As the world around us continues to change, our businesses need to pivot to remain successful. Pivoting may look like creating a chassis-sharing program so that your business and others can get products off docks. It may look like making several virtual products to avoid supply chain issues altogether. Your company may be a startup, pivoting to find profitability.
As things change around your business and as your business evolves, it’s vital to keep basic procedures in place. This creates stability and allows employees to continue to operate at the standards you have set.
But how does one maintain consistency while also making significant changes? This is the challenge we are addressing today.
How to Pivot While Keeping Basic Procedures in Place
Making significant structural changes to your business while keeping basic procedures in place is tricky. However, notice that we never said that you had to keep everything the same - while also making structural changes. There is a difference between keeping procedures in place and never changing them.
Business processes and procedures are dynamic and should be reviewed consistently. If this weren’t the case, systems would grow stale and unusable as new technologies are adopted.
Here are some steps you can take to keep your business standards steady while also making the necessary changes to support a pivot:
1. Identify which procedures qualify as “basic.”
Take time before a pivot to identify the basic procedures in your company. These encompass everything from hiring and accounting to sales and marketing. Every department should have basic procedures that they follow to attain consistent results.
2. Assign employees among the staff and leadership in your company to keep an eye on these procedures as your company pivots.
As we noted above, keeping processes and procedures in place doesn’t mean never changing them. But, how do you modify basic systems without disrupting your entire business - while also pivoting?
The solution is to assign employees to monitor and modify these processes and procedures at set times. They could revisit the marketing process as you transition to a new strategy or look at basic hiring procedures while your company transitions back to in-person - or takes things completely remote.
Assigning responsibility ensures the tasks are done and keeps your processes running smoothly - even as you pivot. It also has the advantage of providing the personnel for the next step, which is:
3. Document as you pivot.
The best way to make sure systems are set in place quickly is to document as you go. You can assign someone to help - or do it yourself. We always recommend working as a team on documentation, as it can be difficult to both oversee and document.
4. Modify essential processes and procedures as soon as possible.
When something needs to change, do it rapidly and thoughtfully. Your monitoring team should be able to tell you when a system is no longer working - and they can make suggestions as to how it should change. The documentation provided in step 3 will help your team make the right changes to business processes and procedures, ensuring this step is accomplished swiftly.
5. Document new systems once the pivot is in place.
There is a difference between systems that are put in place during a pivot - and those put in place afterward. Your company may be providing a completely different product or service or providing the promised service in a different way now that the business has pivoted. Make sure your essential systems, as well as additional necessary systems, are documented so that processes and procedures can be put in place.
Protecting your business systems as your company shifts is vital. It’s how you protect the intellectual properties of the business and how you create stability for employees and customers.
If you are making a pivot and need more assistance than this article can provide, contact us. The Business Success Consulting Group team is here to help you build and protect business systems.
