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If you picked up your iPhone to round out your Apple Music Replay for the year, or turned on your TV to watch a show like Pluribus, you might have noticed something odd: Neither service is working. It's not just you: Apple Music, Apple TV, and Game Center are currently down. That's directly from Apple's "System Status" website, which tracks all of Apple's web-based services and identifies which ones may be experiencing problems. While most of Apple's services, like the App Store, Find My, and iMessage, are all "Available," four of these services are experiencing an outage: Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple TV Channels, and Game Center. If you click on each, you can see the service's full status report: Apple Music - Outage Today, 2:53 PM - ongoing Some users are affected Users may be experiencing intermittent issues with this service. Apple TV Channels - Outage Today, 2:53 PM - ongoing Some users are affected Users may be experiencing intermittent issues with this service. Apple TV - Outage Today, 2:53 PM - ongoing Some users are affected Users may be experiencing intermittent issues with this service. Game Center - 1 Outage, 1 Resolved Issue Outage: Today, 2:53 PM - ongoing Some users are affected Users may be experiencing a problem with this service. Resolved Issue: Today, 8:43 AM - 9:14 AM Some users were affected Users may have experienced a problem with this service. It's not clear what is causing the outages, though they all went down at 2:53 p.m.. (Apple doesn't specify, but I imagine that's ET.) This isn't the first time this has happened, of course. In fact, Apple Music was down earlier this year, though it was actually still working for me when Apple said the outage was active. That appears to be the situation today, as well. Each report says "some users are affected," not all. As it happens, Apple Music is working on my Mac, and I'm able to stream the free pilot episode of Pluribus without issue. Apple will likely get these services back up and running for affected users. In the meantime, if your Apple Music or Apple TV won't cooperate, this is likely the cause. View the full article

After years of suffering from a crippling TikTok addiction, I decided enough was enough: I quit the app cold turkey and deleted it from my phone. Then, I discovered Instagram Reels, and my attention span hasn't been the same since. TikTok's algorithm is infamous, but we don't give Instagram's enough credit. This platform is addicting. I hardly use the app to keep up with friends and family anymore: Reels grabs my attention and doesn't let go, and before I know it, it's midnight, and I've done nothing with my evening. How many videos did I watch? What did I even watch? Whatever Meta has going on in that algorithm is dangerous stuff. You can influence the algorithm, of course: The decisions you make in the app—likes, comments, watch time, sharing—tell the algorithm which videos you like, which you don't, and inform its fraction-of-a-second decisions about what to show you next. But until now, you haven't been able to see what's driving those decisions. You're kind of flying blind—you can try to steer the algorithm in a new direction, but you'll never know exactly what direction you're really going in. That's now changing. As reported by Wired, Meta is rolling out a new tab for Reels viewers that will let us see why the algorithm is delivering us these particular videos. This tab, called, appropriately, "Your Algorithm," is now rolling out, first in the U.S., but soon to the rest of the world—at least, only to English speakers. It seems reminiscent of TikTok's "Manage Topics" feed, which lets you adjust the content types that appear in your For You feed. How "Your Algorithm" works on InstagramWhen "Your Algorithm" hits your phone, you'll find it in the top right corner of the Reels feed: two lines with heart icons placed on each. (I had to update the app and force quit it a couple times to get it to appear.) Once you open this tab, you'll see a short summary of the type of content the algorithm says you've liked recently. In Meta's example, it says, "Lately you've been into creativity, sports hype, fitness motivation, [and] skateboarding." Mine says, "Lately you've been into classic video games, laughing at comedy clubs, and making beats in the studio." Beneath this summary, you'll find the "What you want to see more of" section. Here, you can choose specific content categories you'd like to appear in your feed more often. Instagram will populate some choices here based on your past interests—Meta's example from above shows things like "Sports," "GRWM," "Thrifting," and "Horror movies"—but you can tap an "Add" button to contribute your own requests. You can tap any of these content types to find the option to watch Reels in that category, in case you want to test drive any before locking in your choices. Beneath this, you'll find "What you want to see less of." This is the same concept, but the reverse: You can choose any content types you don't want in your feed anymore. If you're sick of seeing hiking videos, but Instagram continues to show them to you, here's your chance to directly tell the algorithm to cut it out. If you tap the three dots in the top right, you'll find some shortcuts to existing content controls, too, like whether to suggest political content on your feed, "sensitive" content controls, and specific words and phrase filters, to name a few. You can also tap the share button to share your algorithm summary to your story. I'm not sure who would want to do that, but I guess I shared my summary here, so who am I to judge. Meta's changing content controlsWired highlights how these changes come as the European Commission is pushing Meta to present more data controls to EU users: These users have so far been able to pay to not see ads, but since the European Commission didn't think that was enough, Meta will allow users to choose whether to allow all their data to be used for personalized ads, or only a small percentage. That's not happening here in the U.S., but that doesn't mean Meta is staying the same, either. "Your Algorithm" is launching as Meta is facing criticism over how it handles younger users on its platforms. Reports suggest Meta understands how addictive its apps are, especially to teens, and the company's internal policies for chatbot interactions with minors was, frankly, appalling. The company has rolled out Teen Accounts across apps like Instagram and Facebook, which offer limits on communications and interactions, and new AI parental controls are also on their way. "Your Algorithm" seems to be the latest in a string of efforts to make it easier for users to control the experience on Meta platforms. Theoretically, you could even use these controls to make your Reels experience less addicting. Those are all good developments as far as I'm concerned, but I fear there's still quite a lot of work to do to make Meta's products—as well as many other social media products—less addictive, and, overall, better for us. Case in point: I opened the app to test out "Your Algorithm," and not only did I not find it at first, I ended up losing five minutes of my life watching the first video that appeared in my feed. I need to delete Instagram from my phone. View the full article

An editorial schedule is an essential planning tool that outlines when and what content will be created and published across various platforms. It helps you maintain a consistent posting rhythm, which is important for building trust and engagement with your audience. By organizing key dates, responsibilities, and themes, this schedule improves team collaboration and aligns content efforts with broader business objectives. Comprehending its components can greatly enhance your content strategy and execution. What exactly should you consider when creating one? Key Takeaways An editorial schedule outlines content creation and publication timelines, ensuring consistent communication with the audience. It includes key dates for content creation, review, and publication, aligning with seasonal events and campaigns. An effective schedule enhances team collaboration by clearly defining responsibilities and improving content consistency. Regular reviews and adjustments based on performance metrics help maintain relevance and audience engagement. Utilizing tools and templates for editorial schedules streamlines the planning process and fosters a cohesive team dynamic. Definition of an Editorial Schedule An editorial schedule serves as a vital roadmap for content creators and marketing teams. It’s a detailed timeline that outlines when specific content will be published across various platforms, helping you manage your publishing workflow efficiently. This tool includes key dates for content creation, review, and publication, ensuring all team members are aware of deadlines and responsibilities. Your editor calendar can additionally highlight important seasonal events and campaigns, allowing you to produce and share timely, relevant content. By organizing content in advance, an editorial schedule maintains a consistent posting frequency, which is imperative for audience engagement and brand visibility. In the end, it reduces the likelihood of last-minute rushes and streamlines your overall content production process. Importance of an Editorial Schedule Having an editorial schedule in place is crucial for any content team aiming to achieve consistent and impactful communication with their audience. It helps maintain a steady publishing rhythm, which builds trust and engagement over time. You can strategically plan and allocate resources for content creation, ensuring that all necessary steps, from drafting to editing, are completed on time. By outlining deadlines and responsibilities, the schedule promotes accountability among team members, which reduces the likelihood of missed deadlines and overlapping tasks. Moreover, it enables you to anticipate seasonal trends, ensuring timely content delivery for promotional events. Regularly updating the schedule can also identify gaps in content coverage, allowing for thorough planning that addresses various audience needs and interests. Benefits of Using an Editorial Schedule Using an editorial schedule can greatly improve your content consistency, ensuring that you meet deadlines and maintain a regular posting rhythm. It furthermore enhances team collaboration by clearly outlining responsibilities, which helps everyone stay aligned on projects. In addition, streamlining your content planning allows you to focus on creating timely and relevant material without the stress of last-minute scrambles. Improved Content Consistency Establishing a consistent content schedule considerably boosts your ability to engage with your audience effectively. By publishing content regularly, like “newsletter Tuesdays,” you create predictable patterns that promote audience trust and engagement. Planning ahead reduces last-minute content creation, ensuring a steady flow of relevant material that improves overall quality. This consistency allows you to cover all stages of the customer experience, ensuring your audience receives timely and appropriate information at each phase. Furthermore, a well-structured editorial schedule aids in tracking performance metrics, enabling you to make adjustments based on audience feedback. In the end, consistent publication drives long-term results, helping you maintain a loyal audience and improve your content’s effectiveness. Enhanced Team Collaboration An editorial schedule greatly improves team collaboration by clearly outlining responsibilities and deadlines, which helps everyone stay aligned on project timelines. By using this schedule, you’ll advance communication and minimize misunderstandings about content creation and publication processes. It facilitates regular check-ins and updates, encouraging team members to share progress and collaboratively address potential challenges. With defined roles and timelines, accountability among team members increases, leading to higher-quality content output. Furthermore, improved collaboration allows for the integration of diverse perspectives, which results in more innovative and engaging content strategies. Streamlined Content Planning When teams implement an editorial schedule, they gain a structured approach to content planning that greatly improves efficiency and organization. This schedule provides a clear timeline for publication, helping you manage deadlines effectively and avoid last-minute rushes. It promotes consistency in content delivery, making certain your audience receives regular updates, which keeps them engaged with your brand. By organizing content across various platforms, the schedule prevents duplication of efforts and guarantees thorough topic coverage. It additionally facilitates better collaboration among team members by clearly defining roles and responsibilities, encouraging accountability for content creation. Regular updates to the editorial schedule make certain that your content remains timely and relevant, allowing you to adapt quickly to changes in audience needs or market conditions. Key Components of an Effective Editorial Schedule Creating an effective editorial schedule is vital for maintaining a streamlined content creation process, as it allows teams to clearly define roles and responsibilities. Key components include topic assignments, publication dates, content formats, and the team members responsible for each task. A well-structured timeline helps visualize content flow, guaranteeing deadlines are met and that publishing remains consistent. Furthermore, important details like target audience, keywords, and content summaries align the schedule with your broader content strategy and business goals. Flexibility is critical, allowing for timely updates and seasonal content to meet changing audience needs. Regular audits of the editorial schedule help prevent content duplication and confirm that all planned topics remain relevant and engaging for your target audience. Steps to Create an Editorial Schedule To create an effective editorial schedule, you should start by identifying your content themes that resonate with your audience. Next, set clear deadlines for each topic to keep your publication on track, and guarantee you assign responsibilities appropriately among team members. This structured approach will help streamline your workflow and maintain accountability throughout the content creation process. Identify Content Themes Identifying content themes is essential for creating an effective editorial schedule, as it guarantees your topics resonate with your audience’s interests during alignment with your business goals. Start by brainstorming and analyzing what your audience cares about, using tools like keyword research and competitor analysis to discover trending topics. Establish a clear set of core themes that reflect your brand identity, and organize these themes into a content calendar for better visualization. Regularly review and adjust based on performance metrics and audience feedback to maintain relevance. Content Theme Description Audience Engagement Topics that encourage interaction Industry Trends Insights into current market shifts Brand Values Content that reflects your principles How-To Guides Practical advice for your audience Set Deadlines Clearly Setting clear deadlines is vital for maintaining an efficient editorial schedule, as it guarantees that everyone involved understands their roles and timelines. When you establish specific deadlines, each team member becomes accountable for their tasks, ensuring timely content delivery. It’s imperative to align deadlines with key dates, like marketing campaigns or seasonal events, to maximize audience engagement. Break down the content production process by assigning deadlines for brainstorming, drafting, editing, and final approval. This approach streamlines workflow and reduces last-minute rushes. Consider using color-coding in your editorial schedule to differentiate content types or responsibilities, enhancing clarity. Regularly review and update these deadlines, allowing your team to adapt to changing circumstances while keeping a clear focus on your content goals. Assign Responsibilities Appropriately Assigning responsibilities appropriately is crucial for an effective editorial schedule. Clearly define roles within your editorial team, guaranteeing everyone knows their accountability for each content piece and its deadlines. By assigning tasks based on individual strengths and expertise, you can maximize productivity and improve the quality of your content. Utilize collaborative tools or project management software to provide real-time updates on task progress, keeping all team members informed. Establish clear deadlines that align with your overall content calendar to prevent bottlenecks and guarantee timely publication. Furthermore, schedule regular check-ins to assess progress, address challenges, and adjust responsibilities as needed, maintaining workflow efficiency. This structured approach nurtures a cohesive team dynamic and leads to successful content creation. Examples and Templates for Editorial Schedules When you create an editorial schedule, you’re setting yourself up for a more organized and efficient content production process. Various templates can help you manage your content effectively, whether you prefer simple spreadsheets or advanced tools like Asana or Trello. Here are some fundamental elements to reflect on in your editorial schedule: Content type Target audience Status updates You can find many free downloadable templates in formats like Google Sheets or Excel, making customization easy for your specific needs. Regularly updating your schedule is vital, as it allows flexibility to adapt to changing priorities. This guarantees timely delivery of content across platforms, keeping your team on track and accountable throughout the content creation process. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Purpose of an Editorial Calendar? An editorial calendar’s purpose is to organize and schedule your content effectively, ensuring you deliver timely and relevant material. It helps you track publication timelines, identify content gaps, and assign roles and deadlines, which improves accountability within your team. By nurturing collaboration among writers, editors, and marketers, it streamlines workflows and enhances communication. Furthermore, it aligns content with your business goals and audience needs, in the end increasing the effectiveness of your messaging strategy. What Is an Editorial and What Is Its Importance? An editorial is a piece of writing that expresses opinions or viewpoints on specific issues, often reflecting the stance of a publication. Its significance lies in shaping public opinion and influencing societal attitudes by addressing current events or controversies. Editorials provide a platform for advocacy, encouraging community dialogue and prompting action. Why Are Editorial Guidelines Important? Editorial guidelines are essential for maintaining consistency in your content. They outline the brand’s voice, tone, and messaging, helping you create materials that resonate with your target audience. What Is the Focus of the Editorial Plan? The focus of the editorial plan is to outline your content strategy clearly. It defines your target audience, key messages, and the formats you’ll use to align with your business goals. By identifying themes and topics, it guarantees consistency across all content channels. Furthermore, it includes a timeline for production and publication, helping you stay organized and meet deadlines as well as allowing for performance measurement through established KPIs and audience feedback. Conclusion In conclusion, an editorial schedule is a crucial tool for any content creator or team. It not only organizes your content efforts but likewise aligns them with your business objectives. By establishing clear timelines and responsibilities, you improve collaboration and guarantee consistent communication with your audience. Implementing an editorial schedule can streamline your workflow, reduce last-minute stress, and finally lead to more effective content strategies. Embracing this practice is fundamental for achieving long-term success in content creation. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is an Editorial Schedule and Why Is It Necessary?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

