COVID-19 and its variants continue to impact our daily lives. With each passing day, the number of stories cataloging the spread of the virus increases—including in the workplace. Recently, news outlets have reported that a government office in Florida was affected, with the virus spreading throughout the IT department. Through advanced simulations, other media outlets have demonstrated how quickly and easily COVID can infect a group of employees after a single cough.
Together, these stories convey the harsh reality that workers currently face, and pose a crucial question to business owners across the country: What can you do today to protect your business, employees, and customers now and in the future?
Business owners who don’t make the most of this opportunity to build a safer workplace now may experience serious financial repercussions later—from being short-staffed to closing down the office temporarily or even permanently.
If you’ve already implemented short-term adjustments to keep people safe, the next step is to look ahead toward long-term solutions for upgraded office health and safety practices. From equipment to technology, there are many ways to strengthen your business to succeed despite the pandemic and any other future challenges.
1. Purchasing protective equipment to ensure workplace safety
Various equipment and supply solutions can help keep your people and customers safe as the pandemic continues. These may include everything from installing plexiglass at customer service stations to stocking up on face shields or masks for your employees.
Major companies like Walmart, Publix, Albertsons, and Kroger took the lead in March 2020 when they began initiatives to install plexiglass sneeze guards and other physical barriers in their stores to protect their employees.
Implementing in-house cleaning policies or hiring outside vendors to thoroughly sanitize your work environment daily are also key considerations for ensuring everyone’s utmost safety at work—as is remodeling your workspace to allow for social distancing.
2. Using e-commerce to provide easy, remote access to your services
What could digital technologies do for your business? Whether you’re a medical practice or a company centered around product sales, e-commerce may be a viable way to increase business while also protecting your employees and potential customers. Consider online storefronts, telehealth, and other opportunities you can take advantage of in this digital environment.
If you don’t, there is a real risk that competing businesses may soon gain a substantial advantage in your industry—if they haven’t already.
There is an ever-growing list of companies employing e-commerce for the first time due to the pandemic. One such indicator is a recent study of GoDaddy.com by Datanyze, which shows a 48% increase in new domain subscribers between February and April 2020.
There are multiple advantages to employing a digital approach for your business. By expanding your reach to a larger audience online and providing easier access to your products and services, digital solutions offer real opportunities for profit increases. Also, they can contribute to overall safety by limiting in-person interactions.
3. Converting to a work-from-home model to create a strong future foundation
The next item on your business improvement plan is something that decision-makers across industries have to contemplate going forward. There may be disadvantages when it comes to having certain team members or even your entire operation become remote. However, employee and customer health and safety are top-tier benefits of a work-from-home business model.
Some of the biggest companies in the world are already making the switch to some degree. From Amazon, which is allowing employees to work from home twice a week, to Facebook, whose employees can work from home permanently in this pandemic-driven environment—remote work is the new normal.
This type of integration may require significant investment in technology and tools to ensure the security of your business as well as your team members’ ability to collaborate and operate with efficiency. Making certain parts of your business compatible for remote work now can help you strengthen your foundation for future challenges—even, like COVID, the ones you don’t see coming.
How BHG Financial can help
Approximately one year ago, small business owners were surveyed about the impact COVID-19 was having on their business. Of those polled, 54% said they were incurring costs to implement safety measures in the workplace, and 33% stated that these costs were eating directly into their profits.
If your business is facing a similar situation, a working capital loan from BHG Financial can help you add the upgrades your business needs to stay safe in this constantly changing environment. From adding new safety equipment to investing in cutting-edge technology and more, our commercial loan options can help you accomplish significant health and safety updates with ease.
Whatever your needs, our team is here to help. Reach out to us or try our free, no-obligation Payment Estimator and see monthly payment options in as few as 30 seconds.
