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Development ServicesThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought a health crisis throughout the world, having an impact on different sections in life and business. It has caused personal, social, and economic damage. Due to the coronavirus lockdowns, people around the world have been struggling with mental health and financial issues that don’t seem to stop.
According to the latest findings by the Wall Street Journal, around 30 to 40 million people have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. This refers to the fact that many businesses have been closed because of the new situation. Some of them have gathered the financial strength to reopen, however, others have fully gone bankrupt. Whole countries are slowly crawling back to recovery.
Nevertheless, the question that is most likely imposed revolves around the adaptation to the new way of living and working once the whole world has stopped. In what ways are businesses slowly getting back on their feet? How can they adapt to the newly formed reality?
In this article, we’ll go through the most common business strategies that companies have involved as a way of coping with financial crises. Most of them include some alternatives that will help you with team management. Even though there is still uncertainty about how the rest of 2020 will be, here are some of the top changes that your business has to adopt.
Grasping the New Employee Dynamic
Remote work has become the new normal within companies that can allow their employees to work from home. Although remote work has been an option way before the pandemic, not many companies have grasped its potential. There were companies that were stuck into the 9 to 5 routine, clinging to the old ways of working. Only now companies have been forcefully pushed into digital transformation, trying out remote work.
As a result, many businesses are starting to value the globalization that came due to the pandemic. Some of the benefits that companies are experiencing when going remote are the following:
- The cost savings when it comes to paying off rent, daily meals for employees and some other perks;
- Having access to global talent instead of limiting to locals;
- Reaching out for more affordable experts. For instance, a US software developer earns around $110,000 annually, while an Eastern European developer will cost $42,000 or less annually.
- Having worldwide experts with different perspectives and mindsets on the team. Diverse teams result in obtaining creative solutions.
Nowadays, the emphasis isn’t on the work hours, but rather on the results that employees are providing. As long as an employee gets the work done, it doesn’t mean that they should be working a typical 9 to 5 shift. Therefore, employees get flexible working hours and also get to be more productive. The new way of working has been beneficial for both employers and employees.
Online Presence As the Essential Element in the COVID-19 Struggle
Being present online has become the new norm. Even though most businesses have already made an online presence before the crisis, now it has become essential. The traditional way of waiting for customers to get to them and not having a proactive online product marketing strategy is already in the past. Even businesses with loyal customers need to be present online to retain them and also attract new ones.
For instance, shops that didn’t have an e-commerce website, in times of COVID-19 lockdowns have been fully closed. Those shops that invested in a quality web hosting provider, custom software development, and a sustainable online marketing strategy could continue selling their products online! This means that the coronavirus lockdown didn’t affect their business as much as it affected businesses that weren’t present online.
Upfront Planning, But Expecting Any Scenario
If there is something that COVID-19 taught us, it is that we should always be prepared for a crisis. Businesses that have been living day to day were the first ones to close. This is because without an effective strategy and upfront planning any business is doomed to failure.
Despite the fact that not a single company has been prepared to deal with a partial closure or a reduced workload, some companies have set something aside for rainy days. Those that had a clear plan before the coronavirus attacked their businesses, more likely swam on the surface once again without drowning like the others.
Conclusion
When the coronavirus crisis first hit businesses around the world, all of the companies had to react fast to cope with the challenges. Most businesses had to do a replanning, or even reinvent themselves just so they can continue to function.
What has become crystal clear to all of us, is that due to technology every company could function remotely. Some companies have let their employees off from home with no deadline of when they should be coming back to the office. It has been high time that all businesses grasped this global approach and fully take advantage of what technology offers them.
So, in which type of business can you put your company in? Did you already make a digital transformation or have you faced the issues that the coronavirus pandemic brought us?
