By Vivian Lines, CEO Lines Consulting

Vivian Lines, CEO Lines Consulting

There is barely a business that hasn’t been profoundly impacted in 2020. As many countries cautiously emerge from lockdowns and economies try to reopen, it’s clear that the future looks very different from where this year began. Just as countries have responded differently to the situation, organisations across the world have reshaped in different ways in response to the many forces impacting them. Change is inescapable, but what are the factors that determine whether a business emerges stronger, or at least with minimal scars, while others cling on for survival or fall at the first hurdle?

Embracing Accelerated Change

The pandemic took some trends that were underway and sent them into overdrive. When lockdown began, many businesses had to fully embrace a shift they had held back from for years and pivot to a remote workforce in just days. While some offices now slowly reopen and other organisations try to find the balance of flexible working and hybrid remote / in-person teams, there seems no doubt that many workers will never go back to a daily commute. Google has already told its employees that they have the option of WFH until the end of June 2021.

Technology and digital adoption has fuelled change, connectivity and communication and as KMPG highlights, “communication technology has proved to be an incredible force for good enabling a measure of business continuity and a sense of community to be maintained”.

As well as rewired ways of working and accelerated digital adoption, we have also seen changing patterns of consumption, particularly across eCommerce. Online retail was already trending upwards in many markets, but online grocery shopping in particular has made years’ worth of inroads in just a few months. In Southeast Asia for example, research by Bain & Company and Facebook reveals that the online grocery sector nearly tripled and Alibaba-backed Lazada, which operates across the region, recently told CNBC its online grocery sales in Singapore jumped four times from early April. This trend will undoubtedly continue as many people are expected to continue shopping for groceries and other essential items online in the future.

Staying Agile Amidst And Beyond The Global Crisis

Agility underpins successful acceleration and COVID-19 has seen organisations pivot repeatedly. Many have proven that success is possible amidst these uncertain times. Boundaries and siloes that historically impeded meaningful change have dissolved overnight, decision making has been streamlined, and in record time, we’ve seen manufacturers pivot production (often on a much-reduced workforce) and companies shift operations or launch entirely new business models.

However, as HBR discusses: “there’s nothing like a crisis to ignite innovation”, but how can companies maintain their agility and prevent a return to “traditional command-and-control innovation” once the emergency fades? Essentially this comes down to driving an agile culture that feeds innovation rather than bureaucracy, spreading the principles and practices of agile management throughout all corners of the organisation. “The trick is to maintain the urgency, anticipate the next crisis, and create a system that emphasizes innovation as much as operations.”

Leading With Culture, Compassion And Courage 

Organisational agility requires an empowering ethos across leadership. As more company responses are highlighted to the world, the expectations of leaders increases both from within the organisation and externally and today they are judged against a far wider range of values as well as skillsets. During a crisis, people need to see leadership in action more than ever and companies have to effectively demonstrate and communicate the efforts they’re making to keep pace.

The Odgers Berndtson Leadership Confidence Index 2020 highlighted a crisis in confidence in top global leaders just before these disruptive times hit. In partnership with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, the study of nearly 2000 senior executives and managers revealed that only 15% are confident that their leaders can deliver long-term success amid increasingly disruptive forces. A lack of vision and preparedness were flagged as the greatest concerns.

When faced with one of the most disruptive events on record, how have leaders adapted and stepped up to bridge that gap in confidence? There have been many notable examples of strong leadership during this crisis (Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, Tim Höttges of Deutsche Telekom to name some), who have visibly led with compassion, courage, agility and decisiveness. SpencerStuart also explored the response of business leaders in China who faced the first wave of the virus with no precedent. Keeping Chinese culture as a compass, communicating frequently, and grounding talent development in purpose has guided the responses of leaders from companies like Starbucks, KFC, and IKEA in China.

During crises like this, the emphasis is not only on the C-Suite to rethink how decisions are made but also at a boardroom level. In a previous article, I touched upon the changing role of the board and the need for them to take a more active role within the business and specifically in communications as a result of the pandemic.

You Can Never Over-Communicate During A Crisis

Effective communication is vitally important in emerging stronger from this pandemic. Getting the message, sentiment, and timing right is more challenging than ever amidst the backdrop of events changing at such a rapid pace. Companies that use their narrative as an effective tool to navigate crises adopt shorter, more frequent communications based on what they do know and filling in details later. This builds trust and prevents the void of silence being filled with misinformation. 

More organisations are recognising the importance of internal communications and this will continue to command attention as we emerge from the pandemic. Employees value open and honest communications, and at times like these, leaders need to demonstrate empathy, not just facts. While messaging needs to be clear and consistent, leaders should evolve the narrative with new facts, new perspectives, and new policies as the situation continues to unfold.

Revisit Your Approach To Risk Management And Crisis Planning

This might be the most noteworthy pandemic to shake our foundations, but it won’t be the last. The word “unprecedented” has been used countless times in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and while there is no set playbook for this current situation, organisations that plan for uncertainty and high-risk scenarios will be better positioned to navigate their way to the ‘next normal’.

For the past seven years, ‘Business Disruption’ has topped the Allianz Risk Barometer as the key concern for businesses globally (only in the 2020 report was it knocked off the top spot by Cyber Incidents). While the Barometer doesn’t explicitly call out a pandemic or epidemic, being prepared for political and environmental risk exposures or disruption to digital platforms and supply chains should put many businesses in a more responsive position for this crisis. However, as businesses continue to face an ever-evolving array of issues that put even the best laid crisis plans to the test, alarmingly The Boardlist found that nearly 40% of board directors surveyed did not have any risk mitigation plans in place prior to this crisis.

While there is always opportunity to be found in crisis, as we emerge from the intensity of the storm it will be a good time to look at lessons learnt with a deeper dive into your crisis response. Review plans, processes, training, and people (were the roles and responsibilities clear for everyone?). Map out worst-case future reputational risk scenarios and reassess your resilience and vulnerabilities. Bring in crisis management experts to stress-test and simulate your plans. Ultimately, think about how you can build a more crisis-ready culture that establishes strong foundations to better weather times like these and mitigate operational and reputational damage.

The Coronavirus pandemic is a fluid and complex crisis unlike any other in recent times. Every crisis brings some form of lasting change and many companies will emerge from the height of this pandemic with changed behaviours and new ways of working. The accelerated pace of change calls for enhanced communication strategies, both internally and externally, and a reassessment of worst-case scenario projections. With an adaptable, decisive, and compassionate mindset, leaders will need to adopt the right balance of agility and resilience to recover from the crisis in a strong position.