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Even just taking a few routine tasks off of a leader's plate can have a huge impact on their efficiency. As a business grows larger, the amount of work a leader handles increases as well. Between attracting potential customers, nurturing customer relationships and managing all aspects of the customer journey, this leaves leaders with little time to work on the business rather than in the business.  Hiring a virtual assistant can be a great way for leaders to offload administrative and routine tasks while also positively impacting efficiency across the organization. Here, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members share how retaining a virtual assistant has helped them streamline their tasks and become more productive.

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Before moving into a larger market, ensure you have a solid business strategy to engage online prospects. In today’s digital world, many companies have more flexibility when it comes to location. Entrepreneurs can set up shop in a smaller city and still find success through the connections they establish with local customers, investors and organizations. However, while operating in a small market can provide a number of business opportunities, being able to access “big market” resources and clients can unlock a new level of business growth. To catch the attention of potential customers and investors located in larger metropolitan areas, the right online strategy is essential. To help, nine Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one way entrepreneurs who have set up operations in smaller markets can attract clients and investors in larger city markets.

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In an increasingly digital world, knowing how to apply tools and technologies in your business is critical to keeping up with the market. While AI as a tool is not new, more and more businesses are looking to take advantage of it these days. From on-demand customer service and content generation to customer base management, there are many ways a business can leverage the power of AI to boost its ability to attract and retain customers.  As experts, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum have experience navigating the ongoing process of implementing and maintaining AI. Below, 10 of them discuss how businesses can effectively use artificial intelligence for customer acquisition and the positive impact it can have on the bottom line.

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To prevent a crisis from becoming even more of a problem, it's essential that leaders have communication plans in place. A crisis can showcase what a business is truly made of. In business, challenges can arise at any moment, and each and every step leaders take to tackle obstacles has a direct impact on brand perception. Communication in these situations is crucial to keeping stakeholders at all levels informed and maintaining calm in the midst of a storm. The right communication can result in increased brand loyalty from both internal and external stakeholders, but even just one communication misstep can cause irreparable damage to a business's reputation. To help leaders share information with care, eight Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one word or phrase businesses should avoid using when communicating during a crisis and what to say and do instead to drive forward movement.

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Inviting employees to share feedback and make suggestions can help ensure the entire team is in alignment. Today’s professionals are increasingly expecting jobs to offer flexible workplaces. While many business leaders are seeking to provide more remote and hybrid-friendly workplace environments, it can be difficult to let go of how things have traditionally been done for years and even decades. In particular, the potential impact on productivity is a significant concern for some leaders as they look to establish more flexible policies. To help, 13 Newsweek Expert Forum members each offer one tip for business leaders seeking to implement a flexible working schedule policy for the first time without impacting overall productivity.

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With inflation rising, businesses are being challenged to balance profit and customer satisfaction. Maintaining the delicate balance between profit and customer satisfaction is a constant challenge. These days, business owners find themselves in the tough position of needing to raise prices to maintain balance in a world plagued by inflation. In a competitive market, price changes can be a double-edged sword, potentially boosting revenues or driving customers away. To navigate this terrain successfully, it's crucial for businesses to identify the one sign that indicates it might be time to raise prices. To help, 18 Newsweek Expert Forum members delve into the intricacies of pricing strategy and explore the key factors that signal when your business should consider this significant step.

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Here are five tips for interacting with recruiters that can help you avoid getting ghosted.

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Inviting employees to share their input in workplace changes helps ensure the creation of an inclusive and empathetic space. The idea of what constitutes a safe working environment has changed significantly in today’s global business environment. Where before the focus was primarily on physical safety, many organizations have evolved to now include well-being and psychological safety as well, resulting in increased productivity and decreased turnover.  While many businesses are committed to creating and maintaining a safer work environment, knowing where to start and what to focus on can be challenging. To help, 17 Newsweek Expert Forum members each offer one essential factor business leaders should consider when working to build a safer working environment in a business.

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Creating a workplace environment where all employees feel able to communicate their needs is critical to retaining your team. Every business goes through busy and stressful times. While many organizations are able to navigate and overcome these hurdles, it can result in leaders experiencing burnout. This is especially true for mid-level leaders as they tend to direct many different moving parts and interact with individual team members. Fortunately, with the proactive support of the executive team, there are tactics that can be utilized to mitigate or prevent burnout and reinvigorate mid-level leaders. To help, 20 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one way the executive team can help mid-level leaders get reenergized when they are feeling burned out.

