It doesn’t matter whether you are a newbie entrepreneur or whether you are a startup veteran, you always need to be willing to embrace change. Change is the way you will evolve socially, economically and politically within your industry sector. Even if the way you are working is providing excellent results, you are profitable and you are efficient, getting stuck in your ways is dangerous as you run the risk of your startup falling behind its competitors.
If you have only recently launched your money making venture, you might find your time taken up with your funding, your cash flow and other financial concerns. The need to change is probably very low on your agenda. This doesn’t have to mean changing your staff or buying in a new suite of laptop computers, although it could do. Change is a wider initiative that is linked to the ethos of your company, the methodology you employ and the vision that you have crafted for your venture.
Your capability for change will make or break your business, and dictate whether your money making venture has longevity in your chosen industry. Read on to discover why your business must embrace change.
The Way You Work
As a business, the way you work will be at the center of the ethos you create. Fostering an efficient way of working that inspires productivity is crucial if you are to provide exceptional service and deliver top quality products. The methodology that you choose to employ across your company is vital.
Many companies fall foul of the trap of not following a set way of working. While you don’t want to be rigid in your approach, you should be following some sort of methodology whether this is Prince 2 or Six Sigma. These ways of working require training, but they employ processes that can enable you to work in an effective way. You can address risks to your business, measure benefits of your actions and implement change management plans. Change is not a negative thing. Applying a set methodology to your working means that you will foster consistency, and it will be easy to apply a quality assurance policy to your processes.
If you are not currently following any sort of plan, and you are almost winging it, there is no way that you will be working in the most efficient way. Embrace a set way of working. Take a look at Prince 2 and Six Sigma and see which suits the best regarding the structure of your startup and the sort of services or products that you provide.
Software
The chances are that you will have a whole host of companies vying for your attention trying to sell you their software. Don’t opt for every free trial going, and think about what you need software for. For many a device management system is crucial to maintain the security of their devices or to deploy new applications to staff members across laptops.
Perhaps you are keen to upgrade your software. Just because you have been working well utilizing a piece of software from 2009 doesn’t mean that you cannot do better. You may choose to utilize Oracle forms and to get the best out of this, it pays to get the latest version. Don’t worry about losing your current work as you can be sure that oracle forms migration is a priority for the software maker. Using a more modern, streamlined and efficient version of a piece of software that you know already means that training will be minimal and you won’t have to worry about a massive shift in working methods. Change is vital to ensure that you are a forward thinking business.
Hardware
Your staff will not appreciate working on desktops from 2001 when there are more modern laptops available. Glitchy screens, floppy discs and less secure hardware can result in low morale amongst your staff. Change is a two headed beast. Some changes will be welcomed from your staff team, whereas others will be resisted. Give your employees new laptops or tablets and they will be more content and their motivation to be productive will increase. This is a change that will not meet much resistance.
By employing a fleet of new hardware, you will find that there is less down time and your staff will be happier at work. This new hardware will also pay for itself in a short while. Forget having to worry about the initial outlay when you can deliver more products in a faster time for more money and therefore profit.
Resistance
Some changes that you will want to deploy can meet resistance. Your staff are probably very stuck in their ways when it comes to working methods. They won’t want to change and will dig their heels in. You need to ensure that you have a people centered change approach. If you want them to embrace the change you are proposing, you need to make it clear what is in it for them. Will they have less steps to go through to complete a report? Will they be able to work from home more? Is flexible working more of a possibility? Will they be able to hit their targets more easily? When your staff can see the personal benefits of a change, they will be more willing to think about it in a more positive way.
Some resistance will be because your staff assume that change equates to more work on their part. You need to ensure that, even if this is the case, they will see the change as a worthwhile venture. You may need to hold drop in sessions, training and information meetings. Encourage those people with concerns to voice them, and go about tackling them head on.
Every business must embrace change no matter how tough it may appear. Don’t change for change’s sake as this will cause resentment, and you will never have chance to embed processes. Be prudent and embrace change to help your business thrive.
