Top 6 Priorities for a Business Owner

It’s obvious to state that the working world has changed dramatically in recent years, especially after the pandemic. New business challenges have since surfaced, resulting in their owners needing to problem solve and adapt to the ever-changing environment.

The Way in Which We Work is Changing

From office based weeks and in-person meetings, to hybrid and flexible working with online meetings, the change was extremely sudden but necessary during the pandemic. As we are now out the other side, the demand for these working lifestyle changes remain as employees have adjusted to the ‘new normal’ of work and their priorities have shifted; with the proportion of people utilising hybrid working haven risen from 13% in early February 2022 to 24% in May 2022.

Employee Expectations have significantly changed

Whether it’s higher advocacy for working from home, flexible working hours or more general benefits, employees’ wishes have certainly become more prominent and demanding. The Office for National Statistics found that 85% of employees currently working from home want a ‘hybrid’ approach of both home and office working in future.

Discussing these expectations have also certainly become a keen topic of discussion within business owners and those higher up in corporations, as they realise how crucial these expectations are to retaining their teams.

This has subsequently also changed the hiring process, as more employees look to work only remotely or hybrid, it’s important for employers to outline their expectations in the job description or first-stage interview, to align with the candidate’s wishes before being hired to avoid uncomfortable conversations later down the line.

After the tragic events of the pandemic, and the looming fears and stresses of increased living costs, employees are fearful about the future and becoming more determined to make their expectations not only known, but met; as a reaction to these concerns. The vast majority of UK employees (94%) are now suffering from money worries.

Recent events have made people realise what is important to them outside of work; be it spending more time at home with loved ones, or actively cutting costs to help heat their homes in the winter, employees are keen, and in some cases desperate, for their expectations/needs to be met so they can continue to live with less financial concerns or worries about missing out on family time and events. Just over half (51%) of employees have reported to miss important family events because of work.

Business Owner Priorities

Business owners have been under incredible amounts of stress and pressure during the pandemic, and if their business was fortunate enough to make it out the other side, these concerns and challenges have followed suit – more than half of all business owners suffer from anxiety, 62% have been affected by stress and 30% experienced depression.

Many of our entrepreneurs, board executives and business founders know these struggles all too well; however they do a fantastic job of turning their struggles into lessons to help inspire, motivate and demonstrate to audiences how to succeed – fantastic examples include Anders Indset, Brendan Hall and Dame Inga Beale.

Below is a list of 6 top priorities we believe should be considered as a business owner:

1 - Retaining Employees

It’s no secret that hiring new external employees is an expensive and time-consuming process for organisations, and with the changing employee expectations, businesses are more keen than ever to keep their teams happy.

The world’s ‘largest study of work happiness’ found that only 27% of UK workers say that they’re happy at work majority of the time.

Business leaders are eager to show their appreciation for those who stuck by them during the tough times, as they’re very aware of the repercussions that could follow if their teams become unmotivated - a 2021 Gallup poll revealed that only 36% of employees surveyed reported feeling engaged at work.

By providing an engaging environment and workload to employees, they’re more likely to stay within the company as they feel valued and excited to work. According to a 2021 study, 73% of employees would consider leaving their current job for the right offer, even if they aren’t actively looking to leave their current employment.

2 - Provide Upskilling Opportunities

Progression is a key indicator of success for many people – who doesn’t want a promotion to aim for? Now more than ever, people feel the desire to move forward and having upskilling opportunities available for your employees is a great way to sustain interest, enthusiasm and engagement within your teams.

Only 25% of employees feel confident about their career at their current organisation. It’s also been reported that remote workers worry that they will lose progression opportunities whilst working from home. To extinguish these worries, leaders must continue to develop in-house training programs and opportunities for their team to advance in their roles and further build upon their skills.

3 - Empower Staff

Ensuring your staff feel valued and that they’re an important component of the organisation is incredibly important for sustaining high morale. Whether this involves implementing onboarding plans for new workers, communicating more with current team members about their thoughts or simply branding the office with décor to make the environment more engaging, steps must be taken to empower your team!

Many of our business speakers are experts in this field, including Chris Brindley, David Pearl and Jonny Combe.

4 - The Benefits of Flexible Working

Many business owners have learnt that by offering employees the option to work flexibly, it addresses each individual’s needs of a diverse set of employees. Letting employees choose what days they work from home in order to let them have a life outside of work benefits the organisation in the long term – happy employees = more productivity!

Dynamic and wellbeing speaker Leanne Spencer specialises in work/life balance and burnout prevention, a fantastic option for those who wish to learn more about this topic!

5 - Prioritize Employee Mental Health

One of the most prominent challenges that has become at the forefront of everyone’s minds is employee wellbeing. Being conscious of, and supporting employee mental health is fundamental, especially in today’s circumstances, as it’s not uncommon for individuals to feel anxious about an uncertain future.

Leveraging 1-1s, regular check ins, employee surveys etc. are all great ways to emphasise to teams that business leaders care about them outside of the workplace.

6 - Ensure Equality at Work
Diversity, equality and inclusion should live in the foundations of every business. Ensuring that every worker receives equal treatment is crucial, whether they’re working from home or in the office; giving every team member the same time and attention is important to ensuring high morale.

This also includes making sure that everyone within the business has access to the same technology, opportunities and resources.

Many of our diversity, equality and inclusion speakers specify on this issue within the workplace: https://www.speakerscorner.co.uk/diversity-equality-speakers.

Public Speakers Can Inspire & Transform a Workforce

Hiring an external speaker to come in and talk to your team can act as a fantastic way to motivate individuals and to promote the necessary mindset to help teams work more productively.

Re-igniting the spark can be achieved in a number of ways, including hosting a workshop to help strengthen team relationships or inviting in a motivational speaker to give an inspiring presentation.

Whether you’re looking to motivate your team, build closer workplace relationships or simply inspire your employees, we have a wide variety of speakers and workshop hosts available to do just that.

Give your business a new perspective and drive by refuelling your employee’s passions for your business, by getting in touch with our friendly and impartial team. We will help you find the perfect fit for your event and business.

Call us: +44 (0) 20 7607 7070 or email us at info@speakerscorner.co.uk