So you are a new business owner. You’ve figured out what kind of venture to pursue and how to finance it, and now you must determine which facets of the business you should channel more money into.

Different businesses require different departments to be prioritised for the company to run efficiently as a whole. Business owners must assess the needs of the various units of the organisation to achieve their short- and long-term goals.

Regardless of industry, here are the top six areas of a company that should be prioritised in terms of investment.

1. Human resources

If your company requires a certain number of workers, human resources should come first. Appoint a HR manager whose values and vision are aligned with yours, and empower him or her to hire the best people to build your team.

You would also need to invest in the best HR system and tools to support your recruitment efforts. Such a system should be able to post jobs to multiple platforms, craft job descriptions, and automatically accept or reject applications based on criteria.

It should also be able to pay your employees on time and without difficulty, and enable them to access and claim benefits.

2. IT systems and equipment

Having a good IT system is crucial for your business to operate efficiently, especially as working from home has become a norm during the pandemic.

Employees might need to organise their daily tasks, conduct business with clients, attend important meetings, and do other company-related matters in the digital space.

Consider financing laptops for all your employees, and adapting to the culture of hybrid working in the office and at home. It is also important to provide VPN capabilities for all your staff so company data remains secure.

You may choose to finance your own equipment to store data, or procure cloud-computing services. Investing in your own servers grants you more control over your business, but cloud-computing providers enable you to access the latest capabilities and cut down on server-maintenance costs.

3. Physical working space

Even if you decide to offer flexible working arrangements, physical working space is still important, as it fosters healthy relationships among employees. You would also want your employees to see you in action so they can better understand how they should be performing.

Working together in the same space allows for better observation, as well as direct and indirect interaction, so your colleagues feel recognised and valued.

You may choose to explore the option of renting co-working spaces to accommodate hybrid working arrangements.

4. Advertising and marketing

It will all be for naught if you have a very good business but people are not aware of it. Hiring a capable marketing head and team improves the visibility and branding of the company.

As customers are increasing their time on online platforms, place more focus on digital advertising and marketing. Traditional marketing – such as billboards, print media, window displays and broadcasting – still works, but is generally considered more expensive and potentially less effective.

Hire copywriters to create engaging content for your business to create the best impact.

5. Education and training

Look into providing staff development to meet personal and professional goals, and to increase their quality of output. Craft a training budget and choose the right instructional materials that suit your vision of the direction you want to herd your team in.

Let them know you are open to their requests for education and learning if it aligns with the business, and if the company budget can accommodate.

You may also want to offer tuition subsidies for employees who are driven to take up professional courses or postgraduate studies that align with the goals of your company.

6. Administration

Having a good administrative team and system will make life easier by creating operational efficiency. Such a team ensures schedules are well managed and databases organised, so employees can focus on their core areas of work without worrying about other tasks.

Also, members of the administration are often the first faces customers will see when they come to your office. They, therefore, play a big part in presenting the image of your company.

This article first appeared in MyPF Follow MyPF to simplify and grow your personal finances on Facebook and Instagram.