The pandemic has forced us to slow down, at least for a little bit, and look at everything we do. Our systems, our companies, ourselves. We found we’re all vulnerable, and admitting it made us stronger. That power of openness will endure.
Transparency will drive technology and how we all do business in a post-COVID reality. It’s the only way to move forward.
But 40% of business leaders are planning to “wait and see” if things go back to normal, according to a recent SAP South East Asia poll. This poll may have been focused on one part of the world, but this mindset and hesitation is global within manufacturing, distribution and supply chain.
That same poll showed that 80% of business leaders are expecting the pandemic to significantly change their business in the future. If you ask us, there’s a better way to take on these changes than waiting and seeing what has to be done.
It’s time for action, and the pandemic has given us an opportunity to take it. The best place to start? Yep, you guessed it.
In an industry that relies on cumbersome ERP systems for visibility into their business’ operations, a healthy dose of transparency is long overdue. And this is how it can free you and your business to grow.
Seeing is improving.
You can’t know what you don’t see. And you can’t improve on what you don’t know.
Operational transparency allows you to find the holes in your business and fix them. With more data and visibility into the day-to-day, you can also set baselines and measurements to know if your company is improving or staying stagnant.
You have to know where you are before you know if you’re moving forward. And for the real impact, keep that openness going. It’s one thing to measure your kid against the wall, but the real understanding comes from making a new notch every year or more. (Hello, growth spurts!)
Find the better way.
By peeling back the layers of your operations, you can see what is working best within your company. Share those insights with the whole team and lean in. Transparency lets you and your team learn the best ways to operate and expand those tactics company-wide.
“Finding a balance between supporting my team as individuals and accurately guiding them to align with the company’s goals and objectives is my top priority,” says Tai Roach, General Manager at Air Comm. “Having transparency on how individuals operate allows me to effectively coach those who aren’t keeping up with the team and form a more efficient process.”
Just like Tai is doing at Air Comm, creating visibility across your team lets everyone level up and support the company better.
Share your goals.
With baselines set and productivity streamlined, you can create goals that the whole team can work towards. But the most important part? Be open with those goals. It’s an easy equation: Transparency = trust.
Part of being transparent also means being open to feedback.
Let your team know the reasoning behind your goals, how you arrived at those goals and how you know you can all achieve them together. And then ask for their opinions on whether they’re realistic. Once you all agree on achievable yet challenging goals, simply cheer them on and watch your team reach new heights.
Illuminate your bottom line.
Yep, opening your books to the company as a whole lets your colleagues at every level feel invested in the business. If your team knows how their individual actions contribute to the bottom line, their work takes on new meaning.
Here at Chassi, we walk this walk too.
“If anyone here wants to know how we’re doing, I’ll tell them,” says Justin Dooley, Chassi’s President and CFO. “Transparency is key to who we are and our culture. Keeping things hidden doesn’t help anybody, but being open about them builds trust, allowing our team to truly collaborate, be honest with each other and drive excellence.”
Remember how transparency fosters trust? Trust then fosters motivation. If your team knows you trust them with financial insight into the business and they understand how their role plays a part in it, they’ll be motivated to help the company succeed.
Ask for help.
While we truly believe change is good, we know how hard it can be too. And relying on ERP systems that don’t offer the kind of visibility you need makes things that much harder. Sometimes, you can’t do it alone.
Forgive us if we get a little sentimental here. If there’s one silver lining to the changes COVID-19 has caused in the world, it’s that this pandemic has shown us that we’re really in this together.
So, reach out to the people in your circle. Ask how they’re planning to move forward. See if they know of any tools that could help. Honesty brings us together, and our communities, even the ERP ones, are stronger when we lean on each other and share our hardships and wins.
Transparency is what we do.
Chassi is here to help. We’re bringing never-before-seen transparency to ERP users, starting with the SAP Business One system. The visibility our ERP add-on offers shows you and your team who’s doing what, how they’re doing it and how it all ties into your company’s revenue.
The knowledge our system gives you and your team will help you align on goals and give you the baselines to see just how much you’re improving in the future when the world finds its new, post-COVID normal.
