COVID-19 – LEADING CHANGE THROUGH DISRUPTIVE TIMES
(An Opportunity for Individual, Organizational and National Rebirth)
“Every citizen must follow all guidelines for maximum protection, redefine and prepare themselves for life after-corona and hope that faith prevails.”
The Coronavirus has brought fear, desperation and hopelessness to individuals, organizations and nations.
In the end, our success can be measured by the reduction in the number of infections, an increase in the recovery rate, and the mitigated impact on the economy.
On an individual level, there is already a cultural shift. People are apprehensive about sharing personal spaces. New methods of socializing are developing. It begs the question of whether this will be a permanent cultural shift or one that will only remain while the pandemic is prevalent.
From an organizational standpoint, corporations must be swift in reviewing regulations that may affect products and services and respond by enhancing these product and service features while managing employees in the most efficient manner.
Nations are threatened by the high infectivity and the accompanying death tolls associated with the outbreak. This presents an opportunity to develop a comprehensive emergency response program that can detect and treat infected persons while simultaneously preventing future infections.
The Coronavirus outbreak presents a collective responsibility for people, organizations and the nation to forge the nation we all envision.
INDIVIDUALS have the responsibility to take all prescribed precautions to reduce the spread of the disease. Beyond that, the individual must be able to recognize and adapt to the foreseeable change in personal and professional lives.
What would your personal life look like? What changes must you make with your interactions with family and friends regarding entertainment, socialization and support? We must foresee a post-coronavirus era which comprises one with different social interactions; this new phenomenon will be characterized by less physical contact and a shared understanding of personal space. This may involve submitting to a new way of life that will involve intentional steps psychologically.
Social distancing, a concept which limits physical and face-to-face contacts with friends, family and co-workers, and yet foster stronger relationships to pursue a common goal.
It is not all doom and gloom with this disease outbreak. With the mandatory measures set in place by the government, people now have more time to reflect and be intentional with their lives. Now is the time for you to anticipate business needs, review career trajectories, and set specific personal development goals for the future. This will be your chance to build the mindset, practices, competencies and connections for your future goals. When the dust is settled and realities of the aftermath set in, individuals who have been proactive and prepared will become the forerunners of industry and their profession.
The key advice for citizens is to adhere to all prevention protocols and focus energies on becoming the “New You” after COVID-19.
ORGANIZATIONS must focus on the health and wellbeing of their employees. Trade Unions and member organizations must develop pre-emptive and coordinated campaigns to keep employees and their families free from infections.
Frequent updates with an emphasis on safe work practices must be swift and accessible to all throughout the organization. It is assuring when the leadership is transparent and vocal with specific steps taken to prevent infections amongst employees and provide support for their care and enhanced work life balance.
Many of the following characteristics would become part of routine work environment: work life balance will have a new emphasis; remote working arrangement and virtual meetings will increase; automated processes and service delivery will go up; e-payments will increase; e-learning will increase; physical contacts between employees will decrease; workplace ergonomics will be enhanced; seating arrangements will observe social distance; use of biotechnology at the workplace will increase; use of collaborative tools for effective workflow will go up; electronic document flow and approvals will go up.
The identified characteristics would bring potential changes in job description, job competencies, job contents, job aids, work tools, work processes, job outcomes, techniques, practices and behaviours that lead to organizational success.
It will therefore be simplistic for any organization to believe that once the infection is contained and we have treatment for the virus everything will get back to the old normal. We have to be ready for the new normal and the opportunities it will present to organization and its members. This requires that we assess our future needs, develop novel approaches and craft a new roadmap required for high performance in the “New Organization”.
Organizational response could be capital injection, business closure, new products offerings, layoffs, reduced pay, reduced hours, new working arrangements, new technology and service delivery and renegotiations of existing contracts. Any of these interventions must always be on the table and the timing and the implementation of any such action must be determined by the organization’s unique circumstance, amongst other factors. Again, swift action is expected. Organizations and their legal counsel must be prepared for the renegotiation of existing contracts and the potential invocation of force majeures.
Organizations that prevail and lead the industry would be those who put significant efforts into analysing and forecasting the future of the business accurately. Such organizations will make changes that deliver on shareholder, employee, regulatory and other stakeholder expectations.
NATIONS all over the world are in a state of fear and panic. Government are expected to assure the citizens about safety and security from harm of any nature, and in this particular instance, the COVID-19.
To do this effectively, there has to be a fine balance between saving lives as the highest priorities and other measures that will sustain social and economic wellbeing of its citizens.
The first priority for all nations is to keep infections to the barest minimum and achieve a high rate of recovery. This requires technical and behavioural interventions which include testing kits, well-equipped facilities for optimum care and adhering to social distancing guidelines.
What citizens expect from leaders and the interactions amongst nations may also change. No nation would prevail in the aftermath of the Coronavirus with its current national agenda. This will call for the need for dialog amongst key stakeholder to define the nation the citizens want. The leadership must craft a roadmap that will deliver what is required for the “New Nation”.
This will require constantly scouting the environment to determine what the future looks like, what services citizens expect, and what investors’ perceptions amongst peer nations.
Specific legislations and structures must be implemented to move the nation closer to its goal. The new interventions and programs to revamp industries to world-class standards and developing the human capital should have an added emphasis, if the nation is determined build the future the citizens want.
The initial steps of making essential resources available to conduct ongoing testing and provide optimum care to affected patients are a top priority. Executive orders, educational and behavioural change campaigns aimed at encouraging social distancing and proper hygiene are required to prevent the spread of the virus. The educational campaigns must also be crafted to communicate expectation and preparations for life and career after the storm.
Social programs such as industry and worker bailouts may be implemented as a stop gap measure to support economic activities during these tumultuous times.
What is becoming clearer is that the use of technology to offer services will increase dramatically. Technology infrastructure will need an expansion. Sustainable energy has to be secured. Healthcare delivery will take on added emphasis. Unemployment will go up as there will be business closures. Most importantly the skills needed for national development will be dynamic.
The nation’s judiciary must be ready to adjudicate cases on contract provisions under force majeures given that the effect of the Coronavirus was not factored into contracts between individuals, organizations and nations.
Does the nation have the resources to provide an attractive environment that fosters innovation and economic growth? To achieve success during and after the Coronavirus pandemic requires a significant financial commitment to implement economic and social programs. The large investments required are a conundrum for developing nations because they simply don’t have it.
This could be a clarion call to redefine our nation and what we want as a society.
This presents a real opportunity for any nation to grab and rebrand itself the nation its citizens have been longing for. This would require significant investment into organizations, workforce and the workplace to equip them with the right mindset, attitudes and skills needed to stand tall in the “New World”.
In conclusion, individuals, organizations and the nation can work together to come out victorious and deliver the nation the citizens want.
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The Writer:
Kojo Amissah
Strategy & Performance Consultant at CITAM Ltd.
Kojo.amssah@citamgh.com Tel: +233-20-422-4826
