TRSA Wraps Up Business Restart Webinar Series

TRSA recently closed the third and final installment of its Business Restart webinar series sponsored by Six Disciplines Consulting Services, titled “Part III: Roadmap and Practical Tools for Restart.” As organizations have moved through the various phases of the COVID-19 pandemic – React, Reduce and Remain – they are now beginning to look at the key parts of the Restart phase. During this phase, the steps to fully engage your organization are significant.

The hour-long webinar presentation featured Eric Kurjan, president, Six Disciplines Consulting Services; and Audrey Carmichael, senior advisor, Six Disciplines. During the presentation, Kurjan stressed the importance of seven key areas for a successful restart: revenue recovery, expense management and control, inventory and supply chain, accounts receivable management, staffing and operations, customer retention, and internal and external communication. Expense management and revenue recovery were discussed in part two of the series.

For inventory and supply chain, discuss best practices and focus on actions for a short to mid-term “restart” phase. Complete a physical inventory and know your stock and what quantities customers need as they reopen. An ideal accounts receivable checklist should include a list of outstanding receivables and their aging status, a communicated repayment plant with each customer, knowing their re-opening plans and a method to track all of these activities.

When assessing staffing and operations, it’s important to pay attention to your employees’ well-being, stay within the regulations of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and be open to staff working from home where applicable. A nine-box matrix is an asset that can be used to assess people in their roles and their potential for advancement.

Some of the keys to customer retention are understanding the implications of service contract terms and conditions, protecting your base of good customers, knowing which customers will ramp up slowly and which will surge, and knowing their plans and expectations. A communication plan tool featuring email blasts, conference calls, and in-person and web meetings will lead to the very final stage of Recovery.

TRSA has an on-demand learning library that will allow you to “live stream” all of the association’s webinars, including all three webinars in the Business Restart series. TRSA members can purchase webinars, and other training and educational resources at a reduced member price. Visit www.trsa.org/ondemand to go to TRSA’s On-Demand Learning portal to view this webinar and more.