(CLP) Programs

Appleton Greene corporate training programs are all process-driven. They are used as vehicles to implement tangible business processes within clients’ organizations, together with training, support and facilitation during the use of these processes. Corporate training programs are therefore implemented over a sustainable period of time, that is to say, between 1 year (incorporating 12 monthly workshops), and 4 years (incorporating 48 monthly workshops). Your program information guide will specify how long each program takes to complete. Each monthly workshop takes 6 hours to implement and can be undertaken either on the client’s premises, an Appleton Greene serviced office, or online via the internet. This enables clients to implement each part of their business process, before moving onto the next stage of the program and enables employees to plan their study time around their current work commitments. The result is far greater program benefit, over a more sustainable period of time and a significantly improved return on investment.

Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. All (CLP) programs are implemented over a sustainable period of time, usually between 1-4 years, incorporating 12-48 monthly workshops and professional support is consistently provided during this time by qualified learning providers and where appropriate, by Accredited Consultants.

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Executive summary

Business Transformation

Business Transformation is inevitable for businesses that want to thrive and stand the test of time. Companies today have to go through several disruptions and market turbulence quite frequently. In this fast-changing environment, sustainability can only be achieved by adapting and evolving with the consumer, market, and industry demands. This program aims to help companies, particularly from the Travel & Tourism, Hospitality, Retail, Manufacturing, and Consultancy industries, to understand what Business Transformation is and how it can be achieved through lean management and continuous improvement.

There are several factors that may drive a business towards change or transformation. The competition in the market is always changing and increasing. As consumers have more choices, their expectations tend to increase as well. They’re always looking for a product or service with a little more value than the others in the league. Technology is also a major driving factor. The legacies of many large, established organizations have been challenged by newer, technology-driven companies that understand the current technology landscape and make the best out of it. As technology advance, products and services change along with it. Customers demand the same services and personalized experiences that tech-led companies are providing.

Organizations that may have been established years ago with traditional processes and cultures that were once relevant but not any more often find it hard to cope with the changing demands. To remain in the competition, they must evolve with the changing landscape. That is where Business Transformation, or Business Process Transformation, comes in. Business Transformation involves setting new goals for the organization and changing the way the business functions, in order to achieve those goals. It requires identifying processes that are not 100 percent efficient and making radical changes to these processes that gradually transform the way the organization operates. This training program on Business Transformation will focus on some key areas to consider in a transformation plan, which includes:

• Building Leadership Teams
• Setting Key Goals
• Deciding Team KPIs
• Developing a new Business Model
• Planning for the transformation journey
• Lean Audit and Cause & Effect Analysis
• Identifying metrics for measuring the efficiency of processes
• Improving the processes
• Measuring results
• Other important areas of discussion include:
• Understanding the Company Workflow
• Building a Management Team
• Deciding Department KPIs
• Conducting a Throughput Analysis
• Building Project Teams and working on Team Development
• Studying the Departmental Workflow and Metrics
• Communicating Goals to all the people involved
• Process Mapping
• Problem Solving
• Impact Analysis

Overall, the program is aimed at helping organizations implement a process across all departments that will enable heads of departments or key employees to become more proactive in their approach to business transformation. It will help the participants get a clear idea about how they should plan, develop, implement, and manage strategy in relation to business transformation. The training program will help organizations achieve small, incremental changes in their internal processes with inputs from people across different departments and at all levels.

The program also aims to help participants develop a corporate knowledge bank that will be instrumental in facilitating business continuity, quick onboarding of new members and will provide historical records of changes or improvements to be used for business intelligence development.

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Business Strategies in the Past

Change is constant in the business environment. The way businesses operated a few decades ago is very different from what the industry and the market demand now. Over the years we have seen so many changes in communication, transport, and technology. These changes have altered the way businesses operate as well. In the past businesses were relatively less competitive, usually focused on a small group of consumers locally. There were fewer businesses to compete with and loyal customers would usually keep coming back for lack of better options.

Business strategies would only focus on keeping the existing clientele happy and depended on fewer channels like print media and TV commercials for publicity. Without the internet, consumer awareness was also limited and so customers would simply rely on their usual local supplier or service provider. That is why businesses did not have to worry about losing customers to competitors on the global platform. No major overhaul of business processes was necessary as long as they were delivering what they had been delivering in the past. What worked for the business once would keep working for it.

