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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) just placed a $50 billion bet on rural healthcare, but the odds are not in its favor. CMS, now led by Mehmet Oz, MD, created the Rural Health Transformation Program to help the 60 million Americans in rural areas have better access to care, modernize facilities and technologies, and support innovation that brings “high-quality, dependable care closer to home.” But CMS only gave states a few months to create and submit their transformation plans to secure a piece of the pie. Early rollouts are underway, and many states are in over their heads. There is a real danger that technologies are about to be deployed that ignore the stark realities of rural communities, and money will likely be wasted. Quick actions without a thorough understanding could put communities in unintended situations when funds run out. Will the urgency meant to accelerate transformation be its doom? The transformation fund was a late-stage deal in 2025’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” to blunt criticism over immense Medicaid cuts that are straining rural healthcare; yet the fund only amounts to 37% of an offset in those areas, making it one big beautiful stopgap. RURAL HEALTHCARE ALWAYS AT RISK A larger proportion of people in rural areas are on Medicaid, compared to urban areas. These cuts are costing rural healthcare communities hundreds of millions of dollars when they were already operating on a financial razor’s edge. At least 182 rural hospitals have closed or stopped providing in-patient care in the last 15 years. Currently, at least 417 rural hospitals are vulnerable and over 40% operate at a loss. Patients often exist in “care deserts,” and adequate resources like primary care, mental health, and specialists in obstetrics and oncology are scarce. There are also extensive gaps in high-speed broadband, which translates to limited access to telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and electronic health records (EHR). Paper-based health records are still common for many practitioners. WARP SPEED DECISIONS AND THE YEAR-SIX PROBLEM Policy, funding, and government expectations underwent a seismic shift across healthcare last year. Now all eyes are on how states deploy technologies and experiment with rural care delivery and financing reforms. Green flag investments include workforce recruitment and training, expanded public health and behavioral health services, and most critically, broadband expansion so telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and health information exchanges (HIEs) can actually function. But red flags are flying too. Some focus on data, interoperability, and IT modernization without the broadband or local expertise to support it. Others are chasing flashier solutions, like drone prescription deliveries or mobile telehealth units, tele-ICUs, and virtual nursing programs, that depend on reliable WiFi that barely exists in target communities. The fund’s timeline for states to design and submit comprehensive rural overhaul plans was months rather than years. Government employees raced to make consequential decisions outside their core expertise in record time. The infrastructure mismatch of urban versus rural compounds the issue, as much of health technology was designed in and for city environments. What looks transformative on paper could become turbulent in practice when weak infrastructure realities hit. States are planning to spend one-time dollars on technologies that will require ongoing funding past 2030. “What happens in year six?” should be the paramount question in every decision. If the financial margin isn’t there now (which it isn’t), it likely won’t materialize later to support expensive technologies. Interestingly, Wyoming is focusing on “forever” and targeting the money for a perpetuity fund. CMS has also made clear that future-year funding will depend on states’ performance against transformation goals, meaning these first bets on technology carry long-term financial consequences, with the math and operations still unwritten. Before we digitize or embed AI avatars as clinicians, rural America needs to stabilize, focus on the basics, and ensure it can pay the bills in year six. THE MOST CONNECTED RURAL-URBAN PATIENT CARE IS IN ALABAMA Uncoordinated care remains healthcare’s most significant driver of preventable costs and avoidable harm. Between antiquated fax and phone, structured and unstructured data from EHRs, HIEs, and paper-based sources—all stuck in complicated data silos—it’s hard to access actionable patient insights. Information spread makes care coordination nearly impossible. But one state with a large rural population is connecting care across a patient’s entire health journey. Since 2020, urban and rural communities in Alabama have been operating on Watershed Health, making it one of the few states where major insurance providers, hospital systems, post-acute providers, and community-based organizations coordinate patient care on a single platform. The network follows a patient from hospital discharge to recovery at home to community support and beyond. The network has contributed to a more than 25% reduction in Medicare 30-day hospital readmissions and shorter patient stays, while significantly reducing referral times. One provider system recorded $5 million in savings in its first year. Healthcare workers also benefit, spending less time chasing information by fax and phone and more time on patient care, a direct counter to rampant industry worker burnout. With a large share of avoidable adverse patient outcomes in the U.S. attributed to provider behavior, coordinating care across rural and urban health communities should be mandated to help avoid test duplication, medication errors, delayed or missed diagnoses, patient confusion, and poor outcomes. THE BASICS ARE THE TRANSFORMATION Cross-continuum care coordination is a critical priority that many are already doing. States should resist technology-first solutions that lack the infrastructure to support them or the community capacity to sustain them once the $50 billion runs dry. No one wants an already fragile rural healthcare system left holding a bag it could never carry in the first place. By focusing on the fundamentals that improve patient care rather than chasing high-risk technology bets, states could help rural healthcare find more independent footing by 2031. Effie Carlson is CEO of Watershed Health. View the full article

French President Emmanuel Macron lays out nuclear doctrine of ‘forward deterrence’View the full article

AI is now the first stop for many customer journeys, from brainstorms and searches, to recommendations and planning. Recent research from The Knot Worldwide found that 36% of couples are now actively using AI in their wedding planning—nearly doubling year-over-year—as couples turn to AI platforms for wedding inspiration, writing, and organization. A couple might use AI to start their wedding planning journey, but as they move closer to choosing a venue or vendor, they naturally look for signals that help them feel confident—authentic reviews, a consistent online presence, and expert content—so that they gain additional context and trust before taking their next step. Weddings in particular are high-stakes, high-emotion events. With the investment being made in such a significant life event, trust and connection with wedding professionals during the planning journey is key. As AI moves from idea generation into real-world planning and purchasing, expectations rise, but so do the opportunities for small business owners. Because AI accelerates early discovery, it creates that much more space for small businesses to stand out through clarity, responsiveness, and human connection. It also creates another avenue for attracting and retaining new customers. This trend led to our launch of The Knot within ChatGPT, an app allowing us to meet our customers where they are, while also creating new opportunities for small businesses on our platform to get discovered. Customers want to see that the businesses surfaced on AI platforms have a track record of delivering high-quality services and support. This behavior isn’t unique to weddings. Across industries, people are using AI to explore possibilities more quickly, but they still rely on human judgment and interaction when decisions carry real weight. Research confirms this isn’t anecdotal: A majority of Americans believe AI should play a role in analytical tasks and forecasting, but want more control when it’s involved in deeply personal decisions. 4 WAYS SMALL BUSINESSES CAN BUILD CONFIDENCE This is where the advantage shifts for small business owners. It’s not only about being discovered first, but about building confidence as choices start to take shape. Here are four ways to do that. 1. LEVERAGE AI TO CREATE SPACE FOR YOUR EXPERTISE AI-powered tools are no longer optional; they’re becoming essential to running a modern business. When used well, they can take real pressure off small business owners by handling the administrative burden—from inbox management to initial customer communications—faster and more efficiently. But the goal isn’t automation for its own sake; it’s about creating space for what truly matters to customers. We see this play out across our WeddingPro community, where AI-powered tools help vendors streamline leads and early communication—freeing them up to focus on their craft and the client experience that truly sets their business apart. 2. YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE SHAPES HOW AI DISCOVERS YOUR BUSINESS While a complete online storefront, clear website, and strong reviews have always been nice to have, in an AI-driven discovery landscape, they now play a much more decisive role. Generative tools will increasingly shape which businesses are surfaced and how. As such, a business’s digital presence is no longer just a brochure, but the information AI systems use to assess credibility. This means understanding how your online presence feeds these systems, and making sure you have up-to-date details, high-quality photos and videos, and a consistent look and feel across communication channels, alongside recent, authentic reviews. These actions serve as key trust signals, influencing whether a business is surfaced and whether a customer feels confident in engaging. 3. SPEED GETS YOU NOTICED, BUT PERSONALIZATION REMAINS KEY Speed matters, especially early on in the relationship-building process, but attention, tone, and personalization are what build and sustain a relationship with your customers. Within the wedding industry, our data has found that 68% of couples want guests to feel like they’ve never been to a wedding like theirs before, with 36% citing personalized details as what will most likely make a wedding memorable. When it comes to finding the right fit and hiring vendors, chemistry is key. Personality is a top deciding factor for guest-facing vendors like DJs and wedding planners, while clear communication and responsiveness are essential for building trust across all vendor relationships. While AI tools enable small business owners to make quick connections, the real win comes by using the time saved to engage in thoughtful follow-up communication and creating a truly memorable experience, especially when expectations are high. This approach will not only help small business owners close the deal, but allow them to differentiate themselves from the competition. 4. MAKE EVERY MOMENT MATTER In a landscape of endless options, small businesses that consistently demonstrate credibility, consistency, and a deep level of care will always stand out. That confidence is earned not through a single big interaction, but across a hundred small moments: how you answer a nervous question, how you handle a piece of feedback, and how you support your customer from start to finish. And many times, these moments show up across the discovery pipeline—from word-of-mouth recommendations to customer reviews to how you show up on AI platforms—long before a direct conversation begins. In a world of rapidly changing technology, small businesses can focus on what they already do best: showing up with clarity, credibility, and care when it matters most. This thoughtful approach is what converts a digital discovery into real-world, successful partnerships. AI may open the door, but craft, confidence, and care are what will carry people forward. Raina Moskowitz is CEO of The Knot Worldwide. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The refurbished HP EliteBook 840 G7, originally released in 2020, is on sale for $244.99 on StackSocial right now. And while it's not brand new, it’s far from outdated. With a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, it still holds up well for everyday tasks like web browsing, document editing, streaming, and Zoom calls. It runs Windows 11 Pro smoothly, which isn’t a given for older machines. And the 14-inch Full HD display delivers clear, bright visuals without looking washed out, making it suitable for both work and casual use. Physically, the EliteBook is built to travel. It has a sturdy aluminum chassis that feels solid, but it's still slim and light enough to slip into a backpack without much thought. Battery life clocks in at up to 15 hours, which makes it a practical option for students or anyone who works on the go. The port selection is generous too—two USB-A ports, two USB-C, and HDMI—which is a refreshing change from today’s dongle-heavy ultrabooks. The keyboard is comfortable for long typing sessions, and there’s even a fingerprint reader for faster logins. You also get a 1MP webcam and built-in mic, which are perfectly serviceable for meetings, even if they won’t blow you away. That said, there are a few caveats. This is a refurbished unit, so there’s no manufacturer's warranty, but it's listed as Grade A refurbished model, meaning that it should arrive in near mint condition. You won’t be doing video editing or gaming on this thing, and the webcam could use an upgrade, but for basic productivity, it’s more than capable. If you need a secondary machine, a solid workhorse for travel, or a budget-friendly laptop for a student, this is a smart, low-risk option. It may be a 2020 model, but with specs like these and an OS that’s still fully supported, it earns its place in 2026. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $119.00 (List Price $179.00) Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 6.9" 512GB Privacy Display Smartphone + $200 Gift Card — $1,299.99 (List Price $1,699.99) Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 AI Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds + $20 Amazon Gift Card — $179.99 (List Price $199.99) Google Pixel 10a 128GB 6.3" Unlocked Smartphone + $100 Gift Card — $499.00 (List Price $599.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $329.99 (List Price $349.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $99.99 (List Price $119.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

If you tried to access Claude for any of your AI needs Monday morning, you might have failed—or, rather, the chatbot may have failed to load. It's not you, your internet, or your device: Claude is down. Anthropic confirmed the outage on Monday, citing "elevated errors on Claude.ai, console, and claude code." As of this article, the company has posted four updates to Claude's status page: The first, at 11:49 UTC (6:49 a.m. ET), was simply to acknowledge an investigation into the issues; the next, at 12:06 UTC, was an update to confirm continued investigations, before sharing that Claude API was working as intended at 12:21 UTC. At that time, the company had identified the issues were related to Claude.ai and with login and logout paths. Finally, at 13:22 UTC, the company confirmed it had identified the cause of the issue, and a fix is "being implemented," though there's no timeline for how long that might take to roll out to users. Like most outages, I expect Anthropic to get Claude up and running soon. It might be back before most of America signs on for work. Still, the outage comes at a tumultuous time for the company. Anthropic made headlines last week when President The President ordered all federal agencies to stop using its AI services, after Anthropic and the Department of Defense could not come to an agreement on how the U.S. military could use Claude in its endeavors. The Defense Department wanted unrestricted access to the AI, while Anthropic wanted safeguards in place. The two could not reconcile, but not only did the Defense Department drop Anthropic, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the company a “supply-chain risk to national security.” As such, no company that works with the U.S. military can also work with Anthropic. To be clear, none of that is likely related to this outage. But Anthropic likely has more users than ever experiencing this downtime, as the drama skyrocketed Claude to the top of Apple's App Store. View the full article

If you’re looking to save money on everyday expenses, exploring promo coupons can be highly beneficial. From budget SUV rentals to exclusive discounts on meal services like Blue Apron, there are numerous options available. Tech enthusiasts can find deals on the latest iPhone, as travel lovers can benefit from significant discounts on experiences. With a variety of categories to contemplate, you might be wondering which promo coupons are truly worth your time. Key Takeaways Budget SUV Rentals: Use promo codes for discounts, with rates starting at $49 per day and savings on last-minute bookings. Viator Experiences: Access up to 50% off on tours and attractions, with automatic promo code applications via browser extensions. Blue Apron Offers: New customers can enjoy $30 off their first two meal orders using a special promo code during checkout. Weight Watchers Discounts: Obtain up to 60% off membership plans that include tailored meal planning and community support. Amazon Coupons: Check Amazon’s coupon page for daily deals and exclusive discounts, helping you save up to $200 on select products. Budget SUV Rental Discounts When you’re planning a trip, finding an affordable vehicle option can greatly impact your budget, and Budget SUV rentals provide just that with rates starting at only $49 per day. This competitive pricing allows you to enjoy the comfort and space of an SUV without overspending. To maximize your savings even further, consider looking for budget SUV rental discounts. Budget frequently updates its deals, so you can often find great offers and promotional rates. Furthermore, booking in advance is wise, as last-minute rentals tend to be pricier. Don’t forget to check for coupon codes Black Friday offers, which can provide significant savings on your rental. By staying informed about available discounts and promotions, you can enjoy the benefits of a spacious vehicle during your travel while keeping your costs manageable. Make certain to explore all available options before finalizing your reservation to guarantee the best deal possible. Exclusive Blue Apron Offers When you explore exclusive Blue Apron offers, you can reveal significant savings, such as $30 off on your first two orders with a special promo code. These limited-time discounts make meal planning not just affordable but convenient, as you receive fresh, pre-portioned ingredients right at your doorstep. With a range of meal plans to suit various dietary preferences, these offers cater to both new and returning customers, enhancing your cooking experience as you save money. Limited-Time Discounts Available Exclusive Blue Apron offers currently feature a limited-time discount that can save you $30 across two orders with a special promo code. This limited-time discount is a fantastic opportunity for new customers to explore Blue Apron’s meal delivery service during benefiting from significant savings. You’ll find it easy to apply the promo code during checkout, ensuring a seamless experience when redeeming your discount. Significantly, this offer isn’t just for newcomers; existing customers can likewise take advantage of these savings, promoting loyalty. By utilizing this exclusive promo, you can enjoy a variety of Blue Apron’s diverse menu options at a reduced price, making meal planning simpler and more affordable. Don’t miss out on these valuable promo codes for free stuff! Exclusive Code Benefits Utilizing Blue Apron’s exclusive promo codes can greatly improve your meal planning experience, as they offer substantial savings on your first orders. By applying these codes, you can enjoy $30 off across two orders, making high-quality meal kits more affordable. These exclusive codes are easily accessible during the checkout process on the Blue Apron website, ensuring a smooth transaction. Signing up not just reveals these discounts but additionally introduces you to fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes that elevate your culinary skills. You can maximize your savings further by pairing these promo codes with other promotions available on the platform. So, as you’re at it, don’t forget to explore clothing promo codes and discount code extensions for additional savings on other purchases. Iphone 17 Promotions When