An editorial schedule is an essential planning tool that outlines when and what content will be created and published across various platforms. It helps you maintain a consistent posting rhythm, which is important for building trust and engagement with your audience. By organizing key dates, responsibilities, and themes, this schedule improves team collaboration and aligns content efforts with broader business objectives. Comprehending its components can greatly enhance your content strategy and execution. What exactly should you consider when creating one? Key Takeaways An editorial schedule outlines content creation and publication timelines, ensuring consistent communication with the audience. It includes key dates for content creation, review, and publication, aligning with seasonal events and campaigns. An effective schedule enhances team collaboration by clearly defining responsibilities and improving content consistency. Regular reviews and adjustments based on performance metrics help maintain relevance and audience engagement. Utilizing tools and templates for editorial schedules streamlines the planning process and fosters a cohesive team dynamic. Definition of an Editorial Schedule An editorial schedule serves as a vital roadmap for content creators and marketing teams. It’s a detailed timeline that outlines when specific content will be published across various platforms, helping you manage your publishing workflow efficiently. This tool includes key dates for content creation, review, and publication, ensuring all team members are aware of deadlines and responsibilities. Your editor calendar can additionally highlight important seasonal events and campaigns, allowing you to produce and share timely, relevant content. By organizing content in advance, an editorial schedule maintains a consistent posting frequency, which is imperative for audience engagement and brand visibility. In the end, it reduces the likelihood of last-minute rushes and streamlines your overall content production process. Importance of an Editorial Schedule Having an editorial schedule in place is crucial for any content team aiming to achieve consistent and impactful communication with their audience. It helps maintain a steady publishing rhythm, which builds trust and engagement over time. You can strategically plan and allocate resources for content creation, ensuring that all necessary steps, from drafting to editing, are completed on time. By outlining deadlines and responsibilities, the schedule promotes accountability among team members, which reduces the likelihood of missed deadlines and overlapping tasks. Moreover, it enables you to anticipate seasonal trends, ensuring timely content delivery for promotional events. Regularly updating the schedule can also identify gaps in content coverage, allowing for thorough planning that addresses various audience needs and interests. Benefits of Using an Editorial Schedule Using an editorial schedule can greatly improve your content consistency, ensuring that you meet deadlines and maintain a regular posting rhythm. It furthermore enhances team collaboration by clearly outlining responsibilities, which helps everyone stay aligned on projects. In addition, streamlining your content planning allows you to focus on creating timely and relevant material without the stress of last-minute scrambles. Improved Content Consistency Establishing a consistent content schedule considerably boosts your ability to engage with your audience effectively. By publishing content regularly, like “newsletter Tuesdays,” you create predictable patterns that promote audience trust and engagement. Planning ahead reduces last-minute content creation, ensuring a steady flow of relevant material that improves overall quality. This consistency allows you to cover all stages of the customer experience, ensuring your audience receives timely and appropriate information at each phase. Furthermore, a well-structured editorial schedule aids in tracking performance metrics, enabling you to make adjustments based on audience feedback. In the end, consistent publication drives long-term results, helping you maintain a loyal audience and improve your content’s effectiveness. Enhanced Team Collaboration An editorial schedule greatly improves team collaboration by clearly outlining responsibilities and deadlines, which helps everyone stay aligned on project timelines. By using this schedule, you’ll advance communication and minimize misunderstandings about content creation and publication processes. It facilitates regular check-ins and updates, encouraging team members to share progress and collaboratively address potential challenges. With defined roles and timelines, accountability among team members increases, leading to higher-quality content output. Furthermore, improved collaboration allows for the integration of diverse perspectives, which results in more innovative and engaging content strategies. Streamlined Content Planning When teams implement an editorial schedule, they gain a structured approach to content planning that greatly improves efficiency and organization. This schedule provides a clear timeline for publication, helping you manage deadlines effectively and avoid last-minute rushes. It promotes consistency in content delivery, making certain your audience receives regular updates, which keeps them engaged with your brand. By organizing content across various platforms, the schedule prevents duplication of efforts and guarantees thorough topic coverage. It additionally facilitates better collaboration among team members by clearly defining roles and responsibilities, encouraging accountability for content creation. Regular updates to the editorial schedule make certain that your content remains timely and relevant, allowing you to adapt quickly to changes in audience needs or market conditions. Key Components of an Effective Editorial Schedule Creating an effective editorial schedule is vital for maintaining a streamlined content creation process, as it allows teams to clearly define roles and responsibilities. Key components include topic assignments, publication dates, content formats, and the team members responsible for each task. A well-structured timeline helps visualize content flow, guaranteeing deadlines are met and that publishing remains consistent. Furthermore, important details like target audience, keywords, and content summaries align the schedule with your broader content strategy and business goals. Flexibility is critical, allowing for timely updates and seasonal content to meet changing audience needs. Regular audits of the editorial schedule help prevent content duplication and confirm that all planned topics remain relevant and engaging for your target audience. Steps to Create an Editorial Schedule To create an effective editorial schedule, you should start by identifying your content themes that resonate with your audience. Next, set clear deadlines for each topic to keep your publication on track, and guarantee you assign responsibilities appropriately among team members. This structured approach will help streamline your workflow and maintain accountability throughout the content creation process. Identify Content Themes Identifying content themes is essential for creating an effective editorial schedule, as it guarantees your topics resonate with your audience’s interests during alignment with your business goals. Start by brainstorming and analyzing what your audience cares about, using tools like keyword research and competitor analysis to discover trending topics. Establish a clear set of core themes that reflect your brand identity, and organize these themes into a content calendar for better visualization. Regularly review and adjust based on performance metrics and audience feedback to maintain relevance. Content Theme Description Audience Engagement Topics that encourage interaction Industry Trends Insights into current market shifts Brand Values Content that reflects your principles How-To Guides Practical advice for your audience Set Deadlines Clearly Setting clear deadlines is vital for maintaining an efficient editorial schedule, as it guarantees that everyone involved understands their roles and timelines. When you establish specific deadlines, each team member becomes accountable for their tasks, ensuring timely content delivery. It’s imperative to align deadlines with key dates, like marketing campaigns or seasonal events, to maximize audience engagement. Break down the content production process by assigning deadlines for brainstorming, drafting, editing, and final approval. This approach streamlines workflow and reduces last-minute rushes. Consider using color-coding in your editorial schedule to differentiate content types or responsibilities, enhancing clarity. Regularly review and update these deadlines, allowing your team to adapt to changing circumstances while keeping a clear focus on your content goals. Assign Responsibilities Appropriately Assigning responsibilities appropriately is crucial for an effective editorial schedule. Clearly define roles within your editorial team, guaranteeing everyone knows their accountability for each content piece and its deadlines. By assigning tasks based on individual strengths and expertise, you can maximize productivity and improve the quality of your content. Utilize collaborative tools or project management software to provide real-time updates on task progress, keeping all team members informed. Establish clear deadlines that align with your overall content calendar to prevent bottlenecks and guarantee timely publication. Furthermore, schedule regular check-ins to assess progress, address challenges, and adjust responsibilities as needed, maintaining workflow efficiency. This structured approach nurtures a cohesive team dynamic and leads to successful content creation. Examples and Templates for Editorial Schedules When you create an editorial schedule, you’re setting yourself up for a more organized and efficient content production process. Various templates can help you manage your content effectively, whether you prefer simple spreadsheets or advanced tools like Asana or Trello. Here are some fundamental elements to reflect on in your editorial schedule: Content type Target audience Status updates You can find many free downloadable templates in formats like Google Sheets or Excel, making customization easy for your specific needs. Regularly updating your schedule is vital, as it allows flexibility to adapt to changing priorities. This guarantees timely delivery of content across platforms, keeping your team on track and accountable throughout the content creation process. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Purpose of an Editorial Calendar? An editorial calendar’s purpose is to organize and schedule your content effectively, ensuring you deliver timely and relevant material. It helps you track publication timelines, identify content gaps, and assign roles and deadlines, which improves accountability within your team. By nurturing collaboration among writers, editors, and marketers, it streamlines workflows and enhances communication. Furthermore, it aligns content with your business goals and audience needs, in the end increasing the effectiveness of your messaging strategy. What Is an Editorial and What Is Its Importance? An editorial is a piece of writing that expresses opinions or viewpoints on specific issues, often reflecting the stance of a publication. Its significance lies in shaping public opinion and influencing societal attitudes by addressing current events or controversies. Editorials provide a platform for advocacy, encouraging community dialogue and prompting action. Why Are Editorial Guidelines Important? Editorial guidelines are essential for maintaining consistency in your content. They outline the brand’s voice, tone, and messaging, helping you create materials that resonate with your target audience. What Is the Focus of the Editorial Plan? The focus of the editorial plan is to outline your content strategy clearly. It defines your target audience, key messages, and the formats you’ll use to align with your business goals. By identifying themes and topics, it guarantees consistency across all content channels. Furthermore, it includes a timeline for production and publication, helping you stay organized and meet deadlines as well as allowing for performance measurement through established KPIs and audience feedback. Conclusion In conclusion, an editorial schedule is a crucial tool for any content creator or team. It not only organizes your content efforts but likewise aligns them with your business objectives. By establishing clear timelines and responsibilities, you improve collaboration and guarantee consistent communication with your audience. Implementing an editorial schedule can streamline your workflow, reduce last-minute stress, and finally lead to more effective content strategies. Embracing this practice is fundamental for achieving long-term success in content creation. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is an Editorial Schedule and Why Is It Necessary?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In my last article, I focused on the sorts of questions small businesses need to be asking of themselves before making a software purchase to ensure they’re getting their money’s worth. These questions were: What problems are we trying to solve with software? How will we get people to use it? How will we know the software is working? However, the work isn’t complete once the software is implemented. It’s important to reflect on what you have done and whether or not the implementation has been successful. This practice will help decision-makers highlight which pain points and problems are being addressed, which results are measurable, and what unexpected benefits have arisen from changing how a company works. This process helps teams celebrate wins, build confidence with the team, and plan for future projects and implementation. Here are appropriate follow-up questions for small businesses to ask themselves once they’ve tried their new software to determine if the implementation was a success: Did the software help us take tangible steps towards solving our problems? Before embarking on a software-purchasing journey, it’s imperative that small businesses take the time to understand which processes they need to focus on improving so they can work more efficiently and enjoyably. The more accurate an assessment they make, the better suited their eventual software will be because they will have understood their requirements better and found a solution that checks the most boxes. Once the software is in place, companies that have put in this earlier work will have something to revisit and to use as a comparison point. These small businesses can start by taking stock in what the software has enabled them to do well. Which processes seem to be the most effective? Are there any that could be further streamlined? Where in the company’s workflow are communications flowing smoothly? The answers to these questions, when approached honestly, will yield guidance on how software can continue growing the business organically while offering opportunities for improvement. To determine whether a piece of software was a successful addition, small businesses need to home in on the key performance indicators (KPIs) they will track. The more granular and specific to a facet of the business, the better, as these will be the ones that are easiest to act upon, especially once they’ve driven alignment within our organization. Of course, no piece of software is perfect and no implementation occurs without a single speed bump. Once small businesses analyze these KPIs, it’s also important to note where there are still difficulties. Taking stock is a great opportunity to see where things have fallen short and what mistakes have been made. A clear idea of what went wrong and why is the way you learn from experience so you can do better next time. Have we set up our team with the change and support they need? Metrics themselves can tell a story about a software’s effectiveness, but the most important factor in determining software success is to ask the users directly. If a small business’s team doesn’t enjoy working with the software, then it’s likely any results from implementation will be temporary. If small business owners haven’t established a means for employees to provide feedback directly to the rest of the organization, then understanding the effects of a new implementation is the time to do it. And this needs to apply to more than a select handful of employees. Often, the importance of taking a company-wide temperature gets overlooked and it becomes far too easy to assume a few employees are speaking for the whole of an organization. Perhaps we could send out anonymous surveys once a quarter, or ask managers to discuss the new software during scheduled 1:1 meetings with their direct reports. Even if a particular employee doesn’t have much experience with the new software, it is important to learn why that may be to illuminate if any software adjustments need to be made to improve adoption. The best aspect of these feedback discussions is that we may learn about how the software has surprised users by addressing problems they didn’t even know they had. Perhaps one department didn’t realize just how much they needed new software until they were using it. Or a company’s software enables faster turnaround times that can be better handled by other aspects of the technology. These are all positive outcomes and should be noted for when decisions have to be made about further refining the tools being used or adding more to your deployment. Treating software as a people issue is the key to long-term success, and this practice goes a long way when introducing new technology that people may be uncertain about, like AI. Checking in with staff after implementation to understand their concerns, then addressing them, is the best way to increase adoption because it allows staff to feel like part of the process. Better yet, this practice can lead to staff members becoming advocates for the technology to any holdouts that may exist. Are we celebrating wins and building confidence and know-how in the organization? If small businesses are working with their teams, identifying pain points in the organization’s and people’s days, creating priorities, setting realistic and achievable goals, and measuring success in concrete ways, they are operating from a position of strength. They have demonstrated that they understand the most essential point: Small changes and modest improvements over time yield pronounced, measurable, and lasting results. And when you are doing something right in the organization, particularly when it impacts so many people, it’s important to point that out to folks and celebrate it. It’s far too easy for small businesses to remain risk-averse when they’re operating in feast-or-famine mode and the larger economic forecast is looking pretty dim. Putting any piece of software in place is a victory unto itself. It’s far easier to adjust something that already exists versus pull the trigger on a software purchase far too long in the works. It’s worth reflecting and celebrating your successes for what they were: successes. This fosters a belief within the team that they can do more, take on bigger projects, continue growing, and make a lasting and measurable impact on the industry. Software can help, but the real victory is demonstrating to employees that there is much more success on the horizon. This article, "How to Determine if Small Business Software Implementation Was Successful" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In my last article, I focused on the sorts of questions small businesses need to be asking of themselves before making a software purchase to ensure they’re getting their money’s worth. These questions were: What problems are we trying to solve with software? How will we get people to use it? How will we know the software is working? However, the work isn’t complete once the software is implemented. It’s important to reflect on what you have done and whether or not the implementation has been successful. This practice will help decision-makers highlight which pain points and problems are being addressed, which results are measurable, and what unexpected benefits have arisen from changing how a company works. This process helps teams celebrate wins, build confidence with the team, and plan for future projects and implementation. Here are appropriate follow-up questions for small businesses to ask themselves once they’ve tried their new software to determine if the implementation was a success: Did the software help us take tangible steps towards solving our problems? Before embarking on a software-purchasing journey, it’s imperative that small businesses take the time to understand which processes they need to focus on improving so they can work more efficiently and enjoyably. The more accurate an assessment they make, the better suited their eventual software will be because they will have understood their requirements better and found a solution that checks the most boxes. Once the software is in place, companies that have put in this earlier work will have something to revisit and to use as a comparison point. These small businesses can start by taking stock in what the software has enabled them to do well. Which processes seem to be the most effective? Are there any that could be further streamlined? Where in the company’s workflow are communications flowing smoothly? The answers to these questions, when approached honestly, will yield guidance on how software can continue growing the business organically while offering opportunities for improvement. To determine whether a piece of software was a successful addition, small businesses need to home in on the key performance indicators (KPIs) they will track. The more granular and specific to a facet of the business, the better, as these will be the ones that are easiest to act upon, especially once they’ve driven alignment within our organization. Of course, no piece of software is perfect and no implementation occurs without a single speed bump. Once small businesses analyze these KPIs, it’s also important to note where there are still difficulties. Taking stock is a great opportunity to see where things have fallen short and what mistakes have been made. A clear idea of what went wrong and why is the way you learn from experience so you can do better next time. Have we set up our team with the change and support they need? Metrics themselves can tell a story about a software’s effectiveness, but the most important factor in determining software success is to ask the users directly. If a small business’s team doesn’t enjoy working with the software, then it’s likely any results from implementation will be temporary. If small business owners haven’t established a means for employees to provide feedback directly to the rest of the organization, then understanding the effects of a new implementation is the time to do it. And this needs to apply to more than a select handful of employees. Often, the importance of taking a company-wide temperature gets overlooked and it becomes far too easy to assume a few employees are speaking for the whole of an organization. Perhaps we could send out anonymous surveys once a quarter, or ask managers to discuss the new software during scheduled 1:1 meetings with their direct reports. Even if a particular employee doesn’t have much experience with the new software, it is important to learn why that may be to illuminate if any software adjustments need to be made to improve adoption. The best aspect of these feedback discussions is that we may learn about how the software has surprised users by addressing problems they didn’t even know they had. Perhaps one department didn’t realize just how much they needed new software until they were using it. Or a company’s software enables faster turnaround times that can be better handled by other aspects of the technology. These are all positive outcomes and should be noted for when decisions have to be made about further refining the tools being used or adding more to your deployment. Treating software as a people issue is the key to long-term success, and this practice goes a long way when introducing new technology that people may be uncertain about, like AI. Checking in with staff after implementation to understand their concerns, then addressing them, is the best way to increase adoption because it allows staff to feel like part of the process. Better yet, this practice can lead to staff members becoming advocates for the technology to any holdouts that may exist. Are we celebrating wins and building confidence and know-how in the organization? If small businesses are working with their teams, identifying pain points in the organization’s and people’s days, creating priorities, setting realistic and achievable goals, and measuring success in concrete ways, they are operating from a position of strength. They have demonstrated that they understand the most essential point: Small changes and modest improvements over time yield pronounced, measurable, and lasting results. And when you are doing something right in the organization, particularly when it impacts so many people, it’s important to point that out to folks and celebrate it. It’s far too easy for small businesses to remain risk-averse when they’re operating in feast-or-famine mode and the larger economic forecast is looking pretty dim. Putting any piece of software in place is a victory unto itself. It’s far easier to adjust something that already exists versus pull the trigger on a software purchase far too long in the works. It’s worth reflecting and celebrating your successes for what they were: successes. This fosters a belief within the team that they can do more, take on bigger projects, continue growing, and make a lasting and measurable impact on the industry. Software can help, but the real victory is demonstrating to employees that there is much more success on the horizon. This article, "How to Determine if Small Business Software Implementation Was Successful" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The consulting firm McKinsey and women’s nonprofit Lean In just released their annual Women in the Workplace report, which examines how gender disparities are impacting womens’ career prospects. Unfortunately, this year’s results show that companies are backsliding on their commitment to workplace equity—and one way that’s harming women is by making it more difficult for them to work remotely. This is the 11th annual Women in the Workplace report, and its results reflect a broader pattern across corporate America: a retreat from inclusive efforts amidst a The President administration that’s gone out of its way to cut back on DEI policies. Per the study, two in 10 companies say they’re placing low or no priority on women’s career advancement, a figure that rises to three in 10 for women of color. Further, almost one in six companies scaled back on formal sponsorship and discontinued or diminished career development programs with content tailored for women. “This year, only half of companies are prioritizing women’s career advancement, part of a trend in declining commitment to gender diversity,” the report reads. One major roadblock to womens’ success in the workplace is that, in our modern era of flexible work, women are penalized for choosing to work remotely—despite the fact that, at the same time, they’re still expected to shoulder most of the responsibilities in the home. Flexibility stigma: How women are penalized for working remotely McKinsey and Lean In found that women who work remotely most of the time are less likely to have a sponsor (or someone championing their career advancement) and far less likely to have been promoted in the last two years than women who work mostly on-site. In contrast, men receive similar levels of sponsorship and promotions, regardless of where they work. For context, the data showed that 49% of men who worked mostly remotely received a promotion in the last two years, compared to just 37% of women. Similarly, 52% of primarily remote men had a work sponsor, while only 37% of women could say the same. Women who came into the office more often saw a major boost in these percentages, while men saw only a small increase. On top of these existing challenges, companies are now beginning to remove flexible work options entirely. The report found that one in four companies now offer fewer remote and hybrid opportunities. That’s especially detrimental to women who, despite being more penalized for working remotely, are simultaneously expected to carry more of the burden at home. In 2024, women with partners were more than three times more likely as men to be responsible for all or more housework. And, this year, almost 25% of entry or senior level women who reported not being interested in a promotion said personal obligations made it difficult to take on more work; whereas only 15% of men said the same. “Flexibility stigma is one of the biggest factors holding women back at work,” the report reads. “When women use flexible work arrangements, coworkers often assume they are less engaged and productive, while men’s commitment is taken for granted.” 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 wall-mounted Amazon Echo Show 15 has built-in Fire TV, but it also functions as a customizable family hub that keeps you on track with calendars, lists, and more. Right now, it’s $254.99 (originally $299.99), its lowest price on Amazon to date, according to price-tracking tools. Amazon Echo Show 15 $254.99 at Amazon $299.99 Save $45.00 Get Deal Get Deal $254.99 at Amazon $299.99 Save $45.00 The newest generation Amazon Echo Show features a bright 15.6-inch display and a remote control that lets you navigate the Fire TV interface and control media playback. It’s well-suited for mounting in an office, kitchen, or living room where you need a home-organization hub that hangs easily like a picture (it also doubles as a digital picture frame). It also makes for a helpful alternative to a laptop or tablet for comfortable video calling with a wide field of view, 3.3x zoom, and a 13 MP camera. Like all Echo Show devices, the experience is centered around Amazon’s Alexa, so it’s better for those already in the Amazon ecosystem. It comes complete with smart home controls and widgets that make it more capable as a shared household device. It also supports multiple profiles, recognizing users by voice or face using the camera. This PCMag review notes that although the Fire TV interface is capable and the speakers are louder than the previous generation, they could be clearer and more dynamic. Still, even though sound quality isn’t perfect, the Amazon Echo Show 15 performs well as a productivity-forward, centralized smart display rather than a smart TV used solely for entertainment (unless you want to add an external speaker to the larger screen model, which is 13% off right now). Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $219.99 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $279.00 (List Price $349.00) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $278.00 (List Price $399.99) Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Graphite) — $149.99 (List Price $219.99) 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) Blink Outdoor 4 1080p 3-Camera Kit With Sync Module Core — $74.99 (List Price $189.99) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Row over cap on unfair dismissal payouts in House of Lords threatens to delay delivery of manifesto pledgeView the full article

