covid19

Having seen businesses continue to succeed while their employees work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s no surprise that a number of companies plan to keep offering the option of remote working. In fact, according to a Gartner Inc survey, 82% of business leaders plan to allow their staff to work remotely some of the time.

There are several signs to suggest that as a nation we’re through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Infection rates have fallen from the highs seen in mid-April, and London – which was one of the worst affected localities – recently saw no new coronavirus cases for a full 24-hour period.

Small business owners will be relieved that lockdown looks set to be easing. However, this isn’t a return to normal. Business needs to think of the changing situation as moving forward into a new normal and continue to deal with the reality of the coronavirus.  Handling this period will take resilience and adaptability from business owners.

As communities begin to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are looking to take the right steps in preparing for that reopening. Experts are discussing the importance of careful planning during this stage of the pandemic. Business owners will need to be informed about how to properly reopen.

Do you remember the time when our main worry was the dreaded B word?  Deal or no deal? Then everything changed as Covid-19 challenged us in a dramatic way. Over the last few weeks, many small businesses have been taking on the challenge: making provision for team members working from home; analysing the various forms of government help and evaluating how best it can be applied in our individual organisations; projecting the immediate and the longer-term financial impacts. Simultaneously, we’ve had new plates to spin at home as we home school or do online shopping for elderly relatives etc.

April is the time when many businesses will take stock of the year just gone, whilst planning for the quarters ahead, however, the impact caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may loom heavily over these plans.  Many businesses are attempting to balance outgoings and ensure cashflow remains intact for the next few months, which, for many, could bring a downturn in income.  To mitigate the deepening economic and social impact, the UK Government has introduced a package of support to help both employers and employees through the crisis.

We made the decision to get our whole team working remotely well ahead of the Government’s advice to take this step. We called a morning meeting on 10^th March and had transitioned to remote working by the time everyone left that day.