Want to grow fast? Become a digital workplace early

Keeping your people following consistent processes, triggered by the correct data, is paramount to sustaining rapid revenue growth. It’s such a universal rule, it should have a name – every time you double your sales, all your processes will break. People will become confused and your top-line growth will slow. Becoming a digital workplace early, so you can adapt continuously, overcomes this barrier.

For example, let's say you just implemented a new approach to solve that training roadblock with new employees. That might work in the short-term. But by the time you’ve doubled your sales again, your rate of hiring, the way you divide up work, and the underlying complexity of your business will all have radically changed.

Adapting continuously by using lean thinking overcomes this internal barrier to growth. Instead of ‘boiling the ocean’ and working for months to implement that big fix, implement a stream of small improvements. Continuously adapt your processes and tools as you grow and evolve.

Introducing digital tools early makes continuous improvement possible. They provide a structure for continuous change and force you to become data-driven early on. Digital tools make you think about who is doing what, help you clarify your processes, and help you identify the key aspects of delivering value to your customers and employees. They automate routine things, so your team can focus on problem-solving the next stage of your growth.

Digital or not, the biggest challenge to growth is your people. Keeping them aligned and motivated through the stresses of growth and the continuous change it requires can be difficult. You already have people working from home or while visiting a customer. Soon you’ll have a second location. Show-and-tell processes fail once you have grown past just a few people. Once you have 50 employees, you’re well past the point where you can fix things by walking the floor. That’s why a great employee intranet is one of the most important digital tools to implement early on. Connecting and energizing your people is essential for driving growth.

A people-centric intranet helps everyone understand your workplace values and contribute to a vibrant culture, regardless of location. It clarifies who’s doing what and when, and what the current processes are. It helps every employee be aware of changes, contribute their own incremental improvements, and be recognized for their efforts. In today’s busy, dispersed workplaces, it’s the intranet that creates the overall sense of organization, of accomplishing things together. It helps you enjoy your growth as a connected and vibrant team.

Heyday provides a great example of a digital-first company. Out to disrupt the spa industry, they need to deploy their brand and vision through each of their employees. Right out of the gate they implemented a culture-driving intranet to digitize their employee experience, along with other digital tools to deliver an amazing client experience. Together these easy-to-implement digital platforms have set them apart and are driving rapid growth.

Want a great intranet to drive rapid growth?