Feeling overwhelmed and anxious is common as one tries to navigate around the new normal. Businesses have started recommencing operation hoping for a quick recovery from the turmoil of the last couple of months. However, despite business re-opening, a lot of uncertainties are still prevalent, which might be discouraging and demoralizing on your employees. Having a solid plan to follow is necessary for businesses to transition more smoothly into every-day operation. Leadership, trust and concise planning will be key for balancing the needs of your team in terms of returning to the workplace while adapting to the new measure and maintaining flexibility.

Navigating this new kind of ‘normal’ is possible to achieve with a good plan in place and having proper communication with your workforce to help them understand the rationale behind it and get everyone aligned on mutual goals.

1. Return

As businesses resume back operations, various new measures had to be implemented to ensure safety and compliance with recent regulations. These new processes can add to the burden of your employees, who might already be feeling anxious about their return. Safety and wellbeing are key, and the need for providing support and clear communication is crucial. Having a clear plan, strong leadership and a good balance between the needs of your employees and that of your business will define whether your re-emergence will be successful.

2. Renew

This transition brings with it the opportunity to take a step back, reevaluate and redefine the core of your business. Aspirations might have changed, values shifted, and purposes reconsidered. This renewal can bring with it a change in vision and new shared goals for your business plan. Engage your team and get aligned on the shared vision to build a stronger and more efficient operation moving forward.

3. Review

When planning your strategy, it is important to look back and review the impact that COVID-19 had on your business. By assessing the social, technological, economic and political effect on the overall business environment and looking at both temporary as well as permanent changes that took place, we can start adapting to the situation, while also realizing and implementing other measures that will better safeguard the business for whatever situation the future might bring.

4. Refresh

As a result of the pandemic, change is taking place wherever you look within businesses, environmentally, as well as in your customers’ everyday life. It is the time to look around and gain new learnings and insights that will help you adapt and repositions your business around the new opportunities that have risen. Refreshing and adapting your business model and approach to the new circumstances can make you emerge stronger and be better prepared.

5. Revive

By looking at your business from an objective viewpoint, you can plan your skills and capabilities based on this new marketplace that emerged and the opportunities that became available. Your customers’ needs and priorities changed as a result, and by attending to this and being conscious of this shift, you can better identify the new skills needed to develop and gradually breathe in new revived energy and strength into your business.

6. Regenerate

This is the time to lead in your market, everyone is still also getting into grips with the entirety of the situation, and this provides you with the opportunity to realign on your goals, have a clear direction and provide the proper support and communication for your team, and set yourself apart as you re-emerge into normality.