Health and Safety, Moments of Truth, and COVID-19

Are businesses heading toward a "hard reset" of their brand loyalty with consumers?

Driving with my parents to pick up a takeaway order a month ago from one of our favorite local restaurants, we pulled into the parking lot and were stunned by what we saw. During the height of a coronavirus outbreak, the restaurant was packed to the gills with customers.

The staff weren't wearing masks, neither were the customers, and everyone was seated close together. "Well," says my mom, "that's the last time we're going there!"

Thus ended years of loyalty to that restaurant, which only weeks later was forced to close its doors due to its staff testing positive for the virus.

Regardless of how quickly a COVID-19 vaccine develops, my prediction is that many consumers are going to experience renewed "moments of truth" interactions with brick-and-mortar businesses based on their perceived handling of the virus.

Increased consumer scrutiny of health and safety as the new normal

I don't believe the impact of COVID-19 business responses on consumer behavior will end with life returning to "normal." I think we can expect to see consumers exercising continued caution and closely observing the health and safety protocols of businesses they choose to patronize.

In particular, I think the travel, leisure, and hospitality industries are facing an uphill battle. Holidays or vacation travel may be low on consumer spending priorities due to furloughs and unemployment. With the industry predicted to be slow to rebound, companies need to ensure they satisfy the customers they do have with their COVID-19 protocols.

Once protocols are decided, maintaining consistency is important. When United Airlines initially made commitments to leave the middle seats of airplanes empty in April, they immediately drew the ire of social media savvy customers posting selfies of fully booked flights.

Is your business properly training staff on recommended cleaning procedures and social distancing?

These shifting consumer expectations mean that customer-facing staff, as well as behind the scenes personnel working in janitorial and facilities management positions, are going to require additional or modified health, safety, and sanitation training around COVID-19.

Organisations who are quick to cut learning and development budgets may find themselves chasing their better-prepared competitors once the economy begins to recover. Yes, your customer service may be superb, but if your employees are flouting recommended social distancing and sanitation procedures because they are untrained, how much goodwill are you losing with otherwise loyal customers?

How to ensure your employees are adequately prepared

Whether you've reopened yet or not, there are a few ways you can start planning now to prepare your staff for a return to safe, face-to-face customer interactions.

Training managers and L&D departments should be reviewing reputable guidance from government sources or industry accreditation bodies (if applicable). In the United States, the CDC is providing and updating regularly, recommendations for business around employee testing, disinfecting, and other procedures.

If you still have a healthy training budget, begin developing the appropriate training to suit your business needs, and deploy it in a way that ensures the health safety of your staff. If developing e-learning, be sure to account for your staff's technical literacy and ability to access to necessary hardware like laptops and high-speed internet. You don't want to inadvertently create hardship for your employees.

If you don't have wiggle room in your budget, look to industry-specific governing bodies for off-the-shelf courses or webinars that your employees can access.

Best of luck and stay safe!

If your organisation is in need of employee e-learning or digital training around COVID-19 or other topics, please contact me at [email protected].