critical in times of uncertainty. Companies need to focus on people engagement initiatives and demonstrate care and commitment towards their staff. Managers need to reinforce a spirit of togetherness and a sense of belonging amongst their team members. Conducting wellness programs through video conferencing, having informal chats, water cooler conversations would create positive vibes for good physical and mental health. Having regular one to one sessions with staff helps in establishing a personal connect with staff for providing constructive feedback for growth and development. It would also help in providing reassurance and defenestrate any unfounded fears regarding job loss and career. 

Conclusion

Carrying out well being surveys would help in knowing the pulse of team and employee experience. Deploying crowdsourcing tools would help in getting valuable insights relating to employee exhaustion. This would help in addressing the issues faced by larger sections of the organisation and take dedicated efforts to alleviate employee pain points. Companies need to use this cautiously to be wary of any unconscious bias that would impact effective decision making. Given that the work environment is constantly evolving, leaders need to be agile in handling change and find ways to adapt to the dynamic needs of the future. Virtual working and collaboration helps businesses to become more adaptable and resilient in the event of business disruption due to uncertainty. We at Newlineinfo Corp have an engaged team willing to go the extra mile in meeting customer expectations through state of the art technologies and digital innovation. 

Remote Working : Staying connected

Category: IT staffing and consulting, Leadership, Management, Uncategorized

“Starting with trust and giving employees great autonomy and flexibility allows people to feel independent and empowered while still feeling like a part of something bigger. This leads to happy, loyal employees with a rich quality of life, which in turn leads to an amazing culture.”― Larry English

Covid19 pandemic has ushered in a new era of working from home which has resulted in digitizing the employer employee relationship. People have started feeling a sense of isolation and loneliness due to dwindling social interaction and human connection. Companies need to look at different ways of reinventing themselves to cope with this challenge to mitigate the impact of remote working and build a collaborative workplace for the future. 

To feel comfortable and stay motivated during WFH, companies need to look at providing the infrastructure support required for employees to create a virtual office environment at their work location. Creation of online forums for community building for sharing their posts and updates would help in staying connected preventing burnouts. Having virtual coffee sessions and water cooler talks helps in taking a break from work and socializing with other team members. 

The leadership team needs to demonstrate a culture of empathy and connect with their teams to provide support and motivation for keeping the employee engagement levels intact. The communication between the senior management and the employees needs to be maintained on an ongoing basis for providing regular updates about the pandemic and the steps taken to handle it proactively. This would result in sustaining a stress free environment at the workplace by promoting inclusivity and a sense of personal concern. A centralized platform or information hub containing all the critical information about covid19 response along with company policy and procedures needs to be shared with all the staff for disambiguation and positive assurance. 

Businesses need to work on making  realistic plans for bouncing back from challenges and staying resilient during crisis situations by leveraging on social capital. Upskilling the workplace and allocation of resources based on business requirements would help in reducing the overload at work resulting in effective utilization of resources. This Will also help in improving the work life balance of employees by allowing them more free time with their kith and kin resulting in better personal and mental well being. Rewarding the efforts of employees who demonstrate a positive attitude and willing to take the extra mile to support their colleagues will go a long way in building a healthy relationship at the workplace and creation of high performance teams. 

Despite remote working there is a need for employees to stay connected digitally without much supervision. Businesses need to foster a culture of trust and openness to achieve the desired results and business outcomes by empowering their workforce. Creation of focus groups conducting fun filled activities like online puzzles, quizzes, brainstorming and groupthink would result in enhancing the creativity and boosting the performance levels of employees. To break free from rigidity and bring an element of fun and heightened interaction, meetings can be made more interactive with specific agenda and sticking to committed timelines. Invoking participation from all the attendees will make them feel more socially connected helping them to vent their feelings without any inhibitions. Since the workforce is scattered across different locations in remote working, setting specific goals and metrics would be critical to track and measure the results. 

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo Corp have an engaged team capable of delivering sustainable business solutions to our customers through digital transformation and enablement. 

Get the latest News from Newlineinfo