paperless-recruitment-agency

 

Does Your Business Have Innovative Attitude?

It doesn’t matter how much money and resources you invest in your business if you don’t have innovation. Innovation in all aspects of your business, from technology to your own thinking, is necessary for it to survive and thrive in the digital age. Here are a few key areas where you can apply an innovative attitude in your business.

Innovation in telecommunications

Phones and fax machines have changed, so it’s time to ditch the old office fax machine and the outdated phone system. The 2015 office is increasingly a virtual one, no longer tied to a physical location. So consider:

  • 1300 numbers, toll free 1800 numbers or phone words. A smart number, using a word of your choice, makes it easy for customers to remember. Any of these options can be added to your existing phone line and are portable if you change physical address.
  • An eReceptionist. Answer your phones professionally any time of day or night, and direct calls to the appropriate place. Use a customised greeting and innovate in the way you answer your calls. First impressions are crucial, so ensure your business makes a good one.
  • Online faxing. Allow your employees to make better use of their time through internet faxing – accessible via their smartphones wherever they happen to be. mBox packages offer unlimited access and storage, along with top security and customer support.

Innovation in technology

It’s hard to be innovative when you’re battling the limitations of 20th century technology. So it’s time to let desktop computers depart to the scrapyard and take advantage of the new technology that is available.

  • Get in the cloud. You can wave goodbye to the anxieties of traditional backup. Your data will be secure and encrypted, accessible wherever you have an internet connection – via phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Experiment with a range of workplace apps. Find the most beneficial way for employees and colleagues to kick around new concepts and share ideas. Learn to manage your time, tasks and projects in exciting ways, opening up creative, streamlined channels of communication in your company.

Innovation in finance

Don’t worry if the bank turns down your finance application. The new world of business finance involves entrepreneurial people keen to take a chance on innovative and risky new products or services through:

  • Crowd funding: Drawing together numerous small investors into one investment package via a digital platform.
  • Incubators and accelerators: Management teams mentoring start-ups in developing new ideas and bringing new products to market.
  • Angel investors: Affluent Dragon’s Den-style investors offering capital and support for innovative business ventures.
  • Peer-to-Peer lending sites: P2Ps bypass traditional banks, matching lenders with borrowers in a totally new way.

Innovation in your thinking

Quite apart from the latest forms of technology, communication and finance, you still need the right frame of mind to employ innovative thinking. This involves:

  • Being open to new ideas. The world is changing, and you need to change with it. Learn to merge the best of the old with the most promising of the new for real innovation in approach.
  • Being a good listener. Your workforce may be across a wealth of technology that you’re still floundering with. Learn from them, and adapt.
  • Being a problem solver. Think creatively at all times, and look at challenges from every possible angle.

So blend the best of the digital age with sound business fundamentals – along with a good dose of common sense – for some genuinely innovative attitude.