you’re considering the iPhone 17, you’ll want to look into the current promotions available. Many retailers and carriers are offering exclusive discounts, so it’s wise to check for any promotional codes or bundled deals that could help you save. Furthermore, since there’s no trade-in required, upgrading to the latest model has never been easier or more affordable. Current Promotions Overview As you explore the current promotions for the iPhone 17, you’ll find that it’s available without the need for a trade-in, which simplifies the upgrade process for many customers. Retailers are offering exclusive discounts and bundles that improve the overall value of your purchase. Furthermore, you can take advantage of special financing options, making payments manageable over time. Look for various incentives like gift cards or accessories included with your iPhone 17 purchase, providing further savings opportunities. To maximize your savings, be sure to check for promotional codes or offers from participating retailers. Using a coupon code extension or a shop discount code can greatly reduce your overall cost, making this upgrade even more appealing. Trade-In Options Available One of the standout features of the iPhone 17 promotions is the trade-in option, which allows you to considerably reduce the cost of your new device. You can trade in your old phone without needing to make a trade-in for significant savings. Eligible devices can earn you hundreds of dollars off, depending on their model and condition. In order to find out how much your current phone is worth, simply use Apple‘s online trade-in estimator tool. The process is convenient, as you can complete it either online or in-store. It’s wise to compare promotions from different Chrome retailers to maximize your savings. Don’t forget to check for clothing coupons or use a coupon code extension Chrome for additional discounts on accessories. Exclusive Discount Codes Exclusive discount codes for the iPhone 17 can provide significant savings, making it easier for you to upgrade to the latest model. These exclusive offers allow you to enjoy substantial discounts without needing a trade-in, which is a great advantage. To maximize your savings, it’s crucial to know how to find promo codes. Checking multiple retailers can lead you to the best available offers, especially during fall sales events when additional promotions may be combined. Signing up for newsletters from various retailers guarantees you receive timely notifications about upcoming iPhone 17 promotions and exclusive discount codes directly to your inbox. Little Spoon First Order Savings If you’re looking for budget-friendly options for your child’s meals, Little Spoon offers enticing first order savings that make trying their service even more appealing. You can enjoy a $10 discount on your first three orders, which can help ease the financial burden of providing healthy meals for your little ones. With a focus on fresh, organic ingredients, Little Spoon guarantees your child receives quality nutrition without the hassle of meal prep. Furthermore, you can reveal even more savings with exclusive promo codes. Here’s a quick overview of the savings you can enjoy: Discount Type Amount Availability First Order Discount $10 off First three orders Sign Up Discount Varies Ongoing promotions Apparel Coupons Varies Seasonal offers With home delivery and these savings, Little Spoon is a smart choice for busy parents. Viator Experience Discounts When planning your next adventure, Viator offers significant discounts that can improve your travel experience without breaking the bank. With discounts of up to 50% off on select experiences, you can explore new destinations affordably. To maximize your savings, consider these options: Browse a variety of tours and attractions to match your interests. Use a coupon chrome extension to automatically apply promo codes for added discounts. Subscribe to the Viator newsletter for exclusive offers and updates on limited-time promotions. Regularly check the website to secure the best deals on your desired activities. Viator’s user-friendly interface allows you to easily compare and book experiences as you take advantage of these savings. Expedia Travel Deals How can you make the most of your travel budget? Using Expedia travel deals is a smart choice. You can save up to 50% on select experiences through Viator, which adds great value to your itinerary. When booking hotels, don’t forget to use promo coupons; you can snag an extra 25% off your stay. For those last-minute trips, Expedia.com offers hotel deals with discounts reaching up to 60%, perfect for spontaneous getaways. If you’re looking for more savings, explore exclusive deals on Temu, where specific promo codes can give you $20 off, and these can be combined with your Expedia bookings. For extensive travel needs, Expedia provides budget-friendly options on airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, and cruises. To improve your savings further, consider using a coupon code plugin for Chrome, which can streamline your search for available discounts and make the process easier. Weight Watchers Membership Discounts Weight Watchers offers significant membership discounts that can help you kickstart your weight loss adventure. Currently, you can enjoy discounts up to 60% off membership plans, making it easier to join. This offer is applicable to both digital and in-person meetings, so you can choose what suits you best. Here’s what you’ll access with your membership: Comprehensive meal plans customized to various dietary needs Tracking tools to monitor your progress effectively Community support, connecting you with others on similar paths Seasonal promotions that can lead to even more savings If you’re wondering how to get a promotional code, regularly check their website for seasonal offers and introductory deals for new members. These discounts improve your weight loss experience as you make it more affordable. Amazon Coupon Savings Looking for ways to save on your next Amazon purchase? Amazon coupon savings are an excellent option. You can find exclusive coupons directly on product pages, allowing you to apply discounts instantly at checkout. By utilizing various Amazon coupons, you could save up to $200 on select products across different categories. Don’t forget to check Amazon’s dedicated coupon page, which showcases a diverse range of offers, including daily deals and seasonal discounts. If you’re a Prime member, you’ll often enjoy additional coupon savings customized to improve your shopping experience. To redeem these discounts, simply click on the coupon button on the product page before adding items to your cart. For even more savings, consider using a discount code finder chrome extension, which can help you discover additional coupons and deals as you shop. Take advantage of these opportunities to maximize your savings on Amazon. Halloween Store Promotions As Halloween approaches, you’ll find some enticing store promotions to save big on your festive needs. With a 50% discount on all products at the Halloween Store and a candy sale at CVS offering buy one, get one for just $1, it’s a great time to stock up. Plus, various coupon codes are available, helping you maximize your savings during shopping for costumes, decorations, and treats. Current Halloween Discounts With Halloween just around the corner, shoppers can take advantage of significant discounts at various retailers. The Halloween Store is offering a staggering 50% off a wide range of Halloween-themed products for a limited time. CVS features a Buy One, Get One for $1 promotion on Halloween candy, making it a great time to stock up. Don’t miss out on special deals enhancing your savings opportunities, including: Discounts on costumes Reduced prices on decorations Accessories at participating stores Popular coupon codes to maximize savings Using a coupon extension can help you find even more savings. Be sure to check for additional promo codes to guarantee you get the best deals this Halloween season. Happy shopping! Seasonal Promotions Overview Seasonal promotions at the Halloween Store provide an excellent opportunity for shoppers to save considerably on festive items this year. You can find a fantastic 50% discount on all products, making it easier to stock up on decorations and costumes. Furthermore, CVS is running a Halloween Candy Sale where you can buy one item and get another for just $1, further enhancing your savings. Many retailers are participating in these promotions, offering exclusive deals that cater to your Halloween necessities. To maximize your savings, consider using the best coupon extension available; chrome extension promo codes can help you uncover even more discounts. Take advantage of these limited-time offers during your preparations for the holiday. Best Halloween Deals Looking for the best Halloween deals this season? You’re in luck! Many stores are rolling out fantastic promotions to help you save big. The Halloween Store is offering a whopping 50% discount on all products for a limited time. Furthermore, CVS has an enticing Buy One, Get One for $1 deal on Halloween candy. Check out these deals: 50% off all Halloween Store items Buy One, Get One for $1 on candy at CVS Exclusive promo codes available Seasonal discounts at participating retailers To maximize your savings, consider using a coupon finder extension to uncover popular discount codes across various stores. With these deals, Halloween shopping becomes more affordable and enjoyable, ensuring you get the best for less. Walmart Winter Home Goods Deals Walmart offers a range of winter home goods that cater to various needs, all at discounted prices. You can find markdowns on crucial items like blankets, heaters, and decorative accessories, which help create a cozy atmosphere. During the Walmart Deals Event, special promotions on winter home goods maximize your savings. To take full advantage of these deals, consider using a coupon browser extension. This handy tool makes it easy to find discount codes, ensuring you never miss a great offer. Seasonal discounts on winter items are frequently updated, giving you access to the latest deals throughout the colder months. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the GIMME10 Code? The GIMME10 code is a promotional discount that gives you 10% off select products during online shopping. To use it, you simply enter the code at checkout, which instantly applies the discount to your total. Keep in mind there might be specific exclusions or minimum purchase requirements. It’s essential to check the expiration date of the code to guarantee it’s still valid, allowing you to maximize your savings effectively. What Is the TRIPLE10 Promo Code? The TRIPLE10 promo code provides a 10% discount on eligible purchases from select retailers when you apply it at checkout. You can often combine this code with ongoing sales, maximizing your savings. It’s valid for both new and existing customers, so everyone can benefit. Be sure to check the terms and conditions, as some exclusions may apply. For successful redemption, enter the code accurately during your online checkout process. How to Save Big With Coupons? To save big with coupons, start by signing up for digital coupon accounts, like P&G brandSAVER. Use apps such as Coupon24 to browse and select offers, allowing for easy QR code scanning at checkout. Combine coupons with retailer sales for maximum savings, and keep an eye out for new releases and seasonal promotions. Regularly check for updates to guarantee you’re taking full advantage of available discounts and maximizing your grocery budget. What Is the TRIPLE20 Promo Code? The TRIPLE20 promo code offers a 20% discount on eligible purchases at participating retailers. To use it, you’ll need to enter the code at checkout to apply the discount to your total. This code typically applies to a wide range of products, but it’s crucial to check for any specific terms or conditions, such as expiration dates or restrictions on certain items, to guarantee you can use it effectively. Conclusion To sum up, utilizing these ten must-have promo coupons can lead to substantial savings across various categories. From budget-friendly SUV rentals to exclusive tech deals and food discounts, there’s something for everyone. By taking advantage of offers from Blue Apron, Viator, and major retailers like Amazon, you can stretch your travel and grocery budgets further. Remember to stay updated on seasonal promotions to maximize your savings. Smart shopping today can result in significant benefits tomorrow. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Must-Have Promo Coupons for Big Savings" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you’re looking to save money on everyday expenses, exploring promo coupons can be highly beneficial. From budget SUV rentals to exclusive discounts on meal services like Blue Apron, there are numerous options available. Tech enthusiasts can find deals on the latest iPhone, as travel lovers can benefit from significant discounts on experiences. With a variety of categories to contemplate, you might be wondering which promo coupons are truly worth your time. Key Takeaways Budget SUV Rentals: Use promo codes for discounts, with rates starting at $49 per day and savings on last-minute bookings. Viator Experiences: Access up to 50% off on tours and attractions, with automatic promo code applications via browser extensions. Blue Apron Offers: New customers can enjoy $30 off their first two meal orders using a special promo code during checkout. Weight Watchers Discounts: Obtain up to 60% off membership plans that include tailored meal planning and community support. Amazon Coupons: Check Amazon’s coupon page for daily deals and exclusive discounts, helping you save up to $200 on select products. Budget SUV Rental Discounts When you’re planning a trip, finding an affordable vehicle option can greatly impact your budget, and Budget SUV rentals provide just that with rates starting at only $49 per day. This competitive pricing allows you to enjoy the comfort and space of an SUV without overspending. To maximize your savings even further, consider looking for budget SUV rental discounts. Budget frequently updates its deals, so you can often find great offers and promotional rates. Furthermore, booking in advance is wise, as last-minute rentals tend to be pricier. Don’t forget to check for coupon codes Black Friday offers, which can provide significant savings on your rental. By staying informed about available discounts and promotions, you can enjoy the benefits of a spacious vehicle during your travel while keeping your costs manageable. Make certain to explore all available options before finalizing your reservation to guarantee the best deal possible. Exclusive Blue Apron Offers When you explore exclusive Blue Apron offers, you can reveal significant savings, such as $30 off on your first two orders with a special promo code. These limited-time discounts make meal planning not just affordable but convenient, as you receive fresh, pre-portioned ingredients right at your doorstep. With a range of meal plans to suit various dietary preferences, these offers cater to both new and returning customers, enhancing your cooking experience as you save money. Limited-Time Discounts Available Exclusive Blue Apron offers currently feature a limited-time discount that can save you $30 across two orders with a special promo code. This limited-time discount is a fantastic opportunity for new customers to explore Blue Apron’s meal delivery service during benefiting from significant savings. You’ll find it easy to apply the promo code during checkout, ensuring a seamless experience when redeeming your discount. Significantly, this offer isn’t just for newcomers; existing customers can likewise take advantage of these savings, promoting loyalty. By utilizing this exclusive promo, you can enjoy a variety of Blue Apron’s diverse menu options at a reduced price, making meal planning simpler and more affordable. Don’t miss out on these valuable promo codes for free stuff! Exclusive Code Benefits Utilizing Blue Apron’s exclusive promo codes can greatly improve your meal planning experience, as they offer substantial savings on your first orders. By applying these codes, you can enjoy $30 off across two orders, making high-quality meal kits more affordable. These exclusive codes are easily accessible during the checkout process on the Blue Apron website, ensuring a smooth transaction. Signing up not just reveals these discounts but additionally introduces you to fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes that elevate your culinary skills. You can maximize your savings further by pairing these promo codes with other promotions available on the platform. So, as you’re at it, don’t forget to explore clothing promo codes and discount code extensions for additional savings on other purchases. Iphone 17 Promotions When you’re considering the iPhone 17, you’ll want to look into the current promotions available. Many retailers and carriers are offering exclusive discounts, so it’s wise to check for any promotional codes or bundled deals that could help you save. Furthermore, since there’s no trade-in required, upgrading to the latest model has never been easier or more affordable. Current Promotions Overview As you explore the current promotions for the iPhone 17, you’ll find that it’s available without the need for a trade-in, which simplifies the upgrade process for many customers. Retailers are offering exclusive discounts and bundles that improve the overall value of your purchase. Furthermore, you can take advantage of special financing options, making payments manageable over time. Look for various incentives like gift cards or accessories included with your iPhone 17 purchase, providing further savings opportunities. To maximize your savings, be sure to check for promotional codes or offers from participating retailers. Using a coupon code extension or a shop discount code can greatly reduce your overall cost, making this upgrade even more appealing. Trade-In Options Available One of the standout features of the iPhone 17 promotions is the trade-in option, which allows you to considerably reduce the cost of your new device. You can trade in your old phone without needing to make a trade-in for significant savings. Eligible devices can earn you hundreds of dollars off, depending on their model and condition. In order to find out how much your current phone is worth, simply use Apple‘s online trade-in estimator tool. The process is convenient, as you can complete it either online or in-store. It’s wise to compare promotions from different Chrome retailers to maximize your savings. Don’t forget to check for clothing coupons or use a coupon code extension Chrome for additional discounts on accessories. Exclusive Discount Codes Exclusive discount codes for the iPhone 17 can provide significant savings, making it easier for you to upgrade to the latest model. These exclusive offers allow you to enjoy substantial discounts without needing a trade-in, which is a great advantage. To maximize your savings, it’s crucial to know how to find promo codes. Checking multiple retailers can lead you to the best available offers, especially during fall sales events when additional promotions may be combined. Signing up for newsletters from various retailers guarantees you receive timely notifications about upcoming iPhone 17 promotions and exclusive discount codes directly to your inbox. Little Spoon First Order Savings If you’re looking for budget-friendly options for your child’s meals, Little Spoon offers enticing first order savings that make trying their service even more appealing. You can enjoy a $10 discount on your first three orders, which can help ease the financial burden of providing healthy meals for your little ones. With a focus on fresh, organic ingredients, Little Spoon guarantees your child receives quality nutrition without the hassle of meal prep. Furthermore, you can reveal even more savings with exclusive promo codes. Here’s a quick overview of the savings you can enjoy: Discount Type Amount Availability First Order Discount $10 off First three orders Sign Up Discount Varies Ongoing promotions Apparel Coupons Varies Seasonal offers With home delivery and these savings, Little Spoon is a smart choice for busy parents. Viator Experience Discounts When planning your next adventure, Viator offers significant discounts that can improve your travel experience without breaking the bank. With discounts of up to 50% off on select experiences, you can explore new destinations affordably. To maximize your savings, consider these options: Browse a variety of tours and attractions to match your interests. Use a coupon chrome extension to automatically apply promo codes for added discounts. Subscribe to the Viator newsletter for exclusive offers and updates on limited-time promotions. Regularly check the website to secure the best deals on your desired activities. Viator’s user-friendly interface allows you to easily compare and book experiences as you take advantage of these savings. Expedia Travel Deals How can you make the most of your travel budget? Using Expedia travel deals is a smart choice. You can save up to 50% on