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The new year has marked a fresh slate for many businesses, motivating organizations to begin anew with clean performance records. The most forward-looking leaders, however, realize a more significant opportunity to examine their organization’s identity, its customer experience model and the key barriers that stand in the way of future business growth.
The pressure for continued business advancement has been building for years. Companies must reassess their corporate strategies and prepare for what’s on the horizon: an era of heightened connectivity, greater stakeholder expectations, unprecedented automation and a demand for an unparalleled customer experience.
The pandemic has driven people to redefine their expectations of experiences, placing greater value on human connection and self-enrichment. While businesses are forced to navigate the uncontrollable and never-ending cycle of change in the form of current events, economic uncertainties and technological innovation, leaders can (and should) take a people-first approach to business optimization, focused on unlocking the full power of the client experience.
Here are three actionable steps leaders can take to reenergize their people, transform their customer experience delivery and set the scene for growth in 2023 and beyond.
1. Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough
Remaining stagnant during times of uncertainty is a sure path to failure. There is no such thing as a disruptive business with complacent leaders. To continue to grow and maximize potential, it is critical to regularly pose the question, “how can my business optimize further?”
As a recession looms and sweeping layoffs span across industries, there is no better time to double down on optimizing workflows to improve efficiency, fuel productivity and deliver better customer and employee satisfaction. Establishing a solid foundation of optimal workflows can be the backbone of success, helping a business improve day-to-day operations with direct impacts on its workforce and customer base.
To develop a solid vision for business optimization, leaders should first audit their internal processes and leverage insights to create a consistent end-to-end process flow. A clear understanding of pain points for customers and employees and intended process outcomes will help organizations better understand their needs and eliminate irrelevant activities. Once the new, optimized workflows become the benchmark, developing a continuous performance management playbook is critical. After all, as market conditions and operations evolve, so should business processes.
2. Learn To Work Smarter, Not Harder
In today’s ever-connected, digital-first world, a competitive business requires investment in technology and automation throughout every level of an organization’s lifecycle. Yet, how many organizations have genuinely progressed in digital maturity after three years of navigating change?
According to research from FormStack, only 4% of businesses have "reached the ideal of a fully automated and digitized workplace." A majority still run on inefficient processes, with approximately 51% of workers "spending at least two hours per day on repetitive tasks"—resulting in up to $1.3 million yearly in revenue losses.
So how can leaders revamp their organization’s approach to technology to accomplish business goals and improve the client experience? They must assess where bottlenecks or inefficiencies exist and rapidly evolve from outdated processes to fully digitize operations. Streamlined workflows—whether for managing internal processes or customer relationships—allow companies to collaborate more effectively to achieve goals, cut overhead costs and ultimately empower teams to do their best work by removing administrative burdens from the equation. By freeing up workers to focus on more valuable, high-impact tasks, employees can focus on fostering better client relationships, which in turn creates a prosperous business.
Ignoring future workplace trends and being slow to invest in business tools can be incredibly detrimental to workplace morale, revenue growth, brand reputation and customer loyalty. Learning to work smarter, not harder, will be the mantra for success in this technology-focused era.
3. It’s Time To Get Personal: Focus On The Employee And Customer Experience
Optimization and digitization are central pillars for growth. Still, to fully reap the benefits of automation and technological advancement, leaders must prioritize the human side of business—both internally and externally.
We are entering the age of the customer-centric business. Amid increased competition, rising expectations for superior customer experiences and continued digital transformation, it is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to stand out from the crowd. To drive long-term organizational success, leaders must prioritize the customer experience. History shows the value of a customer intimacy model during a downturn. In fact, McKinsey reports that "in the last economic recession, companies that prioritized customer experience realized three times the shareholder returns compared to the companies that did not."
For companies truly committed to bolstering the customer experience, actions aren’t just superficial. They reflect a significant investment in reimagining the client lifecycle, ensuring services deliver on brand promise and nurturing teams to execute on this customer-centric vision.
Concurrently, the era of the traditional employment contract is over. Employees are no longer simply looking to exchange services for monetary compensation. They, too, want a more human-centric employment value proposition—one where leaders foster a strong sense of community and energize teams with purpose-driven work. Gartner research indicates that 82% of employees surveyed say it’s important that their organizations see them as whole people rather than just employees.
To attract and retain top talent, leaders must prioritize the employee experience and build a more inclusive, healthy workplace culture. After all, research supports that engaged and happy employees are key to happy customers.
New Year, New Processes—Commit To Business Optimization In 2023
Setting goals for your business is an integral part of starting the year on the right track. As we continue into 2023, business process optimization and digital transformation will be a top priority for leaders. Yet, focusing on the customer experience, company culture and employee engagement is the foundation for long-term organizational success.
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