The “New Normal” COVID Will Leave Behind

After a challenging year, with the advent of vaccines, it seems that the end of the pandemic is in sight for many countries. The pandemic has affected many aspects of day-to-day life, particularly in the sphere of Business Operations. Perhaps a year ago, many people believed that post-pandemic everything would return to normal, but now it’s undeniable that many of these changes are here to stay – and that may be a good thing.

Work from Home (WFH) 

With COVID-19 continuing to spread, many companies found themselves with no choice but to hire remote workers or transfer their current employees to a remote environment, even if this contradicted prior company policy. Companies transferring their current employees or even outsourcing new ones now have the added responsibility of ensuring that their employees have a functional workspace environment and are successfully managing the transition into a new workspace. The need for workers who had remote work experience led companies to look for those who had the environment, tools, and self-discipline needed to work remotely.

While it was challenging for many, there were also many benefits to remote work:

• Increased employee efficiency
• Reduced costs maintaining offices
• Location no longer affects your choice of employee
• Flexible availability

It seems that the remote work model is here to stay. Many major companies, including Facebook, Twitter, and Shopify, are planning on embracing remote work even after the pandemic has passed. Companies are becoming more open to outsourcing remote employees, while other companies are opting to allow employees in certain positions to work from home or in a part-time remote workweek.

Outsourcing

A byproduct of the “remote work” paradigm shift, is the growing demand for outsourced services. During the pandemic, companies outsourced more of their activities, including sales and SDR, in order to save on onboarding and hiring costs, especially for limited-time projects. While this wasn’t considered the ideal option for some, businesses found they had no choice and were surprised when the change worked in their favor. Outsourcing allowed companies to access the benefits of highly skilled and experienced teams without the cost of retaining them full time. Access to specialists, particularly in specific fields or for specific projects, on a need-to-use basis can save a company thousands. Companies that would have been reluctant to outsource before the pandemic now have systems put in place to support employees working from home. These systems can also be applied to outsourced employees working remotely. Ultimately, when costs turned out to be much lower than expected compared to full-time employees  and companies saw the numerous benefits that come with outsourcing, many chose to stick to outsourcing in the long term. Outsourcing has evolved from a last resort to the ideal option for many companies looking to find experts in a field without breaking the bank.

Remote/Virtual Events

Unfortunately, holding large events was impossible in most places worldwide, so most organizations began hosting virtual events. While it’s more complex to organize a remote event, and it doesn’t provide the same benefits as walking the floor at live events, it provides obvious benefits in terms of convenience. Once events return to the familiar face-to-face format, many will likely choose to give attendees the option of attending remotely, communicating with other members online, and the like.

Even before COVID, some events provided the option to message other attendees via their website; however, this was uncommon. In a post COVID world, many event organizers have had to invest in online solutions to give them the infrastructure they need to hold online events and maintain this feature. Giving attendees the ability to schedule meetings before the event is another critical addition that can improve the way events are done.

Additionally, we’re seeing more self-hosted events such as webinars and podcasts from organizations in all industries. Companies are starting to see the value of investing in creating their own community with engaging content that’s not just about sales.

Online Presence

It seems like the conversation about the importance of an online presence reached it’s peak ten years ago – so why are we bringing it up now? As important as it is, many businesses still don’t have an online presence, particularly small businesses and brick and mortar shops. The pandemic changed that, as people tried to purchase everything they needed online to minimize exposure to the virus. Businesses that didn’t have an online presence have had to create one as that was the only way to continue marketing their products and services. Now, they’re here to stay, and most will continue to maintain their websites and web presence to increase sales. Additionally, the B2B companies targeting these SMBs have an easier time finding these businesses online now for their own marketing campaigns.

With the vaccine rollout, it feels like finally exhaling after holding your breath for just a little bit too long. We’re all relieved and ready for things to go back to normal, but we need to realize that “normal” may not be what we remember. This event was too major and too long to leave without a trace – we’ll have a “new normal” to remind us of 2020/21, and maybe that’s a good thing. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, stay safe!