No matter what business you're in, it's prudent to be ready
to take advantage of any foreseeable economic improvement.
Invest in your employees again
One solid place to begin may have received short shrift in a
sour business climate -- employee training. If that's so, think about retooling
your employees' skills so they can handle an increasing and possibly more
diverse workload.
"Be willing to invest in employee hiring and
training," says Joel Gross, CEO of Coalition Technologies, a West
Coast-based design and marketing firm. "When any increase in business
comes, you may want to have cross-trained employees who can fulfill multiple
functions and tasks."
Further, if hiring new employees seems likely, it may be
wise to jump on that task as soon as possible. As unemployment drops and more
companies look to build employee rolls, the most talented people may not be
available for long. Prioritizing any planned hires for early in the year can
help shove you to the front of the line.
Give some thought to optimal positioning of employees, both
existing and new. Mary Hladio, president of Ember Carriers, a Cincinnati
organizational performance firm, says it's critical to balance current
decision-making with long-term planning to fully leverage economic growth.
"Small and midsized businesses need to identify and develop key employees
into a leadership team that can run the day-to-day operations of the company,
make tactical decisions and free the business owner to focus on long-term
growth and sustainability," Hladio says.
Prepare for growth across the board
Next, review your company website -- another part of your
business that may have been put on the back burner. In particular, check to see
if your website is equipped not merely to be easy to use and navigate, but also
to smoothly handle any increase in traffic levels.
