Recently the news has been filled with updates and information about the Coronavirus which was first reported in China on December 31st 2019. Since then over 90,000 cases of the virus have been reported with more than 3,000 deaths from it worldwide. With 41 cases now confirmed in the UK we want to know how the virus could affect your business.
Most businesses rely on face to face interactions with either the general public or within the office. This means that your employees are likely in contact with many people throughout the day. If one of those people has the coronavirus your employees are at risk of also contracting the virus. Those affected by the virus are told to ‘self-isolate’ for 14 days, meaning if one of your employees gets coronavirus they won't be able to work for two weeks. The BBC reported that up to a fifth of UK workers may be off sick at the same time when the coronavirus hits its peak. This will most likely have a bigger impact on smaller businesses with fewer employees to cover work but will also have a big impact on larger companies.
It’s not only employees who could contract the virus, but your customers too. This could mean a decrease in sales as they are unable to leave the house. With growing concerns and fears over the virus some customers who don’t even have the virus may also decide to not visit your business. As well as this, if your business relies on tourism then this will likely impact your business as fewer people are likely to travel and restrictions could soon be put in place. However, with a growing online market for many businesses this may not be too big of an issue and could in fact increase their online sales. This being said, some businesses cannot trade online and smaller, newer businesses may not have an online set up yet.
The reliance on China to produce and manufacture many goods for companies has already started to upset automotive, travel & tourism, healthcare, high-tech manufacturing, and retail industries. If your business relies on goods from China, production may be affected causing a decrease in products and sales. Even if your business doesn’t rely on goods made in China you may still be affected by the global economic impact of this.
There are likely more impacts the virus could have on your business. Bank of England governor Mark Carney says the virus will likely prove to cause a large economic shock “but will ultimately be temporary” as policymakers prepare to help businesses and households.
Luckily, our employees work from home, so are less likely to contract the virus and even if they do they can still take calls for your business 24/7. Our business is prepared for the spread of the coronavirus so your business doesn’t have to be. If the coronavirus is impacting your business we can help you by taking your calls, lightening the load for you and your employees.
Let us know in the comments whether you think you’ll be affected and how if the coronavirus continues to spread!
**All information correct on date of posting (likely to change quickly) to best of knowledge