As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 saw massive and rapid changes happen all over the globe, including in the business world. Driving your business forward while coping with daily turbulence can quickly become overwhelming.
And even though the pandemic is slowing down and we seem to be approaching the end of it, most of the problems remain.
Top Challenges Enterprises are Facing
These are some of the most impactful challenges that businesses are facing nowadays, alongside practical suggestions on how to overcome them.
Related: The Team Effectiveness and Different Roles in Teams That Win
1. Supporting Remote Employees
The shift to fully remote and then hybrid work was one of the biggest challenges businesses had to deal with over the past couple of years. Most employees have found working from home to be more productive and wish to keep at least some form of hybrid work going forward.
For businesses, this means finding the delicate balance in supporting their employees without micromanaging and constantly checking on them. To keep your teams functioning smoothly, consider investing in a streamlined yet multifaceted collaboration platform that will keep communication open and productive.
2. Managing ‘The Great Resignation’
The pandemic had another effect on businesses, especially in the US — millions of Americans are now reconsidering their job choices and choosing not to go back to work if it doesn’t offer satisfactory conditions. To retain top talent on your team, find out what your employees need to feel supported and valued. It might be flexible working hours or more guidance for employees out of the traditional office setting. It is no longer enough to raise their paychecks and expect gratitude — employees’ expectations are much more sophisticated and need to be taken into account.
3. Embracing Flexibility and Agility
Companies that can promptly adjust to new conditions are the ones that succeed. With the pandemic hitting the global market, many industries were heavily affected: hospitality, health, retail, etc. Businesses that survived (and thrived) in these conditions were the ones that altered their business models to fit the situation — i.e. restaurants that turned to food deliveries and health clinics that offered telehealth solutions.
Going forward it is worth working on improving your business’s flexibility and discovering weak spots that can slow down progress when agile change is necessary.
4. Online Presence and Digitalization
If your business is not already employing digitalization, you are lagging behind. All industries, even highly regulated ones, have in recent years implemented digitalized solutions to improve their day-to-day activities as well as user experience.
Furthermore, your online presence should undergo an in-depth analysis to determine if it tells your brand’s story as effectively as it could.
Your business should be active on all platforms your target audience is already using, otherwise, you are missing out on an invaluable opportunity to reach out to your users in a native, organic manner. This will help you to generate more leads and grow your company.
5. Cybersecurity and the Question of Trust
Businesses are attractive targets for cybercriminals, regardless of their size. Your customers need to rest assured knowing that you have undertaken every possible precaution to keep their data safe. Therefore, cybersecurity should be one of your business’s top priorities, especially considering how costly data breaches can be.
Certificate lifecycle management is a common challenge enterprise deal with. An invalid certificate can cause unnecessary (and expensive) website downtime and result in your customers questioning your organization’s reliability. An automated certificate lifecycle management platform can offer a streamlined solution to managing certificates that will ensure your website’s safety and an uninterrupted customer experience.
6. Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse Future
It might seem light years ahead, but metaverse is coming and if you, just like 29% of Americans, don’t understand what it means, your business is running the risk of missing out on valuable opportunities for market capture.
Put time aside to understand where technology is going and how it can affect your business. On the other hand, artificial intelligence is very much present and can help transform your business if you put it to good use. It can help you automate processes, analyze data more efficiently, and even advance your customer relationship management system.
7. Business Process Automation
Automation helps remove repeatable tasks and leave space for creative and productive activities. Aside from improving your team’s productivity and overall job satisfaction, automating various processes can make your business much more efficient and easier to manage.
Consider implementing automation into your HR processes, data analysis, customer relationships, accounting, and much more.
The Greatest Challenges Hide Opportunities for Growth
Every business deals with challenges. The ones who learn how to swim and not sink as soon as the sea gets rough, also learn how to use these challenges for growth and advancement. By looking ahead, keeping on top of new trends, and continually exploring technological advancements, your organization can create a firm standing no matter what the future brings.
