Latest news with #AndrewNeal
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Hampshire thrash Surrey with over 30 overs to spare
Excellent bowling from veteran seamer James Fuller, inexperienced slow left-armer Andrew Neal and pacy youngster Manny Lumsden proved too much for Surrey in what became an embarrassingly one-sided nine-wicket Hampshire Hawks dismissed Surrey for 160 in 46.3 overs at the Oval before skipper Nick Gubbins anchored a buccaneering chase with 87 not out from 60 balls. Hampshire's fourth win in five Group A matches, clinched with a massive 30.5 overs to spare, boosts their ambitions of qualification for the Metro Bank One-Day Cup knock-out stages. Gubbins was initially joined in an opening partnership of 54 with Ali Orr (27) before Fletcha Middleton arrived to hit an unbeaten 35 from 24 balls in an unbroken second wicket stand of 108 in just 9.3 bowler Nathan Barnwell was thrashed for 50 from his three overs – Gubbins twice hoicking him for six in an opening over costing 21 – and left-arm spinner Yousuf Majid's three overs went for 31 as Gubbins and Middleton accelerated brutally towards the finish line. Gubbins hit three sixes and 13 fours in all, while Middleton's contribution was two sixes and four 35-year-old Fuller finished with 4-34 after polishing off a Surrey innings that never got going and was in danger of complete implosion at 89-6 before keeper-batsman Josh Blake and bowlers James Taylor, Barnwell and Majid provided at least some lower order resistance in front of a near-5,000 was Surrey's joint top-scorer with 22 alongside South Asian Cricket Academy graduate Nikhil Gorantla, who was Fuller's first victim when he was excellently caught low down by Neal diving forward at mid-on in the 18th left Surrey 68-3 and Lumsden had already made his mark by then, first forcing Rory Burns to miscue a pull to his fourth ball – to be caught and bowled for 20 – and then seeing Adam Thomas chop on to his stumps for 12 in his third 16 years and 288 days, Lumsden bowled with genuine pace in just his second List A appearance and although there were a number of wild deliveries, including an intended bouncer that flew for four wides, he impressed across two spells in his 2-46 from 10 more impressive was 25-year old spinner Neal, who played two first-class matches for Leeds-Bradford MCCU in 2019, but only made the first of his previous four List A appearances earlier this 3-33 from 10 nicely-controlled overs now gives him nine wickets in the competition and he numbered the Surrey middle-order of Ben Foakes, Ollie Sykes and Cameron Steel as his mishit to long on for five, Sykes was brilliantly held by a diving Felix Organ at long on for seven and Steel drove tamely to short extra cover to go for 22 was ended by a fatal nibble at Fuller, Taylor (19) offered a few meaty blows before skying Scottish all-rounder Brandon McMullen to long on and Barnwell departed for 15 miscuing high to keeper Ben was left 13 not out when No 11 Alex French fenced Fuller to slip to go for a fifth ball duck and all that remained was to see how quickly Hampshire's top order could knock off the runs. Thanks to Gubbins, Orr and Middleton the match was over by report supplied by ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay Tuesday fixture Group AUtilita Bowl: Hampshire v Notts OutlawsPlay starts 11:00 BST
Indianapolis Star
23-07-2025
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
Indy homelessness keeps rising in 2025 — but not for veterans. 4 takeaways from new data
Homelessness in Indianapolis continues to climb closer to the highest levels recorded in the past 15 years, new data shows. The newly released 2025 point-in-time count — a nationwide census held each January to provide a single-night snapshot of homelessness — found that 1,815 people were experiencing homelessness in Marion County at the beginning of this year. This is only the third year since 2010 in which the countywide total exceeded 1,800 people. The 2025 figure is a 7% increase from last year and the highest tally since 2021, when Indianapolis reported a 15-year high of 1,928 people experiencing homelessness. Indy's rising homeless population coincides with record-high homelessness across the United States. Despite the overall increase, significant reductions in veteran homelessness in Indianapolis and the U.S. at large hold lessons for how to help other groups, advocates say. Here are four key takeaways from the 2025 homelessness count: This year's increases were driven by rising homelessness among some of Indianapolis' most vulnerable groups. The number of residents facing chronic homelessness, a subgroup including people with health issues who have been homeless for more than a year, increased 24% from last year to roughly 400 people. More families with children are homeless, too, making up more than a quarter of the total homeless population. In 2025, 316 children under 18 years old were experiencing homelessness, a 14% increase from last year. "We're seeing more families sleeping in vehicles," Andrew Neal, leader of the youth social services organization Outreach Indiana, told IndyStar. "We're seeing more families who are homeless and trying to get access to shelters." The data also shows that Black residents are increasingly likely to end up homeless in Marion County, marking the failure of a 2023 citywide goal to effectively eliminate racial disparities in homelessness by this year. Of the total homeless population, more than 1,000 people identified as Black. This means that while nearly 30% of Marion County residents are Black, roughly 56% of the county's homeless residents are Black. While homelessness increased overall, one vulnerable group continues to make progress: veterans. The number of veterans experiencing homelessness fell to 125 people — a 26% decrease from last year. Just 10 years ago that figure was more than three times higher, when nearly 400 veterans were experiencing homelessness in 2015. The local decline in veteran homelessness is part of a record-breaking drop across the U.S. since 2010, when the federal government began a