COVID is simply the most serious organisational threat in living memory. We are all adjusting to a rapidly changing world.
To give your organisation the best chance, we recommend:
1) Establish a COVID-19 Taskforce within your organisation, led by an executive team member
2) Support the Taskforce with a structure based on your crisis management team (CMT)
3) Establish work streams reporting to the Taskforce, with members from across the organisation. Consider:
a) Customer and stakeholder engagement
b) Workforce protection and support
c) Supply chain stabilisation
d) Service delivery – what can we deliver, when and to what quality?
e) Financial (particularly modelling future scenarios to consider the societal impacts over time)
4) Consider an Opportunity work stream to:
a) explore how you can change service delivery, streamline processes, work differently
b) note what laws and regulations are relaxed or implemented during the pandemic period that may become a focus for you to lobby governments and/or regulators as recovery begins
c) note changes to policy/process/procedures during the pandemic that may offer efficiencies when (eventually) we are back to BAU or operating in the so-called “new normal”
Each workstream should seek, in a structured way, to discover, assess and address or accept points of failure (people, process, premises, technology) that put the company at risk.
Encourage staff at all levels to highlight possible points of failure and foster innovative, flexible thinking to address them.
Remember that while the pandemic is front of mind, other incidents should be expected that may compound the problem – don’t take your eye off the normal continuity challenges.
Now is the time to:
establish delegated authorities for CEO, Executive Team and roles that are vital to your overall governance
ensure that those tasked with building the response have the authority and resources to focus on that mission – the entity’s survival depends upon it
be deliberate in setting a sustainable tempo – this isn’t going away any time soon
actively manage fatigue – cross-train at least two people for each role in the strategic response
keep your people informed – and be kind
expect that the entity emerging from the crisis will be different from the one that entered
Keep washing your hands, stay at home wherever possible and look after each other.
Don’t know where to start? Tigertail can help you navigate the complexities and weather the storm.
Contact us at answers@tigertail.com.au
