As the new year approaches, we should reflect and learn from our mistakes of the past year (as well as those of others), pandemic and all, and see the opportunities to rebuild back better.
Here are my business tips for a successful and profitable 2022:
#1 Purpose.
The perfect companion to authenticity is purpose. We need purposeful businesses.
Connect people to the purpose, the why behind why your business does what it does and why they do what they do, make it a habit – part of your culture and DNA and people will feel that they are part of something, engaged and looking to the future.
#2 Celebrity.
It is about creating a culture that gives your employees the red-carpet treatment. They are just as significant in the success of your business as your customers so treat them that way. It’s a virtuous circle.
This is where it takes a little time and effort but it will be rewarded. By definition, humans are individuals so we all have different motivators, different reactions and different experiences. None are more important than any other, just different. And, in making your people feel like celebrities you are recognizing their value and giving them the best environment to be the best that they can be.
#3 Superpowers.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all around us, it plays a significant role in our day- to-day lives. If machines can free up time from time-consuming admin, it leaves your people free to focus on their strengths. Not only this, it can help your people become even better at what they do. It can help deliver better data insights to support planning and forecasting, providing actionable intelligence to drive your customer experience.
It is time to make your organization ready to embrace technology in order to give your people, and your organization, the superpowers that they need to stay ahead of the game.
#4 Embrace AI.
The AI revolution will continue. Technological advancements in AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) will have the most significant day-to-day business impact. We believe the future is for AI to augment humans, not replace them, allowing them to have better conversations. In telecoms it enables better conversations using technologies, allowing development of solutions that provide an understanding of intent and sentiment that can propose best actions for call handlers to use, for maximum efficiency. The outcome is a better customer experience too.
#5 Authenticity.
If you are authentic, and your people are authentic, then your brand becomes authentic. And, as today’s ever more demanding consumers seek connections with organizations, this will be priceless. We need to see leaders and organizations displaying the characteristics of honesty, empathy, reliability and openness, even a little vulnerability. It begins and ends with you.
#6 Outsource.
The pandemic has taught us to focus on what we do best and to bring in experts when we need specific solutions. Businesses that adopt this model can grow, innovate and pivot faster which makes them more competitive in the constantly changing and evolving business environment we all operate in.
Outsourcing will continue to surge. Many businesses outsourced their phones, Live Chat and receptions during the pandemic, realised the benefits in terms of cost and efficiency, and so will continue to outsource other non-central functions so they can get on with what they do best. In addition to outsourcing of comms, you could look at options to outsource HR, marketing, and sales.
#7 Security.
Most companies have been doubling down over the past few years to improve security and reduce the thread of cyber-attack but an area that has been largely forgotten is securing the supply chain. Every piece of software we install within a business has the potential to become a cyber threat, so you need to take action now to protect against this.
For example, the SolarWinds attack in 2021 impacted up to 18,000 companies including Fortune 500 companies and multiple agencies in the US government, all from the fact that the SolarWinds software had been compromised by cyber criminals. The impact of cyber threats coming from trusted companies in our supply chain is enormous. Ensuring trust in the supply chain will be a huge area of focus in 2022.
#8 Integrate.
Finally, I am a firm believe that people should ‘stick to their knitting’, in other words, do what they are best at and get others to fill in the skills gaps. This applies to leaders being self-aware and building a team around them that makes a great whole. But it also applies to organizations.
Today, most things can be outsourced. The future is in working together in close partnerships, simply being an integrated extension of the business. The service or solution may be based in a different building or country, but it will simply be an extension of the new way of working…together.
Moneypenny is a global leader providing telephone answering, outsourced switchboard, Live Chat and customer contact solutions and is the most trusted partner to large and small businesses. Moneypenny has an award winning culture and over 1000 staff based in the UK and the USA. It handles over 20 million calls and live chats for 21,000 businesses. It blends brilliant people superpowered by leading edge tech solutions to deliver seamless customer engagement outcomes.