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Amid Rising Workplace Demands, McLean & Company Offers Capacity Planning Guidance to HR Leaders

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A new guide from global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company provides actionable insights to help HR leaders support capacity planning, optimize people resources, and reduce burnout. In the resource, three key sections prepare HR leaders to anticipate capacity demands and choose appropriate capacity planning strategies that will support the organization’s long-term goals.

TORONTO, Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ – As stress and burnout become increasingly common in the workplace, global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company explains that effective capacity planning is crucial to ensuring teams have the right number of members to meet demands, avoid burnout, and optimize organizational efficiency. To support HR leaders in the critical capacity planning process, the firm has released its industry resource, HR Guide to Support Capacity Planning. The new guide has been designed to equip HR leaders with best practices, tools, and strategies to facilitate capacity planning, helping organizations to address capacity gaps and ensure operational success.

The resource emphasizes that collaboration between organizational leaders, HR, and Finance is critical for effective capacity planning. While HR supports the entire capacity planning process, ultimately the responsibility rests with leaders and Finance to make informed decisions. McLean & Company explains that HR’s role is to equip leaders with the right questions, tools, and data to evaluate current capacity, estimate future needs, and implement strategies to address identified gaps. The methods employed will depend on the unique demands and structure of each organization.

“While capacity planning is applicable for many types of organizations, functions, and teams, those with jobs that have tangible and easily quantifiable tasks will see the greatest value,” says James Kim, manager, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. “These kinds of roles are better able to accurately understand and measure capacity. However, it’s essential to factor in variables like individual work styles, productivity fluctuations, and time off to make accurate estimates.”

The new guide from McLean & Company underscores that, when done effectively, capacity planning offers significant benefits for both the organization and its employees. These benefits include enhanced efficiency, optimized resources, reduced burnout, and improved employee engagement. Each benefit is covered in depth in the full resource.

McLean & Company’s HR Guide to Support Capacity Planning includes three primary sections to prepare HR leaders to assist leaders across the organization to assess and address their teams’ capacity needs, outlined below:

Evaluate capacity: Collect information on current and future capacity needs. In section one, HR leaders are guided on supporting team leaders with examining current team capacities, providing supporting HR data to inform upcoming capacity estimates, collaborating with team leaders to estimate upcoming capacity requirements, then using the information gathered to calculate capacity needs. Tools and methodologies such as McLean & Company’s Capacity Calculator can help leaders assess current and future capacity needs, using metrics like vacancy rates, overtime, and sales growth.  

Exploring strategies: Examine best practices to choose an appropriate strategy for the organization. A detailed examination of lead, lag, and match strategies allows leaders to choose the best approach for their team’s capacity needs. The second section of McLean & Company’s guide explains each of the aforementioned strategies for HR leaders, including examples, benefits, and cautions, to ensure an informed decision.

Monitor and iterate: Review tools to monitor capacity and look for signs to readjust capacity plans. In the third and final section, HR leaders are guided through planning to monitor capacity, adjust approaches as needed, and determine next steps beyond capacity planning. Leaders are encouraged to track capacity over time using dashboards, project tracking tools, and regular check-ins to adjust strategies as needed.

“A thoughtful approach to selecting strategies ensures teams are equipped to meet demand efficiently without overextending resources,” explains Karen Mann, senior vice president, Human Resources Research, Learning & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. “Careful examination of the demands organizations face throughout the year, alongside the benefits and cautions, is critical to ensure the right strategy to capacity plan is selected.”

McLean & Company advises HR leaders that capacity planning decisions should be both strategic and actionable, highlighting that embedding capacity planning into the organization’s regular processes can lead to enhanced resilience and ultimately create a more engaged and productive workforce.  

Access the Full Guide

HR professionals can access the HR Guide to Support Capacity Planning and explore related resources, including templates and tools, by visiting McLean & Company’s website or contacting Communications Manager Katie Tame at ktame@infotech.com.

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company pairs evidence-based research and immediately applicable tools with deep HR expertise to position organizations to meet today’s needs and prepare for the future. The global HR research and advisory firm’s member organizations enjoy comprehensive resources, full-service diagnostics, workshops, action plans, and advisory services for all levels of HR professionals, from executive leadership to HR leaders to HR team members, that help shape workplaces where everyone thrives.

McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and hundreds of industry analysts through the firm’s Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact ktame@infotech.com.

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SOURCE McLean & Company

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2026 Canton Fair Design Award Winners Showcase China’s Innovation Strength

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October 19, 2026

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GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the 140th Canton Fair opens, the winners of the 2026 Canton Fair Design Award (CF Award) have also been announced. Winning products are now on display in Area D of the Canton Fair Complex, offering visitors a closer look at some of the latest advances in Chinese manufacturing and industrial design.

Among this year’s top honorees, a domestically developed high-performance sport motorcycle and an intelligent navigation capsule robot gastric endoscopy system received the Best of the Best Award, the competition’s highest recognition.

The Canton Fair also enhanced the visitor experience with a themed showcase area within the award exhibition. Built around four application-oriented concepts, namely Outdoor Pleasure, Smart Living, Cozy Home and Kitchen Elegance, the immersive displays demonstrate how innovative designs can be integrated into everyday life, helping visitors better understand the practical value behind these award-winning products.

