If you would like to see how some of our clients are utilising sophisticated business performance analysis then please contact us and we will demonstrate the value it will bring to your business. be difficult for architecture and engineering businesses to maintain a balanced cash flow throughout the year. A successful business will always be aware of current cash flow and accounts receivables to enable regular distributions and dividend payments. Invoicing systems and clear payment terms can both help to ensure prompt payment from clients. Our clients operate with 14 to 30 day payment terms
Staff retention — top tips on protecting your greatest assets 3. Lack of reliable systems. A financial management system can be a
significant asset in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your business. Strong reliable and up-to-date systems can help you to clearly see your incomings and expenses so that you can react to issues before they arise. Your business will also benefit from the ability to quickly filter financial data by revenue stream so that you can quickly see which areas of the business are and aren’t making money. Financial and business management systems can significantly ease the administrative burden through automation and efficiency. 4.
Reducing costs rather than increasing revenues: the ebb and flow of a project-based workflow can mean fluctuations between financial gain and financial strain. It’s easy to rush to cut costs in times of difficulty, but be careful not to cut off valuable revenue streams and / or people at the same time. If money is being spent to stimulate growth then the revenue generated from spending could be far more valuable. Have a good look at your business development strategies and only cut once you have analysed what is and isn’t working for your business.
Big picture thinking. Profit for the sake of it is all good and well, but sometimes a small profit gain can get in the way of long-term business Competition for the best staff in the creative/engineering industries is getting success. Always think about the big picture and long-term goals of your stronger every year. Retaining your most talented and hardest working business — with that financial forecasting you’ve done in mind — before employees is crucial for the long term success of your organisation. saying yes to projects that will bring in money in the short-term, but that may ultimately butmany obstructive future Losing key staff places kinds ofto strain onprogress. a business, from the obvious 5.
financial strains of staff replacement and recruitment fees, to those more difficult to quantify. These include time and money spent training new staff in your systems, developing both internal and external relationships, workplace culture and perhaps worst of all in the creative and technical industries, knowledge drain.
How embracing change can boost your business Five key staff retention strategies: 1. Track and recordare staff Global financial markets in retention constant fluctuation, businesses are increasingly Conduct exit interviews inlocal a completely confidential yet friendly operating on a global rather than scale, and the world around us ismanner a world — encourage exiting staff to open up on exactly why they are leaving. of pixels, with everything going digital. Your ability to cope with and thrive in a A database of when andthe why staffthat leave willyour be an invaluable resource. changing marketplace can be factor sets business apart. It enables an organisation to compare how it is performing against the The IBMcompetition Institute for and Business Valuewhich recently published results their highlights managers maythe need extraofrelationship Making training. Change Work study. The study surveyed 1,400 business professionals Retaining good employees can be difficult to achieve unless in 48 countries to get a closer at the way change metorganisation. within business and you understand whylook people choose to leaveisyour the impact that attitude to change has on company performance. 2. Get the right people to begin with As difficult as it may be, recruit for cultural fit and attitude first and then skills. Typically your future leaders will embrace your cultural values and have the skills needed for the delivery of key projects.