The terms of NRMLT 2025-NQM7 will not allow it to advance principal and interest on loans that are delinquent by 180 days or more. View the full article

Backing from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar represents latest push into prized international media assetsView the full article

Forgetting where you parked your car isn't just a sitcom trope—though it does make for classic TV. Even in the age of the smartphone, it's all too easy to walk away from your car and retain zero memory of where you left it. As it happens, Google Maps has a solution—provided you have an iPhone. So long as you're running the app on an Apple device, Google Maps can automatically remember where you parked and display that information on the map. There's no need to mark the location yourself, tell the app to save your spot, or take a picture of the cross streets in case you forget: You can simply glance at the screen to find a "You parked here" label. The thing is, while some are reporting this feature is relatively new to them, others suggest it's been out for a while. What gives? How Google Maps automatically saves your parking location on iOSThis feature works if you connect your iPhone to your car, whether via Bluetooth, CarPlay, or a USB cable. When you disconnect your iPhone from your car, Google Maps will assume you've parked, and will automatically mark that location on the map. The feature will also work if you give Google Maps permission to access your Motion & Fitness data, which allows the app to tell when you've started and stopped driving. (You can check on this setting from Google Maps' in-app settings: Head to Navigation, then, under "Automatically save parking," tap Let maps use your motion to save your parking.) You can also choose to set Google Maps' location permissions to "Always," which gives the app persistent access to your location data, and also lets it figure out when you've stopped your car. You can change this option on your iPhone by navigating t0 Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Google Maps. Is this feature actually new?This feature is genuinely great, and I'm happy Google Maps supports it—even if Android users are inexplicably being excluded for now. But you might also be wondering to yourself, wasn't this already a feature? It doesn't sound all that new. Yet you might have even seen a flurry articles like this one today, all reporting on this "new" Google Maps parking feature. As it turns out, the answer is a bit complicated. The coverage today all references this announcement on LinkedIn from Google Maps senior product manager Rio Akasaka—only that post is, according to LinkedIn, a month old. Some of the comments are more recent, but others appear to be from the original posting date. Potentially adding to the confusion, other navigation apps, like Apple Maps, already support automatically saving your parking spot, and while Google Maps has also had an option to save your parking spot for some time, it previously wasn't automatic. If you wanted the app to remember where you stopped, you needed to tap your blue dot on the map and choose "Save your parking." That's how it still is on Android, since the automatic feature only works on iOS. Looking through the comment sections on articles from outlets like The Verge or MacRumors, some users insist they've had this feature for some time—well before that month-old LinkedIn announcement. This commenter says they've had the feature for years, while this one claims they've had it for "ages." So what gives? Have at least some iPhone users have had this feature for years? It is possible Google has been testing out the feature with smaller subsets of users and only recently rolled it out en masse, but whether or not that actually happened is unclear at this time. I've reached out to Google for clarification about the timeline of this feature's implementation, and I will update this article if I get an answer. Until then, I can only hope Google is actively working on rolling out the feature to Android, as that really would be something new. View the full article

