As the New Year rolls around, the idea of setting new goals and resolutions becomes almost buzzworthy. Everyone wants to make the next year their best one yet, but as we all know, our resolve for change can quickly fade in a matter of weeks or months.
It’s not just people looking to drop a few pounds or travel more who have problems hitting their goals; businesses can struggle, too. But, studies have found companies that actually create strategies and plans to help them hit their goals are 538% more likely to succeed than those that just wing it.
When it comes to setting business goals for the upcoming year, using tools and strategies to stick to those resolutions can make all the difference. Here are four changes your organization can resolve to make for a more profitable, productive year.
1. Start with Strong New Hires
The new year is a perfect time to add talent to your team, especially if your business is committed to expanding and growing in 2018. Finding the right talent to bring on is a big deal, and 68% of recruiters admit that they have a hard time finding candidates that fulfill the requirements with the right skills needed for new job roles.
Resolve to start the next year off with a strong recruiting strategy that matches your operation with the perfect candidates. Instead of spending hours sifting through a stack of applications, consider using a recruiting software system to connect with experienced and capable applicants.
Tools like Harver provide hiring teams with a different, data-driven approach to recruiting. The “smart” AI-based algorithm of the TalentPitch tool lets you qualify candidates by giving them a realistic preview of what the company culture and job title is all about. From here, the system will conduct situational tests to gauge personality, intelligence, and problem solving aptitude so both parties can be sure the fit is right.
No one wants a high employee turnover rate. Do yourself a favor and invest in a system that helps you avoid this from the start.
2. Build a Better Communication System
Breakdowns in company communication are to blame for a third of project failures, so if your team struggles to compete projects on time, within budget, or up to company standards, it may be time to find a better system. In order to improve communication in the office, sometimes, you need a complete overhaul of the status quo.
Many businesses rely on email as their primary source of communication, but it is not always the best way for internal back and forth. Messages can get lost or accidently deleted, and long email chains are frustrating and confusing.
More and more companies are embracing instant communication methods that keep the entire team connected at all times. The messaging function on tools like Skype and Slack are great for this purpose. Since these systems have file-sharing and group thread capabilities, they can help make project management and task assignment easier as well.
3. Push for Continued Training
As everyone knows, the tech world is advancing by the hour. It seems like there are new systems and breakthroughs happening every day. Keeping your team at the top of their game and in-sync with the times can help push your business to ongoing success. Ultimately, developing your team’s skillsets is a win everyone, and offering business training and continued education can have a major impact on the attitude and productivity of the office.
There are lots of online courses available that fit into everyone’s schedule, and some even offer certification after completion. Coursera, Udemy, and others offer both online and in-person classes on topics ranging from management to big data development, and everything in-between. Students can even connect with mentors through the program, and the flexible class schedules make career development one of the easiest and best resolutions for your business to keep in 2018.
4. Guide with Honest Feedback
We all love getting a pat on the back for a job well done, but in the workplace, many workers feel that they are underappreciated and their efforts go unrecognized. This lack of recognition not only discourages people; it can actually have a negative impact their productivity. People want to know if their work is up to standard, and 75% agreed that even negative feedback would improve their performance.
Guide your team this next year with honest, productive feedback that pushes your employees to continually improve. TapMyBack is a software system that offers peer-to-peer recognition so everyone can openly share feedback on performance. The tool even measures productivity and acknowledges positive improvements for a more encouraging company culture that motivates everyone to be better.
In Conclusion
Small changes can make a world of huge difference in the business world. So this year, make some positive resolutions about the way your business is run. Then, find a way to stick to them by implementing strategies and tools that will keep everyone on track.