Business owners are rapidly adjusting to the changing economic climate and navigating new operational challenges in response to the coronavirus. With so much happening so quickly, it’s hard to look forward and see what things will look like when we come out of this. Now is the time to safeguard your business and discover where you can build resiliency so you can thrive on the other side of this pandemic.
Protect Your Employees
The most important thing to do is to protect your employees. OSHA demands that we give them a safe working environment, and the definition of this has changed! If possible, make it mandatory for workers to work at home, and if not, get your workers protective gear and make sure your workplace is cleaned constantly.
There are brand new laws regarding sick leave; you will need to learn them and incorporate them into your policies.
If possible, try to continue paying your workers for as long as it’s safe for your business.
If you need to lay off workers, encourage them to pursue opportunities where demand has surged.
Execute Your Business Continuity Plan
If you’re saying “What’s a business continuity plan?” right now, you’re not alone. Most small businesses don’t have one. If you have any kind of disaster plan in place, brush off the cobwebs and start from there.
A business continuity plan helps you create a process that you can follow before and after your company experiences a disaster of any kind. Many businesses have plans to recover from weather-related catastrophes, fire, and theft. These plans can be adapted to our new situation.
A business continuity plan can have many parts. For our current situation, cash flow planning can be an important first step. You can use multiple scenarios, for example, revenue levels, to determine how much cash you might need for the next few months.
You may need to evaluate inventory, supply chain, project backlogs, staffing, cash, and other areas of your business to project how things will change from normal operations.
Think About Recovery
What will recovery look like when it comes? The good news about our current situation is that we have more time to plan than we would if a fire or weather brought things down suddenly. We also will not have a disruption in electricity, water, or the local supply chain in as severe an impact compared to a weather event.
What we may not have in this case is customers (or we’ll have too many of them). When customers finally start coming back, what will look different in our world? Will we need to operate differently? How will our services change?
In both the continuity plan and the recovery plan, we truly need to be innovative thinkers. We may need to evolve our business model to be something else that people want once we come out of this crisis.
Your Business Continuity Plan
If you need help building your resiliency, or even just projecting your cash flow for the next few months, please reach out and let us help.