Preparing for the New Normal

By The Center Team on July 28, 2021

News and insights to keep you up to date and on track: revisiting unfair purchasing policies, embracing a growth mindset, and automating procurement.

News and insights to keep you up to date and on track: revisiting unfair purchasing policies, embracing a growth mindset, and automating procurement.

Carrying Business Expenses on Personal Credit Cards: Pros and Cons

Karla L. Miller for The Washington Post | @washingtonpost

Employees are often asked to make large purchases on their personal credit cards for the convenience of the company, instead of using a company card. But is this practice fair?

“Even if it’s legal, having employees carry business expenses beyond their means promotes economic and employment inequality. Employees’ access to job opportunities and employer resources should not be limited by their personal cash flow or credit scores.”

More from Center on making the switch: Why It’s Time for a Corporate Card Program

Building on the Gains Made from Remote Work

Josh Levs for strategy+business | @stratandbiz

The pandemic forced many workplaces to shift to a remote-work model, and many employers saw employees maintain and even increase their productivity. As companies move toward welcoming people back to the office, employers should take care not to lose the positive aspects of remote work, and focus on building their culture among both in-person and remote workers.

“Only those businesses that create a shared experience for their entire workforce and build an inclusive culture can realize the benefits of our new ways of working.”

At Center, we believe that fiscal culture is company culture. What’s yours?

People with a ‘Growth Mindset’ Are Better at Problem-Solving — Here Are 4 Ways to Develop One, According to Experts

Akanksha Singh for Business Insider | @BusinessInsider

Having a growth mindset can help you improve your problem-solving skills, adaptability, and innovative thinking. Here are four tips for adopting and cultivating a growth mindset.

“Once we start to expand our focus outside of our silo of interests, we start to understand the value of other information. And we begin to see connections between what we know already from our own interests, and connecting it to new interests.”

More on empowering teams to grow and be more strategic: How Finance Teams Use Their Time

6 Pandemic Work Habits We Shouldn’t Lose in Our ‘New Normal’

Gwen Moran for Fast Company| @FastCompany

Workers adapted to a new work environment during the pandemic and developed new habits in the process. Companies will benefit from embracing these habits to encourage employee well-being and productivity.

“One trend is the merging of digital and virtual worlds. How do we make that virtual environment feel more like the physical environment, that as people we prefer to be in, to foster connection?”

More reflections on pandemic learnings: 5 Reasons Finance Teams Shouldn’t Return to Business as Usual

Procurement’s New Charter

Alex Yakubovich for Strategic Finance | @SFMagazineIMA

The disruptions to global supply chains during the pandemic demonstrated the need for  digitalization and automation in procurement. Procurement leaders who adopt these processes will be better prepared for future uncertainty.

“McKinsey & Co. estimates that more than 40% of sourcing and procurement tasks can be automated, freeing procurement leaders to make fast decisions, and the percentage of automatable tasks will continue to rise.”

More from Center on automation: 5 Ways Automation and AI Will Transform the Expense Process

Make Sure Your Company’s Reskilling Efforts Pay Off

Anand Chopra-McGowan for Harvard Business Review | @HarvardBiz

As companies move toward the automation of some processes, they are investing in reskilling employees for different roles. But how can they access the impacts of this effort? Here are four metrics for measuring the success of reskilling programs.

“In a global survey of learning and development (L&D) professionals, LinkedIn found that the majority of measures used to assess the impact of training programs are soft metrics, like completion rates, satisfaction scores, and employee feedback. Comparatively few respondents used harder metrics, such as increases in employee retention, productivity, or revenue.”

More on the importance of data: Expense Data Accuracy Matters

We’re here to help you optimize your spending so you can come out stronger. Stay up to date with the latest insights on business strategy, company culture, and finance.