Restarting After COVID-19

While normal life has far from resumed, businesses are slowly starting to reopen since the peak of the coronavirus, albeit with lots of restrictions. So, what does that mean for the portable sanitation industry?

If you’re an experienced PRO, getting back into the swing of things won’t be so different from when things resume after winter. If you’re new to the industry, however, and haven’t dealt with a slowdown like this before, here are some tips to help you get back up to speed.

Don’t Delay Any Longer

Now is the time to be proactive. While there might have been a decline in business for you the last couple months, waiting too long to start working at your usual capacity again may prove detrimental. PROs that aren’t proactive right now could be in for a rude awakening in a few months’ time as supplies are backlogged and the available work opportunities have been snapped up. That’s not to alarm you – it would just be wise to be prepared ahead of time.

Tips for Restarting

Here are some things you can start doing now:

Add to your inventory. Check in with your supplier to see if they can fulfill toilet orders now. If not, find out how soon it will be possible. Some suppliers are so backed up fulfilling sink orders (which are understandably in huge demand due to COVID-19) that they cannot fulfill toilet orders currently. For more on why lead times for suppliers are so long right now, check out our article here.

Look at your rehiring strategy. Have any seasonal employees that you like to rehire? Or need to bring back staff you needed to lay off? Now is the time to put inquiries out there. You might not be able to offer much work just yet, so make sure you’re upfront about that, but it’s a good time to gauge prospective employees’ availability so you can start planning. They’ll also appreciate being kept in the loop right now when things are so uncertain on the job front.  

Don’t get stretched thin. A nightmare scenario would be that a big event or large construction project came up and you didn’t have the resources to pull it off. Make sure you’re on top of everything and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Check upcoming events. See if local events are resuming or postponed ones have new dates set, and get your foot in the door. You can bet event organizers are busy scheduling for the near future.

Now is the time to promote the industry. To finish on a positive note, never have handwashing, toilet cleaning, and general hygiene been brought more into focus. Now is a great time to push the benefits of the portable sanitation industry. New opportunities might arise as public places, offices, and other businesses need more restroom and washing facilities to practice good hygiene and social distancing. While people might have turned a blind eye to PROs before, you might soon find you’re more in-demand than ever.

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