The Covid-19 pandemic has suspended ways of life, decimated businesses and put governments on their knees. But even in the midst of this disruption, we must continue to plan and dream of a better future as individuals, corporate entities and governments.
As chief executive of a listed company that directly and indirectly supports tens of thousands of jobs and livelihoods, my primary concern is to figure out how to survive the pandemic, ride it out and thrive in the years ahead.
There are multiple factors that will come into play to determine how successful businesses will look like post Covid-19. The first, and most critical, is that businesses must emerge with their key talent intact.
Companies must make a deliberate effort to protect their employees by observing all scientific and government guidelines that have been issued to stem the spread of the deadly virus. That means, for example, allowing as many staff as possible to work from home, to forestall an office-wide contagion.
As companies keep track of employees’ productivity during this time of disruption and working from home, they must take measures to safeguard their safety and wellbeing since it is the staff who drive sales and keep businesses afloat.
The second most critical point is for businesses to put in place measures that assure customers of their safety. The more customers feel safe, the more they will be willing to engage and transact with you.
That could mean, for example, innovating alternative delivery channels that minimise the need for physical contact and hence the chances of contracting the virus.
Most important though, businesses must devise a way to remain profitable, preserve their core competencies, retain and even win new customers.
Covid-19 has significantly reduced demand for goods and services across a wide range of industries, applying pressure on revenues and profit margins. The slump in demand can be attributed to restrictions on movement, a dent on consumer confidence and disruption of traditional delivery channels.
Businesses must therefore find ways of addressing this slump in customer demand, to remain in business. The collapse in demand, at least in Kenya and most of Africa, was most notable in April and May after most countries on the continent reported their first cases of Covid-19 in March.
The situation has subsequently improved, confirming the fact that life has to go on, even in the midst of the pandemic. What this means, however, is that businesses must now pursue their customers to […]