Hello, I hope you & your loved ones are doing well during these unforeseen times. COVID-19 pandemic has forced us, the business community, to re-evaluate our business continuity plans. It has forced us to reinvent, reconfigure & finetune our approach on-the-go. This was a major business disrupter and have impacted everyone in big way. All of us, including myself, are trying to figure out ways to minimize this disruption, if not eliminate it altogether. Here are some of the strategies you could implement to overcome these disruptions.
Remote Working Infrastructure:
- Cloud Infrastructure: Have your critical business solutions and applications hosted on cloud. They provide excellent uptime upwards of 99.95% and allow easy access from anywhere and everywhere.
- VPN/Remote Access: You need your key resources to be effective & efficient at working remotely. Invest in VPN/Remote access technologies so your team is able to access data/information residing within your office/work premises.
- Ensure all team members who can work from home are setup to do so.
- Periodically test work-from-home procedures and technology to measure their effectivity.
- Develop strategies to conduct business without requiring travel to customers or even travel to office locations for an extended period.
Team Communication:
- Contact Details: For each of your key-resources, have their primary & secondary contact details. Have their Phone, e-mail and if possible social media contacts as well. These multiple means are useful, in case one of the means of communication such as internet (Internet Blackout) is out during difficult times.
- Communication Platform: Have a group communication platform so you could reach everyone on your list in single click.
- Audio/Video Conferencing: Use online video conferencing tools such as Zoom, WebEx or GoToMeetings
Customer:
- Assess potential impact to your customers because of shipments or service delays or interruptions to them.
- Based on this impact analysis, have a mitigation plan in place.
- Communicate with customers whether or not you expect a service impact during these circumstances.
Revenue & Cash:
- Develop strategies for customer acquisition that do not require in-person contact.
- Develop plans for a 25%, 50% or 75% decrease in revenue.
- Review business disruption insurance for adequacy.
- Evaluate new products, services and markets for new revenue streams.
- Evaluate your balance sheet and cash position.
- Reduce fixed & discretionary costs wherever possible.
Supply Chain:
- Evaluate potential interruption points within your supply chain.
- Ask suppliers to provide their business continuity plans.
- Review contracts with key suppliers. Include conditions to ensure you get uninterrupted service during these times.
- Evaluate alternative vendors and suppliers for backup purpose.
Leadership:
- Communicate often with your staff using multiple platforms/mediums.
- Understand & share employee concerns but do not show panic. Panic is a contagious emotion and very disruptive during these stressful times.
- Take care of your team. Think as to what you can do to assist your team in these circumstances. Arrange for new tools or just arrange for essential provisions or any extra help. This will go long way to boost up morale and loyalty of your employees.
- During unusual circumstances like these, include your employees and team members as part of your emergency task force. Convey concerns and difficulties you are facing on business continuity front. In case your business requires, ask for help & support from your team to overcome these short-term disruptions.