-Kabilan D

By the time you are reading this, many of you would have attended a handful of webinars, read pages and pages of advisory on the global impact our businesses are going through. The COVID-19 pandemic has shattered businesses across all walks of life. Rather than only speaking about the issue and impossible business jargons, it is better to apply some practical, doable simple methods. I am proposing this not by just reading some books or insights of management gurus. I feel that by following these 5Cs can help you face the hardships easily.

Cash Management – We need to take stock of our cash position. Cash in Bank and Account Receivable in the markets. We need to re-look at expenditures which can be avoided during this situation so that we don’t deplete our cash reserves. We should take all measures to collect all out standings faster. Renegotiate our credit terms with our customers and vendors so that our cash reserves are better.

Customers – They being the important aspects of the business, it’s very important you communicate about your readiness to support them during adversity and give them confidence that you are always for them to achieve their business continuity. Reach out to as many of them as you can personally to check their status.

Credits – Banks and other financial institutions play an important role in our business, so it’s better to understand what programs of theirs can support us in a cost-effective way. If possible, we should enroll into those programs which can give us more confidence during this time.

Co-Workers– When I mean co-workers, I mean employees, your suppliers, OEMs, and distributors who make our organization an eco-system. I would advise you to be transparent with them about the situation and prevailing conditions. We should give them some flexible work timings as they are working from home during these testing times. Try to enable colleagues with proper IT infrastructure in case they do not have.

Communication – We should start or increase our social media presence on platforms like LinkedIn. We should communicate constantly through our websites about our organizations’ progress. Also listen to others’ communication so that we can utilize those for our benefits.

The views expressed here are the author’s own.