I recently read an interesting article on Pipedrive Blogs and wanted to share some of it, and my thoughts, with you. “What to do when a health crisis changes the way we work”.

Whether you are an SME or big corporate, it’s more than likely that you’ve been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has forced many of us to change the way we do ‘LIFE’ – the way we work as well as spending so much more time in our ‘home-offices’, forcing us to adapt to a new Work-Life-Balance.

On the business side, and related to sales, this has led to a sudden shift in consumer behaviour that leaves us with no choice but to adapt and make changes.

For us in Sub-Sahara Africa, the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 showed us just how quickly life can change. One of the greatest impacts was on the way we work – in many cases from a new location (home) as well as the way in which we support our employees, customers and peers.

I’ve also read that several big corporates (the likes of Nedbank) have adopted a remote working infrastructure as the new norm, and this at a rapid pace, to ensure that those who have the ability to work from home can do so. Many were successful, while others are still overcoming teething pains.

When reading the article, the following stood out for me as the most pressing and impactful:

“So, what’s the best response to a crisis like this? How do we shift our behaviour and routines with minimal disruption?

Gustav Piater

In general, it’s great to have the tools and flexibility for remote working set up in your organization, regardless of whether or not you will use them in your day-to-day. Having these infrastructures, technologies and processes in place is vital, especially when a major life event or public crisis keeps you or your team away from the office.

For example, sales teams must implement a stack that allows for both internal communication and reliable video calls with prospects.

Processes also need reviewing. What policies will you put in place to allow people to do their best work? For example, during the COVID-19 outbreak, many schools have been shut down. This means parents must strike a balance between work and looking after their children.

To respond to this, many organizations have adopted flexible working hours. As long as team members are available for two to three hours a day for communication, it doesn’t matter when they get their work done.

Audit the activities you conduct on a daily basis and see how you can optimize them for optimal remote working efficiency. Ask your team for their perspective and allow them to contribute.

After all, these changes affect everyone in different ways. Take a dynamic approach and empower your team to perform to the best of their abilities.”

I believe that by now a new normal has set in and you have, hopefully, mostly adopted to the new. But, the only guarantee we have is that things will change once again. As Heraclitus said, “The Only Constant in Life Is Change.”