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Archive for the 'Strategy & Operations' Category

Questions to ask employees

Published by Corrina on 10 March, 2010 in Environment, HR & People Development, Management & Leadership and Strategy & Operations • 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Answer key questions on business strategy, innovation, efficiency, human resources and customer care.

Think business strategy, innovation, efficiency, human resources, customer care, and more. Asking good questions and acting on good answers can improve your business and its people. So let’s explore some key business areas where your employees could provide the answers. 

Human resources

In addition to telling you whether they feel satisfied and happy in their work, employees may be able to identify training and development needs which could make your business more successful. 

Key questions for employees: Do you feel happy, enthusiastic and satisfied in your work? How could we improve your job? What training or development could improve both your job and business performance? Do you have unused or underused skills that could help us improve? Do you receive recognition and feedback? What should managers start or stop doing? What could we do to improve communication?

Business strategy and innovation

Because of a closeness to customers, problems or challenges, employees might conjure up innovative ideas and solutions. Their detachment from decision-making could also inspire fresh strategic thinking.  

Key questions for employees: What do you like or dislike about this company? What would you like to see happen? How could we improve our company/product/services? What are your ideas? Can you identify specific problems and propose solutions? What would spur creativity and innovation in your team?

Business efficiency

In previous editions of business i we have found that, because of their closeness to the action, employees can drive efficiency improvements in areas from cost cutting to energy saving. 

Key questions for employees: Can you spot ways to cut business costs, or energy consumption, in your role or in the company as a whole? Are there any bottlenecks or issues that slow you or your team down? How could we reduce wasted time so that we can focus on more worthwhile tasks?

Customer feedback

Customer-facing employees possess invaluable frontline knowledge on how satisfied customers are when interacting with your business and using its products and services. 

Key questions for employees: What common issues or complaints do customers experience? Do you have any feedback or intelligence from customers which could help us improve? When listening to customers, can you spot any unmet or underserved needs? What makes people go elsewhere?

As important as the questions is the will to ask them and listen to the answers. It’s about appreciating the value of engaging with employees, deciding which questions are important, and creating ways to obtain the answers. You might question via formal means such as staff meetings, surveys or interviews. But it’s not all about formalities; sometimes those unplanned conversation-starters at the drinks machine are just as valuable. Ask questions, listen, and if you get good answers, act to make your business better. 

More information – Consulting your employees

More information – The art of good communication between employer and employees

Customer care

Published by Corrina on 18 February, 2010 in Sales & Marketing, Strategy & Operations and Top Tips • 0 Comments

Five tips for improving customer care, satisfaction and loyalty.

1. Remember why it’s important

Taking good care of customers improves customer satisfaction and loyalty, and increases the chances of customers recommending your products or services to others.

It’s an important part of relationship marketing, which focuses on getting and keeping customers through a combination of marketing, quality, and customer service. Building relationships also helps to minimise costs, because retaining customers is usually cheaper than acquiring new ones.

2. Identify high value customers

Which individual customers, or customer groups, give you the greatest financial return – when considering the costs associated with acquiring, managing and servicing them?

Answering this question allows you to focus time and resources into keeping your highest value customers happy. It also guides the acquisition of new customers which fit this high-value profile.

3. Establish feedback mechanisms

Conduct surveys, questioning customers on factors such as product or service quality, response times, staff knowledge and attitude, complaint handling, and overall satisfaction. Surveys that remain consistent are useful for tracking performance over time. To maximise participation: keep things simple, offer options to respond online, and consider offering incentives.

Other feedback methods include: comment cards or “tell us how we are doing” links on email footers or websites; insights from customer-facing employees; talking to customers individually or in focus groups;  courtesy calls; dialogue via social networks or online forums.

Make feedback a two-way process: thank customers for their participation; respond to dissatisfied customers and resolve their complaints; openly explain to customers how you are trying to improve.

4. Establish customer service metrics

Identifying high value customers, and obtaining customer feedback, allows you to define key customer service metrics which you should both maintain and improve upon.

For instance, you may learn that high value customers are generally satisfied, but unhappy with how your people respond when things go wrong. Such a weakness represents an opportunity to react to customer feedback and improve in future.

5. Train your employees

Employees may need support and training to improve on the customer service issues identified. Review customer feedback and performance metrics, and use these insights to develop a training plan which plugs the gaps in your customer service.

More info - Manage your customer care guide

Tech ‘10

Published by Business Link on 28 January, 2010 in IT & eBusiness and Strategy & Operations • 1 Comment

Top tips on technology trends to watch in 2010.

It’s important to take your time with technology changes, but it’s also useful to know the latest trends so that you can take advantage of them earlier. Here’s our tips on technologies and trends to watch in 2010.

Operating systems

Windows 7 is a more credible option for businesses than Vista, delivering better performance and security, and improved backwards software compatibility through its XP mode. And Apple’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard has made improvements for businesses with built-in support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Both operating systems are strong contenders for businesses looking to upgrade in 2010.

Small business servers

Centralised data storage simplifies data backups and provides easier access to shared files, both in-office and remotely. Servers also keep mail, contacts and calendars synchronised. In the past the complexities and costs of deploying servers has been prohibitive for some, but hardware and software makers now have tailored offerings which make the server proposition stronger for small businesses.

Cloud computing

Many online software services and tools are reaching maturity in terms of quality, reliability and security, making them increasingly viable options for businesses. Cloud services can reduce costs and often increase functionality; for example, cloud sales software or data backup services can be accessed anywhere and regularly upgraded by the service provider with new updates and features.

Smart phones

The past three years has seen great innovation in the mobile industry. Phones can do all sorts, from rich email and web access to running specialist sales, project management or other business-focussed applications. Even mobile payment services are emerging which enable secure remote credit card payments. Phones are small but smart, and you might be amazed by what businesses can do with them.

