Many things are up in the air in 2020. Although there is a lot of talk about when a coronavirus vaccine will be available, there is not yet a sure date of when that will happen. No one is sure what will happen with infection levels as the weather gets colder and people are forced to spend more time indoors. The presidential election is less than two months away; as of yet, there is no clear idea of who will win.
Although there is always some level of uncertainty built into business, 2020 has brought more change and uncertainty than most people could have anticipated. How can enterprise businesses plan for an uncertain future? By creating a resiliency plan. Here are some pieces to consider when building one for your organization.
Components of an Enterprise Business Resiliency Plan
Strong Leadership
An essential step in a resiliency plan is to communicate effectively and quickly with your employees. Most will be more disturbed by a lack of direction than they would be by a simple “We’re aware things have changed and we’re working on how to address this” email. By being open about the process and acknowledging what has changed and how it’s affecting the company and its people, you’ll be able to maintain trust with your people. This leads to lower turnover and a better sense of loyalty to the company.
A List of Priorities
When things change quickly, it’s not always possible to continue business as usual. In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, many enterprise businesses immediately had to switch gears from day-to-day operations to figuring out how to get their employees set up to work from home as fast as possible. This change in direction happened in addition to figuring out how to manage tasks that happened in person in a way that was safe for everyone involved. Having a list of priorities can help immensely. It makes it easier to determine which teams will continue to do their jobs and which can be pulled off their normal duties to work on any changes that need to be made to the organization. For example, customer relations may need to continue working to keep clients updated and manage expectations while IT workers prioritize implementing new cloud-based software.
An Emergency Fund
Not all emergencies – or their impact – can be anticipated. For that reason, it’s important to keep a fund earmarked for unforeseen emergencies. This includes a drop in sales, investing in new technology, and other components that may be necessary to keep the business afloat.
Overall, there are a number of ways that an enterprise business can prepare for the unexpected. A resiliency plan is one way to mitigate the risk in uncertain times.