To simply resume business as usual after the coronavirus crisis would be missing a huge opportunity. What if your organisation could come back more resilient, more engaged and with a new sense of purpose and focus?
Yes, your business has most likely taken a hit, been shaken and the future hasn’t always looked certain. But, if you can learn how to operate in the ‘new norm’ you can be lithe and adapt to successfully deliver against all odds.
Fundamentally, for any organisation, the key is to minimise the impact arising out of the disruption. There will be an extremely limited window of opportunity to assess any potential impact on the business model and take positive steps to mitigate any damage in the short term, whilst continuing to plan for the longer term.
Developing operational resilience will ensure that your organisation can weather this and future storms:
- New ways of working
With social distancing likely to continue for an extended period of time, and people (both staff and customers) having to get more used to working remotely, how will you operate? What has to be done face to face and what can now be done remotely? This helps define clarity around technical support, staffing levels and rotas.
- Scenario planning
Customers are still there and will return. When and how isn’t immediately clear to all businesses. A plan to ramp service back up requires working through multiple scenarios. Build-in simple decision points and triggers along the way that enable you to plan each step to the next phase and associated scenarios. Remember, it’s going to be a journey!
- De-risk your supply chain
When orders start streaming in, you have to be able to fulfil these. Make a map of your supply chain and understand who your critical suppliers and partners are. Have discussions with them sooner rather than later to understand any challenges they may have and ensure your and their priorities are aligned. The new supply chains that will do well are ones with flexibility built in – how do you score against this requirement and what are the risks of not doing so?
- Agile decision-making
Things are changing every day at a rapid pace. There is no doubt that the organisations which will come back stronger are the ones that can make the right decisions and make them quickly. What is required is strong, decisive, joined-up leadership with a simple forum for decision-making, using accurate and up-to-date market information and organisational reporting to inform and support these decisions.
Attitude is key to resilience, make sure you bring your staff and customers with you and share your positive vision for the future. For more information on protecting your organisation and operational resilience contact: EstherM@NineFeetTall.com
