75% of small to medium sized business owners say they’ll continue remote work options long term. Tech firm CMHWorks was already 100% remote before COVID. How did it work during the crisis? At CMHWorks we reviewed the impact of the changes in the business landscape and resoundingly agreed the following concepts were keys for us in 2020 and will continue to be in 2021.Here’s what we found.
The Five C’s of 2020
If you take away nothing else from 2020, here are five considerations we call the Five Cs we suggest every business consider in its 2020 strategy planning:
- Culture– Having everyone engaged is critical. Think about all the employee issues managers deal with. Now consider dealing with those issues day-to-day with staff you don’t often (or ever) meet with in-person. Moreover, your company’s ability to instill or maintain the cultural vision, principles and behaviors when your staff is rarely, if ever, physically together in critical.
- Controls– All policies, practices and procedures need to be reviewed and brought in line with the remote reality. Address these things now or address them in mediation later.
- Costs– Cost control is critical. Give no one a blank check for equipment, software, subscription services, etc. Have your team devise best practices and how to implement well considered goals.
- Customers– Don’t forget your clients/customers. Access to staff may be altered greatly. Clients accustomed to face-to-face dialog may balk at using video chat. Be understanding of their needs and explain the purpose of new measures. Stress relevant benefits such as drive time savings.
- Cyber Security– Implement stringent and appropriate cyber security protocols to protect your intellectual property. Your business’s assets and communications are at more risk than ever before, not due to the pandemic, but due to internationals corporate espionage primarily at the hands of bad actors like China and Russia.
Key Takeaways
Make no mistake, a remote workforce can produce significant challenges to the execution of day-to-day operations if not designed and managed correctly. Approach these challenges now, not when the company drives off the rails of common internet security practice.
All of these are shared challenges. Your competition must deal with them as well. Therein you can also find opportunity. Protect your staff and assets. Value your customers. Be smart about communication technology and do business in the ways of tomorrow. One thing for sure. “we’ve always done it this way” should never be spoken in a company meeting ever again.
