Global Director of Sales and Marketing at Joorney. Helping entrepreneurs and immigrants reach their goals, one business document at a time.
The major and fast transitions in businesses today are impossible not to notice. Across every industry, business trends are constantly emerging—some here to stay and others soon to be gone with the wind.
The world has never been smaller or its companies bigger. But by being aware of potential shifts, your company can see and utilize flexibility in different situations or structures, thus making use of changes and accelerating growth. Based on my experience, and with company growth as the primary goal, here are some of the industry trends currently affecting acceleration in our changing world.
Business Immigration
Business immigration has never been more critical. An American Economic Association study (login required) from March 2022 concluded that immigrants are not “job takers” but “job makers” in the U.S. Moreover, immigrants who come to the U.S. for professional reasons can also benefit companies by providing fresh, outside expertise and insights. They can also share their knowledge, creating more professionals with similar expertise.
Digital Nomads And Global Talent
Digitalization brought significant changes to many positions, creating the ability for many employees to work remotely from anywhere. As long as the employee can manage their schedule and provide their expertise, there is no reason why a company should only look within its home country for the ideal candidate. Digital nomad visas and different contract opportunities increase the possibility of finding your perfect candidate anywhere in the world.
Sustainability
In 2023, sustainability is not just a trend—it is an obligatory part of every business. From a business perspective, entrepreneurs should consider more than just sustainable development goals (SDGs); environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are important for investment strategies across multiple industries. Some of the sustainability trends companies should focus on include adopting environmentally friendly solutions, ensuring human rights, and improving supply chain management, meaning better sourcing, transportation and storage before the product reaches its final destination.
Global Transfers
Expatriation of employees is becoming a standard procedure within international companies. Some of the main advantages of transferring employees include support in entering a new market, developing procedures, doing market research and acting accordingly and expanding the company’s network. Moreover, the transferred employee can help new employees feel like a part of the company and have more confidence in the product launch by being present. Choose carefully—the transferee should be highly adaptable, versed in the local language, a great mentor and an even more outstanding team player.
Remote/Hybrid
This list couldn’t be complete without including remote and work-from-home trends. Companies that can digitalize their workload (or whose products or services are digital) can save money on offices and invest in talent, no matter their location. Fewer hours commuting can boost productivity, improve retention and help make your company more sustainable. A variety of applications are available to help track tasks, communicate, hold meetings and maintain great customer service. When your employees thrive, it has a positive impact on your business.
Employer Of Record (EOR)
An Employer of Record (EOR) is a legal employer of your workers, a third-party organization, or a company that deals with all employer-related matters. These tasks include employment agreements, contracts, payrolls, taxes, employee compensation, insurance, etc. By taking on HR responsibilities, the EOR can be particularly useful in an international setting, as different countries can have vastly different laws and regulations for employers and employees.
Digital Acceleration
The digital transformation used to be a process that took years to complete. Now it can be done in just a few weeks. Adopting smart technologies in each area of business isn’t enough to fully accelerate; Even though it is faster than transformation, acceleration still takes time. Distribute smaller, more easily achievable goals and reiterate them with new additions as each milestone is completed. Watch your company transform in weeks.
Bonus tip for digital transformation: Fintech, Regtech, Suptech and especially cybersecurity are becoming future-business essentials.
Diversity, Equality, Inclusion (DEI)
Even though these topics might seem inconsequential to some business owners, the DEI trio is being emphasized by globalization and digitalization processes. These are basic policies that condition a successful workplace. Company culture should be based on trust, so an employee-first strategy might be an excellent start for building solid company culture. When employees feel seen, appreciated and supported, you won’t need a better employer branding strategy than your own employees.
Flexibility
As recent years have shown, flexibility is an “it” factor. Adaptable businesses were better positioned to survive a global crisis. Flexibility is no less important now, as there are still new pandemic, inflation and supply risks for which we must formulate strategies. One might even say that we should be prepared to not be prepared—it’s becoming less possible to stay fully aware of and prepared for every potential change related to our employees, companies, industries and the world.
Conclusion
Adaptability has proven in recent years to be a crucial characteristic that individuals, teams and whole companies should maintain. The trends in technology have made a significant impact on every business, which is also not unexpected. Considering emerging and biggest business trends, the year 2023 might be a year of employee centricity and digitalization.
I believe business strategies going forward need to involve orientation toward employees, as their fulfilled potentials come through support, upskilling and trust. As a leader, you must be aware of the shifts in and out of your organization.
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