The only constant in life, and in business, is change – and to succeed, you need to acknowledge and accept it in order to successfully move forward. It’s not always easy, but it’s inevitable. On a positive note, anticipating, planning for and being open to change results in continuous improvement, reduced stress, and staying competitive when it comes to running your small or mid-sized company.

What Your Small or Mid-Sized Business Needs to Know About Adaptability

About Adaptability

The key to successful change management is adaptability. Eleven years ago, Harvard Business Review referred to adaptability as “the new competitive advantage.” That’s actually always been the case, but especially in today’s globally-connected, digital world where change not only occurs in real time, but word of it spreads just as quickly.

Ad noted by Dr. Tony Allesandra, adaptability is based on flexibility: your willingness to adapt as change dictates. Dr. Allesandra describes the components needed to achieve a high level of flexibility:

• Respect for people
• Confidence
• Empathy
• Tolerance
• Positiveness
• Empathy

He also lists the traits of highly flexible people: attentiveness, competence and resilience. Adaptability means having a vision for the future and being able to pivot and self-correct when needed, in order to achieve it. It may even mean being open to a new look for that very vision.

How to Develop Adaptability

Actively listening to what other people have to say about your business is key to strengthening your adaptability. Be open to new ideas, insights, and ways of doing things.

Also, be aware of how you accept and overcome challenges. Avoid looking at them as insurmountable mountains instead of bumps in the road.

• Even if those bumps really are mountain sized, you can overcome them with the right self-awareness. Break them down into smaller, more manageable pieces. Make it more about the journey and completing every step of it than about the final destination. Before you know it, you’ll get there successfully – and maybe even learn a thing or two along the way.

For a growing number of businesses, the bumps in the road are HR related – often because they simply don’t have the staff or bandwidth to manage all the related complexities. In many cases, outsourcing talent management functions is the ideal solution to continue effective change management and competitive success. The right outsource partner for your company may be a professional employer organization (PEO) or other HR provider, depending on your specific needs.

Looking to Improve Your Adaptability?

To learn more about available options and which is right for you, contact Key HR today. We’re aligned with preferred provider companies for payroll, employee leasing, benefits, and insurance needs – and we’ll help you cut costs, save time, optimize your workforce, build revenue and reduce risks in all these areas. We look forward to hearing from you!