Several years ago, a reader shared with us this epic email that was sent by their company’s boss after a holiday party gone terribly awry, and as we enter the holiday season we remember its glory. “This happened about ten years ago, but the email I received from our boss was so epic I preserved it. Context: The second year I worked at this company, our holiday party was held on a dinner cruise boat. Our boss footed the bill for dinner and an open bar, and a few other companies also hosted their own parties on the boat at the same time. Since I was underage at the time, I did not drink, and actually left early with my date. Everything was fine when I left. The Monday after, I rolled into the office– the first person there– and was greeted with this email from our boss [identifying details removed]: ‘Good morning to all. I hope all of you had time to recuperate and reflect about the unusual chain of events and circumstances at this year’s Christmas party. Some of you went home early and did not take in the full range of events. Unfortunately, some of our staff got out of hand, including the spouses. Things were said, and things were done, that quite frankly were very inappropriate. Also, we had people from the adjoining group that decided to take advantage of our open bar and co-mingle with our group. In regards to the inappropriate behavior, I am not going to go into all of the details, but let it be said that the root cause was probably due to the open bar. Some of our staff decided that the open bar meant that the drinking could be unlimited, not only in how much, but how they drank. As a result, some our staff and spouses decided that shots were OK. Shots were ordered for some who do not even drink. Shots are not OK at a company Christmas party. Other staff and spouses got multiple drinks at once for themselves and for people not even in our group. Others decided it was OK to get openly drunk and beligerent, to the point of making racial slurs. I, myself, am guilty of attacking someone from the other group after he decided to retaliate by groping my wife. Having thought about the circumstances and the fact that we have to work together as a firm and team, some of you need to apologize for your behavior and/or for the behavior of your spouse. We specifically implemented a no fraternization policy and some of you could get fired on that alone, while other staff exercised no restraint over their spouse for their drunken condition. It is not OK for a spouse to misbehave, just because he or she is not an employee. Many careers have been destroyed, and people get fired, due to the conduct of their spouse. You are expected to exercise constraint over your spouse, or take them home. And if that cannot be done, then you should not bring your spouse. In regards to the Firm’s policy on drinking, there will be no more open bars. Unfortunately, some of you and your spouses exercise extremely poor judgment. Because of this poor judgment, it puts the Firm at risk. Given the poor road conditions that night, some of you could have ended up dead. It is also unfortunate that a few have to ruin it for the whole group. I would like to start the apologies by stating I am sorry for not handling the situation that I was confronted with in a different manner. I feel embarrassed, and it was not conduct befitting of the firm’s president. I also felt betrayed by some of you for patronizing the one individual from the adjoining group, who’s behavior was lewd and offensive, not to mention the outright theft by running up our bar tab. I invite others to make some form of apology, either by email or in person for what they did or said, or what their spouse did or said. You can do this voluntarily, and you know who you are, or I will confront you by Wednesday of this week. I do not intend to ignore what happened. If I have to confront you, you could lose your job. I will be available Monday and Tuesday late afternoon, or you can email me and/or others. Let’s not let this one incidence stop us from being [#1 company in field]. We have a lot going for ourselves and let’s keep it going.’” Read an update as well. The post “I will confront you by Wednesday of this week” appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Discussions on reconstruction come as Donald The President seeks end to Russian invasion View the full article

Project portfolio management (PPM) is the centralized management of all projects within an organization to ensure that they align with the overall strategic goals, deliver value, and are executed efficiently. The main objective of PPM is to optimize the selection, prioritization, and execution of projects to maximize organizational benefits, minimize risk and improve resource utilization. Below are free project portfolio templates to help with PPM. ProjectManager’s award-winning project and portfolio management software is more dynamic than static project portfolio management templates. Our software has tools to plan, manage and track programs, portfolios, resources and more. However, for those not ready to upgrade, we also have over 100 free project and portfolio management templates for Excel and Word that can help. Below are just some that address the needs of project portfolio management. 1. PPM Dashboard Template Project portfolio managers must closely monitor projects to ensure they’re meeting milestones, but also to properly allocate resources. Using this free PPM dashboard template for Excel gives them a high-level overview of the key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and analyze the progress and performance of multiple projects. The free project portfolio management template identifies trends and helps managers make more informed decisions when managing a portfolio of projects. /wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KPI-Dashboard-Template-Screenshot.png The only problem with this project portfolio template is that it must be manually updated. The data is never current, which makes it harder to allocate resources and ensure that projects are delivering on the strategic goals. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with portfolio dashboards that deliver real-time data automatically. Once the baseline is set on the Gantt chart or roadmap, our software constantly updates to reflect actual data against the planned effort. Easy-to-read graphs and charts display KPIs, such as time, cost, workload and more across the portfolio of projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Portfolio-Dashboard-CTA.pngLearn more 2. Project Portfolio Template for PPM With all projects visible in one place, leaders and portfolio managers don’t have to gather information from many separate project trackers. This makes it easier to understand the “big picture.” This free project portfolio template for Excel provides a structured spreadsheet layout where you list every project in your organization’s portfolio, including project names, objectives, start and end dates, status, budget (planned vs actual), priority, assigned teams or owners and other relevant data. /wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Project-Portfolio-Template-1.png It organizes all projects in a single “master view,” so you can see at a glance how many projects are active, which are upcoming or completed, and where each stands relative to schedule, cost and priority. 3. Project Intake Template for PPM Managing a portfolio means choosing the right projects to initiate. This free project intake form template for Word formalizes that process to ensure that proposed projects align with organizational goals and objectives. Use this project portfolio management template to review and approve formally proposed projects to evaluate their feasibility and determine their priority within the broader portfolio. This reduces the risk of inefficiencies or wasted resources. Ultimately, it leads to better outcomes, improved resource and risk management and improved communications between stakeholders about expectations, goals and requirements. /wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Project-Intake-Form-Template.png The project portfolio template is designed to address all the issues that need to be judged when reviewing a project for approval. These include describing the project, its goals and objectives. There’s also space to explain how the project contributes to the business, operational and strategic objectives. The project scope statement is included to summarize the work that will be executed as well as resource planning and an estimate of the project’s costs. There’s a timeline, a cost-benefit analysis and a risk management overview. This all leads to the final section, which is the assessment, which explains why the project should be approved or rejected or if additional information is needed. 4. PPM Program Roadmap Template A program roadmap is a high-level visual plan that outlines the major initiatives, milestones, timelines and dependencies within a program; a coordinated group of related projects working toward a shared strategic objective. Download this free program roadmap template for Excel for a clear, consolidated timeline view of all the projects within a program: multiple related projects, their start and end dates, milestones and phases, all on one chart. /wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Program-roadmap-template-2.png Because you can see when projects overlap or depend on each other, you can more effectively allocate resources (people, budget, time) across multiple projects, reducing conflicts, bottlenecks or overcommitments. 5. PPM Cost Benefit Analysis Template Use this free PPM cost benefit analysis template for Excel to compare what the organization would expect to pay for a project against what benefits or opportunities the project could provide. This is an essential tool when determining whether a project is viable for the portfolio or whether it’s better to pass on. The more research on the project before committing to it, the better. This project portfolio management template is key to determining if the proposed project is a good fit. /wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Cost-Benefit-Analysis-Screenshot.jpg This project portfolio template does this by placing a dollar amount for every cost and benefit in the project. By subtracting the benefits from the costs, the profit, both financially and in terms of business objectives and goals, is revealed. When the benefits outweigh the costs, the project is likely worth pursuing. Therefore, this is a decision-making tool that all portfolio managers will want to have in their toolshed. 6. PPM Project Prioritization Matrix Another value project portfolio management template is the free PPM project prioritization matrix template for Excel. This tool helps compare projects objectively to determine which will bring value to the organization and those that can be passed on. This versatile tool can prioritize projects, manage time and reach a consensus. The origin dates back to President Eisenhower’s administration, where the tool was called an Eisenhower matrix, as he used it to help decide what was most important to focus on first. /wp-content/uploads/2022/09/project-prioritization-template-screenshot-final.jpg The project portfolio template is simple in design, but very useful in execution. It is divided into two axes, the vertical axis is divided into two rows. One row is crucial, the other not crucial. The horizontal axis is divided into two columns, one for do now and the other for do later. This breaks up the matrix into four quadrants. The top left is for what must be done immediately, the top right is for that which can be scheduled shortly. The bottom left is to delegate and the bottom right is to delete or move. 7. PPM Resource Capacity Planning Template Capacity planning is one of the pillars of project portfolio management, which is simply the process of managing resources, time, teams and work. The free PPM resource capacity planning template for Excel is used to balance available resources to meet the project’s capacity needs. This project portfolio management template helps portfolio managers keep up with changing demands. /wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Capacity-Planning-Template.png Using this project portfolio template allows portfolio managers to see the utilization, time and effort of teams across projects. It does this by first providing an overview of the project and then listing the tasks and their estimated duration, including start and end dates. Next, there’s a list of resources, with an hourly rate for each resource. That’s followed by the project timeline and resource availability, utilization and remaining resource availability. Users can also see who is over or under-allocated, the resource utilization rate and costs per resource. 8. PPM Project Budget Template While portfolio management is often focused on governance and resource management, costs are always part of the larger picture. That’s why it’s so important to use this free PPM project budget template for Excel. When planning on whether to include a project or when that decision has been made and the project’s costs have to be forecast, this project portfolio management template helps accurately estimate what the financial commitment will be. /wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Project-Budget-Screenshot.jpg This project portfolio template lists all the project tasks and even the subtasks. Then each task or subtask is broken down into how much it’ll cost to execute. There are columns to capture the planned labor costs, actual hours and rates. Some columns identify the materials used, including how many units and the price per unit. Of course, projects often have other costs, which is why there are columns for travel, equipment and food. The template is also fully customizable so users can add any other expenses they might have. 9. Multiple Project Tracking Template for PPM Use this free multiple project tracking template for Excel to monitor the progress of a portfolio. It captures all the relevant project information in a single document. This project portfolio management template can be used throughout the portfolio’s life cycle. Projects are constantly in flux and the best way to allocate resources effectively is by tracking those projects to understand what they need and when they need it. /wp-content/uploads/2023/02/multiple-project-tracking-template-for-excel-projectmanager.jpg The project portfolio template lists all the projects, their tasks and their dependencies. It shows who’s assigned to which tasks, the priority as well as the start date, planned end date and actual end date. The planned and actual costs are also listed. As this data is added to the template, it is easy to see which projects are overspending or falling behind schedule. Then those projects that aren’t tracking as expected can be adjusted to get back on schedule or within budget. 10. Program Roadmap Template for PPM A roadmap is a tool that helps view the strategy of all the project phases, objectives, milestones, deliverables, resources, risks, dependencies and the planned project timeline. This is an invaluable project portfolio management template. Use this free program roadmap template for Excel to help make large decisions about projects within the context of its strategy, resource allocation and more. /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Strategic-Roadmap-Template-for-Excel-ProjectManager-2.webp This project portfolio template keeps the project teams and stakeholders aware of project objectives. It’s also an integral part of the process to respond quickly to market changes or when a project pivots, as it shows how those changes will affect the larger strategy. Roadmaps help set expectations, get buy-in and update stakeholders on progress. 11. PPM Project Update Template Keeping a portfolio on track requires consistent updates. This free project update template for Excel is the perfect tool for portfolio management. Because portfolio management involves overseeing multiple projects simultaneously, often with different scopes, teams and timelines, having standardized updates from each project is extremely useful. /wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Project-update-template.png Because the template is ready-made, project managers don’t have to reinvent the reporting structure each time. That saves time, reduces reporting errors and ensures completeness. The template acts as a standard communication backbone for a project portfolio, enabling clarity, alignment and strategic oversight across multiple initiatives. 12. PPM Status Report Template When portfolio managers need to check in on the progress and performance of their projects or keep their stakeholders informed, they can use this free PPM status report template for Excel. This project portfolio management template improves communication and helps to deliver project update presentations with greater impact by capturing the current status of projects in terms of health and progress. /wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Project-status-report-project-overview.png The project portfolio template covers everything from project information to a summary of the project’s status, which includes completed work, upcoming work, project deliverables and milestones. There’s a section on the project’s health, which includes overviews of the budget, schedule, scope and quality control. There are even risk and change management logs. 13. Project Request Form for PPM Need to propose new projects to stakeholders or teams? Utilize our free project request form for Excel. It captures key information upfront—such as the project’s purpose, expected benefits, scope, costs, required resources, risks and alignment with organizational goals. This gives the PMO or portfolio managers enough detail to evaluate whether the proposed project should move forward. /wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Project-Request-Form-Screenshot-600x526.png Use this template to bring structure and fairness to how new projects enter the portfolio. Instead of informal conversations or unclear requests, every idea is documented, comparable and evaluated against the same criteria. This helps the PMO prioritize high-value initiatives, prevent resource overload, screen out low-impact projects and maintain alignment with strategy. 14. Project List Template for PPM In project portfolio management (PPM), a project list serves as a master registry of every active, planned, or archived initiative across the organization. This project list template for Excel gives visibility into the full scope of work, showing which projects are underway, which are coming next and how they relate to strategic goals. With a reliable project list, portfolio managers can better prioritize, balance resources, and ensure alignment across teams and departments. /wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Project-list-template-for-Excel.png The template provides a ready-to-use spreadsheet to capture essential details for each project, including the name, owner, status, priority, start and end dates and other metadata. This standardization makes it easy to maintain, filter, and sort projects, ensuring nothing gets lost. By consolidating all projects in one place, it simplifies oversight, helps detect conflicts or overcommitments, and supports clearer decision-making and reporting at the portfolio level. 15. Resource Plan Template for PPM Use this free resource plan template for Excel to always have the right resources at the right time. This project portfolio management template does that by identifying, listing and organizing all the resources needed to complete the projects as well as determining the quantity needed for each resource, including cost and when it’s needed in the project. /wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Resource-Plan-Screenshot-e1704301619226.jpg When using this free project portfolio template, there are fields to fill in on the project info, resources and costs. Once this section is completed, there’s a calendar to the right. It goes for a month, but this customizable template can be changed to reflect a week or several months, depending on the project’s needs. Then fill in the calendar to plan resources and ensure that the project is always covered. How ProjectManager Helps PPM Project portfolio management templates aren’t the ideal tool to manage multiple projects. Projects are dynamic, templates are static. It’s simply a poor match. Someone has to manually update those templates, which takes time away from more valuable work. Project portfolio management software is a far better solution. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that has features that automatically update in real time, like the project portfolio dashboard that provides a real-time overview of project health without having to do anything but toggle over to the tool. Manage Resources With Roadmaps Our powerful project portfolio roadmaps work better than project portfolio templates. Our software can collect all the projects in a portfolio and display them on a Gantt chart that can help with resource management, time tracking and task management. Users can filter by assignee, project manager or customer to make forecasts. View which projects are open and see who is assigned to which tasks. It also helps highlight key metrics to keep stakeholders informed. /wp-content/uploads/2024/08/portfolio-roadmap-light-mode-webp-e1723229198497.webp Get Detailed Portfolio Reports Keep stakeholders informed with high-level and in-depth reporting features that share progress and more. Customized project portfolio reporting goes deeper into the data, generating reports on portfolio status, tasks and timelines as well as customizing reports to see only the data that users want to see. There are also reports on variance, timesheets and workload, among others. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Reports-Light-2554x1372-1.png Related PPM Content Project portfolio management templates are only a small part of project portfolio management. To learn more about the best ways to manage multiple projects, check out the recent posts below. Free PMO Templates for Excel and Word How to Make a Portfolio Management Report: A Quick Guide Best Project Portfolio Management Software How to Manage Multiple Projects: Strategies & Tools Project Intake Process: Prioritizing Project Requests Project Selection: Use These 8 Selection Methods ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams, whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post 15 Free Project Portfolio Management Templates for Excel and Word appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Gen Z’s latest online fixation is the so-called ‘millennial optimism’ era. The TikTok trend sees users posting early-2000s throwback snaps set to The Middle East’s 2009 song “Blood”. Think moustache tattoos, Apple Photo Booth selfies, and owl-print tops paired with galaxy leggings. For those too young to experience it firsthand: the 2010s were a simpler, happier time. As one TikTok creator posted: “Millennial optimism era really had me thinking I could make a living as a part-time barista and live in a six-bedroom house with all my friends.” As one commenter confirmed: “Tbh this was actually possible in 2012.” In another clip, one Gen Zer wrote: “Every day I’m faced with the sad reality that performative millennial hipsters from 2005-2012 really did have it so much better.” It was a time where Barack Obama was president. Instagram was still for uploading grainy images of nights out and snapshots of your coffee. One Direction was formed. Life was good. Right? In case you may not remember, in 2010, millennials were just starting out in the workforce… and unemployment was as high as 10% in the wake of the Great Recession. Many are still carrying the economic baggage well over a decade later, with research showing that those who graduate during a recession could see stagnation in financial growth for up to 15 years. In the 2010s, college tuition also more than doubled since the 1980s. Wages were suppressed and many millennials struggled to get their careers off the ground (sounds familiar, Gen Z?). In the US, student loans were staggering. Those who lived through this period have stepped in to set the record straight online. One millennial suggests the TikTok trend is “missing the mark in only the way a TikTok trend can.” He explained: “I assure you that during the early 2010s-late 2000s, I was the most pessimistic that I’ve ever been in my life.” Other millennials agreed in the comments, with one writing: “The music was great, the times were hard.” Another added: “Only the millennials living in New York, in poverty, back in 2010s, fresh out of college and post financial crisis, would understand how far back my eyes rolled when I saw this trend.” They added: “we hustled and had 4 different jobs for a decade and we’re dead inside.” For millennials at the time, optimism was simply a survival strategy. “So much music that has been deemed ‘millennial optimism’ is upbeat but has devastating lyrics,” a third commented. “Which mimics how I felt in my twenties, smiling or partying through severe hopelessness.” Chelsea Fagan, a millennial writer, dubbed the early 2010s “the last era of sweet delusion” earlier this year. Objectively, things were tough. And yet, despite these hardships, there was still an enduring belief among millennials that if you worked your way up the ladder, you would be rewarded with a house, a car, and a comfortable life, with an employer who would return your loyalty. “The early 2010s were full of a general sense that everything would just work out,” Fagan wrote. “Was it a little delusional? Absolutely.” Today? Recent graduates seem to have no such delusion. View the full article

