How to Plan for the Future Success of Your Business Following COVID-19

Many businesses are now moving away from a focus on surviving, to thriving. The damage control required to help businesses get through lockdown and COVID-19 is showing signs of lifting, which means many companies can starting looking to the future.

Ourselves and our close partners, People Puzzles, have been working with client businesses to help teams plan a safe and successful return to the workplace, but it’s also important to look past this return to ensure success and growth in the long-term.

To get the conversation started around planning for future success, we’ve teamed up with People Puzzles to bring you comprehensive advice for action in regards to how to plan for the future success of your business following COVID-19.

1. Review your business model

Structural shifts may come about as a result of the crisis and can help prepare your business for potential crises and downturns in the future. COVID-19 may spike again later in the year, and in readiness, those businesses who plan beyond ‘business as usual’ and develop a more sustainable business model, are more likely to succeed in the future.

In addition to the focus on your own business, it’s imperative that you also focus on your customer and target market. Will their needs change following COVID-19, and if so, do your products/services need to adapt to these changes? Now is a time to be flexible and receptive to change, and adapting your business model to suit will help your business plan for future success.

2. Identify and outline a clear strategy

Once you have reviewed your business model, a clear strategy on how to implement it will be the driving force behind future success. It’s important to communicate updates and changes to your entire workforce via your management team, to ensure that the right messaging is going out to customers. Outline your intentions and goals to ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal.

3. Learn from mistakes and remember the successes

The past few months have put all businesses to the test, whether it’s from having to furlough staff, making difficult redundancies and temporarily pausing operations, or even coping with the increasing demand for services or products.

To move forward and plan for future success, as a business leader, it’s vital that you identify and recognise any mistakes and successes your business has experienced as a result of COVID-19. Doing so will help your business to remain agile and become better equipped to deal with unexpected crises in the future.

4. Make sure the necessary people processes are in place

People processes are even more important now than ever before. Do you have the right processes in place to support employees as they return to the workplace, or continue to work from home? People Puzzles can advise and support you in ensuring you have all of the necessary processes in place, also making sure that you’re compliant with the new April 2020 employment legislation, as well as advising you when it comes to difficult decisions and process such as redundancies.

5. Adapt your workspace

Once a business strategy has been agreed on and communicated with your leadership team, it’s important to identify everything you need in order to get you there. Changes to your workspace might be one of them.

Imagine your workplace as the engine to the vehicle that is your business and its people. Your workspace fuels the type, amount and quality of work that you and your team are able to do, ultimately having a huge impact on future success. As this Forbes article indicates, the office is still very much needed, even with remote working as an option for employees. The office impacts innovation, energy, humanity and so much more, all of which can help lead your business in the right direction going forward. But in order for it to do so, your office space needs to align with the needs of your business.

COVID-19 has brought many changes and adaptations to all industries in some way or another. Commonly, office-based workers have adapted to working from home, and teams have shown just how productive they can be away from the office. This also brings to light other positives, such as avoiding traffic congestion and being able to spend time with family. As a result, many companies are looking to change their office space so that it caters to less people in the office at any one time. Additionally, some companies are understandably looking to implement changes to look after the health and safety of their team, such as through a floorplan allowing social distancing, and different desks to make the workplace less crowded. No matter how business during COVID-19 has looked for you, step back and think about how this might affect your office environment as it currently stands.

6. Listen to your employees

Work from home, work from the office, or both? We’ve all seen the interactive polls flying around LinkedIn asking for people’s opinions on whether they would prefer to work from home, work in the office, or both going forward. It’s important to listen to your team and understand their preferences following the disruption they have experienced, in order to move forward.

Forward-thinking companies can excel during a time where others fall behind. Being proactive and agile will help you and your team go from strength to strength.

If you’d like to discuss ways in which to shape your workspace into an environment to fuel your success, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. For HR advice on adapting your business and striving forward following COVID-19, People Puzzles are just a phonecall or email away!