In light of the current global situation, I have seen companies adopting various strategies to keep their business going during the time of COVID–19. It led companies to seek ways on how to minimize the impact in their workforce. At the same time, ensure that they keep providing products and services during the time of this health outbreak.
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Despite facing stress and disruption, most of the organisations worldwide managed to slow down the effects of the outbreak, be it by a partial or complete lockdown in their countries during this time of crisis. By acting swiftly, companies leveraged on their agility to support their teams, as well as their clients, continuing business wherever they may be.
COVID–19 continues to hit organisations tremendously, and the only way for them to cope at this time is to adapt to untapped solutions as quickly as they can.
With that in mind, I’ve observed three things that companies worldwide have done to ensure business continuity during this unprecedented time.
Quick transition to remote work
Before COVID–19, a report published in 2017 predicted that more than half of the UK’s workforce would work remotely come 2020. However, with today’s current situation, I see more than half of the global companies fast adopting remote work into their organisations, even if some of them did not have this policy earlier on.
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While the transition found some companies struggling to shift their previously on-site based workforce to remote work, now more than ever, I believe they also should review their work from home policies. With the current situation impacting most of today’s workplaces, organisations should consider providing a better approach and proper training to guide employees regarding working from home policies and norms in the future—tailoring their approach based on what their staff needs. As I see it, remote work will not only be a solution at this time. It will become an integral part of every employee’s life even after this pandemic.
Technology plays a significant role
As the workforce shifts towards remote work, businesses have heavily relied on technology to ensure that work continues in the current global situation. Virtual workplace applications have become instrumental in assuring the dispersed workforce continually stay connected, productive, and engaged while working remotely.
For instance, in our company, with our employees are working in different locations around the world, we have been using video conference calls for our weekly all-hands meetings. Doing so allows our employees to participate while in their homes and keeps us connected though we in different countries.
For companies to ensure business continuity in any situation, they have to fully embrace the idea of using workplace technology to run their workforce. This current situation of employees working from home made countless companies worldwide realize that we can no longer ignore the benefits of technology, especially if we want to ensure that our businesses stay afloat, pandemic or not.
Read More: Rethinking Business as Usual During a Pandemic
Reaching out to businesses in need
While some companies are fortunate to keep continuous operations during these times, some organisations find themselves struggling to cope with the current situation. With this in mind, I see today’s businesses taking this situation as an opportunity to offer their solutions for free to assist teams in various industries in providing services during the onslaught of COVID–19.
To me, this is a positive way for companies to become more innovative during the time of this crisis. By allowing a bigger market to utilize their tools, they discover approaches on how they can adapt to the continually changing environment, as well as make their products flexible in any situation, not just for their company, but also for others. In a way, this has enabled businesses to get their services across audiences that could benefit from what they offer. At the same time, help allow companies to persist amidst the emergency worldwide.