One of the best lessons I've learned across years of DIY projects is the fact that, whether powered by hand or by electricity, your tools can can serve more than the purpose for which you purchased them—provided you get creative with how you put them to use. Often, you can use two tools together to improve their performance, make them more versatile, make them easier to use, or even to to replace a tool you’re missing. Here are 10 unexpected ways to combine your hand tools and power tools to make DIY work a little easier. Stick an Allen wrench into your drill Power drill and Allen wrench being used to extract eyehook Credit: Jeff Somers Eye hooks serve a wide range of uses, but if you’ve ever had to drive a bunch of them into wood, you know how frustrating they can be. The usual move is to either slip a screwdriver through the hook and twist, which is slow and awkward, or to clamp a wrench or pair of pliers on top and twist, which is...also slow and awkward. This works better: Place an Allen wrench in your power drill’s chuck, slide the end of the wrench into the eyehook, and let the drill do the work. It's faster, it saves your elbows and wrists the strain, and you’ll wonder why you never thought of it before. Use a shop vac to inject wood glueWood glue can be a lifesaver when you have a damaged piece of lumber—but only if you can actually get the glue inside the crack. If you’ve ever tried, you know that you wind up with glue smeared everywhere, but only a small amount seeps into the crack, leading to a pretty quick failure. By combining a shop vac with your gluing efforts, you can make this much more effective. Position the shop vac up close against one end of the crack and turn it on. Then apply the glue from the other end, moving toward the shop vac. The suction will pull the glue into the crack, filling it up and resulting in a stronger bond. Use a sander to clean your putty knives Orbital sander cleaning knife Credit: Jeff Somers Drywall knives and putty knives can develop a thick, lumpy buildup of drywall mud, paint, and anything else they’re used to scrape. Eventually, they’re almost useless because their flat surface has developed its own topography. You can try cleaning them, but water will rust them and it’s often a laborious process, especially if they’re covered in cement or thinset. If you’ve got an orbital sander, however, cleaning your putty knives and drywall knives is pretty easy. Using a moderate grit (120 works well) pad, just sand down your blade with gentle pressure—don’t overdo it; just let the sandpaper do its work. You’ll have shiny, clean blades in no time. Use a carpenter’s square and a chalk line as a makeshift levelGetting things level is surprisingly challenging—at least for me. I can measure things five times and still somehow wind up slightly off. That makes a spirit level an essential part of my toolbox for any project (and even then, I am level-challenged, somehow). If I forget my level, I’m in trouble—unless I happen to have a carpenter’s square and a chalk line. Place the bottom of the square on the surface you’re checking, and loop your chalk line over the top at the 90° mark so it dangles down. Then adjust until the line is directly over the 45° mark on the bottom. That’s means it's level. Use a screwdriver and hammer to remove stubborn nails Hammer and screwdriver extracting nail Credit: Jeff Somers Trying to remove a stuck nail can be an entire project in itself. Your progress freezes while you sweat and strain, and eventually you start to damage the surface as your attempts to pull that nail get wilder and more violent. To protect a surface you don’t want to damage and give yourself a little extra leverage on the nail, place a screwdriver under your hammer. This will give your pull a little more oomph while stopping your hammer from gouging the surface beneath. Use a vise grip with a putty knife to remove a headless nailGot a stubborn nail and don’t have your hammer or prybar? Or dealing with a nail that’s lost its head? You can get it free with the help of a vise grip and a putty knife. Lock the vise grip onto the nail and slide a putty knife onto the surface behind the nail. Rotate the vise grips like a lever, and the nail will slowly pull free, while the putty knife blade protects the surface underneath from damage. Combine a wrench or pliers and a screwdriver for more torque Screwdriver and pliers extracting screw Credit: Jeff Somers When dealing with a screw that seems to be frozen in place, your hand screwdriver often can’t deliver enough torque, and using a power drill with a screwdriver bit is often overkill, stripping the screw in no time. To increase the torque your screwdriver can provide, combine it with a wrench or pair of adjustable pliers. Lock the pliers onto the screwdriver at a 90° angle, push down, and turn with the plier handles. Even the most stubborn screws will work themselves free. Use locking pliers and a flat prybar to remove nailsAnother way to tackle a nail that just won’t work itself free (or that’s lost its head) is to combine a vise grip and a flat prybar. Lock the grips onto the top of the nail to act as the head, then angle the prybar underneath and apply pressure. You can also slide a putty knife under the prybar blade if you want to protect the surface you’re extracting the nail from. Use a hammer and driver bit to remove painted over screws Hammer and drill bit cleaning screw head Credit: Jeff Somers When I used to rent, I was always infuriated by the “landlord special” repairs that covered screw heads with multiple layers of paint, often to the extent that I couldn’t get a screwdriver or bit to bite. That meant a lot of slow effort scraping paint out of the grooves until I got them clean enough to extract. Instead of doing that, combine a hammer and a screwdriver bit: position the bit on the screw head and give it some solid taps with the hammer. The crusted paint will fall right out, and you can get on with your work. Use an adjustable wrench to find the right drill bitHow much time do you think you’ve wasted trying to eyeball a drill bit when driving bolts? You estimate the bit size, you drill the hole—nope, too small. So you grab the next-largest bit and do it again. Or, worse, you estimate the drill bit and the hole is too big, and now you’ve got a problem. If you’ve got an adjustable wrench, spare yourself the drama. Tighten the jaws of the wrench onto the bolt, then see which drill bit matches the wrench’s opening. You’ll never have to drill three times for one bolt ever again. View the full article

Want to visit the U.S.? Be prepared to cough up your social media history. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection filed a legal proposal today that will make it mandatory for many tourists to submit the last five years of their social media history as part of the application required to visit the country. The public has 60 days, until early February, to submit comments to this proposal. The social media requirement, if enacted, would apply to any visitor from the 42 different countries in the Visa Waiver Program. Rather than applying for a visa, these tourists must submit an application to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization and pay a $40 fee for visits of 90 days or less. That list includes many countries with close ties to the U.S. and whose citizens regularly visit, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia. If enacted, this requirement could strike yet another blow to international tourism. Through October, more than 9.3 million tourists have visited the U.S. from five countries that would be affected by this proposal—the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, and South Korea—and the number of overseas visitors more broadly has fallen 2.5% compared with the same period in 2024, according to figures from the International Trade Administration. NEW ‘HIGH VALUE DATA FIELDS’ The social media requirement isn’t the only proposed change for tourists visiting the U.S. The The President administration also wants to add several other “high value data fields” to the ESTA application. These include telephone numbers used in the last five years, email addresses used in the last 10 years, and biometrics information that include fingerprints, DNA, and a photo of the iris. Customs and Border Protection didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Fast Company. There was no information in the legal filing about how the U.S. plans to enforce this proposed change, particularly given how many tourists visit from the affected countries. The changes to the requirements for non-visa tourists are being proposed to “comply” with one of the executive orders President Donald The President signed in January, related to protecting the country from foreign terrorists. The latest proposal is similar to a new policy that the State Department announced in June requiring that applicants for certain U.S. visas would be instructed to set their social media profiles to the “public” setting to facilitate the vetting process. A ‘PARADIGM SHIFT’ Such moves are relatively unprecedented. Americans visiting the European Union currently don’t have to submit any sort of application if their stay is less than 90 days. That will change once the EU implements a travel authorization requirement, but a social media history isn’t part of that vetting process. And the administration’s latest proposal could prove to have a chilling effect on tourism, opponents argue. In 2024, tourism spending produced $2.9 trillion in economic output, according to figures from the U.S. Travel Association. This proposal marks a “paradigm shift” of how the government is approaching social media by scrutinizing online speech and using that information to potentially deny travel based on discretion and policy about what the person said, Bo Cooper, a partner at Fragomen, told The New York Times. “It’ll be interesting to watch the tourism numbers.” What’s more, the proposal sends a worrying message to potential tourists, who “should not have to fear that self-censorship is a condition of entry,” Sarah McLaughlin, senior scholar for global expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told Axios. “This is not the behavior of a country confident in its freedoms,” she said. View the full article