focused effort to end homelessness among veterans. Organizations like Helping Veterans and Families in downtown Indianapolis have benefited from more funding and an influx of specialized housing vouchers that help veterans pay rent. "In its simplest form, the solution to homelessness is housing with supportive services," HVAF CEO Emmy Hildebrand said. "That's what we do here at HVAF every day." HVAF fire: How Indianapolis veteran homeless housing damaged in fires last year is being rebuilt The organization provides more than 100 temporary beds where veterans typically stay for six to nine months, Hildebrand said. Because more than 80% of HVAF's clients report mental health or substance abuse issues, case managers connect veterans with health care, employment opportunities and government benefits while they're staying in those beds. "We want to make sure we're addressing every possible barrier to self-sufficiency when they're present here so they're in the best position to be successful when they leave," Hildebrand said. HVAF also sends rental assistance to about 500 families a year to ensure they remain stably housed, Hildebrand said. In total, their work helped more than 1,300 veterans in 2024. About eight in 10 people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis were sleeping in emergency shelter beds or transitional housing units during the frigid January count. The city is taking the lead on an ambitious plan to move the remaining people who are habitually unsheltered — sleeping on the street, in vehicles or in abandoned buildings — into housing by next summer. Through the new program Streets to Home Indy, Indianapolis aims to end unsheltered and chronic homelessness by 2028 for the quarter of homeless residents who fall into those two distinct but overlapping categories. The first phase of that plan is to offer temporary or permanent beds to roughly 350 people. Although about 330 were counted as unsheltered this January, the number typically increases during warmer months, advocates say. "(Homelessness) is something that we have been managing, but we really want to bring these targeted investments to the table to essentially end chronic homelessness as we know it in Indianapolis today," Aryn Schounce, a senior policy adviser on homelessness for Mayor Joe Hogsett, said in June when the program was announced. Implementing the plan will be a heavy lift. City employees will partner with street outreach teams from local nonprofits like Horizon House to visit well-known encampments and direct residents to open housing units. The city says it will clean up and shut down camps only after everyone has been housed or has left on their own. Streets to Home Indy is a key piece of Marion County's new Community Plan to End Homelessness, along with a low-barrier shelter that will offer 150 emergency beds for families, couples and individuals experiencing homelessness starting in 2027. The Department of Housing and Urban Development won't release the 2025 point-in-time count results until the end of this year, but the most recent data shows that homelessness is rising even faster across the U.S. than in Indianapolis. The nationwide 2024 point-in-time count found that more than 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness in the U.S., the largest number on record and an 18% increase from 2023. The numbers reflect the rapid rise in housing costs, the expiration of pandemic-era rental assistance and an increasing number of migrants seeking asylum, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank. Although rental costs have soared particularly in denser coastal cities, prices have jumped in Indianapolis too. One in four renting households in Indianapolis spent at least half of their income on rent in 2023, according to census data. The price squeeze shows up in the fact that more than 2,000 evictions are filed each month in Marion County courts, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.
Forbes
21-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Your Customer Success Team Might Be Measuring The Wrong KPI
Andrew Neal, PMP, is the Chief Operating Officer of Endpoint Automation Solutions. Customer success teams across software companies monitor key metrics religiously—reviewing dashboards, logging customer interactions and celebrating progress. But here's the uncomfortable truth: Tracking KPIs doesn't guarantee you're measuring the right ones. I've seen it firsthand. A team can hit its targets—like reducing average response time or boosting satisfaction scores—yet churn quietly rises, upsell opportunities stall and executive teams are left scratching their heads. Why? Because we often confuse activity with impact. And that gap can be the difference between a customer who renews and expands, and one who walks. The Danger Of Vanity Metrics Customer success managers are typically measured on metrics like net promoter score (NPS), customer satisfaction (CSAT) and ticket resolution time. These numbers can make us feel good, but they often lack depth. They tend to measure perception rather than outcomes, as well as lagging indicators that don't address early warning signs. For example, a customer might rate a support interaction highly but still leave a month later because they never fully adopted the product. NPS may rise while product usage falls. A customer may be "happy," but that doesn't mean they're successful. Vanity metrics give a snapshot but don't tell the full story. They measure engagement rather than outcomes. And they're dangerous because they create a false sense of momentum. The Metrics That Often Get Overlooked If your KPIs aren't tied to customer outcomes or revenue impact, it's time to recalibrate. Here are five metrics I've seen make a real difference: 1. Customer Health Score: A composite metric that includes usage, engagement, ticket volume and sentiment, customized to your business model. A good health score is predictive, not reactive. 2. Time To First Value (TTFV): This measures how quickly a customer receives meaningful value from your product after onboarding. Faster value = stickier customer. 