#1 Is our response being handled in silos?- This is a scramble for everyone and new policies are being put out day by day to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
But if each individual group is handling its own part (Procurement tackling supply chain response, Marketing reaching out to customers, etc.) you might not be getting a strategy that’s properly aligned across your entire organization. And that can come back to bite you down the road. As a business you want to be making sure that each piece of the org chart isn’t responding in a way that could make expensive headaches for another group.
#2 Could our current policies be putting our employees at greater risk?- You’ve likely put a serious limit if not a complete ban on business travel at the moment. But if you have yet to commit to an all-workforce
remote work
arrangement, you may be flooding your office with more people than usual, whether that’s employees or additional visitors to your office. And since we’re learning that many people spreading the virus are asymptomatic, the increase in volume alone could be driving up the chances one of your employees falls ill to the Coronavirus.
#3 What will we do about compensation?- It’s the question nobody wants to think about. And many of your peers have already made some tough calls. Some industries and positions lend themselves better to remote work than others. Companies have already had to lay off people; others are offering to pay their salaries … for now. But as no one knows how long this pandemic will continue it may not be possible to continue that indefinitely.
Consider too specific groups of employees, such as salespeople who depend largely on commissions and will not be able to make that money if they can’t travel due to COVID-19. You are in the best position to do some scenario planning and map out the options for supporting your workforce while not jeopardizing the financial health of your company as a whole.
#4 Are we being overly optimistic?- This pandemic may be a large scale and even catastrophic problem that extends way beyond the second quarter of this year. Many companies are being too positive about when demand will return to normal. And that can be dangerous. So you need to ask the tough question of your suppliers, your customers and even within your own company.
If you plan for a deeper
recession now you may have better and more attractive options than if you’re surprised come summer when things haven’t bounced back.
