Top-5 mantras for employees in a small business during a pandemic

As per McKinsey’s report, thirty million small business jobs are vulnerable. The figure is surely disturbing and alarming, given that the pandemic is still at its full strength in some countries. The employees in a small business during a pandemic are at greater risk than larger private-sector employees. This has taken a financial toll on people, caused more significant psychological distress, and raised questions like how to improve efficiency at work and how to work faster and more efficiently from home. So, what could be the mantras for employees in a small business during a pandemic that let them survive this grim situation?

Below we have prepared a list of 5 mantras for employees in a small business during a pandemic that will help them battle uncertainty and distress in both professional and personal lives.

How to Work More Effectively During the Pandemic?

1. Be Prepared For Some Business Landscape Changes

There are MNCs like Twitter, Shopify, Accenture, and few others who profited from work from home as the costs incurred on working spaces and commuting were cut down. However, in a study by Harvard business, it was found that almost 45% of small businesses collapsed because of the pandemic, and total employment by them reduced by 40%. Small businesses are struggling with problems like how to increase work efficiency, and how to work efficiently from home.

While it might be true that the adjustment phase is more challenging, there is a lot more uncertainty than is being discussed.  Sudden and unpredictable changes in the business landscape are a defining feature of the pandemic. So, it might be that policy-makers and stakeholders would have to decide upon strategies that change every few months. Hence, you will have to brace yourselves and be prepared for these changes.

Digital awareness is an important aspect to keep your small business buoyant during these troubled times. The OkCredit app for digital financial management and the OkStaff app for staff management are vital tools to manage your business effectively during the pandemic.

2. Monitor Changing Customer Demands

As a small business employee, you need to be highly vigilant towards the changing customer demands and learn how to work effectively and efficiently to adapt your business model to those demands. The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted people’s daily lives  just like it has caused a stir in the world economy, so it is all the more important for you to understand the changed requirements of your clients and provide them with a viable service. You might be putting in great effort in learning how to work faster and more efficiently, but when the situation demands a more customer-centric approach, hard work needs to be replaced by smart work. With  OkCredit blogs, you can access articles on how businesses flourished during the pandemic, with only few changes in response to changing consumer landscape.

Life is even more complicated now, and the pandemic has taught us the hard way; the only silver lining to this whole scenario is that it allows you to experiment with the way you do business.

Retailers are putting effort into online experiences. Restaurant businesses are offering take-away facilities alongside the delivery of other miscellaneous items, and more brands are collaborating with digital personalities to entertain their customers.

Change is the only constant is an essential mantra for employees in a small business during the pandemic.

3. Manage Accounts Realistically

One of the best mantras for employees in small business during the pandemic,, is to review their current finances and manage them parsimoniously.  The current finances mean not only personal financial decisions but also the company's investment decisions. If the investment seems like an extravagant, untimely expenditure, the employees put forward their opinions about it. If you wish to know more about the kind of cost-cutting practised by small businesses, you can access OkCredit blogs and formulate policies based on the effective strategies mentioned.

The top management would likely make plans on supply chain disruptions, absenteeism due to the disease, and business strategies. So as a stakeholder it's the right and the responsibility of the employees to have a say in these matters.

Also, suppose the firm can’t bear the cost of paying the pre-pandemic salary to its employees. In that case, the employees should come forward in the pay cut policies and arrive at a mutually agreeable decision. This might increase employees' work efficiency, as they are more involved in pay cut policies and would add to a more justified paying custom.

4. Be More Social

Becoming social sounds ironic, especially when health organisations and government bodies have stressed upon the practice of social distancing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t socialise virtually.

You can organise fun off-work team meetings to strengthen employee-boss relationships, increase work efficiency, celebrate successes even smaller ones, and support others through failures. A good idea would be to discuss the challenges that the business is facing as a team and how to improve efficiency in the workplace, even if it is the digital workplace, during these unofficial meetings.

Developing good bonds on and off the professional world will also help you leverage other opportunities like getting referrals, endorsements or jobs when looking for one.

5. Focus On The Larger Picture

“If you want to see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” It might be that you are working more than usual hours, facing a cash crunch due to pay cuts, and mentally exhausted because of the negativity because of the pandemic situation. There is no denying that times are grim, especially for small businesses, but having an optimistic vision would be the best resort in such a scenario. Employers are keener on having employees who know how to work efficiently, irrespective of their situation. The future is unpredictable. Hence, an employee with a positive outlook would be a great asset to an organisation during these times.

Endnotes

The current status of the pandemic still horrifies most of us, and for working individuals, the stress is even more as most of them are perplexed with the question, how to work more efficiently in these times. However, with the mantras mentioned above for employees in a small business during a pandemic, you can find the strength and a strategy to combat the issues raised by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Also Read:

1) 10 Reasons Why It's Easy to Start a Business in India
2) 10 Best Business Sustainability Strategies & Solutions For Business Growth
3) 10 Budgeting Tips For Small Business Owners
4) Tips on How to Recruit the Best Employees for Development of your Small Business

Stay updated with new business ideas & business tips with OkCredit blogs in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi & more!
Download OkCredit now & get rid of your bookkeeping hassles.
OkCredit is 100% Made in India.

FAQs

Q. What are the most vulnerable jobs in small business during the pandemic?

Ans. According to a report by McKinsey, the most vulnerable jobs in small business during the pandemic are the ones that require the least educational qualifications.

Q. What are the funds or programmes delegated towards small business during the pandemic?

Ans. The programmes delegated towards small business during the pandemic are SBI Covid-19 Funding Scheme, Tax Filing Deadline Extension, Covid-19 Start-ups Assistance Schemes (CSAS) by SIDBI, Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana Scheme, and GeM.

Q. What is the impact of Covid-19 on Indian businesses?

Ans. The impact of Covid-19 on Indian business has been adverse. 80% of businesses have faced cash flow difficulties, and 50% of them are facing difficulty in operations. The GDP of the Indian economy fell to 4.7% in the third quarter of 2020.

Q. What are the small businesses that have grown during the pandemic?

Ans. Many small businesses during the pandemic are struggling to survive, but some have flourished too. Virtual tutoring agencies, fitness and wellness programs, delivery service agencies and few others have grown during the pandemic.

Q. Can digital creators be counted in the category of small businesses?

Ans. Yes, digital creators with a less follower base can be counted in the category of small businesses. With the consumption of digital content increasing, they are the small businesses that have leveraged from the pandemic.