In business, as in life, change is inevitable. It is needed to support growth and to achieve strategic goals and with that in mind you would think we would be used to it and good at managing it, when in truth we often are not. Where most organisations fall down when it comes to change management is in the preparation, the communication, and the understanding ...

A career progression and mentorship programme shouldn't just be for large multinationals. You can identify talent and develop a strategic plan in any SME, David McCarthy shows us how. With all the talk of supply chain challenges, Covid driven staffing issues and an impending recession you could be forgiven for hitting the desperation button in your business. However, lessons can and should be learned from how ...

A Business Impact Assessment is a key tool in your operational crisis planning. This year, more than any before, you need to be ready for potential problems. All of Ireland has been watching the unfolding situation in Dublin Airport over the last few months with a feeling of shock. How do the people in control of huge organisations like that not plan for the future? ...

We know that Elon Musk’s attitude to flexible working is wrong. His belief that employees working from home are ‘pretending to work’ is out of step with current business thinking and out of date in general. But in our recent survey on LinkedIn, though the majority of respondents said that they fully trust their teams to be engaged and productive out of the traditional office ...

According to a leaked memo, Elon Musk has told Tesla workers to return to the office or leave the company. The billionaire suggests anyone opposed to the plan "should pretend to work somewhere else”. For a company so committed to innovation and world-changing technology it is somewhat shocking that Tesla’s approach to work is so far back in the dark ages. Far from being disruptors ...

How often do you check in with your team? We have spoken before about the difficulties facing organisations in terms of staff retention in 2022. Finding the right people is one thing, but keeping them and making sure they’re happy at work is another more important thing entirely. Pulse Check is a tool we use to assess the mood and sentiment of staff within an ...

We’re in a unique situation. We have both a war on talent, where hiring managers are offering increasing salaries and conceiving of more and more benefits to secure the right candidate, and the prospect of a looming recession. If you’re finding it hard to recruit talent or compete with the deep pockets of multinationals, we are suggesting that you just stop. It seems dramatic but ...

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on business owners and with the spectre of recession looming, many are now considering their futures. 3Sixty managing partner Brian Cremin, says the real work begins after you’ve made your decision. There is no doubt that Covid-19, and the challenges in dealing with it, have left an indelible impression on all of us. In truth we won’t fully realise ...

  Just as we recover from two years of operating in a pandemic, recession raises its head once again. Aidan Magner looks at what’s coming and how to future proof your business. A quick Google of recession 2022 will lead you to a results page full of articles and experts warning about a difficult second half of the year. All the indicators are pointing to ...

In an increasingly difficult recruitment and retention environment, how you position your business could make all the difference. The term ‘War on Talent’ was first coined by McKinsey & Co in the late 1990s. At that time competition for jobs was becoming more and more global, companies were dealing with an aging workforce and people were beginning to get more comfortable job hopping. Fast forward ...

One of our most successful, exciting, and profitable (for the client!) projects came from a client challenge. They were a large Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company who were looking to grow their business into new international markets. They had tried before, but in an ad-hoc way with no clear strategy, and little success. They wanted our help in coming up with a ‘product’ that they ...

David McCarthy Head of Business Transformation 1. Coffee or Tea? Coffee (and too much of it) 2. What is something that recently made you smile? My 12 year old came out of an activity one night recently and forgetting his pre teen angst gave me a hug and told me he loved me...Of course it didn't last too long. 3. What is the best advice ...

All companies want to grow, and most companies have a view on where they want to get to, but once the conversation moves from high-level concept to something resembling a plan of execution, we find that many struggle with the action needed. This can lead to sales activities being ad hoc, inconsistent, and lacking in focus and applies as much to a 25-person company as ...

Emily Blennerhassett outlines the six questions you need to ask for sales success. Achieving successful sales growth requires a multifaceted approach but with a clearly defined vision, implementation plan and sales and marketing strategy it is achievable. All too often we have seen a trend of businesses getting to a certain level before hitting a plateau where they struggle to achieve that next level growth ...

Let’s start with what supply chain is NOT. And this might surprise you. Supply chain is not purchasing, not demand planning, not supply planning, not logistics and not cost reductions. The simplest way to explain a supply chain is this: how stuff gets from there to here. Your business’s supply chain is like its circulatory system. Supply chain is the management of all facets of ...

When something is considered a ‘nice to have’ rather than an ‘essential to have’ part of business it often takes a backseat. This has certainly been true for formal Supplier Relationship Management processes. But in times of increased supply chain uncertainty, it’s something that should definitely be at the forefront of your mind. The three- and five-year plans of 2018 and 2019 may have included ...

Ireland is no longer in the running for the 2022 Six Nations Grand Slam but the story of how we became one of the best teams in the world is fascinating. Insight, professionalism, preparation and hard work have all combined to put us in the top 5 teams internationally. But would you have thought there were lessons we could learn from sport and apply to ...

