On Leadership & Coronavirus: Priorities for Local Business Leaders

While government action is widely covered in the media, we are not hearing much on company level leadership or even community and family level leadership. Major conferences including GSMA, SXSW, major industry trade shows and more to less major but important events like my 10-year business school reunion were canceled. Leading universities shut down, shifted to online courses only and required foreign exchange students to return immediately to their home country. As I sit in Nairobi, I wonder what will come in the next 2 weeks; the next 3 months and beyond. I think about all the videos and articles being posted by Italians now, who only a few weeks ago shrugged off the early cases of coronavirus only to enter full lockdown and exponential rise in death rates we see today.

As a quick note, coronavirus is only in its early stages. Some experts estimate a vaccine won't be available for 10-18 months, and believe that only once a vaccine is found will it subside unless extreme and strict isolation, closing of public places, home quarantine and social distancing are implemented immediately. Based on early trends, coronavirus is being compared to the 1918 Spanish flu, which led to an estimated 500,000–675,000 deaths in the U.S. and 50–100 million deaths worldwide. Resources at the end of this report and also in my other article will go into more detail on this.

Meanwhile, businesses and startups are struggling everywhere with supply chains compromised; offices and operations paused, slowed or moved remotely; financial markets dropping; and retail, e-commerce, manufacturing and more feeling the effects.

Emerging Markets will Soon Be Hit, and Hit the Hardest.

While many countries in Asia and Africa are beginning to implement stricter responses (Latin America catching up), government and existing systems or infrastructure may not be enough to allow fast action and strong enforcement. Impressively, 2 weeks ago when the full fear of COVID-19 had not yet taken effect and no official reports of the disease been released in the country, the Kenyan government issued a ban on all international convenings. This week, schools were closed and popular convenings such as church were strongly discouraged. Text messages were sent out by the Ministry of Health warning of the threat…though with details on how to respond are not clear. Nor are the next steps to enforce social distancing and limited spread of infection.

We know now that COVID-19 surfaced as early as November 2019 in Wuhan, China then was swept under the rug (and possibly quite abusively) by Chinese government. As a result, Wuhan went 2 months or more without proper management and restrictions and led to over 3,111 deaths in Hubei Province, where Wuhan sits. The delays in action in Wuhan can be avoided. But it requires all of us- and especially company and private sector leaders to step up now - and not rely on government or public institutions to carry the weight.

Too Many Local Business Managers are Not Playing their Part

At the company and community level, the obligation to act quickly without pause requires strong and ethical leadership. Leaders are meant to stay informed, anticipate future trends that will impact their business, stakeholders and employees, and then provide strong guidance forward. Sadly, there are too many examples where this is not the case.

When a colleague recently pushed his company to prepare for coronavirus and implement an internal policy and communication to staff, the company shrugged it off. Worse, other managers have said that if someone gets sick, the company should keep it quiet, as it could affect business and unnerve its clients. Others have taken a laissez-faire approach saying ‘Well, if someone is sick, he or she can take leave days and has an obligation to do so.” For companies with large teams and manpower, this is a huge threat.

Is that leadership, laziness or pure negligence? Laziness or negligence, or a default to pointing fingers to others in-charge, are all failures to act that can cause harm to many. And also tank a company.

A Call to Local Leaders: Companies, Their Managers, Boards & Investors

For those managers and owners, here are some actions that are top priorities to consider and to act on fast. For boards members and investors, if you do not see the companies you support acting on this, push them to do so.

1. Develop a Coronavirus Employee Response Plan. You should already have one! Don’t assume that employees will know the proper response and will act consistently and accordingly without clear guidance and guidelines from management. Create and distribute this plan, which might include guidelines that reflect the leading findings on effective control of infection e.g. social distancing, encouraging all, but especially low-income workers to act responsibly to not spread the virus, and changes to operations during this active period of changing government policies, restrictions and lockdown. More details below.
2. Build a Management Emergency Response & Operations Plan. For countries ranging from the UK to Kenya that are on the verge of full lockdown, businesses will be required to close and any luxury or non-essential sales will plummet further. If you are forced to close day-to-day in-house operations, it is best to know how to respond now and not wait until it happens and panic ensues. In countries here in Africa (or Latin America, for example) where virtual meetings and work is not so common, making this shift to remote and virtual will be particularly challenging. Or, if a senior staffer becomes ill or a whole team falls ill, how will the company work around these set-backs? For companies that tend to have large teams that work closely together or interact with many people on a regular basis- security staff, sales personnel, healthcare workers, tourism, sports and fitness, education, large manufacturing and beyond, your staff may be at particularly high risk and could expose other staff as well. Also, worth noting, is having your finance department review budgets and project for a hard 6 months or longer. A number of organizations and governments are starting to offer small business loans and assistance funding. This is something else your finance department might want to research now.
3. Supplier & Vendor Protocol. Establish back-up supplier and vendor lists in case-specific borders or trade routes are closed. If social isolation and lockdown occur and stay in force for 1-2 months, how will your business operate as best it can to stay on course?
4. Communicate with Clients. Reassure your clients you have a plan to weather the next few months and beyond. This plan can include that you have back up suppliers, and Plans B, C and D in place in case of any possible situation. Unfortunately, this is also a time where you may have to re-think your client base and how they will operate or purchase in the next coming months.