select experiences through Viator, which adds great value to your itinerary. When booking hotels, don’t forget to use promo coupons; you can snag an extra 25% off your stay. For those last-minute trips, Expedia.com offers hotel deals with discounts reaching up to 60%, perfect for spontaneous getaways. If you’re looking for more savings, explore exclusive deals on Temu, where specific promo codes can give you $20 off, and these can be combined with your Expedia bookings. For extensive travel needs, Expedia provides budget-friendly options on airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, and cruises. To improve your savings further, consider using a coupon code plugin for Chrome, which can streamline your search for available discounts and make the process easier. Weight Watchers Membership Discounts Weight Watchers offers significant membership discounts that can help you kickstart your weight loss adventure. Currently, you can enjoy discounts up to 60% off membership plans, making it easier to join. This offer is applicable to both digital and in-person meetings, so you can choose what suits you best. Here’s what you’ll access with your membership: Comprehensive meal plans customized to various dietary needs Tracking tools to monitor your progress effectively Community support, connecting you with others on similar paths Seasonal promotions that can lead to even more savings If you’re wondering how to get a promotional code, regularly check their website for seasonal offers and introductory deals for new members. These discounts improve your weight loss experience as you make it more affordable. Amazon Coupon Savings Looking for ways to save on your next Amazon purchase? Amazon coupon savings are an excellent option. You can find exclusive coupons directly on product pages, allowing you to apply discounts instantly at checkout. By utilizing various Amazon coupons, you could save up to $200 on select products across different categories. Don’t forget to check Amazon’s dedicated coupon page, which showcases a diverse range of offers, including daily deals and seasonal discounts. If you’re a Prime member, you’ll often enjoy additional coupon savings customized to improve your shopping experience. To redeem these discounts, simply click on the coupon button on the product page before adding items to your cart. For even more savings, consider using a discount code finder chrome extension, which can help you discover additional coupons and deals as you shop. Take advantage of these opportunities to maximize your savings on Amazon. Halloween Store Promotions As Halloween approaches, you’ll find some enticing store promotions to save big on your festive needs. With a 50% discount on all products at the Halloween Store and a candy sale at CVS offering buy one, get one for just $1, it’s a great time to stock up. Plus, various coupon codes are available, helping you maximize your savings during shopping for costumes, decorations, and treats. Current Halloween Discounts With Halloween just around the corner, shoppers can take advantage of significant discounts at various retailers. The Halloween Store is offering a staggering 50% off a wide range of Halloween-themed products for a limited time. CVS features a Buy One, Get One for $1 promotion on Halloween candy, making it a great time to stock up. Don’t miss out on special deals enhancing your savings opportunities, including: Discounts on costumes Reduced prices on decorations Accessories at participating stores Popular coupon codes to maximize savings Using a coupon extension can help you find even more savings. Be sure to check for additional promo codes to guarantee you get the best deals this Halloween season. Happy shopping! Seasonal Promotions Overview Seasonal promotions at the Halloween Store provide an excellent opportunity for shoppers to save considerably on festive items this year. You can find a fantastic 50% discount on all products, making it easier to stock up on decorations and costumes. Furthermore, CVS is running a Halloween Candy Sale where you can buy one item and get another for just $1, further enhancing your savings. Many retailers are participating in these promotions, offering exclusive deals that cater to your Halloween necessities. To maximize your savings, consider using the best coupon extension available; chrome extension promo codes can help you uncover even more discounts. Take advantage of these limited-time offers during your preparations for the holiday. Best Halloween Deals Looking for the best Halloween deals this season? You’re in luck! Many stores are rolling out fantastic promotions to help you save big. The Halloween Store is offering a whopping 50% discount on all products for a limited time. Furthermore, CVS has an enticing Buy One, Get One for $1 deal on Halloween candy. Check out these deals: 50% off all Halloween Store items Buy One, Get One for $1 on candy at CVS Exclusive promo codes available Seasonal discounts at participating retailers To maximize your savings, consider using a coupon finder extension to uncover popular discount codes across various stores. With these deals, Halloween shopping becomes more affordable and enjoyable, ensuring you get the best for less. Walmart Winter Home Goods Deals Walmart offers a range of winter home goods that cater to various needs, all at discounted prices. You can find markdowns on crucial items like blankets, heaters, and decorative accessories, which help create a cozy atmosphere. During the Walmart Deals Event, special promotions on winter home goods maximize your savings. To take full advantage of these deals, consider using a coupon browser extension. This handy tool makes it easy to find discount codes, ensuring you never miss a great offer. Seasonal discounts on winter items are frequently updated, giving you access to the latest deals throughout the colder months. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the GIMME10 Code? The GIMME10 code is a promotional discount that gives you 10% off select products during online shopping. To use it, you simply enter the code at checkout, which instantly applies the discount to your total. Keep in mind there might be specific exclusions or minimum purchase requirements. It’s essential to check the expiration date of the code to guarantee it’s still valid, allowing you to maximize your savings effectively. What Is the TRIPLE10 Promo Code? The TRIPLE10 promo code provides a 10% discount on eligible purchases from select retailers when you apply it at checkout. You can often combine this code with ongoing sales, maximizing your savings. It’s valid for both new and existing customers, so everyone can benefit. Be sure to check the terms and conditions, as some exclusions may apply. For successful redemption, enter the code accurately during your online checkout process. How to Save Big With Coupons? To save big with coupons, start by signing up for digital coupon accounts, like P&G brandSAVER. Use apps such as Coupon24 to browse and select offers, allowing for easy QR code scanning at checkout. Combine coupons with retailer sales for maximum savings, and keep an eye out for new releases and seasonal promotions. Regularly check for updates to guarantee you’re taking full advantage of available discounts and maximizing your grocery budget. What Is the TRIPLE20 Promo Code? The TRIPLE20 promo code offers a 20% discount on eligible purchases at participating retailers. To use it, you’ll need to enter the code at checkout to apply the discount to your total. This code typically applies to a wide range of products, but it’s crucial to check for any specific terms or conditions, such as expiration dates or restrictions on certain items, to guarantee you can use it effectively. Conclusion To sum up, utilizing these ten must-have promo coupons can lead to substantial savings across various categories. From budget-friendly SUV rentals to exclusive tech deals and food discounts, there’s something for everyone. By taking advantage of offers from Blue Apron, Viator, and major retailers like Amazon, you can stretch your travel and grocery budgets further. Remember to stay updated on seasonal promotions to maximize your savings. Smart shopping today can result in significant benefits tomorrow. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Must-Have Promo Coupons for Big Savings" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In this week's Out-of-Touch guide, we're talking about Alpine divorce, diagnosing exactly how messed up the younger generations are through their viral videos, and looking at some dumb food trends popular among young people. What is an “Alpine Divorce”?If you've been seeing the phrase "Alpine Divorce" showing up in your feeds lately, here's the 411 (as they used to say): An Alpine Divorce is when a man takes his wife on a hike, usually in the mountains, and then just leaves her there to fend for herself. The phrase dates back to a short story written in 1893 by Robert Barr called "An Alpine Divorce," but the renewed interest in the subject stems partly from the case of a Austrian mountain climber who was recently found guilty of gross negligent manslaughter after leaving his girlfriend behind on the hike, but mostly from a video posted by tiktoker @everafteriya, which purports to document a mild case of Alpine Divorce. Her man didn't leave her to die, but @everafteriya's sad tale was has been played over 19 million times and has over 18,000 comments. It spread from TikTok to X to Threads and everywhere else, and women all over are sharing their own stories of being left behind on hikes and climbs. Viral video of the week: Act on DemandYounger generations fear more than just being left behind, as you can see in this week's viral videos. On the surface, the footage posted by Pennsylvania improv troupe Act on Demand seems boring, but if you know what you're looking at, it's like a portal into the damaged collective soul of Generations Z and A. Check this out: and this: For older people, it's hard to understand why these videos have millions of views—they look like footage of any beginner-level improv class to me; neither particularly good nor particularly bad—but young people are seeing something different. Here are some of the top comments on the videos above: is this a humiliation ritual Some of these are so egregiously bad that I have to know what went on in their mind prior World’s worst improv class Do they pay for this or is this a support group? It goes on like that. Tens of thousands of commenters dragging strangers who have the temerity to be learning to do something. And there's another level of commentary, too. A semi-ironic fandom is developing, with people posting compilation videos and edits of Act on Demand: Videos of people caught doing embarrassing things have always been popular, but the members of Act on Demand aren't doing anything more embarrassing than publicly being beginners at Improv. Younger people don't go to parties anymore. The don't socialize. They don't have friends, have sex, or get drunk. They don't take risks. They don't live their lives. All these things involve being in new situations where you might not be in control, where you're vulnerable, an vulnerability means you might be "cringe." The fear of being cringe overrides all other concerns, even the need to socialize. At the same time, younger people so crave social interaction that they'll settle for a simulation of it. They'll watch a beginner improv class to obsess over the inner lives and relationships of totally average strangers in Pennsylvania, they'll enter into parasocial relationships with people they'll never meet, and they'll turn to machines to be their friends. Four dumb food trends among young peopleBut enough about our dystopian future; here's a palette cleanser (pun intended) of four dumb food trends popular among young people. Sour plates: TikTok user Haskell has kicked off a trend for "sour plates," that is, preparing traditional food with ingredients from sour candies to create sour meals. It's as gross as it sounds. While some people are trying them, it's more of a joke than a widespread trend. Loaded water: Loaded water is water enhanced with something: a flavor boost, fruit juice, electrolytes, carbonation, and even vitamins or prebiotics. The idea is to increase hydration by making water more palatable, but the problem is, when you add fruit juice to water, you're not drinking water; you're drinking juice. Water is defined by the absence of other ingredients, so "loaded water" can't even exist. Boy kibble: Boy kibble is like girl dinner, but so much worse. There are variations, but boy kibble usually consists of rice and ground beef, often served without spices or vegetables. Eating like a lurking alligator: OK, I actually approve of this one. A new trend on TikTok sees young men eating like lurking alligators in their bathtubs. Check it out: View the full article

When selecting human resources software, it’s essential to evaluate must-have features that improve efficiency and employee satisfaction. Key functionalities include an employee self-service portal, automated onboarding processes, and advanced time and attendance management. Furthermore, robust performance management systems and extensive payroll processing play significant roles in a streamlined HR experience. As you explore these features, you’ll discover how they contribute to a more productive workplace environment and support strategic decision-making. But what else should you prioritize? Key Takeaways Employee Self-Service Portal enables easy access to personal information, attendance, and payslips, enhancing user experience and reducing HR workload. Automated Onboarding Processes streamline administrative tasks with digital forms, real-time tracking, and integration with HR functions for efficient new hire management. Advanced Time and Attendance Management ensures accurate tracking with biometric authentication and real-time alerts for overtime, improving payroll accuracy. Robust Performance Management Systems facilitate continuous feedback and goal tracking, aligning individual and organizational objectives for enhanced employee development. Customized Reporting and Data Visualization provide real-time insights and trend analysis, empowering data-driven decision-making and strategic HR improvements. Employee Self-Service Portal When you consider the modern workplace, an Employee Self-Service Portal stands out as a crucial tool for both employees and HR professionals. This feature, prevalent in the best HR management systems, provides a customizable dashboard where you can easily access personal information, attendance records, payslips, and company news. The widget-based architecture allows you to personalize what you see, making it simpler to manage time-off requests and check schedules directly from the dashboard. By empowering you to handle your own profile and requests, the portal greatly reduces the administrative burden on HR professionals, streamlining vital processes. Increased transparency is another key benefit, as you stay informed about your employment status and benefits. Furthermore, mobile accessibility guarantees you can use the self-service portal on-the-go, enhancing your flexibility in managing HR-related tasks through effective human resources software. Automated Onboarding Processes Automated onboarding processes play a pivotal role in modern HR practices, as they greatly streamline administrative tasks by replacing cumbersome paperwork with digital forms and e-signature capabilities. These systems allow you to schedule orientation sessions and training programs efficiently, ensuring new hires get crucial information and resources without delay. With real-time progress tracking, you can monitor the completion of necessary tasks, facilitating a smooth integration of new employees into your organization. Automation greatly reduces the time-to-productivity for new hires by granting immediate access to tools, accounts, and information about company policies and culture. By integrating with other HR functions, these automated onboarding systems create a seamless data flow between HR, IT, and payroll, minimizing errors and enhancing the overall employee experience. This streamlined approach not only improves efficiency but also contributes to a more positive onboarding experience, setting the stage for long-term employee success. Advanced Time and Attendance Management Effective time and attendance management is crucial for maintaining productivity and ensuring accurate payroll processing in today’s diverse work environments. Advanced systems offer features that cater to the modern workforce and help you streamline operations effectively. Biometric authentication eliminates buddy punching, ensuring accurate hour tracking. Mobile check-ins accommodate remote work, making it easy for employees to log hours from anywhere. Real-time alerts notify managers when overtime limits are approached, applying pay rules automatically. These features not only improve compliance but also reduce labor costs. Furthermore, real-time monitoring of attendance patterns lets you identify staffing gaps, optimizing workforce planning. With thorough reporting tools, you gain insights into attendance trends, empowering your HR department to make informed decisions about scheduling and resource allocation. Embracing advanced time and attendance management is critical for adapting to today’s evolving work environment. Intelligent Recruitment Modules Intelligent recruitment modules are vital tools that streamline your hiring process through features like Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). With these systems, you can easily manage candidate data and integrate job postings with social media platforms, boosting your reach. Applicant Tracking System A well-designed Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can transform your recruitment process by centralizing candidate data and streamlining application management. With intelligent recruitment modules, you can improve your hiring efficiency by utilizing features such as: Resume screening tools that identify candidates with the right skills and experience, minimizing manual review time. Automation features for interview scheduling and candidate communication, ensuring timely follow-ups and improving the candidate experience. Analytics and insights that track interactions and feedback, helping you refine future recruitment strategies. Social Media Integration Social media integration in recruitment software offers a strong way to improve your candidate sourcing efforts. Intelligent recruitment modules automatically post job openings on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, considerably broadening your reach. By utilizing data analytics, these modules assess candidate engagement, providing insights that help optimize future recruitment strategies. Integrating social media profiles streamlines the application process, allowing candidates to apply using their existing credentials, which reduces barriers to entry. Moreover, you can monitor candidates’ online presence and interactions, giving you a fuller picture beyond traditional resumes. Using social media for recruitment can likewise decrease hiring time by facilitating real-time communication, enhancing the overall candidate experience with immediate feedback and updates. Robust Performance Management Systems Effective performance management systems are essential tools for modern organizations aiming to improve employee development and align individual contributions with overarching business objectives. These systems facilitate ongoing evaluations, replacing traditional annual reviews with continuous feedback that encourages real-time communication. Key features include: 360-Degree Feedback: Employees receive insights from peers, managers, and subordinates, promoting thorough performance assessments. Goal Setting and Tracking: Align individual objectives with organizational goals, ensuring employees understand their role in the company’s success. Training Integration: Identify skill gaps and provide customized learning paths to improve engagement and growth. Additionally, robust performance management systems offer reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing organizations to track performance metrics, identify development trends, and make data-driven decisions for succession planning and talent management. Comprehensive Payroll Processing In relation to managing employee compensation, thorough payroll processing is indispensable for any organization. It automates salary calculations for various compensation plans, ensuring accurate payments for hourly, salaried, and part-time employees. This system furthermore simplifies tax filing for federal and state forms, greatly reducing the manual workload during ensuring compliance with tax regulations. Compliance Management Tools Compliance management tools play a crucial role in modern HR software, helping organizations navigate the intricacies of labor laws and regulations. These tools automate tracking and reporting, considerably reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties. They offer timely alerts for upcoming regulatory changes and maintain thorough audit trails for every change and approval. Key features you