María Corina Machado was en route to Oslo after award was accepted by her daughter View the full article

When managing payroll, choosing the right software can greatly impact your efficiency and compliance. The top seven programs for efficient payroll systems offer a range of features customized to various business needs. From Gusto’s user-friendly interface to Rippling‘s global capabilities, each option serves different organizational sizes and requirements. Comprehending the strengths of each program can help you streamline your payroll process effectively. Let’s explore these solutions and see which one might fit your business best. Key Takeaways Gusto offers user-friendly payroll setup in under 30 minutes, automating payroll runs and tax filings for all 50 states. Rippling supports payroll in over 160 countries, integrating HR, finance, and IT into one platform with extensive automation options. QuickBooks Payroll provides seamless integration with QuickBooks Online, featuring same-day direct deposit and automated tax filing for quick operational readiness. Paychex Flex is designed for mid-sized firms, offering 24/7 access to HR professionals and a mobile app for easy payroll management. OnPay specializes in industry-specific compliance, offering flat-rate pricing and features like PTO management, ideal for nonprofits and agriculture sectors. Gusto – Best Overall Ease of Use Gusto stands out as the best overall payroll system owing to its exceptional ease of use, receiving a remarkable 4.7 out of 5 satisfaction rating across major review platforms. This payroll app for small business simplifies the onboarding process, allowing you to set up payroll in under 30 minutes, even though you’re a first-time user. With Gusto, payroll runs and tax filings are automated across all 50 states, ensuring compliance while reducing your administrative burdens. The platform offers a payroll software download that integrates benefits administration, time tracking, and compliance alerts, providing a holistic program for payroll system management. Pricing starts at $49 per month for the Simple plan, with an additional $6 per person monthly, making it a scalable solution as your business grows. Rippling – Best for Global Teams If you’re managing a global team, Rippling stands out as a robust solution for payroll support in over 160 countries. It streamlines various functions like HR, payroll, and compliance, as it automates workflows and onboarding processes to save you time. With its extensive integrations and competitive pricing, Rippling adapts to your unique business needs, making international payroll management more efficient. Global Payroll Support When managing a global workforce, having a reliable payroll system is crucial, and Rippling stands out as a top choice for businesses with international teams. Here’s why: Global Reach: Supports payroll in over 160 countries, allowing you to manage payments seamlessly worldwide. Integrated System: Combines HR, payroll, IT, and finance into one platform, simplifying operations across various functions. Personalization: Offers over 500 integrations, enabling customized automation to suit diverse business needs. With pricing starting at a base rate of $35 per month plus $8 per employee, Rippling additionally provides optional add-ons for global payroll management. This makes it a cost-effective solution for businesses aiming to streamline their payroll processes and ensuring compliance and efficiency. Workflow Automation Features As businesses expand globally, leveraging workflow automation features within Rippling becomes essential for managing a distributed team effectively. Rippling supports payroll in over 160 countries and acts as an Employer of Record, making it an ideal choice for international operations. The platform consolidates HR, payroll, IT, and finance into one dashboard, streamlining workflow management and considerably reducing administrative burdens. With over 500 integrations, it allows for customizable automations that improve operational efficiency across various business functions. Moreover, Rippling automates onboarding processes, enabling new employees to set up their accounts and benefits with minimal manual input from HR teams. Although these features boost compliance and reduce onboarding time, be aware that users may experience a longer initial onboarding process. Onboarding Process Efficiency Rippling’s onboarding process is created to improve efficiency for global teams by seamlessly integrating various functions like HR, payroll, IT, and finance into a single platform. This automation simplifies employee setup across 160+ countries. Here are key features that elevate your onboarding experience: Customizable Workflows: Tailor onboarding tasks to fit your company’s needs, automating compliance and documentation processes. Extensive Integrations: With over 500 integrations, you can reduce manual input and errors during employee setup, streamlining the entire workflow. Compliance Assurance: Rippling keeps you aligned with local labor laws and tax regulations, making it easier to manage a diverse workforce. While the initial onboarding may take longer, these automation features greatly boost the efficiency of future employee integrations. QuickBooks Payroll – Best for QuickBooks Users If you’re already using QuickBooks for your accounting needs, QuickBooks Payroll is an ideal choice for streamlining your payroll processes. This service offers seamless integration with QuickBooks Online, allowing you to synchronize your accounting and payroll management effortlessly. With features like same-day direct deposit and automated tax filing, you can process payroll quickly and efficiently, reducing the risk of errors. The guided setup means most businesses can become operational within a single day, making it accessible even for first-time users. Plus, pricing starts at just $45 per month, plus $6 per employee, which is affordable for small businesses. Mobile access allows you to approve and execute payroll on the go, boosting flexibility for busy business owners and managers. Paychex Flex – Best for Mid-Size Firms For mid-sized firms seeking a thorough payroll solution, Paychex Flex stands out as an excellent choice due to its scalability and strong features. With a starting price of $39 per month plus $5 per employee, it’s designed to grow with your business. Here are three key benefits: 24/7 Access to HR Professionals: You’ll have certified HR experts available around the clock for compliance advice, ensuring you stay on track with regulations. Automated Tax Filing: The platform streamlines payroll processes with automated tax filing and compliance tracking, reducing the risk of costly errors. Mobile Payroll App: Manage your payroll from anywhere with the user-friendly mobile app, enhancing flexibility and convenience. While some users find the interface a bit outdated compared to newer offerings, Paychex Flex remains a robust option for mid-sized firms looking to optimize their payroll systems. OnPay – Best for Industry-Specific Compliance OnPay is an ideal payroll solution for businesses that require industry-specific compliance, particularly in niche sectors like agriculture, nonprofits, and religious organizations. With flat-rate pricing starting at $40 per month plus $6 per employee, it’s a budget-friendly option for those focused on compliance. The platform excels in payroll processing customized to the unique needs of these industries, ensuring you meet complex regulatory requirements seamlessly. OnPay provides 50-state filing for federal, state, and local compliance, simplifying the navigation of various laws. Furthermore, the software includes features like PTO management and contractor payment support, enhancing its compliance capabilities for diverse workforce needs. For nonprofits, OnPay offers a generous 50% discount on pricing, providing further financial incentives for organizations in this sector. Square Payroll – Best for Micro-Businesses Square Payroll is an excellent choice for micro-businesses looking for a straightforward and affordable payroll solution. Designed particularly for smaller operations, it offers a contractor-only plan with no base fee—just $6 per contractor per month. The setup process is quick, taking less than 30 minutes, which is perfect for busy shops and cafes. Here are three key features that make Square Payroll stand out: Seamless Integration: It works smoothly with Square‘s POS system, allowing easy tip importing and payroll management. Employee Self-Service: Workers can access their pay stubs and tax forms directly, enhancing convenience and transparency. Cost-Effective: The pricing structure is straightforward, making it easy to predict costs without hidden fees. However, keep in mind that Square Payroll lacks advanced HR features, which may limit its appeal for businesses needing extensive human resources solutions. ADP RUN – Best for Compliance Depth ADP RUN stands out as a premier payroll solution for small to midsize businesses that prioritize compliance and regulatory accuracy. This platform is renowned for its deep compliance resources, ensuring you stay on top of stringent regulations. With automated payroll forms and tax entries, ADP RUN simplifies payroll entry, improving accuracy and minimizing manual errors. You’ll appreciate the user-friendly payroll dashboard, which offers a variety of HR form templates to streamline employee account management. As a cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) system, it provides efficient tools for managing workers’ compensation and tax policies. Furthermore, employees can easily access important documents, such as payslips and tax forms, through a dedicated employee portal. This feature not merely improves transparency but likewise elevates the overall user experience, making ADP RUN an excellent choice for businesses focused on compliance depth and operational efficiency. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Payroll Program? Choosing the best payroll program depends on your specific needs. If you’re a small business, Gusto’s user-friendly interface might be ideal, as it simplifies setup and automates tasks. For global teams, Rippling supports payroll in over 160 countries. If you’re already using QuickBooks, their payroll service integrates seamlessly. For mid-sized firms, Paychex Flex offers HR support, whereas Square Payroll is perfect for micro-businesses needing a cost-effective solution for contractors. Evaluate each based on your requirements. Who Is Adp’s Biggest Competitor? ADP‘s biggest competitor is Gusto, especially popular among small businesses because of its user-friendly design and integrated HR solutions. Paychex Flex also competes effectively, targeting mid-sized firms with customized services. QuickBooks Payroll is a strong option for those already using QuickBooks, whereas Rippling offers global payroll support and combines payroll, HR, and IT functions. Paycor presents customizable plans and mobile access, creating further competition in the payroll services market. Which Software Is Used for Payroll Management? For payroll management, you can choose from various software options like Gusto, which automates payroll and tax filings for small businesses. Rippling supports global teams, integrating HR and finance. QuickBooks Payroll offers seamless integration with QuickBooks Online for easy accounting. Paychex Flex caters to mid-sized firms with 24/7 HR access, whereas Square Payroll is ideal for micro-businesses with a contractor-only plan. Each has unique features customized to different business needs. What Software Does ADP Use for Payroll? ADP uses its proprietary software called RUN Powered by ADP for payroll management. This platform simplifies payroll entry and compliance tracking for businesses. With automated payroll processing, it guarantees accurate tax filings and regulatory adherence. You’ll find a user-friendly dashboard that includes templates for HR needs, making employee account management easier. Plus, the cloud-based Human Capital Management system provides 24/7 access to documents like pay stubs and tax forms through an employee portal. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right payroll system is essential for streamlining your business operations. Each of the seven programs discussed—Gusto, Rippling, QuickBooks Payroll, Paychex Flex, OnPay, Square Payroll, and ADP RUN—offers unique features customized to different business needs. By comprehending their strengths, you can choose a solution that improves efficiency, guarantees compliance, and supports your workforce effectively. Evaluate your specific requirements to make an informed decision that best suits your organization’s payroll management. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Top 7 Programs for Efficient Payroll Systems" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When managing payroll, choosing the right software can greatly impact your efficiency and compliance. The top seven programs for efficient payroll systems offer a range of features customized to various business needs. From Gusto’s user-friendly interface to Rippling‘s global capabilities, each option serves different organizational sizes and requirements. Comprehending the strengths of each program can help you streamline your payroll process effectively. Let’s explore these solutions and see which one might fit your business best. Key Takeaways Gusto offers user-friendly payroll setup in under 30 minutes, automating payroll runs and tax filings for all 50 states. Rippling supports payroll in over 160 countries, integrating HR, finance, and IT into one platform with extensive automation options. QuickBooks Payroll provides seamless integration with QuickBooks Online, featuring same-day direct deposit and automated tax filing for quick operational readiness. Paychex Flex is designed for mid-sized firms, offering 24/7 access to HR professionals and a mobile app for easy payroll management. OnPay specializes in industry-specific compliance, offering flat-rate pricing and features like PTO management, ideal for nonprofits and agriculture sectors. Gusto – Best Overall Ease of Use Gusto stands out as the best overall payroll system owing to its exceptional ease of use, receiving a remarkable 4.7 out of 5 satisfaction rating across major review platforms. This payroll app for small business simplifies the onboarding process, allowing you to set up payroll in under 30 minutes, even though you’re a first-time user. With Gusto, payroll runs and tax filings are automated across all 50 states, ensuring compliance while reducing your administrative burdens. The platform offers a payroll software download that integrates benefits administration, time tracking, and compliance alerts, providing a holistic program for payroll system management. Pricing starts at $49 per month for the Simple plan, with an additional $6 per person monthly, making it a scalable solution as your business grows. Rippling – Best for Global Teams If you’re managing a global team, Rippling stands out as a robust solution for payroll support in over 160 countries. It streamlines various functions like HR, payroll, and compliance, as it automates workflows and onboarding processes to save you time. With its extensive integrations and competitive pricing, Rippling adapts to your unique business needs, making international payroll management more efficient. Global Payroll Support When managing a global workforce, having a reliable payroll system is crucial, and Rippling stands out as a top choice for businesses with international teams. Here’s why: Global Reach: Supports payroll in over 160 countries, allowing you to manage payments seamlessly worldwide. Integrated System: Combines HR, payroll, IT, and finance into one platform, simplifying operations across various functions. Personalization: Offers over 500 integrations, enabling customized automation to suit diverse business needs. With pricing starting at a base rate of $35 per month plus $8 per employee, Rippling additionally provides optional add-ons for global payroll management. This makes it a cost-effective solution for businesses aiming to streamline their payroll processes and ensuring compliance and efficiency. Workflow Automation Features As businesses expand globally, leveraging workflow automation features within Rippling becomes essential for managing a distributed team effectively. Rippling supports payroll in over 160 countries and acts as an Employer of Record, making it an ideal choice for international operations. The platform consolidates HR, payroll, IT, and finance into one dashboard, streamlining workflow management and considerably reducing administrative burdens. With over 500 integrations, it allows for customizable automations that improve operational efficiency across various business functions. Moreover, Rippling automates onboarding processes, enabling new employees to set up their accounts and benefits with minimal manual input from HR teams. Although these features boost compliance and reduce onboarding time, be aware that users may experience a longer initial onboarding process. Onboarding Process Efficiency Rippling’s onboarding process is created to improve efficiency for global teams by seamlessly integrating various functions like HR, payroll, IT, and finance into a single platform. This automation simplifies employee setup across 160+ countries. Here are key features that elevate your onboarding experience: Customizable Workflows: Tailor onboarding tasks to fit your company’s needs, automating compliance and documentation processes. Extensive Integrations: With over 500 integrations, you can reduce manual input and errors during employee setup, streamlining the entire workflow. Compliance Assurance: Rippling keeps you