The Southeast Asian startup ecosystem has been one of the fastest-growing, but it is now threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to research by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, the Southeast Asian Internet economy is currently worth a massive US$100 billion (tripling its value over the past four years) and is expected to be worth $US300 billion by 2025; while the focus on startups in SEA has generally been on early-stage startups, the number of matured startups continue to grow, with many going on to achieve Unicorn status; these include startups such as Singapore’s ride-hailing platform Grab, Indonesian ride-hailing platform Go-Jek, Vietnam’s online gaming and e-commerce platform VNG, and the Philippines’ prefabricated home company Revolution Precrafted.
COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia are rapidly growing, and the chart of the current outbreak is similar to what we’ve seen in other COVID-19 hotspots; experts are predicting that Southeast Asia could be the coronavirus outbreak’s next hotspot.
Not only could this fact threaten the Southeast Asian economy, but it poses serious threats to the region’s rapidly growing startup economy. So far, governments across the region have started to take steps to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, and these steps are already threatening the business model of the region’s most successful startups.
This significantly threatens the business model of one of the country’s most successful startups, Grab. The Philippines is also currently on a lockdown which it’s the president has publicly admitted there is no end in sight to — this is also certain to affect the business model and growth of the country’s ride-hailing startup Go-Jek, despite recently securing funding of about US$1.2 billion during the pandemic.
Southeast Asian startups have been coping in so many ways. They’ve made several moves including pivoting service and product offerings (for example, Singapore’s ComfortDelGro is making its taxi drivers deliver meals and groceries) and by being frugal when it comes to spending. More notable, however, is the compulsory shift towards remote work — which a lot of startups are unfortunately unprepared for.
Also Read: How gamification is increasing productivity during COVID-19
I believe that besides changes forced by the current COVID-19 circumstances, there are several reasons why SEA startups should move towards having pretty much all their employees work remotely post COVID-19. Here are some of those reasons:
Disruption will force startups to work from home
Southeast Asian startups are no stranger to disruptions that force them to work from home — the latest of which is COVID-19. Just recently, in the Philippines for example, several incidents have prompted startups to work from home before COVID-19; there was the Typhoon Kammuri that forced startups to work from home for a few days in late November, there was the Taal Volcano that forced startups to work from home in early January, and there is the COVID-19 lockdown now.
Whether it is due to natural disasters or pandemic, there will be other occurrences in the future that forces startups to work from home. It is much better, then, to make working remotely part of the culture if possible.
It makes it much easier to attract talent
An advantage Southeast Asia has over many other regions of the world is its huge talent pool. While a lot of other regions are suffering a brain drain when it comes to talent, Southeast Asia continues to see its talent pool — consisting mostly of young and tech-savvy people under 30 — grow.
Unlike a lot of regions, the “Sea Turtle” phenomenon has been coined to describe the eventual return of people who are trained abroad to further their careers in the region. A remote work ecosystem makes it much easier to attract the best of these talents.
It leads to better employee satisfaction
There is a correlation between employee satisfaction and startup growth, and if available data is anything to go by then startups will have more happy employees by embracing remote work.
Recent research by EngageRocket analysing the response to Singapore’s COVID-19 Circuit Breaker lockdown has found that a whopping 80 per cent of employees wish to continue working from home after the lockdown.
Preventing a productivity crisis
As Southeast Asian startups move towards more remote work, it is essential to also take steps to prevent a remote work-related productivity crisis.
So far, available data shows massive interest in remote work but the associated productivity issues should not be ignored. The EngageRocket study earlier referenced found that 46 per cent of employees report lower productivity and taking more time to achieve the same result as before.
This isn’t necessarily an argument against working remotely but an argument for why remote work systems should be optimised.
There are several ways in which a remote work productivity crisis can be prevented:
Ensure employees have access to the right tools and resources
The push towards remote work this time around was all too sudden for a lot of startups so there hasn’t been enough opportunity to prepare, but going forward an emphasis should be put on the availability of the right tools for remote workers.
EngageRocket’s study found that one of the major reasons for employee’s low productivity during this period is a lack of access to resources and tools they need and had access to in the office.
Also Read: Report: 3 out of 4 major online marketplaces in Vietnam experience traffic drops during COVID-19
It is important to realise that there are several remote collaboration tools and processes, and startups should be able to avail themselves of these; this includes the use of project management software to set goals and keep track of projects, video conferencing apps to ensure regular meetings, and effective tracking systems to ensure progress is being made.
Ensure regular follow-ups and check-ins
Following up regularly and checking on employees is not necessarily due to a lack of trust; instead, it is because you want them to succeed. It is important to realize that one of the major reasons why remote employees suffer low productivity is due to environmental distractions in their new work environment; regularly checking on them while they work remotely pushes them to ensure they achieve results in spite of these distractions.
Integrate a social component into the remote work experience
It is important to understand the loneliness and mental health issues that can come with working remotely; a lot of times, employees who had for long been working in an interactive environment with peers and colleagues are unprepared for having to all of a sudden work alone from home.
This can be addressed by introducing a social component into the remote work experience; this could be a group chat, an employee only forum, or occasionally video conferencing that allows employees and team members to interact with one another and discuss issues beyond work every once in a while.
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