The economy and the business world has completely been turned on its head in recent weeks and months. We have all seen the impact that COVID-19 has brought in a variety of aspects of our lives, all unprecedented. Although many businesses plan for change and some unknowns, nobody expected this. The pandemic will reshape how we all do business from now on. Even when things return to normal in terms of lockdown ending and there are vaccines, the impact that it has had will linger on.
Businesses have had to think on their feet. Their teams working from home, and trying to get the job done as normally as possible. But as there are ongoing concerns for each member of the team, there can’t be a one-size-fits-all mentality about returning to the office and working as normal. Some people will still need to shield, and for those with children not yet in school, they will still need to be at home. So what kind of strategy do you need to have for your business in the coming months? Here are some things to think about.
Integrate government politics rather than only business economics
Globalization has been good for many businesses. But as we have seen, even prior to the health crisis, with the likes of Trump’s presidency and Brexit, thinking on a global scale and thinking only about economics can’t necessarily be sustained. The things that are going on in the world, from a health crisis to who is in power, can all have knock-on impacts on business. At the moment, international air travel is frozen, hindering global supply chains. So as you plan your strategies, it is important to remember that government politics do play a part, and that should be integrated into your plans.
Getting employees back to work
As has been said, we will need to get back to normal, or our new normal, at some point. All of that will bring with it questions from employees. For a number of reasons, you may need to stagger arrival and departure times, as well as restricting the numbers of people that are allowed in the office at any one time. So there is still likely to be a lot of home working in the future. It is important to hear the voice of your employees, though, as quite rightly, there may be a lot of anxious people about returning to the office. It can be a good idea to send out a questionnaire or survey, like the staff surveys by PeoplePulse. Then you can get their input, get their thoughts, and make a plan that is going to be best for the team. At the end of the day, they are the people that are going to be vital for the business to keep growing.
Quantify and plan for ecological and environmental threats
There are many people in business talking about the moment about the kind of threats that can impact business; now more than ever. But we need to look at them in-depth, and actually quantify what kind of impact they will have. Some conventional risk assessments can omit threats but with no known probability. There could be an environmental disaster or a sudden increase in refugees, as examples. Climate change, overpopulation, and rising inequality around the world are likely to increase the chances of threats to business happening again.
[avatar user=”mike” size=”thumbnail” align=”” link=”file”]Mike Gaudreau is the owner of The Wealthy Boomers, a site devoted to helping seniors make money online. Mike resides in Montreal Canada.[/avatar]
You should assume the owner of this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection, to any suppliers of goods and services that may be discussed here and may be compensated for showing advertisements or recommending products or services or linking to the supplier’s website.