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Putting time and effort into making improvements to your business’s SEO strategy is a worthwhile investment. With so many brands vying for attention in the digital space, attracting potential customers and retaining their attention can sometimes come at a high cost. To keep expenses down, many companies have turned to search engine optimization or SEO to boost their position in search results and drive more traffic to their website and content. Determining which small but necessary changes will be most beneficial requires thorough consideration of your target audience. To help, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one tip that business leaders can leverage to improve their business’s SEO at little or no cost.

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When a partnership with a client isn’t working as well as it used to, it can be hard to let go of both the relationship and the steady work. While a steady supply of new clients is critical to helping a business get off the ground, returning customers play an equally important role in a business’s lasting success. Establishing a long-term partnership with a client can be incredibly beneficial on both sides, resulting in effective collaboration, increased efficiency and a deeper understanding of the other party. However, not all relationships are meant to last forever. When issues keep occurring and relations become strained or toxic, it’s time to take an objective look at the partnership to determine whether it should continue. Below, 15 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one warning sign that a partnership with a client has turned toxic and needs to be ended.

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Doing a thorough examination of their own habits can help leaders see which behaviors are holding them back. Leaders play an essential role in organizations, helping to establish workplace culture and acting as examples for employees to model their behavior after. When leaders have good habits, it results in increased satisfaction, productivity and morale in employees. However, when leaders have bad habits, even when the intention isn’t to set a bad example, it limits and decreases the amount of success a leader and business can achieve. To help leaders identify which habits they should consider eliminating completely, 20 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one seemingly harmless habit that can actually hinder leadership success.

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Though an investment of time, effort and money do make entrepreneurship easier, leaders should still expect to encounter challenges. The entrepreneurial journey is full of highs and lows for every business leader. And even when a leader has considerable resources, there is no way to completely avoid encountering business challenges. While these hurdles can completely shake a business, they can also double as valuable learning experiences that help entrepreneurs grow and develop their skills as leaders. Below, 17 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one specific business challenge they believe usually results in a great teaching experience and what lessons leaders can carry forward into the future.

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Committing to building a culture of unwavering customer centricity can effectively transform your business for the better. From Fortune 500 companies to startups, companies that prioritize customer centricity stand out in the market. They understand that customers are more than just revenue sources—they are the foundation of business survival and expansion. A customer-centric culture places the customer at the heart of every decision, fostering trust, loyalty and long-term relationships. But how can businesses truly embed this philosophy into their culture? Below, 20 Newsweek Expert Forum members explore the most effective strategies to cultivate a customer-centric culture within an organization and delve into the reasons why these approaches are vital for sustainable growth.

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E-commerce businesses are a dime a dozen, but those that provide standout customer service are the ones that will ultimately thrive. In the competitive world of e-commerce, providing exceptional customer service is crucial for building a loyal customer base and staying ahead of the competition. However, with so many brands vying for attention, it can be challenging to stand out and provide a consistently positive customer experience. Below, a panel of 14 Newsweek Expert Forum members shared essential tips for e-commerce brands to better serve their customers. By implementing these tips, e-commerce brands can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately leading to increased sales and business growth.

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Here are the top questions you should ask yourself before starting the interview process. 

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Having a deep understanding of yourself and your own goals can help prevent feelings of inadequacy. From Instagram and Twitter to now even LinkedIn, having a presence online today means constantly reading about what everyone has going on. This includes the life updates that people typically post but social media has also increased people’s tendency to primarily share the highlights rather than the entire picture. While this is not a bad thing on its own, constantly viewing the success of your peers can amplify your own feelings of inadequacy around personal and professional failures. Simply deciding to take a step back is one approach to consider, but it can negatively impact your relationships with peers over time. Below, 14 Newsweek Expert Forum members share recommendations for how professionals can connect and maintain healthy relationships with peers without comparing themselves to others’ success and accomplishments.

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In order to keep moving toward set goals, leaders must ensure that the organization's purpose is prioritized. In life, the only constant is change, and the same is true in business as well. While businesses are typically created around a vision or specific purpose, the evolving reality of running a business can cause leaders to gradually stray from the original mission. Purpose-driven organizations do work that benefits stakeholders on all sides, so having a guide when making decisions can help leaders manage change better and more efficiently. To ensure that their organizations remain focused on their mission, 15 Newsweek Expert Forum members offer advice on how industry leaders can keep purpose at the forefront of everything they do.

