The current Covid-19 induced crisis forces businesses to act or go bust. In recent articles we have been highlighting a number of actions for businesses to take into consideration when looking at survival in Covid-19 times. We have also explained that for businesses to survive they need to think ahead. The reality is that businesses need to adapt to the “New Normal” in order to survive and realistically a lot of planning and soul searching needs to happen before a business is prepared to emerge into the “New Normal”.
The crisis in Malta is as expected. While from a public health perspective there is an attempt to control the numbers, for businesses the crisis is deepening and getting worse. In working with businesses and supporting them to navigate these troubled waters, we work through some of these actions and, in addition, we urge them to undertake a risk assessment process that will assist them with addressing immediate survival, whilst also preparing the business to ‘accelerate’, when the time comes. The risk assessment can be generally split into short-term and medium-to-long term.
Short-term oriented risk assessment
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Sales and Collections Risk – Monitor that your sales are of sufficient levels and make sure that you are collecting your dues. Look at different scenarios and take the required actions to manage the cash flow.
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Client Risk – How are your clients being impacted and evaluate which industries are doing better than others and which industries are struggling? Are your clients experiencing any issues? Have you been in communication with them?
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Workforce Risk – How is your workforce experiencing the situation? What kind of support do they require? Evaluate and revisit your policies and consider offering psychological support to your employees as they adapt to working from home, whilst also handling family situations including health issues.
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Business Partner Risk – How are your business partners, suppliers reacting to the situation? Have they adapted to the new situation? Are they still able of keeping to their commitments? Do they require your assistance? Can you rely on your business partners for assistance?
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Technology Risk – As highlighted in one of our previous articles, the importance of technology has increased immeasurably. Evaluate your technology and ensure that it provides you with sufficient business continuity options that propel your business into the future.
Medium-to-Longer term risk assesment
One reality to which we are all starting to adapt is that local, national and global economies will shrink. Businesses need to be prepared to structure their operation for an economy which will have unfortunately, grown smaller and which may lack clear directions for growth. Some industries, for example, might also still be hampered by international travel restrictions etc… In considering all this, “…the survival of your business will probably depend on your creativity. You need to find ways to ensure business continuity and to keep providing and selling your services.” (CMG Consulta).
CMG Consulta is happy to put our experience at your disposal in order to help your business deal with the current situation and overcome it. Contact us for a free 1 hour consultation.