aligned with local labor laws and tax regulations, making it easier to manage a diverse workforce. While the initial onboarding may take longer, these automation features greatly boost the efficiency of future employee integrations. QuickBooks Payroll – Best for QuickBooks Users If you’re already using QuickBooks for your accounting needs, QuickBooks Payroll is an ideal choice for streamlining your payroll processes. This service offers seamless integration with QuickBooks Online, allowing you to synchronize your accounting and payroll management effortlessly. With features like same-day direct deposit and automated tax filing, you can process payroll quickly and efficiently, reducing the risk of errors. The guided setup means most businesses can become operational within a single day, making it accessible even for first-time users. Plus, pricing starts at just $45 per month, plus $6 per employee, which is affordable for small businesses. Mobile access allows you to approve and execute payroll on the go, boosting flexibility for busy business owners and managers. Paychex Flex – Best for Mid-Size Firms For mid-sized firms seeking a thorough payroll solution, Paychex Flex stands out as an excellent choice due to its scalability and strong features. With a starting price of $39 per month plus $5 per employee, it’s designed to grow with your business. Here are three key benefits: 24/7 Access to HR Professionals: You’ll have certified HR experts available around the clock for compliance advice, ensuring you stay on track with regulations. Automated Tax Filing: The platform streamlines payroll processes with automated tax filing and compliance tracking, reducing the risk of costly errors. Mobile Payroll App: Manage your payroll from anywhere with the user-friendly mobile app, enhancing flexibility and convenience. While some users find the interface a bit outdated compared to newer offerings, Paychex Flex remains a robust option for mid-sized firms looking to optimize their payroll systems. OnPay – Best for Industry-Specific Compliance OnPay is an ideal payroll solution for businesses that require industry-specific compliance, particularly in niche sectors like agriculture, nonprofits, and religious organizations. With flat-rate pricing starting at $40 per month plus $6 per employee, it’s a budget-friendly option for those focused on compliance. The platform excels in payroll processing customized to the unique needs of these industries, ensuring you meet complex regulatory requirements seamlessly. OnPay provides 50-state filing for federal, state, and local compliance, simplifying the navigation of various laws. Furthermore, the software includes features like PTO management and contractor payment support, enhancing its compliance capabilities for diverse workforce needs. For nonprofits, OnPay offers a generous 50% discount on pricing, providing further financial incentives for organizations in this sector. Square Payroll – Best for Micro-Businesses Square Payroll is an excellent choice for micro-businesses looking for a straightforward and affordable payroll solution. Designed particularly for smaller operations, it offers a contractor-only plan with no base fee—just $6 per contractor per month. The setup process is quick, taking less than 30 minutes, which is perfect for busy shops and cafes. Here are three key features that make Square Payroll stand out: Seamless Integration: It works smoothly with Square‘s POS system, allowing easy tip importing and payroll management. Employee Self-Service: Workers can access their pay stubs and tax forms directly, enhancing convenience and transparency. Cost-Effective: The pricing structure is straightforward, making it easy to predict costs without hidden fees. However, keep in mind that Square Payroll lacks advanced HR features, which may limit its appeal for businesses needing extensive human resources solutions. ADP RUN – Best for Compliance Depth ADP RUN stands out as a premier payroll solution for small to midsize businesses that prioritize compliance and regulatory accuracy. This platform is renowned for its deep compliance resources, ensuring you stay on top of stringent regulations. With automated payroll forms and tax entries, ADP RUN simplifies payroll entry, improving accuracy and minimizing manual errors. You’ll appreciate the user-friendly payroll dashboard, which offers a variety of HR form templates to streamline employee account management. As a cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) system, it provides efficient tools for managing workers’ compensation and tax policies. Furthermore, employees can easily access important documents, such as payslips and tax forms, through a dedicated employee portal. This feature not merely improves transparency but likewise elevates the overall user experience, making ADP RUN an excellent choice for businesses focused on compliance depth and operational efficiency. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Payroll Program? Choosing the best payroll program depends on your specific needs. If you’re a small business, Gusto’s user-friendly interface might be ideal, as it simplifies setup and automates tasks. For global teams, Rippling supports payroll in over 160 countries. If you’re already using QuickBooks, their payroll service integrates seamlessly. For mid-sized firms, Paychex Flex offers HR support, whereas Square Payroll is perfect for micro-businesses needing a cost-effective solution for contractors. Evaluate each based on your requirements. Who Is Adp’s Biggest Competitor? ADP‘s biggest competitor is Gusto, especially popular among small businesses because of its user-friendly design and integrated HR solutions. Paychex Flex also competes effectively, targeting mid-sized firms with customized services. QuickBooks Payroll is a strong option for those already using QuickBooks, whereas Rippling offers global payroll support and combines payroll, HR, and IT functions. Paycor presents customizable plans and mobile access, creating further competition in the payroll services market. Which Software Is Used for Payroll Management? For payroll management, you can choose from various software options like Gusto, which automates payroll and tax filings for small businesses. Rippling supports global teams, integrating HR and finance. QuickBooks Payroll offers seamless integration with QuickBooks Online for easy accounting. Paychex Flex caters to mid-sized firms with 24/7 HR access, whereas Square Payroll is ideal for micro-businesses with a contractor-only plan. Each has unique features customized to different business needs. What Software Does ADP Use for Payroll? ADP uses its proprietary software called RUN Powered by ADP for payroll management. This platform simplifies payroll entry and compliance tracking for businesses. With automated payroll processing, it guarantees accurate tax filings and regulatory adherence. You’ll find a user-friendly dashboard that includes templates for HR needs, making employee account management easier. Plus, the cloud-based Human Capital Management system provides 24/7 access to documents like pay stubs and tax forms through an employee portal. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right payroll system is essential for streamlining your business operations. Each of the seven programs discussed—Gusto, Rippling, QuickBooks Payroll, Paychex Flex, OnPay, Square Payroll, and ADP RUN—offers unique features customized to different business needs. By comprehending their strengths, you can choose a solution that improves efficiency, guarantees compliance, and supports your workforce effectively. Evaluate your specific requirements to make an informed decision that best suits your organization’s payroll management. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Top 7 Programs for Efficient Payroll Systems" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Android remains one of the most customizable mobile operating systems out there, despite Google's recent efforts to rein it in. You don't necessarily have to root your Android device to get it to do something off script, either. The fix you need might be hidden behind a system menu or Developer Options. You can personalize Android to address common frustrations with speed, battery life, privacy, and the interface as a whole. I've compiled ten helpful Android hacks that require no third-party apps, no ADB commands, and no rooting. All you need is the patience to dig through the operating system and tap as required. Please note that many of these hacks require you to enable Developer Options, Android's hidden menu of settings. To do so, head to the Settings menu, scroll to About phone, then tap Build number. Tap it seven times to unlock developer mode. (You'll see a countdown pop-up if you did it correctly.) Eliminate battery hogging appsHave you ever looked at your battery usage stats and wondered what to do about a specific app that's draining your battery? Android needs apps to run in the background, sync with the cloud, and check for updates by default. As it does this, it wakes the device and consumes battery in the background. Android introduced a battery optimization feature in version 6.0 that's supposed to help with apps that drain too much battery. While it's helped shut down unused apps, it can be either too aggressive or not aggressive enough at identifying bad apps. And while you can force-close an app to kill it when you notice it's causing issues, it will likely start up again the next time you reboot your device. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker You can manually set an app's background privileges to the most restrictive setting without deleting or disabling it. In Settings, under Apps, scroll down and tap to view all your apps in a list. Then, tap App battery usage. Here, you will find details about the last time the app was accessed. Tap on the app to adjust its background usage. You can choose to have it optimized by the Android system or unrestricted—something you might use on a wearable to ensure it works properly, for instance. If you want it restricted completely, use the master switch to toggle off background usage. On Samsung devices, this same option is called "sleeping apps" or "deep sleeping apps." Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker Optionally, you can turn to Developer Options to get more robust control over background processes. Head back to Developer Options, then scroll or search for Background process limit, and from here, you can decide how many background apps fire off at a time. Block ads and trackers without VPNEven with an ad blocker, background apps can still track your phone use, where you shop, and which ads to show you. You could easily circumvent this by installing a VPN app to route traffic, but that relies on a third party app, and slows down performance. You are better off configuring your phone's Private DNS settings to filter web traffic through a service of your choosing. Private DNS seals the request your device makes to look up a website's IP address, so your carrier can't see the website you're visiting. Since that browser data stays hidden, third parties don't have the data they need to track your habits and, subsequently, target you with ads. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker Navigate back to the Settings panel and select Network & Internet > Private DNS. Change the setting to Private DNS provider hostname. You will need to find the URL of a filtering service to link here. Options include Ad Guard, Control D, and Mullvad, which is what I use to block ads in Chrome. Once you save, this will redirect all DNS requests from every app and browser on your Android device through this specific block list. It should help cut down on ads and tracking servers watching you without cutting down on performance or battery life. This is also a great hack if you're a parent and your kid has access to an Android device. Use Private DNS to route them away from unsafe sites and adult content. Unearth long-lost notificationsSometimes, we accidentally dismiss a notification on Android. If you're always snoozing and missing out on important pings, you can turn on notification history. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker In Settings, under Notifications, tap to turn on Notification history. Now, when you swipe to dismiss your alerts, you can peek in here to see what you forgot or accidentally swiped away. This feature is also helpful for tracking any apps that might be quietly running in the background. Maximize (or minimize) screen real estateI don't know what it is about these latest versions of Android, but the text feels either too small or too big when adjusted with the built-in display size settings. You could go into the Accessibility settings to make the text smaller or larger, though it doesn't affect the rest of the interface much. Or you could deploy Android's display density (DPI) scaling hack. Credit: Florence Ion / Lifehacker This is where the developer options come in handy again. You can use the Smallest Width setting to control the DPI precisely, which scales every interface element up and down. Change the value to a higher number if you want fonts and images to shrink down within the resolution—if it starts in the 400s, for instance, try 500 and work backwards until you like what you see. To make fonts and graphics even larger, start around 300. Adjust what happens when you plug your device inWhen you plug an Android phone into a PC, it defaults to charging the device rather than turning on file transfer. You can change the option from the notification shade, though it adds a few extra steps to something that should be straightforward. Fortunately, you can tweak the USB default behavior to prioritize file transfers when the device is plugged in via USB-C. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker In the Developer Options, look for Default USB configuration. Change the setting to File Transfer/Android Auto. Test it by plugging a USB-C cable into a PC to ensure it defaults to file transfer mode. Get the best audio qualityWhen you stream music or podcasts through headphones or another external source, the audio isn't at its best. And while you could adjust the equalizer settings in the app that's streaming media, it won't fix much. Your phone and the audio device default to standard codecs rather than high-fidelity ones, which is why it doesn't sound as crisp and loud as it could. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker You can force Android to use the highest-quality codecs whenever the audio device connects in Developer Options. Search for a Bluetooth audio codec and select the highest-quality option supported by your wireless device. Note that you must be connected to the device when you look for this option, or it will appear grayed out. While you're in the Developer Options, look for Bluetooth Audio Sample Rate and Bits Per Sample. You can adjust these to higher sampling rates if your hardware supports it. Make Android look smoothEven on the latest Android flagships, the interface can feel sluggish as you're moving between screens. That's because Android deliberately animates between every swipe and flick. But you can eliminate or shorten these animations to make the interface feel more fluid. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker In Developer Options, look for Window animation scale, Transition animation scale, and Animator duration scale. You can adjust their defaults; the lower the number, the faster the animation. You can also choose to turn the animation off completely if it's just too much. Force dark modeI suffer from migraines, and the brightest background can trigger the pain. I figured out how to force every Android app into dark mode, regardless of whether the developer coded it in. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker First, ensure "Dark Theme" is on in your main display settings. Then, navigate to Developer Options and search for Override force-dark. Toggle it on to save your eyes. This feature is also super helpful if you prefer to stare at the screen at night to read. Note that it may cause some apps not to display text properly, in which case, you might want to reserve this ability for when it's most necessary. Keep the screen on foreverSometimes you need the display to stay on without timing out. Most Android devices tap out at 30 minutes. But in the developer settings, there is an option to keep the screen "awake" as long as the device is plugged into a power source. I've had this feature enabled since I started covering Android phones. It's the best way to run benchmarks without being affected by random variables. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker In Developer Options, search for Stay awake, then switch it on. Note that you will need to turn off the screen when charging the device overnight. Your phone could get hot from being connected and having the screen on for too long. Get the right device to answer the phoneThis has happened to me so many times: my phone rings, I answer it, but the call is routed to my smartwatch instead of my buds. While you could manually go into the phone and select the appropriate Bluetooth device, make it easier on yourself by eliminating the devices that you never want to answer the phone. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker In the Settings panel, under Bluetooth, select the offending device. The easiest way to keep it from rearing its ugly head is to find the switch that completely disables phone calls. You should see an option for it at the bottom of the device's Bluetooth settings. I've disabled the Pixel Watch 4 from answering any calls because there's no instance I'd ever want to take a call from my watch. It's too public! View the full article

