This time around, it just happens to be a pandemic. What would happen if on the heels of this we were to experience some other kind of global event that had businesses closing their doors for a prolonged period of time? Have those small businesses learned what to do in the event that governments issued renewed shut down orders or mandates like we’ve been going through since early in 2020? In fact, many businesses have put special measures in place to ensure that business would go on as usual. Unfortunately, SARS-CoV-2 caught the world by surprise, and never having experienced a global event of this magnitude in our lifetimes, no one really could have been prepared. Now we have the tools we need to keep our small businesses alive. It’s a matter of somewhat knowing what to expect.
1. Keep Health and Safety a Top Priority
When the pandemic hit, no one knew what to expect. There was all kinds of disinformation and erroneous advice being passed from person to person and from government body to government body. At first, people were told to use hand sanitizer frequently and not to touch any mail for at least a certain amount of time so the germ could die. About midway through last year, there was a theory circulating that the virus didn’t readily spread on hard surfaces and that an overuse of hand sanitizer would kill the good stuff as well as the bad. Evidence weighs in to the contrary but, so far, the CDC shows no indication that too much is as bad as not enough. Since so many companies had to shut their doors, some businesses began to outsource functions such as human resources.
2. Institute a Remote Workforce
If you began that relationship in 2020, you just might want to continue on with a remote HR department. You don’t need to be confronted with a global event to appreciate just how efficient a trained team of HR professionals can be throughout any kind of disruption in work or in supplies. We’ll get to that in a minute. For now, suffice it to say that teams like the HR consulting Nashville branch of G&A can handle everything from recruitment to payroll, onboarding to offboarding, as well as training all via cyberspace. Outsourced HR can be a literal lifesaver if another event of this magnitude should occur.
3. Plan for Disruptions in the Supply Chain
The other major issue that interrupted businesses of all sizes and in all industries was a disruption in the supply chain. Some of that was due to drivers getting the virus and other disruptions were not pandemic related at all. There were major fires throughout the Western states and there were even times when drivers were turned around and sent right back the way they came. Some consumers never got their orders delivered and manufacturing functions were halted because parts did not make it through.
There still is no end in sight but it only takes one newfound medicine to help us turn the corner. If there is one thing that might weigh in on the positive side, we have at least identified areas that can be improved. As the old adage goes: ‘plan for the best but prepare for the worst’. We hope that we won’t see another global event of this magnitude, but if we do, have you made sufficient plans to ensure your small business will survive?
