If your goal is to grow your business and create a sustainable strategy, it is important that you pay attention to the details that can make or break your success. Transparency is a baseline requirement for all companies today, and it is harder to keep breaches secret than ever before, due to the whistleblowing culture and the faster spreading of news. You need to make sure that you do everything in your power to maintain your reputation and keep your employees and customers happy. Below you will find a few areas you need to address if you want to grow your company without trouble.
Employee Vetting
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No matter which industry your business operates, it is important that you carry out a background check among your employees and follow up regularly. If your employees lie on their CV or are in a bad financial situation, this can have a negative impact on your business. You need to be absolutely sure that you are choosing the right candidates who will help you move forward instead of holding you back. Vetting is a standard procedure in the financial services sector, but you might benefit from it as well.
Training
If you would like your employees to serve your customers to the best of their abilities, it might be a good idea to have a training and development plan in place. While you will have to provide them with compulsory training that is regulated by the government or your industry organization, such as a WHMIS, you also have to ensure that you are helping them understand the mission and vision of your company and the working goals and processes, Your company training needs to be built around the individual needs of your employees, as well as the regulatory requirements.
Compliance
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One of the things that can put your business in jeopardy is the lack of compliance monitoring and management. No matter how well you deliver the training and describe the working processes in your employee policies, you will need to find a way to reinforce the rules and have a strict disciplinary procedure. Make it clear that compliance is everyone’s responsibility, and create a separate ethical standards and whistleblowing policy that will help your employees do the right thing.
Financial Reports
It is also crucial that you have your books in order and you plan your taxes carefully, or your profits might disappear when you have to pay your penalties. Not to mention that having your accounts balanced and in order will help you secure funds for future growth investments, government funds, and research and development projects. You will need to monitor your company’s financial performance in order to adjust your strategy when needed and stay on top of your commitments and obligations.
Outsourcing
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One of the risk areas many business owners forget about is outsourcing. You might be able to save money on different business processes, but lose control over some of the standards and the training. Before you decide to outsource some of your business functions, it might be a good idea to do your research and find out about the reputation of the company. If they don’t deliver the job as well as your company would, you might end up losing long term customers and damaging your brand’s reputation.
Insurance
Businesses without insurance put themselves in harm’s way in various ways. Your employees can get injured, despite all your efforts and safeguarding procedures, and you will end up being tied up in a long lasting and expensive legal battle, not to mention your reputation loss. Accidents happen, and if you don’t have public liability insurance for your business, you might end up paying a high price for your ignorance. You need to protect the assets you spent long years to build in your business, and that is why adequate insurance is necessary for growth.
A way you can protect yourself is to ensure you have tradies public liability insurance. Tradies Insurance helps protect trades professionals when things go wrong on a worksite – and after the work has been completed.
Security
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Your company’s security is also crucial, as data breaches, fires, and break-ins can result in lost productivity, downtime, and reduced profits. Invest in your risk assessment and make sure that you create a safe and supportive environment for all your employees. You might be able to invest in a backup service and CCTV monitoring system that will not only prevent crime, but also make the atmosphere at your workplace much more pleasant and laid back.
Competitive Law
If you are looking to grow your business, you will have to ensure that you comply with competitive law. Don’t engage in price wars, buy up all the supplies, or you might end up being taken to court by one of your competitors. Set high standards for compliance and legality, and have a legal team working with you when developing your growth strategy, so you can avoid conflict with trade organizations, competitors, suppliers, and customers. Review your marketing and communication strategy and ensure that you are not stating things you can’t back up with facts.
Market Trends
If you are not aware of the technological trends and fail to act on developments, you are making a huge mistake that can cost your business. It is important that you sign up for industry magazines and understand who the leaders in innovation are. Investing in research and development will not only help you develop a competitive advantage in the market, but also has tax benefits. If you have spotted a gap in the market where you can enter with a new product or service, it might be time to start immediately and not to wait for the competition to take over the innovative field.
Marketing
No business can grow without a solid marketing strategy and an effective sales funnel. If you would like to engage with your target market and maintain your positive brand image, you will need to choose the right channels to reach out to your prospects.
If you want to grow your business in a sustainable way, it is important that you carry out a thorough risk assessment and make sure that you are dealing with them one by one.