How essential businesses are struggling during the pandemic and what they can do about it
While essential businesses have been able to stay open during the stay-at-home order, many soon found out it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. I spoke with business owners that have been deemed essential, including restaurants, automotive repair shops, florists and hardware stores. I spent time considering their situations and compiled some advice for the struggling essential business.
They may be open for business, but it’s anything but business as usual. Apart from applying for relief funding, here are a few of the more pressing issues:
Safety and perception: Many businesses find themselves installing plexiglass to separate customers and the employees. Others are disinfecting all counters after every encounter and more than a few have eliminated the break room. Costs of keeping everyone safe are piling up for many organizations. Some I have spoken to claim to be spending hundreds of dollars a week for the sanitizing process. Another concern is that a customer could become infected and trace it back to the place of business.
The bottom line: Ideally businesses need to follow guidelines set by the CDC. This will not only help keep your employees and customers safe; it also helps with your image among customers and the public. You want to be on the side of safety here. Another important factor to keep in mind is the age and risk factors of your staff and customers. How you treat not only your employees but also your customers in a time of crisis can be very telling.
Layoffs: With operations running leaner and profits lower than usual there just isn’t the same need for all of the employees. The fact remains that being an employee at an essential business does not mean you are safe from unemployment.
The bottom line: The first issue here is whether or not the layoffs are temporary. If your business is closing for the foreseeable future or reducing operations, you will likely lay employees off for some time and bring them back at a later date. While still difficult this option is seen as less painful because the plan is to return employees to their positions eventually. If you decide to eliminate some positions, treat the employees with respect and dignity. Don’t over promise or offer false hope of reemployment. Try to frame this as being about you not them.
The future: There is a growing concern about how long this will last and what demand for their business will look like. Restaurant owners worry about the future of their industry. If people are out of work, they won’t have the money to dine out.
The bottom line: Times of crisis often lead to times of innovation. Take advantage of this time and consider all options going forward. I would recommend being conservative with your spending but liberal with your thinking. Try coming up with innovative ways to offer your product or service to your customers. No one can predict what the future holds and how long we will be facing this uncertain crisis. However, being essential means your product or service is essential to society. How can you guarantee that you remain essential in your customers’ life? Take advantage of the technology that we have the luxury of utilizing in this day and age. Ask your customers what they need, or what they want? The rule book has to be thrown out in some cases in order to survive.
Jeff LeBlanc, an assistant professor of business at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, can be reached at jeffleblanc@sjcme.edu.
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