Several countries, not just the United States, are slowly trying to get back into the swing of things by reopening their economies. While a lot of people remain apprehensive about this move, governments are left with little options at this point.
To say that most of them are caught between a rock and a hard place is somewhat an understatement. If they keep up with the quarantines, economies will suffer. Families will starve and the possibility of riots and other similar disorders can stem from it.
However, reopening businesses and establishments despite the very real and still existing threat of the novel coronavirus can somehow help economies recover from two to three months of lockdowns. The downside to this is that the public’s health and safety will be put at risk.
Either way, governments that are at this phase have been placed in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t position. For those who are in the process of reopening their economies, much fear and anxiety are normal and completely understandable under the present circumstances. You will just have to carefully plan out your post-pandemic/post-lockdown business strategies and anticipate the absolute worst that can happen at this time.
Expecting the Worst
Whatever industry or business you’re in — food services, automotive manufacturing or repairs shops, plastic molding companies, and other types of businesses — you need to ask yourself the hard questions and answer them as brutally honest as you can.
Doing this will enable you to see different angles of the situation which will allow you to better plan for the worst-case scenarios.
What value do you have in your community before, during, and after the pandemic? How do you plan to bounce back from this two or three-month deficit? What adjustments should you make to remain or become relevant to your community at this time?
Questions like these will make you think harder about how you go about your business in a post-pandemic world. Because admit it or not, things will never be the same again. Even if it does go back to normal, it will take quite some time before you see any semblance of the old ways.
Hoping for the Best
Anticipating the worst that could happen will help you navigate through this tough season. Again, you have to remember that we’re going into uncharted territory with this health crisis. We’re facing new giants and we need new strategies and tools to slay these giants.
How do you go about the process of reopening under these new circumstances, this new normal?
First, you need to ensure that the workplace is safe for everyone — employees and customers alike. The CDC has issued business reopening guidelines that you need to adhere to. A lot of these will be spillovers from the lockdown but new compared to what we were used to. This includes regular sanitation of the workplace, observance of social distancing, temperature checks at the door, and other COVID-19-related safety measures.
Second, you need to update your company’s procedures and policies. Align them with the CDC’s regulations and make certain adjustments that apply directly to your company and line of business.
Third, watch out for your employees’ mental health. What happened to us is no joke. A lot of people have gone through really bad episodes of depression brought about by worry and anxiety from all the uncertainty we’re facing. You need to constantly check on your people and support their mental health. You also need to take care of your own mental health, too.
Hopefully, as you make these adjustments to your operations, things will get better for you and your company, enough to gain momentum that will put you in a better position to serve the community.
More than just going back to business, for your company to succeed, you have to make it relevant to people. Your motivation should not just be about earning and making a living but it should revolve around meeting peoples’ different needs.
