Right now, around the world, people are suffering from uncertainty in the marketplace. In other words, businesses must find new ways to sustain themselves in this ever-changing market. Bullet-proof business continuity plans and advanced strategies are required to maintain business operations in times of crisis. We have all learned that businesses must communicate effectively and support the needs of their customers and employees. Even throughout the waves of COVID-19!
Do you have a business continuity plan?
Does it answer the who, what, when, where, and how for your customers, supply chain, investors, or employees?
Are you prepared to grow, learn, and endure?
By asking the hard questions and finding solutions that work for your team, you can build a solid plan that will help your organization navigate uncertainty successfully.
Professional tip: It’s important to remember that as you maneuver through this new market and the economy begins to open, you create a plan with lessons fresh on your mind. Most importantly, you will ensure that you are prepared for future emergencies.
Top tips for maintaining reliable customer care and business continuity during COVID-19:
Below we have outlined a few of our trusted tips that can help you support your business’ needs during this hour of emergency.
First, businesses need to identify advocates within their organization that can manage daily scenarios and situations. This candidate will need to efficiently and effectively lead communication with partners and staff. The goal? To find solutions while also addressing the vast array of pain points that will arise in an ever-changing work environment. The selection of the right candidate is necessary to ensure the successful execution of your entire business continuity plan and process. If possible, this person should be selected and notified of selections/responsibilities before emergencies, disasters, and worldwide pandemics.
A focus on clear communication amongst management will separate your business from the competition and support business continuity. Therefore, internal advocates must be empowered and enabled to collect feedback. This information is relevant and should be reviewed frequently to address the internal pain points and log jams endured across your entire business ecosystem (customer, supply chain, employees, investors, etc.). Being prepared to provide genuine, helpful support to these channels could be what keeps you swimming while others may sink.
Moreover, once your team members have valuable operational information, owners and executives must make a concerted effort to review, understand, and enact change according to the real details. Gather feedback into a forum that can be shared like Google Docs, Slack, Evernote, or any collaborative work environment. During a time of crisis, you want to ensure that your business will run smoothly. So, highlight the challenges and pain points that you identify into easy-to-digest questions and actionable answers for execution.
Some other things to consider:
To recap, now you have advocates across your business. You have a plan to collect their feedback and review with owners and executives. Now, it is time to categorize your business and review each department’s needs, item by item. Ensure your team has covered everything and everyone. This in-depth analysis is vital to a remediation plan. What do these categories include? Finance, operations, human resources, and employee communications.
Want to learn more? Contact our team to run through a business continuity plan with specific departmental breakdowns!
Always keep your ear open for government support, competitor messages, and growth opportunities. Anytime you learn something new, make sure you update your matrix, dataset, and categorizations where relevant. It must be a living document.
Answering these questions for your business is a strategic practice. This data management is essential not just for the COVID-19 crisis, but it helps you plan a long-term strategy that considers how you’ll successfully navigate through times of uncertainty.
And finally, The chances are that your teams are working from home while maintaining self-isolation. Self-service tools are more important than ever; AI-powered tools can save your team time and can provide an easy solution to consistent employee communications. As you’re figuring out how to navigate COVID-19, and how to manage your business continuity plans, Call Experts can help.
