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Monday, October 26, 2009
THE majority of small companies in Ireland are failing to review key aspects of their businesses that can help them meet the demands of the recession, according to a corporate mentoring specialist.
According to Anchora Solutions – an Irish consultancy which specialises in mentoring and "turning around" companies’ fortunes – many Irish companies are failing in terms of strategic planning, technology and sales and marketing.
"Irish companies need to get off the ‘doom and gloom’ treadmill and take the economic downturn by the scruff of the neck and turn it into business opportunities," according to Anchora’s Nicky Martin.
"We are finding that many companies don’t have up-to-date strategic business plans and those who do have a plan are slow to regularly monitor or review the process. If you are an owner-manager, ask yourself if you still perceive yourself as running the business as a small start-up unit, rather than an established mid-sized enterprise in terms of management structure, work practices, delegation, leadership development or succession planning," he added.
Anchora also found in its research that few companies appreciate the importance of IT planning and are guilty of under-utilising existing software and not optimising their return on investment and infrastructure.
This is due to the lack of ongoing IT training and strategy as well as a poor understanding of the cost and personnel productivity benefits brought about by embracing latest technology and improvements which are both cost effective and widely available such as Cloud Computing, mobile computing and hardware, the company said.
"For many owners-managers, the marketing function is completely misunderstood. Most companies opt only for the sales element of this function and overlook the benefits of ongoing research into existing and new client needs, their competition and marketplace trends," said co-director, Howard Kent.
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