As we begin the New Year, it is important for business owners to consider how their organisation is best-positioned to respond to changes in today’s rapidly evolving business environment.
For small-to-medium businesses, ensuring agile and flexible processes is essential. Across all business functions, both present greater freedom to purse new market opportunities in addition to remaining competitive in existing and growing markets.
With changing customer demands, new technologies, greater employee expectations, and other economic and business trends and challenges, building agile and adaptable business processes is essential for the year ahead.
Throughout our article below, we summarise the potential tactics businesses can implement to create a more agile and flexible business in 2023.
Changing Customer Demands
In responding to increasing customer demands, businesses need to ensure they are continuously monitoring and analysing market conditions and expectations.
In regularly reviewing the needs of customers and anticipating their requirements, businesses can offer greater ability to introduce new products and services, alongside tailoring operations to best need the wants of the consumer.
New Technology & Digital Transformation
In today’s economy, it is evident that businesses which adopt new technology and emphasise a digital infrastructure hold a higher likelihood of success. As more customers turn to online platforms as a source of information, and consumerism - implementing strategies which focus on technology as a core component is essential.
The ability to implement new technology and adopt digital transformation provides businesses the opportunity to improve efficiency via automation, connect with customers with ease through digital marketing, and remodel existing processes to implement streamlined cloud-based solutions.
Flexible Working Environment
Over the last three years, greater emphasis has been placed on businesses to implement a more flexible working environment, allowing businesses to work remotely or under a “hybrid” model. As the results have seen businesses either succeed in their regular trading or better past performance, the future workplace is no longer attached to a single location. A flexible workplace can also support improved employee wellbeing and a strengthened organisational culture.
Whilst “flexible working” has been primarily attached to remote work arrangements, it also includes a mix of tailored work hours and arrangements, a larger combination of full-time and part-time positions being offered, the increased number of contract employees, and more allowances for employees to build a stronger work/life balance.
Network of Suppliers & Partners
In building a more agile and flexible business, it is important to hold a strong network of suppliers and business partners. With supply-chain challenges a common thread being tipped for 2023, developing relationships with multiple referrers, business partners and suppliers is key to continuing operations without delays.
Business Planning
Finally, encouraging continuous planning and innovation is an important element in ensuring your business remains flexible and agile to changing market trends and demands.
As business owners and management teams, consider: what are the backup plans to remain competitive and achieve business goals? How to mitigate the risks across the organisation? How to improve products and services to stay ahead of competition?
By incorporate business planning at leadership level throughout the year, ownership can actively work towards building consistent workflow, improved prospect inquiry, and an increased strategy geared towards revenue and business growth.
For More Information
Overall, SMEs need to be agile and flexible to navigate the constantly changing business environment. For more information on how to build greater processes to achieve this, please contact the team at Archer Gowland Redshaw on (07) 3002 2699 | info@agredshaw.com.au
