Planning your come back

About the Author:

Paul Wilton (editor)

CA with degrees in commerce, accounting and information technology. Paul worked overseas in the “Big 4” accounting firms and served as a director at Audit New Zealand before setting up his own consultancy. Author of A-Z of New Zealand Business Law, Paul has over 20 years of experience as a business owner and consultant. He joined FBA in 2004 and is totally committed to providing excellence in quality and value to our subscribers. 

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Be prepared for the unexpected

In just a couple of days New Zealand will be returning to normal....or will it?  Whilst we can be very grateful to live in a country that has put the health and lives of its people first, the impact has been huge and there are bound to be changes. 

Every business and individual will have been affected in a unique way.  Whatever your circumstances, you are bound to come across unexpected challenges and obstacles as you ease back into new routines. Moving into Level 2 will be easier for some than it will be for others. 

It will help to think and plan ahead. 

Supply Chain

You will probably have already been in touch with suppliers.  The extent to which supply chains will have been affected will vary greatly from business to business.  Understand how it will impact you and figure out how to respond.  The same will apply to all areas of your business.

Sales

Try to anticipate your customer behaviour.  Demand for your products and services may be atypical. On the other hand, it may follow a similar pattern to your return after the summer holidays. 

If you are able to contact at least a sample of your customers in advance, do so.  As a minimum, you will have the opportunity to ask how they have been doing and show that you care.  Ask how they are planning to respond as we move into Level 2.  Is there anything they need from you now?  How long will it be before they plan to be out and about?  Would they like to put in any orders through your website or even by email?

See what your competitors are doing.  Gauge if you need to have a come-back sale or specials to boost sales.  If you do, make sure your customers know about it. 

Staff

Cut your staff a bit of slack as they return to work.  Depending on how closely you have been in touch with them, they may be very anxious about their own positions. 

It is likely that you will be expecting some staff at least to be doing things in a different way in response to the hygiene requirements.  Other changes may be required and some employees will respond better than others to requests for change.

Some may not be able to return to work on Thursday due, for example, to child minding commitments.  Now is a good time to be in touch with them, to find out their plans.

Other

Consider how the health restrictions will affect your business and what needs to be done in advance to comply. Restaurant owners have pointed out that their prices may be affected by additional costs, like advance booking apps, to enable them to operate under new conditions. 

Consider whether there will be any unexpected costs that can affect your profits.  If your prices need to rise, make sure your customers understand why.

Pause to think of other areas of your business that may be affected or need special planning before your office opens.

Returning to work

Give some thought to the timing.  Will you be ready to be fully operational by Thursday?  If not, you may want to take a advantage of this week to get ready and prepare for opening on Monday.

Consider options for allowing some staff to continue working from home for a while at least, especially if they have special needs or health-related concerns.

Try to make the return to work as stress free and enjoyable for all.  Perhaps put some chocolates on the desks of your staff.  Arrange a meeting to brief everyone and be prepared to answer questions on how your business has been affected and how you will be responding.

Make times for one-on-one meetings with those who need to talk to you in private or if you have different messages for different individuals.  In this case, it may pay to arrange a separate appointment with each staff member, to avoid speculation and rumours.

Be frank and open without creating unnecessary stress and anxiety if the situation is dire.  Be as positive as you can.  Employees will be looking to you for inspiration and motivation.  Give some thought to this in advance.

Worst Case

Some businesses have been very badly hit over this time.  If this applies to you, take advantage of bank and government assistance if it will help.  Make sure you understand the conditions, risks and costs.  If you are unsure of how to respond to your financial position and do not have confidence that things will get better in time to turn things around, seek professional help and advice sooner rather than later.  If you need to restructure, follow the recommended process. Failing to do so could be very costly.

Best Case

Some businesses will benefit now from pent-up demand.  May this apply to you! If so, make sure you have sufficient stock/resources to meet the demand and this is where touching base with customers in advance can be very helpful for planning ahead. 

Where to from here?

You may find that you are rushed off your feet for a while, but all businesses may experience some downtime due to unique circumstances that may apply.  Rather than being frustrated by this, take the opportunity to learn from lessons of the past several weeks and look at how you can introduce lasting improvements in your business as a result.  Read our articles: What Business are you in and Carpe Diem and seek help from your employees to plan a brighter future.

FBA Editor

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