People, Processes, and Technology: It's All We Got

I learned the above over 30 years ago.  I can almost remember the exact time and location.  The revelation hit me like a load of bricks as I had never thought about it before, and then when I did, was shocked to realize how correct it is in business.  So simple, and yet so complicated.
 
We can only move business forward with one (or a combination) of 3 things – people, processes, and technology.   Want to make more widgets to sell?  Then hire more people to make them, improve your manufacturing processes, or develop new technology to make more of them.  That’s it.  There’s nothing else to consider.
 
As we approach the end of the year and you look into 2020 with the hope of “doing more”, what one of the 3 levers are you going to pull?  Technology is a game changer but often times take time to build and implement. Processes are often overlooked and can really move the needle, but process improvement initiatives are not always intuitive.  For many companies, the go-to lever is “people.”
 
So what are our people options?  Well, can we work our existing employees harder?  Maybe.  Afterall, 40-hour work weeks are for sissies, right?  But let’s assume that working existing employees harder isn’t option. Then what?  We need to add employees and/or replace less productive ones.  Again, pretty simple on paper.
 
However, hiring new employees in 2020 may not be as easy as you would like.  According to the new CNBC Global CFO Council Survey, 30% of global CFOs expect to be hiring more people in 2020.  And Daniel Zhao, Senior Economist and Data Scientist at GlassDoor, while looking at the trends and available talent pool has said “hiring is going to be more difficult in 2020 than it is now.”   Just what you need to hear as a business owner, right?
 
So as we close out 2019 and you finalize your 2020 plans, what are you going to do?  If part of the answer is to hire more employees you already know that this is going to be difficult as wages begin to rise and the competition for talent intensifies.  
 
I would suggest that one thing you can and should be doing is looking at your benefit programs and promoting them to the max.  Are your benefit programs aligned to attract the talent you seek?  Do you need to make changes to your 401k program to ensure competitiveness and desirability?  Has your current advisor had this discussion with you yet?
 
If you would like to explore ways to improve your company’s profile to new talent in 2020, give me a call.  I would love to roll up my sleeves with you and explore what we can do together.
 
​Pete Welsh a/k/a 401kGuy