Characteristics of a resilient small business
Small business is the lifeblood of the economy with more than 500,000 (97 per cent) of businesses classified as small or medium enterprises (SMEs).
Yet, while New Zealand has arguably led the world in responding to the pandemic, small businesses have felt the impact of these world-changing events. Data shows that year-onyear revenue for small businesses fell by 10 per cent in early March and dropped in April by 34 per cent, a few weeks into level 4.
Despite the significant impact on SMEs, over the past six months some small businesses have risen to the challenges.
While it is impossible to plan for every eventuality, we know resilience is a universal trait for dealing with a crisis – whether it be a global pandemic or a new competitor entering the market.
Here are some key characteristics that any small organisation can embrace to become a resilient business.
Be an innovator
Thinking like an innovator is key for any small business leader.
The innovator mindset is all about being willing to enter new scenarios, learn from them and create solutions based on these learnings.
Companies which stuck to the systems and processes they already had in place found it difficult to adapt and focus on what was really needed.
This year has proven that ‘‘agility’’ and ‘‘adaptability’’ are no longer values that companies can just write on the walls in their office, they are a necessity.
Resilience is a universal trait for dealing with a crisis.
Move fast
The digital transformation roadmap has changed dramatically. When any crisis hits, speed of solution becomes paramount.
One thing that came out of the crisis is that businesses no longer have the luxury of waiting to overhaul and implement a longterm technology strategy.
The crisis showed us business leaders were able to cut through bureaucracy and enable remote working almost overnight.
Customers have told us what was previously taking three years to implement is now taking three weeks.
Embrace flexibility
Workers across the country have embraced working from home and while some will return to the office, this remote work experiment has given many businesses, and individuals, the confidence to work wherever they want. In fact, a recent study of
New Zealanders found that 89 per cent wanted to continue working from home post-lockdown, at least part-time.
Although 38 per cent of those surveyed stated that they had never worked from home prior to the pandemic, 66 per cent of people found it ‘‘easy or somewhat easy’’ to adapt, with 82 per cent saying they felt they had the right resources to do their job, although only 17 per cent had all of those resources provided by their employer.
Clever business leaders will listen to their employees and embrace a hybrid way of working.
They will empower their employees to stay connected, productive and motivated across all working environments.
The small businesses that
successfully transitioned to remote working during the pandemic did so by bridging the gap between the collective office and the home office through creating a unified environment that enables employees to be productive and connected wherever they are.
Listen to your employees
There are two interesting themes that have emerged. The first is that employees wanted to use technology that was as userfriendly as the technology they use for their social life.
The second was that the line between work and social became blurred. We found businesses simply could not control their employees’ technology choices and were often too slow to offer them alternatives. The opportunity many of our customers found was to embrace the fact they can’t be a gatekeeper and instead adopt a technology strategy based on user preference.
So, rather than fighting their employees and locking them into a strict system, they are empowered to be productive while doing so safely and securely in partnership with us.
Ultimately, Zoom has faced the same challenges as everyone in the past six months. In the first quarter of this year, we went from 10 million to 300 million meeting participants a day. This came with its own set of challenges.
Not just from a technology development side, we also had to embrace the hybrid office culture for our 2800-plus employees worldwide.
This has made us a more resilient business. Only by embracing a fast-paced, innovative mindset and listening to our employees, customers and community have we ensured our business will survive, and thrive now and in the future.
Michael Chetner is the head of Australia and Asia Pacific at Zoom Video Communications