should look for include: Automated alerts for document expiry, such as work permits and training certifications. Integration with other HR systems, providing a holistic view of compliance oversight. Streamlined policy management, which helps monitor changes in legislation. Analytics and Reporting Capabilities In terms of HR software, analytics and reporting capabilities are crucial for tracking key performance indicators, or KPIs, like employee turnover rates and engagement levels. These features help you make data-driven decisions that improve HR efficiency and strategic planning. With the ability to generate customized reports and visualize real-time data, you can quickly identify trends and areas for improvement within your workforce. Key Performance Indicators Tracking Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in HR software is vital for organizations aiming to improve their workforce management. By effectively measuring key metrics, you can gain insights that drive strategic decisions. Here are some fundamental aspects of KPI tracking: Measure critical metrics like employee turnover rates and time to hire. Utilize advanced analytics for customized reports that highlight trends over time. Leverage real-time data visualization tools, such as dashboards and graphs. With automated reporting features, you’ll save time on data compilation, allowing you to focus on analysis and strategy. Moreover, tracking KPIs against industry benchmarks helps assess your performance compared to competitors, ultimately guiding improvements in HR management practices. Data-Driven Decision Making Effective data-driven decision-making in HR software hinges on robust analytics and reporting capabilities that empower organizations to utilize critical insights. Extensive reporting tools track key performance indicators (KPIs) like employee retention and turnover, enabling you to identify trends and make informed choices. Advanced analytics allow for custom reports that reveal insights into payroll metrics, workforce demographics, and training effectiveness, enhancing your overall management strategy. Predictive analytics uses historical data to forecast future workforce needs, helping you proactively address hiring demands and skill gaps. Additionally, compliance tracking reports guarantee adherence to labor laws, reducing penalties. Visual data representation tools simplify the interpretation of results, helping you communicate insights effectively to stakeholders for improved organizational alignment. Employee Engagement Features Employee engagement features in HR software play an essential role in nurturing a positive workplace environment, as they provide fundamental tools for measuring and improving employee satisfaction. These features help you understand your team’s needs and cultivate a culture of collaboration. Key components include: Surveys and Feedback Mechanisms: Regularly gauge employee satisfaction and insights on workplace culture. Recognition Programs: Facilitate peer-to-peer rewards that boost morale and improve retention rates. Communication Channels: Promote open dialogue between employees and management, nurturing trust and transparency. Furthermore, swift pulse surveys allow for timely feedback collection, enabling you to address concerns without delay. Analytics tools as well track engagement metrics, helping you identify trends and areas for improvement. By utilizing these features, you can make data-driven decisions that elevate overall employee satisfaction and productivity, ensuring a more engaged workforce. Frequently Asked Questions What Features Should an HR System Have? An effective HR system should have several key features. First, automated payroll processing guarantees accurate salary calculations and compliance with tax regulations. Next, an integrated applicant tracking system (ATS) streamlines recruitment by managing resumes and scheduling interviews. Furthermore, time and attendance tracking helps you monitor employee hours and leave requests. Performance management tools facilitate continuous feedback and goal tracking, whereas compliance management functions keep you updated on labor laws to reduce non-compliance risks. What Are the 5 C’s of HR? The 5 C’s of HR are crucial for effective management: Competence refers to hiring skilled individuals whose abilities match job needs. Commitment emphasizes nurturing employee loyalty and engagement, leading to higher productivity. Communication stresses the importance of open dialogue between staff and management, which aids collaboration. Culture encapsulates the shared values within an organization, impacting satisfaction. Finally, Capability highlights the continuous development of skills to keep pace with changing business demands. What Are the Key Features of an HRMS? An HRMS offers several key features that improve your organization’s efficiency. Automated onboarding simplifies new hire integration, helping employees reach productivity quicker. Advanced analytics provide insights into workforce trends and performance, supporting data-driven decisions. An employee self-service portal allows staff to manage personal information and submit leave requests, reducing HR’s administrative burden. Furthermore, compliance management features guarantee your organization adheres to labor laws, minimizing risks associated with non-compliance. What Are the 7 C’s of Human Resource Management? The 7 C’s of Human Resource Management are crucial for effective HR practices. They include Competence, ensuring employees have the required skills; Communication, which promotes clear feedback channels; Cooperation, encouraging teamwork; Commitment, enhancing employee dedication to goals; and Consistency, ensuring uniform application of policies. Furthermore, you should consider Compliance, which adheres to laws and regulations, and Culture, which shapes the organizational environment. Together, these elements create a productive workplace. Conclusion To conclude, implementing human resources software with crucial features can greatly improve your HR processes and support overall organizational efficiency. By incorporating an employee self-service portal, automated onboarding, and advanced time management tools, you can streamline operations. Furthermore, robust performance management systems, thorough payroll processing, and analytics capabilities provide valuable insights for informed decision-making. Prioritizing employee engagement through recognition programs and effective communication channels cultivates a positive workplace culture, in the end benefiting both employees and the organization. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Must-Have Features in Human Resources Software" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When selecting human resources software, it’s essential to evaluate must-have features that improve efficiency and employee satisfaction. Key functionalities include an employee self-service portal, automated onboarding processes, and advanced time and attendance management. Furthermore, robust performance management systems and extensive payroll processing play significant roles in a streamlined HR experience. As you explore these features, you’ll discover how they contribute to a more productive workplace environment and support strategic decision-making. But what else should you prioritize? Key Takeaways Employee Self-Service Portal enables easy access to personal information, attendance, and payslips, enhancing user experience and reducing HR workload. Automated Onboarding Processes streamline administrative tasks with digital forms, real-time tracking, and integration with HR functions for efficient new hire management. Advanced Time and Attendance Management ensures accurate tracking with biometric authentication and real-time alerts for overtime, improving payroll accuracy. Robust Performance Management Systems facilitate continuous feedback and goal tracking, aligning individual and organizational objectives for enhanced employee development. Customized Reporting and Data Visualization provide real-time insights and trend analysis, empowering data-driven decision-making and strategic HR improvements. Employee Self-Service Portal When you consider the modern workplace, an Employee Self-Service Portal stands out as a crucial tool for both employees and HR professionals. This feature, prevalent in the best HR management systems, provides a customizable dashboard where you can easily access personal information, attendance records, payslips, and company news. The widget-based architecture allows you to personalize what you see, making it simpler to manage time-off requests and check schedules directly from the dashboard. By empowering you to handle your own profile and requests, the portal greatly reduces the administrative burden on HR professionals, streamlining vital processes. Increased transparency is another key benefit, as you stay informed about your employment status and benefits. Furthermore, mobile accessibility guarantees you can use the self-service portal on-the-go, enhancing your flexibility in managing HR-related tasks through effective human resources software. Automated Onboarding Processes Automated onboarding processes play a pivotal role in modern HR practices, as they greatly streamline administrative tasks by replacing cumbersome paperwork with digital forms and e-signature capabilities. These systems allow you to schedule orientation sessions and training programs efficiently, ensuring new hires get crucial information and resources without delay. With real-time progress tracking, you can monitor the completion of necessary tasks, facilitating a smooth integration of new employees into your organization. Automation greatly reduces the time-to-productivity for new hires by granting immediate access to tools, accounts, and information about company policies and culture. By integrating with other HR functions, these automated onboarding systems create a seamless data flow between HR, IT, and payroll, minimizing errors and enhancing the overall employee experience. This streamlined approach not only improves efficiency but also contributes to a more positive onboarding experience, setting the stage for long-term employee success. Advanced Time and Attendance Management Effective time and attendance management is crucial for maintaining productivity and ensuring accurate payroll processing in today’s diverse work environments. Advanced systems offer features that cater to the modern workforce and help you streamline operations effectively. Biometric authentication eliminates buddy punching, ensuring accurate hour tracking. Mobile check-ins accommodate remote work, making it easy for employees to log hours from anywhere. Real-time alerts notify managers when overtime limits are approached, applying pay rules automatically. These features not only improve compliance but also reduce labor costs. Furthermore, real-time monitoring of attendance patterns lets you identify staffing gaps, optimizing workforce planning. With thorough reporting tools, you gain insights into attendance trends, empowering your HR department to make informed decisions about scheduling and resource allocation. Embracing advanced time and attendance management is critical for adapting to today’s evolving work environment. Intelligent Recruitment Modules Intelligent recruitment modules are vital tools that streamline your hiring process through features like Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). With these systems, you can easily manage candidate data and integrate job postings with social media platforms, boosting your reach. Applicant Tracking System A well-designed Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can transform your recruitment process by centralizing candidate data and streamlining application management. With intelligent recruitment modules, you can improve your hiring efficiency by utilizing features such as: Resume screening tools that identify candidates with the right skills and experience, minimizing manual review time. Automation features for interview scheduling and candidate communication, ensuring timely follow-ups and improving the candidate experience. Analytics and insights that track interactions and feedback, helping you refine future recruitment strategies. Social Media Integration Social media integration in recruitment software offers a strong way to improve your candidate sourcing efforts. Intelligent recruitment modules automatically post job openings on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, considerably broadening your reach. By utilizing data analytics, these modules assess candidate engagement, providing insights that help optimize future recruitment strategies. Integrating social media profiles streamlines the application process, allowing candidates to apply using their existing credentials, which reduces barriers to entry. Moreover, you can monitor candidates’ online presence and interactions, giving you a fuller picture beyond traditional resumes. Using social media for recruitment can likewise decrease hiring time by facilitating real-time communication, enhancing the overall candidate experience with immediate feedback and updates. Robust Performance Management Systems Effective performance management systems are essential tools for modern organizations aiming to improve employee development and align individual contributions with overarching business objectives. These systems facilitate ongoing evaluations, replacing traditional annual reviews with continuous feedback that encourages real-time communication. Key features include: 360-Degree Feedback: Employees receive insights from peers, managers, and subordinates, promoting thorough performance assessments. Goal Setting and Tracking: Align individual objectives with organizational goals, ensuring employees understand their role in the company’s success. Training Integration: Identify skill gaps and provide customized learning paths to improve engagement and growth. Additionally, robust performance management systems offer reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing organizations to track performance metrics, identify development trends, and make data-driven decisions for succession planning and talent management. Comprehensive Payroll Processing In relation to managing employee compensation, thorough payroll processing is indispensable for any organization. It automates salary calculations for various compensation plans, ensuring accurate payments for hourly, salaried, and part-time employees. This system furthermore simplifies tax filing for federal and state forms, greatly reducing the manual workload during ensuring compliance with tax regulations. Compliance Management Tools Compliance management tools play a crucial role in modern HR software, helping organizations navigate the intricacies of labor laws and regulations. These tools automate tracking and reporting, considerably reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties. They offer timely alerts for upcoming regulatory changes and maintain thorough audit trails for every change and approval. Key features you should look for include: Automated alerts for document expiry, such as work permits and training certifications. Integration with other HR systems, providing a holistic view of compliance oversight. Streamlined policy management, which helps monitor changes in legislation. Analytics and Reporting Capabilities In terms of HR software, analytics and reporting capabilities are crucial for tracking key performance indicators, or KPIs, like employee turnover rates and engagement levels. These features help you make data-driven decisions that improve HR efficiency and strategic planning. With the ability to generate customized reports and visualize real-time data, you can quickly identify trends and areas for improvement within your workforce. Key Performance Indicators Tracking Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in HR software is vital for organizations aiming to improve their workforce management. By effectively measuring key metrics, you can gain insights that drive strategic decisions. Here are some fundamental aspects of KPI tracking: Measure critical metrics like employee turnover rates and time to hire. Utilize advanced analytics for customized reports that highlight trends over time. Leverage real-time data visualization tools, such as dashboards and graphs. With automated reporting features, you’ll save time on data compilation, allowing you to focus on analysis and strategy. Moreover, tracking KPIs against industry benchmarks helps assess your performance compared to competitors, ultimately guiding improvements in HR management practices. Data-Driven Decision Making Effective data-driven decision-making in HR software hinges on robust analytics and reporting capabilities that empower organizations to utilize critical insights. Extensive reporting tools track key performance indicators (KPIs) like employee retention and turnover, enabling you to identify trends and make informed choices. Advanced analytics allow for custom reports that reveal insights into payroll metrics, workforce demographics, and training effectiveness, enhancing your overall management strategy. Predictive analytics uses historical data to forecast future workforce needs, helping you proactively address hiring demands and skill gaps. Additionally, compliance tracking reports guarantee adherence to labor laws, reducing penalties. Visual data representation tools simplify the interpretation of results, helping you communicate insights effectively to stakeholders for improved organizational alignment. Employee Engagement Features Employee engagement features in HR software play an essential role in nurturing a positive workplace environment, as they provide fundamental tools for measuring and improving employee satisfaction. These features help you understand your team’s needs and cultivate a culture of collaboration. Key components include: Surveys and Feedback Mechanisms: Regularly gauge employee satisfaction and insights on workplace culture. Recognition Programs: Facilitate peer-to-peer rewards that boost morale and improve retention rates. Communication Channels: Promote open dialogue between employees and management, nurturing trust and transparency. Furthermore, swift pulse surveys allow for timely feedback collection, enabling you to address concerns without delay. Analytics tools as well track engagement metrics, helping you identify trends and areas for improvement. By utilizing these features, you can make data-driven decisions that elevate overall employee satisfaction and productivity, ensuring a more engaged workforce. Frequently Asked Questions What Features Should an HR System Have? An effective HR system should have several key features. First, automated payroll processing guarantees accurate salary calculations and compliance with tax regulations. Next, an integrated applicant tracking system (ATS) streamlines recruitment by managing resumes and scheduling interviews. Furthermore, time and attendance tracking helps you monitor employee hours and leave requests. Performance management tools facilitate continuous feedback and goal tracking, whereas compliance management functions keep you updated on labor laws to reduce non-compliance risks. What Are the 5 C’s of HR? The 5 C’s of HR are crucial for effective management: Competence refers to hiring skilled individuals whose abilities match job needs. Commitment emphasizes nurturing employee loyalty and engagement, leading to higher productivity. Communication stresses the importance of open dialogue between staff and management, which aids collaboration. Culture encapsulates the shared values within an organization, impacting satisfaction. Finally, Capability highlights the continuous development of skills to keep pace with changing business demands. What Are the Key Features of an HRMS? An HRMS offers several key features that improve your organization’s efficiency. Automated onboarding simplifies new hire integration, helping employees reach productivity quicker. Advanced analytics provide insights into workforce trends and performance, supporting data-driven decisions. An employee self-service portal allows staff to manage personal information and submit leave requests, reducing HR’s administrative burden. Furthermore, compliance management features guarantee your organization adheres to labor laws, minimizing risks associated with non-compliance. What Are the 7 C’s of Human Resource Management? The 7 C’s of Human Resource Management are crucial for effective HR practices. They include Competence, ensuring employees have the required skills; Communication, which promotes clear feedback channels; Cooperation, encouraging teamwork; Commitment, enhancing employee dedication to goals; and Consistency, ensuring uniform application of policies. Furthermore, you should consider Compliance, which adheres to laws and regulations, and Culture, which shapes the organizational environment. Together, these elements create a productive workplace. Conclusion To conclude, implementing human resources software with crucial features can greatly improve your HR processes and support overall organizational efficiency. By incorporating an employee self-service portal, automated onboarding, and advanced time management tools, you can streamline operations. Furthermore, robust performance management systems, thorough payroll processing, and analytics capabilities provide valuable insights for informed decision-making. Prioritizing employee engagement through recognition programs and effective communication channels cultivates a positive workplace culture, in the end benefiting both employees and the organization. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Must-Have Features in Human Resources Software" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Octopuses are brilliant, emotional, and mysterious. Can they ever be farmed humanely? And if they can, should they be? Fast Company contributor Clint Rainey is the first journalist in the world to be let inside a cutting-edge effort to build the first commercial octopus farm. View the full article

