As we move from Covid as a pandemic to an endemic disease it feels like there is a lot to think about for the future. Covid isn’t going away, we are going to live with it, but what does that mean for our business and work lives?
Whilst restrictions have been removed there is still a practical problem. People continue to get poorly and the disease spreads fast. In a workplace Covid can still prevent a challenge and one that as employers we must be prepared for.
Mix into that other global events, general inflationary pressure and the long tail of Brexit problems, and the outlook for 2022 looks to be very challenging for business owners.
One option would be to raise the alert level to “wild hysteria and panic”, worry about everything and lay out plans to mitigate all possible eventualities.
“We did not cause it, we can not influence it”
Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea FC manager, made this point when asked how sanctions would affect the club, suggesting his focus was on the next game – what was in front of him.
I’ve had this mantra for a while now. Deal with what’s in front of you and don’t worry about things you can’t control.
But with so many issues where should the focus be? Here are the five topics at the top of my list (no particular order)
Covid, Business continuity is important and therefore I’m focusing in on maintaining a “safe” workplace. One that isn’t drowning in heavy restrictions but that promotes easy practices to reduce the risk of an outbreak in the office.
Productivity, Hybrid working is here to stay and I’m concerned with productivity. Ensuring that we plan our work in a way that is as flexible as hybrid working is and measured on outputs, not inputs.
Management, Working within and managing a distributed team requires a different mindset and set of skills. There must be equality and inclusion of everybody, no matter where they are working. Communication, co-ordination and control need to be priorities for managers.
Cost increases, Some of our costs will go up. The Social Care Levy will add 1.25% onto our salary costs and will increase the costs of any overheads where labour is a key component of the service. For example, as cleaning and energy prices rise this will push up our cleaning and electricity bills. Some overheads are likely to rise as businesses deal with their own cost increases. The cost of goods will increase, a result of higher shipping costs, whilst the impact of the rise in National Minimum Wage will push prices up, especially in sectors where lower cost labour is more widespread. We can’t change these factors but we can zero in on cost control and look at our own pricing.
Good Habits, Taking care of the basics is my final topic. Good credit control, great customer service, delivery of a timely product, efficient management of working capital, control of cash and regular review of management accounts are all good habits at anytime. When there are distractions it’s easy to stray from the basics that make the wheels turn and so a daily reminder to focus in on them is good practice.
Every SME’s challenges will be different and priorities will therefore not be the same across every business but what is important is that we don’t go into a wild panic but deal with what’s in front of us, focusing on what you can control and influence.