Since the outbreak of the pandemic, countries around the world have been on a war footing to contain the spread as quickly as possible. We are witnessing history and it is important to take a hint from the past. Crises of such magnitude have disrupted economic activity in the past and economists are wary of the current situation. While economic inactivity can affect small and large businesses alike, large businesses usually have the resources to come out of the crisis alive. The start-ups and small companies are at greater risk of losing businesses. A slowdown in economic activity will affect the software start-ups by lowering the demand and crippling their ability to scale up. In this blog we will look at the decisions start-ups can take in order to emerge successfully from economic turmoil due to a crisis.

Fiscal prudence and conservation of cash

Even though governments around the world have announced packages for tech start-ups and addressed their specific needs, it is advisable to allocate cash for the next few quarters.

It is not rational to expect funding for your operations during a global crisis. Investors tend to finance only a select few companies and this trend will continue till the crisis is over.

It is important to be fiscally prudent during the early stages of crises to avoid cash crunches in the later stages or when the crisis is over.

Customer communication and marketing strategy

Once you’ve planned a fiscal strategy for your start-up, you have to let your customers and prospects know that you are still in business. A communication strategy with your customers during the lockdown will help you keep in touch with them. In this situation, some would argue that it is better to over communicate than to under communicate.

Constantly updating websites and posting content online will let them know that you are up and running. Offering discounts on your products and focusing on services that can be provided through digital channels can attract customers and prospects alike. You can use video conferencing tools to offer consultations and conduct webinars to keep your customers and prospects in the loop.

Business continuity plans and security                     

Continuing business operations must be one of the most important aspects of the crisis management strategy. Since one third of the world population is working from their homes, it is important to make it technologically feasible and secure.

Make sure that the employees working remotely adhere to the security guidelines. Since they are online most of the time, they are vulnerable to cyberattacks. You should be able to manage VPNs and security operations effectively during the crisis.

You should also make sure that the hardware and data centres continue and software licenses are available. Apart from these, a good BCP should also ensure that all services and applications have secure access and authentication.

Maintaining an intact distributed workforce

Outsourcing companies should create a distributed workforce that can work from their homes independently. However, teams that work from remote places are prone to lose sight of the project goals and it is important to communicate effectively. A communication plan with team members will go a long way in maintaining morale. Start-ups should strengthen their remote technology capabilities for this purpose.

Project management tools like Trello and Jira can help team leaders to keep the project organized and manage employee productivity. Team leaders can monitor and allot the tasks to their team members from their remote work places and finish the project in time.

Collaboration tools like Microsoft teams and Slack will help you manage geographically distributed teams effectively and they provide transparency and a centralized environment.

Conclusion

Usually during crises, start-ups are the ones that will feel the heat of economic inactivity. While it is not normal for start-ups to have BCPs or a distributed workforce, they will benefit from them during a crisis like this. These efforts are bound to sustain outsourcing start-ups after this pandemic. Not only will they help them in emerging successfully from the crisis, they will also create a culture that will help them in the future.Webinar

 

 

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