How COVID-19 Is Impacting Businesses & Employees
Coronavirus also termed as COVID-19 has tremendously affected every business across the world causing some serious economic ripples. While it’s a curse for the majority of the businesses on the other hand it has proved to be a boon for some tech-savvy companies and new-age digital lending platforms. The lack of movement across nations has disturbed the supple chain completely leading to multiple lay-offs, salary cuts, decreased staff productivity and the list goes on. The objective is not go down with the pandemic but rise up stronger and tougher with a strategically crafted contingency plan. Here is a gist of how startups, SMEs and large firms are getting impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak:
1.Startups
Dozens of sectors in startups have been impacted, while some businesses are faring better than others, the rest are facing the brunt of the outbreak. Startups like dating apps, remote-working tools, fitness apps, and edtech are flourishing right now. According to Analysts, there is a big possibility of a shift in investment patterns leading investors to shift their focus to food, essentials, and home entertainment-related startups. Telehealth and Telecommunications startups will eventually come into the spotlight. On the other hand, hiring has also been switched to video interviews and there is a clear rise in recruiting skilled freelancers to keep the business running.
Various steps have been taken by start-ups to establish a virtual workplace that will help them to keep the workflow going while delivering clear tasks and priorities to employees. CEOs can cross-train employees and stay financially stable by prioritizing revenue over growth. Regarding funding, anticipatory fundraising can support the startups to survive the prolonged outbreak. Funders can also share their expertise and networks to help startups deal with similar challenges.
2. SMEs
SMEs have also been impacted by the brunt of the virus as their distributed supply chains have been hit severely. The ones who were depending on large suppliers for products, for that matter China or some other affected area – they will have to wait for the big markets to come back on their feet post the lockdown. SMEs are going back to reassessing the costs, benefits, salaries while looking at various other parameters. On the brighter side, the majority of them have already started to optimize their marketing expenditure, shifting their sales online, negotiating with stakeholders while simultaneously evoking the remote work policy
3.Well-Spread Firms
Not just startups and SMEs are on the stake but even large companies have switched to working remotely right after the declaration of national emergency implemented due to Coronavirus. With stock markets fluctuating all the time, Coronavirus is impacting stocks across various industries. Top Companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook also hold a large portion of the total share market. Apple is not expecting to meet 2nd quarter financial guidance because of the halt in production, Abercrombie & Fitch co. expects an impact of $60million to $80 million on sales this year whereas Amazon’s product flow has also been disturbed. We see a silver lining with Starbucks Corporation as they are showing early signs of recovery in China whereas in the US sales are going strong. While Zoom Video Communications have also helped employees ease their work from home communications and have also witnessed a stock jump.
