The Auckland Employers and Manufacturers Association (AEMA) says there's never been a better time for employers to start thinking how their business can be more flexible and resilient as New Zealand waits to hear if the country will come out of the level four Covid-19 lockdown.
AEMA chief executive Brett O'Reilly told 1 NEWS over Skype they've heard from several employers over the past few weeks who have said they've been surprised at how well their businesses have operated remotely.
He said now is the time for businesses to start thinking about how they will operate at level 3.
"Employers are desperate to get back to work - they are desperate to get production flowing again for their workers, so they can continue to pay them - so they'll do what they can to get started," Mr O'Reilly said.
"I think we can probably get a fair bit of the economy back under level three - not everybody in the workplace, some people still working from home, but I think it is possible."
On Friday, the Government announced butcheries and bakeries had to close and it also discouraged home deliveries, but there could be changes ahead. (Source: Other)
Mr O'Reilly said "there's a social licence now for New Zealand to try and recover economically, so let's use that licence to do some things that maybe we wouldn't have done before".
Those things might include adding overnight shifts to certain workplaces, or moving into different areas like online sales.
He also said that the EMA is now advocating for a return to 90-day trial periods, as many employers will be uneasy about hiring people for new roles until they are sure they're a good fit.
"There are going to be a lot of people out there who are quite uncertain, and employers who are going to be uncertain about whether they'll be suitable for the job," he said.
Rob Fyfe who’s the liaison between business and Government says hundreds of companies are offering their resources. (Source: Other)
Many businesses will have learned in hindsight what they should have done to prepare for level four, and Mr O'Reilly said there's no guarantee that New Zealand won't be put back into level four after moving out of it.
"Lets make sure, if we have to go back to level four again, that we learn the lessons from this time and maybe a few more businesses could operate than was the case," he said.
"If you ever wanted to digitise an economy, you've had no better opportunity than the last few weeks - I think a lot of businesses will start to think about whether they could operate differently."
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