How businesses can survive during the COVID-19 pandemic?

April 29, 2020 8:03 am
by Manek

“How can I run my business better during the COVID19 pandemic?” This may be the common question that comes into the mind of business owners today. Throughout this post, we will share some of our findings that help businesses to survive this pandemic.

Around the world, economies are collapsing in a manner that we never saw before. The current economic situation is way more turbulent than what we witnessed during the 2008 global recession and credit crunch.

Small and medium-sized businesses are worst hit by this pandemic. This may be possibly due to the sudden interruption in their cash flow. Whereas, bigger enterprises have a far better chance of surviving the pandemic. However, the full impact of the COVID19 pandemic on businesses is still unknown.

So, how can small and midsized businesses survive this pandemic? Sadly, there’s no easy answer to this question, however, here are some measures that you can take to survive the uncertain times coming ahead in 2020.

1. Set safety as your first priority

The recent survey by Gartner revealed shocking results. It showed that only twelve percent of organizations believe their businesses are highly prepared for the impact of coronavirus, while 26% believe that the virus will have little or no impact on their business.

If you are a business owner you must give high priority to protect your employees and find new ways to serve your customers better. You can ensure the safety of your employees by allowing your office staff to work from their home, provide a safe working environment by maintaining social distancing and by de densifying workspaces. You must also strictly adhere to the protocols that are issued by your government to contain the pandemic.

2. Cut down expenses by outsourcing

“By 2022, 80% of I&O organizations that lack digital business strategies will risk cuts in the budget, resulting in outsourcing as a means of delivering results.”

Gartner Predicts

Outsourcing is a familiar concept to many businesses and most of them follow this practice. The practice of outsourcing has started in the early 90s and become common among organizations when cost-saving became a big issue. Right now, the need for cutting down your companies expenses is more ever than before. Other than saving money, outsourcing can give your organization the added benefit of converting fixed costs into variable costs. This will help your organization to avoid huge expenditures in the early stages of your business.

3. Identify the departments in your organization that drains most of your money

In these difficult times, every dime that you save can make a huge impact on the survival of your business. Outsourcing enables you to eliminate the departments in your organization that drains most of your money. This includes your human resources department. Hiring and training resources for your projects can drain huge amounts of money from your organization’s corporate budget.

If you are running a non-IT business, maintaining an in-house IT team can also cost you a significant amount of time and money. To maintain an in-house IT team, you should often give them training, bonuses, and other incentives. It may take even months to hire the right resources, train them, and give the support they need. Apart from that, maintaining an in-house IT team also requires huge capital investments such as office spaces, IT infrastructure, and support staff.

4. Switching to a remote workforce

Let us take the case of a manufacturing company during this pandemic. The company can send their office staff to work form their home whereas the workers and engineers that manage their manufacturing plant and warehouse won’t get that privilege. Going 100% remote won’t be a viable option for them right now, but in the long run, they can transition them to work remotely. A manufacturing plant that is controlled by a remote workforce can become a reality in the near future.

A remote workforce enables businesses to cut down costs. Various studies have proved that remote resources are more productive than their on-premise counterparts. The major advantages that businesses get by managing remote resources are that they can hire new ones regardless of location.

Hiring remote resources from Asian countries such as India can be a highly cost-effective option that businesses can consider in this pandemic situation. There are many companies in India that offer offshore development services at an amazing price tag.

5. Dedicated Teams: A Cost-Effective Model For Your Hiring Strategy

Hiring a team of inhouse developers for your project needs serious amounts of money and time. Whereas choosing a dedicated team model enables you to find the right developers in an extremely short period of time. Many offshore software development companies are providing dedicated teams to work remotely with their clients. Some software development companies are also offering a nearshore model for clients who want their developers to work within the proximity of their office.

Talk to our experts and learn more about the topic and how your organization can start benefiting from it today!