0-Business-Intro-V3SB Test

Seven Steps
ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
Seven steps to
help you get the
best from your
business

ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAE
Seven
steps to
a better
business
In business, it always pays to stay ahead of
your competition. Especially in the notoriously
volatile and unpredictable sectors of
mining, construction and manufacturing.
Aston Business Advantage is a tried-and-tested
business improvement program which uses
seven strategic steps to help you improve every
aspect of your business and, as a result, be
more productive and profitable.
We can show you how to get the most out of
your people and your business using a toolbox
of proven techniques and skills we’ve refined
over the 8 years we’ve been working in these
specialist sectors.
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
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Strategy
Where are you going?
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Accountability
How are you
going to get there?
Leadership
Why do your people
want to be part of this?
Communication
How does
everyone know this?
Recruitment
Do you have the people
to achieve this success?
Training
What gaps do we
need to fill to achieve
this success?
Culture
Will you keep your
people for your journey?
Seven steps to help
you get the best
from your business.
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
01 | STRATEGY
Your business strategy determines
the direction of your business and
what it will look like in the future.
By clearly defining your business
strategy, you can develop your
business or growth plan to achieve
your business and personal goals.
We can help you align
all your business
plans towards one
common goal.
It doesn’t matter if you are a big or a small company.
Once you have a clear strategy, you will know where
you are going and why you want to get there.
This will allow your other business plans including
your sales strategy, marketing strategy, operational
plan and resourcing to align with each other.
Sales
Strategy
Marketing
Strategy
Operational
Plan
Resourcing
Strategy
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
02 | ACCOUNTABILITY
Accountability addresses both
your company’s expectation of its
employees and your employees’
expectation of the company.
Defining and refining your
company’s processes leads to a
more accountable, profitable and
predictable business.
Monitoring your KPIs is an essential part of the
accountability process.
There are essentially two types of KPIs. Those that
are company-wide indicators; and those which are
linked directly to an individual. You really need to
have both in place.
Keep an eye on the dashboard.
Don’t keep your most important numbers buried away
in a spreadsheet. Create highly visual, engaging
DASHBOARDS so everyone can see what’s happening
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
03 | COMMUNICATION
With effective internal communication,
your company’s productivity increases,
errors decrease and operations run
more smoothly.
And good communications with your
customers or clients can make the
difference between sealing a deal or
missing out on a potential opportunity.
The power of
communication
Does your leadership team genuinely buy into the
business strategy and initiatives - and do they know
how to articulate these to the team?
As a leader, it’s your job to engage your people in the
vision and strategy of the company and inspire them
to achieve these goals. Communication systems start
at the top and without effective leadership they will
never work.
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
04 | LEADERSHIP
Effective leadership is about building a team who truly
trust each other and which inspires and motivates
others to achieve. It’s also about being open, honest
and big enough to admit your mistakes.
A true leader is
one who is humble
enough to admit
their mistakes.
We’re all human:
the awkward truth
about teams.
It doesn’t matter what sort of team you’re in - a
football team, a political party or the board of a
company - they are all made up of fallible, imperfect
human beings. And this is what makes every team
potentially dysfunctional.
Facing up to and fixing the five major causes
of dysfunction is the secret to creating a team
which works. It’s not easy, and takes courage and
discipline, but the result is worth it.
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
05 | RECRUITMENT
Taking the time to find the right person — someone
who is not just technically capable but also a good fit
for the company — is so important.
Successful hiring uses a process which includes
attracting high-quality candidates, evaluating them in
several different areas, and taking the time to get to
know people in different ways.
Take the time to train and develop your hiring
managers on interviewing and assessing people.
This is a skill and takes years of practice.
Take the emotion out of recruitment and ensure you
are getting the right skills to build a great team not
just an average one.
The cost of getting it wrong
It can cost up to three times the salary of a person to
replace them. So, if you have them working for you for
just three months at a salary of $50k, this on the face
of it has cost you $12,500. But in reality, your mistake
has set you back $37,500.
The key to recruitment is not to wing it. It’s too
important to your business and is too costly to not
get it right.
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
06 | TRAINING
Staff properly trained in the latest, most efficient
techniques are more productive to your organisation.
Trained staff waste less money, time and resources -
and produce higher-quality work. They’re also more
likely to stay with your company longer.
Investing in your
employees makes sound
business sense.
Training, teaching new skills and having clear career
development plans in place for every key employee
is crucial for any business. Without them, your staff
turnover will be 50% higher.
Training also makes sound economic sense when you
realise that it costs up to three times an employee’s
salary to replace them.
By training, coaching and developing your people, you
will also grow as an organisation. People will feel part
of something and in return will put in more effort and
be happier in their work.
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ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Seven Steps
Seven Steps ASTON BUSINESS ADVANTAGE
07 | CULTURE
Company Culture is the personality of a company and
defines the environment in which employees work.
It includes a variety of elements; work environment,
company mission, value, ethics, expectations, and goals.
However, you can’t
create a company
culture. It creates itself.
The economics of a good culture.
Culture is sometimes overlooked because it one of
those ‘wafty corporate things’ that people think may or
may not make a difference. But a good culture not only
gives you happy and motivated staff who feel valued, it
can bring you real economic benefits as well.
IF YOU GET THE
CULTURE RIGHT
MOST OF THE OTHER STUFF
LIKE
Great customer service
OR BUILDING A
Great long term brand
OR EMPOWERING
Passionate employees
and customers
WILL HAPPEN ON ITS OWN
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Aston Business Advantage
PERTH | SYDNEY | MELBOURNE