The potential impact of the coronavirus on

With the World Health Organisation focusing their attention the new coronavirus, it is now a good time for me to think about what impact this could have on my Business in Romania.

The answer is: it depends. It depends on my type of business and how much I am working with people in my chain. If, for instance, I am paperless service firm ISO 27001 certified, then I am more prepared to handle these risks: disaster management planning is part of the certification procedure.

However, since one of the ways of transmission of the coronavirus is airborne, it is a good moment to renew the cleaning & hygienisation procedures. The type of building (villa with natural ventilation or skyscraper with airvents, making everybody dependant on the proper renewal of the air filters) will also be an important variable.

As always, the major impact is when 2 or more risks happen at the same time: coronavirus and an earthquake, for instance, could severely impede the supply chain for one or more of my key business items. So I need to increase my overall focus on the business and compensate this way for the increase in noise.

Will it affect my sales?

It depends on my type of business. The key, as always, is communication:

• Preventive: speak with all member of staff to ensure business continuity

• In case it happens: I might have to suspend physical activity and switch to virtual office. I must announce my clients & suppliers that my team will work remotely for the following couple of weeks