Assess whether your technology will support business growth

Medium effort

High impact

Constantly changing your apps, tools and working processes is easy to do when you’re small, but as the business grows, it pays to consolidate tools and get a more holistic view of sales and products.

Basic solutions like spreadsheets can become cumbersome, and leaders need to recognise when a step change towards more robust technology is necessary. Get the right set of products and services and they can be used across the workforce, streamlining operations and enabling growth.

We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

What's involved? Ways to use this action plan Measuring impact

Run a SWOT analysis of your current tools and processes to establish what’s working well and what could be improved

Impact: high

Why will this help?

Look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for key tools within the business. While this can be time consuming, it will provide a clear picture of how to move forward and allow you to recognise where technology no longer works for the size or ambition of your business.

Creating a SWOT analysis for your own business

Use our free SWOT analysis template to define your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Talk to peers about the technology products and services that work best for their businesses. Ask them to recommend and demonstrate their chosen tech so you can see it in action

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

An external perspective can highlight areas for improvement that you might have missed. Seeing different solutions in real time also gives you a clearer picture of how they work than you would get from running a demo on your own.

Build a business network for mutually beneficial relationships and fresh perspectives

Building a business network in the hospitality industry has been essential in turning around the fortunes of Cornwall pub and hotel, The Norway Inn.

An introduction to effectively seeking external digital support

Whether you’re planning to get stuck into your company’s digital development yourself or call in the pros, here’s what you need to consider.

Speak to employees from each team in the business to learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of current systems, and take suggestions for improvements

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

It’s important to make sure any new solutions will meet the needs of as many different parts of the business as possible. Avoid implementing technology that would work well for one team but be ill-fitting for another, or you could end up with multiple tools that don’t integrate with one another.

Mapping employee needs for new technology

When you’re figuring out what tools your business needs, spend time talking to the people who know your business inside out – your employees.

Using feedback from peers and employees, explore alternative options that would support growth and be flexibly integrated with other systems in your business

Impact: medium

Why will this help?

Finding tools that are easily integrated will help to make your processes more streamlined. Resist the temptation to simply “bolt on” new tools when you need them, or you could end up with a clunky, unwieldy system.

Making an informed decision when choosing new technology

Researching new technology can be a minefield – here’s how to make an informed decision on what’s right for your business.

Assess whether new technology would better support business growth or whether you should stick with existing tools

Impact: high

Why will this help?

Review the technology available and make a decision about what will best support your business. Remember to factor in what your business will need in a year’s time, not just what you need now.

Considering new technology? Be curious and experiment

Once you implement technology, it can be tempting to stick with it for the duration. But technology is always evolving and, with it, new opportunities.

Creating a technology strategy for your business

Creating a technology strategy – rather than implementing tech ad-hoc – makes it more sustainable and creates opportunities for growth.

What can I do with this Action Plan?

Start this Action Plan

Add some extra information to this plan and we’ll help you get it done.

We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

Download and print

Get a printable template for this Action Plan, fill it in with some target dates, and share it with your team. Pin it on the wall where everyone can see it.

Get the printable Action Plan

Learning Groups

We also run Learning Groups on these topics where you can join other leaders tackling the same challenges.

Find a Learning Group

How will I know if my action plan is working?

Defined requirements for technology

A set of requirements provides direction

Why this metric?

Business leaders should have a clearer idea of what they want from technology.

How do I start tracking?

Review requirements every six months, reflecting on whether your needs have changed during this time.