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The Flevy Blog covers Business Strategies, Business Theories, & Business Stories.
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Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Business Continuity Planning - Guide, Process and Tools (61-slide PowerPoint presentation). The disruption COVID-19 caused has made businesses more aware of the importance of business continuity planning (BCP) for effective disruption-related preparation, response and recovery. Although the term "business continuity" is often used as a synonym for IT Disaster recovery (DR), [read more]
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Among the key lessons, everyone learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that nobody can accurately predict the future. No one ever imagined that they would once be required to skip work and stay indoors for months. The restrictions on travel and social interactions may have shocked many. But that’s nothing compared to the millions of people who lost their jobs and several businesses that had to shut down indefinitely.
All the chaos and economic downturns from the pandemic impacted many people’s lives and left behind several valuable lessons. In light of these challenges and the lessons learned, we’ve detailed the three key takeaways that anyone can borrow to survive in the post-pandemic world. Whether you are a business owner, an employee, a job seeker, or an independent contractor, here are some tips for you:
1. Always Change with the Tides
Change is inevitable, and it takes some flexibility to dance with the waves. When COVID hit, several businesses ran into panic mode. Not only were they unprepared to face a new and enormous challenge, but everyone around them had the same sloppy strategy – to shut down and wait for the government to do something.
However, certain businesses rose above the uncertainties and tried to do something by themselves. The majority of those in this category had a risk-mitigation plan, while others were just flexible enough to adapt in the face of change.
Either way, most of their efforts paid off. An example includes companies that, instead of shutting down, adopted digital technologies to continue delivering products and services without putting human lives at risk.
Several corporations turned to remote working, allowing employees to work from home. Businesses expanded their online services and home delivery options, serving customers in a safer, faster, and more convenient way.
Moving forward, having a flexible mindset is critical for success. Whether you are running a small business or a large corporation, resilience in every aspect is vital to withstanding disruption. For employees and private contractors, having a risk-mitigation strategy or contingency plan is crucial.
However, what’s more important is a mindset that’s ready to embrace change. That way, you can easily spot opportunities when everything seems dark, hopeless, and uncertain.
2. Invest in Digital Skills and Resources
The majority of the businesses that managed to keep their employees and operations running during the pandemic had invested a lot in digital skills, tech tools, and resources. One thing about technology is that it’s pretty scalable. Unlike legacy operations that are primarily linear, digital processes are non-linear.
Two employees working manually can only do so much in a day. But an automated software can do more in seconds. This is a competitive advantage that certain companies leveraged during the pandemic. When everyone else was sending their employees packing with nothing but a notice of temporary layoff, early-tech adopters gave their employees laptops and other resources to continue working from home.
To stay competitive in the post-pandemic world, you need to invest in future-ready tech skills and resources. For businesses in highly competitive fields such as tech and eCommerce, there’s a greater need to do more as far as tech investing is concerned.
The right choice of tools and resources will always vary based on the industry you are in. So it’s best to consult a professional or do thorough research before investing in any technology.
3. Embrace an Ever-Learning Culture
Besides investing in digital tools and software, you also want to prioritize employee upskilling and reskilling programs. That way, you can empower employees to think differently and embrace a digital culture that nurtures efficiency and data-driven solutions.
Over the last eighteen months, several organizations have been upskilling their employees with a keen focus on digital skills and capabilities. These efforts have had a massive impact on tech trends as digital innovation and investments became mainstream.
Businesses of all sizes have also been forced to rethink user experience as the shift to digital skyrockets. Designers have embraced digital upskilling to ensure better and enhanced services to varied customers whose demands are constantly changing. That said, some online coding and design schools are now offering free intro courses in UX/UI design to help newbie designers learn more about user experience.
So, regardless of your business or professional niche, continuous learning is necessary to keep up with the pace of tech adoption and industry trends.
With digital transformation shaping both the business and corporate worlds, it’s clear that the future is digital. Early adopters of tech were among the first ones to come out of the pandemic stress. They leveraged tech capabilities to enhance their agility and other competitive advantages.
By borrowing the three lessons we’ve shared above, you will not only survive future disruptions but also thrive in uncertain times. Are you looking to build your success trajectory now? Always embrace change, invest in digital skills and resources, and adapt a continuous learning mindset.
You can download in-depth presentations on COVID-19 and 100s of management topics from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives.
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