I’ve introduced our new Profit Zone Program to you over the past couple of blogs. It is a program designed to help everyone in your organization better understand the financial workings of your company. After going through the program everyone will be financially literate. And each employee will know how their role impacts the company’s profitability. You can read more about the program here, here, and here.

This week I want to highlight ten of the benefits of going through the Profit Zone Program.

ONE: Walk away with a winning short-term and long-term view of your company’s strengths and weaknesses and turn them into action steps.

The program will help to uncover the areas where your company is already doing well as well as areas where you can improve. It will point out which of the 9 activities might need more attention from you and your staff. Then it’s up to you and your leadership team to create initiatives to strengthen those areas.

TWO: Begin the education of the staff on how they impact the company’s bottom line.

The Profit Zone will help make sure that every single one of your staff members are financially literate. After going through the program, they’ll have a firm grasp of the main financial concepts that affect every company. They’ll be able to understand how what they do every day either helps the company keep money or contributes to it losing money. And they’ll have a direct line of sight from their role to the bottom line.

THREE: Get the company focused on the right path to improving performance.

Once everyone has had their financial education, and you and your leaders have created your initiatives, everyone will be on the same page about how to move forward. You will have five initiatives that everyone knows are top priority. This will help keep everyone focused and in tune with what they should be doing. And if you ever get distracted by shiny objects, you’ll have those initiatives to return to to get you back on track.

FOUR: Remove the hidden barriers that are causing performance to slump, people to disengage, and profits to dwindle.

Going through the Profit Zone Program will uncover the root causes to a lot of the issues that you’re currently facing. It will lay out in black and white the areas that you need to fix. And it will help give you clarity about what is truly holding your company back. After uncovering these hidden obstacles, you’ll better understand where you need to turn your attention in order to improve your profits. You’ll be ready to create initiatives that focus on these areas and prepare your company for growth.

FIVE: Raise questions regarding the strength of the financial side of the company.

Profitability can be a hard goal to achieve. If you are not focused on the right areas, you could easily be leaving money on the table or losing money on the back end. The Profit Zone Program will force you to take an in depth look at the financial side of your business. Even more importantly, it will help your employees better understand the financial workings of the company. Which in turn will help educate them on how they can better serve the bottom line.

SIX: Recognize the importance of the 9 activities that impact a company’s profit zone.

The Profit Zone Program will explain the 9 different activities that impact every company’s profit zone. Understanding each of these areas and the impact that they have on your bottom line is the key to unlocking your company’s growth potential. Being able to point to each one and create a plan for improvement will help remove the obstacles to growth that you are currently facing. And it will make sure that everyone knows what activities make the biggest impact on your company’s success.

SEVEN: Learn how every single person in the company can help improve profits and reduce costs.

As part of the financial education in the Profit Zone Program, every employee will learn exactly where and how they can make a difference to the company’s bottom line. For some people that will be cost savings efforts. For some people it will be an ability to improve margins. Whatever it is, they will know exactly how they can pull that profitability lever. And, even more importantly, they’ll know that it is part of their responsibility to do so.

EIGHT: Help each and every employee see how their job impacts the company’s bottom line.

Everyone wants to know that their job makes a difference. The Profit Zone Program helps each employee understand just that. It will show them the direct connection between what they are doing day in and day out and the company’s success. The program will help them see exactly how what they do impacts the company overall. And it will help them see how they can have a more consistent positive impact.

NINE: Reduce the unknown by creating a language around financials that help employees control their destiny.

Employees will feel so much more secure knowing how your company makes and keeps it’s money. Even if you don’t share all the nitty gritty details of your financials. Just understanding the basics will help them feel more comfortable and confident in their roles. They will feel more in control when they know what the numbers mean on a budget spreadsheet. Or when they can actually understand the sales team talking about their quarterly results. Having this shared language will help keep everyone on the same and in the same mindset.

TEN: Tap into the intelligence of employees as they discover new ways of understanding how their time, performance, and productivity can help your company sustain profitability.

Once each of your staff members understands exactly how the financial cogs of your company work, they’ll be better equipped to call out areas for improvement. They won’t be afraid of pointing out a problem because they’ll also be able to help create the solution. Knowledge truly is power. And you can help empower your employees by giving them a financial education. That education will serve both you and them well.

If you’d like to learn more about the Profit Zone Program and determine whether it’s right for you and your company, feel free to reach out anytime: [email protected] or (434) 202-8590.

Written in part by Laurie Taylor of Flashpoint! LLC with edits and additions by Clay Eure.