How Midsize Companies Can Adapt Their Strategy During the Covid-19 Crisis?

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to force much of the planet into a state of lockdown, it seems a myriad of new challenges presents themselves on an almost daily basis. Of course, these difficulties can manifest themselves in a variety of different ways.

For governments and authorities, their primary responsibility is to limit the spread of the disease and ensure the population remains as safe as possible. Healthcare systems are focused on treating those who have become infected, while the general public are being asked to isolate themselves by keeping social contact to a minimum.

But what of the millions of businesses around the world? How are they to cope with the ongoing crisis? And, specifically, what can middle market companies do to address the situation? Here, we’ll outline some of the strategies a midsize organization may wish to adopt in these troubling times.

Investopedia defines a middle market company as “a firm in a given industry with annual revenues that fall in the middle of the market for that industry…between smaller companies and the giants of the industry that dominate the market.”

Midsize firms are generally thought of as employing 100 to 2,000 people with revenues between $10 million to $500 million, but in reality, those parameters can shift depending on the sector in question.

There’s certainly no debate when it comes to the importance of middle-market organizations, however. In the United States, for example, there are almost 200,000 of them, representing one-third of the private sector GDP and employing around 44.5 million people. And, in Germany, midsize businesses account for more than 60% of the nation’s jobs.

As such key contributors to the global economy, it’s vital that these firms are able to adapt their strategy accordingly during the Coronavirus pandemic, to ensure they remain operational.

Rob Mander, a Tax Services Consultant out of RSM’s Sydney office, has conducted interviews with numerous international experts about how organizations can tackle their various tax requirements, and how some national authorities have introduced new legislation.

“Given the ‘real-time’ nature of VAT and the fact that it is paid based on transactions, if those transactions are interrupted for the reasons we are seeing, then businesses are going to be unable to meet their obligations to file and make payments in the normal course of events,” he says.

“This has been recognized by many tax authorities in a series of recent announcements to help businesses by deferring payments or reducing VAT rates.”These measures have been designed to help midsize companies, affording them some much-needed breathing space during a period of hardship.

With an increasing number of people being asked to work from home, solutions are being sought as to how remote working can be made as productive as possible. For companies and clients alike, operating away from the office presents a range of challenges, including the suitability of the space we work in, distractions, connectivity, and access to company systems.

Leading global research and advisory firm Gartner predict that 75% of all databases will migrate to a cloud platform by 2022. It seems businesses around the world are becoming alive to the benefits of moving to a cloud-based system, which allows employees to operate within a single, unified hub that can be accessed from anywhere – a key feature as millions get to grips with working remotely.

As well as considering technological changes, perhaps now is an ideal time for middle-market companies to review their recruitment strategies. As Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM, explains: “In preparing for an uncertain future, businesses must look beyond traditional qualifications and embrace professionals from diverse backgrounds – from engineers to coders, lawyers to HR professionals.

“As we continue to build and futureproof our teams, we must proactively look for a variety of different skillsets to tackle challenges, and this often means harnessing ideas and innovative solutions from those with non-traditional backgrounds.”

Now, more than ever, is a time for organizations to show great flexibility in their thinking, and that includes diversifying the range of skills within their employee pool. In a period of great uncertainty, those who are able to embrace an adaptable strategy maybe those who emerge from the other side of this crisis in the strongest position.