Lucy Green, Managing Director of Business Development firm Larato (pictured, above), often quotes Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff, during the Great Recession, who said:
‘You never want a serious crisis to go to waste’
“Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has impacted almost every business in the world. Although it is impossible to predict with precision what the long-term consequences are for industry there are some practical steps that every leader can take to strengthen their businesses in times of disruption and economic uncertainty.”
Green says that it is quite natural that business leaders are concerned over what might happen next and says that right now most organisations fall into two camps.
“In the first camp are companies that had a business continuity (BC) plan that allows and caters for a relocation of employees.
These firms knew what technology to deploy and from the ten CEO/CIOs I have spoken to recently, have all had a smooth transition to home working. Furthermore, each has noticed operational performance improvements in having employees working from home. Their BC plans had processes in place to handle such an eventuality and those processes have now been honed – they are closing service tickets and customer queries faster and as a result have happier than ever customers.
They are looking at how to sustain this operation post-COVID-19 but here, a number of dynamics come into play; ‘Why wouldn't I want to keep a remote working solution?’
Their answer will be to offer flexible working to their staff as some people like it, whereas others need the human interaction of the office.
