Every company wants to be seen as a thought leader and highly respected within its industry. Your business must be willing to constantly adapt and evolve to realise these ambitions. In order to go from where you are to where you want to be, you need to make sure your business is performing at its optimal level, and that you do everything possible to forge an industry-leading reputation. The only way you’re going to achieve these things is through meaningful change—not just talking about change or making short-lived alterations that don’t really impact what you’re doing. Here, we’ll look at exactly how you can make meaningful change in your company.
Don’t just talk. Do.
It’s all well and good having grand plans for your business, but these dreams will never come to fruition if you’re not willing to walk the walk and actually put them into action. If you’re serious about growing your company, big changes simply must be made.
For instance, one factor that can often hold businesses back is their workspace, with many companies staying in an office for much longer than they should. As a business expands, you may find your office space shrinking while you attempt to cram everyone in, or simply that you’re not in the best location for your industry. An overcrowded office can have a damaging effect on staff morale and productivity, whilst not being where clients are could put a ceiling on what you can achieve, jeopardising your ambitions of becoming an industry leader.
Therefore, you need to seriously think about the kind of space you want and where you want it to be, and actively go about securing a more suitable HQ. Organising an office may seem daunting, but there are many steps you can take to make it easier. One such move is hiring a relocation company to help you, as they can relieve a lot of the pressure. For instance, Evolve Relocation use dedicated project managers to help their clients work out the steps for an office move on their behalf, creating a detailed plan that includes actions like auditing your files and furniture to ensure everything is successfully relocated. This allows companies to focus on everyday business whilst the moving process is underway, minimising disruption. Quit constantly talking about big plans like this and start putting the wheels in motion.
Do everything to get the most out of employees
For any entrepreneur, it’s essential to get as much out of your employees as you can. They are the lifeblood of your business, and only by maximising their potential can you make meaningful change in your company. This goes way beyond buying an office ping pong table or getting in Friday drinks, however. Whilst these types of perks are undoubtedly great for staff morale, you need to do much more than this to make truly significant change.
For example, updating office equipment will ensure staff can do the best job possible, enabling your company to reach its full potential. Whilst you may be reluctant to splash the cash on improvements like this, making sure your business can keep pace with the biggest and best companies in your industry is the only way you’ll ever be a leader yourself. So, for instance, it has been proven that not having up-to-date software can have an adverse effect on productivity. Research by the Paperless Project found that roughly 40% of an employee’s time is spent looking for paper records. Companies that use technology to digitalise these records make document retrieval much more simple, meaning staff can use their time more effectively. This is just one example of how software can be leveraged to a company’s benefit, and there are so many other ways software and other equipment upgrades can improve your operations.
Actively share your company’s unique insight
For your business to be considered a thought leader, you need to get out there and make others hear what you have to say, so you can show them the insights you have and build your authority. One way of doing this is by speaking at conferences, instead of just attending them. This can help bolster your company’s profile and get your expertise out there to like-minded peers. It’s also a proven way of attracting the attention of prospective clients.
It’s also a good idea to run a company blog to share this insight online. Get your team to brainstorm ideas and regularly contribute articles, making sure that the content is of a high standard and reflects your brand’s voice and values. Bluleadz have a great guide to producing thought leadership content that you can read here—this page itself is an example of how they are sharing their own company’s unique insight.
If you’re truly serious about making meaningful change in your company and becoming an innovator, then you need to alter your approach. With dedication and an industrious team behind you, there’s no reason you can’t reach for the stars.