The pandemic has challenged small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) in numerous ways, including the need to ensure employee safety, facilitate remote work, and deal with shifting demands and expectations from customers and employees. Other obstacles—employee burnout, labor shortages, and economic uncertainties—have also emerged, leaving SMB leadership and employees somewhat dazed and confused.
The pandemic has prompted these businesses to rethink how they operate and what they prioritize. SMBs recognize that to thrive, they must become more resilient and agile, and that they must devise longer-term strategies and align their priorities with their investment. Among 300 SMB executives surveyed by HBR-AS, 71% have already made changes as a result of the pandemic so they can better respond to future business disruptions.
On June 16, in a live, interactive HBR-AS webinar, Alex Clemente shares insights from this HBR-AS survey about challenges SMBs face and actions SMBs are taking. He then discussed with Michael Mendenhall, SVP and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at TriNet, what SMBs must do to become more resilient, including:
- What allowed some SMBs to adapt to the pandemic’s challenges better than others
- How expectations are shifting for customers and employees
- What it means to cultivate a strategy of resilience and how to do it
- How SMBs are building their workforce for the future
- The need to focus efficiency enablers and streamline day-to-day operations
