Being flexible in the future won’t just be about pushing back a meeting by 15 minutes. The “new” flexibility will long exist into the future as a result of COVID-19.
It’s safe to say that the pandemic has shaped the world we’re now living in, especially for business. While I do anticipate things returning to “normal,” I think it’s safe to say that most of us agree that this normal will also come with varying degrees of change.
I think one of those changes, as I’ve recently discussed, has to do with being more “flexible” with how your clients meet and interact with you.
In the pre-COVID world, meeting flexibility was often limited to moving meetings to different days, or different months or times.
In a post-COVID world, which we’ve already seen the transition take place, this flexibility could come in the form of scheduled face-to-face meetings being conducted virtually instead.
That is, after the dust settles from the pandemic, and people begin booking face-to-face meetings and in-person interactions again, it’s possible that when things inevitably “come up” for the client in their schedule, rather than rescheduling or postponing the meeting to a later day or time, the new flexibility will simply opt for transferring to a virtual meeting instead. This will require you to ensure that any materials, presentations, or “physical” aspects required during your meeting are all easily and readily “virtualized” to ensure no hiccups in your meetings.
You may also notice that companies that historically have opted to bring their workers into an office decide to save on the overhead and let them all work virtually instead. You could also notice that perhaps their employees will be working on an alternate or unconventional schedule rather than the standard “9-5” especially as more workers go remote.
As companies provide their workers with more flexibility, it’s inevitable that professionals who provide services to those companies will also have to enhance their flexibility.
Here are a few other ways you may need to become more flexible with your approaches and processes:
- Offer more video trainings/tutorials/recordings to your clients.
- Meet with clients at less conventional times.
- Create processes that allow for fewer or less physical contact, even after the pandemic is over.
- Increased email/instant message communication/service.
- More flexible support times.
Of course, the new flexible will be dependent on your particular industry or service.
But, as I’ve touched on repeatedly during this crisis, the old approach, whatever that looked like for you, needs careful consideration on what to keep and what to refresh to ensure success now and in the future.
