Is continuous improvement the key to thriving in the 2025 business landscape?
The business landscape is always evolving—that’s the standard. However, 88% of leaders believe there will be an even faster rate of change throughout 2025, adding strain to businesses already grappling with stagnating innovation, lack of agility, and employee disengagement.
With these challenges looming ahead, leaders have been looking for a strategy they can implement to maintain business success—and one in particular has proven to be a valuable approach.
The continuous improvement approach
The management strategy of continuous improvement—originating from the ‘kaizen’ approach, a key contributor to the significant growth of Japanese industries in the 1980s—has recently gained renewed traction and popularity across the globe.
Continuous improvement is executed by regularly making small changes over a long period of time, aiming for these small moves to grow into widespread future impacts. This strategy can lead to benefits like improved quality control, reduction of waste, and more efficient processes. And the statistics speak for themselves, as companies that embrace the strategy see a 20% growth in customer satisfaction and 35% in financial performance.
Implementing a continuous improvement strategy
Continuous improvement is an embedded strategy for adaptability, where teams, processes, and technology evolve together to drive efficiency, improve customer experience, and empower employees.
But what does that look like in practice? Fortunately, there are a few key methods businesses can use to implement a continuous improvement approach.
Invest in employee development
A business is only as strong as its people. And if employees feel supported, skilled, and empowered, they often engage more, perform better, and contribute to innovation. At Google, for instance, they give employees dedicated time to explore projects—and this has resulted in the creation of innovative products like Gmail.
Companies that invest in ongoing training and skill enhancement see higher productivity, better engagement, and improved customer satisfaction. Plus, according to LinkedIn’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report, 76% of employees are more likely to stay with a company that offers continued development opportunities.
Workforce training is truly win-win, as when employees are valued and equipped for success, they deliver better outcomes for both customers and the business. And employees also benefit from technology and process improvements that enable easier and faster learning—such as utilising smart automation tools and knowledge management systems that centralise critical information, reduce errors and allow more focus on high-value tasks like customer interactions.
Proactively seek customer feedback
Customer feedback is one of the most valuable resources for business improvement, however, it has become harder to gather in recent years, as customer interactions shift from in-person to online. Now, businesses must proactively seek feedback, whether through traditional voice channels or digital channels, to discover deep, real-time insights into customer pain points.
This feedback can be a powerful tool for growth, especially when businesses proactively respond to customers and implement solutions based on any recurring issues. Research shows that companies who respond to customer feedback within 24 hours see a 30% higher customer satisfaction rate. In fact, even companies like Microsoft still base some major decisions on customer feedback, such as reintroducing the Start menu in Windows, which significantly improved user satisfaction.
Introduce the right technology at the right time
Technology is a powerful enabler, but without a clear strategy, it can create more friction than value. Thoughtful integration should align technology with business goals, customer needs, and employee workflows.
With a continuous improvement approach, technology adoption is an incremental process, where small scope integrations and experiments give businesses a chance to work out the kinks and fine-tune usability before the official roll-out—reducing manual work and improving overall productivity.
AI technology requires an especially thoughtful integration, as even though these automated tools can give employees more time to focus on higher-value work, they need to support, not replace, human interactions. Similarly, even though customers increasingly prefer self-service solutions, usability testing is important to make sure this technology can enhance rather than frustrate the user experience.
Embed a culture of continuous improvement
True business transformation occurs when continuous improvement is embedded into the company culture. When leaders create an environment where employees feel encouraged to experiment with new ideas and contribute to meaningful change.
Businesses can foster higher engagement and create a collaborative and innovation-driven culture by providing channels for employees to propose ideas, recognising and rewarding those who drive improvements, and integrating continuous learning and adaptability into daily operations.
As leadership development expert Jim Mayer says, “Sustainable continuous improvement arises not from mandates, but from a deep alignment of values between the organisation and its people. When employees feel they have a hand in shaping changes, continuous improvement becomes an intrinsic, enduring part of their daily work.”
Utilise contact centre outsourcing
Contact centres are uniquely positioned to adapt and are primed for change—making their outsourcing services invaluable for businesses focusing on continuous improvement. With repetitive processes at scale, clear metrics, and frontline access to customer feedback, contact centre environments are built for implementing this strategy.
Making small tweaks to workflows can have a significant impact, whether that’s a minor script adjustment, an updated knowledge base, or a more efficient wrap-up process. And with contact centres, performance data flows in real time—ensuring there’s no shortage of actionable insights to guide those improvements.
Learning to thrive amongst constant change
When businesses proactively respond to customer feedback, empower their teams, and implement technology in a way that enhances human interactions, they can create a stronger, more adaptable service model. And with this foundation of continuous improvement, businesses will be well-positioned to succeed in the unpredictable environment of 2025.
At TSA Group, we provide contact centre outsourcing to help businesses build smarter, more effective customer experiences—allowing employees, customers, and operations to move forward together. Speak to our team to learn how we can help you embrace continuous improvement and drive lasting success.