COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic earlier this month by WHO. This disease that is caused by coronavirus was discovered back in December 2019 in Wuhan China. It has infected over 410,000 and killed 16,000 of them as of today. COVID-19 is not only a threat to our health but also businesses, the global economy, and the gig economy as well.
Several countries have put measures on how to overcome this deadly virus and some of these involve total lockdowns that have forced people to work from home. However, this kind of arrangement will affect companies differently. This is because the way companies rely on the physical presence of workers varies in magnitude. For instance, a news blogging company may not be affected as much when their workers work from home as a civil construction company.
In this post, I am going to share with you the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and the Gig economy. I will also briefly discuss how companies and startups can get the best out of their team that is currently working remotely
The Impact of COVID-19 on companies/startups and the gig economy
- A sharp drop in revenue for most businesses: This will be the first impact businesses will face especially those dealing in non-essential products. With the ongoing pandemic, the movement of people has been limited that leads to people spending less on non-essential goods. This is what will finally lead to a sharp drop in revenue. For instance, between February and March, it has been reported that iPhone sales in China have dropped by over 61%. Almost every industry has been affected but the most affected industries are the tourism and travel industries
- Essential goods businesses will thrive: Companies that manufacture or supply essential products like medical equipment and accessories, sanitizers, safety masks, gloves, etc. are likely to see spikes in their sales in this period. While supply chain and logistics challenges may occur at the onset of the pandemic, these issues will be mitigated with time as companies and governments work together to address shortages.
- Companies in the delivery business will also thrive: Last week Jeff Bezos in his letter to Amazon employees highlighted the fact that the past few weeks have been the busiest for almost everyone at Amazon. The company is even considering hiring more employees to reduce the burden of the current Amazon staff. Yes, Amazon and other delivery companies are doing a great job but at the end of the day, they don’t do this for free. So, in the next few months, delivery companies will likely have sharp increments in their revenue.
- Laying off workers: Many companies across the globe have started laying off workers both on a temporary and permanent basis. Due to the sharp drop in sales and revenue, most companies are starting to lay off workers to reduce costs in these trying times.
- Freelance work down at the moment but expected to grow dramatically: Freelancers on the various platforms like Fiverr and Upwork have reported a sharp drop in their revenue. This being a pandemic, the whole world is affected which means most of the people supposed to be hiring freelancers are now spending their money on buying essential goods and services. Or some of them could even be battling with the disease.
What steps can businesses take to thrive in these hard times especially with teams working from home
Despite the hardships, it is possible to put measures that can help your business to move forward. It’s hard but possible. Here are some of the strategies you can use
- Safety: The first thing you should do as a company is to make sure everyone is safe. This is not the responsibility of only leaders, but everyone on the team. Of course, leaders have to spearhead the cause but the commitment of every team member is key. This can be done through effective communication of how covid-19 is spread and the signs and symptoms of those having covid-19. If everyone on the team is safe then it will be easy to apply all the other measures.
- Leaders should be more empathetic than ever: These are the times when business leaders have to be more understanding than ever. For instance, if you call one of your team members and they don’t pick up, don’t send an immediate text telling them how unserious they are. Instead, first, inquire if at all they are fine and then explain to them your concern after. When the people you lead know that you care about them, they will most likely return the favor by taking care of the company to make sure they get through these times as a team.
- Continue having meetings via group video calls. If your business/startup normally conducts weekly meetings to evaluate performance and set targets, such meetings should continue happening. Platforms like skype and slack can be used to make group video calls for such meetings. This helps the workers to always be at per as far as weekly targets and performance evaluations are concerned.
- Workers can take rotational unpaid leaves. If the company is constantly making losses in these times, let all the members on the team know about the figures before you take any measures. One of the measures you can take is to ask members to take rotational unpaid leaves for one month. This is a more effective and empathetic strategy than laying off workers. Because it is better for everyone on the team to suffer a little than letting a few members suffer a big burden (laying them off). However, this strategy will require those remaining on duty to put in extra effort to compensate for the input of the members that are on leave
- Follow the advice of your local government and WHO: In these times, it would be a big blow to your business if you don’t follow guidelines from your local authorities and WHO. Not following the guidelines may not only put your workers at risk but it also put your business license at risk. Your business license could easily be canceled if you disobey some of the guidelines put by the government and WHO. To avoid such inconveniences, make sure you follow all the measures that authorities have put in place to fight covid-19.
