How to digitalize and thrive in 2023

The construction industry is undergoing a change. For decades, the industry has resisted change and stuck to the old tried and true ways of doing business. However, technological advancements have brought huge changes to every sector of the economy, and construction is no exception. There’s a greater opportunity for profit, growth, and business development than ever before in this industry. It’s time to leverage financial technology to improve profit, efficiency, and business outcomes. To thrive as a construction business in 2023, you need to digitalize. 

While this prospect may sound daunting, there’s no need to fear. We recently hosted a webinar with Briq’s VP of Solutions, Rick Walega, SVP of Tech, Brad Clendenen, and the Director of CFO Systems, LLC and Founder and CEO of MBKP Consulting, Michelle Phelps. As experts in both construction and digitalization, they revealed the essential tools construction companies need to upgrade their businesses. We’ve created a list of some of the best practices they highlighted in their discussion. Let’s go over what your construction company can do to digitalize and thrive in 2023.

Slow and steady wins the race

When adopting new technologies, companies may make the mistake of pushing ahead too quickly. It’s not hard to see why. Profit margins are razor thin in construction, which means every new investment should add value. There’s an urge to rush forward and see immediate returns as soon as possible to justify the spending. However, Rick Walega noted that this isn’t the best way to proceed.

“Change management is tough...a very agile, incremental approach is better than the big rushing waterfall of changes.” — Rick Walega

He discussed the importance of rolling out a change in increments, with gradual digitalization across systems. Whether it’s automating your forecasts or managing your field receipts through corporate cards, digitalization brings huge operational changes with it. Too much of that change at once may destabilize your business and create more problems than you started with. The best way to achieve stable growth is to take each process one step at a time. This allows you to build an excellent foundation and robust process before rolling out changes to the whole organization.

Connect teams at every level

Buy-in is a key part of successfully adopting new technology. Digital transformation and new tech won’t do much for your business if your employees can’t use the new tools offered. This isn’t a matter of company training or culture either. All too often, teams are assigned new business processes that don’t mesh with their day-to-day responsibilities. As Michelle Phelps pointed out, this can create barriers in the transformation process.

“A new process should be a tool…everyone needs to get value out of it, instead of having something extra added to their plate.” — Michelle Phelps

She emphasized that it’s important to get everyone involved in the digitalization process. If somebody is going to be interacting with a new system in their day-to-day, bring them into the conversation to understand the impact. Ask them where they see the value in this change, and what new tech would help them perform better at their jobs. By doing so, your business can make the best investments in the right solutions and execute them effectively.

Clear goals create results

Digital tools typically come with multiple features. A financial automation platform like Briq offers a range of automation, analytics, and workflow tools to improve your business. However, trying to implement all of these features at once isn’t the best path forward. Digitalization for the sake of it won’t lead to tangible business improvements for your company and will hinder implementation.

“Focus on what you’re trying to accomplish and how it’s going to help you move forward…have that ultimate, clear goal in mind.” — Michelle Phelps

When adopting new tech, it’s necessary to set clear goals and a timeframe within which to achieve those goals. You can use these goals to measure the success of your initiatives and understand what may need improvement. The agenda your business sets needs to go beyond a checklist of devices to implement. Is there a certain number of invoices per quarter you’re trying to automate? What percentage of your documentation are you looking to connect to the cloud by the end of the year? These clear goals will not only guide your digitalization, but they’ll also result in tangible business benefits that improve the company as a whole.

Updates are no longer optional

In construction, there’s a common “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset. However, this mindset misses out on the value of upgrading your processes. Digitalization isn’t about fixing a broken system. It’s about optimizing and enhancing your existing work to minimize losses and maximize profit. It’s time to put an end to the expensive, time-consuming methods of handling construction finance, and introduce a better way to work. Let Briq build that way for you.

Briq is a financial automation platform built to help construction companies run a better business. Our platform is made to help construction companies analyze and improve their financial processes at every level. If you’d like to learn more about what Briq can achieve for your business, speak with our experts and get a live Briq demo at briq.com/demo. 

For those who want to know more about digital transformation from the experts, we recommend watching the full on-demand webinar here.

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