The Covid 19 pandemic impacted small and medium businesses alike. In the first wave of 2020, 78% (of 1.5 million) businesses in Australia reported a decline in revenue, and 41% had to reduce their number of staff. It became a challenge to simply support and properly pay their employees with sharp deterioration of financial conditions within 1-3 months of quarantine. However, offshore services may aid your onshore team with business recovery.
As certain restrictions are lifted, industries enter a new wave of rebounding and recovery. It is necessary to reevaluate preemptive company measures as it is difficult to predict oncoming months. HGSing your resources globally can prevent your company from completely falling during a sudden crisis. Through offshore services, you can fast-track your business’ recovery and respond to unexpected disasters with a global range of talent.
Types of Unpredictable Business Risks
The unfortunate truth is that no level of vigilance nor caution can stop an unexpected event from occurring at a moment’s notice. What little you can do to secure your business’ future happens before and after any sort of risk. These are common types of business risks to keep in mind before creating a contingency plan.
- Environmental, social, and governance practices (ESG). Investors and clients pay close attention to a company’s ESG practices. Faults in ESG practices are also often highly publicized.
- Cybersecurity. Securing your private data is important especially when dealing with your company and your client’s sensitive information. Unfortunately hacking techniques develop every day and establishing an invincible server is next to impossible.
- Economic Instability. Economies ebb and flow. With this comes unexpected expenses and potential financial disasters. Relying on one country’s economic state is ultimately unstable as markets can crash at a moment’s notice.
- Natural Hazards. This is arguably the most common disruptive force in your business practice. Natural hazards range from a strong rain that prevents your employees from coming into work for a day, a typhoon that damages your office, or to a global pandemic. All of which puts your operations to a screeching halt with an uncertain future.
A common factor with all of these risks is that they are threats only if you do not globally expand your business. Relying on a single work environment with no contingencies puts your business at a high level of risk before and after a crisis. There are important elements in contingency planning, all of which offshore services will not only aid but ensure a continued future for your company when recovering.
Emergency Response and Crisis Management
A common benefit that people often hear about offshoring is that it helps in reducing risk. Specifically, offshoring covers two fronts in managing a crisis: data protection and employee aid. Company records are especially vulnerable when it comes to natural disasters. To quickly respond to an emergency is to call up a response team. For most businesses, this includes the creation of this task force after the fact. An offshore team that manages other aspects outside of your core capabilities can also serve as an emergency response team immediately.
In certain events, especially natural hazards like epidemics or environmental disasters, your onshore employees will first tend to their personal arrangements. Your offshore team will take over certain responsibilities while your onshore team recovers. After this period of recuperation, the offshore team then helps your onshore employees in restoring business operations to normal. They will be well equipped in handling your core functions temporarily, working under your orders but with your company’s objectives, mission, and values.
Business Recovery and Resumption
The first thirty to sixty days after a business crisis is crucial for recovery. In assessing how your business will continue, it is necessary to picture what the future of your office looks like. The offshore team’s first priority is to assess impact and document critical processes. This is basically deciding which parts of your business are needed for it to continue. It is financially crucial to assess what parts of your business are foundational to keep it running. Failing to do so may lead to wasted time, effort, and expenses. Allowing an offshore team to allocate your resources as your core business heals utilizes this brief window between business disruption and recovery.
During this period, clients, investors, and customers may be worried for the general future and state of your business. The offshore team will facilitate communication and answer necessary questions that they may have. It is important to not only strengthen this relationship during a time of unease but to assure them that their business with your organization is stable.
The focus here is not to fully return to normal operations, but to resume operations to a level where it may continue to grow. By delineating your resources and allowing an offshore team to handle recovery by storing vital records and data, facilitate communication, and handle your impact analysis. Your offshore team is not only with you to handle workload outside of your core functions, but to also aid you in times of crisis.
Offshoring: Your Business Future
After an unpredictable few years in the pandemic, we all have worries and anxieties about what happens next. The right offshoring partner eases unnecessary worry that may occur at any given time. Additionally, BPO and offshore services offer adaptability that ensures productivity and growth in a globally competitive workforce. Your company will have access to a wider range of talent that is economically viable for you, crisis or not.
