Stepping into the New Normal

In one of my previous blogs I introduced the four potential scenarios we’ve identified for how the pandemic plays out from here: Rapid remission, Flattened curve, Cyclical outbreaks and Prolonged chaos. I closed by posing the question of what these various scenarios mean for Canadian government organizations. I’ll now go on to answer that question.

By way of example, let’s take a look at scenario three – Cyclical outbreaks – and assume there are some regional spikes in infection rates in different provinces and cities. How should you prepare your business resilience and contingency planning to address such a scenario? 

Impacts for operations and workforce

First, operations and workforce. If you are a national parcel distribution company or a government benefits agency with operations across Canada, how could you divert your processing if one area of the country spiked with an outbreak?

Or what about healthcare? Faced with the same scenario, public health departments might have to create resilience in their supply chain operations to re-divert urgently needed resources into the affected area and revisit rationing strategies elsewhere to maintain availability and continuity of supply. 

In terms of workforce, the key steps to take under this scenario would include creating region-based strategies for workforce responses, and expanding communications strategies to reinforce one-company messages. You should also invest in the longer-term mental health of your workers as the ongoing uncertainty and disruption might impact your team.   

Digital’s critical importance 

We’ve developed similar steps for organizations to take under all four scenarios. But whatever happens from here, the pandemic has decisively brought home the critical importance of digital infrastructure for all organizations. Some have had to stagger work hours due to limitations in accessing critical systems. Digital solutions and connectivity have arguably helped us all to maintain our critical operations, education and social connectivity.

For government organizations, whose people play such a vital role in dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, it’s clearly essential to ensure IT remains an enabler. Now, more than ever, we need infrastructure investments to advance our digital and IT solutions. 

Outmanoeuvring uncertainty

The normal as we knew it in early March 2020 seems like a different world. And it’s increasingly obvious that we’re not going back there. This makes it imperative that we understand the different scenarios for our future, so we can plan out the right responses.

Some kind of “normal” will ultimately emerge, and government departments, in common with the rest of society, will have to be ready for it. To help them do this, we’ve developed a practical action guide for outmanoeuvring uncertainty, called “Public service for a new era.” 

In it we highlight what departments need to do in the Now - and also what they need to do Next to emerge stronger. As organizations plan for a post-lockdown future, the key is that they apply the concepts of resilience, versatility and sustainability to inform their strategic planning, while also taking account of profound shifts in attitude and ways of interacting.

In my next blog, I’ll be taking a closer look at the societal and human impacts of the pandemic, and how government departments can respond to ensure their people are as safe and secure as possible.