5 Steps to Creating a Unified Business
How big is your business? How many divisions does it have, and do they all work together in tandem? In short, is that a Unified Business?
This is a surprising pitfall for many businesses because, in today’s world, being a unified business is essential on any level of conducting business.
As a business owner, you might be dealing with customers online, over the phone, and in person – and you’d be surprised by how many organizations are out there that have yet to properly coordinate their business channels to meet the needs of the modern consumer.
Today’s customers want a personalized buying experience that makes them feel valued and like their time is respected. Creating a unified business where everything is organized will help to sort out any weak links in your buying process. Bridging the gaps between sales, marketing, customer service and other areas will help your business excel.
Adopt Common Work Terms
This is a minor consideration, but it can significantly impact the success of your overall business practices and strategy. How often have you been browsing a website only to be confused about whether an item was the one you were looking for? Mainly because the commercial you watched used a different product description? Making sure that everything is in sync from one division to another can prevent lost sales and frustrated customers.
When determining the terminology you use for your company, you want lingo that’s descriptive but also accessible. Too many companies use language from the industry that might as well be Greek to anyone from outside that sector. This is why market-testing your website and other public-facing elements before they go live can save you a lot of trouble later.
Encourage Collaboration Among Teams
The pandemic has caused major changes in the workplace, one of them being that remote or hybrid work is much more common. That means team members may collaborate on projects, share critical information, and build your company together – without ever meeting outside of a work setting or even knowing each other’s faces.
This is especially common in teams with a global workforce, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t foster connections between your teams. If you have a local workforce, organizing team-building activities like escape rooms can be a lot of fun and help boost collaboration. If you’re dealing with a more spread-out team, you can still find online alternatives that help team members learn more about one another.
Cross-Train Team Members
Similar to finding ways for the team to get to know each other, it’s important that every team member is on the same page when it comes to knowing what is expected from them as it pertains to job performance. Ideally, each team member should participate in at least one training session where they meet and work with members in other divisions to help them accustom to working inter-departmentally. Also, for them to see the bigger picture of effort as a corporation, rather than as a sole individual within their specific work unit or division.
Some of the elements that should be included in this training are the online portal they’ll use to navigate assignments and deadlines, the full chain of events that will lead to a completed project, and how to communicate concerns to fellow team members or to management. If possible, you want your team to be a well-oiled machine before they start collaborating.
Organize Offsite Gatherings
Ah, the classic work conference.
This can be a dreaded few days of meetings - or a work event everyone will remember for a lifetime. While many companies have abandoned this tradition due to remote work, it still has some major benefits. This and other offsite gatherings boost employee morale and help them become more productive long-term. Read this offsite gatherings guide by inevent.com to know how to organize one.
But to summarize, there are many ways to create a better sense of team productivity, including creating a common branding to help team members identify each other during offsite gatherings. Vinyl logo stickers can be a great and low-cost way to increase awareness of your company and provide a little party favor to your team and any other guests as a souvenir.
Create Unified Objectives
Does your team know what they’re working towards? Is the entire team on the same page? This should be one of the first things you go over in training.
Having unified objectives across your team can turn a collection of separate teams into a single unified business.
So how do you accomplish this? It’s important to listen to the people who experience it daily - both the people working on the teams and the people interacting with your business through your various divisions. They’ll notice any holes in the system and help you correct them before it impacts your business's chance for success.
Unify for a Better Tomorrow
What is your company building? Is there a certain vision or idea in mind of what the business will look like in the future? What are its core values and mission statement?
If you know what the company stands for and where it's headed, it's easier for employees to rally behind those ideals and come together to work towards and achieve the same goal; the odds for success also increase.
Building a unified business strategy takes time, but being thorough ultimately leads to long-term rewards.