Business Strategy | Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

The Evolution of Business: Why You Shouldn’t Let Tradition Hold You Back

November 30, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

What is Business Evolution?

Business evolution is the process of adapting to changes in your industry or environment in order to stay competitive. This could include anything from adopting new technology or processes, restructuring the organization, developing a new product or service, diversifying into different markets, and so on. The key is being able to recognize when change is needed and having the willingness to act on it. For example, technology in business is constantly evolving, so if you don’t keep up with the latest trends, you could be left behind.

Why Is It Important To Evolve Your Business?

In today’s constantly shifting business landscape, companies that don’t evolve are likely to be left behind. Change can bring about opportunities for growth and innovation that might not have been available otherwise. Furthermore, staying ahead of trends makes it easier to anticipate customer needs and remain relevant in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

What Are Some Signs That It’s Time To Evolve Your Business?

Some of the signs that it might be time to evolve your business include declining sales, difficulty keeping up with changing customer demands, increased competition in the market, or a lack of new ideas. You may also want to consider evolving if you feel like your company is stuck in a rut and no longer growing.

How Can You Effectively Evolve Your Business?

If you’re ready to take the plunge and evolve your business, there are a few key steps you should take:

• Analyze current processes and identify areas for improvement;

• Conduct market research to better understand customer needs;

• Develop a strategy for how you’ll implement change;

• Create an action plan and timeline;

• Focus on customer retention, acquisition, and loyalty;

• Reevaluate progress on a regular basis.

What Are The Challenges And Benefits Of Evolving Your Business?

While there are many potential benefits to evolving your business, it can also bring some challenges. For example, implementing new processes or technologies might require additional training for employees, and there could be a period of adjustment while everyone gets used to the changes. Additionally, you may need to invest in new resources or equipment to make the transition. On the other hand, evolving your business can bring about a number of benefits. It could open up new markets, increase efficiency and productivity, boost customer satisfaction, lead to greater profits, and help you stay ahead of the competition.

Evolving your business is essential if you want to remain competitive and stay ahead of the game. Don’t let tradition keep you from adapting to new circumstances and emerging trends; embrace change and take advantage of the opportunities it presents. With the right strategy in place, you’ll be able to evolve your business for maximum success.

How Can I Work Smarter, Not Harder In Business?

November 29, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Pexels – CC0 License

It’s very easy for an entrepreneur to brag about how hard they work, or a business owner to talk about just how much is required of them to keep their operation running. That doesn’t mean they’re wrong, of course, but it’s also true that working hard and to the point where it runs you down and affects your health is not necessarily something to brag about. Instead, it suggests a change needs to be made.

That said, it’s true that if you have the willingness to work hard, you’re already half of the way there and have much more potential than someone who expects success to come to them based solely on the value of their ideas.

But instead of just working harder, working smarter is important too. It’s the difference between dragging a cart with a rope or fixing wheels so you can push it easily. But in business, it takes creative thinking and sometimes, a new methodology of forward progress for you to find those hidden opportunities. Let’s discuss some of those examples below:

Automate Those Little Tasks

Automation can be a real timesaver and allow you to add uniform productivity to whatever task it is you’re trying to achieve. For instance, you may have notice that many customer support sections on business websites now utilize AI chatbots to help direct your query. If the bot determines you have a question a human agent might need to answer, they will transfer you to that system.

However, if you have a common question, it might point you to a previously answered FAQ section, and save you time. That’s automation, cutting down on the time it takes for real support personnel to help you. The same principles can be applied to manufacturing for instance, where using a turnkey system can help you automate your industrial product development in the best way, with prefit measures that help you avoid the constant maintenance, debugging and preparation of such systems. As you can see, you don’t have to curate everything yourself.

Understand Your Skill Gaps

One of the most important measures to understand in business is that you, as an individual, cannot do everything. It’s important to outsource where you can, be that via hiring an accountant, a marketing specialist, and certainly a payroll agency to make sure that all of these tasks are completed to a highly professional standard.

If you know your skill gaps, you know your strengths and can hire or liaise with staff members to help you. It will also allow you to stop wasting your time, or understand which areas need to be worked on.

Bringing The Best Of Yourself

It’s also important to note that the well-rested you that takes care of themselves, hydrates enough, and has some downtime from work is the person who will make the best executive decisions compared to the person who might attend the office around the clock thinking this will make a difference. Your business is your baby, but it doesn’t mean you have to denigrate yourself to be successful. If you care for yourself as one of the most important business assets, this shows the foresight to understand your limits, and will allow you to bring the best of your insight on a daily basis.