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Hiring for insurance companies is more challenging than ever, and companies need a solid strategy to be able to fill those empty seats.

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Taking the less obvious path when it comes to marketing is a great way to make your business stand out from the crowd. Marketing strategies that persist do so because time and time again they’ve been proven to lead to good results. And when something is successful, it’s difficult to stop doing what everyone else is doing and step outside of your comfort zone to change things up. However, taking the road less traveled is a great way to make your business stand out from the crowd.  To help leaders embrace thinking outside of the box, 10 Newsweek Expert Forum members share unconventional promotions that did wonders for their business.

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No matter what industry an entrepreneur operates in, developing ways of keeping up with emerging trends will help ensure they remain in business for the long term. Staying knowledgeable about what’s happening in the business world isn’t as simple as it used to be. Whether an entrepreneur is operating in a local, national or international market, they have to be committed to learning, evolving and adopting new ways of doing business or else they risk being left behind. With digital platforms and technologies being created and improved upon daily, it’s essential to devise ways of keeping up with what’s going on in and outside of your industry. To help entrepreneurs keep up in a changing market, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members share strategies they use to stay informed about industry trends.

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Shifting your marketing efforts toward e-commerce requires a well-thought-out strategy. If you're thinking of starting an online retail company or adding an e-commerce component to your existing business, a solid marketing strategy can set you up for success. However, marketing strategies for an e-commerce business differ from that of a brick-and-mortar store. There are also additional factors to consider, such as SEO, content marketing, email marketing and social media.  To help build an optimal e-commerce marketing strategy, eight members of Newsweek Expert Forum discussed what entrepreneurs should keep in mind as they adjust their strategy. 

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Developing a process to manage your sales pipeline helps ensure the business is constantly operating at maximum efficiency. The management of a business’s sales pipeline is continuous work that never really finishes. From prospecting potential customers and closing deals to checking in with customers and generating new leads, sales is a process in which leaders must take care to ensure there is a set structure in place for both finding new prospects and retaining existing ones. Investing time and effort into improving sales process management is a great way to increase efficiency, but knowing where and how to implement changes that will make a difference isn’t a simple task. To help, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members share strategies for how leaders can effectively approach managing a business's sales pipeline.

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Before taking on any additional work, it's best to ensure you and your team have the capacity to complete the work. An increase in workload is one indication that a business is doing well in a market. However, if the capacity of the current team is not considered alongside growing responsibilities, a business may end up with too much work and no ability to ensure it’ll be done in a timely manner.  To help dial back and shift focus before efficiency decreases, 14 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one critical sign that a leader or business has too many projects going on at once. 

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Before addressing any activism in the workplace, leaders need to have a well-developed approach. With racial justice protests, labor shortages, a global pandemic and a budding “quiet quitting” movement, the workplace of the past few years has undergone many changes. While it may have been easier to draw distinctions between one’s professional and personal beliefs in years past, it is growing increasingly difficult for leaders to keep these boundaries in the work environment in place as employees now expect leadership to stand for their values and take a side.   If leaders do decide to take action, it’s best to prepare beforehand with a well-thought-out strategy. To help you determine the best approach, 14 Newsweek Expert Forum members offer recommendations on how leaders can respond to growing employee activism in the workplace.

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Industry credibility and brand recognition are critical if you hope to optimize your business for its target market. With major competitors vying for the top spot in any industry, making a name for your business and improving the market can be a difficult journey. As a new business owner, this means you’ll need to dedicate plenty of time to learning and researching the industry to understand where your business can offer improvements.  As business leaders, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum have dealt with the challenge of breaking into the industry and gaining credibility and recognition. Below, they offer 15 tried-and-true tips for entrepreneurs attempting to optimize the market.

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  In business, a “leader” is typically defined as the person in charge. This can range from executives at the top down to the managers who preside over individual departments or teams. However, having an official leader position isn’t what makes someone a good–or even an effective leader. Great leaders are those who are able to balance the big picture of the company mission with the finer details of how employees contribute to the achievement of business goals. Developing that balance means leaders need to actively acquire and refine their skills. As experts, Newsweek Expert Forum members know that refining those skills is an ongoing process, so below, they each share one skill every manager needs to effectively lead and coach employees.

