How to Continue Your Business Operations in Face of Coronavirus
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the Middle East and the globe, businesses are rushing to understand the impact of this on their viability, how they can continue their operations, and what arrangements they need to make for their employees and clients.
Various countries (i.e. Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, and others) have already announced country-wide lockdowns. Several countries (i.e. UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.) are placing strict measures on travel, movements, and gatherings in effort to slow down the spread of Coronavirus.
These measures have left organizations big and small wondering about their ability to implement remote work options (check out these remote jobs in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other countries in the region), resorting to technology to run their operations, and to search every possible alternative to maintain a sense of normalcy.
While this sudden shift is causing a lot of panic and uncertainty, it is also shedding light on how powerful technology can be in this critical time. We are coming to realize that there is a plethora of tools and software that supports just about every kind of virtual business function. From teleconferencing, to shared projects, to online hiring and talent management, and all the way to virtually simulated events and conferences, the possibilities are massive.
Many companies, especially those that already operate in the technology field are finding the shift less cumbersome (think of social media companies, digital news outlets, software providers, and such). Other establishments that are more heavily dependent on physical contact (such as restaurants, retailers, government agencies, etc.) are a bit challenged with this task.
Nonetheless, it is vital that all kinds of organizations and sectors quickly look at utilizing virtual and online technologies to minimize the economic and financial burden that is already surfacing due to COVID-19. Similar to how cities and entire countries are going on lockdown to curb the spread of the virus; businesses, organizations, and governments can (and should) quickly deploy tools that minimize physical contact in order to ensure some form of business continuity.
Here are some tools and strategies that can help businesses navigate through this phase.
For those wondering how hiring can take place while most of the world is on lockdown, the answer is online recruitment. Today’s technology means that the entire process of searching and locating your future employees can take place 100% online and with zero physical contact.
Well-known Job Postings and highly utilized CV Search tools allow companies to maintain their talent sourcing efforts. Recruiters can announce their vacancies, utilize automated filters and screening questionnaires, and communicate online with the desired candidates.
These tools are not only accessible from anywhere and anytime, they can actually be shared and utilized by multiple members of the same team. CVs can be shared, annotated, tagged, and sorted into folders so that remote teams can collaborate and maintain their hiring rhythm.
Some companies are also worrying about the ability to assess and interview candidates. Typically this step is done through a face-to-face job interview, a panel interview, or an in-office assessment. But, even for this step, there are virtual and highly effective alternatives that deem physical contact completely unnecessary.
Evalufy, allows companies to measure candidates against their benchmarks with customized assessments, video responses and collaborative scoring. This tool fully streamlines the assessment and interviewing process since companies can send their assignment to many candidates at once. Respondents then record their answers, which in turn can be viewed, scored, and discussed among the hiring teams.
Similarly, more specialized tests and role-specific assessments can be conducted and scored fully online. Employer tests are often vital steps for hiring companies, and just because they cannot be administered physically, that doesn’t mean there is no possibility to conduct them fully remotely.
Conferences, tradeshows, exhibitions, expos, career fairs, trade shows, and various other events across the Middle East and the globe have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely due to the Coronavirus spread. Yet, the good news is virtual reality and simulation technology is now advanced enough to provide a fully virtual event experience.
VFairs is a widely used platform that provides customized virtual event experiences. Governments, universities, and companies around the world are utilizing this technology to carry on with their vital events and operations that need to be conducted at a large scale with no physical contact at all.
Even once a new employee is found and offered the job, the onboarding process can also take place in an online and safe environment. This step typically involves lots of paperwork, logistics, software and access set up, training, and endless coordination. But there are possibilities to conduct it in a streamlined and efficient online manner.
With tools like Afterhire, businesses facing the uncertainty of COVID-19 have the option of automating onboarding flows, tracking the progress of onboarding virtually, collaborating with the remote teams involved in onboarding (i.e. IT, finance, Administration, etc.), protecting sensitive data and ensuring it is only accessed by the right personnel, consolidating all employee data, and overall ensuring the process is done much more efficiently and accurately than any traditional method.
Running a fully remote team, department, or entire company may sound daunting at first. But once a strategy is placed and all essential tools are deployed, there is little reason to worry. Yes, proactive management and frequent communication is required, but it should all be manageable.
In regards to collaboration, communication, project management, and the fun day-to-day matters, here are some tools to get you on the right track.
Bonus point: we’ve written another guide from a team-manager’s perspective on how to effectively run remote teams. Feel free to check it out.
