5 tips to make your business a world-class learning machine

In an ever-changing world, companies that make learning a priority for the organization have advantage over their less-insightful rivals. Here are 5 ways to integrate learning into your corporate DNA.

1. Go out to the field and gather insights

Whether your employees are learning how to operate machinery, enhance facilities, deliver customer orders, make sure you’re spending ample time to survey everyone: the team, analysts, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Collecting insights from your users and stakeholders can help you deliver high-performing products and services.

2. Look for red flags that indicate that your processes are failing

Performance can be sabotaged by the low level of attention and commitment of stakeholders to the processes they use in supporting the company. If your team is unable to translate ideas and insights to tangible, achievable, and repeatable results, follow up. Doing so may reveal that your processes are failing, and therefore need fixing. Failing to do so you may find yourself without a way to better serve your customers.

3. Make your clients happy

Your customers pay you to be able to ensure their needs are met. If their needs aren’t met, they won’t buy your products, and your company may not gain access to new customers. Making your clients happy will help ensure more repeat purchases. If your customers are happy, they will buy more products and stay with your business.

4. Find out what problems your employees have

Everyone has quirks or aggravations that can affect a task, especially when working on a large number of projects with a tight timeframe. Align up your team with that individual’s frustrations and get to work. Not all of your employees will like the direct approach, but it’s always better to fix a problem with someone than let it fester, especially if you need that person to succeed. If you have employees who are intolerant to new ideas, revamp your company culture in order to eliminate this problem.

5. Stop and think – Is this a super-complicated process? Can we simplify?

Simple processes help you remain competitive. Whenever you need to add another step, ask yourself, “Do I really need to make this more complicated? This approach can not only improve your customer’s experience, but also your financial bottom line.

Process improvement is all about bringing your operation closer to its end users. To really invest in your company, don’t just focus on new initiatives; find ways to encourage workers to constantly improve old ones.

Read more in the Strategy and Innovation channel, here.

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