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Here are five tips for attracting a recruiter's undivided attention and getting the most out of the collaboration.

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Developing an effective SEO business strategy can be done without breaking the bank. Building an online presence today is all about learning how to best appeal to potential and current customers while also demonstrating that your business can provide needed solutions. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one way to improve your company’s search rankings, boosting visibility and conversions.. As leaders, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum know how important SEO can be for business strategy, as well as how those efforts can sometimes come at a cost. To help, they offer recommendations to ramp up a company's SEO at little or no cost.

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For a business to succeed, entrepreneurs have to know how to effectively pitch and get stakeholder onboard with every new initiative. No matter how good a business idea may seem, every new initiative will not have complete buy-in from stakeholders at the start. No matter whether it’s investors, employees, partners or consumers, the onus is on the entrepreneur to present a worthy pitch, gain support and address concerns that may arise from the audience.  While this process may seem straightforward, the challenge lies in devising a plan to put any and all doubts from stakeholders at ease. As leaders, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum know that full support for business ideas is critical to success. To help, they offer strategies entrepreneurs can use to approach changing someone's mind and gaining buy-in from stakeholders.

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Creating an engaging workplace culture is all about putting structures in place to meet company goals and address employee needs. For a business to succeed today, an engaged workforce can make all the difference. With the workplace being more distributed across geographical areas than ever, establishing and maintaining a company culture that effectively engages all employees is a growing challenge. That’s why it is essential for leaders to adopt practices that balance the needs of the business with the desires of employees. Before making any internal changes to how the company operates, determining the best way to create an environment that supports employees is a great first step for ensuring employees feel valued. Below, 15 members of Newsweek Expert Forum provide tips for business leaders interested in keeping their employees engaged with the culture of the company.

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Now that websites and social media have become vital for businesses, leaders must develop an effective strategy for engaging their audiences on these platforms. Regardless of the industry an organization operates in, the marketing channel a leader chooses to use to contact current customers and prospects will have a direct impact on the success of their business. This is especially true now that websites and social media networks have become important components of interacting directly with stakeholders. With online interactions becoming essential to operations, learning how to contact and build relationships with customers is a hurdle business owners have to overcome. As experts, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum all have experience testing various channels for outreach and marketing purposes. Below they share how they best reach their target audience on their preferred marketing channel and why that method works so well for them.

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Establishing connections in larger markets can open up entrepreneurs to a wide variety of new business opportunities. When an entrepreneur is just starting out, connecting with the local community helps set their new business up for success. Establishing a loyal client base and developing connections are central to building a local presence in a small market, but growth may be limited if other markets aren’t considered as well. In fact, expanding to customers and investors in larger city markets can open up a breadth of new opportunities that will take a business to new heights.  However, it’s not easy to determine the most effective way to break into a large market. To help, a panel of experts from Newsweek Expert Forum share tips on how entrepreneurs can better reach clients and investors in larger market spaces.

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Feel awkward when you network? Try these tips to make it feel more organic and even fun. Many people network with the intention of trying to sell a business leader on their product or service, whether to get seed money or to try and create a partnership. Because of this, networking events may end up feeling awkward and uncomfortable when it's all about the hard sell. However, networking doesn't have to feel like you're "schmoozing." Business leaders can use these events to make real connections and build solid foundations for future business relations, all without pitching an idea. Below, a panel of Newsweek Expert Forum members offered their best advice for making networking more natural and fun to build long-lasting connections. 

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If you're having trouble staying on task, these actionable tips can help you refocus your attention. Everyone has struggled to focus at work at one point or another. Whether you're feeling tired, burned out or you're just too excited about an event later that week, sitting down at a computer or sitting through a meeting can sometimes be challenging. While feeling a little unfocused every now and then can be easily overcome, it's more problematic if you're constantly struggling to focus or losing interest in the work that you're doing. Luckily, there are ways to help you dial back in and find the focus you need to get the job done. Below, 15 members of Newsweek Expert Forum shared their best tips for someone struggling to focus.

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Talented people have more choices than ever, and if businesses want to scale, then they need to make a lot of effort to get their attention. Sometimes it requires more funds, sometimes just a streamlined process to achieve the desired outcome: winning the talent war.

