Changes Your Company Might Need To Make
Markets change. Opinions change. The whole world is in a constant state of change. In order to survive and thrive, businesses need to continuously evolve. The hard part for owners is figuring out exactly what attributes of their business could stand a timely shakeup. Here are five big changes that could help grow your business in the new year.
1. Be Open to Expert Advice
It’s normal for entrepreneurs to feel like they can go it alone. Independence and confidence are great qualities in a business leader, but it’s also true that good networking can make all the difference. No one person (or even team) can have every skill set. Everyone knows how important mentorships are; in fact, CNBC found that 91% of workers who had mentorships were satisfied with their jobs. Consulting firms exist to do this on a large scale. With supply chains being a concern, talking to transportation consulting experts could be a good idea, and as the Internet of Things (IoT) makes business processes more complicated, IT consultation has never been more important. Always be willing to listen. It’s the best way to learn.
2. Improve Cybersecurity
This one is getting more important all the time. 2021 set a record for cybercrime, with the global cost soaring to $6 trillion. Many if not most businesses are woefully unprepared for online threats. One of the biggest problems is a lack of standardization. The modern workspace is often spread across many devices and not everyone is likely to be on the same page when it comes to antivirus and firewall installation. Addressing this shortfall is part of the endpoint security model, which puts emphasis on insisting upon credentials from users and a common set of security protocols on the network. Most importantly, educate yourself and your employees on emerging threats and how to counter them.
3. Invest in Employees
Speaking of training employees, it’s probably the best way to head off another costly disaster: rapid turnover. The cost of losing an employee can be one-half to two times that employee’s annual salary. Problems start when employees don’t feel cared for and get even worse when the goals and values of the individual worker start to diverge from those of the company. Training builds engagement, improves skill and helps align values. A LinkedIn report revealed that companies ranked high for employee training had a 53% lower turnover rate, so now is the time to start nurturing your workforce.
4. Alter the Internal Organization
Sometimes the way in which an organization is structured can have a dramatic effect on its efficiency. Typical businesses are organized via a hierarchical model. This means a CEO and/or owner at the top, the mass of employees on the bottom and middle management in between. This structure is effective at creating specialists and allowing quick decisions, but those goals aren’t always what a business needs. A flat structure, on the other hand, democratizes both power and responsibility. This can make a company more agile and innovative, with the added bonus of cutting management overhead. Be aware that a shakeup like this often carries legal ramifications since it can result in an altered leadership system. Double-check the specifics of your status before you make any decisions here.
5. Get Better Customer Service
Everyone complains about mediocre customer service, but many companies stay on that path due to stasis and cost concerns. On the one hand, a service team costs money, but studies show that 71% of consumers would ditch a brand that didn’t have human operators waiting to help. Having good customer service is becoming easier than it used to be since many company websites now come with an option for live chat. Indeed, research tends to reveal that as the preferred method. Email and text support are also good non-phone channels that cut response time and thus put the consumer in the driver’s seat. Bring the human touch to your company and customers will thank you.
Change is a process, and these options are only the beginning. The key to growing your business is knowing your business, so take stock of what you have, and what you might need, to scale operations in 2022.
