Ensuing Business Growth During & Post COVID-19

It’s been more than 4 months businesses were asked winding down their operations, now they are being asked to restart their engines as lockdown rules are gradually eased. COVID-19 has brought new challenges and uncertainties about its progression and impact on the social, political and financial aspect make it even more complex. Business and leadership need to navigate the situation in a way which can promote continuity with least amount of disruption yet adopt to the changed scenario, ensuring business growth.

Already, COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work, with far-reaching impact. Business resilience, compassion and caring for our people and communities is more essential than ever. Many businesses are still determining how they change the way they work. But speed is of the essence, as lockdown eased businesses and communities try to function and perform under new framework, while still struggling to cope anxiety and stress of what is happening in their daily lives. Business and leadership need to activate brand purpose, re-align their resources and strategies to ensure business growth during and post COVID-19.

Ensuing Business Growth

The New Rules

Although businesses across the world have taking measures to ensure operational continuity and adapt to new digital ways of working. From video conferencing to remote work collaboration with people and clients, and even casual discussions with our family and friends via video calls, we are all trying to imagine the world post-COVID-19.

Reopening requires more than a return to normal. The unpredictable and long-lasting period that follows this pandemic feature fundamental changes to economic activities, cultural norms, societal values and behaviors. The rules have changed and so does the behavior. To reopen and to overcome uncertainty also requires a program of reinvention ensuring business continuity and resilience. Our job is to prepare, respond, and continue to drive business and community forward.

The Opportunity

COVID-19 presents an opportunity and essentially a need for many businesses to build the new digital competences, to be data-driven, and in the cloud; to have more agile operations and automation; to create stronger capabilities in AI, e-commerce and cyber-security and have variable cost structures. This new agility will be the foundation of the long-term capabilities they build ensuring business resilience and growth.

The Demand

Your community and people are looking to trust you. And they will trust if they believe as an organization you care for each individual, the community, and humanity as a whole. Live business proactively looks ahead, respond rather than react and goes a long way towards helping people and communities in volatile times. The ability for business organizations to address people’s physical, mental and relationship needs is the foundation of trust.

We are in the midst of a pandemic most of us have ever experienced. The panic & stress is understandable, as is the uncertainty of the future. Businesses must do everything within their power to ensure the workforce continue to deliver their best while assuring their safety alongside that of their families. From a client standpoint, it is of paramount importance for businesses to offer unwavering support during this difficult time and help them operate at their full potential. Business need to ensure to deliver on client commitments in line with the high standards they expect.

The Resilience: Ensuing Business Growth

Here are few things business owners & leaders should do today for ensuing business growth during and post COVID-19:

• Develop a multidisciplinary omni-channel plan and act. Gather feedback and data from all work areas and all stakeholders.
• Relieve people from unnecessary work activities but keep them engaged. Workforces around the world are worried about their basic needs and paychecks, building workforce trust is key.
• Transform into cross-functional agile team if you haven’t already. Focus on these elements for success: stakeholder inclusion, emotion and intuition, mission and purpose, technology and innovation, including intellect and insight.
• Be wise, compassionate and caring – this improves workforce moral and motivate them to outperform.
• Activate you brand purpose. Integrate brand purpose and values into every communication and initiative. Shared purpose and values is what will give people and community the sense of belonging that they desperately need right now.
• Focus on regular and consistent communication. Establish strong communication governance, guiding principles and tone. Keep in touch with everyone in your team and community.
• Now is the time to rapidly adopt human+machine collaboration and support people as they transition to digital ways of working.
• Don’t allow this pandemic to stop your business from moving forward. Lead your organization beyond the urgent and prepare for the future.

Outmaneuvering uncertainty—by mitigating COVID-19 challenges and building a better future—will create business enterprises that one day look back on the crisis as truly the darkness before the dawn. From idea to execution, WeCT can help businesses design, build, communicate and run comprehensive experiences from start to finish.