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Planning Issues for Leadership - COVID-19

The survival of our business may depend on how well we plan

Last night (2020-05-24) we heard from South African President Ramaphosa that the lock down is being eased from Level 4 to Level 3 on the 1st of June 2020. This, of course, applies to South Africa, but companies around the world that experienced are are experiencing lock down are all in the same boat. In broad terms the easing of the restrictions means that companies in most industry sectors are allowed to resume operations as normal. But the president also reiterated that it does not means that the COVID-19 threat is over, in fact, the worst is still to come. And he is right, if one looks at the current statistics. Normal operation? I don't think so, not in the strict sense of the term. As business leaders we need to ensure that adequate precautions are in place to protect both our companies and our employees, customers, suppliers and our communities.

We have heard that the key to protecting from Corona virus infections is hygiene. Other important factors include social distancing, which, in many companies, is very difficult to implement and control. Key to proper control is planning, as well as adequate equipment and consumables, such as sanitizers.

There are two separate issues to consider. The first is the protection of the business itself. The company needs to survive through what in many cases will be extremely difficult financial times. Things to consider include things such as:

  • What leadership style will be best to employ in these times? (Interestingly, it has been found that a more autocratic leadership style works much better during an emergency situation because it is better to reassure your management team and to ensure every person's safety)
  • How will we protect our infrastructure?
  • How will we protect and retain customers?
  • If there was a business interruption during lock down, how will we ensure that we do not loose customers?
  • If we do loose customers, for whatever reason, how will we replace them?
  • How and what do we need to communicate with our customers?
As we can see, it means that a comprehensive business plan needs to be drawn up (call it an emergency business plan if you will). All relevant issues need to be considered. External issues include:

  • Political factors (how easy is government making it for us to do business in the current circumstances?)
  • Economic considerations (the economy in general has taken a severe beating)
  • Socio-cultural considerations
  • Available (and affordable) technology
  • Legal considerations (lock down rules are legislated in many cases)
  • Environmental factors (the Corona virus itself is an environmental factor)
  • The supplier situation (who can we still rely on, who is no longer in business, etc)
  • Our customer base
  • Our opposition and what they are doing under the present circumstances
  • Etc
There are also internal issues to consider:

  • Our ability to put plans into place (including consideration of our current financial constraints)
  • Our knowledge of the virus and how to deal with it
  • The commitment of our employees
  • Equipment and consumables that we may need
  • Contingency plans
  • Company policies around the COVID-19 issue to guide us in our reaction to different situations that may arise (plan for what can potentially happen so it does not catch us unawares)
  • Etc
For the protection of our employees. we need to consider how we will manage and lead them, how and what we will communicate to them, what training we are going to provide, what protocols and procedures we need to put in place, what equipment we may need to distribute to them or make available in our company, etc.

Equipment that we may need include things such as thermometers, sanitizing tunnels (a quick and easy way to completely sanitize when people enter the premises), spray bottles with sanitizers, masks, means to sanitize equipment, etc.

Policies regarding employees include disciplinary action for non-compliance by employees, the obligation to report exposure or symptoms that they may experience, communication with employees and from employees, training sessions that they will have to attend, non-victimization of employees showing symptoms are who have been exposed to other persons who have the virus, etc.

As we can see, the task is daunting. As leaders we are faced with a huge responsibility to safeguard not only our employees and other people, but also our businesses.

For more information, or possible assistance, feel free to leave a comment, or contact me at koosgouws10@gmail.com.

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