It’s 4:59 PM on a Friday. You’re the Head of Design at a mid-sized biotech firm—mid-sprint, mid-thought—building out a set of specialized design roles that will define how your team delivers value for the next three years. Then the email arrives. Your recruiting partners have sent a pre-written job description, authored by a product manager, with a mandate to use it as-is. The title: UX/UI Designer. You pause. Not because the gesture wasn’t well-intentioned—it was. But because you recognize exactly what this moment represents: a quiet, recurring erosion of role clarity that has followed the design profession for over a decade. One ambiguous title, multiplied across hundreds of organizations, compounding into an industry-wide identity crisis. This is not a hypothetical. It plays out every day across Fortune 500 boardrooms, startup hiring pipelines, and enterprise product teams—and it is costing design leaders something far more consequential than a job title. It is costing them authority, influence, and organizational credibility. I’ve watched this scenario unfold for more than two decades as I’ve built and scaled design practices within Fortune 50 organizations across continents and industries—from financial services institutions and global pharmaceutical companies to consumer technology platforms. In 2026, I can say with utmost conviction that the language we use to define our roles has never mattered more than it does right now. In an era where AI is fundamentally reshaping what designers do—where design is being asked to operate at the intersection of strategy, systems, and human behavior—ambiguous titles are not a minor administrative inconvenience. They are a structural liability. The Problem With ‘UX/UI’: It Says Everything and Nothing For decades, the design profession has leaned on catch-all titles—UX/UI Designer, Digital Designer, Experience Designer—so broadly interpreted they have become functionally meaningless. Consider what the research reveals. In a study by UX Collective involving 83 self-identified “UX/UI Designers,” respondents reported wildly divergent competencies. Some led research programs. Others had never conducted a single user interview. Some shaped product strategy. Others built wireframes and stopped there. One title. Countless definitions. Minimal consistency. Zero accountability. This is both a talent problem as it is a language problem—and it has significant consequences. The McKinsey Design Index, which tracked 300 publicly listed companies across five years and collected more than 2 million data points, found that more than half of the organizations studied lacked any objective method for assessing or setting targets around their design team’s output. Ambiguous titles are not merely a symptom of that dysfunction—they are one of its root causes. You cannot measure what you cannot name. The consequences cascade predictably. Designers with senior strategic expertise compete for attention—and compensation—against junior practitioners wearing the same professional badge. Hiring managers post vague roles and receive broad, largely unqualified candidate pools. Compensation benchmarking becomes indefensible when the same title spans a $45,000 salary range within a single organization. And perhaps most critically: when everyone owns “UX/UI,” no one owns the outcome. A Necessary Distinction: Design Is Not UX Before we can fix titles, we must be precise about terms—and here I will be direct. Design is the disciplined, intentional act of solving problems, by which the human is centered at the heart of the process. Hence the term “Human Centered Design.” It encompasses research, prototyping, testing, systems architecture, interaction patterns, orchestration, transformation, accessibility, and organizational models. So much is this the case that a designer may never touch a screen. User Experience is not a job function. It is an outcome—”experience” is defined as the emotional reaction to a moment in time that comes at the intersection of our memories of the past and our expectations of the future. In other words, it’s how we feel. It is shaped by the three lenses of the human emotional system, those being Reflective, Visceral, and Behavioral. You cannot design an experience any more than you can design trust. You can shape the conditions that may influence and shape it. But you cannot design it. A distinction that matters enormously. When we combine these terms into a single title, we imply that one person owns both the strategic architecture and the pixel-level execution—the research and the component library, the emotional journey and the interaction pattern. In a small team, that may occasionally be true. In a mature practice, it obscures accountability and undersells the depth of the discipline. The most respected design organizations in the world have already moved on. Google titles roles by specialty and outcome: Product Designer, Design Strategist, Interaction Designer, Design Systems Engineer. Apple structures design as a rigorous functional discipline tied directly to engineering and business outcomes. Amazon’s leadership model demands single-threaded ownership—one accountable leader per initiative—which requires titles that reflect genuine scope. None of these organizations use “UX/UI Designer” as a standard or standalone title. In mature design cultures, the term has become a signal of organizational immaturity rather than creative capability. What This Costs You Professionally If you are a designer carrying an ambiguous title, your professional brand is absorbing a quiet tax every day. Recruiters reading your profile cannot distinguish your strategic depth from your junior peers. Executives sponsoring design budgets cannot justify elevating a function they cannot clearly define. Compensation committees cannot benchmark a role they cannot compare. And you—no matter how talented, how experienced, how capable—are asking the market to read between the lines of a title that was never designed to carry that weight. After more than 20 years leading design and digital transformations across banking and finance, healthcare, biomedical, and life sciences organizations, I have sat in enough executive reviews to know: the moment you need to explain what your title means, you have already lost ground. Authority is communicated before the conversation begins. The AI inflection point makes this more urgent, not less. As artificial intelligence absorbs routine execution tasks, the highest-value design contribution will increasingly be strategic—critical and creative thinking, organizational design, cross-functional orchestration, human-centered judgment at scale. How to Fix It: Title Yourself With Intention The good news is that this is correctable—and the correction begins with a single, deliberate question: Does my title reflect the actual value I deliver? If you spend the majority of your time conducting research, synthesizing behavioral insights, and informing product strategy, UX Researcher or UX Strategist is far more accurate—and more compelling—than UX/UI Designer. If you architect interaction systems and design component libraries at scale, Design Systems Lead communicates scope and specialization that a hiring manager can act on immediately. If you shape end-to-end product experiences across a platform, Product Designer is clean, credible, and increasingly understood at the executive level. The same precision applies to how you describe your work in conversations, on LinkedIn, and in every hiring context. Replace “I’m a UX/UI Designer” with language that communicates impact: “I design digital health platforms for clinical teams. I lead research, define interaction architecture, and partner with engineering to ship experiences that reduce cognitive load at the point of care.” That framing builds credibility because it is specific, relatable, and outcome-oriented. For design leaders overseeing hiring: resist the temptation to default to familiar umbrella terms when building role taxonomies. Define the business problem the role solves, the outcomes it owns, and the scope it operates within—then title it accordingly. Cite the McKinsey Design Index when making the case internally. Frame the conversation around measurement, accountability, and business performance. That is language C-suite stakeholders are equipped to act on. A note for recruiters and hiring managers: The specific mechanics of writing design job descriptions—how to define specialization, structure seniority levels, and benchmark compensation accurately—are covered in a companion resource to this article. The principles, however, begin here: define the role before you name it, and name it with precision. The Closing Argument Design is not a single skill. It is a discipline with specializations, levels of mastery, and strategic outcomes that, when properly organized and clearly positioned, can drive significant, measurable business performance. The titles we use are not administrative artifacts. They are declarations—to the market, to our organizations, to the next generation of practitioners entering this profession—about what design is, what it is worth, and what it is capable of becoming. An ambiguous title is not a neutral choice. It is a missed opportunity to shape how your organization understands, invests, and trusts the organic practice of design. The standard we hold for our titles reflects the standard we hold for our craft. Use both with conviction and intention. View the full article

In the wake of the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran and the broader conflict that is now escalating across the Middle East region, oil and gas prices are skyrocketing on Monday along with precious metals like gold and silver. Here’s an update on how markets are reacting to the conflict: Oil and gas prices are up Crude oil futures are up more than 7% over the last 24 hours as military operations threaten supply and spark fears of a drawn-out conflict that could disrupt the global economy. The price is up 25% year to date. Gold and silver are also up Precious metals such as gold and silver are also on the rise as investors once again turn to safe-haven assets in the wake of geopolitical uncertainty. Gold hit a record high of $5,434.10 per ounce on Monday. As of this writing, it was up 4% over the last five days and a staggering 86% over the last 12 months. Silver, which had fallen from record highs it had seen earlier this year, is now up more than 8% over the last five days. Crypto is tumbling Cryptocurrencies have been volatile this year after falling significantly from their high point in October 2025. The war in Iran appears to signal more bad news for crypto investors as major tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETC), and XRP, are all down since the conflict began. As Fast Company reported last week, investors are more likely to dump speculative assets in the face of geopolitical uncertainty. Since President Donald The President had been threatening military force in Iran for several days in the lead-up to Saturday’s attack, crypto traders had already been bracing for it. Energy and defense stocks are up With U.S. stock markets set to open for the first time since the Iran conflict began, oil and defense stocks have been rising in premarket trading. Shares in Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) were up almost 5% in premarket trading on Monday as of this writing. Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) saw its stock rise by 4.33%. Both companies were already up by double digits this year. Defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE: LMT) is also seeing a stock bump, with shares up almost 5% in premarket trading, and RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX) is up by a similar amount. Stock futures are broadly down The rest of the stock market might not fare so well when the opening bell rings. Nasdaq futures, Dow Jones futures, and S&P 500 futures are down around 1 to 1.5% as of this writing. As the conflict is impacting major airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and elsewhere, airline stocks are being hit particularly hard on Monday. Shares in Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) are down 5.65% in premarket trading as of early Monday. United Airlines Holdings (Nasdaq: UAL) has tumbled 6.59% while American Airlines is down 6.27%. This story is developing… View the full article

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. Fourteen years ago, Graham Dugoni decided to start a movement to address what he viewed as the deleterious effects of rampant smartphone usage. “What I saw was kind of impending nihilism, the sense that everyone is going to be inundated with media, and it’s going to hollow out the meaning in your life,” he recalls. An Analog Solution His response was not a manifesto or a march. It was a product: an individual, locked pouch that holds devices while users are in designated phone-free zones such as classrooms or concerts. Phones can be removed from the pouches via unlocking bases in areas where phone use is allowed. In 2014, Dugoni launched Yondr, which offers customers the tools to create phone-free spaces, including the pouches and operational resources and support. Today the company operates in more than 55 countries, works with schools in all 50 states, and counts Dave Chappelle, Bruno Mars, and Madonna among its artist partners. Dugoni acknowledges the irony of trying to combat the impacts of tech conglomerates via yet another business. “The idea of starting a company was kind of [uncomfortable] to me,” he says. He had considered pursuing his efforts via academia, but he says he realized “the only way to have a mass sociological effect was at a scale that only a company could achieve.” That Yondr sells to school systems, which often are on tight budgets, is a further complication. A recent article in The New York Times described how students are breaking into the pouches and cited examples of schools opting for low-tech (and presumably cheaper) solutions such as lockers or cubbies. “I think spending a bunch of money on a product right away was not wise,” one teacher, who instead has his students deposit their phones in a plastic caddy in his classroom, told the Times. Following In Others’ Footsteps Dugoni’s desire to turn his company into a movement echoes the ethos of Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. Patagonia isn’t just a clothing and equipment maker, it “is a philosophy, a way of being, a subculture, one that represents an alternative vision of what it means to be a part of the modern economy,” writes David Gelles in Dirtbag Billionaire, his recent book about Chouinard. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Patagonia is emblematic of the uneasy relationship between capitalism and idealism that Dugoni and other well-meaning founders often encounter. Chouinard “was cautious about growing the business too quickly, but he needed to increase sales to fund his environmental philanthropy. He took good care of his employees in many ways, but never shared equity or profits with them,” Gelles tells me. “This tension is what makes Patagonia so unique. It’s a company that has wrestled with its own imperfections for decades now, using them as a source of inspiration in its unending quest to get better.” By at least one measure, Dugoni’s phone-free movement is well underway: more than 30 states ban mobile phones in schools. Dugoni views Yondr as a facilitator; enduring change needs to come from passionate people and communities. “What happens inside the spaces Yondr helps provide is really up to the people running the show,” he says. “Yondr is there to create space to allow those things to thrive.” Reader Mailbag A few weeks ago I asked you to share the youth trends you’re tracking in 2026. Many of you submitted responses that suggest that young people are embracing Yondr’s phone-free philosophies. Here’s a sampling: Lesley Gold, Cofounder And CEO, SutherlandGold Group “Gen Z is the first generation to be ‘digitally native’ and yet they are turning to analog. They are looking for wisdom that comes from experiences that are sensory. It’s like the Good Will Hunting quote (paraphrasing here): ‘You can read every book on Michelangelo, know every fact about him, and never know what the Sistine Chapel smells like.’ They want to see, touch, taste, hear, smell life . . . everything you can’t get on a screen.” Barby K. Siegel, Global CEO, Zeno Group “The youth trend we’re watching in 2026 is self-preservation. Through Zeno’s Project GAP (Generational Advisory Perspectives), we see Gen Z creating its own alignment—setting clearer tech boundaries, becoming more selective about trust, and choosing what feels livable over what looks aspirational.” Gabrielle Wesley, Chief Marketing Officer, Confectionery, Mars Snacking North America “Staying current on culture isn’t about chasing trends but earning relevance and credibility. With 93% of consumers skipping or blocking ads, Gen Z is leading the charge, and they are sending a clear message: brands must earn their time by adding real value. For Mars, that means practicing true consumer obsession—listening deeply to cultural signals and showing up in ways that are rooted in real-life experiences that reflect how this consumer thinks, feels, and behaves. For example, a live Big Game moment with Skittles turned advertising into participation, delivering a commercial straight to one lucky fan’s front yard. Younger generations don’t want to be talked at; they want to be invited in.” Read more: less tech Fast growth founders help kids break their tech addiction Why the ‘anxious generation’ needs cellphone bans in school New York law bans algorithmic feeds for kids on social media View the full article

