Why Every Business Should Consider “Performance Improvement”

As COVID-19 continues to ravage the world, the business impact of the pandemic will be felt for years to come. The businesses that act now to improve performance could emerge financially stronger.

COVID-19 is not just having a detrimental impact on the health of people. Businesses globally are feeling the effects of COVID-19 too. Whether your company is stagnating or going through a period of under-performance, the actions you take now could determine its future direction.

In a report published earlier this month, COVID-19: Implications for business, management consultancy firm McKinsey said: “The world anxiously awaits an effective COVID-19 vaccine that can be readily distributed. Until then, the priority is to reenergize organizations - to act rather than react. Even as the uncertainties of the COVID-19 crisis multiply, the goal must be to rebuild for the longer term.”

Why Performance Improvement is Critical

By optimizing costs and improving operational effectiveness, company directors can bring about meaningful change that could help their business emerge positively from the COVID-19 storm, ready to drive revenue with improved efficiency and purpose.

Identifying these performance improvements is a job that benefits from independent expertise. With management occupied with the business’ day-to-day operation, and often with an emotional attachment to the business as well, it’s not always easy for them to step back and take a holistic overview of where the company is heading and how to revolutionise existing systems and processes to bring about real, meaningful change. In our experience, company directors are often unaware of or are too late to realise that their businesses need a performance upgrade.

Such processes are wide ranging and can encompass any area or aspect of a business. They include profitability analysis, optimisation of asset infrastructure and product and price, supply chain effectiveness, digital transformation and many more.

A performance improvement professional’s focus is on managing and bringing together internal stakeholders to get them on board with designing and implementing the necessary changes to existing structures and processes while utilising available existing resources.

It involves engaging with the board of directors and senior management to understand the business’ macro and micro environment, its financial position and historic performance, the structure and culture of the company and spotting the areas that are hindering its growth and performance.

Creating a Performance Improvement Plan

At Perun Consultants, our team has decades of experience working across the business recovery spectrum, from formal work-outs in the form of liquidations, receiverships and voluntary administrations to informal help such as monitoring accountant reviews and financial and operational restructurings.

We have undertaken interim directorship appointments and have the experience of stepping into the shoes of the board of directors on short notice, to steer companies in the right direction. We have also assisted organisations in managing their fraud risks, and we’re attuned to the importance of cultivating and maintaining a positive ethical community anchored from the top as a deterrent to constantly evolving fraud within organisations.

Our various roles as independent business advisers involve asking the difficult questions and engaging with management authentically. The key to recovery is gaining an accurate picture of the financial and operational health of the business; a firm bedrock from which to design, consider and implement appropriate and realistic options available to turn it around while canvassing buy-in and co-operation from internal stakeholders.

We offer invaluable independent insights and experience to help management pinpoint causes of underperformance and to turnaround the business’ prospects using its existing resources and before external stakeholders need to be involved.

If you would like a confidential chat about how we could help reenergise your business please contact us here.