Georgia Construction Today - First Quarter 2009 - (Page 9)

changes and new strategies that will keep your business viable for the short and long-term. The following tips can help you sharpen your leadership skills, get a grip on your anxieties and lead with conﬁdence. The goal is to put your organization in the best position to succeed. Balance cost-cutting with new sources of revenue While eliminating expenses is important, don’t take cost-cutting so far that you aren’t able to properly take care of customers or deliver work. Look at any unused assets or equipment and consider selling them. Assess and renegotiate vendor relationships for more competitive prices and services. Consider temporary rather than permanent employee beneﬁt cuts to save cash ﬂow and look at reducing hours before letting valuable, well-trained employees go. Use more independent contractors or outsourcing services to help with routine functions to lower overhead. Sit down with your insurance broker to carefully consider all options that will accomplish your objectives and your employees’ objectives before decisions are made. Review spending habits and discretionary expenses for opportunities to defer or reduce cash outlays until the economy picks up. Brainstorm new service offerings that leverage your expertise or tap into what clients need and want. Stay visible with your employees and increase their morale Increase communication. This is not the time to hide in your ofﬁce and keep to yourself. Maintain good two-way communication with your employees—know what is on their minds and let them know what is happening. Be honest and avoid keeping employees in the dark. Ask your employees for ideas to help the company. Find ways to let employees know you care. Focus on activities that build the team. Use downtime to invest in employee training so you can capitalize on and pursue new market opportunities, ie. green building construction, BIM consulting, warranty service calls, etc. Celebrate success as progress is made. Reexamine your current business plan and strategic plan Build loyalty with excellent customer service Focus your efforts on making personal contacts with current and past clients as well as other key inﬂuencers to strengthen relationships. Make yourself and co-workers more available for customer feedback to insure you are meeting customer needs and expectations. Train everyone in the company to be an ambassador, which is the best and least expensive form of advertising. Find ways to assure customers about your business viability and let them know what changes you are making and why, so they hear it from you ﬁrst. Educate your employees about what you mean and expect when it comes to delivering great service and make sure you know how your customers deﬁne service. Identify your best clients and others you depend on for your work and put together a plan to make sure someone from your company is in front of them. Treat every client like your best client and ﬁnd new ways to go the extra mile. Focus on internal customer service as well as external customer service. Engage in contingency planning for the next six to 12 months using best case and worst case scenarios to better prepare you for any eventualities. Update your current plans with the recession in mind. Reevaluate your business from a new point of view or perspective. Go through the exercise of running ﬁnancial projections that model what happens if your revenues are less than 10 percent or more than the previous year. Clarify your priorities and refocus everyone’s attention on clear business goals. Consider forming strategic alliances where it makes sense to do so. Remember to challenge your business planning assumptions and strategies. Develop a cost-cutting hierarchy. If the recession lasts longer than expected, develop a long-range plan and identify critical actions. Strengthen marketing efforts and increase your visibility in the marketplace Provide incentives for clients to work with you and know what it is that differentiates your ﬁrm from competitors. Under increasing pressure to deliver results as markets and budgets shrink, it is imperative for business owners and managers to exercise their leadership now more than ever. Georgia CONSTRUCTION TODAY FIRST QUARTER 2009 9

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia Construction Today - First Quarter 2009

Georgia Construction Today - First Quarter 2009 Contents Message from the President Leading in Tough Economic Times Breaking the Cycle of Workforce Insanity Chapter’s Workers’ Compensation Program Delivers Greater Value with Multi-State Coverage Am I Getting Enough from My Insurance Broker? Change Has Arrived: Georgia’s New Lien Law Index to Advertisers

Georgia Construction Today - First Quarter 2009

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