With this advice, we hope you can work smarter, not harder, and also remain aware of your limitations.

Finding Your Best Industry Headstart

November 29, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Pexels – CC0 License

Running a business often seems more like an art than a science. Sure, there are essential principles we must follow, like affirming perfect bookkeeping, managing our people well, launching our brand with confidence and in line with the approach our market research suggested would be most fruitful.

Yet like any painting, it’s not just the image depicted, but the skill and application of the painter, as well as the impressions such artwork has on its viewers that make all the difference. As such, there’s a great deal of variation and many launching points for a business to start from. In some cases, buying out another company, should you have the means, is as valid a way as getting involved in that field as starting from scratch.

Finding your best headstart in an industry, then, can come from several directions. However, thankfully, there are some principles you can use to better situate yourself, and perhaps move forward with a little more confidence. In this post, we’ll discuss where to begin, especially if you’re a professional with little business acumen.

Consider The Scope Of Your Business

It’s important to understand the placement, suite of services, and potential outreach desires of your firm. Here you can utilize consultants such as those providing chiropractic coaching for opening up your own clinic. This might give basic advice such as teaching you how to install appropriate therapy rooms, how to organize patients appropriately depending on your inventory and tracking systems, and also how to manage a front desk. Make sure the full gamut of services and the breadth of the experience is considered and discussed. It will help you avoid making rookie mistakes.

Know The Competition Better Than They Do

You have examples to turn to. This isn’t to say that you have to copy your competitors or even try to replicate them. But you can bet this is a common means of mutual development in industries around the globe. For instance, think of how Tesla, for all of its faults, pioneered the electric vehicle market. Now you can see how many designers and UI/UX specialists are using this example to bring EV development to more traditional vehicle companies, as they all know this will be the future. If you commit to deep research about the user and management experience of your competitors, and watch their decision-making around areas like how they market themselves, you’ll be surprised at the results.

Consider Your Unique Value

It can be easy to think that the only way of moving into an industry is by emulating the biggest players on the market, but that’s not true. After all, it’s not just being part of the industry you wish for, but influencing it, becoming noticed within it, and even dominating it. As such, you need to isolate at least three points of unique value and branding that allow you to become one to watch in the space, because otherwise ‘going with the grain’ may leave you becoming unnoticeable. Sometimes, the best way to enter an industry is to showcase what you’re going to do better than anyone else, and to create buzz around it.

With this advice, you’re sure to find your best headstart in the industry you choose.

Ways to Show Appreciation for Employees This Christmas Season

November 27, 2022 by Nina Simons Leave a Comment

Image source

Holliday season is rapidly approaching, and with it comes jolly times. People always remember the start and end of anything, so taking some time and going the extra mile to finish this 2022 year with a bang can go a long way. Your employees have stuck with the company thru thick and thin, making it possible to celebrate the end-of-year results.

Acts of appreciation and kindness are wonderful for morale, retention and company brand reputation. One gift can separate you from the rest and show your employees exactly how much you value them. In the end, no company can exist without its dedicated staff, so improving any relationship on that end can secure a healthy atmosphere, at least until next year! We’ve prepared some reliable suggestions and tips for you to start with!

1. The human factor

Attention costs next to nothing but is priceless to others. Words alone cannot hold up if they are not backed up with actions or concrete signs of affection. Taking the time to talk to your teams or team member individually and going thru all the adventures you had during the work year is a great way of catching up and reminiscing. Celebrating the ups and downs goes hand in hand with all business actions that have led to this moment.

Thanking them for their work and contributions in person is vastly superior compared to a gift card or a company email. Not that you should ignore those traditions, but you should supplement them with direct, human contact. Publicly praising employees boosts retention and employee relationship, bringing that holiday spirit, love and magic to your company. All the information you get this way helps you build up that employee profile and cater to their specific needs. Getting to know someone is also a great chance to make business friends and adapt your work environment for them.

2. Throw an office party

We know it’s still crunch time overall, and there are deadlines to be had, but those are dwindling and coming to an end. As the year grinds to a halt, so too do production and orders, which leads to a bit more breathing room and time. Picking a good date to throw a company event is the perfect way to celebrate and unite with your workforce. Throwing off steam, mingling, celebrating achievements you’ve all had during the year and making memories together will build your collective.

