A post-lockdown wake-up call for business

Slowly but surely, businesses in every sector are heading back to work. 

But they are heading back to work facing a unique set of challenges.

For the majority of companies navigating a path back to some sort of normality with a clear plan for going back to work safely and efficiently is essential. Equally vital, is having a clear strategy for managing your business finances.

This is likely to be a huge wake-up call for businesses who until now may not have responded in the best way possible. Now is the time for organisations to ensure they get back on the right track by refocusing the business and perhaps incorporating aspects into their financial and operational planning that have not previously been considered.

Customers will be demanding a different approach to fulfilling their needs. Many companies will need to alter their supply chain and adapt their business strategy to focus on being closer to the customer. And of course there are financial implications for these, both positive and negative. Some may need to adjust their product offering to accommodate new consumer needs. Others may need to diversify in this regard, perhaps innovating within their distribution channels, up-weighting one route over another, or changing channels altogether, so as to secure existing revenue and/or develop new revenue streams. Wherever change is required, you will need to adapt pretty quickly now, to be more agile in the future and accept the new normal with a positive outlook.

Furthermore, businesses must make sure their objectives and plans align with this new normal.

By re-evaluating future plans for the business and analysing the company's financial health, it's prudent to consider whether you are sufficiently capitalised. This may involve selling stakes or reducing employee salaries, or cutting down on credit and repayment of debts, for example. These are just a few of the things that can help boost the financial stability of your company.

From a personnel perspective, a review of your current status with regard to Government initiatives and funding support you've adopted is sensible. With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) being tapered, you need to know how you can continue to obtain support. You need to evaluate and plan for any redundancies you might have to make to mitigate cost and risk to your business, for example. And you need to plan for and communicate the critical steps for employees to follow when returning to the office with a workable plan that not only protects staff but promotes productivity too, as any relaunch operation will likely be an all-hands on deck effort.

In these uncertain times, remaining operationally robust, being adequately and astutely funded and sufficiently profitable are going to be key. Those companies that have such a grip on their financial management in the post-lockdown landscape will be far better placed to succeed in the months and years ahead.

To conclude, the matrix of considerations at this time are many and GSM are here to help its clients to establish a clear path to retaining and building on the value in your business. Call GSM today to arrange a free, no-obligation meeting with one of our Partners on 020 7935 3793