Ways to Prepare Your Business for Unexpected Change

Hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters. A pandemic, economic disruption, and now inflation. Even in normal times, business cycles can leave a company feeling flush, flat, or flailing – all periods where revenue and stability can be challenging to manage. 

The past few years forced us all to be resilient, whether we were inclined or not. Adopting best practices can prepare your business for disruptions ranging from a storm knocking offices offline to a sales spurt taxing supply chains and staff. The practices won’t make challenges and change go away but can prepare you to effectively adapt to them.  

Broader automation of finance processes can be part of the picture, as it can help business go on no matter where team members are working or the challenge they’re facing. By reducing manual processes, you can minimise the errors that change tends to compound and gain improved information and insights about your business. With better practices and technology in place, moments of doubt and disruption can become moments of confidence and opportunity. 

Set and communicate priorities 

When change forces all hands on deck, managers and employees alike can better respond if they know what to focus on first. This is especially true if team members must pick up tasks that they don’t usually perform so the business can regain its footings. Cross-training and clear communication are vital, while automated processes can free finance and accounting for more urgent work. 

Target cash flow, identify savings 

Having a timely and spot-on view of money on hand and what will soon go in or out can help you address change and re-allot spending as needed. Running “what if” exercises for the months ahead can help identify areas to cut costs temporarily or permanently and reveal opportunities to implement new processes and technology. An automated expense solution can bring more spend control and data together from multiple sources, help prevent mistakes, and reduce manual work to free staff to focus higher-priority tasks.  

Establish remote work policies 

If your business allows flexible work, the next step is to create policies and tools to make it go smoothly. Cloud-based solutions for invoices and other finance tasks can allow everyone to access vital financial information and get suppliers paid whether your team is working from home or a hotel room. The fact is, it’s harder to operate with information hidden in desk drawers and spreadsheets at an office you can’t access.   

Debrief and fine-tune processes 

Taking the time to step back and look at what went well and what didn’t is a key to equipping you company for the next unexpected challenge, whether it’s a disaster or sales outpacing all estimations. Determine what processes didn’t work, which areas faltered with employees offline, and whether customers were kept apprised of issues. Use that information to refine your operating procedures or to guide consideration of technology solutions that can help you gain visibility into finances and other sectors so you can conduct business despite the challenge. 

Building the resilience you need 

Get a copy of Seven Best Practices for Weathering Unexpected Change to learn more about steps to help your business run better and learn how SAP® Concur® solutions can prepare you to encounter challenges.