Clement Hopking, Director of Ailnoth Consultants and founder of Making Work Human believes that for businesses to succeed commercially today, they require a transparency and preparedness to adapt to change that 19th and 20th century business models are unable to provide. Here on the Echo he highlights three changes he feels North Somerset businesses can make to their business to do just that.

Three key changes to make your business successful in the 21st century

1. Focus on delivering happiness
If you provide a great product or service to your customers, they may tell their contacts. If you provide a sub-standard product or service, undoubtedly they will do the same. This makes them are more powerful than they have ever been, because communication has never been easier.

Make sure every interaction you have with customers and suppliers is positive, so they grow to appreciate you and know they can trust you. To do this consistently, have a great service model or product, founded on fantastic team-work, from people who want to make the same difference in the world that you want to make.

2. Change how your business works
The majority of people today know about and care about more than just what is going on in their back yard: they want to make a difference in the world. We spend a lot of time at work – so why not create opportunities to make that difference while people are working?

Expect people in every part of the business to make decisions about (and be accountable for) what and how the work is done. Reorganise your business to make this an automatic part of ‘how things work around here’. And give everyone complete control over their own time. Only consider the results, not how they are achieved.

Continue to develop a strong, flexible system at the core of the business, and maintain complete transparency over how the system works, with clearly defined accountabilities and rewards – for every role at every level.

3. Make conscious your business culture
Work becomes drudgery if people do not want to contribute. Are your employees interested in what the business is doing, and where it is going? They definitely won’t be if you have not told them – or don’t know yourself!

So ask yourself: Why does your business exist: what are its values? Where is it headed: what is its purpose? Once you know this, look for others that want to help create that.

To find out more Clement can be contacted on 01458 839300 or via clement@makingworkhuman.co.uk. Later in 2012 Clement will be launching a new website, ConsciousBusinessNews.co.uk, focussing on UK companies that are changing the way they work today, in order to be more successful tomorrow. To find out more about Ailnoth Consultatnts visit: http://www.ailnothconsultants.co.uk/