Business Recovery: Sharing our Part

By Sean Gerard Angel Pijuan

At this point in time during our quarantine period, we probably have encountered a lot of guides and write-ups on how we can sustain and re-establish our businesses. Most of these articles focus on our employees, communication, finances, and the like. The focus is internal as it is an essential starting point for survival. Eventually, we need to move outward and be open to help our city or province. This means, helping other businesses.

In times of crisis, it is an obligation to share our knowledge with one another. When we think of business recovery, we do not focus only on our own company. We have partners, clients, and suppliers. We rely on other businesses as much as we do with our own, helping others means helping ourselves.

The obvious first step in helping out others is through communication. Within the quarantine period, the best and, seldom, the only movement is information. We will work with each other harmoniously if we follow effective and honest business communication. This means that we should eliminate assumptions, focus on listening first, be respectful of each other, and clarify misunderstandings.

Communication among businesses has challenges because of the absence of a leader. Unlike within a company where it is automatic that a CEO is in-charge and has executives and senior managers to take his or her place during an absence.

The position of leadership is immediately attributed to our local government. All businesses should look towards the direction they provide. Though there are times that we disagree with them, we should still respect the difficult decision they make. But if we really want to help them, the best way to do it is to lend them our ideas and knowledge.

Iloilo City and the Provincial Government have created a business-recovery survey. They are encouraging public and private organizations to answer the Iloilo Business Response to COVID-19 Survey in order to know our business opinions regarding the expected future state of our business and the Iloilo economy, how COVID-19 impacted our business, and identify the best ways to support us during and after the pandemic.

This provides an easy opportunity for us to help the government and all businesses that reside within the city and province. Other than this, we also have companies that lend a hand willingly and directly to people with businesses.

FutureSmart Global Academy is offering an exclusive free webinar session on Business Recovery from COVID-19 Pandemic this April 27, 2020, at 10:00 AM via Zoom.

Slots are limited. Register before April 24, 2020, at bit.ly/FSGlobalRegistration.

FutureSmart Resources+Strategies, Inc. is in partnership with the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Inc. and Global Shapers Community – Iloilo Chapter to fully support local government and the private organizations in Western Visayas in mapping out plans for business recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 while ensuring the competitiveness of MSMEs and for them to become more crisis-proof and ready for a post-COVID world.

 

Sean Gerard Angel Z. Pijuan is the Senior Quality Management Officer of Invictus Prime Holdings Corporation, a corporation that manages the consolidation and integration of operations within its companies:  Complete Logistic Control Inc., ZKO Group Distributors Inc., Philfast Global Forwarding Inc., Satellite GPS Tracking and Asset Management System Corp., and SCMIX Builders Inc.