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[james-thomson.gif] Saturday, 04 February 2012 * home * news + Trends + Features + Entrepreneur Zone * ask the experts + Cashflow Advice + Entrepreneurship + Facebook know-how + Funding + IT Systems + Legal Advice + Money + Online sales + People Problems + Profitable Growth + Selling + Tax Advice + Teams * blogs + Aunty B + Boss Lady + Behavioural Economics + Brand + Business Tech Talk + Customer Experience + Entrepreneur Watch + Enterprise Leadership + Export Matters + Franchise tips and trends + Female Entrepreneur + Gen-Y Millionaire + Internet Secrets + Islands of profit + Property Investor + Retail advice + Retail Trends + Selling Strategies + The Digital Bottom Line + The Futurist + IT Means Business * hot topics + SmartTV + Companies + People + Special Events + How To + Business Information + Export + Wealth + Web 2.0 + Managing People + OHS + Superannuation + Firing + Hiring + Finance + Industrial Relations + Tax + Cashflow + Sales + SEO + Start-Up + Franchising + Buy or Sell a Business + Climate Change + Travel + Intellectual Property + Legal * industry + Advertising and Marketing + Agribusiness + Construction and Engineering + Financial Services and Insurance + Food and Beverages + Health and Pharmaceuticals + Information Technology + Internet + Leisure and Gaming + Manufacturing + Media + Professional Services + Property + Resources and Energy + Retail + Telecommunications + Transport and Logistics * community + Business Resources + Webinars + Smart Learning + Web Awards + Smart50 Awards search...___________ (Submit) Go See all 'Managing People' articles 10 ways to spring clean your business Thursday, 15 September 2011 11:11 Emily Ross E-mail Print More on Managing People * How I drive my business with training * How I improved my business by getting rid of managers * Five management scandals: What you can learn * The serious business of etiquette * The price of executive compensation Read more on: * Managing people 10 ways to spring clean your business Spring is here and it is time to cut the excuses and give your business a thorough spring clean. SmartCompany has called in the experts to help get the dirty jobs done. TASK ONE: Spring clean your thinking Executive director of Clarity Now Dr Kevin Orrman-Rossiter works as a business coach and adviser to law firms, across financial services, start-ups and listed Australian companies. “People aren’t feeling so positive about a spring clean this year,” he says, saying many clients are wondering if this current market is rock bottom “and when the up bit starts”. Orrmann-Rossiter is counselling his clients to think about a 2011 spring clean “in terms of how they are positioning themselves when they get out of this slump”. “It’s good to use this time to get costs under control, terms of trade, debt levels etc, but that should never be at the expense of future opportunities,” he says. This spring clean is an opportunity for business owners and managers to look at improvements across the business. Rather than framing the exercise about what is wrong with the business, it can be pitched at how everyone can improve their performance and improve the business. “We as human beings have times when we hibernate a little bit,” says Orrman-Rossiter. Spring cleaning is that essential, seasonal emergence from that slumber. TASK TWO: Spring clean your strategy Dennis McDonald, director of the Waypoint Group consults to senior boards and executive teams in blue chip companies across sectors including financial services, resources and media. A typical problem for his clients centres around actually realising an ambitious business strategy. “They know what they want to be when they grow up,” says McDonald. “But in most cases they don’t know how to do it.” This is where McDonald comes in with a reality check, identifying exactly what needs to be done and whether the business has the internal capabilities to carry out the work. This is perfect spring cleaning work. McDonald sits down with clients and looks at the “big chunks of work” that need to be done, who is going to do them, over what timeframe. “It may be that you need to recognise that you can only do a certain amount of the strategy well and that is the right solution,” says McDonald. For a business wanting to spring clean business strategy, this means: * Sitting down and identifying the work that needs to be done. * Identify who is going to do the work in what timeframe. * Identifying skill/capability gaps. * Readjusting strategy where tasks cannot be completed in the original timeframe (“that’s when you need to think about lengthening the timeframe or lowering the hurdle,” says McDonald). * The goal is to embed new, essential skills in the business that will support long-term business goals. TASK THREE: Give boards and committees a spit and polish There are a couple of jobs that always seem to fall to the bottom of the list when it comes to maintaining boards and business committees. Board consulting firm Directors Australia’s managing director Kerryn Newton says regular director/committee member evaluations can be few and far between. These check ups are essential to ensure: * That board compliance, governance systems and processes are being followed. * That all board/committee members are clear of their obligations, rights and responsibilities. * To assess the health of board inter-relationships. This spring clean is about stepping back from everyday tasks and looking at the bench strength of the board/committee. In Newton’s experience, these board evaluations should spark new initiatives. For example, an evaluation can identify skills missing from the board that need to be addressed immediately. From there, it is a matter of finding the right training and professional development (such as a briefing on new ASX rulings). In the case where a whole new skill set is needed, it is time to look for fresh talent for the board. Where boards have traditionally included lawyers, doctors and investment bankers, increasingly executives with skills in IT governance, strategic marketing and branding and strategic human resources (in particular around skill shortages) are being recruited to boost boards. Other candidates are being appointed to boost diversity in terms of age, gender and ethnicity. “As much as you need the CEO, you need the board that is relevant to the strategic direction and stage of the business,” says Newton. TASK FOUR: Embrace social media (yes, you) The pace of change in the social media space just keeps accelerating. “People who don’t jump on the northbound train are going to have their businesses disrupted,” says Geoff De Weaver, founder and CEO of Touchpoint Digital, who works between New York and Sydney. “The sooner you get in the sandbox and start playing, the sooner you will understand it.” For De Weaver, social media is a space where business is increasingly competing for marketshare, mindshare and market relevance. “Social marketing is about two-way communication. It’s not just tech companies that are doing it,” he says. “It’s the Starbucks, the Pepsis. It is about deeper customer relationships.” In the US, Dell has a series of online courses for its staff and it has its own social media situation room known as the Dell Social Media Listening Command Centre (watch a YouTube preview here) for all things to do with Dell products, the company and customer feedback. Companies need to develop social media guidelines to avoid what happened to Yarra Trams last month. An employee, tram driver Andy Blume, was sacked for posting inappropriate comments on his Twitter page. Blume was a prolific tweeter, posting photos and rants about women drivers and “the best collision I ever had”. TASK FIVE: Upskill, upskill, upskill For those executives who “never have time” for conferences, training, courses and lectures”, a spring clean is the ideal time to refresh thinking and set aside time for education. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown MBA; start by hopping onto TED or Duke and watching some 20-minute talks. It pays to invest the time in cleaning the cobwebs inside the mind. As well as being managing director of Directors Australia, Kerryn Newton is an avid student. In the world of corporate governance, boards, risk and recruitment, she understands how valuable it is to keep on top of trends, reforms, issues and legislation. She tends to take courses at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (book early as they tend to sell out), Australian Institute of Management, Family Business Australia and Chartered Secretaries Australia. With major issues facing business such as the carbon tax, “you can never afford to be complacent”, says Newton. TASK SIX: Spring clean your technology knowledge (no excuses!) and get familiar with market-leading technology and ideas * For best-practice, cost-effective email campaigns and eNewsletters, take a look at Campaign Monitor for even the smallest business. Companies such as Apple, Twitter, Australia Post, Billabong, The University of Melbourne and Virgin Money are using this online service. Alternatively, Mail Chimp is a low-cost email marketing tool that many SMEs use. * For easy blogging check out Tumblr. According to the latest Nielsen Social Media Report (September 2011), this site has tripled its audience in the past year. * Don’t think for a moment that Facebook has had its day. It remains the most popular social media site. Look at how companies “like” Jay Jays (360,685 “likes”), Ikea Australia (93,958 “likes”) and McKinsey & Company (151,879 “likes”) are using it. * App usage is up 30% on the same quarter (3Q) in 2010. * Geoff De Weaver, founder and CEO of Touchpoint Digital is investigating mobile payment systems. “We need to be thinking about how we are going to use mobiles in the future,” he says. TASK SEVEN: Tap into new markets For Alicia Gowans, director of HR Innovations, the annual spring clean is all about “getting your ducks in a row”. Spring is the time to work on improving cashflow, renegotiating trading terms and certainly looking to rein in unnecessary costs. Gowans is wary of the knee jerk “ban all spending” philosophy when it comes to cost control. “It is a fine line, it can’t be just about cutting costs,” she says. Where cost reductions start to impact performance and productivity, short-term gains will