Adapting in a New Era of Corporate Travel
Travel is one of the most impacted sectors hit this year due to COVID-19. Organizations need to begin to take a critical look at what corporate travel will look like in a post-COVID world.
2019 Ontario Budget Briefing Note
This Briefing Note highlights key elements of interest to our clients from the 2019 Ontario Budget announcement.
The Changing Ontario Health Care Landscape – Part 1
In Ontario, the health care landscape is changing. We look at integrated care delivery systems, and suggest what areas for health care system planners, health service providers, and hospitals in particular, to start their transition to these new models of care.
Counting Every Dollar
This briefing note addresses selected highlights from the Ontario government’s 2018 fall economic statement.
2018 Ontario Budget Briefing Note
Optimus SBR’s Public Sector, Health Care and Not-For-Profit group regularly monitors policy developments at the federal, provincial and municipal level to inform its work and support clients in government, the broader public sector, and certain parts of the private and not-for-profit sectors. This Briefing Note highlights key elements of interest to our clients from yesterday’s Ontario Budget announcement.
You’re focused on results. But do you know the real keys to getting there?
5 Drivers of Organizational Effectiveness The goal of an effective organization is to maintain high performance and achieve desired results. It may sound straightforward but it’s not. Understanding what can […]
Taking Action in Uncertain Times
Feeling like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place these days? You’re not alone. Many local distribution companies (LDCs) across Ontario are under pressure from shareholders to reduce costs and maximize revenues, and from customers to offer more services and reduced rates (aka the rock).
Three Reasons to “Like” Social Media
Eliciting input from stakeholders is a fundamental component of the strategic planning process and organizations have traditionally sought out this input through public meetings, surveys and one-on-one conversations with key individuals. While these methods continue to be successful, the role of social media in the strategic planning process is an option that few organizations have tapped.
Three Common Killers of Steering Committees
Steering committees work most of the time, but when they fail, the results can be disastrous; wasted money, conflicts of interest and missed deadlines are a few of the problems that can come up. Are you willing to take the risk?
Patient-based Funding
Already in 2012, a great amount of material has been produced concerning Patient-Based Funding (PBF) and the Health Based Allocation Model (HBAM). Most of this however has been either basic information from the Ministry or opinion from a variety of stakeholders within the health care system.
Why Best-in-Class Organizations have a Sustainability Plan
Based on current trends, humanity will require twice as many resources than our planet can support by the mid-2030s. While waste is gathering on land, in the air, and water, there is considerable impact on the world’s ecosystems and resources. The problem isn’t as simple as consuming too much, rather the rate of consumption is systematically increasing each year.
Why the Move to a Chequeless Society Should be Embraced by All
Canada, like much of the world, has undergone dramatic change in its payment landscape over the past three decades. Perhaps the best illustration of this transformation is the displacement of cheques by electronic alternatives as the primary non-cash payment method.
Organizational Cultures and Individual Behaviour
Successfully joining, managing, buying, partnering or merging with an organization depends on a great many factors. Indeed, aligning the different forces and communities within any organization is a complicated task. We are often tempted to focus on the factors that have immediately measurable dollar values, but intangibles are often among the real causes of success and failure.
Is it normal to resist change?
Perhaps the simple answer for this question is … Yes! However, what may not be common is our response to the change process. Hopson and Adams (1976) postulated that an individual coping with change goes through a seven-phase process:
Improve your Business Risk Management by Accounting for Risk Cultures
More conservative businesses seek to manage risk, while more daring ones seek to actually leverage the risk and harness the opportunities that go along with it. The emergence of these different “cultures of risk” is psychological in nature, as different organizations perceive risks in different manners. And then, based on the perceived magnitude of the risk, together with the perceived ability to realize a reward, each organization has a different reaction.
Secrets to Successful Internal / External Consulting Partnerships
Many organizations use both internal and external consultants, as different requirements arise. Indeed, some use hybrid internal-external teams, with an eye to leveraging deep institutional knowledge and memory as well as external perspective, objectivity and expertise.
A New Alchemy: Non-Market Factors and your Strategic Plan
Market Factor Strategies are built on maximizing offense-oriented business line priorities. Conversely, Non-Market Factor Strategies focus on minimizing negative impacts and liabilities. As a result, responses to Non-Market factors (led by governance, compliance and risk management functions among others) are all too often treated as boxes to be routinely checked off.
Business Intelligence Road Map to Smarter Decisions
If your organization is having difficulty deriving greater insight, understanding, and intelligence from your data, you are not alone. Data is everywhere. But accessing, organizing, and making sense of it can be daunting.
Power BI vs Tableau – Which is Better?
Although Tableau and Power BI are similar business intelligence tools, there are key differences that organizations should be aware of when considering analytical requirement
6 Essential Data Visualization Best Practices
We have identified 6 Essential Data Visualization Best Practices. Adhering to these best practices makes it easier and faster for users to gain insight from large volumes of data and thereby make the best decisions for their business.
Optimus SBR Named as 2021 Great Place to Work
Optimus SBR has been named as Great Place to Work for a third consecutive year.
Executing on Round 2 of Municipal Modernization Program Reviews in Ontario: Should You Approach Them as a Marathon or a Sprint?
Our overview of areas of focus for the second round of the Municipal Modernization Program, Service Delivery Reviews themes, and advice on how to execute with the funds made available for this investment.
Optimus SBR named to the Growth List for 8th Consecutive Year!
Canadian Business named Optimus SBR on the 32nd annual Growth List!
Adapting in a New Era of Corporate Travel
Travel is one of the most impacted sectors hit this year due to COVID-19. Organizations need to begin to take a critical look at what corporate travel will look like in a post-COVID world.
Optimus SBR Named as 2020 Great Place to Work
For the second consecutive year, Optimus SBR is thrilled and honoured to be named on the 2020 list of Best Workplaces in Professional Services, and as one of this year’s Best Workplaces™ in Canada. This year, we’ve also been named to the inaugural list of Best Workplaces in Ontario.
The Driving Need to Reassess Processes & Controls Related to COVID-19 Responses
COVID-19 has thrust a massive amount of change onto financial institutions. Conducting a review of the processes and controls put in place during these unprecedented times is critical as financial institutions face an increasingly complex risk environment.
Pivoting When the World Changes: Getting the Most Out of Municipal Service Delivery Reviews in the New COVID-19 Reality
Municipal services matter, and not just the ones that people see. The ones that keep things humming behind the scenes matter too. And never has that been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic.