For many businesses, regardless of their size, the last few years of trading have been exceptionally tough. It is a fact that we are still living in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, and whilst lockdowns on a national scale are becoming far less common, the impact of the virus has had severe repercussions for many organizations. Thankfully, the global outlook for business is beginning to look a little brighter, with growth forecast across many sectors of commerce.
For business owners and leaders, 2022 is a time to recover from economic challenges and look to the future. Some of the latest business trends will be discussed in this article; all of them can help to improve organizations across varied sectors of commerce, and should be beneficial for any company that is looking to grow and becoming more competitive in their chosen marketplace.
Visible eco-friendly credentials
All modern organizations need to demonstrate visible eco-friendly credentials. This is not simply a PR exercise; it is now an expected part of modern commerce. As the millennial generation start to form the bulk of the working population, their spending power tends to be directed at companies that make sustainability and concern for the environment a priority. In fact, a recent study by Nielsen showed that 73% of millennials are prepared to pay more for goods that come from companies with strong eco-friendly credentials.
If your organization cannot demonstrate that it views the environment sympathetically and that it is continually looking for ways to be eco-friendly, it is likely to deter an increasingly large part of the buying public from giving you their trade.
Employee retention is key
A growing trend in business today is the need to actively look at ways of increasing employee retention levels. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in many people either losing their job or choosing to leave, and it is a simple fact that any organization that has high levels of employee turnover is going to have reciprocally higher costs in recruitment. In addition, losing talented staff to other organizations results in a reduction of the skill and knowledge base of the company, which takes time and training to replace.
Companies such as inpulse.com recognize this challenge faced by businesses, and offer employee survey platforms to empower businesses to gain insights from their workforce. A key part of employee retention is actively listening to the views, thoughts, and ideas of staff and then demonstrating that they are being transformed into actionable business outcomes. In turn, this process motivates staff as their voice is being heard and it also offers the company routes to improved efficiency and new ways of working that benefit all parties (and can therefore increase employee retention).
Cyber security remains a priority
Regardless of the size or scope of an organization, all are susceptible to acts of cybercrime which can include malware attacks, computer viruses, or ransomware that can cripple key parts of a company.
The financial costs of a cybercrime attack can be enormous and can spell the death of smaller firms. In 2022, the prevention of cybercrime needs to be high up on every corporate agenda; IT departments should be the ambassadors of education and training in the recognition of the various forms of cybercrime. In other words, all companies should have robust IT security architecture that serves to minimize the risks of a cyberattack.
