Is your business equipped for the challenges ahead?

After a difficult few years following the start of the financial crisis, organisations within the UK are enjoying a renewed period of business confidence, something that can’t necessarily be said for our continental cousins. The great recession however did come at a cost, according to market research by dueldil.com over 800,000 UK businesses closed during 2008–09 with over 1m people becoming unemployed as a result of company closures.

So how do companies safeguard their futures in a time of uncertainty?

A number of social, economic and technological factors have influenced corporate structure and with it how they conduct business in the wake of the credit crunch. Here are some the challenges that companies face.

Staff recruitment

By the end of Q3 2014 national unemployment had hit a five year low. Acquisition of staff isn’t the issue for many companies but retention of existing employees is. How do company ensure they keep hold of their most prized asset?

Adopting new technology

Improving business processes, productivity and efficiency can all be driven by the introduction of new technology. Ensuring that the management team is on-board and understands the impact, not just internally but also on the customer is vital to stay ahead of the curve.

Financing and competition

UK start-ups are leading the charge in revitalising the economy which has led to increased competition for established organisations. In order to react, funds may be required to increase marketing activity or evolve service offering. These are now harder to obtain with the introduction of stricter guidelines and regulations.

The full accompanying report was produced by the University of Greenwich Business School which addresses some of the key challenges facing organisations at the end of a double dip recession. One interesting fact was that basic communications skills were lacking within the workforce and, employers of management teams are continue to recruit higher calibre individuals.

The full report can be seen in full the SlideShare below:

The question that has to be asked, is this a knee jerk reaction to a series of belt tightening events or has the way organisations have to conduct business changed forever?