The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world to its core. The CDC and WHO continue to send out the same message: Take this seriously.
The vast majority of people have taken proactive measures to avoid exposure, and part of that is restricting how much they leave the house. In office buildings, especially shared ones, the risk of a virus spreading is alarmingly high. Other patron-reliant businesses will find themselves with less customers, as the average person continues to avoid unnecessary contact. It might seem like continuing business is impossible, but this is far from the truth!
Of course there is a way to keep on working, even from one’s home! It’s the internet age, after all. We have the technology, now you just need the right strategy.
How to Keep Things Running Remotely
Those of us who do office work using computers, this transition is much easier. Certainly the added distance can make it a bit harder to communicate, but as long as we make a conscious effort we can bridge the gap with messaging systems. Gchat, Skype, and even Discord can be viable options for communicating. From there, it is all about monitoring progress to ensure everyone is staying productive while on their home computers.
Meetings can be hosted through conference and video calls, allowing for a temporary substitute for face-to-face.
In order to ensure your people are ready to go remote, you need to be proactive and take steps now!
- Ensure all necessary files are accessible to your workers at home. Whether it be by portable hard drive or cloud services, just make sure nobody leaves work at the office.
- Check that everyone has the machines they need to get work done. Some people rely on the computers at the office to get their work done. If this is the case, computers are easy to set up elsewhere. Just send them home with their machines!
- Keep everyone accountable. A morning check-in will make sure everyone is at their machines at the same time. Remind them that just because they are home doesn’t make it any less of a work day!
If you have established these systems ahead of time, you will be able to make the leap to working remotely with few issues.
Other companies that rely on customers actually coming into their business will have a much tougher time. If you physically require people to come to you, going remote sounds like a laughable effort. Don’t be so sure! There are some creative ways to stay productive for your business!
For restaurants, this could be taken quite literally. Services such as GrubHub can help keep business going, even when people are self-quarantining. Just be sure to ensure the health of your workers!
For other businesses, the solution requires more creativity. If your services are meant to utilize in-person instruction, such as a personal trainer or tutor, consider using a video conference service such as Zoom to bridge the gap and continue training. Now might be a fantastic opportunity to teach specific lessons, such as a personal trainer teaching body weight exercises to do at home. This flexibility can increase your value as a brand as well!
For larger scale events, such as gym classes or training seminars, a streaming platform could be for you! By streaming the event, you can continue to engage with your audience and provide real-time service. Many services even give the option for people to leave donations and tips, which could lead to a little extra income during these fiscally challenging times. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram all offer some form of streaming option on their platform. If you want to be really hardcore, Twitch is made specifically for streaming. This can be a technical process, but there are plenty of resources out there that can get you started.
If none of this sounds possible, that doesn’t mean you should just let your business slide for a couple weeks. If you simply cannot make an external effort, make an internal one! Perhaps it’s time to update those old pictures on your business’s facebook, or perhaps you can finally get to work on that advertising campaign you’ve been meaning to get around to.
Even if your business cannot be open, it can certainly benefit from some tender love and care behind the scenes! Now would be a great time to reorganize your space, clean everything top to bottom, and/or consider your strategy for after the crisis. Is your website out of date? Are you still not on social media? Consider all the things you haven’t had the time to work on and attack them. Peralta Design provides services that can help you with all of this and more.
The last thing you should do is nothing! There is always a way to assist your business and come out the other side of this crisis without wasting any time.
Remember: Adaptation is what will keep your business thriving during even the most complicated of times.
We here at Peralta Design have already taken proactive measures and started working remotely as of Monday of this week. However, we haven’t stopped working! We will continue to put in 110 percent effort by evolving and staying ahead of the curve. Like with any challenge we face, we refuse to let it get us down. Even out of the office, Peralta Design is still firing on all cylinders, and ready to help!