The Production Era

After the industrial revolution, agriculture and the earlier colonial business models gave way to the production era. Manufacturing business models began to grow and flourish in the late 19tyh century up to the 1930s. Businesses depended on heavy industrial machinery for production to achieve economies of scale and increase profits.

The Marketing Era

Gradually, industrial supply increased and the competition for manufacturing companies began to increase. This gave rise to the need for marketing to draw customers’ attention to the business and that is how the marketing era started in the 1950s. Businesses began to focus on market segmentation and branding. They needed to highlight their USPs to set them apart from the competition. Marketing campaigns rose to the same level of importance as manufacturing capacity and market research became a priority before starting product development.

The Relationship Era

When businesses became proficient at marketing and branding, capable of creating their unique brand images to draw customers in, they realized they needed something more to retain those customers. Entrepreneurs realized that long-lasting relationships with customers will help them survive the competition, in the long run, giving rise to the relationship era. Better services and better communication were at the heart of this revolution.

As communication technology improved, consumers began to be more informed. They got acquainted with more products and services from outside their local markets. Consumers began to understand what adds value and what good customer service is. The internet was a major game-changer in this regard.

The impact of the internet on businesses

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it was the internet that revolutionized the business world. The internet was born around the late 1960s and in the 1970s people got access to home computers. Gradually, during the 80s computers made their way into schools, businesses, and industries in the developed nations and by the late 1980s, many businesses became dependent on digital technology. A considerable percentage of households in countries like the U.S. also owned personal computers by this time.

It was in 1991 that the World Wide Web was made accessible to the public and that was the beginning of the age of the internet. The technology evolved over the years and in the 2000s it made its way into the developing countries as well. That is when globalization showed its true impact. People from one end of the world could learn about products and businesses on the other end.

By 2005, 1 billion people were on the internet. With the increasing popularity of social media and the introduction of smartphones a whole new movement began. Businesses could no longer just focus on local markets. They needed to change their processes and adopt new strategies to appeal to a global audience. They could have clients and buyers from across the world, as long as they were able to face the global competition. This made business transformation necessary. Companies now needed to take Information Technology in their stride. They needed to handle huge amounts of data and leverage that data to improve their sales or services.

These gradual developments in the business world are proof that market trends and consumer demands are ever changing. And businesses need to change accordingly as well. Every business, that hopes to have a long-standing legacy, has to undergo business transformation once in a while to accommodate the shifting trends and practices.

Increasing demands and competition for present-day businesses

Today, the market is more competitive than ever before. It has a part of the challenges faced by each previous era as well as its own new obstacles. The change is occurring at a much faster rate now. New technology is springing up every second day and many businesses are struggling to keep up with this rapidly changing environment. Businesses have always focused on improving productivity and efficiency by finding better, faster, or cheaper ways of operating. But that, although very effective, is no longer enough.

Businesses today are affected by several external factors. A business has to be able to hold its position steady despite the many fluctuations its experiences as part of the global market. Some of the important external factors that affect businesses include:

Economic factors

– Businesses are affected by inflation, recession, interest rates, employment rates, disposable income trends, and much more. The business strategy must take these fluctuations into account to ensure that it can sustain itself in the face of adversity.

Technological changes

– These factors generally influence how consumers research and purchase products or services, how customer experience can be improved, or how business processes can be made more efficient using technology as an aid. Businesses that are early adopters of the latest technology trends usually have a competitive advantage.

Social and cultural factors

– In a globally connected market, social and cultural forces can have a huge impact on businesses. How societies behave collectively or what a particular culture dictates can help businesses understand what consumers expect.

Political and legal factors

– Changes in laws and policies also have major impacts on businesses. Labor laws, tax regulations, and other policies affect business. So, it is essential to keep track of these factors and make business strategies flexible enough to accommodate any changes without disruption.

Environmental factors

– Businesses are required to reduce their carbon footprints, use eco-friendly processes, save energy and comply with so many standards. These or other factors related to the environment also affect how businesses function.
Businesses no longer aim for bigger profits or cheaper operations. They aim to improve their processes in order to outlast their competitors. It is more about endurance and sustainability than about quicker gains. The winners are those who can continue in the race long after the competitors have fallen. To attain this sustainability, a business process transformation from time to time is imperative as the various influencing factors