PROVIDENCE – The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many businesses in New England hard and has forced organizations to make significant changes to cope with the new health and economic climate.
A recent survey conducted by CBIZ & MHM New England released Friday found that 56% of companies in the region have started to restrict spending as a result of the effects of the pandemic.
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Eight-one percent of the employers said they expect a medium to high amount of impact on their business, with 52% saying they have already experienced a decline in sales.
Three-fourths of companies said they have already experienced a moderate to significant business impact from the virus.
Seventy percent of respondents in the survey said a loss of revenue is among their top concerns related to the pandemic, while 55% indicated employee safety is a top concern.
Nine out of 10 New England companies said that they have a majority of their staff working remotely. Half of respondents said they closed their physical place of business. Going forward, 88% of companies anticipated that some or all staff will continue to work remotely.
Only 27% of companies said they are not anticipating severe ramifications after states reopen. A third of companies did not anticipate having to make significant changes to their business, while 39% are planning to or have already made significant changes before their third and fourth quarters, given their available cash borrowing.
According to the survey, the most common change in business practice due to the virus was improving liquidity through loans, followed by cost-cutting measures, including reducing the workforce, increasing marketing efforts and increasing focus or shift to online sales.
Rhode Island companies comprised 8% of respondents in the survey and southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod companies made up 2% of respondents. Nearly half of participating companies were in the metro Boston/central Massachusetts area and a third were in downtown Boston. The survey included companies in a range of industries, including professional services, real estate and manufacturing. Nearly 70% of companies surveyed had less than 100 employees and more than half had a yearly revenue of under $25 million.
The full report may be viewed online.
