Managing Your Business During The Coronavirus Pandemic: Top Tips
We are currently in the midst of a global crisis, and if you have no idea what we are talking about, you have either been living under a rock or on the moon. Yes, we are talking about the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic that is currently sweeping the planet. It is causing whole countries to go into lockdown. Of course, while this is having the desired effect that very slowly it is reducing the number of cases and deaths, it is also bad news for many businesses.
If you are trying to run a business from home and are worried about how you will stay on top of things and keep your head above the water, fear not. In this article, we will briefly cover some of the things that you can do to take some of the pressure off so that you can concentrate on keeping you, your family, and your business safe during these challenging times.
Create a virtual office
You may not be able to open your physical office for obvious reasons, but that does not mean you can not get all of your employees in one place in a ‘virtual office.’ While your staff probably don’t want to be on a video call all day, particularly if they are juggling looking after children and trying to home school at the same time, regular group check-ins using an app such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom is a great way to stay in touch. It allows everyone to talk as a team, bring up any issues and socialize, albeit through a screen!
Delegate
You may be balancing childcare and homeschooling as well as trying to keep your business afloat, and this may mean less time to dedicate to your business. If this is the case, instead of trying to do it all and failing miserably, delegate some of the tasks. This might be to other members of your team or outsourcing to a third party. Tasks that you could outsource include accountancy, HR and payroll, social media management, and even reception work – Ruby Receptionist can take over this role on your behalf.
Utilize workflow management software
Trello and Asana can be your friend here. It is easy to lose track of who is supposed to be doing what, but by putting it all into a workflow management system, everyone will be able to see what they need to do and mark when it is completed, so all jobs get done, and nothing gets duplicated.
Use ‘the cloud’
You may well be using this anyway, but if you aren’t, why not? By storing relevant documents and information on your company cloud, whether a free one such as Google Drive or a more professional one, your staff can access the things that they need to be able to work remotely, negating the need for them to be contacting you constantly to get hold of documents.
Even after this pandemic has passed, some of these tips can help you to remain organized and take some of the strain away.
Image credit: Pixabay CC0 License
This is a contributed post