While much of the focus of Covid-19 preparedness is on the impact of advertising, supply chains and working capital, in today’s always-connected digital world, it is equally important for companies to ensure that their digital operations are resilient to unprecedented change. Michael Billimoria, partner at DXC Technology, outlines three key areas of digital readiness.
There is no doubt that we are in some uncharted territory right now and many of the impacts of Covid-19 remain to be seen. Business leaders can do their part to ensure they are mindful corporate citizens, good employers and use existing investments to prepare their businesses for uncertain times.
The World Health Organization (WHO) already has fantastic analysis and advice and more strategic views from trusted parties such as Harvard Business Review and McKinsey & Company. on its special page with information about Covid-19.
But when it comes to digital readiness, there are three areas that organizations need to focus on: 1) Protecting employees, 2) Managing steady-state operations, 3.) Managing growth in uncertain times.
1. Protection of employees
The first task of any business leader in a situation like this should be to consider the people in your organization and ensure that they are protected, but also that they are getting the right information at the right time.
This includes aspects such as Master Data Management (MDM). You need to ask yourself – is your employee information up to date? Do you know where your employees are? MDM is always the process that gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list when it’s not needed, but in crisis situations like this, it’s critical.
Second, effectively providing the right information to employees can be challenging, but it is definitely a priority. With nearly all businesses moving to a remote work model where they can, business leaders must determine which channel—or better yet, multi-channel—is best for their organization. This can include virtual information sessions, internal social media interaction, question and answer channels and mobile alerts. This should be taken into account not only through sending information, but also as a way to get quality and honest feedback from employees.
Finally, leaders should consider what employees can do in terms of learning and development when they can work remotely or potentially in quarantine. In today’s world, there is a lot of online learning that you can do yourself that can help your employees personally and professionally, as well as improve morale.
2. Steady-state operation control
As the situation evolves every day, keeping business operations running smoothly will be a constant challenge for leaders as they may experience a drop in revenue, increased operating costs or manage new types of risks such as supplier unavailability.
First, executives should review and test their business continuity plans (BCP). At a time like this, it is important to review your BCPs to ensure they are sustainable rather than simple stopgap solutions. For example, organizations facing a decline in revenue may need to determine what cost-cutting measures will need to be implemented in the short term – what doesn’t need to run?
Once you have ensured that your internal operations are healthy, safe and sustainable, the next step is to look further and evaluate your product/service value chain in both directions – towards your suppliers and towards your customers. Gaining this information about how they are affected will provide key insights into supply and demand and help executives make valuable tactical decisions, such as considering supply chain contingencies, streamlining processes, or making changes to production schedules.
3. Achieving growth in uncertain times
Although growth may not be on the minds of many business leaders as they adapt, it makes strategic sense to try to look beyond this crisis and prepare to take advantage of new opportunities.
Now more than ever, business leaders need to use the data they have to better understand and better understand their business. Of course, it is important to prioritize areas to investigate such as supply chain, customer buying habits, procurement and marketing penetration. Gaining new insights in these areas can be done both from a cost-saving and revenue-generating perspective, and even reveal new areas of investment for the future.
Second, history tells us that great innovations come from times of uncertainty and change. Therefore, within reason, now may be the time to encourage safe experimentation in your teams, as it could uncover significant business opportunities and stimulate revenue growth in areas previously unanticipated.
Study, think and act
When it comes to digital solutions and readiness, now is the time for business leaders to take a moment to review, consider and take action. While these recommendations are worth considering, it is important to be realistic about what can be achieved at such a time.
Business leaders must take stock and determine what the return on investment or risk mitigation might be if they take or don’t take action. Uncertain times call for strong and focused leaders, so make your own list and stand by this decision as we fight through it together.