5 reasons for a review this September
The school summer holidays are over and its back to school for children up and down the country. For those staring school for the first time (and their parents!), it will take some getting used to the new routine. Children moving up a class or moving on to a new school will face new challenges and a different environment to get used to.
In many ways, this time of year is about moving on to the next stage and adapting to change. How adept is your business at doing this and is it time to look internally at your business – its routines, systems and people?
Developing as the business grows
The routines and systems that worked for a small team will be unlikely to suffice for a bigger team. This is often something that is overlooked as a business naturally grows and develops. Unfortunately, it can sometimes hit a crisis point before this is recognised. Undertaking a full review of your processes should quickly reveal whether what you have in place stands up to scrutiny. When making changes to processes, be sure to consult that staff that will be affected – both to gather their ideas and seek to gain buy-in at an early stage.
A robust workforce
Managing a team rarely runs smoothly. Most of the time, there will always be improvements that can be made – whether it’s redirecting existing staff to cover other responsibilities or taking on new people to fill any gaps. Even on the odd occasion where things seem tickety-boo, at any one time, it only takes one person to say they’re leaving or another unforeseen circumstance for a team to start to crumble. Undertaking regular one-to-ones with staff can go a long way to identify any issues before they develop.
Technological advancements
As technology moves on and develops, IT infrastructure tends to become more attainable – both in terms of availability and affordability. This can be said of technology such as the cloud, hosted desktops and sector specific software – all of which are now much more mainstream within small to medium sized businesses. If you’ve been using the same technology and systems for a number of years, maybe it’s time to investigate your options. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you find!
External changes
Changes to the way you run elements of your business are sometimes driven by necessity – triggered by external changes such as updates to legislation. One recent example of this is the introduction of Making Tax Digital. Although such changes can be burdensome, they can also provide a good opportunity to conduct a wider review of what other developments and improvements can be made.
Keeping up with the competition
Not moving with the times leaves you at risk of falling behind your competition. If your competitors are making continual improvements, it’s only a matter of time before this will filter down into the service or product they provide. Not only will they start to gain a good reputation, they may also make inroads in your client base.
Every so often and at the minimum on an annual basis, it’s important to review whether your operations stand up to scrutiny. This can be dome alongside a wider review of your business goals – and if these are still well- aligned to your IT, your people and your systems.
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