The pandemic has affected businesses of all sizes, disrupting operations for most and causing closure for some.Â
While nothing could have prepared us for this crisis, there are ways to mitigate its effects on your business. The situation has exposed gaps in many business resilience strategies.
The pressing question right now is, how do you survive and recover during this challenging time?
Besides adjusting your operations and investing in your online presence, there are more things to do to adapt to the situation. Here’s how you can shift from working on business survival to building business resilience.
Review internal company policies
Adapting a work from home arrangement is one thing, but you also need to take care of your employees’ welfare in other ways. Now is the time to review your internal company policies, which includes sick pay, health and safety rules, absences, among others.
Talk to your employees about the current situation, what limitations your business will face, and what to do should they feel unwell.
Speak with your customers and suppliers
Because the whole supply chain is affected by the pandemic, you need to talk to your suppliers and customers.
Similar to your business, your suppliers are experiencing limitations too. Talk about adjustments in your arrangements with them. Meanwhile, inform your customers about the limitations and changes in your operations.
Setting clear expectations with all stakeholders will help your operations adjust accordingly.
Check your finances
We’re sure you’re already doing most of these things, and it’s helpful to know your current financial status. This will let you see the available options to help your business survive.
Options like getting a stimulus fund from the government or an insurance claim could help your business get through these tough times.
Revisit your business resilience plan
Navigating through a pandemic is entirely unfamiliar, and nobody has encountered an economic crisis as big as this. This is why now is a good time to revisit your business resilience plan.
Think of this as your manual of what to do before and during an emergency. This action-oriented plan covers your processes, assets, human resources, business partners, and more.Â
Besides having this written down, you need to test and validate it. Make sure your plans work and cover critical areas of your business.
Start outsourcing
Outsourcing helps you focus on adapting and building resilience during this challenging time.
Assess which tasks you can delegate to contractors. Tasks like accounting are essential for your business, and so is adapting to the current challenges. Both are important, but the latter needs urgent attention. Outsourcings allows you to cover all bases.
A lot of companies provide outsourcing services, but how do you choose the one? You can decide based on good referrals and reviewing track records. A quick search will show you that many Filipino outsourcing companies continue to be the top choice among many businesses.
Provides financial stability
Outsourcing provides financial stability because hiring a contractor involves a defined, fixed budget. Another good thing about it is you work with these companies on a contract basis. This lets you reallocate your budget to things that need more support.
Adapt to the situation quickly
When your needs evolve, so can your contractor. Even if you transition from survival mode to recovery, the contractor can provide services to meet your needs on-demand.
Wrapping Up
The pandemic has changed the way we do business and exposed our vulnerabilities. On the bright side, it has given us opportunities to strengthen our business resiliency strategies and think of new ways to drive our business growth.
Remote work and outsourcing have become vital tools for business survival and building resilience in this new normal. Virtual Champs offers end-to-end business solutions to help you through these challenging times.