Becoming more than coworkers and transitioning into friends will create a strong work collective and positive work environment. Make sure not to go overboard with alcohol and food and to keep it moderate. One more aspect to consider is the date. People with families will want to spend the holidays with them, so try to pick a perfect date that everyone can adhere to. Consulting with your workforce and working together towards finding the ideal time is the biggest item on the checklist. Everything else comes naturally, and the celebration can begin!

3. Presents!

It’s the season of gifting and, after all, no Christmas period is complete without gifts. From simple to lavish, it is always the thought that counts, and are remembered for days to come. Any gift is better than ignoring your employees, and you don’t have to go overboard with presents. While monetary incentives in form of Christmas bonuses, 13th pay and gift cards all go a long way, the other side is presented. You can wrap or stack your presents in neat and beautiful Christmas hampers, which can be placed on everyone’s desks!

Filling them with envelopes, delights treats, and decorations gets everyone in the Christmas mood! You can style them to go hand-in-hand with your overall office decoration, or you can put them all under a Christmas tree in your office. Whatever your choice may be, you can’t go wrong by sticking to traditions. By putting a few modern twists and sparkling in some magic, you will make the memories last longer! Evoking our earliest memories of presents and excitement to find something new under the Christmas tree is always a fun little nostalgia trip.

4. Improvements for everyone

Santa’s little elves don’t only make gadgets, Christmas cards and bonuses. Your company can surely use some new equipment for your employees, which can show commitment, compassion and dedication to long-term plans. The holiday season will come and go, but people working for you will still work there tomorrow. When you take the time to listen to their advice and feedback during your interviews, you can also learn about their professional opinions about work.

When you go out of your way to purchase or modernise your work surroundings, you are letting them know you care. Making someone’s work easier or bringing it in compliance with modern-age standards, sends a powerful message that dreams can become a reality. People will appreciate the gesture, and the feeling of a new year and a new beginning will be in the air. Breaking the monotony of the workplace is easy during the holidays, but keeping that fresh spirit afterwards requires some effort. Any effort you make, will be appreciated and worthwhile.

Consider employee investments made into your workplace as a two-way street. You are investing in modernising your workplace and you give your employees a chance to shine. With greater means come greater results which will offer a chance for a greater year to come. The affection and acts of kindness will also not go unnoticed by your employees who value anything you do for them. Employee retention is a commodity measured in gold, so any investment you make to keep them for the next year’s Christmas party will return tenfold.

5. Year-long celebration

Keep the energy and motion of the Christmas period throughout the year by doting your calendar with various other holidays. The Christmas spirit is eternal, as its principles are universal. Appreciation, affection and love are the core principles of the upcoming Christmas holidays. One that can be distilled down and spread for future events for years to come.

People love parties at work as it breaks the usual monotony and infuses everyone with fresh energy. Each holiday is a perfect opportunity to cover and celebrate someone’s favourite season. Christmas, Saint Patric’s day, Labour Day, whatever the cause may be, it unites all under the banner of celebration. Christmas parties are often considered required and most employees expect them. But by going out of your way to spread the Christmas joy through the year, you will be subverting their expectations and creating a positive work environment.

Celebrating what’s common for all of us, under different holidays, shows that all are equal and create an atmosphere of equal representation in the workplace. And when each holiday has a chance to shine, so do workers celebrating it.

6. Ways to learn and grow

By celebrating Christmas, we celebrate what brought us to that day and for what we have to be thankful. An entire business year is ripe with learning and chances for knowledge, but it does not need to stop with Christmas. You can use all that experience and see how you can make the best of it. Thinking ahead about the year 2023 and the possible challenges it could entrail, can lead you to realise what employee courses you can get.

Investing in your workforce shows you value their work and does wonder for retention. All human beings love affection, and when you show someone you notice and want to advance their professional career, you, are also saying there is a future for them in your company. Training programs for your employees can be a great addition to the mentioned Christmas hampers.

7. Include the families

No man is an island and the Christmas season is all about the family. While your workforce is one big family at the workplace or factory, all of your employees also have families you can include in the celebration. If you don’t feel like inviting them over or think that would be too forward, you can always write them a sincere company letter. In which you can showcase all the great achievements and moment your employee in question achieved throughout the year.

Companies in Japan practice such personal activities and tight work communities. Personal employee achievements are presented to a wider community and they gain wider recognition. When you show your employees just how much you care and the impact of their actions, they can dedicate themselves further to personal advancements and bask in the glory of a job well done.

