Depending on your industry, December might be the busiest – or quietest – time of the year. A seasonal period of increasing sales and holiday marketing opportunities or a quiet time with many employees taking well-deserved leave and business slowing down for the holidays. December is always going to have added personal and professional pressure and it is important to manage that effectively, so your company is ready to start again in January.
It is important for South African workers to take a needed break during the holidays; however, this can create added pressure on the business to maintain productivity in the December period. Although that may seem like an overwhelming task, there are opportunities presented during December to prepare for the January reset. Here are 5 tips to help owners and managers operate during the holidays and get them ready for the new year:
- Monitor your productivity and track your workload
Your business’s success over the December period will depend on the ability of employers and employees to deliver your customers or clients the products and services they need. Over the holiday season, it is important that your company stays one step ahead of the competition by monitoring your productivity and tracking your workload. Owners and managers need to plan accordingly so that the business takes advantage of increased demand in December or the quiet before the January restart.
You may want to consider investing in a business management software or ERP solution to help you monitor your company’s productivity over this period. Whatever you use to keep up with your workload; analyse your previous years’ December leave, sales, service and productivity numbers. This will help you collect all the data analytics and actionable insights you need to keep business operations functional during future holiday periods.
- Reduce office backlogs and complete administrative tasks
The holiday season is busy time for everyone. This may be a busy time professionally, where your company increases productivity or sales in December, or a personally busy time spent with family and celebrating the holidays. ERP software can help reduce the burden of administrative tasks, such as deploying workers, billing, accounting and keeping up with other backend tasks. Having effective business management software will help save your company a lot of time, money and energy.
- Stay on top of your finances
Sales numbers and expense accounts need to be closely monitored to ensure your business is not taking a downturn during a quiet period. On the other hand, this may be a busier time with increasing sales and expenses that need to be reconciled on your balance sheets. The idea is that your business will be running abnormally for a few weeks, either with increased or decreased consumer demand in December.
As tempting as it can be to focus on other tasks, owners and managers need to ensure their books are up to date and productivity is being maintained. It is not worth losing all the progress you have made during the year because December leave has left your office unproductive or understaffed at a potentially busier time. ERP solutions will help you track sales figures, employee schedules, business productivity and operations.
- Implement marketing and sales strategies
In the digital age, it is more important than ever to stay visible and valuable to your customer base. Especially during the holiday season, companies are battling for brand exposure and online awareness of their products or services holiday marketing. The December period is a good time to introduce new digital marketing and sales strategies or for doubling down on your holiday marketing and sales efforts.
Try to stand out from your competition by offering seasonal promotions, December sales and holiday deals. You could also engage with consumers via social media, email and targeted digital ad campaigns (such as Google Ads) to help promote your deals and send holiday greetings. All of these steps will help grow online interest in your brand and prepare your business for a busy new year.
- Keep your business’s momentum
Maintaining the momentum of your business’s previous year or collecting new momentum heading into the new one is critical for a successful December period. Whatever new strategies you are introducing or increased demand you are capitalising on during the December period, you should be committed to keeping up your business’s momentum. Plan, organise, track, monitor, operate and manage this December period effectively and your business will be primed for success come 2022.
For South African companies looking to integrate Cloud-based ERP solutions into their business operations, look no further than Lorge. We offer ERP consulting services and software that help guide businesses towards companywide improvements in their business management and operating procedures.
