How do you know if your business is ready to reopen? Help ensure you’ve thought through every scenario by taking a look at this checklist.
As a business leader or owner during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve been trying to keep many plates spinning in an unpredictable situation. As restrictions ease and you consider reopening, this checklist can help ensure that you’ve thought of the things you’ll need to do establish a foothold in the next normal, protect your staff and operate alongside other businesses that begin their road to recovery.
1. Improve cost discipline.
Moving forward, one of your first areas of focus should be controlling costs. Consider critically re-evaluating the terms you paid for pre-crisis, including renewals on insurance policies, subscriptions, leases and other third-party services. Do you have the visibility ahead that it makes sense to renew for another 12 months? Is the cost/benefit ratio still sound? Could you get better value elsewhere? Consider pausing discretionary spending like marketing (if the cost to restart the project in the future will not be prohibitively high) and all but essential hiring until you can see more clearly how the reopening continues to unfold.
2. Keep your premises safe for customers and employees.
As businesses reopen and some staff begin working in shared spaces once more, business leaders will need to think about what measures to introduce to keep employees and customers safe. Introduce a quarantine policy for staff that have symptoms, with paid time off so they are able to stay at home if they are sick. Plan for absences, including your own. Look to local and state guidance to define stringent hygiene procedures and provide the training and equipment your workers need to adhere to them.
