Business Acumen
Use these learning ideas to improve your business awareness, to help you to stay one step ahead of the game Open up to find out more..... "You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.“ Steve Jobs
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Business Acumen What do your customers think? Find out know what your customers and brokers are saying about RSA and what we are doing for them – so you can stay one step ahead! RSA Insight Online is a one stop site that gives you access to the latest customer surveys, reports and news from RSA and the industry.
Go to https://insightonline.rsagroup.com/Default.aspx and register for access to the site.
Take Control Log on to Learning Zone for useful e-learning on business skills. We recommend these modules; Planning and Implementing a Business Strategy (2 hours 30 mins) Competitive Awareness and Strategy (30 mins) Try it out – Understanding the market place (hints on a page)
Planning for success! Are you clear your business and team is heading in the direction? How’s the plan? Why not review a SWOT analysis to understanding the internal and external factors that can affect your business area (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). Take it further and consider a PEST analysis a wider look at your business through the lens of Political, Economic , Social/Cultural and Technology factors. Are you really considering the important factors? Download a free template from www.businessballs.com Why not add in to your plan for the business? Not sure if your plans are robust enough – check out www.self-improvement-mentor.com for a template to download - just look on the left hand menu and select Personal Development Plan.
Personal & Commercial Operations Learning & Development
Business Acumen Keep up to date with Google Alerts Did you know you can get email alerts based on your choice, query or topic? Google Alerts provides you with email summary of latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.)
For example if you wanted to keep up with news about RSA or our competitors, you can choose your search criteria and Google will email new content to your inbox. Go to www.google.com/alerts to set up your alerts.
Use your industry contacts? Improve your knowledge of insurance and our market: - the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII ) is our industry professional body – keep up to date with news and education, or even a qualification - www.cii.co.uk - the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is the voice of insurance and represents the whole industry - ww.abi.org.uk CII learning materials can be found on Learning Zone to develop your knowledge of classes of business. From Engineering Insurance to Commercial Property, Employers Liability and lots and lots of great general insurance topics.
Also take a look at Best Practise from the Customer Contact Council(CCC) this offers best practice insights, data, tools and advice to help members make important business decisions. With a global network of over 700 organisations, log in to www.ccc.executiveboard.com . You will need to register with your RSA email address to access.
Need a workshop? Why not book onto a one day workshop to bring your skills alive?
The Your Business: Shape the Future course is designed to help you develop a sensitivity to the marketplace and help create a climate of innovation. Use new tools to compare the organisation against competing businesses, functions, in order to become ‘Best in Class’. Aimed at Levels 3 to 4; to find out more information, or to request a place log on to Learning Zone and search for Business.
Personal & Commercial Operations Learning & Development 3
Did you know Books 24x7 gives you instant access to a complete resource of books, research and best practise? You can log on via Learning Zone and click on the Books 24x7 link and follow the instructions. Or you can log in from home on www.books24x7.com You will be required to register the first time you enter, ensure you use your RSA email address Once in you can start searching for content using the search box which is found on the top of most pages Select your title and than use the links to select your chapters to read Its as simple as that! Books we recommend from Books 24x7 Guide to Business Planning While this book looks at setting up a business, there are many comparisons which can also be used in the workplace. This book is will help you analyse the market, customers, competitors and the business environment, all of these vital skills for being commercially aware.
Strategic Business Planning: A Dynamic System for Improving Performance and Competitive Advantage
recommend Chapter 1 - The Purpose of Strategic Business Planning and Chapter 14 Simple Strategy in a Complex World. This book has it all! We would
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