As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread throughout the globe, businesses have begun seeking out new ways to function amidst the uncertainty. These new ways range from turning a blind eye to the pandemic or tying the knot tighter (or loosening it) through enforcing lockdowns.
The question on everyone’s mind, however, is how to continue working (even from home) as if the world is ‘normal’. This article looks at the effects the pandemic has had on businesses and actionable steps on what to do to curb the negative effects.
The virtual work industry is having an interestingly positive effect ever since the pandemic hit. Instead of slumping forward like most businesses, the BPO industry is busier. Virtual accountants, marketers, graphic designers, content writers and other digitally able positions have their hands full. What the world now realizes is that the remote industry has already been existing in the ‘new normal’ that they are still easing into!
Virtual teams were already working ‘remotely’ and had all the conditions ready to weather through a pandemic that still has us in clutches almost a year later. As part of the industry that remained standing, we’ve compiled a couple of tips that are helping us to continue being in business throughout the pandemic.
Traditional virtual work wasn’t as lucky
Not all forms of virtual work managed to weather the pandemic. Traditional virtual work in particular wasn’t very fortunate. Those in manufacturing and production suffered losses because supply chains were thrown off and the lockdown meant movements were restricted. Amidst the chaos, only one form of virtual work stood its ground: Business Process Outsourcing.
The BPO industry functioned as normal through lockdowns
A sharp contrast exists in the situation between traditional outsourcing and the BPO industry. BPO’s were almost adequately set up to handle any changes enforced in an effort to control the pandemic. Whilst the rest of the world saw a sharp rise in unemployment, BPO’s all over the world happily continued working and kept their jobs. An example of this is BPOZim.
At BPOZim, all our staff were able to migrate their work systems from the office to home setups. This changed nothing about the quality of our service since our employees already work ‘remotely’ anyway.
Now let’s (finally) get into how we and other BPO’s around the globe managed to keep our heads and our jobs.
1. Create a Covid-19 Crisis Plan for odd situations
Draft a Business Plan and Export Marketing Plan. The scenarios involved in these will seem endless and that’s alright because none of us saw this coming. Make sure that your crisis plans are short but detailed. It should be able to deal with bizarre circumstances and include an actionable plan plus cash flow statement for your business.
The following tips will list essential subjects that your action plan must be based on.
2. Prepare scenarios
Yes, odd scenarios. Most small businesses do not have a healthy cash flow. Companies with big budgets ironically still get some form of financial aid from their governments or other large groups. As a result, you’ll need to make sure you have enough funds to get through the pandemic. Plan short term. Typically a month will do. Then medium-term (3 months) and of course much longer-term (6 months to a year)
Keep in mind that this would truly be beneficial for businesses that were not already close to the verge of shutting down anyway. If your cash flow isn’t at its healthiest or manageable state, it would be best to make your services virtual… It saves you a ton of money (and other unrelated assets) that you’ll eventually end up losing. If you are close to retirement, this should be a valid reason too. Let’s assume that your business can continue with operations during the crisis. Where can you start?
3. Cash Is King
We’ve always heard this statement for small businesses but nothing stands truer for the current times. You’d want to minimize your costs by separating your costs from revenues. Your cost side is likely easier to influence as compared to the revenue side which is often much more long term. Back to the cash aspect, you’ll need it to be able to pay salaries, settle your taxes, pay rent and other expenses. Normally, your revenue should balance itself out against your costs but since the pandemic, we’ve seen sharp drops in revenue. This might not get better anytime soon, thereby making it critical to react now before your business goes bankrupt when your cash runs out.
4. Salaries
This goes on the sheet with individual costs. BPO’s singularly spend more on salaries. Is this the same for your business? How can you reduce this? You guessed it. Virtual work. BPO’s exist to help you cut down on huge expenses such as salaries and cost of operations.
5. Secure cash flow into your business
Cash flow into the business is a priority which is why it would be wise to take advantage of any government incentives that are being offered. As you pay taxes, check if you’re eligible for any exemptions that could trickle in some cash back into your company. Try to get the government grants quickly (if any are being offered at all) because these will be limited.
Assets are another avenue for cash inflow into a business. If you own any buildings you might look into leaseback construction. Selling the office building with a flexible paying period will also give you consistent lump sums of cash for a while. Consider selling off some company cars whilst you’re at it.
6. Adjust the cash crisis plan
Do ample research to figure out which products/services you should continue pushing forward. It might be helpful to check how other businesses in other countries that got hit by the pandemic are fairing? How have they adjusted their marketing plan? Are their services still relevant and profitable? What can you do better? Do. Your. Research.
7. Protect your employees
A company isn’t one without its employees. Take strong measures to protect the health and well fair of your employees. If they are well and fit, they’ll be able to keep your business afloat and they’ll work harder. The BPO sector is easy because employees are comfortable working from anywhere. If you still have staff in the office, provide sanitisers, masks and all else required to make the workplace healthy.
Can safe transportation be arranged?
BPOZim amongst other virtual work companies around the world has managed to fight off the effects of the pandemic. We aid in consultancy services and helping you focus on other critical areas of your business whilst we handle the tough work. Contact us if you’d like to make your services virtual.