Future-proofing your business may sound impossible. The rate of technological change is so fast that even the most innovative companies can feel left behind. It is commonly accepted wisdom that many roles that will be performed in 2030, or even 2025, don’t even exist yet. So how can you plan in the face of so much uncertainty? Experts believe there are strategies businesses can deploy when recruiting, training and engaging with their employees and partners to ensure they are ahead of the curve.
Carlene Jackson is the CEO of customer relationship management (CRM) software company Cloud9 Insight, a government-approved apprenticeship provider. She says business owners need to spend more time thinking about the future. “Entrepreneurs and managers need to be spending 20-40% of their time working on the future of their companies. However, too often, they spend all their time firefighting, not spending enough time on strategic projects that will support the growth of their business,” she says.
Jackson says future-proofing is best achieved by hiring the right staff and developing a culture of learning. “When you’re hiring staff, you should be asking yourself whether this person can save you time, as well as making you money. Business owners can future-proof their businesses by creating company cultures that promote flexibility, constant learning and upskilling, as well as experimentation. We have a coaching culture and enable shadowing so the team can learn from one another.”
Business owners should also encourage their staff to think about their own futures. Jackson asks all her staff to create a “10-year future CV”. “We ask them to think about what their careers are going to look like in the future,” she explains. “It encourages them to think about new skills, experience and personal development, and to create a plan to achieve those kinds of long-term goals.”
Simon Hayward, CEO of leadership consultancy Cirrus and honorary professor at Alliance Manchester Business School, says because in the future many tasks will be performed by software, there will be greater demand for human qualities that the bots can’t replicate.
“[Automation] places more emphasis than ever on very human attributes such as innovation and creativity. For forward-thinking organisations, this is an opportunity to upskill existing employees and review what they’re looking for in new hires.”
Donna Torres is director of small and medium business channel and commercial operations at Xero, an online accounting system that utilises AI and automation to help businesses manage payments. She predicts increased automation will lead to more high-value jobs and fewer low-value jobs.
For example, small business can use Xero automation to take the pain out of manual bookkeeping and data entry – freeing up time to spend on more important areas of the business.
“Automation is designed to be used to handle those time-intensive administration jobs that clog up employees’ days and impact productivity. Tasks such as data entry, booking meeting rooms and maintaining diary appointments are all examples of jobs that can be left to AI. It should be treated as a tool to enhance your employees’ work life – but not to overtake it,” she says.
That could be very good news for small businesses. As repetitive tasks are automated, many of which take place in the accounts department, some thinkers, such as futurist Gerd Leonhard, predict the demise of late payments. “Billing, payments and invoicing should increasingly be handled by intelligent software – 30-day payment terms will become a thing of the past,” he predicts.
Torres also points to the importance of non-replicable people skills, in particular human interaction and emotional intelligence.
“These are crucial skills that won’t lose their prevalence in the future. We do know that we’ll see more job opportunities across areas such as sales and marketing in the future. These jobs require ‘human skills’ as well as innovation, data analysis and customer service.”
Although we can’t predict the future, we can be sure your business will need customers and their data. Simon Paine, co-founder of the PopUp Business School, says it is key to build your own customer lists and ensure you have control of your data. Paine warns that while social media can be very useful it comes with risks.
“If Facebook or another platform changes its terms and conditions, then your customer list can evaporate overnight. Instead, build your own customer list so that, as your business evolves, you’ll have someone to tell about new products and services.”
Paine says businesses don’t have to spend huge amounts of money on R&D to be future-proofed. Instead, they can take advantage of the vast amount of low-cost and free resources available online. Meanwhile, close dialogue with customers means a business can develop services in line with the changing demands of the market and then rapidly launch them.
“The best way to future-proof a startup is to start with a frugal mindset. Most people overthink it and want everything to be perfect before you can start selling. In fact, more and more companies start selling products and services before they’ve even created them. Websites can be launched for free in minutes, manufacturing services are available on demand. It’s amazing how quickly, cheaply and easily a new business can be launched.”
Sign up to Xero here with a free trial
