The best changes your business can make will not happen in your comfort zone and they will not happen overnight. Still, changes in your business structure, goals, and products are vital for the survival of your business. Once you know what changes you want to make in your business, there are a few steps you can use to implement them effectively.
Change the Culture
Most likely, the root of all the issues in your business come from the overall culture. The attitude and actions of your employees and customers have a large control over the culture. In general, all your culture is the collective ideas and perception of your business. It influences how much pride your employees take in their work and consequently the morale of the entire workforce. To change the culture, you need to set clear consequences to help shape the new culture. For example, if your employees are known for rude interactions with customers, you can hold a meeting to rehearse positive interactions with customers. To help the changes stick, you should regularly remind your employees of the changes.
Embrace Kaizen
One process of thought that has helped solidify changes in the workplace is the Japanese idea of Kaizen. Kaizen emphasizes change over an extended period as opposed to forcing rapid course corrections. If you think back to changes you tried to make in the past, you failed because it was too much all at once. Kaizen recognizes that the goals are not the issue, but the approach needs to change. By breaking down your goals into smaller ones, it gives your employees time to fully adapt to and incorporate your changes into their workplace habits. To start off strong, you can invite your staff to an event dedicated to Kaizen. A Kaizen event can be used to implement new training methods.
Motivate with Rewards
Even adults like to be rewarded for their hard work, especially when it comes to implementing changes. If you want to motivate your employees to change, you need to set up a reward at the end of the process. This can be a reward for the entire business or just for the top employees who adapted to the change the fastest. For example, if you want your employees to start showing up for work at 8 instead of 9, have an incentive for showing up on time, especially if the employee has a good streak.
Making changes to your business will help you to keep up with the ever-changing market. Once you have the support of your staff, you will be able to see the positive impact change has on your business.
Read this next: Implementing a Hybrid Workforce Model