Charli XCX is making a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January. The pop singer-songwriter appears in three films premiering at the 2026 festival, including a mockumentary that she produced and stars in. Programmers on Wednesday unveiled a lineup of 90 feature films set for the festival’s last hurrah in Park City, Utah. The slate includes documentaries on basketball great Brittney Griner, Nelson Mandela, Salman Rushdie, Courtney Love, and Billie Jean King. There are starry features with the likes of Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Seth Rogen, Channing Tatum, Danielle Brooks, Olivia Colman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Alexander Skarsgård, and Ethan Hawke. Olivia Wilde directs her first feature since “Don’t Worry Darling,” in “The Invite.” Judd Apatow chronicles comedian Maria Bamford’s mental health journey. And Gregg Araki will be back in Park City with a restoration of his 2004 coming-of-age drama “Mysterious Skin” and a new film as well. “It’s a broad, eclectic and bold program,” Sundance public programming director Eugene Hernandez told The Associated Press. He said the lineup for the festival’s final year in Park City “really honors that well with this mixture of new, exciting voices paired with some really, really great familiar faces from Sundances past that I think will create a great alchemy for this really unique edition in Utah.” Ever a festival of discovery, of the 90 features culled from 4,255 submissions, 40% are from first-time directors. The programmers laugh when they hear people say things like “that’s a Sundance movie,” as if it’s one, easily categorizable thing. “I look at the films in this program and say, ‘You tell me what a Sundance film is’ because they’re so different,” said programmer John Nein. Three Charli XCX movies Charli XCX plays a rising pop star prepping for her first arena tour in the mockumentary “The Moment,” which Hernandez said is “like her version of ‘This is Spinal Tap’.” She also appears in Araki’s “I Want Your Sex,” in which Cooper Hoffman plays an intern who gets wrapped up in the world of an artist and provocateur (Wilde). And she’s among the ensemble of “The Gallerist.” “There’s a sense of humor that she has about herself and her work, but also a creativity and a star quality that is apparent. I mean, she is magnetic on the screen,” Hernandez said. “It’s great to have someone who represents sort of a next generation of creativity embracing the world that we inhabit.” Some great comedies This year’s slate includes more than a few exciting comedies in unexpected places. Cathy Yan directed and co-wrote “The Gallerist,” a satirical look at the art world and attempting to sell a corpse at Art Basel Miami, with a large ensemble including Portman, Ortega, Sterling K. Brown and Zach Galifianakis. David Wain also has “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” about a woman out to even the score after her fiance uses the “free pass,” starring Zoey Deutch and Jon Hamm. Programmer Kim Yutani said she thinks “Wicker,” about a woman who asks a basket maker to weave her a husband, starring Colman and Skarsgård, will be a big crowd pleaser. Other standouts are Jay Duplass’s grief-themed “See You When I See You,” with Cooper Raiff and David Duchovny, “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!” set inside Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene and Wilde’s “The Invite,” about a crumbling marriage in which she stars alongside Rogen. “They are finding comedy in some of the toughest places,” Nein said. In the Midnight section, there’s “Buddy,” from “Too Many Cooks” creator Casper Kelly, about a girl who has to escape a kids TV show. There are some quirky, humorous documentaries too, including “Joybubbles” and John Wilson’s “The History of Concrete.” Timely documentaries at Sundance Sundance has become famous for its documentary programming, many of which go on to be nominated for and win Oscars. This year is likely to be no different. “Across the board, both in the U.S. and internationally, you have a program that deals with the world where it is right now,” Nein said. “These documentaries, they’re incredibly sophisticated, they’re very mindful of how complex world issues are, and they bring you into that process.” One that might make waves is “When A Witness Recants,” in which author Ta-Nehisi Coates revisits the case of the 1983 murder of a boy in his Baltimore middle school and learns the truth. “American Doctor” follows three professionals trying to help in Gaza. “All About the Money” looks at heir-turned -communist Fergie Chambers. Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell take on artificial intelligence in “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” and “Sentient” is about animal testing. “A lot of them are sort of optimistic in one sense, in that they’re about people power,” Nein said. “It’s about the power of community to affect change, the power of one person who you haven’t heard of necessarily.” Those include “Jane Elliott Against the World,” about an Iowa schoolteacher who taught anti-discrimination in 1968, and “Seized,” about the police raid on the Marion County Record in Kansas. Ones to watch at Sundance 2026 New talents often emerge from Sundance, like Eva Victor last year with “Sorry, Baby.” This year programmers noted several gems in the lineup, including Beth de Araújo’s “Josephine,” about an 8-year-old who witnesses a crime, with Tatum and Gemma Chan. TV veteran Molly Manners’ “Extra Geography,” about boarding school friends in England, is one that Nein said is one of the funniest, most sophisticated debut features that he’s seen from the U.K. in years. He also spotlighted “LADY,” a first feature from Nigerian filmmaker Olive Nwosu about a cab driver in Lagos, as well as the queer genre film “Leviticus.” As in years past, the Sundance competition titles will also be available to watch online. Yutani said her go-to recommendation for the remote audience is the world dramatic competition title “Levitating,” from Indonesian director Wregas Bhanuteja. “It’s set in this community where there’s these trance parties,” Yutani said. “It is a thrilling film.” This year’s festival will also honor its late founderRobert Redford with legacy screenings and serve as a celebration of its 40+ years in Park City before it relocates to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. The 2026 festival kicks off on Jan. 22 and runs through Feb. 1. —Lindsey Bahr, AP film writer View the full article

As small business owners increasingly seek innovative tools to enhance customer service and streamline operations, Lyft’s latest initiative may provide valuable insights. The rideshare company recently announced a groundbreaking advancement in their customer support system, driven by a partnership with Anthropic and AWS, which aims to redefine the experience for both riders and drivers. Lyft’s new artificial intelligence (AI) system is designed to shift from traditional customer support methods to a more intuitive and conversational approach. Historically, navigating customer service menus could be a time-consuming challenge, especially for Lyft’s vast user base of over 40 million riders and 1 million drivers. “Previously, getting help meant navigating endless menu options,” Lyft stated. This tedious process often led to considerable frustration, particularly during peak times when swift resolutions were critical. The newly developed “intent agent” promises to transform this experience. By understanding context and utilizing data-driven insights, the AI can engage in real conversations. For example, if a driver messages saying, “My earnings aren’t showing up,” the AI comprehends their recent ride history and responds with relevant solutions. This approach leads to quicker resolutions and a more personalized experience. Key benefits emerge from this AI-driven model. Lyft reports an astounding 87% reduction in average resolution time, with thousands of support requests resolved daily—more than half within three minutes. “The future of customer service has fundamentally shifted through AI,” remarked Ameena Gill, Vice President of Safety and Customer Care at Lyft. This suggests that small businesses could similarly enhance their customer interactions through integrated AI systems, freeing up time for staff to focus on more complex tasks. Moreover, the AI system is available 24/7 in English and Spanish, addressing a critical need for immediate support. “Lyft is embracing agentic AI to advance its commitment to delivering great rider and driver experiences,” stated Sri Elaprolu from AWS. Consistent support is vital for small businesses looking to maintain high customer satisfaction, especially as consumer demand for rapid responses continues to grow. Small business owners can also take note of the anticipated growth potential. Lyft is projecting a 70% increase in driver usage by 2025, which could serve as a valuable indicator for those looking to implement similar technologies. By leveraging AI, companies may find that their customer base expands, driven by improved efficiency and customer experience. However, adopting such technology isn’t without challenges. Small business owners should consider the costs associated with implementing advanced AI systems, including the need for ongoing maintenance and updates. Additionally, integrating AI requires a cultural shift within the organization, ensuring that staff are prepared and supported during the transition. Another potential concern is the reliance on technology for functions that traditionally require human interaction. While AI can enhance customer service, it may not replace the personal touch that some clients prefer. Small business owners should weigh these factors against the benefits of faster response times and increased availability. Lyft’s partnership with Anthropic and AWS is a compelling case study for small business owners contemplating a similar leap in customer service enhancement. Their commitment to leveraging AI reflects a broader shift towards innovative solutions that prioritize user experience. Lyft plans to share further insights at the upcoming AWS re:Invent 2025 event, focusing on the ongoing collaboration aimed at enhancing human connection through technology. As the digital landscape evolves, small business owners may find it beneficial to explore how AI can not only improve operations but also foster stronger relationships with their customers. For further details on Lyft’s groundbreaking AI initiatives, you can read the full announcement here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Lyft Unveils AI-Driven Customer Support Revolution for Riders and Drivers" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

As small business owners increasingly seek innovative tools to enhance customer service and streamline operations, Lyft’s latest initiative may provide valuable insights. The rideshare company recently announced a groundbreaking advancement in their customer support system, driven by a partnership with Anthropic and AWS, which aims to redefine the experience for both riders and drivers. Lyft’s new artificial intelligence (AI) system is designed to shift from traditional customer support methods to a more intuitive and conversational approach. Historically, navigating customer service menus could be a time-consuming challenge, especially for Lyft’s vast user base of over 40 million riders and 1 million drivers. “Previously, getting help meant navigating endless menu options,” Lyft stated. This tedious process often led to considerable frustration, particularly during peak times when swift resolutions were critical. The newly developed “intent agent” promises to transform this experience. By understanding context and utilizing data-driven insights, the AI can engage in real conversations. For example, if a driver messages saying, “My earnings aren’t showing up,” the AI comprehends their recent ride history and responds with relevant solutions. This approach leads to quicker resolutions and a more personalized experience. Key benefits emerge from this AI-driven model. Lyft reports an astounding 87% reduction in average resolution time, with thousands of support requests resolved daily—more than half within three minutes. “The future of customer service has fundamentally shifted through AI,” remarked Ameena Gill, Vice President of Safety and Customer Care at Lyft. This suggests that small businesses could similarly enhance their customer interactions through integrated AI systems, freeing up time for staff to focus on more complex tasks. Moreover, the AI system is available 24/7 in English and Spanish, addressing a critical need for immediate support. “Lyft is embracing agentic AI to advance its commitment to delivering great rider and driver experiences,” stated Sri Elaprolu from AWS. Consistent support is vital for small businesses looking to maintain high customer satisfaction, especially as consumer demand for rapid responses continues to grow. Small business owners can also take note of the anticipated growth potential. Lyft is projecting a 70% increase in driver usage by 2025, which could serve as a valuable indicator for those looking to implement similar technologies. By leveraging AI, companies may find that their customer base expands, driven by improved efficiency and customer experience. However, adopting such technology isn’t without challenges. Small business owners should consider the costs associated with implementing advanced AI systems, including the need for ongoing maintenance and updates. Additionally, integrating AI requires a cultural shift within the organization, ensuring that staff are prepared and supported during the transition. Another potential concern is the reliance on technology for functions that traditionally require human interaction. While AI can enhance customer service, it may not replace the personal touch that some clients prefer. Small business owners should weigh these factors against the benefits of faster response times and increased availability. Lyft’s partnership with Anthropic and AWS is a compelling case study for small business owners contemplating a similar leap in customer service enhancement. Their commitment to leveraging AI reflects a broader shift towards innovative solutions that prioritize user experience. Lyft plans to share further insights at the upcoming AWS re:Invent 2025 event, focusing on the ongoing collaboration aimed at enhancing human connection through technology. As the digital landscape evolves, small business owners may find it beneficial to explore how AI can not only improve operations but also foster stronger relationships with their customers. For further details on Lyft’s groundbreaking AI initiatives, you can read the full announcement here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Lyft Unveils AI-Driven Customer Support Revolution for Riders and Drivers" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article