4 Ways to Modernize Your Business

If you bristle at the thought of adjusting the way you do business, you're not alone. Many entrepreneurs are resistant to changing their companies. After all, you created your business plan and set yourself up for the successful workplace that you operate now. However, if you want your company to remain relevant and your employees to keep on thinking up good ideas, you must listen to constructive criticism. Educate yourself about ways you can improve your company's performance in these areas.

1. Technology

Perhaps you started your company with no technology more advanced than a landline phone and a fax machine. While this was a valid way of operating for a long time, it is no longer enough. Speak to your information technology experts about recent developments that could help your company, such as the Enterprise Knowledge Graph. Choose a few new types of software or machines to try, and evaluate them after a month or two. 

2. Time Tracking

You've used the honor system for clocking in and out since you opened your doors, but it's time to switch to a more accurate method. Most of your employees are honest about the times that they sign in, but they frequently forget and make up their times. To avoid losing money to this practice, purchase time-tracking software. Most platforms are available either on people's desktops or apps. Before you approve someone's hours for the pay period, you can see how long they worked each day, including any breaks they logged. Your employees may resist this change at first, but soon they'll like being able to quickly see how many hours they've worked each pay period.

3. Discrimination

Discrimination occurs whenever someone treats another person differently because of the second person's race, age, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic class, or another uncontrollable factor. Whether you're aware of it or not, discrimination is probably occurring in your workplace, and you need to address it immediately. Talk to your human resources department to see how many people have filed discrimination reports recently. Invite your employees to a forum where they can share their experiences of unjust treatment in the workplace. Once you've listened to these stories, invest in diversity training for your entire staff. Watch your own actions to ensure that you do not favor members of certain groups while rejecting others.

4. Environmental Issues

For a while, you could get away with buying the cheapest materials available, regardless of how wasteful they were. Now, however, climate change has progressed to such an alarming extent that it's time to use your resources responsibly. Buy materials locally whenever possible, and choose the ones that are made in environmentally sustainable ways, even if they're more expensive. Encourage your employees to bring their own coffee cups rather than buying disposable ones. Avoid using paper for memos that you can just email to everyone. While these steps may seem insignificant, together, they have a real impact on the environment.

Don't let your company get stuck in the past. Instead, take these steps to modernize your workplace.