The SME industry is one of the sectors of the economy that is at maximum threat due to the corona pandemic. Nevertheless, there are forward looking solutions to tackle the issue that we are going to discuss in this article.
A Ready Team: A medical emergency with global repercussions is the reality of the day. There is no turning back from this. Organisations can include epidemic and pandemic mitigation techniques in their training programs in order to stay on top of the situation. Investments have to be made in these areas both with monitory and human resources.
Insured SMEs: Even though complete losses can not be mitigated by SME level insurances, they can clearly provide some relief in tough times preventing a complete throttling of the enterprise. Even though the recurring costs of such an investment are slightly on the higher side, it is clearly one of the best options to battle future calamities.
A Future Ready Workplace: A future ready workplace is the one more sensitive towards health hazards and better equipped to maintain hygienic and safe working conditions. In case of an emergency, the organisations should have an employee safety protocol especially prepared for mass disasters of a medical nature like COVID19. It is this knowledge creation where we need to engage the best minds in industrial safety and rescue planning.
Smart Architecture: Better and improved architecture also has a big role to play in the psychological upkeep of the employees. Architectural styles that depict a flat organisation as opposed to those symbolising a rigid hierarchy are more likely to create feelings of belonging and a shared ownership and hence a more natural responsibility. Remember- compassion works where remuneration fails.
Optimise Workflow: The workflow should be optimised by decentralising it. Both recognition and responsibility should be fairly distributed. Health hazards are often a result of undue pressures and wrong responsibility-accountability structures. Once these things are taken care of, team work becomes easier and employers can move a bit beyond the carrot and stick policy that beraves employees of any intrinsic motivation, making them a slave to external materialistic desires that do not ensure long term employee loyalty.
Cash Flow Optimisation: Cash flow optimisation is key to maintaining balance in an SME. A healthy organisation has healthy books. Debt is good only till it can be served and in volatile times, it is advisable to invest cautiously and in multiple places while practicing austerity in company expenditure to maintain a stable cash flow in case of any untoward incident.
Investments in the Social Sphere: Deeper thinking reveals that investing in small amounts over a long period of time in social capital is not just limited to a few projects of CSR. It is a sustained social commitment to a better and more inclusive world. Entrepreneurs who keep this in sight would reap advantages in the form of social support and invincible stability in the future due to popular mass adoration. Indeed they would be called true social entrepreneurs with a vision much beyond profiteering.