be lost in the long run. A classic cost-cutting target is the marketing budget. “During a spring clean you obviously need to look at ways you can attract more revenue to the business. It’s all about market attraction,” she says. “Without marketing, you can’t get sales. Without the farmer going out to get the egg, you won’t have the egg to sell,” she says. In a tight market, growth can be found through joint ventures and partnerships. “These can be very low cost and powerful,” says Gowans. These complementary businesses can drive third party referrals. “That gets more people in the door,” she says. TASK EIGHT: Get serious about debt According to Dun & Bradstreet, national payment terms for Australian business reached 53.4 days in the June quarter, with delinquent payments of 90 days or more on the rise. The calibre of staff that handle the debt side of a business can make all the difference. For Robert Lamers, the chief executive of Oxford Funding, spring cleaning is all about making sure that that administration staff are up to the job, that strict policies for debtor administration are in place and working smoothly. “If you are diligent with reminder notices, phone calls and statements, you can reduce bad debts and improve cashflow,” he says. Explaining trading terms, enforcing trade terms and working on clearer working relationships with customers will reduce the risk of bad debts. “A really important part is actually making phone contact with the customer,” he says. (Sounds obvious but how many business people like calling clients about money?) Clearly, plenty of people loathe keeping this housekeeping under control. Oxford Funding’s debt management business has increased 24% annually for the past three years as more companies look for assistance. TASK NINE: Bring in a skip Stephane Fayd’herbe, founder and managing director of the CIA – Cleaning Institute of Australia has seen some filthy offices in his time. “I have seen some business operations you wouldn’t keep your dog in,” he says. “It is extraordinary that clients come to these premises.” Spring cleans must include reception areas (grimy glass doors and dirty handles) and another CIA pet hate, the dirty light switch. Other things to watch out for in a spring clean are synthetic plants (“a big no no”), old tatty magazines in waiting rooms and piles of clutter on every available surface. “Everything needs to be current,” he says. CIA does special spring cleans that cost up from an average of $500 to $4,000. “It pays to be vigilant about cleaning,” says Fayd’herbe, “it keeps costs down in the long run.” Fayd’herbe practices what he preaches in his own business headquarters. Every year he brings in a skip and asks all his staff to stop what they are doing for half an hour and tidy up the office. A huge cull of stuff is thrown out. “Everyone just chips in and helps,” he says. A 30-minute purge and it is back to work. Now which business can’t afford to do that? TASK 10: Tidy up that virtual shop window Spring cleaning has to include continuous improvement of the company website and all online strategy. It is the shop window for the business. Too many businesses fall into the trap of thinking their website is “done” because it was redesigned three years ago. Wake up. A bit of website spring cleaning: * Keep testing iPhone, Android and iPad compatibility with your business website. * Ensure relevant Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn strategies are in place (as well as RSS feeds). * Assign a community manager within the company to keep a close eye on all relevant social media to the business. * Take the time to identify the top 10 websites relevant to your business (competitors, inspirers and all-round brilliant sites) and look at the features, services, bells and whistles of the site that need to be added into your web strategy. Make sure key staff do the same. * Ensure the site has relevant, useful, interesting video content. * Read TechCompany’s weekly update that is available to SmartCompany subscribers. * Tidy up any domain name administration (and buy a few more web addresses for future strategy). * Spring clean supplier relationships with web designers and technical support. * For Pete’s sake, keep the content fresh! A blog is not meant to be updated once a year. AND FINALLY: Do the worst jobs first Without fail, when Gowans is advising business clients in early stages of ventures, they won’t have the funds to bring in all the expertise they need to do essential spring cleaning. Therefore the founding staff is left to do everything. Inevitably, the team will choose the jobs they are good at and avoid the tasks that are not their specialty. “If it is not a core expertise, it gets left by the wayside,” she says. However, it pays to embrace these “bad” jobs. “Prioritise the jobs you don’t like,” she says. With a current client, she helped them to break down these “bad” tasks to weekly and monthly elements. The initial resistance has now turned into a lot of “high fiving” and getting the satisfaction from doing a job they initially didn’t want to do. Isn’t that what spring cleaning is all about. 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