The changing face of business – key trends that are going to shape the businesses of the future
Change has always been a constant in the business world. In order to remain relevant and keep up with market demands, companies in all industries have to adapt, innovate and reinvent themselves constantly. As an entrepreneur, you only have two options in this regard: you can either accept that this is the normal course of events and embrace change, whatever form it may take, or you can take a passive stance and figure things out as you go.
Obviously, if you want to avoid unpleasant surprises and stay ahead of the curve, you should choose the first option and adopt a proactive attitude that will get your business ready for what’s about to come.
The difficulty with adapting and thriving in a changing business environment is that one can’t always foresee how things are going to unfold. There’s no crystal ball that can warn you of the challenges that may lay ahead or help you seize future opportunities. However, you don’t need to have fortune teller abilities to stay on top of business progress. While certain changes come unexpectedly, and there’s nothing you can do to predict them, others can be anticipated by doing a bit of research and sharpening your forecasting skills.
Looking at the current business landscape, we can notice a few trends taking shape that will most likely have a significant impact on the way we do business in the near future. So, let’s take a look at what these trends entail and how they might influence the business world.
Sustainability
With increased awareness on the negative impact that human activities have on the environment, sustainability has become a major point on the agenda for businesses in all industries in recent years. It’s become clear that both investors and consumers prefer companies that make active efforts to prioritize environmental protection and greenify their processes. Studies also prove that sustainable brands tend to outperform their competitors, emphasizing the benefits of eco-friendly practices.
As a result, a large number of companies have reassessed their business operations and embraced sustainability initiatives, be it by partnering up with waste-management specialists like Miltek, switching to green suppliers, using alternative energy sources, reducing energy consumption, and so on. And while all these actions have helped them reduce their carbon footprint and made them more attractive to consumers, there’s a lot more that can be done in this respect. The increasing pressure to address pollution and climate change concerns is going to push companies further on the path to a greener business landscape. That’s why the sustainability trend is likely to continue and amplify in 2023 and beyond.
More digital transformation
Another trend that has been around for some time now and is expected to pick up pace in the years to come is digitalisation. In the business space, digital transformation refers to the integration of advanced tech solutions into every area of a business in order to transform existing processes. These changes are meant to drive innovation, improve efficiency and provide more value to stakeholders.
So far, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual and augmented reality, the internet of things, and cloud databases have been dominating the movement. However, most businesses have only scratched the surface of digital transformation, as many fear the challenges and the significant changes that come with the deployment of complex technologies. Moving further, we’re probably going to see more companies overcome their reluctance and the inherent obstacles and bring digitalisation to the forefront of their efforts.
A tight labour market
The labour market has changed a lot in recent years, with the pandemic giving rise to a remote work culture that later transitioned into a hybrid work model adopted by many companies to some extent. On top of that, we’ve also witnessed what some experts call the Great Resignation (also known as the Big Quit or the Great Reshuffle) – an economic trend that saw a record number of employees resigning from their workplaces due to a variety of reasons, including low wages, limited advancement opportunities, poor work-life balance, or inflexible schedules. Healthcare, hospitality and education have been the most affected sectors, but this trend has impacted all professional areas to some degree.
Then there’s the issue of Baby Boomers who have hit retirement age and are leaving a workforce gap behind them that’s going to be difficult to fill, given that the global population has decreased. All these factors have led to a shrinking labour force that’s only going to get tighter in the future. This is going to give more power to employees and put increasing pressure on companies as they’ll have to make themselves more appealing to job seekers in order to attract and retain top talent.
Better work-life balance
Speaking of workers’ demands, one of the aspects that companies need to tackle in order to reduce turnover and increase productivity is the work-life balance of their employees. If before the covid pandemic maintaining personal and professional life in a healthy equilibrium wasn’t a major topic for discussion, things changed considerably after a large part of the workforce experienced the benefits of remote working.
Nowadays, flexibility is high on jobseekers’ list of requirements, influencing their job-related decisions. Therefore, employers will have to provide better conditions for their staff and consider flexible work arrangements that can help employees achieve a better work-life balance.
The era of millennials
From a generational point of view, millennials make up the majority of today’s workforce, and their prevalence will increase in the years to come. For companies, this means that if they want to thrive in their specific industries, they need to cater to millennials’ needs.
On the one hand, businesses have to adjust their offering to suit millennials’ demands and expectations and tailor their marketing strategies accordingly. On the other hand, they also have to be aware that their success will most likely depend on millennial employees, so they’ll have to brush up their recruiting skills and learn how to attract and retain millennial talent.
Staying on top of the trends that are going to shape the business world in the future will help you make the right decisions so you can keep your company relevant in the long run.
