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If you’re a business owner, you’ll also need to prepare your business for Election Day, as well as the days shortly before and after. You don’t want to be caught off guard by emergencies that arise at this time. Here, we’ll run through five steps you can take to ready your enterprise for the elections.
Pivot to Working from Home
Encourage your staff to work from their homes. This measure gives them full responsibility for their own safety. Most workplaces will be closed for the elections; working remotely allows your team to carry on being productive despite restrictions on physical movement on the day. Also, consider extending the period in which you’ll be doing this if conditions soon after the elections make it risky to work from your office.Deploy Technologies that Support Productivity
The fact that your team will be working away from your office shouldn’t translate to a dip in their productivity. Thankfully, there are tech tools that’ll enable them to keep putting out the results you expect of them. From cloud-based project management tools to communication and collaboration platforms, there’s plenty to work with. Make sure to compare the options available and settle for the ones that meet your business’s unique needs.Sign up for the Connect Nigeria daily newsletter
Reach Out to Your Clients
Send out messages to your clients encouraging them to stay safe. You may do so via their most preferred communication channels (email, SMS, social media, etc.). This will let them know that you value them and you’re interested in their welfare. It’s a chance to make a positive impression on them, and, ultimately, improve your relationship with them.Shore Up Your Emergency Fund
Your business should have an emergency fund—an account which you only draw from for unscheduled and urgent expenses. If you have an emergency fund that’s been depleted, it’s time to add a bit more to it (at least enough to cover whatever unforeseen needs that may arise). You can do this by collecting outstanding payments from clients over the next few days. Alternatively, you may take a loan from a non-traditional financial institution such as a digital SME lending platform.Update Office Hours
If you’re going to be working limited hours, you’ll want to let your clients (and the rest of the public) know about this. Send out a notice via email; share the information on your social media pages; and update your Google listing accordingly. This ensures that your clients will engage your business at the right hours. It also means that you won’t lose the revenue that should be coming into your business from the people who patronize it.Read more about CN Business Mixer
Final Words
Elections are an important part of civic life, so they’re worth preparing for. But even as the public gears up to vote and secure domestic needs for the period, businesses should also make sure they’re ready to ride the tides that may come with the season. They can transition to working from home, prepare funds for emergency use, leverage technology for sustained productivity, and encourage their clients to stay safe. These measures will let them make the most of the time. Featured Image Source: Vanguard NewsGot a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com