Surveys and questionnaires are crucial tools that can provide valuable insights across various sectors. Whether you’re looking to assess customer satisfaction or gauge employee engagement, there’s a survey type customized to your needs. Each example serves a unique purpose, from measuring user experience to comprehending brand awareness. By exploring these ten inspiring examples, you can improve your decision-making processes and drive enhancements in your organization. Which survey type will be most beneficial for your goals? Key Takeaways Create customer satisfaction surveys using a mix of Likert scale and multiple-choice questions to gauge overall service experience effectively. Implement employee engagement surveys focusing on job satisfaction and career development to enhance workplace morale and retention. Design post-event feedback surveys with close-ended questions to evaluate attendee satisfaction and gather insights for future improvements. Utilize market research surveys with tailored questions to understand customer preferences and benchmark against industry standards. Conduct brand awareness surveys to assess familiarity and perception of your brand across different demographics using open-ended and multiple-choice questions. Customer Service Survey Examples When you’re looking to gather feedback on your customer service, using effective surveys can make a significant difference. Start by incorporating clear customer research survey questions that focus on overall satisfaction and staff professionalism. Use rating scale questions, allowing customers to quantify their experiences from 1 to 10, which helps identify areas needing improvement. Including qualitative survey questions, such as “What could be improved in our service?” gives customers the chance to provide detailed feedback. Post-interaction surveys can assess immediate satisfaction with specific aspects like response time and issue resolution effectiveness, gathering actionable data. Additionally, implementing Net Promoter Score (NPS) questions can help gauge customer loyalty by asking how likely they’re to recommend your service to others. These survey questions for qualitative research provide critical insights into customer sentiment, helping you improve and adapt your services based on real feedback. Employee Engagement Survey Examples In terms of employee engagement surveys, measuring job satisfaction is essential as it reflects how content you’re in your role. You’ll additionally want to assess team collaboration, which can highlight how effectively you work with your colleagues and contribute to a supportive environment. Finally, exploring career development opportunities allows you to evaluate whether the organization is helping you grow professionally, ensuring your long-term engagement and satisfaction. Measuring Job Satisfaction Measuring job satisfaction is critical for comprehending employee engagement and improving workplace dynamics. Employee engagement surveys often use Likert scale questions to evaluate job satisfaction, allowing you to express your feelings about work-life balance, communication, and professional development opportunities. Furthermore, evaluating job security and organizational commitment provides valuable insights into how you perceive your role and the company culture. By combining open-ended questions with quantitative scales, you can offer rich qualitative feedback, helping organizations pinpoint specific areas for improvement. Regularly measuring job satisfaction can lead to better retention rates, as organizations that actively seek feedback experience a 14.9% lower turnover rate. Key metrics like the Net Promoter Score (NPS) likewise help gauge your likelihood of recommending the organization as a great workplace. Assessing Team Collaboration How can organizations effectively assess team collaboration to improve employee engagement? By using effective employee engagement surveys that include both quantitative and qualitative survey questions examples. Incorporate Likert scale questions like, “My team collaborates effectively on projects,” alongside open-ended prompts such as, “What challenges do you face in collaborating with your team?” This approach yields actionable insights that can improve team dynamics. Here’s a simple table to illustrate collaboration assessment: Question Type Example Question Purpose Likert Scale My team communicates openly. Measure communication Open-Ended What could improve our collaboration? Gather qualitative insights Multiple Choice How often do you resolve conflicts effectively? Gauge conflict resolution Rating Scale Rate your level of job satisfaction in the team. Assess overall satisfaction Yes/No Do you feel heard in team discussions? Understand inclusivity Career Development Opportunities Evaluating career development opportunities within an organization plays a significant role in enhancing employee engagement and retention. Employee engagement surveys can effectively assess perceptions of available growth paths, identifying areas for improvement. You should include questions about access to training programs, mentorship availability, and clarity of career trajectories to gauge employee satisfaction. Utilizing Likert scale questions, like “I feel supported in pursuing my career goals,” quantifies sentiment toward the company’s commitment. Furthermore, qualitative research survey questions examples, such as “What extra resources would you find beneficial for your career growth?” can provide valuable insights into employee needs. Regularly analyzing these survey results helps align development opportunities with workforce expectations, ultimately boosting engagement and retention. User Experience Survey Examples When you conduct user experience surveys, choosing the right question types is essential for gathering meaningful insights. Effective methods like Likert scales, open-ended questions, and matrix questions help you measure usability and assess user engagement thoroughly. Effective Question Types What types of questions can you use to gather meaningful insights in user experience surveys? Effective user experience surveys often include a mix of qualitative and quantitative research questions. For instance, Likert scale questions can help you measure satisfaction levels, like asking users to rate navigation ease from 1 to 5. Open-ended questions, such as “What improvements would you suggest for our app?” offer valuable qualitative insights into user pain points. Rating scale questions allow respondents to score aspects like design aesthetics from 0 to 10. Matrix questions let users evaluate multiple product features simultaneously, whereas picture choice questions improve engagement by allowing visual preferences. Together, these question types improve your survey definition in research, leading to actionable insights. Measuring Usability Insights To effectively measure usability insights, it is essential to utilize a variety of question types in your user experience surveys. This approach allows you to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. For instance, qualitative survey examples might include open-ended questions in qualitative research, enabling users to provide detailed feedback. Furthermore, employing rating scale questions can help assess specific features, whereas matrix questions streamline feedback collection. Here’s a simple breakdown of question types: Question Type Purpose Likert Scale Gauges user satisfaction Open-Ended Questions Collects detailed user feedback Rating Scale Measures effectiveness of features Making your usability surveys mobile-friendly guarantees higher response rates, allowing for more accurate insights into user interactions. Enhancing User Engagement How can you effectively improve user engagement through surveys? Start by implementing user experience surveys that blend various question types, including Likert scales and open-ended questions. This approach helps you gather both quantitative data and qualitative insights on user satisfaction. Focus on specific aspects, such as navigation ease and visual appeal, to pinpoint usability issues and areas needing improvement. Incorporating interactive question formats, like sliders or click maps, makes the survey process enjoyable, which can boost response rates. Moreover, consider using follow-up questions based on initial answers to explore deeper into user experiences. Regularly analyzing feedback allows you to track changes in user satisfaction over time and make informed decisions to improve the overall user experience effectively. Post-Event Feedback Survey Examples When you’re looking to gather valuable insights after an event, a well-structured post-event feedback survey is vital. These surveys typically use close-ended questions to quickly assess attendee satisfaction levels. Common queries include overall event ratings, staff helpfulness, and the likelihood of future attendance. Such questions provide a clear picture of participant experiences. To maximize response rates, consider designing your post-event feedback surveys for mobile completion, allowing attendees to share their thoughts on-the-go. Including a comments section is important, as it encourages qualitative feedback that uncovers specific areas needing improvement—insights often missed by quantitative measures alone. Market Research Survey Examples When you conduct market research surveys, identifying key objectives is essential for gathering relevant data. Comprehending your target audience helps you tailor questions that reveal valuable insights about their preferences and behaviors. Utilizing effective data collection techniques, such as multiple-choice and rating scale questions, enables you to quantify responses and analyze trends effectively. Key Objectives Identification Identifying key objectives in market research surveys is vital for gathering valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors. By clearly defining your goals, you can tailor your approach effectively. Here are some objectives to take into account: Identify preferred product features to improve offerings. Understand customer demographics to segment your audience. Gauge customer satisfaction using Likert scale questions for quantitative data. Gather detailed feedback through open-ended questions for qualitative insights. These objectives can guide you in creating effective surveys, such as qualitative research survey examples or sample questionnaires for qualitative research. Utilizing these strategies guarantees you gain meaningful data, helping you make informed decisions about your products and services. Target Audience Insights How can you gain a deeper comprehension of your target audience? Conducting a market research survey is a valuable method to gather insights on customer preferences, demographics, and purchasing behaviors. By incorporating open-ended qualitative questions into your qualitative questionnaire, you encourage respondents to share detailed feedback, providing rich qualitative data that can inform product development. This survey for qualitative research can reveal trends in customer expectations and satisfaction levels. Furthermore, utilizing multiple-choice and rating scale questions allows for quick data collection and quantifiable metrics, which simplifies analysis. Benchmarking your results against industry standards helps identify your position in the market, enabling you to pinpoint areas for competitive advantage and better align your offerings with customer needs. Data Collection Techniques Data collection techniques play a crucial role in market research surveys, as they directly impact the quality and depth of insights gathered. When designing your survey, consider these effective methods: Multiple-choice questions for quantitative data, helping you gauge preferences and satisfaction. Open-ended questionnaires in qualitative research, allowing respondents to share detailed feedback. Demographic questions to segment audiences by age, gender, and income, enabling targeted marketing strategies. Conditional questions that tailor follow-ups based on previous answers, gathering deeper insights. Understanding what’s questionnaire survey method can help you choose the right formats. Product Feedback Survey Examples Multiple-choice questions help streamline data collection, making it easier to analyze common trends. Furthermore, rating scale questions, such as asking customers to rate usability from 1 to 10, provide specific insights for your product development team. Consider using conditional questions to probe deeper based on initial responses, ensuring relevant and focused data collection. Net Promoter Score Survey Examples Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys serve as a crucial tool for measuring customer loyalty, allowing businesses to gauge how likely customers are to recommend their products or services. These surveys typically ask respondents to rate their likelihood on a scale from 0 to 10. To calculate NPS, you subtract the percentage of detractors (scores 0-6) from promoters (scores 9-10), offering a single metric that reflects overall customer sentiment. Here are some effective NPS survey examples: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us?” “What is the primary reason for your score?” (an example of an open-ended question for qualitative research) “What can we improve to better serve you?” “What features do you value the most?” NPS surveys are quantitative, but combining them with qualitative inquiries can improve insights considerably. Customer Satisfaction Survey Examples How can businesses effectively gauge customer satisfaction? One way is through customer satisfaction surveys, which typically include questions about overall satisfaction and specific service experiences. By using formats like Likert scale and multiple-choice questions, you can measure satisfaction levels and pinpoint areas for improvement. Question Type Purpose Example Likert Scale Measure satisfaction How satisfied are you with our service? Multiple Choice Identify reasons What influenced your purchase decision? Open-Ended Gather qualitative insights What suggestions do you have for us? Timing is essential; sending surveys shortly after a purchase can yield more relevant responses. Analyzing these results helps track trends over time, measure changes, and benchmark against industry standards, eventually guiding your business strategies. Brand Awareness Survey Examples What methods can businesses use to assess brand awareness effectively? Brand awareness surveys are critical tools for this purpose. You can create a thorough survey by including various question types, such as: Multiple-choice questions: Ask, “Which of the following brands do you recall seeing in advertisements recently?” Likert scale questions: Use queries like, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how familiar are you with [Brand]?” Open-ended questions: Include prompts such as, “What comes to mind when you think of [Brand]?” This serves as an example of a qualitative research questionnaire. Demographic questions: Collect data to analyze awareness levels across different segments. Event Planning Survey Examples When planning an event, have you considered how valuable attendee feedback can be? Event planning surveys play a vital role in improving future events. Combining close-ended and open-ended questions helps capture both quantitative ratings and qualitative insights. Here’s a simple layout for your survey: Question Type Example Questions Close-Ended Questions How satisfied were you with the event? (1-10) Open-Ended Questions What did you enjoy most about the event? Specific Feedback Rate the venue choice (1-10) Future Suggestions What topics should we cover next time? Understanding the difference between a survey and a questionnaire is significant; surveys typically analyze data from multiple questions, whereas questionnaires gather responses. By utilizing these event planning surveys effectively, you can improve attendee experiences and tailor your events to their preferences. Frequently Asked Questions What Are 5 Good Survey Questions? To create effective survey questions, consider these five: First, ask, “How satisfied are you with our service on a scale of 1 to 5?” Second, use a Likert scale question like, “Rate your agreement with: ‘The product met my expectations.'” Third, include an open-ended question, “What improvements would you suggest?” Fourth, offer multiple-choice options: “What’s your primary reason for using our product?” Finally, employ an NPS question: “How likely are you to recommend us?” Can You Think of Examples of Surveys in Your World Today? In today’s world, various organizations utilize surveys to gather valuable insights. For instance, e-commerce companies often use customer satisfaction surveys to assess user experiences and refine services. Tech platforms frequently engage users through feedback forms, asking for ratings on features. Event organizers might send post-event surveys to measure attendee satisfaction and gather suggestions. These surveys help businesses understand customer preferences, improve services, and ultimately nurture loyalty by addressing user needs effectively. What Are Some Fun Survey Questions to Ask? When designing a survey, consider incorporating fun questions to engage participants. You might ask, “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” or “What’s your guilty pleasure TV show?” These questions not only spark creativity but furthermore offer relatable insights. In addition, whimsical prompts like “If you were a kitchen appliance, which one would you be?” can evoke amusing responses. Such light-hearted questions can elevate participant enjoyment and improve overall completion rates. What Are Two Examples of Surveys? You can consider a Customer Satisfaction Survey, which measures how satisfied you’re with your overall experience using a product or service. It often employs a Likert scale for quantifying feelings. Another example is an Employee Engagement Survey, where you rate statements like “I feel valued at my workplace.” This helps organizations understand workforce morale and identify areas for improvement, ensuring a more engaged and productive work environment. Conclusion Incorporating diverse surveys and questionnaires can greatly improve your comprehension of various stakeholders, whether customers, employees, or event attendees. Each type serves a unique purpose, from measuring satisfaction to gathering feedback for improvement. By utilizing these tools effectively, you can propel informed decision-making and strategic improvements in your organization. Remember to prioritize clarity in your questions and consider the specific insights you aim to gain to maximize the value of your surveys and questionnaires. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Inspiring Examples of Surveys and Questionnaires You Can Use" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Surveys and questionnaires are crucial tools that can provide valuable insights across various sectors. Whether you’re looking to assess customer satisfaction or gauge employee engagement, there’s a survey type customized to your needs. Each example serves a unique purpose, from measuring user experience to comprehending brand awareness. By exploring these ten inspiring examples, you can improve your decision-making processes and drive enhancements in your organization. Which survey type will be most beneficial for your goals? Key Takeaways Create customer satisfaction surveys using a mix of Likert scale and multiple-choice questions to gauge overall service experience effectively. Implement employee engagement surveys focusing on job satisfaction and career development to enhance workplace morale and retention. Design post-event feedback surveys with close-ended questions to evaluate attendee satisfaction and gather insights for future improvements. Utilize market research surveys with tailored questions to understand customer preferences and benchmark against industry standards. Conduct brand awareness surveys to assess familiarity and perception of your brand across different demographics using open-ended and multiple-choice questions. Customer Service Survey Examples When you’re looking to gather feedback on your customer service, using effective surveys can make a significant difference. Start by incorporating clear customer research survey questions that focus on overall satisfaction and staff professionalism. Use rating scale questions, allowing customers to quantify their experiences from 1 to 10, which helps identify areas needing improvement. Including qualitative survey questions, such as “What could be improved in our service?” gives customers the chance to provide detailed feedback. Post-interaction surveys can assess immediate satisfaction with specific aspects like response time and issue resolution effectiveness, gathering actionable data. Additionally, implementing Net Promoter Score (NPS) questions can help gauge customer loyalty by asking how likely they’re to recommend your service to others. These survey questions for qualitative research provide critical insights into customer sentiment, helping you improve and adapt your services based on real feedback. Employee Engagement Survey Examples In terms of employee engagement surveys, measuring job satisfaction is essential as it reflects how content you’re in your role. You’ll additionally want to assess team collaboration, which can highlight how effectively you work with your colleagues and contribute to a supportive environment. Finally, exploring career development opportunities allows you to evaluate whether the organization is helping you grow professionally, ensuring your long-term engagement and satisfaction. Measuring Job Satisfaction Measuring job satisfaction is critical for comprehending employee engagement and improving workplace dynamics. Employee engagement surveys often use Likert scale questions to evaluate job satisfaction, allowing you to express your feelings about work-life balance, communication, and professional development opportunities. Furthermore, evaluating job security and organizational commitment provides valuable insights into how you perceive your role and the company culture. By combining open-ended questions with quantitative scales, you can offer rich qualitative feedback, helping organizations pinpoint specific areas for improvement. Regularly measuring job satisfaction can lead to better retention rates, as organizations that actively seek feedback experience a 14.9% lower turnover rate. Key metrics like the Net Promoter Score (NPS) likewise help gauge your likelihood of recommending the organization as a great workplace. Assessing Team Collaboration How can organizations effectively assess team collaboration to improve employee engagement? By using effective employee engagement surveys that include both quantitative and qualitative survey questions examples. Incorporate Likert scale questions like, “My team collaborates effectively on projects,” alongside open-ended prompts such as, “What challenges do you face in collaborating with your team?” This approach yields actionable insights that can improve team dynamics. Here’s a simple table to illustrate collaboration assessment: Question Type Example Question Purpose Likert Scale My team communicates openly. Measure communication Open-Ended What could improve our collaboration? Gather qualitative insights Multiple Choice How often do you resolve conflicts effectively? Gauge conflict resolution Rating Scale Rate your level of job satisfaction in the team. Assess overall satisfaction Yes/No Do you feel heard in team discussions? Understand inclusivity Career Development Opportunities Evaluating career development opportunities within an organization plays a significant role in enhancing employee engagement and retention. Employee engagement surveys can effectively assess perceptions of available