This week, our prime minister announced the easing of lockdown restrictions, kickstarting the return to work for many industries. And whilst there are still many measures in place and the return to offices may be far off for many of us, it’s clear that businesses need to start planning for the end of lockdown and how they will survive and thrive in these new conditions and implement the new requirements outlined. We take a look at the process of change, how businesses can prepare to move forward, and 10 areas to focus on.
The process of change
When any life-changing event happens, we tend to go through a range of emotions. This is what is known as ‘The Change Curve’. It varies in length and depth for each of us and we may spend a different amount of time at different stages, or even skip stages altogether! We’ve certainly found ourselves going through these emotions since COVID-19 became a pandemic and lockdown began. But, it’s a process which ultimately leads us to action.
The stages:
Shock – Our initial reaction is often one of shock or disbelief. That we can’t quite believe this event is happening.
Denial – We begin to question whether it’s actually true.
Anger – Once we realise this really is happening, our emotions often turn to anger. We explore how this is going to mess up our lives, playing out all the problems it may cause.
Frustration – Inevitably, this leads to frustration. But we also feel frustration as a result of the things we are no longer able to do with ease, and the situation we have been put into.
Depression – A culmination of these negative emotions results in a downward turn in how we are feeling.
Acceptance – At some point, we begin to accept the position we have been thrust into. This is the point when we start to work out how we are going to move forward.
Problem-solving – This stage is very powerful and is the stage where we begin to think proactively about the situation we are in and what we will do about it. We can begin to plan the actions we will take for our business, and in our personal life, to progress and keep pushing forward.
You may find that you run through this entire process in a matter of hours, it may take a few days, or it may take a bit longer. Try to identify at what stage you are currently at. Once we have reached the problem-solving stage, we can get into the habit of making the changes needed, and making them as often as is needed too.
Your path forward
Throughout these uncertainties, we can still follow the ‘ActionCOACH Opportunity Pathway’ to help prioritise what’s necessary at each stage which is mainly a sporting analogy of Training, Warming Up, the Sprint start and then Compete. With new announcements being made every 3 weeks as to how our economy and lives will further change, there is a constant need for adaptation. To meet these regularly updated measures and restrictions, many of us and our businesses are running at both stages 2 and 4 in parallel. But what does each stage comprise of?
Phase 1 – Lockdown
We all began in the lockdown phase, though there are now the shoots of change beginning to show. During the lockdown, the focus was very much on looking after our staff and families, seeing if we qualify for government assistance and keeping updated on regular updates of any changes being made.
Phase 2 – Training
As we move forward, we move onto the training stage. Here, we formulate a vision of the future, review our current services or product and work out how these may change, and prepare collateral to use down the line. Most importantly, we need to communicate with staff, suppliers and clients, so everyone is aware of any pending changes and the expectations of them in the following days or weeks.
Phase 3 – Warming Up
We begin putting in place the new measures needed to enable a return to work. How will we get to this point? What new rules need to be implemented to meet government restrictions – for example, is more regular cleaning needed? What new skills need to be learned? Whilst you are considering the answer to these questions and more, you can look for opportunities and how you will differentiate yourselves when the market returns. Your staff may begin returning to work at this point, perhaps on a skeleton model or reduced hours, and your marketing should again start to increase to boost awareness.
Phase 4 – Sprint
This phase requires maximum effort. You are getting back up and running. Focus on your existing clients and meeting their needs to a satisfactory level. In parallel, you will also want to emphasize new marketing initiatives, promoting your services. Test and measure the success of every aspect of your business. You can then pinpoint what is working well, and what needs a shift or a little extra support.
Phase 5 – Compete and Grow
Finally, you will reach the compete and grow phase. This is when new systems and processes are in place, allowing for continuous improvement, marketing optimisation and a profitable enterprise that works whether you’re involved directly or not.
10 areas of focus – pivot and shift
The uncertainty of what the future holds for us all right now can be daunting, but by outlining how you will move forward and creating a plan of action, both for managing your business and in our everyday lives, can help manage it once more. Having each step laid out ahead of you will bring both simplicity to the process and encouraging successes as key tasks are ticked off. Here are 10 areas we think it’s important to consider how to develop and whether a pivot in direction is needed:
- Mindset
- Business structure
- Communications
- Marketing and sales
- Products and services delivery
- Supply pipeline
- Workforce
- New opportunities
- Resources education and training
- Metric and measures of success
In summary
To get back to working efficiently and effectively, you will need to make a plan of action. Prepare yourself and those around you for the change which is needed. Consider the new conditions you are working within and how you will need to adapt. Create your vision for what the future holds and prepare yourself for the sprint needed to get you there.
To go through what each stage means for your business, register for our online masterclass focused on preparing you for the end of lockdown.