The New Side of Business After Covid

After being in hibernation for two years, and a world of lockdowns, social distancing, masks, and vaccinations, most of the world seems to be going again. 

The pandemic has impacted business and caused necessary adjustments in people’s and businesses’ daily routines across the globe. 

Companies have been forced to change their processes; if there was a good side, the pandemic has given birth to a raft of good ideas. The ability to be agile in business is fundamental to success and to support a new routine for individuals and organisations. 

Technology and collaboration are gaining more and more traction in constructing a “new normal.” 

1) Investment in technical upgrades to support the home office 

Businesses that had put off home office ideas had to respond quickly and come up with technical solutions and investments toward “working from home.” To maintain business continuity, remote access, video conferencing, and file-sharing solutions needed to be accelerated. And with this, some companies realised that it is not necessary to keep teams in the same office to continue delivering quality service in real-time. 

The time and money you can save by reducing travel requirements and alleviating travel-related stresses show that many face-to-face activities can be done remotely with the same efficiency. 

It’s also important to remember working from home doesn’t suit everybody. 

2) Reducing bureaucracy to adopt new solutions quickly 

Rather than time-consuming approval funnels, simpler alternatives have emerged, enabling companies to be more agile and practical.  The administration has been streamlined, and this has also allowed the adoption of new ideas. 

3) Long-term trust 

One of many lessons that the pandemic made us realise is that accepting help from others is sometimes necessary in these unusual times. The same for organisations. It has become important to maintain a high delivery level and achieve business success with a cohesive, conscious team built on mutual trust. 

4) More active communication 

The pandemic pushed us to broader communication and with wider audiences, as well as communicating with staff who were often not in the office.  Zoom and video conferencing boomed. 

5) Focus on wellness initiatives and associate experience 

The pandemic also forced organisations to pay attention to their employees’ health and well-being.  Many initiatives can help support emotional health, and human resources were heightened to ensure employees felt supported.  And for these actions to continue after the pandemic, companies need to balance the equation of work and personal life that can lead to greater job satisfaction. 

6) Online training and education 

This pandemic made us value the advantage of virtual training, which became popular and, in some cases, just as efficient as in-person training.  In addition, the time formerly wasted in traffic becomes an opportunity to study more without leaving home. 

All businesses need to adjust to the “new normal” through digitalisation and virtualisation, if they wish to remain competitive in this post-pandemic world. 

One thing is for sure, work will never be the same.  The pandemics’ first year proved three things, our old definition of essential workers was inadequate, the numbers and kinds of workers we need are much different now, and most knowledgeable workers can do their job from home. 

We now have a brewing labor shortage, and businesses are having to rethink the role of the office. 

Email Calculated Matters at business@calculatedmatters.com.au, and if you’d like to talk business strategy in this brave new world, Schedule a time with me.