The last two years have changed the workplace; we’ve all had to refocus our priorities. Our employees and teams want something different from their work and workplaces.

If we fail to change and adapt to this new era, it’ll stifle our ability to thrive and grow our businesses.

Where to start is always difficult, especially when it feels like our world has been turned on its head. What are the top four barriers to growth?

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Recruiting and retaining talent 

Our ability to attract, onboard and retain talent is business-critical and is a challenge now more than ever.

More than 10% of small businesses have identified recruitment as the biggest barrier they face when growing their business, according to Superscript. With many candidates lacking the experience and skills for the role, it inevitably has a knock-on impact on the ability to grow the business.

Creating and promoting a culture that reflects your values and inspires employees is the key to driving recruitment and improving retention; using your current employees as advocates to promote you as an employer of choice across multiple platforms and media.

Lack of cultural diversity and gender equality

With increased digitisation and transparency, workplace diversity and inclusion conversations continue to evolve. New entrants to the labour market and existing employees are placing greater importance on how businesses tackle these issues and will be a key factor in attracting and retaining talent.

It is critical for businesses to do more to cultivate diversity and inclusion, to nurture a culture where everyone will have an equal opportunity to achieve their potential- a win-win solution for everyone!

The well-being of our people

Even before the pandemic in 2020, Gallup reported that two-thirds of workers experienced burnout in their roles. Exhausted, stressed and burnt-out individuals and teams who are coping with their work won’t be able to help grow the business.

There is far less discussion about work-life balance and much more about ‘life,’ with the expectation that all areas of our lives are fulfilling. It’s no longer enough to offer some perks (like free lunches) and label it as ‘wellbeing’.

We must begin to think more holistically about employee wellbeing and mental health; focusing on supporting our employees’ biggest challenges.

Inability to grow our next-generation leaders

As I write this, we’ve had a huge change of landscape in just one week – a new prime minister and a new monarch. What we do know is that change is inevitable, and with that, the demands on our leaders change too.

Our leaders need the ability to adapt and be agile with the ever-changing social and economic challenges; supporting the changes around them, the commercial impact, and the people it affects. The challenge is to find, develop and nurture diverse leaders who will be able to run our businesses in the new digital way.

Failing to equip our leaders adequately will inevitably lead to an environment where individuals and, therefore the business are unable to thrive. It’s time to start investing in developing leaders in your business.

Conclusion

Having the right people in the right place at the right time is the key to enabling business growth; focusing your attention on creating a culture and environment that enables individuals and teams to thrive and be at their best will supercharge your ability to grow! If you would like to speak to one of our experienced team to help your growth journey, please call us. You can also take our scorecard to assess whether your business is ready for growth, taking into consideration a range of key factors. It’s free and takes just 15 minutes. Start the scorecard test (free)…