As Northern Ireland continues to move forward this week with the lifting of further restrictions, McKees is encouraging businesses to rethink and reimagine their operational activity and put a plan in place to help achieve continued growth. As part of this, the Belfast law firm has launched a new initiative to provide advice and tips to help businesses thrive in the months and years ahead.

Chris Ross, Managing Partner of McKees said: “We are hopefully coming to the end of the most turbulent period many businesses across Northern Ireland will have ever faced. I am urging local business-owners to learn from the lessons they have experienced during this time, the mistakes, the challenges and the successes, and use this information to benefit your business in the longer term. Ultimately, ask yourself, if Covid has shown the potential to generate better long-term growth for your organisation. Apply these lessons to rethink and reimagine how your business works, what you offer and examine anything new you could add. Over the next number of months, we will be helping businesses to reimagine and reenergise through a series of practical articles and case-studies which we hope will inform, inspire and help on the road to recovery.”

“The last 15 months have shown the agility of businesses, many of which have pivoted for the better. Covid has forced the businesses that have remained open to think and act in new ways, and for many it has been for the better. We’ve all had to adapt, create new levels of visibility and find better ways of working. If this has been your business, now is the time to examine how you can sustain this performance to your advantage going forward.

At McKees, we have continued to reimagine our business and have made a number of positive changes to how we operate to reflect this. For example, at the height of the pandemic, we set up a pop-up Signing Station to provide clients and colleagues with a facility where documents could be witnessed, sworn and signed - something that before we would not have considered possible. We also undertook a complete refurbishment of our office during lockdown using almost entirely recycled materials, we installed low energy lighting and further significantly reduced our carbon footprint by cutting down on the amount of paper we produce in the office by moving almost exclusively to electronic files across the firm,” Chris added.

“If your business has recently reopened, or is preparing to reopen, its doors after extensive closure, ask yourself if this challenging time has reshaped how you could operate, and in turn, how you can grow. As we move out of lockdown, it is vital that businesses develop initiatives to protect and strengthen the culture of their organisation and re-evaluate if it has changed. The way in which you rethink your business will provide a clear direction towards determining your long-term competitive advantage. Develop the lessons your business has learned during the pandemic, trust your resilience and reimagine your future,” Chris concluded.

McKees has put together some practical tips to help businesses start the process of reimagining their future growth:

• Examine. Really look at what your business does, how it works and how it can grow.
• Learnings. List the lessons your business has learned during the pandemic and what positive changes you can make.
• Culture. Look at your people and the company culture they work in and ensure it is in tune with identifying the potential of reimagining all the processes and operations in your business. Your employees have to be aligned to how your business is working and how it can be reimagined. The culture they work in should invite your employees to get involved by writing and defining the business values. Reimagining your business won’t work unless you have the right people culture.
• Reimagine your business model. Look at your operating model, the changes you need to make and the clear goals you need to set.
• Strategy. Do you have a short-term strategy to work alongside your long-term strategy? Covid has highlighted the importance of shorter strategy cycles and this will be vital for businesses going forward.
• Reimagine the workplace. Do you need to make permanent changes to how your employees work? For example, the introduction of a flexible working policy and facilitating hybrid working?
• Leadership. Look to the future and the importance of strong, clear leadership. Do you need to make internal changes to reflect this?
• Implementation. Set a clear plan and implement the changes needed to help your business thrive in the months and years ahead.

McKees will be producing a series of articles with helpful tips and information throughout June and July to help local businesses ‘Reimagine’ as we continue to move out of lockdown at www.mckees-law.com/re-imagine-your-business