Corporate Policies To Implement

While hopefully we will see governments providing increasing support efforts to various countries, we should not wait for them to act. Corporations and local companies can often act much faster, and in doing so "flatten the curve" of infection- and maybe reduce the ongoing shock to our economies. Here are policies that could help and that some are already implementing. Note: Many of my comments are biased toward emerging economies where large low-income populations and laborers with no benefits are a reality that cannot be ignored. Also see my other article on the latest news, risk and findings.

Offer Benefits to Employees to Incentivize Timely and Effective Response.

We know now that the greatest threat to spread of the disease in many places is younger healthier people with mild symptoms continuing to act as usual, and in doing so, spreading germs to the high-risk population of 60 years and older. We also know that low-income workers, day laborers or those without benefits and clear job security pose a high risk because they have no safety net or income if they do not keep working.

Sensitize Younger Staff. Millennials can get it too!

To incentivize young people to act responsibly, remind them that they have parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who are in an age category for which the death rate is as high as 10%. So while seeing friends in social gatherings or maintaining routine of going to the office is enjoyable, it can have unintended consequences that they might regret. Recent reports show Millenials and younger people think they are immune. Others here in Kenya have said they are immune. No one is immune. Even if strong symptoms are not present, infection can spread.

Provide a Financial & Job Stability Safety Net.

For staff, especially low income or day laborers, consider offering financial support for those who follow your company’s procedures. Examples include:

• Financial Assistance for Medical Care. Create a company fund to reimburse or pay upfront for staff hospital visits, COVID-19 testing and other fees employees could incur. This will lower the hurdle to get people the medical consultation needed, due to fear of high medical costs. If this is too burdensome to your company, offer a repayment plan to cover those expenses or partial reimbursement only. Look into health insurance for those who do not have a plan. Perhaps your company can negotiate a discounted bulk rate for these laborers or partner with another association to do so, thus making it more affordable and accessible.
• Short-Term Contract with Paid Leave for Casual Workers. Move day and casual laborers to a short-term full-time contract to offer job stability and benefits, regardless of whether they fall ill.

Remote Working Policy.

At a minimim, allow those who can do their work from home (IT, finance, tech, marketing, communications) to work remotely. If possible, allow all employees to work from home or remotely, and offer support with resources they'll need to be successful in this e.g. access to reliable internet, a home work station, laptop, earphones. Set up the Zoom, Skype or other accounts and train on proper use if necessary. Whatsapp can be used to ensure teams stay in communication, for those not using other communication systems such as Slack. Consider policies to encourage remote working and signal confidence that this will not reflect poorly on employees who choose to do so.

In-Office Health Trainings.

It should be noted that, for many, working from home can be challenging. If work from home is not possible, are there ways to segment the office space into protected stations, or improve social distancing between employees? If you do keep offices open, consider policies to keep staff 6 feet from one another; give frequent and formal reminders to wash hands with soap regularly; and provide hand sanitizer, masks and anti-bacterial wipes. Remind them to wipe their phones regularly too, and to avoid close person-to-person contact. And realistically, showing your care about staff and workers can gain their trust and confidence that everything will return to normal in due time.

Establish a Clear Health Reporting Protocol with HR and Staff.

Design a symptoms reporting policy, where staff know what symptoms look like, when and to whom to announce symptoms, then next steps in response such as “go home immediately, take temperature, email or call HR, call this xx hospital for testing. If diagnosed, notify HR and have HR notify any colleagues with whom you’ve closely interacted the last 2 weeks. Self-isolate or go to the hospital as recommended by a doctor.” This is a high-level example of some of the details to consider in your plan for HR to enforce. Have HR walk through the entire chain of actions from 'symptoms detected' to the next 2 months of response to ensure you're not missing anything.

Waive Leave Days for Staff Who Responsibly Stay Home.

Encourage staff to stay home if they feel ill, and emphasis you will not count this toward vacation or unpaid leave days. If you're worried it'll be taken advantage of, set parameters, e.g. cap it for only the next 2 weeks (to start) or require a doctor's note showing they were ill.

Strong Leadership: Act Here & Now

It is time for us all to step up and lead because we cannot wait on others if we want to curb the spread of coronavirus. In the words of John W. Gardner in his book On Leadership,

“Leaders and leader/managers distinguish themselves from the general run of managers in...

Thinking about the unit they are heading, they grasp its relationship to larger realities- the larger organization of which they are a part, conditions external to the organization and global trends.

They think in terms of renewal. The routine manager tends to accept organizational structure and process as it exists. The leader or leader/manager seeks the revisions of process and structure required by ever-changing reality.”

What Companies Can Do: Helpful Information

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers
• How Chinese Companies Have Responded to Coronavirus
• The Red Cross’s health chief explains how business must respond to coronavirus: World Economic Forum
• VCOVID-19 Startup Resources & Insights from VC & PE (Google Doc)