COVID-19 has been part of our lives for an entire year, and the world is still dealing with its effects. With many countries on lockdown and businesses failing, it has become very clear that the pandemic will have a lasting impact––especially on international business. While businesses adapted and technology became a savior to many, there is still no indication of the extent to which global partnerships will change or if they will ever go back to the way they were.
Global Workforce Model Change
When it became apparent last year that the virus was not going to quickly subside, many companies adapted by allowing employees to work remotely. With so many stay-at-home orders effectuated worldwide, many businesses had to evolve by working from a distributed network of work-at-home offices, rather than a centralized location. Because international travel has been severely curtailed in the effort to limit the spread of the virus, telecommuting has become the “new normal.” We will likely continue to connect globally using online tools at an ever-increasing rate.
Evolving Management Skills
“COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of change across organizations everywhere; 83% of respondents said they are now looking to the remote, global workforce model as a solution to the changes brought about by the pandemic.” (Middlemarketgrowth.org) With so many cities around the world still on lockdown, that “remote, global workforce” is cause for concern. Often hard enough to deal with recruiting and managing workforces in different countries, it is even more of a challenge as the pandemic continues to spread. While expanding business overseas, companies are experiencing success by using a Global Employer of Record. That allows them to establish new international teams and revenue generation in a matter of days instead of months.
A Closer Look at Budget
Lockdowns forced businesses to close their doors for months, caused people to lose their jobs, and drove economies to suffer worldwide. Companies located in low- or middle-income countries with high levels of public debt induced by the pandemic face additional pressures. Said counties must finance their public health, social and economic responses to COVID-19 as well as support commerce. COVID-19 has led the international community into uncharted waters.