2016 business resolutions you can keep

As January nears its end how well are you sticking to your New Year's resolutions? Our promises of hitting the gym and eating more heathily often fall by the wayside. Even January's dryathon will be over soon.

Business resolutions however are a little easier to keep. Below are some of the resolutions Personal Group is trying its hardest to stick to. Can your business do the same?

1) Set fewer objectives

When asking ‘What are our objectives for the year ahead?’ businesses tend to spend hours pouring over strategy thinking about ‘what are we going to do’ and ‘how are we going to do it’.

But the first resolution I have this year is simple - set fewer objectives. Employees are more likely to remember and buy-into objectives if there are only a couple.

For the last few years we have galvanized ourselves around no more than four objectives. That gives the company great clarity and focus on what we should be doing whilst keeping them meaningful.

2) Make your objectives public

Having set the three or four objectives, make them public. Make sure they become part of the vernacular. Bring them up during reviews and during monthly get togethers or team meetings to keep them fresh in the minds of your workforce. Once you have set fewer objectives you can really start to bring them alive.

3) Communicate more often with less stuff

In every single staff survey, communication tends to rank the highest as the one thing that companies need to do more of, or do better.

Last year, instead of having a complicated internal comms structure, we simply got everyone in the business together (in around 3 or 4 groups) and gave them a 15-minute update every week. We just focus on what has come out of our senior management meeting or what is new that week.

People appreciate the face-to-face so the more you can cram into those 15 minutes the better. It is fresh and it should feel exciting and dynamic. By keeping it to a maximum of 15 minutes staff won’t get bored.

4) Give the gift of time

This links in with objective number three. Every year we are getting busier. There are more things to do, more pressures on our time, and we are more contactable through social media and mobile devices. It is very easy to allow time to run away.

My resolution, from a business point of view, is to give more of my team the gift of time. It could be specific face-to-face time or it could be ensuring 1-2-1s are done each week. Alternatively it could be ensuring your team have an hour a week devoted to just clearing emails. Trust me, the team will appreciate it.

5) Focus on wellness

My fifth resolution is more of an aspiration. It is a time of year when a lot of people’s resolutions will be based around health - they will be thinking about overall wellness. Ensure that you use this time of year not just to focus on your discounted gym membership, but also the Employee Assistance Schemes that can help a lot when people need real help. The post-Christmas slump can take its toll on staff so make sure they feel physically and mentally supported.

This article was written by David Walker, chief commercial officer of Personal Group.