The People Aspect in the Covid19 Crisis

Most of us might know about The Great Depression of 1929-39, the OPEC Oil Price Shock of 1973, the Asian Crisis of 1997 and the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008. Today, Covid-19 has pushed us into another economic crisis. The economy, of all countries not just the developing ones, has been impacted due to the lockdown associated with the containment of the coronavirus and is now at an all-time low when compared to the past decades.

To soften the blow, Governments all over the world are proposing and implementing policies to help individuals and organizations tide over the economic crisis. Amidst this, an overly anxious population is the last thing any government needs.

We as leaders of the nations, of the companies, of the people need to step up and make sure the people we interact with our employees, customers, suppliers, and community are nutured and taken care of.

Employees are our greatest assets

As the trend of virtual hiring and preference to employees with personal devices is bound to continue, in this time of crisis, it is important to make our existing employees feel valued; we must listen to their issues and be empathetic and flexible. Their physical safety and financial security should be our primary concerns as leaders.

It is important to keep the spirits high through engaging in team building activities like hot seat, which I was recently a part of and I thoroughly enjoyed it, virtual coffee breaks, town hall among others. While addressing employee motivation and wellness, Clix Capital has launched a channel on the Learning Experience Platform, specifically dedicated to wellness, including motivational videos by senior leaders on how to make WFH productive. Amdocs, with its Virtually Together website, incorporates a wide range of solutions for working from home and well being.    

As leaders, we must see the silver lining in the crisis. The commute time saved by the employees can be invested in their upskilling. McDonalds India has adapted many of its classroom training modules digitally, and introduced e-learning modules, quizzes, and masterclasses by managers, which employees can access remotely on their phone while in quarantine at home. ITC Hotels has also launched a number of e-learning courses targeted at specific roles and levels.  

As leaders, we must guide and provide employees with necessary tools and trainings for the new digital way of working. It would be an investment to instill the behavioral change with new ways of working and the adoption of new tools. We must also be patient and cool as it is important to remember that not all can understand new things at the same rate.

Some business organizations cannot afford to close and have no way to sustain themselves by working from home. These companies have greater responsibilities. Numerous companies have taken several steps to combat the rising issue and calm their employees. Amazon is hiring for 100,000 new roles and raising wages for their hourly workers who are fulfilling orders and delivering to customers. Walmart is providing a cash bonus for hourly associates. Ford is experimenting with buzzing wristbands to ensure social distancing in their factories.

We also need to formulate and implement a health plan for our employees. This will give them a blanket of security,  in turn, having a positive effect on overall productivity. For example, Bank of Baroda has exempted any employee above 55 years or with an underlying medical condition from coming to office irrespective of the nature of their function. Some companies globally are giving sick pays when the employees are taking leaves, a necessary an essential cost that will go long way in building employee morale.

Customers are the backbone of our Business

Customers have the potential to drive the company to success, need our Patience and Empathy. Remember that building and retaining a strong clientele requires dedication, effort, and strategy – not all of which simply can be replaced. Prioritizing customers is an effective way to manage them. As leaders, we need to revisit our customer strategy. Every business organization has clients that can be grouped into – profit-peaking customers, profit-draining customers, and profit-deserting customers.

The profit-peaking customers are the ones that the company needs to focus on currently. These clients contribute to the major revenue of the company. Use this time as an advantage to re-establish the relationship with previous lucrative customers.

As we activate our Business Continuity Plan (BCP), we must be driven by client-empathy. For example, companies like IBM, Amazon, and Verizon are helping small and medium scale businesses to come on cloud during lockdown. Delta Airlines are incorporating videos of their revamped cleaning processes, hosted by their head of customer experience. Babbel is offering three months of free language learning to U.S. students through mid-June 2020 in any of its languages. Internet providers like Comcast are boosting speeds on their basic packages and offering free internet to low-income customers. Such initiatives help build customer loyalty.

While we revisit our strategic forecasting - both technological and financial, we must ask ourselves, is my current investment enough and in the right tools to keep my clients happy and business running ? How can I can become their business partner, understand their pain areas better and provide solutions that would help me retain them? The answers to these questions can help us chart the direction and success of our business.

Suppliers are the key to continuity

Suppliers play an integral role in business, work to stabilize and integrate them with our value chain. In this moment of absolute crisis, the supply chain displays the maximum vulnerability. Disrupting it could cause more damage to the crumbling economy.

To put things into perspective, consider the following statement by Deloitte, “Over 200 of the Fortune Global 500 firms have a presence directly in Wuhan. A new Dun & Bradstreet study also estimates that 163 of the Fortune 1000 have Tier 1 suppliers (those they do direct business with) in the impacted area and 938 have one or more Tier 2 suppliers (which feed the first tier) in this same impacted area. Just because you don’t have any direct suppliers in the impacted areas in China, does not mean that you are safe from disruption.”

Today, the crisis has moved far beyond China, thus, you can imagine the adverse impact on the supply chain globally. Understand your supply chain, small vendors may need help to survive. Scenario planning with data analytics can help to study patterns and match them with consumer spending. The disruption in the supply and demand has an immense effect on the global economy. It is essential not to hoard products or over-order them in the fear of having a shortage.  

Focus on Tier-1 supplier risk. We must understand how our company would be treated from an allocation perspective in the event of acute inventory and capacity shortages, as we are not likely the only customer of our suppliers. Active communication and formulating alternative plans will be critical to minimizing the supply chain impact on the company. An emergency operations center (EOC) must be created in a detailed manner with good communication, coordination, and plans for customers as well as suppliers. To make sure that the supply chain remains intact, we must use local sources. We must build regional supply chains and lean on technology while prioritizing resilience.

Closing thoughts

Post-COVID-19, it is highly unlikely that things would be same as before. It will be essential to adapt to the new world. This is an opportunity for businesses and institutions to build a better future by brainstorming new ways of productivity while ensuring employee safety and customer satisfaction. The companies that invest in this crisis and re-think their priorities can truly gain an edge over their competitors.

I would like to end with the words of  “Action and Adaptability create opportunity” Garrison Wynn