What we are experiencing right now is uncharted territory. We had no idea this was coming. Lots of businesses close down. A lot of people lost their jobs. It’s a time of uncertainties. However, we need to realise the great opportunity and profitability when economies reopen. Experts suggest that once the economy comes back to life, it will rebound quickly in a swift manner. And as a small to medium business owner, we need to be positioned to take advantage of that surge.
As a business owner, you should use this downtime to plan, reboot, and create stronger hiring strategies. Here is some practical advice on what you can do now to prepare your business for the future.
- Think about the future
Due to business closing down or cutting staff costs, there are a lot of employees laid off work and unemployment rates are on the rise. With this said, it’s a great time to hire talented candidates that were once working for your competitors. Thinking about hiring amidst a pandemic-induced economic downturn may sound counterintuitive. But if you are positioning your business for the surge when the economy bounces back, you need to have the best employees to give you a more competitive edge.
- Broaden your network
During this downtime, people have more time to spend on building their network, making it a great opportunity for small businesses to reach out and connect with potential candidates. But this doesn’t mean you can skip the process of researching for your candidates’ qualifications and experience. You have to complete some due diligence on potential candidates as you would in normal circumstances at the early stage of the hiring process.
After you’ve gathered the information that you need, invite your candidates to a video call interview to establish a virtual ‘face-to-face’ connection.
- Reevaluate your employee perks and benefits
Take advantage of this downtime and evaluate your position as an employer. Think of ways to improve your business in the post pandemic business environment.
You can start by reviewing your employee perks and benefits packages and give them a competitive and compelling edge to attract ideal candidates. Then, look closely at your plans. As we’ve said, a recovery is coming soon and business could boom at that time. Prepare for the surge and ensure that you have the right time to leverage that opportunity.
None of us is sure what the world will look like when the economy reopens, the best we can do to prepare for the new normal is make new connections, reevaluate employee perks and benefits packages and prepare for the growth opportunities.
