5 ideas to inspire New Year’s Resolutions in the workplace

Christmas is fast approaching and before you know it, Big Ben will be chiming to welcome in the New Year. Perhaps you have set yourself some personal goals for 2017 – to eat healthily or get back in contact with old friends. But what about your New Year’s Resolutions for the workplace? HR180’s HR Manager, Laura Rigby, gives the low down on what businesses should resolve to do in 2017.

As we approach 2017 it is time to reflect on the last 12 months and look ahead to the next year. Why not take the opportunity to set goals starting in the new calendar year to positively transform your company?

Consider what you would hope to improve, develop and change about the business in 2017. What has gone wrong this year that absolutely cannot happen again? What can be done to guarantee a profit? What other opportunities lie out there to enhance the business’ reputation?

At HR180 we witness and assist in the transformation of many businesses and after 5 years of working here, I feel well-positioned to put in my two-penn’orth!

Here are a 5 ideas to inspire you.

Put people back on the agenda

I hear ya – of course I would say that, I’m an HR professional! But there can be no arguing that people are the most important business resource. So why not make their experience a better one? Be creative – money is not the only motivator. In fact, we humans crave attention and to feel valued. Get to know your team, what motivates them or makes them tick. This way you can align their goals with the business’ goals and hey presto, you have yourself a win-win situation!

Be more productive

Whatever it is that is preventing productivity in the business – address it. Whether that means spending a little to achieve a lot by introducing a brand spanking new system that doesn’t crash at the drop of a hat or finally training your managers how to manage, don’t put it off, trust me it’ll make all the difference.

Get to know your customers

If I asked you what each and everyone one of your customers did, I bet you wouldn’t know the answer. It’s time to change this. Your customers are incredibly valuable and shouldn’t be seen simply as cash cows. Open lines of communication, find out what they do and use it to your advantage. Give them the best customer experience. Steer your selling so that it is appropriate to their needs and future aspirations – this way, they will work out for themselves that they need you, you won’t need to convince them of that and this in turn should create confidence in the future of your working relationship.

Give back to the community

This doesn’t have to be much – in the words of Tesco, ‘Every Little Helps’. This November the team at HR180 raised a whopping £786 for the LGI Heart Ward simply by selling cakes! In doing so we got to know local businesses, do a good dead for a very good purpose and all for the benefit of the community. What’s stopping your business doing the same?! And if you’re selling cakes, we’re in!

Plan to be on track with your plan!

“Seriously? A plan for a plan?!” Yup. How else are you going to focus on achieving your business plan?! Break it down into realistic chunks, delegate what can be and tackle it head on. Day to day life and other general responsibilities can often get in the way of achieving future objectives. There are only so many plates you can spin before one gets dropped and smashes to smithereens. Don’t let that one be your business plan. Keep it at the forefront of your mind and have regular catch ups with those involved, communicate to the team in regards to its progress so that everyone can be working towards the same common goals. This way you are more likely to achieve your annual business objectives – and if you don’t for any reason, at least you’ll know what the reason is!!