Covid-19 has dramatically disrupted business. What factors differentiate those businesses that have thrived from those that haven't?

Covid-19 has dramatically disrupted business. What factors differentiate those businesses that have withstood the challenges compared to those that have fared less well and what lessons can be learnt by companies in the post-pandemic world?

Two to three weeks into the Covid-19 pandemic and we are beginning to see some trends emerge. As employees, we can be classed into essential and non-essential. Some things we have done really well, like NHS Nightingale or the response to the call for volunteers, other things have been less effective. Our supermarkets have lots of data but are unable to identify and act on critical trends etc. Some businesses are thriving but there are those that have struggled or will cease trading altogether. So, what are the things that differentiate the winners and losers?

I have identified 6 key factors (there are others but these are the important ones). They are:-

1)   Own what you can control - During this period there have been many things that have happened: self-isolation and the reduction on footfall; the switch to online as the preferred channel; the inability of home delivery to scale; and the failure of the Supply Chain to deliver specific good to those that actually need them; move to cashless; homeworking; etc Most of these have been beyond the control of the business. Rather than worrying and planning for all possible events, companies that focus on and own what they can control can scale up or down in response to events. A good example is the situation the nurseries are in with their stocks of spring plants. Because of the lockdown, garden centres are closed, yet people are forced to stay at home and gardening is one of the activities they can do. So, the nurseries can’t control the lockdown or the garden centres, but they can build or extend their website to sell their stock directly to customers. This is an example of owning what you can control.

2)   People first – Those companies that put their employees and customers first seem to be faring much better than those that have laid people off, furloughed employees, failed to observe social distancing or tried to continue as though nothing has happened.

3)   Pivot fast - The ability to recognise and respond to events has also been key. For example, catering companies that used to provide meals and refreshments for entertainment, events and locked down companies are now providing meals to Firstline workers and vulnerable people. The ability to re-purpose business assets is vital to survival.

4)   Partnerships – The formation of new partnerships, some short term, others will become more long term, to solve particular problems. For example, the partnership between the Formula1 team Mercedes and University College London, Ford Motors and GE Healthcare, private hospitals working with the NHS, or firms with 3D printers printing products needed by the medical services.

5)   Rapid Innovation – Look at the number of different solutions to the problem of the ventilator shortage. Many companies have used their expertise to come up with novel solutions to develop, prototype and produce effective ventilators. The ability to rapidly innovate is also key.

6)   Be Cloud – Cloud-based tools, like Zoom and Teams, has seen a surge in use, whilst small niche providers like House Party have accelerated into the mainstream. The remote working genie is well and truly out the bottle and will not be going back in anytime soon. Apart from some minor scale-out issues (which largely seem to have been resolved) Cloud services have won hands down.

What lessons from this pandemic do we need to learn that will shape and influence businesses in the post-pandemic world? Well, the good news is if your business survived the pandemic, then you will have done some or all of the above. The bad news is these six factors will be the new normal. This means if you only do some of these things, then you have to embrace the rest. If you’re not doing any, then you have the rest of the period of the lockdown to figure out how you can transform your business.

There has been some unexpected benefits and winners. For example, one of the consequences of social distancing on retail has been how more enjoyable shopping is in less crowded shops. We may see some stores introduce restricted opening, themed slots, like Frontline Hours at shift changeover times or pensioner hours, or even advanced booking so you choose the time you want to shop.

The use of live-streaming to reach a wider audience. So, post-pandemic we will see smaller niche events, or home-based participation, like virtual choirs or remote wine club, where we can all enjoy a shared experience, without having to leave home. 

Some industries will be severely impacted, travel for example. The ease of global travel facilitated the rapid spread of the virus. Do we need to travel as much as we did? Are there alternative methods we could use? How we travel will also become stricter. Track and traceability of travellers will become mandatory.

The greater use of contactless payment or cashless transactions will have a major disruption to the financial sector, especially around secure transactions and fraud, which will probably accelerate the use of blockchain

Our use of time. The realisation we can do a lot of things ourselves and we actually quite enjoy doing these things, with the derived, positive wellbeing this brings.

There will be a post-pandemic re-evaluation of our life, our consumption patterns, our work styles, behaviours and attitudes. This will mean shorter supply chains, better work-life balance, a cleaner environment, a greater appreciation of the simple, natural things that previously we’re too busy or preoccupied to notice. We will re-evaluate our priorities. The heavily consumptive model we strove for will be tempered by a desire to be more renewable and sustainable. Community, both at work and at home, will become much more important. What we “can do” will become as important as what “we do” do for work. Ultimately how we identify ourselves will change.

Once we emerge post-pandemic, the world will be very different especially for businesses that do not adopt these key lessons.