How to make your business more agreeable in 2022

With the holidays over, have you come back to work full of fresh enthusiasm and ideas? Looking for some easy inspo on how to take your business to the next level? A great place to start is by becoming more agreeable.  

Of course, that’s not to say you’re not agreeable right now! Question is, are your business processes as agreeable as they can be? We can all make small changes to become easier to do business with. At the same time, we can make changes to become easier to do business for; and easier on the environment. 

To explore this topic in detail, our very own Andrea Dixon recently co-hosted a fabulous masterclass with contracting expert Verity White. The event was hosted by the legends at Business Chicks. #ICYMI, here’s a quick summary of their inspirational session. 

How to become easier to do business with

Verity kicked things off by exploring the role of contracts in business relationships – and the importance of investing time and effort into making them as easy as possible for your customers, partners, and suppliers to navigate.

Similar to the insights she shared in this recent interview on how to simplify your contracts, Verity spoke about the positive impact that great-looking contracts can have on forming and maintaining positive business relationships. 

She also provided some practical tips on how to make contracts more easily digestible. Top of her list are simple things that anyone can do, like adding scannable sub-headings to your contract layout, bringing the most important information up-front, using active voice, shortening sentences to around 12 words, and avoiding legal jargon.

How to become easier to do business for

Next up, Andrea’s looked at the effect of agreeableness on your employees. With the great resignation on our doorstep, she explored the need for speed – how getting contracts signed faster makes your workforce more productive, and helps you retain top talent. 

She noted how all this was particularly important in today’s ‘anywhere economy’. Employees are choosing to work remotely, and there’s an overarching expectation that businesses can provide anytime, anywhere access to systems and processes. Employees now expect the same seamless digital experience as they get when they have their ‘consumer’ hat on – they want simple, easy-to-use, friction-free systems. 

Andrea used the example of employment contracts to demonstrate how organisations can become easier to do business for. As she said, the faster and easier you can make this process, the more likely you are to secure the best candidate. Verity chimed in here with some great, real-world examples of companies that have transformed employment contracts to make them much easier for employees to navigate and fill out.

How to become easier on the environment

If you truly want to make your business agreeable in 2022, then sustainability needs to be front and centre. More than ever before, people  – including your prospective customers and employees – cares about the environment. In fact, in a recent report published by Docusign, we found that 53% of employees say that sustainability is an important factor in choosing which company to work for. 

A simple and easy way to reduce your environmental impact is to stop using paper, which ties in beautifully with your goals of becoming easier to do business with and easier to work for. Digitising your agreements not only delivers on customers’ and employees’ expectations for convenience and that ‘anywhere’ mentality, but it plays a part in protecting the world’s forests and water reservoirs.

Keen to get started?

We’d love to chat to you about how you can make your business more agreeable in 2022. To get started, reach out to our friendly team today.