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Shifting noncritical social media tasks to virtual assistants allows employees to focus more on other business initiatives. With business growth comes the need to maximize social media efforts to increase efficiency and elevate the organization’s online standing. One way to do this is by hiring a virtual assistant to take on social media tasks, such as scheduling posts or communicating with stakeholders online, thereby freeing up time for employees to work on other business initiatives.   Though virtual assistants are fast becoming a simple solution for offloading noncritical tasks, managers must be careful given the importance that’s placed on social media today. A skill mismatch or improper training can do more harm than good in the long term. Below, nine members of Newsweek Expert Forum share recommendations for managers to keep in mind as they use virtual assistants to grow their business’ social media presence.

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Each and every challenge brings with it the opportunity to learn and grow as an entrepreneur. When a leader is dealing with an obstacle, thinking of the lasting value of that business challenge isn’t usually what comes to mind in the heat of the moment. However, once a leader has had time to reflect, each and every challenge has the potential to positively impact their organization going forward.  Below, a panel of Newsweek Expert Forum members share specific challenges business owners faced and how leaders can use those experiences as a moment to learn and make lasting changes.

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As more and more companies decide to hire a recruitment agency to help with hiring needs, here are some tips on how to do this right.

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Before moving your business to a new industry, it's best to get a full understanding of that current market. Moving your business into a new industry can bring with it the opportunity to expand your current business offerings or go in a completely different direction. However, before jumping into a new endeavor, it’s important to carefully think through each move and fully understand the potential consequences of what you do. While an entrepreneur may have experience in a given field, that experience may not translate well to a new setting. To help entrepreneurs make a successful change, a panel of Newsweek Expert Forum members share common mistakes entrepreneurs encounter as they attempt to pivot into a new industry.

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If you want a loyal customer base that keeps coming back, you need to put consumers at the center of everything you do. Many companies claim that their customers are their highest priority. While this is a nice thing to say, there's a difference between simply delivering what a customer asks for and truly being a consumer-centric organization.  Today's consumers expect that the businesses they buy from will go the extra mile to ensure an experience that exceeds their expectations. To help your company become more consumer-centric, 15 members of Newsweek Expert Forum members offered their best tips below.

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Taking the time to understand client needs can guide efforts to reconnect and maintain connections with customers. After a customer has paid for and received a product or service, it's natural for them to disengage if a business isn't working to actively hold their attention. The natural instinct for some entrepreneurs may be to leverage every communication channel available to pull the customer back in, but these efforts may have the opposite effect of pushing the customer further or completely away. That’s why it’s important to stop and take a moment to think about the situation from the customer’s perspective. Developing a better understanding of customer needs can aid in determining the best path forward for reconnecting or maintaining a connection. To help, a panel of experts from Newsweek Expert Forum each share one effective strategy for reengaging inactive customers.

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When choosing a technology solution for your SME, it's important to understand the business value you'll be getting for your money. Technology can certainly be an investment, especially for small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many programs cost a lot of money upfront and may not end up serving the needs your business has. That's why it's so important to carefully choose which technologies your business invests in. This often entails doing some market research and understanding exactly how a tech tool might be able to solve your business needs. Below, 15 Newsweek Expert Forum members shared their insights to help SMEs optimize their technological investments. 

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Creating a workplace dedicated to employee development helps build a culture that retains and attracts employees. Junior employees rely on their existing knowledge and skills to get a role, but what really helps an individual flourish in their position is support from superiors. From establishing mentorship programs to building a culture that allows employees to explore and grow their skills, leadership support can manifest itself in a variety of different ways.  Creating a workplace that truly caters to the development of employees requires that leaders put in both time and hard work, and the potential results alone make these efforts worthwhile. To help, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum each share one practical way managers can ensure junior employees are receiving adequate training and support to fuel their professional growth.

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To keep the business running smoothly, leaders have to get to the root cause of employee burnout.  Whether your employees have been working remotely, on a hybrid schedule or have been in-person this entire time, the odds are high that they are likely feeling the strain of the last few years. A leader taking the initiative to look deeper within their organization and at the current culture of the organization is a smart first step.  Making an effort to implement change and offer more support can positively impact employees. To help leaders make changes, a panel of Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one strategy for addressing and reducing employee burnout in the workplace.

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To be competitive, hiring managers need to accept that it is crucial to be flexible in order to be the first choice for top talent.