How Tech Companies Can Be Prepared For Anything
All too often, those who run tech companies are focused on what’s right in front of them – the day’s issues and tasks, the next meeting, the next deadline, and the meeting after that with shareholders or partners. However, it’s important to also prepare for the future when you are also dealing with the present. Anything can happen, whether it be a pandemic, a change in the market, or some other unpredictable event. Planning for the future is an easy thing to put off, since it is never an immediate priority. Here’s how you can make sure your tech company can be prepared for anything.
Build a Healthy Company Culture
As the leader, you need to make sure that there is an environment in your company that can survive through a crisis or unexpected event. To start with, leadership needs to give an air of calm and confidence. Be empathetic to the needs of your staff as well as your partners and clients. This will make it easier to be flexible and make crucial decisions when the time comes. Your team will trust you more, and feel empowered to make suggestions and be involved in whatever your crisis response might be. By having a solid corporate culture, you can protect your company as best you can from being pulled down when you need to stand straight.
Be a Good Forecaster
If you want to survive an unexpected event, you need to do your best to anticipate one. This means putting effort into forecasting what the future of your industry might look like. Your business must have a crisis plan but also must prepare for any shifts in the market. It is much better to be proactive rather than reactive so that you can keep up with the competition and keep your head above water. For instance, the media companies that anticipated and adapted to online streaming have been successful in the current age, while companies that stayed analog have died out. Forecasting what your business will look like in 5 years time or during a crisis might mean the difference between thriving in the new normal or having to lay off staff and cut services.
Shore Up Your Online Presence
One thing the recent pandemic has taught us that should not be surprising is that when people are stuck at home, their use of the internet increases dramatically. Being a tech company, you should already have a strong digital presence, but it’s the companies that keep up their online marketing that will do the best when things go bad. This includes having an SEO game plan that will involve producing content that will be relevant to those who may have found themselves in dramatically different living situations than they might be used to. Your website must be kept up to date, and your social media channels should be updated regularly even if you’ve had to reduce staff.
Remote Readiness
When the pandemic struck, many businesses scrambled to figure out ways to have their staff work remotely while still maintaining their level of service to their customers. Even months after the initial outbreaks, some companies were still struggling with this. Those that were able to thrive are those that could easily switch to a staffing model that included working from home and alternative scheduling options. Your company should be developing a plan for moving to a virtual space if needed. In fact, you can already start by incorporating virtual meetings, work from home days, and other ways to get your staff and customers used to it. If it is appropriate for your company, you can also start to develop products and services that will assist your customers during troubled times. Virtual conference services have exploded as more workplaces around the world went digital.
Use Analytics to Make Decisions
When we perceive ourselves to be under threat, or we are under increased stress, we often make decisions with our hearts and hunches. This can be detrimental, because decisions made from an emotion are seldom the right ones. If you are constantly collecting and analyzing data, then you will be able to quickly make good decisions based on facts. These decisions may even seem wrong to your gut, but in reality they will be more likely to be successful because you will have sound reasoning behind them. Make sure that you are collecting a vast amount of data now that will help you in the present, but also allow you to make better decisions in the future.
Provide Opportunities for Learning
When a crisis hits, or when the economy changes, you never know what skills you or your company might need that you hadn’t before. By providing your staff and yourself with opportunities to build new skills during work, you will be better prepared for anything that is to come. Not only that, but a crisis might be an ideal time to have your staff improve themselves. Working from home or a changing market landscape might mean that everyone has more time in the day. IF that time could be filled by courses that are relevant to your business, your team will only be stronger when you come out the other side. This includes vital marketing-based skills that will help you grow your business as opposed to drowning.
Be Concerned With Social Impact
You should always be thinking about what kind of impact your company makes on society. This can mean that you demonstrate to certain causes, or that your staff do team-building volunteering at local charities. You should also plan for how you will continue to do good even when things are bad. The companies that are seen as exploiting negative situations will fail spectacularly, so make sure that you are always on the side of the public and do what you can to be good corporate citizens.
Keep your business online
Whether you operate exclusively online or not, you need to make sure your servers function properly and your business is equipped to deal with any IT challenges. Getting outside help in the form of managed IT services should be the way to go if you internal IT department just cannot deal with all your challenges.
There is no doubt that the status quo is not permanent. Anything can happen, and when it does, you need your company to be ready. Start incorporating these concepts so that when a crisis hits, you will be able to adapt and thrive in the new market that develops as a result.