growth paths, identifying areas for improvement. You should include questions about access to training programs, mentorship availability, and clarity of career trajectories to gauge employee satisfaction. Utilizing Likert scale questions, like “I feel supported in pursuing my career goals,” quantifies sentiment toward the company’s commitment. Furthermore, qualitative research survey questions examples, such as “What extra resources would you find beneficial for your career growth?” can provide valuable insights into employee needs. Regularly analyzing these survey results helps align development opportunities with workforce expectations, ultimately boosting engagement and retention. User Experience Survey Examples When you conduct user experience surveys, choosing the right question types is essential for gathering meaningful insights. Effective methods like Likert scales, open-ended questions, and matrix questions help you measure usability and assess user engagement thoroughly. Effective Question Types What types of questions can you use to gather meaningful insights in user experience surveys? Effective user experience surveys often include a mix of qualitative and quantitative research questions. For instance, Likert scale questions can help you measure satisfaction levels, like asking users to rate navigation ease from 1 to 5. Open-ended questions, such as “What improvements would you suggest for our app?” offer valuable qualitative insights into user pain points. Rating scale questions allow respondents to score aspects like design aesthetics from 0 to 10. Matrix questions let users evaluate multiple product features simultaneously, whereas picture choice questions improve engagement by allowing visual preferences. Together, these question types improve your survey definition in research, leading to actionable insights. Measuring Usability Insights To effectively measure usability insights, it is essential to utilize a variety of question types in your user experience surveys. This approach allows you to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. For instance, qualitative survey examples might include open-ended questions in qualitative research, enabling users to provide detailed feedback. Furthermore, employing rating scale questions can help assess specific features, whereas matrix questions streamline feedback collection. Here’s a simple breakdown of question types: Question Type Purpose Likert Scale Gauges user satisfaction Open-Ended Questions Collects detailed user feedback Rating Scale Measures effectiveness of features Making your usability surveys mobile-friendly guarantees higher response rates, allowing for more accurate insights into user interactions. Enhancing User Engagement How can you effectively improve user engagement through surveys? Start by implementing user experience surveys that blend various question types, including Likert scales and open-ended questions. This approach helps you gather both quantitative data and qualitative insights on user satisfaction. Focus on specific aspects, such as navigation ease and visual appeal, to pinpoint usability issues and areas needing improvement. Incorporating interactive question formats, like sliders or click maps, makes the survey process enjoyable, which can boost response rates. Moreover, consider using follow-up questions based on initial answers to explore deeper into user experiences. Regularly analyzing feedback allows you to track changes in user satisfaction over time and make informed decisions to improve the overall user experience effectively. Post-Event Feedback Survey Examples When you’re looking to gather valuable insights after an event, a well-structured post-event feedback survey is vital. These surveys typically use close-ended questions to quickly assess attendee satisfaction levels. Common queries include overall event ratings, staff helpfulness, and the likelihood of future attendance. Such questions provide a clear picture of participant experiences. To maximize response rates, consider designing your post-event feedback surveys for mobile completion, allowing attendees to share their thoughts on-the-go. Including a comments section is important, as it encourages qualitative feedback that uncovers specific areas needing improvement—insights often missed by quantitative measures alone. Market Research Survey Examples When you conduct market research surveys, identifying key objectives is essential for gathering relevant data. Comprehending your target audience helps you tailor questions that reveal valuable insights about their preferences and behaviors. Utilizing effective data collection techniques, such as multiple-choice and rating scale questions, enables you to quantify responses and analyze trends effectively. Key Objectives Identification Identifying key objectives in market research surveys is vital for gathering valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors. By clearly defining your goals, you can tailor your approach effectively. Here are some objectives to take into account: Identify preferred product features to improve offerings. Understand customer demographics to segment your audience. Gauge customer satisfaction using Likert scale questions for quantitative data. Gather detailed feedback through open-ended questions for qualitative insights. These objectives can guide you in creating effective surveys, such as qualitative research survey examples or sample questionnaires for qualitative research. Utilizing these strategies guarantees you gain meaningful data, helping you make informed decisions about your products and services. Target Audience Insights How can you gain a deeper comprehension of your target audience? Conducting a market research survey is a valuable method to gather insights on customer preferences, demographics, and purchasing behaviors. By incorporating open-ended qualitative questions into your qualitative questionnaire, you encourage respondents to share detailed feedback, providing rich qualitative data that can inform product development. This survey for qualitative research can reveal trends in customer expectations and satisfaction levels. Furthermore, utilizing multiple-choice and rating scale questions allows for quick data collection and quantifiable metrics, which simplifies analysis. Benchmarking your results against industry standards helps identify your position in the market, enabling you to pinpoint areas for competitive advantage and better align your offerings with customer needs. Data Collection Techniques Data collection techniques play a crucial role in market research surveys, as they directly impact the quality and depth of insights gathered. When designing your survey, consider these effective methods: Multiple-choice questions for quantitative data, helping you gauge preferences and satisfaction. Open-ended questionnaires in qualitative research, allowing respondents to share detailed feedback. Demographic questions to segment audiences by age, gender, and income, enabling targeted marketing strategies. Conditional questions that tailor follow-ups based on previous answers, gathering deeper insights. Understanding what’s questionnaire survey method can help you choose the right formats. Product Feedback Survey Examples Multiple-choice questions help streamline data collection, making it easier to analyze common trends. Furthermore, rating scale questions, such as asking customers to rate usability from 1 to 10, provide specific insights for your product development team. Consider using conditional questions to probe deeper based on initial responses, ensuring relevant and focused data collection. Net Promoter Score Survey Examples Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys serve as a crucial tool for measuring customer loyalty, allowing businesses to gauge how likely customers are to recommend their products or services. These surveys typically ask respondents to rate their likelihood on a scale from 0 to 10. To calculate NPS, you subtract the percentage of detractors (scores 0-6) from promoters (scores 9-10), offering a single metric that reflects overall customer sentiment. Here are some effective NPS survey examples: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us?” “What is the primary reason for your score?” (an example of an open-ended question for qualitative research) “What can we improve to better serve you?” “What features do you value the most?” NPS surveys are quantitative, but combining them with qualitative inquiries can improve insights considerably. Customer Satisfaction Survey Examples How can businesses effectively gauge customer satisfaction? One way is through customer satisfaction surveys, which typically include questions about overall satisfaction and specific service experiences. By using formats like Likert scale and multiple-choice questions, you can measure satisfaction levels and pinpoint areas for improvement. Question Type Purpose Example Likert Scale Measure satisfaction How satisfied are you with our service? Multiple Choice Identify reasons What influenced your purchase decision? Open-Ended Gather qualitative insights What suggestions do you have for us? Timing is essential; sending surveys shortly after a purchase can yield more relevant responses. Analyzing these results helps track trends over time, measure changes, and benchmark against industry standards, eventually guiding your business strategies. Brand Awareness Survey Examples What methods can businesses use to assess brand awareness effectively? Brand awareness surveys are critical tools for this purpose. You can create a thorough survey by including various question types, such as: Multiple-choice questions: Ask, “Which of the following brands do you recall seeing in advertisements recently?” Likert scale questions: Use queries like, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how familiar are you with [Brand]?” Open-ended questions: Include prompts such as, “What comes to mind when you think of [Brand]?” This serves as an example of a qualitative research questionnaire. Demographic questions: Collect data to analyze awareness levels across different segments. Event Planning Survey Examples When planning an event, have you considered how valuable attendee feedback can be? Event planning surveys play a vital role in improving future events. Combining close-ended and open-ended questions helps capture both quantitative ratings and qualitative insights. Here’s a simple layout for your survey: Question Type Example Questions Close-Ended Questions How satisfied were you with the event? (1-10) Open-Ended Questions What did you enjoy most about the event? Specific Feedback Rate the venue choice (1-10) Future Suggestions What topics should we cover next time? Understanding the difference between a survey and a questionnaire is significant; surveys typically analyze data from multiple questions, whereas questionnaires gather responses. By utilizing these event planning surveys effectively, you can improve attendee experiences and tailor your events to their preferences. Frequently Asked Questions What Are 5 Good Survey Questions? To create effective survey questions, consider these five: First, ask, “How satisfied are you with our service on a scale of 1 to 5?” Second, use a Likert scale question like, “Rate your agreement with: ‘The product met my expectations.'” Third, include an open-ended question, “What improvements would you suggest?” Fourth, offer multiple-choice options: “What’s your primary reason for using our product?” Finally, employ an NPS question: “How likely are you to recommend us?” Can You Think of Examples of Surveys in Your World Today? In today’s world, various organizations utilize surveys to gather valuable insights. For instance, e-commerce companies often use customer satisfaction surveys to assess user experiences and refine services. Tech platforms frequently engage users through feedback forms, asking for ratings on features. Event organizers might send post-event surveys to measure attendee satisfaction and gather suggestions. These surveys help businesses understand customer preferences, improve services, and ultimately nurture loyalty by addressing user needs effectively. What Are Some Fun Survey Questions to Ask? When designing a survey, consider incorporating fun questions to engage participants. You might ask, “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” or “What’s your guilty pleasure TV show?” These questions not only spark creativity but furthermore offer relatable insights. In addition, whimsical prompts like “If you were a kitchen appliance, which one would you be?” can evoke amusing responses. Such light-hearted questions can elevate participant enjoyment and improve overall completion rates. What Are Two Examples of Surveys? You can consider a Customer Satisfaction Survey, which measures how satisfied you’re with your overall experience using a product or service. It often employs a Likert scale for quantifying feelings. Another example is an Employee Engagement Survey, where you rate statements like “I feel valued at my workplace.” This helps organizations understand workforce morale and identify areas for improvement, ensuring a more engaged and productive work environment. Conclusion Incorporating diverse surveys and questionnaires can greatly improve your comprehension of various stakeholders, whether customers, employees, or event attendees. Each type serves a unique purpose, from measuring satisfaction to gathering feedback for improvement. By utilizing these tools effectively, you can propel informed decision-making and strategic improvements in your organization. Remember to prioritize clarity in your questions and consider the specific insights you aim to gain to maximize the value of your surveys and questionnaires. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Inspiring Examples of Surveys and Questionnaires You Can Use" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

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The rise of full-body MRI scans has been framed as a victory for consumer empowerment. Skip the referrals. Skip the waiting. Pay out of pocket and finally see what is happening inside your body, before it’s too late. For many, especially women, these scans are compelling. They offer agency in a healthcare system that often feels slow, dismissive, and reactive, rather than preventive. What many women would be surprised to learn, however, is despite the name, many full-body MRI scans do not reliably screen for breast cancer, the most common cancer in women. Women make roughly 80% of healthcare purchasing decisions in the United States. They spend more out of pocket than men and are significantly more likely to engage in preventive care, before symptoms appear. Women are also, ironically, the same population driving the growth of direct-to-consumer healthcare, from blood testing and longevity clinics to wearables and these “full-body” scans. The assumption most consumers make is simple. If a scan purports to image the entire body, it must include the breasts. These scans assess the brain, spine, liver, kidneys, and reproductive organs. These scans may produce reports that say everything looks normal. They may even use language like “all clear.” What they cannot do, in many cases, is detect early breast cancer. Not a nuance This is not a subtle technical nuance. Breast-specific MRI requires precise conditions to be effective: dedicated breast coils, prone positioning, contrast enhancement, and high spatial resolution. Full body MRI scans are optimized for speed and coverage, not for the detailed imaging that breast tissue requires. As a result, these scans can miss small or early lesions, particularly in dense breasts, which affect nearly half of all women over 40 and are common in younger women. Radiologists understand this distinction. The companies selling these scans are aware of this as well, and they even include this disclosure in the fine print. However, the average consumer often isn’t aware. The issue is compounded by how reassurance, or an “all clear” report, can affect consumer behavior. Many women already avoid routine mammography because of fear, discomfort, radiation concerns, or prior negative experiences. Dr. Marty Makary, FDA Commissioner, pointed out in an interview recently that roughly 40% of women skip mammograms for these reasons. When those same women receive a clean full-body scan, even with disclaimers advising continued screening, the psychological effect is powerful. Relief tends to override caution. False sense of security This is not about bad intentions. It is about predictable human behavior. If a woman believes she has just paid for a comprehensive “full body” scan, she may deprioritize another screening that feels redundant or stressful. When the scan she relied on was never capable of evaluating her breasts in the first place, the sense of security becomes misleading. The way these scans are marketed makes the problem worse. Much of the language, imagery, and cultural framing around preventive imaging has been shaped by the same audience that dominates wellness and longevity media more broadly: The male “biohacker.” The optimization-focused technologist. The podcast-listening early adopter. This is not inherently negative, but it reflects who has historically held influence in venture-backed healthcare. Women, despite being the primary buyers, often remain peripheral in how these tools are designed and explained. The result is a mismatch between who the product is built for and who is actually using it. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, and its incidence has been rising, including among younger patients who fall outside traditional screening guidelines. These are precisely the women drawn to proactive, cash-pay healthcare. Yet the most visible preventive imaging offerings do not adequately address the risk they face most. Valuable in some contexts To be clear, full-body MRI scans are not useless. I underwent one recently and not only enjoyed my experience, but was relieved upon receiving my report. These scans can surface certain conditions and provide valuable information in specific contexts. The issue is not that they exist, but that they are positioned as comprehensive reassurance without clearly communicating their limits. If a scan cannot screen for breast cancer, that fact should be explicit, prominent, and impossible to miss. Not buried in fine print, softened by marketing language, or deferred to a follow-up conversation after purchase. Healthcare innovation often celebrates disruption while reproducing old blind spots. Women are encouraged to take control of their health, to invest in prevention, and to advocate for themselves. When they do, they deserve tools that are designed with their bodies in mind and explanations that respect their intelligence. That gap is why I founded BeSound. Full-body MRI scans are a real step forward, but women also need specific imaging for the cancer they are most likely to develop. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, and it should not require the cost of a full-body scan to screen for it. When dedicated breast imaging is done well and priced far lower, it becomes something women can actually access and repeat, not a one-time splurge meant to buy peace of mind. Preventive imaging should be honest about what it can and cannot do. It should prioritize conditions that are common, deadly, and detectable when found early. It should not rely on the comfort of a broad label like “full body” to imply coverage that does not exist. Peace of mind is not a marketing outcome. It is a medical one, and it only holds value when it is grounded in reality. 