Taking any steps towards a positive outcome is noteworthy. Ignorance is not bliss when you are dealing with people working for you. Taking the time and patience to spread the holiday cheer becomes a perpetual mobile at one point. Once the positive energy is in, it will generate more and more until your entire company is engulfed in it. Treat every employee equally and you will see the joy in their eyes. Once your employees feel valuable, they will associate themselves with your company. After which, you can plan a continuous Christmas party for all and for years to come. We wish you all the best!

The Hospitality Industry: How To Promote Employee Engagement

November 27, 2022 by Keith Coppersmith Leave a Comment

The hospitality industry is inherently fast-moving and often hectic, factors that have affected job satisfaction for decades. But with the recent COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in business closures, layoffs, and similar difficult decisions, employee happiness levels have hit new lows. Keeping your hospitality staff engaged, motivated, and satisfied with their roles has truly never been so important to retaining the best workers and reaching business success. With that in mind, here are some simple yet effective ways you could promote employee engagement in the hospitality sector:

Offer Recognition And Rewards

It’s a well-known fact that recognition and rewards are quite effective at boosting employee engagement and overall job satisfaction levels. However, hospitality workers might have different preferences in terms of the most effective acknowledgment tactics. You have to consider a more balanced but flexible framework that encourages employees to reach the main business objectives while meeting their own needs as well. This can include awards for the most packages sold each season, better office parking spots, free lunches for the most successful teams, tickets to festivals and events, a couple of afternoons off, and similar attractive rewards.

Provide Some Interesting Freebies

It’s vital to remember employees at all levels of the organization when it comes to the hospitality sector. From the front desk to the housekeeping staff, it’s important to make everyone feel special if you’d like to promote engagement. Consider providing all workers with interesting freebies such as coffee, soft drinks, fresh fruit, and healthy snacks throughout the workday. This is quite an efficient and inexpensive idea that could aid in keeping your employees refreshed and energized. Freebies can also be a good incentive. For example, you can make an appealing travel package a reward for your most successful team member, turning this exciting vacation into a brilliant motivator.

Give Them Compensatory Time

The hospitality industry typically depends on the free time and the disposable income of its customers. Customer satisfaction is always the main priority for businesses in the sector. While this does support business success, it also means that hospitality workers have to work constantly, even when everyone else is resting and relaxing. These busy schedules can negatively affect employees’ lives, increasing stress and reducing their engagement levels. That is why paid time off is one of the best benefits you can offer to hospitality staff, especially when it comes to restaurants, hotels, and similar services. Long hours and fast-paced work will become much more bearable when employees can look forward to a much-deserved break.

Follow The Latest Industry Trends

Following the most important travel trends for 2022 and beyond can also be a great strategy. When you design your operations according to the latest industry tendencies, you can enjoy wonderful benefits in terms of attracting more consumers and boosting revenue. Your employees will quickly notice that business is booming, which will reflect an increase in overall job satisfaction and happiness. A successful business also means more engaged employees. But following travel trends could have additional benefits as well, such as motivating your staff to be more productive and innovative in an effort to keep up with industry changes.

Foster Friendly Competition

Competition among employees won’t only benefit the company’s sales and revenue; it can be quite advantageous in terms of increasing productivity and engagement among employees as well. But to achieve the best possible results, competition has to be healthy and friendly. This means setting up company-wide contests, organizing team-based activities, providing opportunities to display talents, encouraging peer recognition and praise, offering awards or badges, tracking progress effectively, etc. Incentivize your staff for reaching their targets or at times simply for doing their best.

Provide Development Options

Personal and professional growth opportunities are crucial to employee engagement. They represent a great motivator for workers to keep learning and improving while increasing retention rates as well. And the hospitality sector is truly the best industry for providing these opportunities since most employees here start from the bottom and then work their way up. Focus on employee development and training, consider mentoring options, make promotions easier to get, and ensure you have a strong company culture that supports growth. Train everyone from restaurant servers and cleaning staff to clerks and managers to see the greatest results.

Support Good Communication

Efficient communication is vital in the hospitality industry, helping to build good relationships with customers and maintain smooth day-to-day operations. And while you likely already have good communication systems in place to support these processes, what many hospitality businesses are lacking is staff and team communication channels. Consider investing in software solutions and other tools that will make team collaboration easier and more streamlined. This will help to support your daily operations and benefit the business greatly. However, it will also create a sense of connectivity between staff members, thus promoting employee engagement in the process.

Employee engagement isn’t difficult to promote, even in the hospitality sector. With enhanced processes, good communication, development opportunities, and some attractive rewards, you can motivate your staff to give their all and thus support business success.