Some people take the phrase nobody likes change as gospel and decide that if something isn’t broke, they are not going to fix it. While this is not always a bad school of thought it is also not always a good school of thought. Simply put there is a lot of grey when it comes to making changes to your business and an owner, operator, or manager. You need to consider your budget, your employees, your clients, your brand’s integrity, and that is just to name a few. Below are a few ways that you can update and innovate for the new year with confidence.
Focus on Your Fleet
When you have a logistical aspect to your business there are always going to be a lot of variables. You have to account for so many things that you cannot control it is important that you make the best decisions possible in the areas that you can in fact not only control but also predict. Efficient routes are a non-negotiable for all fleets and this should be top priority. However, you may not yet have a primary tool to rely on, enter dispatching software.
Fleet management and dispatchers need these programs to be able to track their fleet drivers and also analyze certain trends. By reading a guide about things to keep in mind you will no doubt be impressed with how much high your efficiency levels can go when executed properly. You cannot possibly have your eyes on every vehicle every minute of every day, but these programs can in a sense, make that possible. When one of your main objectives is to keep customers happy you need real-time accurate data regarding your fleet and dispatching software is a solid way to get it.
Improve Communications
The hard-nosed employee-employer relationships of our grandparent’s generation are simply no longer practical and companies that still operate in this manner can become antiquated very quickly regardless of the product or service they provide and how well they do so. If you want to innovate your employee relations you need to improve your communications first. A couple examples of how to accomplish this would be:
- Eliminating annual reviews and opting instead for more frequent, less formal one on one’s where the same subject matter can be discussed but in a more approachable way.
- Investing in the right collaboration software so that your team members can share work files easily and digitally.
- Including your employees from the conception of change and asking for and sincerely considering their suggestions and opinions.
Hire a Social Media Manager
If your brand identity has not already grown into the social media world, it needs to, but you need to do so with tact. These days customers and even potential employees rely on social media profiles for various businesses over traditional business websites to obtain information, learn about a brand/product, and engage in communication. Even if you are already flexing this muscle a bit, consider hiring a social media manager to really level up your online presence. Someone in this role will not only create and manage these accounts but also help to predict trends and identify opportunities for better marketing and operations. If you don’t think that a full-time position is warranted by this role, consider hiring a freelancer to work on a short-term contract until you as the business owner can get a better handle on this part of your endeavor.
