In less than thirty days, the ball in New York city will drop down in Times Square, signaling the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. In less than thirty days, you will wish those around you a happy new year as you set your personal New Year’s resolutions and set into motion the plans you made to help make your personal life better than it was in 2018. That means, in less than 30 days from now, your business will begin a new year in your industry: communicating with clients; reaching business related sales and production goals; and even communicating with those around you in your office. And while it is likely that you, and those around you in your office, have all set personal goals for the new year that they will work to achieve, what professional goals did you set for your business in the new year. And, more importantly, what did you do in these last thirty days to help make you ready to start the new year off with a professional band? Here are four tips to help you prepare now for an amazing business year in 2019.
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Review 2018 in Depth
As 2018 comes to an end, make it a point to review the year in depth. Look at your sales, expenses, production results, and salaries. Determine if you had set aside the proper marketing budget, what marketing platforms worked well for you and where you may need to change your approach. Analyze the entire year from a profit and loss standpoint as well as a for employee turnover and production. Then, put together a 2019 business and marketing plan which addresses these issues and makes changes where necessary to make 2019 more productive.
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Assess Your Team
Take a look at your team of employees and management. Determine who is overworked or understaffed. Assess what responsibilities are delegated and to whom. Then, analyze the data to determine what needs to change. Make plans to hire people where there are not enough employees. Devise a hiring plan that encompasses the need to fill a spot with the essential requirement to make sure the person is a good fit for your company, both personally and professionally. If the spot is essential to starting the year off right, attempt to hire the right person before the year ends.
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Show Gratitude
Bonuses are a wonderful way to say, “Thank you,” to your employees. However, they are not the end of showing gratitude to your employees for all of their hard work. Little things, like actually saying “thank you” personally to an employee can go a long way to make sure you and your employees are on the same team when it comes to the company goals. Have a conversation with your employees. Determine if they are satisfied with their benefits and other perks of the job. Ask them what they would like to see in the upcoming year. If the requests are reasonable and can be accomplished, consider implementing them for the start of the new year. In addition to showing gratitude to your employees, sow gratitude to your customers. Instead of sending gifts for Christmas or Hanukah, send New Year’s gifts to say that you are looking forward to another great year.
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Build a Team for the New Year
Build a team that is proud to come to work every day. Begin the New Year with a fun team building event that can occur in the office on company time. Talk about it with your staff and start spreading the buzz about it before the end of the year. Then, plan a team building welcome to the new year event that can occur the second week back to work after the holidays (once people have caught up on emails and other work-related projects). Make sure you are ready, as the leader, to participate on even playing ground in the event.
If you are looking to prepare to start 2019 off properly, whether it be hiring new people, offering new and improved benefits, or any other ways in which your staff and you become a well coached team, contact the experts at Fusion Employmer Services at (609) 896-5900. Their team of experts are there to help you prepare for a great new year!
