Resume or Restart? 10 focus areas for businesses post the COVID-19 lockdown

This hasn’t been like what anyone could’ve predicted. Stuff of the movies, isn’t it? Well, fact is stranger than fiction. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global mayhem. While we remain in lockdown, the looming uncertainty and collective duress on businesses is palpable. 

The stress being multi-fold, personnel responsible for managing businesses have to think about a multitude of stakeholders – employees, customers, investors, communities…

A lot needs to be done, but what can one really do at the moment? Strategize. 

Careful, comprehensive, and educated planning to restart once the pandemic is behind us, and not just resume. It is upon business managers to show the light at the end of the tunnel, and chalk out immediate change management steps to recover from this economic hit. 

Where do you even start? Before seeking answers, it is essential to ask the right questions, to organize your thoughts and then look for answers. Below are 10 aspects we recommend you draw attention to and prioritize solutions for:

1. Demand

It has always been about demand and shall remain that way going forward too; little is going to change about this fundamental of any business. What will change though is demand forecast; the basis on which all other functional plans are made and targets set. Arriving at an accurate demand forecast had always been a challenge and the COVID-19 pandemic shall make this all the more, well, challenging. 

Sophisticated demand forecasting softwares, time series analysis, quantitative or qualitative statistical techniques cannot account for market conditions the pandemic has presented. Grasping customer sentiment will prove to be a herculean task in these testing times coupled with uncertain financial liquidity.

While it is true that demand forecasts are educated guesstimates, this one might just be a shot in the dark, in the immediate future.

2. Supply Chain Alignment

When the borders of a global village are closed, the interdependence of business is greatly affected. A prime example of this interdependence is the 21st century supply chains. The once smooth and seamless supply chains will now be broken. Your end to end operations plan will now require patchwork to be stitched together to function at the least. 

How consistent would the supply chain be once operations are re-started?  
Should I localize my supplier base?
What do I do if my supplier is the best in the market but is struggling now?

These are questions all businesses are grappling with. But this is the time to think about things differently, figure out ways to make things work. This is the time to focus on shortening the lead time for procurement as much as possible and reduce dependence that can leave your business handicapped. Seek ways to innovate your supply chain to make it as consistent and lean as possible. 

3. People

If your business is workforce-intensive, the post-COVID phase is going to come with fresh challenges. People have recently undergone a lot of hassle to reach their home towns and be with their families. While a few lucky ones have made it back home, many still remain stranded. There is scepticism on when people will feel confident enough to return to work. Moreover, once travel and transport do open up, the ones stranded will want to go see their families, don’t you think?

Moreover, your employees are worried. They are worried about the continuity of business, worried about their next paycheck to pay rent, EMIs, fees and more.  It is imperative to keep your employees informed and engaged. Honesty is the best policy, no doubt, but it must be carefully strategized. Give your employees continuous morale boosters, something that sustains their sense of belonging and well-being. Your employees will require more than usual motivation and reassurance in the coming months. Use this time to study your people management and incentive policies and ascertain what changes can be made to make human resource management more impactful and effective. 

4. Cash Flow Constraints

With fixed costs all paid up, cash will be scarce and spreading thinner by the day. Receivables will continue to show as just that in your books of accounts, and outstanding payments will have to be made within days of the economy opening up. Cash will be precious and every business will hesitate to part with it. Cash is king, now more than ever. Do everything the business can sustain to preserve cash. Identify the tools and techniques to be applied to arrive at plausible solutions in the short term and a more holistic long term approach.

5. Raw Material

While your business struggles with cash flow, cash would also be locked up in raw material inventory. With unreliable demand and a broken supply chain, management of raw material inventory would be a matter you must prioritise. This is the time to emerge with innovative ways of using up raw material and come out with unconventional products to expedite liquidation of unused raw material, whether at a profit or even at break even.

Re-invent and innovate the usage of your raw material inventory in this period of time. Use your raw material to produce something essential, something there is a dire need or demand for. Explore the unexplored avenues and put that stock to use. 

6. Unsold Finished Goods

It’s not just raw material, even finished goods might be lying in your factories or warehouses with no sight of being sold amidst the lockdown. What is the way forward to manage this stock and strategize its sale? This could be an opportunity in disguise to explore newer avenues, to market and sell the same product.

7. Pricing

Your pricing strategy will invariably need re-calibration. Don’t wait until everything is back to normal, begin the planning process now. So far, the product or service is priced based on normal market conditions, profit margins, and most important – a perceived value. Prices cannot be reduced to an extent where customers lose trust in your product. They can also not be exponentially increased owing to the below-average customer sentiment. Use this time to get your teams together and pan out the way forward. 

8. Inertia

What happens when your office or factory is re-opened? Do employees stroll in, sit at their usual desks, and commence the day’s work, picking up where they left off? No. Work will not be resumed, it will have to be restarted. Your employees will need adjusted direction and confidence boosters when they get back to work after weeks of operating from home, or perhaps not operating at all. Employees will have to be onboarded again, educated about new strategies and enthused with trust. 

The world would have changed, and the strategy to resume work cannot be the same as it usually is after a long weekend. That must change too. 

9. Social Stigma

Social behaviour will now inevitably be judged through a COVID-19 lens. In addition to the more obvious sanitation protocols of the company, the entire employee journey will have to mapped out and remodelled not only to avoid the spread of infection but also to instil confidence against the fear of spread. The cafeteria, washrooms, biometric entry systems, lifts, office transportation, how can everything be made safe and in line with the post-corona way of being? 

The function of the HR department has become pivotal in these times. Their role is important now more than ever. How can human beings be supported after they have experienced a global pandemic and a worldwide shutdown? It is something no one was prepared for. Maybe organizations really need to consider the importance of counsellors in these testing times. 

10. Fragile Confidence

If grapevine wasn’t difficult enough to deal with, it will become central to control post-pandemic. A lingering sense of angst can make one loose rumour greatly affect the trust of employees. The tumultuous economic conditions may also sow seeds of doubt in employees which can influence them to fall prey to such rumour-mongering. Top management and the HR division must ensure that confidence is restored at every level of the organization, that employees experience job safety and a sense of well being.
One of the most important steps you can take is constant communication with customers also. Despite the current economic scenario, irrespective of whether your business is operational in full force or not, communication with customers cannot be ignored. Keep them in the loop of what’s happening. Instil confidence and trust in customers. All people are looking for is a bit of hope. In this unprecedented time, your digital media communication must rise to the occasion and create a strong channel of communication with customers. 

How a business manages the immediate effects of COVID-19 downturn in the near future will be critical in defining the long-term success of the organization. A structured approach and systematic preparedness will prove pivotal in mitigating the effects of the pandemic on your business.