A resilient company is one that can quickly adapt to any disruptions and continue to operate in changing environments while safeguarding its assets. In the wake of COVID-19, many companies are being forced to reconsider their models of operation to survive the crisis.
While some companies have been forced to shut down their operations, others seem to be thriving despite the disruption. How can you set up your company to thrive despite major changes in the business climate? Read on for some of the characteristics of resilient companies that you can build into your business plans.
Have A Strong Moral Purpose
Organizations that have meaningful reasons for being, tend to survive change and disruptions better than organizations that don’t. This is because employees and clients identify with the organization’s mission and do their best to help the company achieve its goals, especially during tough times.
Nurture Your Talent And Workforce
Your employees are the ones that will get your company through a recession. Create a trust-environment whereby employees feel free to bring up ideas or raise concerns about the business. If your employees are afraid of you then you may be losing out on a lot of innovative ideas they could present. They may also not be telling you about problems in your operations that could become huge crises down the line in fear of being ridiculed or being labeled by other employees as ‘rocking the ship’.
Another way to nurture your employees would be to invest in training programs for them. Employees that get regular training are more competent and efficient. Trained employees have also been proven to be more engaged and loyal to their organizations. Lady Askari has a variety of training programs that may be beneficial to your employees and organization. These include business continuity training, security awareness, and while some of your staff are working remotely we even have a special training on cybersecurity awareness for remote workers
Protect Your Assets
Assets are what keep your business running and these should be properly maintained, monitored and safeguarded. Your employees are of course your most important asset as your company will collapse without their input. Take a personal interest in the day to day safety of your employees and ensure they have all the support they need to continue working. As an employer have you ensured that your employees that are working from home are safe and secure?
Other assets that should be protected are your clients, your brand and your physical assets. Lady Askari provides a variety of services that can help you safeguard your employees, clients and physical assets such as close protection services, information alerts, cybersecurity solutions, physical asset protection, static security of your offices, and even remote monitoring.
Maintain An External Focus
Companies tend to look inward especially during a crisis. However, you should train yourself and your employees to maintain an external focus and constantly scan the environment for business opportunities. Knowing what is happening in the business environment will help you anticipate and prepare for change.
Some of the things you and your team should be constantly on top of include changes in industry regulations, government policies, tax regulations, and supply chain resilience.
Improve Communication
Having transparent two-way communication lines with your employees and clientele will make it easy to communicate changes during a crisis. Your stakeholders will already have a foundation of trust with your company hence they will be more open to your decisions on how to carry the business forward.
Regularly Assess And Manage Your Risk
The main way to prepare for a crisis is to regularly assess your internal and external business environment for threats to your business operations. Scenario planning helps your employees’ ability to quickly react to any disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. Your company should also have business continuity and recovery plans in place just in case your main operations face a downturn.
Your Company Must Develop Resilience To Survive The Market
Market disruptions are bound to happen therefore companies must develop resilience to survive. Lady Askari can help your company build resilience through employee training and capacity building as well as enterprise risk management. Contact us at info@ladyaskari.com for a free business consultation through a video conference call, as we do our part to social distance.
Barbara Okumu