Are You Ready for...[select your answer below]

Another lockdown?  More restrictions?  Fewer restrictions?  A comeback?

The last 14 months have challenged businesses of all shapes and sizes.  We’ve become familiar with lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, opening requirements, restrictions, and more.  I’m fatigued with the uncertainty and the yo-yo effect that’s been occurring with some regularity….open today, closed tomorrow, fully open the next day.  Are you as tired of this as I am?  I’m ready to be unmasked – unlike Zorro!

Is your business ready for a comeback — stronger than pre-pandemic days?  “Normal” is different today but what does that mean for you and your business?  Here are some thoughts:

• Business Continuity: Since we’ve been in and out of lockdowns, have you updated your business contingency plan?  Updating or creating your plan, from the actions you had to take during the pandemic, will help you act faster when similar situations arise again…and I suspect they will.  Documenting and improving the plans you executed will enable you to move faster in the future, provided you test your plan and update it as needed.
• Strategy: The world has changed.  And so has your neighborhood, employees, customers, suppliers, and anyone else you have a business relationship with.  If you don’t take the time to re-evaluate your strategy, you may find your business not prospering as you believe it should.
• Culture: The pandemic affected everyone differently.  Your team, if they were working throughout the pandemic, have been affected by it differently than those who lost jobs.  The focus towards a stronger community culture and the importance of all stakeholders, not just shareholders, has grown.
• Process: The work from home or lockdown orders changed many business processes.  In your rush to keep the doors of your business open, have some of the changes you implemented caused problems or increased complexity?  The clarity of business processes for your team ensures that the levels of service your desire in your business can be consistently delivered.

The pandemic transformed everything!  Many businesses have transformed their operations from pre-pandemic models.  Technology implementation(s), process changes, remote working, or work from home activities all contributed to changing how businesses operate today.  If you’re not considering a business transformation, you should be!