(From left) Entrepreneur Ahmad Baddoura and Co-Founder of Rafeeq Abdulaziz Alsabbagh
Doha: Socially conscious businesses in Doha are trying to find the right balance between surviving the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic without neglecting their corporate social responsibility.
Companies across Qatar are implementing not only the precautionary health measures needed to combat the spread of the coronavirus, but are also actively looking for ways to manage their profits and losses, without undermining their social responsibility towards their employees and clients.
To date, the Qatari government has issued several initiatives as part of its QR75bn financial assistance programme to help private sector companies survive the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses on the other hand, are also actively finding ways to overcome the crisis and prepare for a global economic turnaround.
“People talk, rumors spread, and then people start to panic. The solution is teamwork. Our actions and interaction with one another formulates the success rate in dealing with the crisis. First, the staff salaries. My team also have obligations and responsibilities to their families. Taking care of the livelihood of your staff and their ability to meet the ever increasing daily demands from life will determine how well they will take care of your business,” Ahmad Baddoura, an entrepreneur with investments in restaurants and digital technology businesses in Doha told The Peninsula.
Speaking about ways to handle the staffs’ salaries, he said: “My partner and I, own Bake & Take Restaurant, we have made a decision not to renegotiate any salary increases as this is considered suicidal in today’s marketplace. It is also wise to stop overtime pay and to put on hold any upcoming bonuses. A smart and successful entrepreneur resorts lastly to reducing the costs of his staff salaries”.
According to a Morgan Stanley Research, the coronavirus pandemic will put more companies under scrutiny for decisions that impact employees, customers, and society. It added that even before the coronavirus outbreak, more investors were looking at companies through the lens of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. But now, corporate decisions on human capital, customers and society during the COVID-19 pandemic could carry greater weight.
A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that following layoffs, the remaining employees saw a 41 percent decline in job satisfaction, a 36 percent decline in organisational commitment and a 20 percent decline in job performance.
When conditions do improve, the total cost of replacing lost employees can rise to as much as twice their annual salary. Also, new employees can take up to two years to reach full productivity, the report added.
Abdulaziz Alsabbagh, Co-founder and Managing Director of local Qatari food delivery platform Rafeeq, said: “As we are facing an unprecendeted situation and crisis, all of us would have to do whatever it takes to alleviate and enhance the quality of the lives of the community we serve. We are deeply grateful and have immense respect for every person of member organisation who has risked life and safety to fight the pandemic. At this moment the need of the hour is greater than any other time, so let’s find ways and help the people to deliver their needs, and give extraordinary service for our customers”.
