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Read MoreHow you can shift from surviving to thriving
How you can shift from surviving to thriving
By Michelle Johnson of PCW Consulting Group
For many businesses, the past few months have been all about getting by and taking it one day at a time.
The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in almost daily change for most organisations, so the need to act swiftly and ‘firefight’ has been the priority in an attempt to stay afloat. However now is the time to be proactive, rather than reactive.
This can be a difficult shift to make while many things might feel uncertain, but taking the time to plan ahead and assess current processes is a great way to prepare your business for the long term – no matter what comes your way. Going from a ‘surviving’ mindset to a ‘thriving’ mindset can help you step back and consider where you want to take your business, how you’re going to get there, and what the outcome will be – whether it’s a more efficient and effective workforce or winning new clients.
How will you bring your business back to life?
A post-COVID world might feel far away, but already we’re seeing how businesses are adapting their structures and processes to prepare for the long run. Your organisation is likely to be a very different place, when compared with the start of 2020, with new objectives and ways of working, so now is the time to actively assess what changes need to be made so you can thrive in the future.
There are a number of approaches to adopt. You’ll need resilience and resolve to push forward with any new ideas you have. You can no longer build structures around old ways of working, so it might feel worrying to implement something new and innovative in your business. Moving forward with determination will not only give you the confidence you need to thrive, but it’ll give your people and clients the knowledge that any changes you make have your full backing.
Reimagining what your business can be, it’s purpose and its culture so it’s fit for a post-COVID world – particularly in a time when home working is encouraged – will help you deliver the services and support that your clients need. Reforming old structures that no longer serve you will also help to streamline and strengthen your offering, ensuring that you move forward with the most efficient and effective ways of doing things.
Recover, rebuild, rethink
In a volatile world, it’s more important than ever to do the groundwork that will take your business to the next level. It’s a time of reflection, particularly during lockdown, giving us all space to consider how we can do things differently. This really is a once in a generation opportunity.
Recovering revenue is a high priority for many businesses at the moment. If things have been quiet over the past few months, or you’re seeing a steady incline as people adapt to a new way of living and working, now is the time to focus on maximising your people and profit so your business is as future-proof as possible.
Identifying areas of opportunity in your market, diversifying your offering to better suit a post-COVID world, upskilling your teams such as sales and customer services, and adapting your forecasts with the changing times will help you to build back your client base and maximise profits.
Over the past few months, it may have become apparent that some processes work better than others, while some have come out as surprising wins. Rebuilding your operations around what has worked and what hasn’t during the pandemic will ensure your business is flexible and has adapted to the times. It’s likely that the ways we’re working now will be with us for the foreseeable future so stopping operations that haven’t proven efficient and implementing new ways of working will help you build back better.
COVID-19 has proven once again that people want to work for and buy from organisations that put people first. Whether this be genuine workplace practices that foster inclusivity and put their people before profit, or showing support for local communities that need it most, people are making active choices about where they spend their money and time based on the purpose and culture of a business.
Organisational design can be a powerful tool to help you make the most of the resources you have in order to build new and better processes that bring you closer to your goals. Those goals have likely shifted since January 2020, so it’s important that your business is built to drive you towards those objectives rather than around existing people and processes that may no longer serve you.
Gone are the days where we can take months to implement change. Now, organisational design needs to be undertaken sooner rather than later because very little can be predicted or anticipated in advance so you must be ready for anything.
If you’re in a quiet period now, take the opportunity to reflect on your current environment, how effective your current processes are operating, test new structures and plan how you’re going to transition from old structures to new. Your business will be better placed to handle whatever the pandemic throws your way.
Find out more about Michelle and request a FREE one-to-one session by filling out the form here.
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