With the calendar year winding down, it’s the right time to shift focus to your plans, hopes, and dreams for 2023. Employers and employees can both benefit from setting meaningful resolutions for the upcoming year.
The right resolutions will build a strong company culture by shaping individuals to be better professionals. Employees can encourage themselves to contribute more effectively within teams, while employers may aim to improve their leadership skills and effectiveness.
Thinking ahead about New Year’s resolutions ahead of time ensures you can map out a plan of action and hit the ground running for success in 2023. Start now, gain momentum, and you’ll be ready to go as soon as the ball drops and “Auld Lang Syne” plays.
1. Make networking and relationship-building a priority
Ring in 2023 by resolving to nurture current business relationships and foster brand new ones.
Deliberate networking results in better outcomes for everyone involved. Rethink your networking as relationship building by putting less emphasis on the transactional side and more on the human element.
Consider the Return on Relationship (RoR) formula. RoR measures both the real and perceived value you’ve created in a relationship. This value grows when you take steps to grow loyalty, trust, and connection with the other party.
The new year provides an opportune time to grow your RoR through small gestures that can create tremendous value such as:
- Preparing and sending thoughtful gifts or baskets with your company’s branded merchandise – such as bundled custom pens, pocket flashlights, and a promotional backpack to kick off the new year
- Gifting a custom 2023 calendar with clients or stocking up on them for your own office, a handy tool for organizing meetings, appointments, and setting dates to check in or follow up with clients and prospects
- Planning for 2023 business travel to the most important conferences and seminars to secure some in-person time with individuals in your business network
Focus on intentionality and thoughtfulness as you enter 2023 to build business relationships that not only create countless opportunities but also enhance your work experience.
2. Freshen up your digital marketing materials
To stay on track, business leaders must also think like skilled marketers. The year 2023 will bring some noticeable changes to the digital landscape.
Social media will remain an essential marketing tool, with LinkedIn continuing to be important for B2B.
Consult and revamp your LinkedIn profile to illustrate your strengths and accentuate your experiences. Choose a recent, high-quality photo that showcases your personality for your profile photo. Use your LinkedIn to tell a story that encapsulates your brand or you as a professional.
Apart from just LinkedIn, make time to revisit your social media presence and get yourself up to speed on the essential skills like:
- Understanding algorithms and the way they affect how people engage with you
- Learning which platforms have a growing potential audience and make sense for your brand to try (TikTok, anyone?)
- Building engagement by providing value through purposeful content marketing
To take your channels a step further, make it a goal to implement more video content in 2023. Creating short, impactful videos for the company provides an opportunity to showcase your brand in a more engaging way while giving employees a change to shine. Video content communicates experience and knowledge while highlighting brand personality.
3. Check in with yourself throughout the year
There’s a reason why some people bristle at even setting New Year’s resolutions. Once the enthusiasm of the moment dies down, many of these New Year’s resolutions lose steam before even making it to February.
People’s goals often go unrecognized because they aren’t given the planning and forethought they require.
Set goals that are specific and measurable in the new year, and give yourself a deadline for achieving them. Invest in a journal or planner to chart your goals with supporting context and details.
Add accountability choosing a colleague or professional contact that you can check in with. You can offer the same accountability to them for their goals in return, and can even set a date (or several) to celebrate your accomplishments throughout the year.
4. Take care of your health and wellness
Poor health can bring all of your New Year’s resolutions to a screeching halt.
More than half of companies today are incorporating wellness programs, signifying how crucial a role health plays in the workplace.
Rather than training for an ultramarathon, set small wellness resolutions that, over time, have a big impact. Things like prioritizing adequate sleep and hydration on a daily basis can revolutionize your health and wellness.
When you fail to get enough sleep, you start the day in a deficit. You’ll likely lack the energy and mental bandwidth to perform at your best or engage fully as part of your work team. Resolve to get your much-needed 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.
You’re also more likely to struggle with focus and mental clarity if you’re always dehydrated. Proper hydration enhances your mood, so that your workdays feel less like a chore. It helps you maintain a healthy weight throughout the year, regulates your metabolism, and improves your immune system.
Buy a custom water bottle and keep it on your desk to help get the ounces you need daily without a problem.
Decide which wellness decisions you can start in January. Track your progress monthly. In a year’s time, you may see noticeable improvements in your stress levels, blood pressure, and day-to-day sense of well-being.
5. Plan team-building activities in your workplace
Everyone should do their part to improve cohesiveness and camaraderie in the workplace. Be proactive in 2023 by planning activities that people would love to participate in. The goodwill it builds can improve your workplace in tangible ways.
More than 20% of people polled in a Workplace Friendship & Happiness Survey said that they’re more productive and creative when they have friends on the job.
If you’re an employer, plan team-building activities like scavenger hunts, group personality assessments, and even incentivizing your company’s goals. Employees will be more encouraged to communicate with their coworkers and to celebrate each others’ milestones and achievements.
Set yourself up for success in 2023
While 65% of people in the United States are satisfied with their jobs, only 20% say that they’re passionate about their work. If you want to be among the passionate, use these resolution ideas to end the current year on a positive note and springboard into the new one with momentum and motivation.
For more thoughtful, customizable gift ideas for clients and employees, check out Myron’s best-selling promotional products.