Four Important Strategies to Prepare your Business for the Future

Curated by Paul Helmick

I’m a Technology CEO and Experienced Entrepreneur. I love helping people use technology to grow their business.

I’ve highlighted here four important trends to consider to ‘future-proof’ your business

  1. Winning at mobile will mean having an app
    • Mobile usage is at an all-time high, and shows no signs of slowing down
    • Research shows that 89 percent of all mobile media time is now spent in apps, while only the remaining 11 percent is spent on the mobile web
    • This means that not having an app for your business is almost certainly costing you
    • If you don’t already have an app, now is the time to start planning for one
  2. Increase your use of freelancers now so you’re not playing catch-up
    • We now know that 34 percent of the US workforce are freelancers, that’s over over 54 million freelancers in America – giving your business many new options for on-demand talent and agility
    • In just 4 years, freelancers will make up 50 percent of the workforce – this seriously impacts how you do business
  3. Prepare for the aging workforce
    • The US workforce is undergoing some serious shifts in terms of demographics
    • According to the CDC, by 2020 one in every four workers will be over the age of 55
    • As older workers begin retiring, companies will be left with openings in key leadership positions
    • According to Fortune, only 11 percent of the the successful companies, anticipate hiring externally, while 81% say they’re preparing current employees to take over key positions
    • Now is the time to begin identifying high-potential individuals within your organization so you can invest in training and development, ensuring they’re ready for their new roles when the time comes
  4. Adapt policies attractive to millennial employees
    • Millennials are less bound by loyalty, and expect to have up to 9 employers over the course of their lifetime
    • PricewaterhouseCoopers reports in, Millennials At Work: Reshaping the Workplace,  the differences employers must plan for
    • Millennials now expect to work for up to six or more employers over their lifetime, which results in decreased loyalty toward employers, and therefore greater turnover
    • Millennials value flexibility and diversity in terms of their working hours, location, training and work/life balance
    • Millennials prefer to communicate electronically rather than in-person or on the phone so employers will need to adapt their current model to accommodate this new relationship with their employees.

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Citations and quotes from Entrepreneur Magazine