The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on our daily lives, our healthcare systems, our social practices, and our work. It may be a long time before society begins to resemble anything close to so-called ‘normal’. The reality is that many businesses are facing a new ‘normal’, and adapting is likely the only way to survive in the peri and post-pandemic economy. In this blog, we will explore some ways that businesses communications are adapting and how you too can evolve to compete in this new, socially-distanced global marketplace.
Remote Working
In the language industry, we grew accustomed to the remote work environment years ago. Many businesses have access to expert linguists who are in-country, with the real life experience required to complete a project to the highest possible standards; this has been a must for any successful translation service for many years, since in-house linguists are now a bit of an anachronism. What is new for the language industry now, though, is that many more language company staff, such as project managers, administration, IT support, and sales and marketing teams are also now suddenly transitioning from in-office work to working from home, often while juggling family life and children off school.
As the situation changes, so too must businesses embrace this new remote working model. Don’t worry, it’s not doom and gloom. From lowering your overheads to diversifying your team without the limitations of geographical area, this could represent an exciting opportunity. Read our blog ‘Has Covid 19 Changed How we Work Forever?’ to learn more about the benefits of having a remote workforce for your company.
Business Communications
The most valuable thing any company can do to ensure success during uncertain times is to fine tune their business communications strategies. Whether marketing, client liaison, or team building and training, communicating clearly and intelligently will have a huge impact.
Remote Interpreting
From conferences with international colleagues to important meetings with potential clients, video and voice remote interpreting services offer an invaluable tool in helping your business grow. Partnering with a reliable interpreting service provider that can connect you with professional, certified, and native-speaking interpreters in real-time can help eliminate language barriers. This will allow you to connect in a meaningful way to your clients and team across the world.
Team Building
Regardless, regular communication with your team is vital, but now more than ever, it’s important to keep the lines of communication open. Video conferencing has been widely adopted by as the default business communications to go by companies hoping to retain some face-to- face time with their staff, allowing for the sharing of ideas and opinions, and getting colleague feedback.
Investing the time and energy into more than purely business communications, such as some sort of general instant chat functionality or arranging virtual team building exercises that allow for social distancing (such as online quiz nights) are a great way to foster a continuing atmosphere of collaboration and camaraderie.
Training
With so much else to worry about, training might seem like a low priority. Yet, it’s important to clarify new health and safety policies in the form of social distancing arrangements. Likewise, creating communication pathways for employees and explaining how you will support your team during this time will foster a team atmosphere and motivate your employees. And, if you have a large number of non-native or Limited English Proficient (LEP) employees, being able to offer employee training in their native language is an important item to consider.
Social Distancing: Making sure to train all employees on correct hygiene and social distancing requirements within your workplace (if returning) will allow you to open in a safe and proactive manner. CDC advice regarding the reopening of business premises can be found here.
Online Resources: E-learning has been a go-to for employers for a number of years, but never has there been a better time to expand your training offering to employees, providing career progression and personal growth opportunities that may otherwise be difficult to achieve at home 24/7. If you have an international workforce, localizing your e-Learning content for your overseas employees is critical.
Communicating with Your Customers
Be useful in all of your marketing communications. Do your research and remain up to date on how the pandemic is spreading and how local markets are being impacted. Make sure your customers know that you are thinking about them and how your business can best serve their needs. The brands that take the time to consider their customers during this time, will be better positioned to create and maintain a loyal consumer base once the pandemic is over.
Marketing Translations
You may even discover your potential in new markets that you hadn’t yet considered. With so much of the world’s population relying on the internet to keep them connected more than ever before, now is the time to hone your globalization strategy and tap into this new captive audience! Check out our global marketing and SEO services to see how we can help you expand in a thoughtful way. Our marketing translation services can help you reach your foreign language markets in a way to better speak to their unique needs during this time.
At PGLS, every word matters, and in this spirit, we are dedicated to supporting all businesses to enhance their communication strategy. Contact us to learn how we can help you succeed in the post pandemic global market.
