Unprecedented and full of uncertainty, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to adapt, change, and prepare for the challenges that lay ahead. Each passing day, new developments force quick—and often unplanned—decisions to be made. What we face today emphasizes the importance of being agile, brought to light by a disruptive phenomenon that affects all industries, across all aspects of a business.
The biggest factor preventing business leaders from taking hold of the situation is the unprecedented nature of the pandemic. Companies are without a blueprint on how to navigate this scenario. In this article, I offer a change management perspective on business transformation planning. After all, this is the exact sort of scenario that clients rely on us for—to offer our expertise, advice, and a path forward on change.
A Tactical Focus on the Now
Managing the day-to-day during COVID-19 is essential so that companies have the capacity to prepare for the future. As it is, the majority of organizations today are still playing catch-up, retooling and restructuring their operations to adapt to the constantly-evolving business landscape. With this in mind, what should companies be doing right now to ensure business sustainability in the future?
We’re All in this Together: Effective Communication is Key
Managing the day-to-day during COVID-19 is essential so that companies have the capacity to prepare for the future. As it is, the majority of organizations today are still playing catch-up, retooling and restructuring their operations to adapt to the constantly-evolving business landscape. With this in mind, what should companies be doing right now to ensure business sustainability in the future?
We’re All in this Together: Effective Communication is Key
Research has shown that teams working virtually are more productive—but only if they are able to be cohesive. Building trust, maintaining a strong organizational culture, and increasing psychological safety are all important factors to ensure that employees have a voice and are heard. These elements are ideal during normal times, but much harder to do when everyone is working remotely. Therefore, establishing clear and consistent communication channels is vital, where a medium is established through which teams can receive and share information. New workstreams, weekly touchpoints, two-way feedbacks, and setting guidelines and expectations are all necessities that will drive effective team and social processes throughout this period of transition. Planning effectively and implementing quickly these new ways of communicating reassures all the key business stakeholders that leadership and management is present, active, and supportive in this time of crisis.
Focus on the Core of Your Business
During this period, companies must focus on the most critical aspects of their business. This can prove challenging since they must prioritize the safety of employees, while still keeping them focused on business-critical activities—specifically, by distinguishing the must-have’s from the nice-to-have’s.
At the very core, customers and their needs must take precedence and not be neglected. Businesses must understand that consumer behaviours are changing rapidly, influenced largely by the external environment and new normal they face as they move through the different stages of the crisis. It is only by listening actively and consistently to the customer’s essential needs will a company be able to identify which aspects of the business will change and which ones won’t and plan their business strategy accordingly. Time is the most valuable resource your business has at this moment. Identify the required changes quickly, adapt before it’s too late, and continue to adapt to changing needs.
A Strategical Focus on The Future
The Need for Adaptability
The constant state of adaptability does not just help a business survive the COVID-19 situation, it also allows your business to drive innovative solutions and pursue opportunities that arise as a consequence of the new normal. While it’s true that disruption brings about drastic changes to the external environment and logistical challenges to a business’ internal operations, it also brings about opportunities. Some of the biggest companies—General Motors, Airbnb, IBM, Disney, Microsoft, etc.—were started on the backs of economic crises and recessions. The current crisis is no different. Without doubt, many innovators, business leaders, and entrepreneurs are working hard to fill the gaps and opportunities COVID-19 has created.
Your business can also be enabled to pursue these opportunities if proper systems and processes are in place that maximize adaptability on activities such as leveraging quality data to inform decisions, effective social processes to execute plans, etc. However, this state can only be reached when a company is prepared to pivot quickly—by listening intently, becoming more aware, and quickly responding. An organizational change management (OCM) roadmap can help bring about this ideal state.
The How: An OCM Roadmap Guides Your Company Through the Transition Process
It’s a question that clients have been asking us: how do we create a blueprint to handle the current situation, and how do we navigate the back-to-work process after quarantine ends? OCM roadmaps are best used when a change management team has identified the specific need, diagnosed the problem, and prepared the resources needed to implement change. This OCM process is necessary so that a business can stay competitive amidst changing environments.
COVID-19 is the disruptor for almost all organizations, and companies need a clearly defined planning process now more than ever. Thinking about the crisis in multiple stages helps companies categorize their priorities between the immediate situation, the recovery stage, and the thriving stage. A phased approach to getting back to work, paired with value-based, fact-driven decision-making protocols, is critical so that you can come out with a stronger brand and organization in the end. Parts of that roadmap -include revisiting goals, redefining your corporate vision, and bringing that vision to life within the organization. The vision needs to be flexible with the changing business landscape but stay true to your core values and brand.
The Bottom Line
Business goals, revenue targets, and target growth rates for companies are still in place, although they may need to be adjusted to reflect current realities. How can you achieve them when business isn’t as usual? The framework I’ve laid out in this article should work in tandem with one another. Companies must take both a strategic and tactical focus on their current crisis management situation. They must maximize the potential of their work teams and focus on the critical aspects of their business, while simultaneously keeping an eye out for their transition and revival strategy. This is accomplished through achieving a state of adaptability and following a structured OCM roadmap. These are necessities that must be addressed to achieve business sustainability amidst the pandemic we face.
