SMEs need to be prepared to manage their priorities

IN MY experience, business owners just want to get on with running their companies. But particularly in smaller or fast-growing businesses, priorities can shift quickly.

A couple of months ago, I wrote in this column about upcoming changes to pension auto-enrolment contributions.

Now, recent reports tell us that in the first three months of 2018, the pensions regulator increased its enforcement notices by over 20 per cent compared to the previous quarter.

It seems the authorities are stepping up efforts to hold businesses that aren’t meeting their auto-enrolment commitments to account.

This should be a timely reminder for any business owners who might have been putting off their pensions planning. But for those of you running your own business, a broader lesson is that external developments can often mean a rapid reassessment of priorities.

There’s a truism that says small businesses are more agile and able to move faster than their larger competitors.

I think this is often true, but one complicating factor can be that when senior leaders within SMEs have to divert their focus, the business’s operations can suffer. (This isn’t always the effect of new priorities in larger businesses with bigger teams running day-to-day processes.)

Making contingency plans for when critical actions need to be carried out – whether it’s a commercial, legal or an operational issue – could help your business get through these periods with minimal disruption to regular activities.

This could include planning sessions with business advisers such as your accountant, or it could simply mean setting aside regular time in your calendar to assess longer-term opportunities.

Whether your business is at risk of having to reassess its priorities or not, it never hurts to be prepared!

What other external factors play on your mind as a business owner? I’d love to know: if you have any examples, drop me a line at greg@growthstreet.co.uk. Greg Carter is CEO of Growth Street