As states begin to lift stay-at-home restrictions and businesses who have been limited by the lock downs prepare to face the public again what are the necessary steps and processes to prepare for…
Brad Sugars, the CEO & founder of ActionCOACH has five key areas that every business needs to consider as they come out of Quarantine.
Sugars emphasizes that businesses have gone through a massive shift and need to prepare for the next level of pivot. Some businesses will have a shorter trajectory to restarting their businesses than others, but there are some common considerations.
- What are the new rules? What does a business have to prepare for to ensure social distancing principals and health concerns are addressed? Who needs to have temperature checks, what types of cleaning processes need to be implemented and how will your team implement the new procedures necessary to mitigate further spread of the COVID 19 or any other virus out there? Preparing ahead of time and examining every process and human touch point and adjust to new normal requirements to keep everyone inside and outside your business safe
2. Adjust to Less Contact. What equipment changes need to made to reduce human touch? Do you need to install automatic door, self dispensing paper towel devices, and or eliminating the needs for customer handle items such as menus or samples? Ultimately, customers and staff will be less receptive to going back the “old ways” of doing business based on the what they have learned during this crisis. Social distancing might mean less equipment, less tables and line queuing requirements to keep customers and staff safe.
3. Based on what you have learned, what do you want to keep? Now that teams have learned to work remotely, does you office space need to be the same size? Can you integrate virtual technologies further? Just because reopening is coming, there are going to be some things you don’t have to give up. The freedom virtual working environments and remote work, can open up many possibilities for the future. This reallocation of space would lead to a savings in rent and overhead that you can reinvest into new product development or marketing to spark you business forward.
4. Plan to RELAUNCH not just reopen. This moment to reopen allows your business to really make a splash and statement in your community. Plan an event that really makes an impact. Partner with local media to tell your story and deliver good news about how you maintained your employees during the crisis and what you doing now to keep them safe. Perhaps you need to add or hire additional staff or you are working with a community organization to further positively impact your marketplace. Don’t be afraid to celebrate your reopening and create an event that bring hope to your community.
5. How will you prepare to bring back your team? What leadership strategies and behaviors will you need to reinforce as you bring your team together to relaunch? If you have had to furlough or lay off personnel, how and when do you consider bring them back so they are trained on the new processes? Will you need more staff or have you condensed practices and need less people? Additionally, if you are going to face pent up demand for your services, how do you best serve the customers lying in wait? Do you need to extend hours, auction appointments or prioritize existing customers before accepting new customers? All of these need to be prepared for and considered before you reopen.
Some businesses will need more time that others and that business owners should tap into resources in their community including hiring a business coach to help them navigate this next wave of change. Whether a business is deep in the survival part of the crisis or is now preparing to relaunch, but ends of the spectrum need support and objective counsel to make sure they proceed to success.
Source ActionCOACH Global
