Hit the reset button
It’s time for a re-think; time to think outside the square and plan for the future of your business.
Not only do you need to survive, your ultimate aim is to be back on top, to be ahead of the competition and to get back on track with your business plan in order to meet your long-term objectives.
The challenge
You’re now experiencing a temporary and unprecedented situation. How are you going to meet your top priority commitments like continuing to pay your staff and other expenses? Maybe you’ve considered options such as scaling back your operations. Some other ideas include:
- Review key tasks and responsibilities and look at ways of doing things differently.
- Seek input from your staff members, to identify possible business opportunities and what options might exist.
- Carefully consider whether reducing the hours of your staff working week for a period of time while you re-build your capacity. You will need to consult and reach agreement with your each of your staff members.
- Develop a contingency plan to cover any spikes in leave and to make best use of employee downtime.
- Support your staff members by connecting them with community resources that may help them to navigate the emotional and financial stressors. Your staff will all be dealing with different situations both inside and outside of the workplace. Some of your employees will have a greater level of support and resources than others, so it is important to take these factors into account.
- If possible, consider a flexible sick leave and support policy and ensure that you have aligned your policy with any new legislative requirements or government recommendations.
Having flexible policies will help to ensure that un-well staff stay at home and reduce the risk of inter-team or community infection. - Depending on the size of your business, you may choose to identify a workplace coordinator who will be responsible and the point of contact for COVID-19 issues and their impact on the workplace. Communications should be clear and concise. Ensure good documentation and record-keeping.
Communication is extremely important. Staff are intelligent people, and they will be well aware of the serious economic implications of the current situation. Your staff will want to be kept informed along the way. You may be concerned that being open with your staff will cause them to feel increased levels of anxiety. The reality is that not being transparent and including your staff in discussions is more likely to increase the anxiety and stress experienced by your valued team members.
In the upcoming months, there will be many organisations facing the challenges created by COVID-19. Having business contacts, such as BNI or Chamber of Commerce can be a great support network and sounding board.
Written by the Your People Recruitment team
Your People Recruitment provide a range of Recruitment and HR services.
