Whilst wages are often the biggest cost burden for businesses, Directors should be trying to do all they can to keep staff on the payroll through these challenging times. People really are a business’ best asset, they are the ones who have helped your business succeed before the pandemic and can help you come out stronger when the crisis is over. However, these are unprecedented times and unfortunately, where tough decisions do have to be made, businesses need to be acting with upmost sensitivity.
Employees can be your best promotors but also a disgruntled employee can be a massive threat to your company’s reputation.
Some companies have been publicly “outed” on social media for treating their staff poorly such as Wetherspoons and Britannia Hotels by disgruntled employees which could potentially lead to longer term profitability issues.
Others however have been proactive in communicating with their clients in a positive way. Companies who are no longer able to offer a service such as some gyms and the National Trust have either stopped charging or are offering breaks in payments. These initiatives build trust in organisations and longer term could result in further memberships as people will remember those companies that helped during the crisis and those that either did not or tried to profiteer from the crisis which could cause irreparable damage in the longer term.
Going the extra mile…
Some companies such as Greggs and Dominos are offering free food to NHS frontline staff and BrewDog announced on their social media that they were switching production from their IPA to hand sanitiser to help combat the nationwide shortages. In addition, they announced that they would be handing these out to hospitals and vulnerable people free of charge.
Directors are under an immense amount of pressure to ensure their businesses survive beyond coronavirus but the consequences of knee-jerk reactions can be devastating to a business’ reputation that may have been built over years, lost in seconds. Acts of kindness and being considerate to both employees and clients will stand the business in good stead to survive the pandemic and hopefully thrive in the future.
For further information, call our dedicated employment and business support line:
Parveen: 07960 469601 - Queries relating to breaches of contract, bankruptcy of an individual, insolvency, dealing with debt etc.
Lisa: 07960 469988 - Queries relating to employment law for both employers and employees.