Martin Harris — February 28, 2017 Follow @Martin_HarrisPRAt the start of a new calendar or financial year, businesses of all sizes set out their plans for moving to the next level. The obvious growth areas include sales, revenue and profit – however, many companies are now incorporating more holistic goals around diversity, training and environmental initiatives.
I spoke to Jeff Michon, Managing Director at full-service creative agency Michon about how this form of targets can be used best to strengthen a business, rather than be a distraction from the daily task of running one.
Be smart when it comes to goal setting
As a business owner or manager, you will be no stranger to setting goals to help grow a company, whether it’s setting your sights on a new client win or working to increase sales over the next quarter. Your mind might be continually focused on the next board report but what about less tangible goals like ensuring your workforce is happy, motivated and able to bring in new ideas every day?
It is perhaps not surprising that holistic goals are sometimes neglected; after all, these policies take time to implement and might not be popular, particularly if they involve too much administrative work. There is a danger too that they become mere ‘window dressing’, bringing few benefits to either employees or the company. But when done well, this approach pays dividends and creates a structured way to measure your investment.
More often than not, business growth goes hand-in-hand with your team’s personal and professional development. Almost all employers offer some kind of training, but this is where it makes sense to be strategic and have a target in mind, for example, delivering up to date social media training to all managers by the end of the year.
Get input from your team
Rather than paying for courses, which are not relevant or popular, speak to staff and find out what they would like to achieve. It could be a professional or industry qualification, or to go to a conference hosted by leaders in their field. Naturally, this requires an investment on your part – but the reward can be tenfold as the whole team shares in better and more up-to-date knowledge of the sector. This can help boost employee retention, while also securing more business from clients, who receive a higher level of expertise.
Organizations may strive towards having a diverse workforce, however, this should not simply be for show. Dynamic and forward-thinking companies understand the real value that a wider range of voices and opinions brings. At Michon, for example, we wanted to ensure that being a parent or carer was not a barrier to career progression so we introduced the option of flexible working. When bringing in equal opportunities policies, always check the Government’s guidelines around discrimination and positive action.
Focus on a target that means something to you
Smaller businesses can make long-term investments to ensure their operations are more environmentally friendly. For Michon, this meant installing solar panels, which generate 8,500kW of clean energy every year, along with efficient under floor heating and thicker insulation. As well as being greener, we have also seen reduced energy bills and running costs.
Initiatives like these provide a useful roadmap for the direction a business wants to take, however, if they are not monitored they are frequently forgotten, but nevertheless positively impact your bottom-line. Unlike sales figures, which can be shown in a spreadsheet, the less tangible goals are more difficult to assess. The trick is to motivate your team so they continually work to achieve the aims, and consider nominating a welfare or CSR champion, who can keep a performance record. These might not always be hard statistics, but could also include qualitative feedback from staff.
Traditional goals around sales and profit will always be at the core of any business but you are unlikely to achieve your ambitions if staff members are not equipped with the skills they need, or are feeling unmotivated. Spend a little time investing in your most important asset, and you will soon be storming ahead.
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