How to Create a Competitive Edge: Competitive Advantage Strategy

There are several factors that contribute to building and maintaining a competitive edge in business. Recruiting is the first step, followed by training, managing, and rewarding employees.

When it comes to getting ahead in business, getting – and sustaining – a lead on your competitors is crucial. Hiring consultants to advise on people, products, processes and trends is just one way to stay ahead of the competition.

In a large organization these are unending activities, as changes take place with the passage of time.

Recruiting

Much attention needs to be paid to the recruitment process, as this is where the human interaction within an organization begins. It’s not just a question of finding employees – what matters is finding the right ones, equipped with all the necessary skills required of them.

To an extent, aptitude and psychological tests can help business owners find the right employees. Another method is to build relationships with high schools to keep track of their students’ attitudes, aptitudes and skills – after all, children are the future of the business world.

Training

Training is an ongoing process – to familiarize a new employee with the company’s activities, to upgrade skill sets of existing employees, to improve productivity, and to keep up with the changing times. Any training program that the company implements must be in line with business objectives. If the training is to be successful, employees must be willing to actively participate in the program.

Company trainers should ensure that all employees have correctly learned what has been taught. A systematic approach and a focus on specific job tasks are the keys to quick learning. The company’s productivity – and therefore, its bottom line – depends on it.

Managing

Managing is an art, as well as a science. By engaging in campus recruiting from business schools, companies can net bright and highly competitive managers. It is assumed that they will have all the qualities and the temperament to manage the organization’s human and material resources in a highly productive manner.

Merely having an impressive IQ (Intelligence Quotient) does not make a good manager. Other factors, such as EQ (Emotional Quotient) and SQ (Spiritual Quotient) also matter. A high IQ allows a person to think logically and to manipulate facts to his advantage, while the EQ helps them to relate to others on a personal level. Also important, the SQ allows a person to think as well as relate in a rapidly changing environment. In other words, it helps them to adapt, or even innovate.

An ideal manager would be one having high levels of IQ, EQ, and SQ. They have to handle a wide range of subjects, people and activities successfully.

Rewarding

It is not enough to simply give a pay raise to improve an employee’s motivation and productivity. It is important to recognize an employee’s worth and to work on fulfilling their aspirations. Various flexible benefits can be tailored to different employees, keeping in mind their likes and dislikes, age, education, job experience, and social needs.

Some examples of flexible benefits are: job titles, stock options, paid time off, vacations, expense accounts, child care facilities and educational funding.

Consulting

Preoccupied with their work, some managers may not be able to find enough time to keep abreast of the developments taking place in the world outside the organization. This is where consultants can be useful. They keep track of the latest products, trends, innovations, and the competition.

They can offer valuable advice on the latest developments in technology, acquiring skills sets, and improving productivity. Technology and mass communication has transformed our world into a global village, where changes take place so quickly that today’s state-of-the-art products can be become obsolete in a matter of months.

When it comes to maintaining a competitive edge, all businesses would do well to invest in people – without them, there is no company.

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