By Neer Rama, Force Solutions Product Manager at thryve
Business is booming in Canada. Not only is it ranked as one of the top countries to do business in, but Forbes has in this regard called Canada the second-best state in the G20. It is also home to a growing startup sector, all attracted by the country’s stability, skilled workforce and thriving commercial industry.
But this also means greater competition. Canada attracts the best, which means you have to compete with the best. Is your organization prepared? Even if you are not in the commercial space, the performance of the business sector sets the expectations of consumers and citizens. Meeting these is not merely a matter of doubling down your efforts. You have to work smarter to stay in the game.
You will also have to overcome some barriers that exist in the Canadian landscape. I want to take a look at several of these barriers and how the right business platform can help mitigate or overcome them.
This article takes a specific position: modern technology is essential for a modern competitive business. Not just any technology, but scalable business platforms that can flexibly align with different parts of a company while also creating unity and integration. Through addressing some of the business barriers in Canada, I’ll illustrate how such platforms make a difference.
Delays on permits
Canadian bureaucracy is often very efficient. You can register a business in a few days, following a simple paperwork process. But not everything works as fast: obtaining something such as a construction permit can take months. This requires plenty of forward-planning and careful management of the business’ value chain. A modern business platform can integrate the different facets of strategy and manage by aggregating business information for detailed and ad-hoc reporting.
Contract enforcement
According to the World Bank, a contract dispute in Canada can take up to 910 days to resolve. Though a business platform cannot enforce contracts, it can significantly ease the tracking and management of KPIs related to contracts and SLAs. Instead of waiting for a problem to surface by itself, you can spot performance bottlenecks and other issues a lot sooner, and address the contract issues before they become disasters.
Energy costs
Electricity costs in Canada can be prohibitive and have been rising by leaps in several provinces. This is likely to worsen until plans to privatize and expand energy generation take root. This is one example of how an essential cost can be unpredictable year-on-year, or create a consistently large bill that you have little control over. Cost management is crucial in every business, but you need a dynamic view that layers across all parts of the company, translating costs into more than just expenses. Whereas many older business applications offer some of those features, only a business platform that integrates different sources can deliver a single version of cost truth.
Labour shortages
If you are looking for skilled labour, Canada is well-stocked with talented employees. But there is a distinct lack of unskilled and semi-skilled employees who can handle those parts of a business that don’t require highly-skilled oversight. Managing such a situation can be very draining on a business owner’s time. It’s important to have the right tools in place that empower both those employees and their managers. For example, creating intuitive processes will enhance employee engagement, and reduce training time and mistakes. Traditional business systems don’t accommodate this. They instead often force the business to follow its lead. But a leading modern business platform makes process development and employee engagement much more straightforward, even to the point that business analysts can design these without the help of a developer.
Celebrating Canadian inclusiveness
If a business wants to survive, it must align with the values and expectations of its market. Canada is well-known for its progressive and inclusive culture, and it expects those to reflect in the behaviours of companies. The same applies to employees, who expect their employer to do more for the world than pay salaries. A workplace that demonstrates a sincere philanthropic spirit, and enables its people to pursue the same, is on the road to success. Modern business platforms help here in several ways. They establish philanthropic choices that the company can control and employees can engage with. Such platforms can create richer customer profiles that reflect their values and expectations. And a modern platform can also translate business elements to appeal to different languages – a must for the vibrant Canadian market.
At thryve, we partner with Salesforce and Riskonnect, two of the leading business platforms and trailblazers for modern business practices. From cost and value chain management to risk consolidation to customer profiles and bespoke employee services, such a platform can be introduced and aligned with little disruption. Available in OPEX and CAPEX funding models, budgets aren’t disrupted either, and the business stays in full control. It can see what is happening in its operations and enable its people to pursue continuous improvement.
These are all necessary to remain competitive in the Canadian market. And such advantages are just one platform away. If your business systems don’t cover all the bases, it’s time for a change. Contact thryve today and let’s talk about keeping your company in the game and at the head of the pack.