Negosentro.com | ANATOMY OF A CORONAVIRUS-PROOF BUSINESS | The coronavirus pandemic took the world by storm this year, grounding businesses to a halt and restricting individuals to their homes. What was initially described as the normal flu soon became recognized by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Pandemics itself are not entirely new. The Spanish flu of 1918 was particularly devastating and buried about a third of the world’s population six-feet below ground level. Yet, there is something unique about the novel coronavirus that will make it remembered for decades, possibly centuries to come. The current pandemic has left governments grasping for straws and health authorities scrambling for cures, even in the most remote areas of the planet.
The Impact of COVID-19
The pandemic’s worst-hit are businesses that have failed to grab the situation by the scruff of its neck. Many businesses have become grounded, with about 93 percent of the globe’s workforce being restricted to their homes following the lockdown policy initiated by many countries’ governments.
Busy business districts and the once-bustling marketplaces have become eerily quiet. International trades have declined, with over 100 countries enforcing various forms of travel restrictions. Many statistics also show that there has been a 14percent decline in global working hours. Worse still, about 400 million full-time jobs have been lost during this period.
A possible global recession?
This loss of jobs and shutdown of businesses and borders comes with a price – an ailing economy. The infographic below shows that there has been a 2% drop in the global GDP estimated per month.
Gulf countries that are solely dependent on crude oil haven’t found it easy this period as well, with crude oil prices going below the $20 mark. Even with all these seemingly negative statistics lined up here and there, is it safe to say we are closing in on a global recession?
Let’s cut to the chase. The current situation could swing either way. Governments can keep the economy afloat or improve it by introducing reforms to encourage telecommuting amongst small, medium, and top brands. This is the time to encourage the adoption of new tech that can make remote work possible.
The war against the pandemic: Who are the victors?
Brands that haven’t begun to adopt telecommuting are lagging behind and will be buried in the dust in no time. Companies are going remote, getting deals done, and jobs are carried out effectively, no holds barred.
Tech companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter are one of the biggest adapters, and their stock values can thank them for that. Amazon, in particular, has seen an exponential increase in its revenue in this period. Small brands that have also mimicked this approach have seen improvements in their financial results.
Needless to say, going virtual is a giant leap into the unknown. This is because businesses have to look for alternatives to bulky equipment (in the case of manufacturing industries) and develop models to monitor and improve employee productivity and communication.
Collaboration and communication
This is one of the biggest challenges of remote work. This challenge has brought to life many project management tools and video conferencing tools. Video conferencing tools that have been used to establish collaboration between workgroups include Microsoft, Slack, Trello, and Zoom.
Information Security
As essential as collaborating over the internet is, it is even more important to keep your information secure. Information security is an important topic these days. You can best protect your personal information by using computer antivirus, faxing documents through web services like CocoFax, and protecting your computer networks using recommended network intrusion protection apps like acunetix and Forgepoint.
The infographic below highlights the devastating effects of coronavirus on individuals, world economies, and businesses. It goes further to iterate the ways and methods through which businesses can fuse and still work together as a team using virtual environments in the face of the lockdown policy. Finally, it explicitly details the benefits of telecommuting, among others. Take a look at the infographic below to understand further how businesses can cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
