My Top 5 New Years Resolutions For Small Business

There is no denying that the pandemic has changed the world. On a very basic level it’s changed how we look at work, how we look at community, and how we look at our world.

It’s time to take what we’ve gained from the pandemic and what we’ve learned about work flexibility, work life balance and all things remote and apply them to our business planning for the coming year.

Here are My Top 5 New Years Resolutions For Small Business.

With the emergence of phrases such as “The Great Resignation”, “Quiet Quitting”, “The Great Reset”, “The New Normal”, “Remote Work Revolution”, and “The Virtual Economy”, it’s time to reassess our approach to managing staff. The tide is turning and there’s no turning back. The pandemic has forever changed the definition of work and it is imperative that we adapt to these changes. The traditional 9 to 5 office job is no longer the norm. We have proven that remote and flexible work can be just as productive.

The Australian College of Applied Professions found half of all Australian workers worked from home at some point during the pandemic. This new work dynamic has led to a decrease in tolerance for bad behaviour and an increased sensitivity to issues such as rudeness, workplace politics, and drama. As a result, if you wish to retain your valuable employees, it may be necessary to make changes within your organisation.

A few suggestions are:

1. Provide them with a career path or at the very least a new learning path.
2. Empower them – Give them additional responsibility but make sure this responsibility suits their level of experience and their skill set.
3. Communicate! communicate! communicate! – Constructive criticism and positive feedback can be extremely motivational as long as it is provided with sensitivity, honesty and respect.
4. Trust them and don’t micromanage them! It’s really not an effective use of your time and is a very quick way to lose staff.

Delegation is an important skill that every manager should learn. But beware when you delegate you must consider the following;

1. know what to delegate and to whom,
2. play to your employees strengths and skills,
3. discuss with your employee what their career goals and aspirations are, to see if they fit within your delegation scope,
4. provide the right resources and the right level of authority. In other words, properly document the process before you pass it on,
5. support them all the way through their learning. Spending quality time with them at the beginning will save you a lot of time in the end,
6. established clear communication channels,
7. allow for failure,
8. be patient,
9. give credit where credit is due,
10. deliver, and ask for feedback.

One of the more positive outcomes we have gained from the pandemic is a more focused approach to community support. The pandemic highlighted to us all, how vulnerable your community can be, and how much we depend on each other. Supporting your local community strengthens this community, and that strengthens us all.

We have also learned how much we depend on local products and services. Whether it’s the morning coffee wake up cup, the “too tired to cook” take away dinner, or the “whoops, I forgot her birthday” present. We all depend on our local community, and they all depend on us. In a lot of ways, this pandemic has made us more community minded, so it’s time to translate that into your work.

Support can be given in a number of ways:

1. Volunteer – research local community projects, set aside a day or half day and organise a staff working bee. This should improve your work culture and invigorate your staff.
2. Serve on a committee – find a local organisation that compliments your business and join. This will enhance your experience and might even improve your business profile.
3. Become a mentor – setting yourself up as a mentor for community a based project or organisation can establish you as a thought leader, increase your influence and enhance your businesses reputation.
4. Make regular donations to organisations that support your community and make it a better place to live.
5. Support other businesses within your community by buying from and promoting them wherever you can.

With all the copious amounts of spare time you get from delegating and empowering your staff, you now have time to learn a new skill. YAY! With the pandemic forcing so much to be done remotely there are now a plethora of resources you can find to learn new things. The real challenge now is to find information that is useful, up to date and relevant. Don’t be afraid to spend some money. There are millions of free resources out there but they’re not necessarily what you need.

1. Think of something you’ve been meaning to learn but haven’t had time to do it. 2022 is the year to make time.
2. Think of a new skill that you can learn that is a relatively new innovation and one that will benefit your business. The pandemic has forced many businesses into the digital space so maybe that’s where you should start.
3. Use reputable learning providers.
4. Search for reviews and client feedback of any course you are considering.

Even if the great resignation doesn’t eventuate in Australia, there is still many reasons that a worker will choose to leave an organisation. This can cost a lot of money, time and effort. I have had some pretty tough learning experiences regarding the loss of staff. This experience has made me passionate about documenting processes.

The benefits of documentation are:

• You, as a manager, can look over the documented process to see if there is a better and more efficient way to do it.
• It ensures a uniform understanding of the process and how it is carried out.
• It makes it easier for a new staff member to learn their job if they have an up to date, documented process.
• It makes it easier, and more time efficient for you to delegate a process if you have it written down.
• It ensures job consistency.
• It will reduce errors.
• It will lower the risk of processes being missed.

These top 5 New Year’s resolutions for your business can make it more resilient, community-oriented, profitable, and a happier workplace. So go ahead and make the most of the new year!