In a perfect world, your business would stride along nicely, enjoying sustainable growth in an environment that is fertile for opportunity and order. Does this sound like an accurate portrayal of your business environment, or do you feel like you have a few changes to make to bring this to reality? Wherever you identify on the spectrum, it doesn’t have to be permanent, so here is how you can create a more ordered business environment today for tomorrow.
Let’s start with the attendance of your workforce
To work on creating an orderly business environment, you have to first have a present workforce. An employee time clock app, like Deputy’s, is assisting businesses by tracking the attendance and duration of employee shifts, flagging with employers when a shift is not fulfilled as scheduled. Poor attendance impacts every member of the team, with even your punctual employees resenting the processes that have led to this being an acceptable state of order. Disengagement will always ensue. Time attendance doesn’t need to have only negative connotations, it might actually highlight which of your members is going above and beyond, and ready for more responsibility within your business after you have seen their fine attendance record. You might be surprised to see how your employees stack up when they are measured accurately and unbiasedly.
Establish a chain of order
If order and conduct is something your business lacks, it might be time to either review or re-communicate what the chain of order is within your business. What is the split of management to employees, and is this present with every shift or only when it happens by accident? The old adage ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’, is an unfortunate reality for many businesses, and the alternative is a non-present management team with employees unable to enforce change. This could be a great time to promote or demote any notable employees, but be sure to try a few formats and configurations before you make any permanent decisions. It’s a hard call to make, but it is something that great managers do.
Review, revise or rewrite your business plan
Business plans are never designed to just sit in a drawer, they should be an active tool in which you draw upon and seek inspiration to steer future plans. Call a meeting with your management and key stakeholders, and read the business plan together and provide input about what stays and what needs to be improved. As we enter the digital age, many business plans have not adapted to new processes, and so a refresh is a good idea for all. Your customers have probably changed also, as has the way they spend and interact with your business. If you don’t believe you can conduct this meeting and take on feedback unbiased, invite a third-party facilitator to take on the role of conducting the meeting and compiling the insights.
Invest in your business
If you find that your employees are not respecting the business and you’re losing a handle of things, it could be time to invest in your business. This might mean new infrastructure, some employee perks, a landscaping concept or even some new signage. Whatever you choose to invest in, you will be astounded by the impact it has on your workforce in lifting morale and improving engagement. Who knows, it might even raise the value of your business.
Here are some ways you can bring and sustain positive change in your business environment, providing needed order to every member of your team. Improvement is a journey, so don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t see an uplift immediately or need to repivot if something isn’t quite working. Productivity and purpose await!
