How Can Your Business Survive During a Pandemic?
TeleworkPH
Published: April 15, 2020
With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the current impact it’s making globally, all countries afflicted are taking measures to counteract the spread of the virus and to restore sanity into everyday lives. With countless lives at risk, and many businesses experiencing losses, broken supply chains, and serious market cutbacks, I’m sure many of you as business owners have this question at the back of your minds: how can my business survive this outbreak?
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The Chance of Survival
As people shift gears into survival mode, they begin to focus highly on necessities. But when you think about it, people need money to be able to afford these necessities. Here’s where your business comes in. Your business is essentially both your source and your employees’ source of income. With your business, there’ll be more opportunities for yourself and your employees to get by. Your business needs to survive because lives depend on it.
Economic Implications
Let’s take a look at the bigger picture. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 is worse than that of the global financial crisis of 2009. Economic predictions from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) stated that sectors such as the tourism and entertainment sector are the most vulnerable during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the low demand for oil causes the energy sector also to experience a fallout.
In the US, almost 10 million people have applied for unemployment benefits in just two weeks after the US government declared a lockdown. The manufacturing and export industries are deeply affected in China, where the outbreak began. For established first-world countries such as Italy and Spain – where a high number of confirmed cases persist, the economic slowdown can recover in no time. However, for third-world countries, the financial crisis is a serious issue and it might even take a year or two for these countries to bounce back.
Crisis Management
The global economy is experiencing a downfall. It’s estimated that the global gross domestic product will fall from 2.5% to 0% for the first quarter of the year. On a granular level, businesses must take crisis management seriously. Long-term plans should be protected, and business processes need to be reviewed.
First and foremost, you must prioritize your employees’ well-being in this time of crisis. They are your most valuable asset so provide alternative working arrangements that will keep morale high and won’t disrupt the business flow. The transition to a digital workspace is sensible to the current situation and oftentimes, more effective than an office-based setup even after the crisis ends.
Secondly, review any missing links in your supply chain. During these trying times, it’s given that your operations will underperform. Reconnect with stakeholders and suppliers to work out a recovery plan.
Thirdly, your business must be prepared for external threats in a business-as-usual scenario. To avoid the spread of the virus, governments are inclined to impose restrictions that will affect your operations. Prepare for the worst-case scenario in the time of the crisis and conduct a risk assessment that will involve your internal customers, suppliers, and stakeholders.
And lastly, take a look at your finances. Determine the impact of the crisis on your operational costs and look for solutions to alleviate the problem such as an additional bank credit line, financial support from the government, or even curtail expenses by outsourcing aspects of your business to a professional service provider.
What’s the Solution?
Your business shouldn’t close shop during these difficult times because the economy and individuals depend on it. There’s a way to help you recover costs and allow your business to perform productively. Outsourcing is the solution you’re looking for.
Outsourcing can cut your overhead cost and help you maintain your long-term business goals. The Philippines is the ideal outsourcing destination. In fact, the BPO industry the most resilient throughout this crisis that’s why it has an important role in the Philippine economy. So, it’s understandable that Filipinos value the outsourcing industry. After the crisis ends, it’s predicted that more office spaces will be readily available and that talented professionals will be prepared to take on more focused roles.
Your third-quarter returns will be able to bounce back in no time due to the competitive costs being offered when you outsource to the Philippines. Outsourcing can be seen as a means to cut down on costs since it can give your business a time to recuperate from the impact of this global outbreak.
To give you a few ideas, you can outsource your non-essential functions to the Philippines like your customer service, backend operations, data processing, or anything that you might deem a non-core aspect of your company. These are business functions that won’t need your full attention but when outsourced, can produce excellent results.
Business Continuity
Outsourcing has been seen as a temporary fix during this crisis. However, it can become a permanent part of your business because it provides the stability that your business’s operations need. When you outsource to a business solutions provider in the Philippines like Telework PH, you can be guaranteed that your business processes will work efficiently and uninterrupted even during a crisis.
Create a business continuity plan to assure stakeholders, internal, and external customers that your business will pull through despite the pandemic . And in your BCP, make a plan to outsource and evolve from what’s happening now so you can be better prepared the next time a crisis comes. With Telework PH, you can be assured that your business will come through no matter what.
Telework PH offers free post-outbreak outsourcing coaching with BizDev Jeff. You can reach out to him at jeffrey.thompson@teleworkph.com or catch him on LinkedIn.
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