Small businesses have faced a tough time during the pandemic, as circumstances and regulations have constantly changed and forced them to adapt on the fly. While this is a difficult period, small businesses can also use this time as a time to focus on improving their operations.
Here, we share our very own tips to improve your small business’s operational efficiency during COVID-19:
- Building operations resilience - Businesses should be looking at redesigning their supply chains and operational processes to protect against more potential shocks in the near future. While the end is in sight, there are a lot of variables with the ongoing pandemic and businesses to prepare for every occurrence.
- Embracing the future of work - The future of work, defined by more automation and technology, was always coming. COVID-19 has only sped up its arrival. Those words sound overwhelming, but they don't need to be. This shift will call for substantial investment in workforce training in new skills, much of it delivered using digital tools. Make sure your business is moving forward instead of being caught standing still and subsequently being left behind.
- Take action, and fast - Sales and operations planning used to be done weekly or even monthly, but with the speed of change that has occurred thanks to COVID, making these planning sessions even bi-weekly could make a real difference to your business if done right. Speed will continue to be of the essence, so focus on goal setting and no-nonsense deliverables where individual team members have their own responsibilities. Companies that acknowledge this, as well as being ready for change (not just talking about it!), will build a long-term strategic advantage.
- New horizons – The entire face of the workplace is going to be changing across the board, so use this period to start planning your approach on how to bring your business back in an entirely new environment. Our previous resistance to 'flexible-working' has certainly changed – depending on the environment you’re trying to build, maybe your ideal hire is 100 miles away or maybe they work from home 3 days out of the week. Whatever solution you choose, don’t be scared to mix it up and test out a new “normal”.
We are offering free, 45-minute consultations to advise businesses on how to transform their approach to a COVID world. You can book your spot right here.