If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that life is full of curve balls. Unplanned disruptions can cause stress, anxiety and sleepless nights. The worst part is there is no way to see it coming, and in a snap of your fingers, life as you knew it is gone.
As a business owner, is there a way that you can plan for a crisis or prepare yourself for times of uncertainty? While you can’t possibly forecast and prepare for every disaster life throws your way, you can take certain steps to plan for the unexpected. When you take the time to prepare ahead for sudden curve balls, your business won’t strike out. In fact, it might just hit a home run.
Here are 3 responses to consider when preparing for the future of your company:
- Change is imminent, you must learn to be flexible and innovative - You will not be able to do things the way you always did them. Embrace change. Get input from your employees (especially the younger ones) to see what changes they would make.
- Educate yourself -Stay up-to-date on industry trends and learn about things like the gig economy; employees’ desire for transparency, fairness, and flexibility in the workplace; and the future of work post-COVID (to name a few). Make it a point to read and subscribe to blogs and news feeds in your industry. To find blogs in your industry, type in blogs: type of industry in the Google search engine bar. For instance, if you enter blogs: healthcare industry trends in the search engine bar, relevant blogs about healthcare trends displays. Check them out and see which ones you like and then subscribe to them. This ensures that you stay current and up to date in your respective field.
Read news in your industry, follow industry leaders on social media, and ask for customer and internal feedback. This way you can see what makes some business owners in your industry succeed and others fail.
- Identify your weaknesses and begin to draw up solutions (long-term goals) – Tackling every weakness at once would be overwhelming. Instead, review each department’s processes and performance and rate them. Does the staff perform well? Are there redundant processes you can eliminate or ways to streamline the ones you have? Do some departments perform better than others? If so, what can you learn from those results? Can you apply them to other departments? How is the culture in your business? Does your staff seem satisfied, happy, or disgruntled? Are some departments understaffed or plagued with high call-out rates? If so, you might consider hiring gigsters or part-timers to eliminate their pain. Go department by department and look for any weaknesses or problems that surface in multiple departments. Once you identify these issues, brainstorm for solutions. Start with company-wide issues first, and then rank departmental issues by importance. Ticking these weaknesses off your “to do” list should be part of your long-term goals.
When the economy is thriving, it's easy to become complacent. However, it's important to assess your business to prepare for times of uncertainty. Planning for these potential events won't stop them from happening, but will help you weather the storm if or when they do.
