Since March last year, the UK has been gripped by the covid pandemic which has had an unprecedented impact on our personal and working lives.
Prior to the crisis everything was ticking along and generally under control, but the coronavirus crisis has turned things upside down for many businesses – no matter what their size.
Many organizations are faced with having to rethink their business strategy and, in some cases, move into a new specialist area, so they are more resilient and one with a brighter future.
According to The Office for National Statistics (ONS), online job adverts are above pre-pandemic levels, although 8% of the total workforce – around 2.2 million employees are still receiving cash under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme as the economy starts to re-open.
So, no matter what lies ahead, the covid pandemic means the one thing that all organisations have in common right now is the need to change and adapt.
The pace of change is relentless, and many businesses don’t have the expertise to know how to make the changes effectively.
Senior management and leadership teams are grappling more than ever before with how to keep up. We have successfully, for thousands of years been able to change and evolve and thrive in massively changing conditions.
To achieve this collectively in an organization the answer must be culture.
Businesses need to become more innovative, agile, customer focussed, Growth-oriented and performance thrive.
Professional change specialists can provide organizations with the resources and tools to create a culture where change really thrives.
This will empower leadership teams to quickly turn strategy into a compelling new strategy that everyone understands.
Covid crisis is forcing change
For many years, a raft of UK businesses has built successful and profitable client bases by servicing the needs of other offices.
But that was before the pandemic hit, and everyone started working from home, which means the future of the UK’s offices is now up in the air.
From paper and stationery suppliers to cleaning, maintenance, and catering firms, whole industries are focused on providing office-based companies with what they need to keep working.
But what is the future of such office supply firms when large numbers of people are expected to continue to work remotely at least half the time when the pandemic is finally over?
This could easily result in many companies shutting large offices and switching to smaller ones. And for some to get rid of their premises altogether.
It’s a massive shift in change for the business owners, the workforce, the company brand, and the future strategic path the company needs to adopt.
Simply scaling down isn’t the answer – companies need to implement large-scale changes to maintain revenue streams and profitability, but it’s not something you can achieve overnight and certainly not without professional expertise.
Up and down the country, businesses of all sizes are having to adapt – it may be moving more of the business online, making home working a semi-permanent feature, and undertaking a thorough review of all systems, processes and viability of current premises.
Change is the buzzword for 2021 in the post covid world and it’s here to stay for a good while yet.
