React and rethink

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact not only on the way we work but also on the way we do business. 

It is highly likely that we will enter a recessionary period, taking time for the economy to bounce back. However, in order to emerge from this situation stronger and more resilient, we must think beyond the macro and focus on actions individual businesses can take.

React!

Many companies have acted decisively, making use of government support to buy time, protect jobs and reduce operating costs.

However, many have rushed to the remedies without thinking about strategy. In addition to protecting cash, it is also important to build strategies around people, customers, suppliers and other key assets.

The best responses are clear channels of communication to mitigate rumours, revised decision making processes to enable quick, timely decision making, and installing your own COBRA team equivalent to plan your come-back.

Rethink!

Once the economic cycle has completed, the challenges businesses face will be more than merely the physical conditions.

What does a post COVID-19 world look like? What new opportunities might this present? What problems were created which you can address? What historic activities are no longer relevant? Which bits of your business were resilient to change? What new ideas presented themselves? What does the physical return to work look like? How do you re-engage with customers, suppliers and staff?

The duration of the recovery is likely to remain uncertain for some time.  Asking these questions now and throughout the process will help ensure you don’t miss the real opportunities coming out of this crisis and will help you lead your business back into recovery.

BDO, working with Boost, has funded workshops to help business owners think about building future growth and increasing business resilience. Contact mark.sykes@bdo.co.uk for more information.

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