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New data centers can lead to higher electric bills and lock in aging, outdated coal plants. But a Google project in Minnesota takes a different approach: The tech giant is paying to build enough clean power that existing customers won’t foot the bill, and the grid will get innovative new tech—a massive battery that will be the largest by capacity in the world. This week, major tech companies are expected to visit the White House and pledge to shoulder more of their own energy demand. The Minnesota project offers a concrete example of how that can go a step further and use clean power. “Google has long been committed to scaling our infrastructure responsibility, which includes paying for the electricity and associated costs of our growth,” said Lucia Tian, Google’s head of advanced energy technologies. “Investing in the systems that make our communities more resilient is table stakes for us.” To support the data center, which will be built in the small town of Pine Island, Google inked an agreement with the local utility Xcel Energy to fund 1,900 megawatts of new clean energy. It’s similar to an approach that Google took in Nevada to pay for a geothermal power plant from Fervo, a company with next-generation technology that otherwise would have been too expensive to add to the grid. In the Minnesota project, Google is paying for 1,400 megawatts of new wind power and 200 megawatts of solar power while helping pioneer another new technology—a battery that can store energy over days instead of hours. A unique battery for a more reliable grid The battery, from a startup called Form Energy, uses iron-air technology to help store renewable energy longer. The company describes it as reversibly rusting iron: The iron reacts with oxygen to store and release energy, with storage lasting 100 hours. The new plant in Minnesota will be big enough to deliver 300 megawatts of power and store an enormous 30 gigawatt-hours of energy, making it the largest battery by capacity that’s been announced so far. By comparison, that’s more storage than all of the battery projects built in the U.S. in 2024 added together. “The unique thing about Form is it’s one of the only options out there on the market for that 100-plus-hour storage,” Tian said. That’s useful to cover any gaps in renewable electricity. “A long-duration battery can help us maximize how we use renewable energy when we encounter extended periods of lower solar and wind generation, such as during the middle of winter when we can see several days of cloudy weather with very little wind,” Xcel said in a statement. The technology is cost-competitive with natural gas. The battery, along with the solar and wind power, won’t connect directly to the data center but will instead feed into the broader grid. Google declined to share the facility’s expected power consumption. But the new clean energy capacity will exceed what the data center requires—a reflection, according the company, of Google’s commitment to making the grid more resilient. “It’s serving as a grid resource,” Tian said. “And one of the things that is exciting for us about this project is it’s also serving to catalyze this new technology at a scale that it hasn’t been deployed at before.” The battery is a major project for Form Energy, which has spent the past few years ramping up production at its factory at a former steel mill in West Virginia. The company is finishing the installation of its first commercial battery at another site in Minnesota. That first project stores far less energy—just 150 megawatt-hours. But the system is modular, with the batteries inside shipping containers that just need to be added together for more capacity. “It’s not that we have to build a new machine at a larger scale,” said Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo, who founded the company after working on energy storage at Tesla. “It’s just more of the same.” The biggest challenge was manufacturing the electrodes; the company had to produce 100,000 of them, or around 60 miles’ worth of material, to prove to itself and customers like Xcel and Google that it was ready for large-scale production. It’s planning to quickly scale up now. “Our hope is that this project sends that demand signal that allows them to build out their manufacturing here in the U.S.,” Tian said. Will the industry follow? Other tech companies, including Microsoft and Anthropic, have said they plan to cover the cost of new energy infrastructure needed for data centers. More are expected to make that pledge now after pressure from the The President administration, though the details of those agreements—likely nonbinding—haven’t yet come out, and it remains to be seen how closely some companies will follow them. It’s also not clear how many companies will voluntarily prioritize clean energy. Meta, for example, is installing natural gas generators to power a new data center in El Paso. Environmental advocates are skeptical. “We do believe it’s possible to responsibly build large-scale/hyperscale data centers, but it’s incredibly difficult to accomplish that task due to the resource demand of these facilities,” said Kyle Rosas, Minnesota deputy director for the nonprofit Clean Water Action. Many also question the need for them. The new Google data center will power its core services like YouTube and Maps, but most new data centers are being built for AI. “There are significant concerns about an AI bubble, and the lack of profit from these companies are not necessarily inspiring confidence in the future of the industry as-is,” Rosas said. “So as of right now, it’s difficult for us to say these facilities should exist at this scale.“ Pressure from communities can have an impact: Last year, at least 25 proposed data centers were canceled because of protests from people living nearby over concerns about electric bills, pollution from fossil fuel power plants, and water use. (It’s worth noting that Google’s new data center doesn’t use water for cooling; the company will employ air cooling, which uses more electricity, but that will be covered by the new clean power.) The risk of community pushback is another clear argument for tech companies to go as far as possible to do the right thing. The new Minnesota project shows how it can work. “We think this is a great example for how to do it well,” said Form Energy’s Jaramillo. “And I expect a lot more of this kind of thing to be happening.” View the full article

Reality is melting away before our eyes. Identity spoofing against older adults alone grew by 8x between 2020 and 2024, driven in part by convincing AI impersonations of friends and loved ones. It’s a problem costing people in the U.S. nearly half a billion dollars a year with no end in sight. Which is why a pair of design studios teamed up on a provocative solution that starts with a real-life handshake. Called Quartz, it’s a ring that adds friends to your network by literally shaking hands. And from there, it gatekeeps your online communications by proving you’re alive, proving you know the person you’re talking to, and proving provenance through encrypted channels. If any of these checks fails, then anything from text messages to Instagram DMs will be cut off to avoid spoofing. The speculative project was developed by design studios Modem and Retinaa. But while it’s purely a concept, the ideas offer a sort of blueprint that seems feasible for production. How Quartz works It all begins with a ring, fit with a chunk of quartz. That quartz is unique to your ring, with geometries that transpose directly to a blockchain certificate tied to your specific jewelry. The ring is also loaded with a vein scanner, which can see beneath your skin to measure your unique blood vessels. This scan becomes a verifiable image of you, similar to FaceID. Meanwhile, integrated pulse measurement assures that you are in living, breathing condition, any time your identity is verified. When you meet someone for the first time, you shake hands—and via NFC, your ring and their ring generate a “shared secret” cryptographic key. That key becomes the foundation to all of your future communications. If any piece fails, the communication channels go dark. Naturally, all of this friction limits how many people could be in your own Quartz network—reintroducing physical barriers to friendship that have been more or less erased in the modern world. Ultimately, not every friend on your Instagram or TikTok page could be part of this network. But that’s also what allows you to protect your most precious relationships so closely. Dystopia or Utopia? Now, there is still something . . . backward? . . eerie? . . depressing? about using a series of digital technologies to verify our real-life relationships. But that paradox is intentional, according to Scott Kooken, research and design director at Modem. “Where most online identity systems are built from abstract mathematics and invisible flows of data, Quartz reintroduces something physical and human,” he writes via email. “Physical presence is a foundational layer of the security stack. Without it, the system falls apart. In a world where everything else can be synthesized, that’s precisely what makes it the most valuable layer of all. The handshake isn’t symbolic: it’s part of the architecture.” Indeed, with Quartz, the security is the design which is the culture; your safety is built upon a human ritual that manages both the ring’s natural UX and its unseen cryptographic layer. To see what I mean by that, compare Quartz to the volleyball-sized eyeball scanner proposed by Sam Altman’s Tools for Humanity. This object has largely the same function as Quartz: scan someone’s biometrics to prove they are who they say they are. But this eye scanner is completely divorced from real-world rituals and interpersonal relationships; the whole idea looks torn from a 1990s James Cameron film, or a perhaps mid-aughts Logitech webcam. Right now, with AI blowing up more or less everything about our digital lives, we have the narrowest of windows to reimagine what we got wrong with our first swing at the internet and mobile technologies. We can decide whether we want to live in a society filled with handshakes or iris scans. But will we? Haha. No. We probably won’t. Just hardwire TikTok to my pacemaker and call it a day. View the full article

Over the last decade, as consumers became more aware of climate change, the fashion industry suddenly scrambled to curb its enormous environmental footprint. Everyone from Prada to H&M launched products made of recycled nylon and organic cotton. Gucci, Patagonia, and Timberland invested in regenerative agriculture. Adidas and Nike began designing fully recyclable sneakers. Resale programs popped up everywhere. According to many industry insiders, this moment has now passed. Politics and culture are no longer focused on the climate crisis. Consumers, faced with the higher price of sustainable products, consistently choose their wallets over their values. In response, many brands have quietly abandoned their sustainability goals. Arne Arens watched all of this from the inside. As CEO of The North Face and later Boardriders, the parent company of Quiksilver and Billabong, he lived through fashion’s sustainability push—and its retreat. But he hasn’t lost faith in the industry’s ability to clean up its act. Now he’s betting the next chapter of his career on a Bay Area startup called Unspun, which has developed proprietary 3D weaving technology capable of producing pants with significantly fewer carbon emissions, reduced waste, and shorter lead times. Unspun, which has more than $50 million in VC funding, has named Arens as its new CEO. The hire is a signal that a well-known industry leader believes the technology is ready to move from proof-of-concept to scale. The Enthusiasm That Faded Ask Arens about fashion’s sustainability retreat and he doesn’t hesitate. He confirms what anyone who covered the industry closely already sensed: There was real pressure, real investment, and then a gradual letting-go. “Part of that is that people have never really been able to figure out how to do sustainability cost-competitively,” he says. “Season after season we tried to move to 100% recycled nylon and polyester and cotton. But when we looked at the margin breakdown, we realized we’d have to price everything up by $5 to $10, and unfortunately consumers are just not ready to pay for that.” More broadly, the politics of sustainability shifted. In the U.S., we went from a president who installed a climate czar to one who has staffed his cabinet with climate deniers. Much like DEI, the cultural forces that made sustainability a corporate imperative changed, and brands no longer felt pressure to signal their green credentials. But taking a step back, Arens has come to the conclusion that making an ethical argument to consumers was never going to be a successful business strategy. Ethical brands needed to find a way to make sustainable products affordable—ideally, even cheaper than traditional products. That’s when he came across Unspun, which promises fashion brands cost savings while also slashing their environmental impact. “The financial rationale for adopting Unspun technology is even stronger than the decarbonization one,” he says. “You’re getting the zero waste piece for free.” The Machine That Changed the Math Kevin Martin cofounded Unspun a decade ago on a simple insight: The fashion industry’s biggest sustainability problem isn’t the materials. It’s the mismatch between what gets made and what actually sells. His vision was to build technology that would help the industry’s largest players operate with significantly less waste—and make the economics work while doing it. The fashion industry’s current model forces brands to place orders with factories nine to twelve months out. That planning horizon generates staggering inefficiencies. A brand might forecast that soft pink will be in style next spring and place large orders for dresses and shirts in that hue. If their prediction is wrong—as it often is in our current fast-moving fashion cycle—much of their inventory will not sell. Martin estimates forecast error typically runs between five and 20%—meaning a meaningful fraction of every season’s production will end up discounted, donated, or destroyed. “All of the money and time and energy spent to make something, move it around, not sell it, and then destroy it,” he says, is “the biggest slice of waste.” Unspun’s answer is a 3D weaving machine it calls Vega. The machine controls thousands of individual yarns simultaneously, producing a complete pant leg in a single automated process with minimal human finishing required. Every part of the system cuts cost. Labor costs are slashed. There is near zero fabric waste. And perhaps most importantly, companies can respond to real-time demand, rather than year-old forecasts. The technology currently produces woven trousers—everyday casual, workwear, chinos, and soon denim—with plans to expand. Trousers make sense as a starting product. The tube shape of the leg maps well to the weaving process. It is also a relatively simple design that can be replicated across different waist and inseam sizes, and colors. Passing the Mr. Burns Test Martin has a framework he uses when thinking about sustainability impact at scale. He calls it the Mr. Burns test—a reference to The Simpsons’ greedy nuclear plant owner. “If you want to have a big sustainability impact, you have to sell to Mr. Burns,” he says. The overlap between profitability and sustainability, he argues, “is where all of us with a mission of sustainability regardless of industry need to be focused.” Unspun’s pitch to brand partners leans on this logic. Arens, drawing on two decades watching brands manage inventory from the inside, describes the proposition in stark financial terms. The ability to reduce lead times by two-thirds or more means dramatically less capital tied up in future inventory, dramatically less waste at season’s end, and dramatically better margins overall. “There are gains from a working capital perspective because you don’t have to commit dollars to inventory that far out,” Arens says. “Then, you’re cutting out the wasted inventory that invariably results from ordering a year out. Instead, you’re getting full margin on every item you make. The overall financial impact is absolutely massive.” From Microfactory to Scale Unspun currently operates a small factory (or “micro-factory” in its parlance) in Emeryville, California, where it runs machines continuously and hosts brands for sampling and proof-of-concept runs. Walmart and Decathlon are among its confirmed customers, among others that can’t yet be named. The momentum is building quickly. Martin says that new customers are visiting weekly. Now, what is holding Unspun back is capacity. Unspun is now searching for a U.S. manufacturing facility, pursuing what Martin describes as a “consortium approach”—getting brands and factories to commit together to a facility that will be capable of serving many customers. In Europe, where apparel manufacturing infrastructure still exists in countries like Portugal and Turkey, the company is pursuing a faster path by selling machines directly into existing factories. This expansion is fueled by $50 million in venture capital, but future funding is expected to incorporate public-private partnerships. Martin points to New Mexico—which offers incentives to attract manufacturing—as an example of capital that could underwrite factory buildouts. “It’s not really a left or right issue,” he says. “The common interest is making things in America.” Why This Hire Matters In a moment when much of the fashion industry has gone quiet on sustainability, Arens is betting loud in the opposite direction—leaving a career arc of large, profitable brands for a startup still building out its first real factory. He’s candid about what he’s walking into. “It’s a very different size of company that I’m used to working at,” Arens acknowledges. But he’s equally convinced of Unspun’s central premise—that a technology simultaneously solving for speed, waste, and financial efficiency represents something significant. The fact that someone with that perspective is now the one making the pitch—to the very peers he left behind—may be the clearest signal yet that sustainability in fashion isn’t dead. It’s just finally learning to speak the only language that’s ever really moved the industry: the language of money. View the full article

Australians dramatically reduced their water usage during the Millennium Drought in the 2000s. It was one of the longest recorded droughts in Australian history, and in some places where sprinklers weren’t allowed, people watered their plants and grass with shower water. Like turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth and using shower timers, keeping buckets in the shower became a part of daily life during the drought. Now a newly designed device seeks to update that water-saving impulse with a watering can specifically designed for the bathroom. The 17-by-17-inch Sevas water catcher is about the size of a bathroom scale, and holds 5 liters of water. The contraption lies flat over the shower drain to capture falling water as it heats. A silver push-latch plug can open or close the container with the push of your foot, and its sloping design funnels water into the container. Slim and easy to carry, the Sevas water catcher weighs about 2.6 pounds empty and up to 13.6 pounds when full. When not in use it can be stored vertically without taking up much space. There are wide handles on two sides; to pour the water out, there’s a separate opening where a removable watering spout can be attached. The water catcher is made out of fully recyclable HDPE plastic with a stainless steel plug. The Australian brand also commits to planting two trees and offsetting carbon with every product sold, claiming that if its contraption is used once a day, it can save 1,800 liters of water annually. Though the “big dry,” as Australians came to call it, broke by 2010 and water restrictions eased, old habits die hard, and water usage across cities in southeastern Australia remains lower than before the drought. The Sevas taps into those practices, and it’s had resonance outside Australia too. The brand, which launched last summer, sold out its U.S. stock in October. View the full article

I recently came across an interesting academic article in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. It was titled, ​“The relationships between social media use, time management, and decision-making styles.”​ The paper’s author surveyed 612 university students and young adults, asking them, among other things, about their digital habits and levels of personal organization. Using a linear regression analysis, she uncovered the following: “Social media use was negatively and significantly associated with overall time management and all its subscales.” Here’s the standard interpretation of this result: Social media is distracting, and if you’re distracted, it becomes harder to maintain control over your schedule. So, the more you use social media, the worse you become at time management. But I’ve become interested in the reverse form of this argument: the better your planning system, the less time you’ll spend on engagement-based applications like social media. Here’s my thinking… When you’re following an intentional schedule, your efforts are oriented toward goals that you find important. You also feel a satisfying sense of self-efficacy. These realities engage your long-term reward system, which can override the urges generated by its short-term counterpart, dissipating the drive for quick gratification from activities like glancing at your phone. In other words: The more you organize your analog life, the less appealing you’ll find the digital alternative. If this is true, then maybe the thing social media companies fear most is not some newly-powerful application-blocking software or impossibly strict regulation, but rather a good old-fashioned daily planner. In Other News: A lot of people I know have been freaked out recently by a viral essay with a grandiose title: ​“Something Big is Happening.”​ I recently released ​a short video​ in which I conduct a close analysis of this piece. (Spoiler alert: I wasn’t impressed.) ​Check it out.​ (More generally, I’ve been considering starting a separate weekly podcast/newsletter dedicated to providing a reality check on recent AI news. It feels like it might be useful to separate this discussion from my existing podcast and newsletter, which are more focused on how individuals can seek depth in a distracted world. But also, maybe this is a bad idea? I’m interested to hear your thoughts about this plan.) The post What Do Social Media Companies Fear? Time Management. appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article