Do You Need to Restructure Your Business?
As we enter the New Year, there is no better time for a fresh start for your business. It’s a time to take a closer look at things to see what is working and what isn’t. Are you ready to take an honest inventory at where you stand right now?
Determining Your Next Move
There are plenty of hard choices to make in your business, especially when times are tough. Maybe revenues have dipped into a dangerous place, or turnover is high, or morale is low. Maybe the economy has tanked. There are also times where good news – such as rapid growth, a changing industry, and evolving consumers — creates tough decisions. Then, there are times of uncertainty such as stagnant profit numbers and outdated inefficiencies that leaves the company in limbo. No matter what category you fall into, change is inevitable.
While change is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be scary. Change is great if it can strengthen your brand and your future success. There are countless ways to restructure your business, but let’s start with one article that highlights a few key areas.
In the Inc. article “How to Restructure Your Business and Save Your Company,” the Young Entrepreneur Council explores some specific ways to improve your business;
Hire Project Managers
If your efficiency is weak and billable hours are low, there may be a problem. For instance, are entry-level programmers in charge of executing overly complex projects designed by senior engineers? Or do you have teams flailing at meeting sophisticated objectives? Project managers may be a smart solution to better align the project and minimize margin of error.
Make Employee Training a Priority
There is an indisputable learning curve when new people are hired into your organization. If you throw new employees into the business without a handbook, you are going to encounter frustration, errors, and a discombobulated system. Instead of wasting time and money with this sink-or-swim approach, build an effective training structure. All new hires should be fully trained on organizational process, client issues, and business nuances. They should work with expert team members on various projects, and they should be empowered to hit the ground running once they get the essential tool belt.
Control the Workflow of Departments with the Right System
The best way to effectively manage your organization is to see everything. This begins with your project management system. Choose the system that best aligns with your organization and ensure it has all functionality to see all aspects including workflows, tasks, approvals and real-time hours spent on projects. Not only does this provide critical visibility, but it also gives an accurate snapshot into billable and non-billable hours and profitability. It helps better define the roadmap for more efficient and effective business practices.
Create New Sales Funnels
It’s great news if your services expand, but it also can come with some challenges. It may make sense to partner up with e-commerce providers or rely on custom CRMs or make other adjustments to the sales infrastructure.
Beyond this article, consider other elements of your business that may need some restructuring:
Social media strategy: If your social media channels are not delivering the way they should, maybe you need to start over. Put the right people on the job, even if requires expensive strategists to create the roadmap. To keep you on track, measure your results frequently. If the numbers aren’t there, you need to keep restructuring your strategy until you get it right.
Content strategy: If this is not a top priority in your business, it should be. Solid relevant content needs to be created for every touch point of your business including your website, email marketing, blogs, and social media sites. And, keep your content fresh and exciting to keep your customers engaged!
Software overhaul: Out with the old and in with the new. Replace ineffective software systems with programs that go the distance for your organization. Even if the initial investment is pricy, remember that the long-term benefit is the bigger picture you should pay attention to.
What Will You Change?
Are you planning to restructure your business in the short- or long- term? What prompted this need to change and how are you going to execute these new strategies?
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