We know what it looks like to reap the rewards of hard work because it’s easy to picture. It probably looks like a thriving business with balanced accounting books, happy clients, and satisfied staff. What do the seeds look like that grow into these successes? What actions will lay the foundations for these results?
Here are 12 tips for 12 months of business wellness.
1. January: Set KPIs for staff performance reviews
Performance reviews are important for the well-being of your company from the inside. They can also help your employees to stay on track and focused on the goals of their role. KPIs are not bout policing employees but rather about ensuring that the company is moving forward towards its goals and that each person has their eye on the target. Figuring out how to set and implement these KPIs, as well as knowing how to have difficult conversations with team members, might call for external assistance from HR professionals.
2. February: Set actionable goals for each quarter
February is the month of LOVE. Love your business. Love your staff. Love your customers. Host a get-together (COVID-permitting, depending on the area you’re in) for your clients and your teams. A casual barbecue with drinks, a dinner, or a charity event to let those that make the lifeblood of your business know you love and appreciate them.
3. March: Measure your marketing efforts and seek out your weak points
How is your first quarter going? Now is the time to evaluate the strategy you created in January. Meet with your accountant and actively look for ways to improve your cash flow management. Also, evaluate your sales-funnels to understand where your leads are failing to convert into closed business. This month is all about facing reality head-on. Get a team of professionals on your side to guide you.
4. April: Meet with a marketing whizz and fortify your weak points
Since you got up close and honest with reality in March, now is the time to build an action plan around your findings. The more weak points you discovered in your business, the room you have for improvement. Bring in an external marketing professional to go through your sales process starting from your marketing campaigns through to signing on clients and retaining leads to strengthen that pipeline. If you can master this, you’ll improve your revenue-generation without additional marketing spend.
5 May: Make a change in your workspace
Change is as good as a holiday. Introduce some plants to your workspace or undertake other subtle redecorating efforts to give you the feeling of a fresh start. You will also want to handle some of the labour-intensive tasks now and save some of the easier tasks for next month.
6. June: Take a mid-year breather (it’s part of your productivity protocol)
It’s not unusual to start feeling the effects of the year’s hard work around June. Permit yourself to take a break if you’re tired. This might mean making yourself unavailable for a long weekend or reducing your time in the office for a week or two. It’s a great time to withdraw and regroup before the second half of the year commences.
7. July: Investment in employees D&I education through collaborative workshops
The EOFY leaves many businesses with a little bit of budget and investing in your team’s D&I efforts through workshops can have long-term positive benefits for the company as a whole and for the team. It’s a great way to get employees having conversations with each other that they never would’ve, and they will learn a tremendous amount through it and hopefully, it will embed in your team culture.
8. August: Find ways to build a marketing campaign around your D&I initiative
Start by introducing an internal team event like “culture-Friday”. Have a roster and invite your staff to put their name down. On their Friday, a staff member may bring a dish to share or a culturally significant item to show to the rest of the team. In this way, inclusion is encouraged while everyone gets to learn about different cultures. If the person sharing is comfortable, create a social media post about your day and what the team has experienced. This is super authentic and your audience will revel in the opportunity to learn about your diverse team. Plus, it really makes you look great to your customers.
9. September: Have a special team-building event for your staff
It doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It has to be authentic, fun, informal, and down-to-earth. A bring and share dinner or a casual boardgames evening (BYOB) with snacks will bring the team together. Avoid those team-building exercises that involve raft-building. Stick with casual and fun. It’s cheaper and it’s more enjoyable. The last thing colleagues really want is more instructions and directions and rules.
10. October: Pick a charity that your team resonates with
Community is the heart of everything. If you want to have a prosperous year, start by helping others. Work with your team to find a charity or a cause to immerse yourselves in. It’s important that you find a charity your team feels compelled to want to support. You may volunteer, collect donations, or help out by spreading the word. Don’t do it for the recognition, do it because it feels good.
11. November: Run a campaign to monetise the impending festive season
The idea is to start monetising in December now so that you can increase your revenue-generation before the festive season starts, enabling you to shut down. Obviously, you need to plan for this a few months in advance but this is the time to implement it. Your trade dictates what you can do. If you’re pressed for ideas and your team also can’t come up with a few inspirations, bring in a professional marketing strategy builder.
12. December: Focus on the family: Appreciate your team You showed your team love in February.
You showed them love in September. The end of the year is here and it’s time to show some love again. Only around 12% of employees report leaving a job because they’re underpaid. In fact, leaving a job has more to do with job satisfaction: “9 out of 10 said they were willing to earn less money if it meant the work was more meaningful.” Source. Run a charity team-building event: Organise a beach clean up day followed by a barbecue. Or, find an organisation and help feed hungry children. Choose something that enables easy social distancing and mask-wearing if necessary.
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