How To Help Your Business Survive The COVID-19 Pandemic

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Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses, especially the smaller start-ups are having trouble keeping afloat. With so many businesses being forced to shut down and halt operations during the quarantine period, many may suffer from a pile of debts and payments that cannot be paid off with the lack of any revenue. Many also struggle with the transition from their manual processes to the digital age, making it extra competitive and cut-throat during this uncertain time. As such, if you are struggling to keep ahead of time and adapt to this unforeseeable circumstance, here are some ways for your company to adapt to keep your boat afloat.

Changes to Physical Layout

If you have a physical office, retail space, or a dine-in area for your employees and customers, there are some changes that have to be done to accommodate the decrease in customers visiting your shop. It might also help to make your business more efficient; in the case of your finances, a convenient paystub maker is a worthy investment even after the pandemic is over.

1.   Put up physical barriers

Physical barriers at the entrance of your stall, retail outlet, or office will help to regulate the crowd more to ensure social distancing; it will also give you the chance to block off large entrances to conduct temperature takings. Furthermore, plastic barriers between tables or between the cashier and the customers will help to curb the transmission of germs from one individual to another, making it cleaner and safer.

2.   Add more washing stations

If it is possible to incorporate more sinks or washing stations in your offices or shops, it will remind customers to wash their hands more often and inhibit the transmission of germs and bacteria. You should also ensure that these places are easily accessible and visible, encouraging the usage of these areas. It is also good to place more hand sanitizers at these stations as well as at the entrance of your shop to ensure that everyone is sanitized before entering and leaving the premises.

3. Create more space between people

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has made it essential for individuals to practice safe distancing, moving around the furniture in the space will force individuals to maintain a healthy distance between one another. Even though it might be inconvenient for your business by limiting more tables and chairs in order to create more room, it is paramount to do so to help your business stay safe and legally open. You should also paste some masking tapes on the floor to encourage individuals to stand further apart from one another.

Policies and Procedures

In addition to physical changes, it is essential to incorporate new practices and procedures to ensure that your space is safe for use and obediently abiding by the rules.

4.   Conduct temperature checks

As you might have already known, it is necessary to take the temperatures of employees or customers whenever they enter the premises, to ensure that they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms. Investing in a digital and automated temperature taking system might be a good move since the pandemic seems to be here to stay, and you do not need to hire extra manpower to operate the system. Though this can prevent the transmission of the virus, it is not a foolproof way of detecting COVID-19 since many carriers of the virus are asymptomatic.

5.   Sanitize everything

Though it will require a lot of extra work and effort to make sure that everything is sanitized, it is incredibly important to do so to keep your space safe and clean. Especially for F&B outlets that require individuals to take off their masks, the absence of the extra protection makes individuals more prone and vulnerable to the virus, hence making it extra important for your company to sanitize everything. Areas that are more prone to human contact like door handles, tables, and chairs should be sanitized more often throughout the day, while other areas may just require one thorough wipe down before and after you close.

6.   Stagger shifts

Staggering shifts is also important to limit the amount of human contact and interaction between your employees or customers, reducing the risk of the transmission of the disease. While it is understandable that some businesses are not able to run without the full team around, businesses should at least cut down manpower where necessary.

Work operation procedures

On top of those points mentioned above, it is important to alter your work operations to accommodate the new rules in place to tackle the pandemic.

7.   Work from home

While this may not be possible for certain businesses dealing with essential services, it is highly recommended to allow your employees to work from home whenever possible to reduce the risk of transmission. Formal policies should also be incorporated to monitor the progress of the company when physical checks are no longer possible, and these policies include checking on individual progress and setting new rules on the new do’s and don’t’s that come with working from home.

8.   Change communication methods

Before the pandemic, your company may rely heavily on face-to-face interaction whenever there are things that need to be discussed and clarified. Though many have already transitioned to more video calls and emails, the high volume of online traffic may prove to be ineffective in the long run. As such, you can allow your team to transition to more collaborative communication platforms to encourage more team discussions when no meetings are scheduled for the day.

9.   Improve on cybersecurity

Since the work has progressively shifted to the digital realm, many companies often forget the digital vulnerabilities that may come with this transition. As such, it is useful for companies to invest in high-security programs to ensure that their data are all protected and safe, and lower the chances of any cyberattacks or hacks from happening to their database.

Though this season is a highly uncertain and difficult time for most businesses, these are some simple ways to adapt to the pandemic and align with the regulations of your country. By keeping your space safe and sanitized, it lowers the chances of being an infected area, thereby safeguarding your potential sales revenue. Doing your part not only makes you responsible, but it also gives the customers and employees the peace of mind to visit your shop and continue their work.