Planning For The Other Side Of A Pandemic

As we begin to see the first signs of the economy opening from the global pandemic meltdown of the last few months, it makes sense to look at your business through a different lens.

First, recognize that there are certain events in our lives over which we have no control, and the Covid-19 pandemic brings to light one of many “unknowns” that can derail a thriving business. Planning and positioning your business to respond to market needs allows you to weather any transitional (succession planning) event.

Now is the time to plan for the other side. If you wish to come out of this pandemic with a renewed vision and passion for your business, let’s look at some things to consider.

• Communicate with your staff: While you may not be able to physically get your team together, you can certainly video conference on a weekly basis to encourage, review plans, and gain feedback from your managers. Provide continued encouragement to your team and if you are open and operating, include information concerning operating hours/schedules, staffing, precautions to take and procedures to follow, what temporary changes may be in place regarding services or products offered, how to handle customer flow, etc. If you laid off workers, consider filing with the proper agencies so that unemployment claims can be expedited. Your employees will remember that you cared when they return. Let employees know what to expect and when you may call them back to work.
• Communicate with your customers: The first emails I received from businesses were along the lines of, ‘We are in this together’, which was heart-warming. After the first couple of weeks, I began receiving emails that provided more information about closures. Customers want updates on what you are doing and how you are preparing to return to a business environment. People also want to hear good news during trying times. What is your company doing to support others both inside and outside of the company? What is the good news that captures something outstanding about your company culture or your community?
• Learning and development: Whether fully back to work yet or not, employees and managers generally want to improve their capabilities and standing within the company. What blind spots do they have where you might provide resources for online learning? Can you provide product or service training from suppliers or franchisors? What about enhancing leadership skills? Where can you make adjustments with training and teambuilding to create competent, high-performing teams? Use this time as an example of how a team can come together during a crisis and how that might apply to your operating environment going forward.

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