3. Feature Adoption/Usage Depth: Are customers using the core features that drive ROI? Are they exploring new ones? Usage is a leading indicator of expansion potential. 4. Net Revenue Retention (NRR): NRR combines renewals, upsells and downsells. It's a powerful measure of whether you're growing your value within the existing customer base. I have found this metric to have the most impact within my businesses. It is frequently the most evident connection between customer success and business performance. Some companies, such as Hubspot, reinforced the importance of this metric by linking it to customer usage and executive bonus calculations. 5. Churn By Cohort Or Segment: Looking at churn by customer segment, use case or lifecycle stage often uncovers more than raw churn percentages alone. The best metrics aren't just easy to track; they tell a story about the customer's experience, align teams around value delivery and help you act on it. Aligning KPIs To The Customer Journey Another misstep I often see is applying the same KPIs across the entire customer lifecycle. But onboarding is not the same as renewal. Product adoption is not the same as expansion. Each phase deserves its own success markers. For example: • Onboarding: Track TTFV, implementation time and early feature usage. • Adoption: Look at engagement scores, support interaction frequency and usage trends. • Renewal: Monitor NRR, contract value trends and support history. • Expansion: Focus on upsell activity, executive sponsor engagement and ROI realization. When KPIs are matched to the stage the customer is in, CSMs can be more proactive, and your leadership team gains clearer visibility. Cross-Functional Alignment Is Critical Customer success doesn't live in a silo. If your customer success team is tracking one set of KPIs while sales, product and finance are tracking others, you're likely flying blind in at least one direction. At our company, we've made it a point to connect CS metrics to broader business goals. For example: • Customer success tracks feature adoption, which results in the product gaining insight into roadmap priorities. • Customer success identifies common churn reasons, which helps sales adapt to ideal customer profiles. • Customer success surfaces ROI use cases, which allows marketing to build stronger case studies. Shared dashboards and recurring cross-departmental reviews have been game changers. When customer success is embedded into the broader revenue engine, the value becomes exponential. Audit And Redesign Your Success Metrics If you haven't audited your KPIs recently, now's the time. Here's a simple checklist I recommend to other executives I meet with on this topic: 1. Are your customer success metrics aligned with long-term customer outcomes? If not, you're optimizing for short-term wins that may not drive retention or expansion. 2. Are they predictive, not just reflective? Metrics like health score and time to first value (TTFV) help you intervene early. 3. Are you segmenting insights? One-size-fits-all metrics may be hiding important trends across verticals or customer types. 4. Do your KPIs inform other departments? Metrics should create alignment, not just accountability. 5. Are they actionable? A good KPI should lead to a decision or behavior change. 6. And most importantly: Do you review them regularly? Your business evolves. Your metrics should, too. Meet monthly with your customer success leadership team to monitor key indicators like NRR, Churn risk and usage trends. This helps flag early signs of change before they escalate. In addition to meeting with your customer success leadership team monthly, you should also host a comprehensive KPI review that includes stakeholders from product, sales, marketing and finance to align on business goals, adjust targets based on customer behavior and monitor market feedback. Companies like Slack identified that siloed KPI's across departments hindered a cohesive approach to customer success. Using cross-departmental reviews, they were able to foster a unified strategy, enhancing customer experience and contributing to net revenue retention. The job of a customer success team is not just to support—it's to drive growth. But if you're measuring the wrong things, you're likely missing what matters most. The right KPIs will tell you where the friction points are, where the opportunities lie and how to evolve your customer journey to drive value. They won't just help you track success—they'll help you create it. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Long-serving Neal to leave promoted Truro City
Truro City striker Andrew Neal is to leave the club following their promotion to the National 32-year-old, nicknamed 'Rocky' has spent the last five seasons at the Tinners - his second stint after a two-year spell from 2016 to has scored 70 goals across his time at the club - helping seal two promotions after they went up from the Southern League in scored Truro's final goal of this season in their 5-2 win over St Albans City that secured them the National League South title on the final day.'I have been lucky enough to experience some great success with the club and meet some great people who I'll consider friends for life,' Neal told the club website."I'll always be proud of the two promotions and the goal against St Albans, to send the club into the National League, will be one I forever treasure."I'd like to say thank you to all the fans for their support over the years, especially through the tough times where we had to play away from home for such long periods."I'm truly gutted to be leaving the club, but with the new full-time schedule, it's just something I can't commit to.'Truro have also released Dan Lincoln, Jamil Roberts and Faren City have taken up options to extend the contracts of captain Connor Riley-Lowe as well as Jaze Kabia, Will Dean and Ryan have made a contract offer to forward Dominic Johnson-Fisher and are continuing talks with Billy Palfrey and Dan Rooney. The remaining nine members of the Truro squad are all already under contract for next season.
