We’ve learned a lot over the past year. We’ve learned to deal with adversity and crisis. We’ve learned how to roll with some serious punches, from supply chain disruption to business shutdowns, revenue reductions, seriously sick employees, and so much more. To say that there might be a silver lining in a year of crisis may be naïve, but really, there are some opportunities that have emerged from the COVID-19 crisis. Here are five of them.
5 Opportunities from COVID for Light Industrial Employers
We’re not out of the woods yet. Employers should still focus on COVID-19 and protecting their workforce while remaining prepared for the next crisis. But we should also take a moment to consider some of the changes forced upon us and how they may signal some new opportunities for light industrial employers. For example:
1. Innovative Production Workflow
We were forced to become more innovative around production workflows. Give some thought as to how these changes can benefit your business in the long term.
- Did you cut staff and rearrange processes to make them more efficient?
- Did you make use of production downtime by investing in staff training?
- Did you shore up the relationships with your supply chain vendors?
How can your business use what you learned from this process of operating in crisis mode? The opportunity here is that there may be temporary changes that you made that ended up improving the productivity and decision-making of your team.
2. Benefits of Flexible Staffing
Companies dealt with outdated employee leave policies and failed to provide the flexibility we needed during the crisis. Some organizations were able to allow their administrative staff to work from home. Most found that this increased office worker productivity instead of killing it. The opportunity is that you may find it makes sense to continue to allow remote work for some employees. This could be a huge selling point when trying to attract new talent to your company.
3. Nimble Decision-Making
Companies changed their decision-making structures. Many became nimbler during the pandemic, which ultimately strengthened their ability to flex with market shifts. Under normal operations, many organizations made changes slowly, but COVID forced us to move faster. This changed the very decision-making structure at the heart of many businesses, employing local staff to act more efficiently and quickly.
4. Government Assistance
Were you able to take advantage of COVID tax write-offs or relief incentives in the form of government loans? For many companies, this was welcome help at a time when they needed it the most.
5. Partner with a Professional Staffing Agency
Did you use a staffing agency for the first time during the pandemic? Many organizations struggled to fill needed positions when their workforce fell ill. Others ended up using temporary help to fill gaps, and still others had a run on orders and used staffing companies to get the workers they needed to stay responsive to a volatile market.
Lingo Staffing is Here to Help Through the Ups & Downs
Lingo Staffing worked closely with many new clients over the past year. It was our silver lining during the COVID crisis. We remain committed to helping our light industrial clients adapt and thrive in our ever-changing times. Find out more by calling on us today.
