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Expert Answers to Biz Questions
Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.
How to Keep Your Business Running Smoothly
In the corporate world there is a well-known saying originated by Benjamin Franklin; time is money. If your company is trucking along rather slowly, it will miss key opportunities that could help its progression and expansion. In the end, the fluidity of your company’s operations will determine its future success.
Consequently, here are a few tips the will help to keep your business running smoothly.
The Right Team
If you hire poorly, your business will take shape accordingly. Each new person you take on needs to be skilled and motivated, determined to work hard. There’s no room for anything less, and if your new hires are slow at what they do the business will slow down as a result. You know this already, even if you do somehow still get stuck with a sloppy employee.
To correct this, you need to head right the way back to the hiring stage. Make sure you undertake a thorough background check on all candidates who have interviewed. After all, many lie on CV’s to snag a role, so really make sure you research every potential employee. Check their social medias, criminal records, references; they all reveal something about their character and abilities.
Even in the interview stage, many candidates will fail to show up and purposefully ‘ghost’ the interview because they think they have somewhere better to be. Even at this stage, a quick peak at their social media will let you know if you’re dealing with a loyal hard worker or a lazier individual. Use your time to net the right people, instead of being stood up or let down by the wrong sort.
Offer Rewards
Even the best hires need an occasional boost of adrenaline. After so many months working in the office and conforming to their 9-5 routine, a quick surge of excitement can raise productivity and change the game for your business. As an employer, you should always be thinking of new ways to engage with your workers and how to stoke their motivation levels. They’re people, not robots.
Consequently, rewards can be highly effective here. They needn’t be as extravagant as a new car or an action-packed holiday. Tickets to a sports game, coupons, vouchers, a box of chocolates; they’ll all work just fine. Little incentives remind workers that their boss respects them and, frankly, wants them to be happy. This kind of effort can build a good work culture too, fuelling a business comprised of friendly colleagues happy to go the extra mile.
Communication Prioritisation
A company that communicates has numerous advantages over the ones that don’t. Confused employees, a lack of direction, and unachieved goals are all results of a poorly communicating business, so it’s important that you ensure that every employee in your firm can voice their concerns. A workplace synergy needs to come into effect, and departments need to work together instead of standing apart like miniature companies within the building.
To make sure everyone’s voice is heard, consider investing in communication software like Slack or Basecamp. Digitally, employees can group together into teams and hash out their work or communicate across departments without changing rooms or office floors. Moreover, you can offer surveys tailored toward employee satisfaction, build a solid HR department where grievances can be aired and solved, and ensure every team has a weekly meeting to discuss the past, present and future of their work. This will create a learning environment that only benefits the business.
Invoice Discounting
A business can’t grow without money. Just like the flow of communication, the flow of funds also needs to be held in high regard. Money helps your company prepare for every eventuality, covered should any misfortune come looming your way. It also helps you grow. It’s an indisputable fact; a company with waning finances will always limp along, or worse, face closure.
Consequently, it can be aggravating if you’re waiting on a series of payments, especially if you’re juggling invoices between a host of clients. However, there are ways to make payment more instantaneous. Invoice discounting advances the cash flow, granting you instant access to unpaid invoices so that you no longer must wait to receive payments. Obviously, this has an endless cycle of benefits, but none more long-lasting than simply keeping the business moving along comfortably.
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