This year, 4,218 products from 2,112 companies competed for the award. Following multiple rounds of evaluation, 222 products from 174 companies were selected.

The award-winning products reflect several key trends shaping the next stage of Chinese manufacturing. Innovation remains a defining theme, with breakthrough technologies ranging from upper limb motor function assistance and enhancement system to exoskeleton robots, underscoring the growing momentum of high-end manufacturing.

Meanwhile, intelligent technologies continue to gain traction across industries. Smart products account for more than 30% of this year’s winners, with AI-powered glasses, intelligent conference terminals and smart healthcare devices extending AI applications across home, office, medical and outdoor environments.

Sustainability is also becoming increasingly embedded throughout the product lifecycle. Green products represent over 40% of the winning entries, while innovations such as integrated energy-saving panels and sugarcane paper demonstrate how environmentally conscious practices are being incorporated into product design, materials selection and manufacturing processes.

Established in 2013, the Canton Fair Design Award is widely regarded as a benchmark for design innovation in China’s foreign trade sector. The award recognizes products that combine design excellence with commercial value, promoting the transformation and upgrading of Chinese manufacturing and supporting high-quality trade development. Entries are evaluated across five dimensions: innovation, quality, functionality, aesthetics and sustainability.

For more convenient attendance, please click here for pre-registration:
https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/register/buyer/email?source_type=16

 

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SOURCE Canton Fair

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InstaMall Launches Same-Day Fashion Delivery Experience, Bringing 80+ Brands to Shoppers’ Doors in Miami

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October 19, 2026

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First-of-its-kind shopping app pairs artificial intelligence with same-day delivery, bringing luxury
and contemporary brands directly to customers’ doorsteps 

Featured luxury and contemporary brands include AllSaints, John Varvatos and Aritzia

MIAMI, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — InstaMall, a first-of-its-kind shopping app offering same-day delivery and access to real-time inventory across luxury and contemporary fashion, launches today in Miami, Florida. Now available via iOS and Android, InstaMall provides access to more than 80 contemporary and luxury fashion brands across Miami’s five premier retail clusters, including Balmain, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Ganni, Coach, Diesel, Reformation, Aritzia, Cult Gaia, Prada and more. InstaMall will add more brands within the app in the coming weeks and seasons. 

Sitting at the intersection of fashion, technology and commerce, InstaMall brings inspiration and purchase together through a more dynamic way to discover and shop for fashion. The experience combines access to luxury and contemporary brands with the convenience of same-day delivery, bringing the speed customers have come to expect across categories like food and groceries to fashion while maintaining the brand experience retailers and shoppers expect.

Within the app, customers will have access to InstaMall’s AI-powered stylist and virtual try-on features, making it easier to browse, discover and shop styles online. InstaMall’s AI Stylist serves as an intelligent shopping assistant that responds to customers’ preferences in real time. Customers can use the AI Stylist to receive product recommendations, build outfits, ask questions and discover new styles, while its virtual try-on feature allows them to visualize select items on themselves before making a purchase.

“InstaMall was founded on the belief that the convenience customers have come to expect from same-day delivery should extend to the way they shop for fashion,” said Elliot Aboud, Founder and CEO of InstaMall. “As fashion and technology continue to evolve together, we saw an opportunity to create a more seamless shopping experience that brings customers closer to the brands they love, combining a curated assortment, AI-powered styling and virtual try-on with the ease and convenience of same-day delivery.”

Prior to founding InstaMall, Elliot Aboud helped build the Aroma360 and Hotel Collection brands, overseeing the launch of the first retail store and expanding the retail footprint to more than 30 stores across the United States and two in Dubai. InstaMall is bringing fashion and luxury to the next generation with its seamless shopping experience and wide selection of brands.

Customers can download InstaMall through the Apple App Store or Google Play, or by going to instamall.co.

About InstaMall 

InstaMall is a same-day fashion shopping and discovery app reimagining how consumers shop for luxury and contemporary brands. Sitting at the intersection of fashion, technology and commerce, InstaMall brings inspiration and purchase together in an experience that gives consumers a more dynamic way to discover and shop. Where on-demand delivery has long existed for categories like food and groceries, InstaMall brings that same convenience to luxury fashion for the first time, delivering the same day without compromising the brand experience fashion retailers and their customers expect. The company launched publicly in Miami on October 16, 2026, and plans to expand nationally. For more information, please visit instamall.co.

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SOURCE InstaMall

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PTC to Announce Fourth Fiscal Quarter and Full Year 2026 Results on Wednesday, November 4, 2026

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October 19, 2026

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BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) will release its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter and full year results on Wednesday, November 4th after the stock market closes. As previously announced on October 5th, 2026, PTC entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Schneider Electric. In light of the pending transaction, PTC is suspending quarterly earnings conference calls and is no longer providing quarterly or annual guidance.

The earnings press release and accompanying financial data tables will be accessible on the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at PTC Investor Relations.

About

PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) is a global software company that enables manufacturers and product companies to digitally transform how they design, manufacture, and service the physical products the world relies on. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PTC employs over 7,000 people and supports more than 30,000 customers globally. For more information, please visit www.ptc.com.

Investors

Michael Maguire
mmaguire@ptc.com
investor@ptc.com

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SOURCE PTC Inc.

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