Operate your business through uncertainty: 3 tips to help you navigate the waters

There is no doubt that we are living amidst uncertain and unpredictable times. Companies are planning for a turbulent future with limited visibility even though no one knows what exactly lies ahead. Professional service firms are impacted in multiple ways. They face cost pressures in efforts to preserve margins, aim to align spending with business priorities, nurture existing customer base and optimize their operations and how people are led.

To stay ahead of the competition, organizations must adapt fast. In this article, we introduce 3 ways professional service firms can optimize their business for uncertain times.

1. Build transparency throughout your business

Lack of transparency to the business is a typical challenge for professional service organizations. In uncertain times, it becomes increasingly important as it facilitates handling of costs and allows better control of margins. Yet, receiving actionable data and insights is challenging for knowledge work companies due to the organizational disconnect: silos. Companies operate on disparate processes and technology that simultaneously create siloes in the way of working that frustrate the people.

To navigate during times of uncertainty, organizations need tools that bring actionable data together in real-time. This way, leaders can be proactive and avoid making decisions based on intuition. So, find your company’s blind spots, fix the data discrepancies as well as the gaps in processes that limit your performance. Data and operational transparency fuel your performance even in unpredictable times.

2. Manage talent’s demand and capacity proactively

What differentiates the good performance from the excellent? Your ability to manage the talent and the motivation efficiently and with empathy. It is not easy to predict the demand for the people  and skills and their value during uncertainty but it is possible to improve forecasting capabilities and align your organization’s capacity with the demand.

In uncertain times, the tools and processes to know where there is demand, what your talent wants and who has availability to fulfill customer needs is detrimental to success. Visibility to the talent demand and supply as well as filling potential skill gaps cost-effectively but staying true to the humane values allows companies to stay ahead. So address your alignment issues before it gets tough.

3. Clarify your focus point

Companies are sometimes very chaotic and running in many different directions. But in professional services, you need focus and prioritization. During times of uncertainty, the focus point should remain in how you respond to the customer needs and your colleagues’ needs for them to feel motivated and able to do their part of the customer work. Because even in gloomier times, the value of the firm lies in the happiness of its people. By giving development opportunities, clear direction and a joyful work environment, individuals are in a better position to serve the customers,  advance their skills, and careers and accept the possible insecurity of the uncertain times.

Transparency and alignment are the best path forward

Uncertainty requires illumination. Gather the data on your business and people proactively to take forth your business as this will help you last the stormy or misty seas. This way, you can accelerate your sales and improve your organization’s efficiency no matter what the operating environment is like.

Agileday is the perfect tool for this. It supercharges your business with data and by mobilizing your entire organization to sales. By sharing information, you can quicken the sales process, improve the quality of your proposals with accurate CV data and improve people’s project utilization whilst giving individuals the chance to impact their careers. Even in uncertain times, we enable your success.‍

Book a 30-minute introduction to explore how Agileday can help you in the face of uncertainty.