Time for Business to SWOT up?

This is a very worrying time for business. The banking crisis and the certainty of recession mean that there are very hard times ahead. Inevitably, some businesses will not survive. Even well run and stable businesses are likely to find it tough and will need to be flexible to thrive.

Business plans that were carefully crafted only a few months ago will need to be re-visited. In a world that is changing so quickly do those plans still hold good? The threats that business faces today are very different from those being faced only a few weeks ago. At the same time there will be new opportunities although they may be a lot harder to spot. The big question is whether your business is well placed to cope with the new threats and take advantage of new opportunities.

One approach that may serve business well is to conduct A SWOT analysis. Whilst this will not in itself provide the answers we need it is an important tool to help take proper stock of the situation. Only by recognising new threats and opportunities and how well placed we are to cope with both can we even begin to plan for the future. It may also help us to spot the actions that need to be taken in the short term.

Strengths

Now is the time to remind yourself of the strengths of your business and to consider which of these strengths will help you now. These will vary from business to business and it is worth considering some of the following areas:

• Skills, knowledge, motivation and loyalty of the workforce.
• Flexibility of the business. How well can it cope with change?
• Financial strength of the business
• The relationship with your business partners
• The reliability of your business partners
• Your spread of customers
• Your spread of products.
• Your control of expenses
• How well managed is the business?
• Your systems and efficiencies
• How good is your risk management and contingency planning?

Weaknesses

What are the known weaknesses in your businesses? Again it is worth considering all of the points listed under strengths. For example, relying heavily on just a few customers may be a real problem. Do your employees have the knowledge and skills to cope with the changes you may have to make? If not, there may be a training need to be addressed. Of course, now is not the time for expensive training solutions but are there some priority needs that could be addressed with low cost solutions?

Opportunities

In these gloomy times it may be hard to think of too many business opportunities but they do exist if we look hard enough. Let’s take the example of the supermarkets. With money amongst shoppers getting tighter they have recognised that there is more of a market for their own label bargain products and have adapted their businesses accordingly.

It’s also worth remembering that your competitors will be struggling too. Some may go out of business and this presents potential opportunities if you can ride out the storm.

What other potential opportunities can you think of? Don’t just look for the obvious. For example, employees who have been resistant to change in the past may have a different attitude now. With the job market likely to become more challenging the opportunity to acquire new skills associated with change may seem a lot more attractive.

Threats

Of course, there are many threats at the moment. Will the bank manager continue to support the business? Will your competitors try to undercut you in a cut throat battle for your business?

What about your business partners? Will they be struggling too? If, so what might the threat be to your business?

What other potential threats can you think of? Again, it is important to look beyond the obvious threats.

We are not suggesting that a SWOT analysis will solve everything. It is merely a tool to help us to fully understand our situation and is one of many approaches that can be adopted at all levels of an organisation to start planning your way through the next few months. It may also help you identify some quick solutions that might even make a difference straight away.

By Karl Halliwell a Trainer Bubble author.

Training the key to profits!

The head of the company that owns PC World and Currys has said that poorly trained staff are a large factor in the current failings of these businesses and that improving service levels is going to present major difficulties for the future. "It will take some time. It will require years of training. It's an investment, but we think we can make a major difference over time," said John Browett, chief executive of DSGi.

As someone who runs a training organisation I have to say I'm surprised that this point even needs mentioning. Of course poorly trained staff will have a detrimetal affect on a business and I don't just mean sales training, customer care is just as much an important factor. As the internet has provided the customer with more choice than ever, it has become even more vital that staff are able to get the basics right and only training can achieve this.

In my opinion, well trained staff are the key to retail environments, where the ability to increase profits on products is being diminished by the ability to choose from such a variety of different sources. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it is possibly the only differing factor that high street retail chains can now offer over cheaper internet offerings.

Why it has taken a huge downturn in sales for anyone to realise this is beyond me. Anyone that goes shopping will notice that the staff lack knowledge, motivation and the ability to show interest in a customers needs and a positive respect for the company they are representing as well as its products.

I have to have a little respect for John Browett though, at least he realises the importance of training to his future profitability. The recent talk of concerns over recession and a dip in high street spending worries me. At a time when organisations should be investing in training, I can only see things going one way.

The head of any large organisation that is looking to reduce spending whilst improving the skill levels of their staff would do well to refer to our website www.trainerbubble.com, where they will find affordable training resources that get results.