Business development with CHEQ solutions

Business development has always been an extremely exciting area of the business world, one that needs even more attention in our ever-faster-changing modern world. With the advance of Industry 4.0 and AI, and the general spread of digitalisation, companies cannot afford to spend a long time analysing the market. This is because the later they set out on the path of business development and modernisation, the greater the competitive disadvantage they end up with. The business environment is constantly changing; it does not wait for every company to catch up. On top of that, customers' needs are changing too, and these can only be met if the company keeps developing as well, optimising its processes, developing its employees and taking advantage of the benefits that new technologies offer.

Business development is everyone's job

At larger companies it is not uncommon for a separate department to deal with business development. This has its advantages (e.g. there is clearly a project owner responsible for implementation), but we must not forget its drawbacks either. If there is a dedicated team that focuses on the task of business development, everyone expects the solution to come from them. It is like when everyone waits for innovation to come from one designated person. But just as innovation can come from anyone, business development is not the responsibility of a single department either. Not least because - especially in the case of large companies - these people are not aware of the company's everyday challenges. As a white-collar worker, they may not even know that it is a challenge to notify blue-collar workers in time about company changes, whether it be the introduction of a new customer loyalty programme, the promotion of a new menu, or a shift change. Only those affected know this, which is why business development is their responsibility too.

The steps of business development

Below I will briefly outline the steps involved in business development, and what you need to pay attention to when making a proposal to the designated head of business development or to management. It is definitely worth following these steps and considerations, as this increases the chances that your request will be supported.

1. Strategy and goals

1.1. Knowing the strategy and goals

Before you propose anything to improve the organisation or the workflows, it is important to think through what the company's goals are and what strategy the company intends to use to realise them.

This can be a huge challenge for you. Especially if the company's internal communication leaves something to be desired. For example, if it does not communicate the goals, or because of your job you never or rarely hear about them. In that case, your first business development proposal could even be that the company introduce an internal communication tool that is accessible and easy to use for everyone, regardless of their job, such as CHEQ, so that everyone is aware of the corporate strategy and goals and can contribute accordingly to achieving results.

1.2. Setting SMART goals aligned with the company's vision and the market environment

Once you are clear about what the company's strategy is, you also need to consider what challenges have to be met in the market. What new industry trends have appeared, how have customer needs, or indeed employee needs, changed. - Employees are often forgotten during business development, even though they should not be. Especially now, when Generation Z and Generation X, and even the younger Boomer generation, all work together, and everyone has different skills and needs.

After this, you need to set so-called SMART/SMARTER goals.

The whole theory comes from Peter Drucker's 1954 book titled The Practice of Management. The term SMART goals is an acronym of 5 English words. It helps you achieve successful objectives.

• S – Specific - e.g. reaching blue-collar workers even when they work in geographically scattered locations and do not have a company email address
• M – Measurable - e.g. what proportion of blue-collar workers I reach
• A – Achievable - e.g. instead of 15% of employees, I reach 80% of them, now including blue-collar workers in the communication
• R – Relevant - e.g. it improves the customer experience and satisfaction by X% (We have a customer, for instance, who trains their employees through the CHEQ platform, employees who deal with customers in stores across the country. Here it is essential that the employee always has accurate and up-to-date information. This contributes to customer satisfaction and thus, in the long term, potentially to increasing the basket value too.)
• T – Time-bound - e.g. I reach the goal within 3 months

Over the years, experts have expanded this with two further factors:

• E – Evaluated in numbers - e.g. what percentage of employees I actually reached after the 3 months
• R – Reviewed - e.g. what I should do differently in order to also reach the employees I have not yet reached

2. Leadership and leadership development

In order for business development to be successful, it is essential that management stands behind the change 100%. If a new digital tool is at the centre of the development, then management has to learn to use it. Only then can they lead by example for employees, or help them with the application if needed, and only then will employees be willing to switch to the change. For example, if the company's CEO wants to sign bulk documents only digitally from now on (this is already possible on the CHEQ platform), such as contract amendments, approvals, etc., then everyone will fall in line with this. Or if HR/payroll no longer accepts the paper-based attendance sheet and requires it only digitally, then everyone will switch to this solution.

The problem arises when management does not support the change 100% and the different solutions run in parallel for a long time. This must be avoided at all costs.

3. Corporate communication and culture

Effective internal communication and a healthy, inclusive culture are indispensable for any business to develop successfully. Employees, everyone of course, including blue-collar workers, should be involved in business development, at least to the level of continuous communication. If they are continuously informed about the progress of business development, the milestones to be reached and the changes coming up next, and perhaps their opinion is even asked, then they will comply with the change far more willingly.

What is more, in a corporate culture where transparency prevails and employees' opinions matter, employees show a greater willingness to help the company achieve its goals.

4. Training and development

Every company's most valuable asset is its community of employees. That is precisely why, in order for the company to remain competitive, it has to pay attention to developing its workforce. This is a very key part of business development.

Here you do not have to think immediately of external training courses, especially not when it comes to training blue-collar workers. This can be provided in-house too, for example by creating a knowledge base accessible to everyone. Through CHEQ, this looks like the company uploading all useful information to the platform, which every employee (blue-collar workers included) can then easily access. But the platform is also excellently suited to managing several kinds of micro-learning, thereby ensuring that employees can carry out their tasks to a high standard.

5. Performance evaluation and feedback

Giving feedback and evaluation is essential both from the employee's and from a business-development perspective. In the former case too, using CHEQ can be an excellent solution. The platform not only allows you to share learning materials with employees, but is also suitable for testing knowledge. Tests can be run here, and once completed the employee receives immediate feedback. Within moments they find out whether their knowledge is sufficient and they passed the test successfully, or whether they need further study. Sitting on the other side of the tool, you can likewise get a picture within minutes of what percentage of employees do not reach the minimum expected level, and in which area which employees need further training.

When does business development end?

If you think business development ever ends, then I have to disappoint you. - It will never end, unless you want to shut down the business. - Business development is continuous, and always adapts to environmental challenges while keeping the company's goals and mission in mind. And every employee is needed for success. That is precisely why, if you have not yet managed to build effective communication with every employee, through which they too can share their suggestions, for example via a digital suggestion box, then get in touch with us and find out more about how CHEQ supports business development by digitally aligning employees in order to increase productivity.