First published on Thursday, Aug 13, 2020
Last updated on Tuesday, Oct 03, 2017
With the new year approaching, businesses across the country will be starting to think about the year ahead and how they can improve their business. For most, the run-up to January provides the perfect opportunity to look back over previous success, to refocus energy and to renew efforts on growing the business. New year, new you as the cliche goes.
So what do you need to be considering now to ensure you have a successful new year?
Take to time to reflect
In business, it’s easy to focus all your efforts on the future. Always planning ahead, exploring opportunities and thinking of how to bring in new business. But it’s important to look back now and again, to see what went well, what didn't go so well and to take an objective look at how the business is currently performing.
The lead up to the new year is the perfect time to do this as it allows you to set realistic goals for the year ahead, to transition your plans from one year to the next and to communicate the successes with your staff, which is a great way to start the year off in a positive way.
Get everything in order
Business success is built on solid planning and it’s something that should already be in your mind. Once you have reflected on the year that was, it's the time to finalise your plans and get everything in place to give you the best possible chance of a successful new year.
Improving your systems
Small business owners are busy. But are you finding that you are busy doing the wrong things? Instead of bringing in new business or looking after your existing customers, you are tied up doing admin. It’s not what you started your business for.
This is the perfect time to look at the systems you have in place and see if they can be improved in time for January. Take for example holiday requests. Our customer data shows that the majority of holiday requests happen in the first week back after the new year, and with many businesses still using a paper-based or spreadsheet systems, this can mean business owners will be spending far more effort on time-consuming admin.
With the paperwork, problematic spreadsheets, troublesome holiday calendars and potential holiday conflicts, January can quickly become stressful. Automated systems such as BrightHR reduce the manual process, eliminate potential errors and free up your time to focus on the more important things.
Team motivation
They say that a business is only as good as it’s employees and the end of the year is the time to really get your employees motivated for the year ahead. Make sure you share the success of last year, get them to focus on their personal work achievements, and encourage them to set news plans and targets for what they want to achieve in the new year.
As a business owner, it is also crucial to share your vision for the company and lead by example. If you’re excited and enthusiastic about the new year ahead then your staff are more likely to be as well.
Start with a bang
Achieving business success is, of course, a long-term thing, but it’s also important to set short-term goals. When doing this you may want to set ambitious short-term goals towards the start of the year. That way if they are hit it sets the tone for the rest of the year. Your employees will be motivated as they can celebrate success early on and it will encourage them to really push for the same success throughout the year.
Getting ready for a successful new year? Find out how our brilliant people management software can help sort your systems and free up your time. Already a BrightHR customer? Our customer support team are here to help you get ready for the January holiday rush, call 0800 782 2806 to speak a member of the team today.