Mobile internet

First the ‘usb dongle’ provided mobile internet almost anywhere. Now you can buy notebook computers with built-in dongles and subscribe to mobile internet services for a monthly fee. For those who work remotely such services could be invaluable for keeping in touch and productive on the go.

Location

The surge in smart phones and clever applications, and the growth in wireless and mobile internet, is enabling the next big thing: location-based search. You can put your business “on the map” with services such as Google Local Business, so that customers searching for products and services with location-aware devices can more easily find you. In essence, it brings online advertising into the real, local world.

Green

Companies could capitalise on emerging technologies (such as smart phones or tablets) to encourage a paperless office, or provide tele or video conferencing to minimise travel. Then there are green gadgets; for example, devices which allow companies to monitor and control energy usage. IT departments are increasingly looking for ways to go green, and the tech industries are not far behind with solutions.

Tablet computers

Techies are hailing 2010 as the year of the ‘tablet’ or ’slate’ computer. How useful these devices become to businesses remains to be seen, but tech companies are creating tablets which do things like integrate with exchange email and calendars, and deliver specialist business applications and news. Such devices could be particularly useful to those working remotely, from stock managers to market researchers.

Online

These days you can use technology and the web to expand your online presence far beyond websites and email marketing. Computer software and online services make it easy to create and publish content, from videos and audio to rich written documents. For example, you can record video, edit it and publish it online, all within hours. Such capabilities mean businesses can rethink and enhance the ways they communicate. The growth of social and business networking sites has also created new places to promote your messages, whether they be video, audio, news, tweets, flyers or special offers.

Know a top technology trend we’ve missed? Please comment on this article or email us your tips.

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What’s your plan for 2010?

Published by Business Link on 28 January, 2010 in Management & Leadership and Strategy & Operations • 0 Comments

Make plans to survive, grow, innovate and succeed in 2010.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the UK emerged from recession during the last quarter of 2009. And now it’s the New Year, a time to look forward and make plans for the future. So why not ask: What plans can you make today to turn 2010 into a more innovative and successful year?

Plan for different futures

In response to uncertain times some businesses are planning for several different futures.

Plan for the worst case scenario, accounting for factors such as slow sales and restrictive cash flow. Then ponder optimistic plans for growth; this year might offer opportunities to grow faster than anticipated. Also plan for the middle ground – for sustained, steady growth.

Thinking about and anticipating different futures helps to cope with downturns or seize upon opportunities for growth. In either scenario you might, for example, need to secure finance or adjust employee capacity. So planning ahead, even tentatively, could prove useful if or when a particular future arrives.

Review your business environment, from your market size and potential to your customer base and competitive position. Such factors could present opportunities for the year ahead. For example, there may be pent-up demand resulting from the recession, or one of your competitors could be struggling.

Working through different scenarios, and reviewing your business environment, could also help to answer important questions. How are your finances? What are your key strengths and weaknesses? For the year ahead, what are your key opportunities and threats, and ultimately, what are your objectives?

To get started try our ten-minute business plan to quickly plan for best, worst and mid-case scenarios.

Plan for an innovative year

With business plans fresh in mind, and a new year ahead, why not create an innovation plan for 2010?

There are numerous ways to innovate. Often innovation comes from a desire to solve a problem. On a strategic level this could mean working to remove threats identified in your business plan. Beyond this, look for problems faced by customers, or problems in the back-end of your business. The desire to simplify is another great motivator; could you simplify customer or back end processes to make things more effective and efficient? A further innovation opportunity linked with planning is differentiation; have your plans identified specific opportunities to stand above the competition? Innovation is also closely linked to customer need; can you identify customer needs which are ill-served or unmet, and change your products or services to fit them? Or perhaps create entirely new offerings?

Innovation is about more than planning, but research shows that companies which set out an innovation plan tend to innovate more effectively than those that don’t. You can learn about this research and find tips on generating and pursuing innovative ideas by reading our business i innovation series.

You can also get inspired by our 100 South West Business Challengers campaign, which highlights small businesses that are doing something different to be successful. The campaign started this month and lasts for 100 working days, featuring 100 South West businesses that are outthinking and outperforming their competitors in new and exciting ways.

More information – use innovation to grow your business

Continuity planning

Published by Business Link on 28 January, 2010 in Strategy & Operations • 0 Comments

Problems caused by snow and ice underline importance of business continuity planning.

The repercussions of a crisis such as that caused by the recent snow and ice – the worst seen for nearly 30 years – on your business can be far-reaching, as employment issues, supply chain difficulties and the threat of further disruption become harsh realities.

The Business Link website features a guide that will help businesses identify potential risks, make preparations for emergencies and test how their business is likely to cope in a disaster, such as heavy snowfall or flooding. Visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest/continuityplanning

Here are Business Link’s top tips for employers to help them plan for a crisis:

  • Plan thoroughly – failure to plan could be disastrous. At best you risk losing customers while you’re getting your business back on its feet. At worst your business may never recover and may ultimately cease trading altogether.
  • Identify any threats – every business is different, and every business will have its own set of potential threats to its continuity, including the weather, theft or vandalism, fuel shortages, IT systems failures, loss of key staff and supply chain problems.
  • Assess impact – once you’ve identified your threats, try to think of some worst-case scenarios and their impact on your operation.
  • Minimise impact – draw up the necessary steps you will need to take to protect your business functions from your worst case scenarios.
  • Plan how you will deal with a crisis – draw up a business continuity plan setting out in writing how you will cope if a crisis occurs. It should detail the key business functions you need to get operating as quickly as possible (and the resources you will need to do so) and outline the roles of individuals in an emergency.

Read our guide, Crisis management and business continuity planning