For those of us that specialise in modelling supply chains the current climate is a complete unknown for us. For the last 70 years of industrialisation, we have lived in periods of asynchronous growth. When the American economy was booming, Europe was in contraction and when Europe was expanding, the USA may have been dormant and the same was replicated around the world.  In a ...

In the race to digitalisation things can fall by the wayside. We want the best tech and the best data analysis, but we often forget the most important thing: the plan. Before you spend, it’s crucial to take the time to put processes in place that will make the technology work best for you. This case study shows the importance of bringing the whole team ...

Let’s start with a warning. Don’t get too hot under the collar - I’m about to revisit a topic that prompted a lot of public anger at the time - Ireland’s e-voting machines! In 2002, the State purchased them at a cost of €51 million and they were used in only 3 constituencies in that year’s general election. 2 years later, a government appointed commission ...

I loved Alex Gibney’s 2005 documentary “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”. One of my favourite scenes involved an investment banker recounting a conference call where the company had spoken about their plans to get into trading internet bandwidth. This chap said he had no idea what they were talking about, but didn’t want to ask! Today, everybody is talking about (or crow-barring in ...

Like Willie Nelson sang “on the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again”. And doesn’t it feel like that - the wind in our hair, the ability to plan and not have to worry about restricting our movements? The vast majority of us are feeling just that, after two years of lockdown, restrictions, disconnections, illness, setbacks, change, loneliness, hardship and for ...

As part of our getting to know you series, we feature our newest team member Niall Frawley, welcome to 3SIXTY Niall. 1. Coffee or Tea? Coffee all the way but never refuse a cup of tea either if offered 2. What is something that recently made you smile? I brought my 2 sons to their first hurling game in Pairc Ui Chaoimh and we lasted ...

Change, Remote Working, the Return to the Office, the Great Resignation… do you find it’s becoming increasingly hard to keep up? When it comes to employees, company culture and gauging how your people are feeling, it can feel like the ground is constantly shifting. We’re all feeling challenged and maybe even slightly frustrated but above all we’re feeling uncertain. The world of work is almost ...

Show me the Money! We all know and remember that phrase! And for us, our ‘Show me the Money’ moments are our Case Studies. At 3SIXTY, we’re proud to be able to say we have a wealth of examples to demonstrate how much we’re helping a diverse range of companies every day. So if you want to find out how we achieved the equivalent of ...

Let’s start with the jargon and get it out of the way - workforce management, capacity planning, optimisation. I’m sure that immediately some of you are thinking - this has nothing to do with me! But if you run a business or a team - even a small one - these are areas which need to be looked at constantly. Because they can have significant ...

You’ve just got the call, yet another key member of staff has decided to leave. That’s the fifth in only two months and you haven’t even been able to replace them yet. Most people in this scenario reach for the phone to call the recruitment agency because the age-old solution has been “5 people have left the business. I need to find 5 more”. Or ...

It might seem like an odd or even counterintuitive question to ask; what is my Exit? But it is not. It is a question that any successful leader should always have the answer to. Now, let’s be honest, a leader that will ‘always’ have that answer will be as rare as the hen’s teeth. However, with proper planning and honest thought, leaders can ensure they ...

There are a number of big data gathering tools available to organisations and there is strength and merit behind almost all. When it comes to the human factor, it can be difficult to understand how big data metrics can help tell a story but the truth is it can – and very effectively. We are familiar with using metrics and data gathering tools in areas ...

Margaret Cotter Senior Operational Excellence Practitioner 1. Coffee or Tea? I am both a coffee and a tea drinker but little of each, I love a cappuccino first thing, but that is it for the day usually. 2. What is something that recently made you smile? My grandchildren make me smile all the time, I just adore them. I have four from 15 down to ...

We are all very familiar with the Health & Safety obligations that companies are required to manage. Some are mandatory requirements and others are best practices depending on the industry. Audits, drills, mandatory training, Health & Safety posters and agenda topics at meetings remind us of those obligations on a regular basis. From day one, new employees are made aware of their first aid representative, ...

If your answer is no, then you are not alone! Most CEOs and Business owners, when honestly answering this question, admit their business could be more efficient and more effective. They tell us the challenge for them is in getting the time and/or the expertise to do something about it. Covid-19 has brought huge uncertainty and anxiety to businesses resulting in many challenges and relatively ...

How many times do we hear or utter the words ‘Culture Fit’ when talking about a potential candidate, a new employee, the introduction of a new leader or a new merging company? The term ‘Culture Fit’ is used in many different situations. I recently overheard an individual refer to ‘Culture Fit’ when expressing an opinion on why another person shouldn’t be part of a ...

I come at this piece with an informed perspective. You see, I still play rugby at 43. I know, I just can’t let go! What this means for me is an intimate exposure to the so-called Gen Z. Each year as we tog out for the Munster Junior Cup, I relish telling the lads that I played my first cup match for Bohs in Limerick ...