At the time of writing, approximately 30 states have begun the process of reopening their economies.
There’s an interactive and regularly updated summary of where all the states are in the process here.
With huge economic pressure building up and the natural human tendency to desire social contact, it’s not surprising that, while there is still a focus on managing the public health crisis, there is a growing discussion about the business opportunities and obstacles in the recovery period.
We began to examine the emerging brand roadmap for a successful recovery in last week’s blog.
Here are three of the most interesting insights from the past few days about factors that impact the speed and effectiveness of the business recovery as the global pandemic eventually begins to recede:
#1. You must understand the changed expectations of consumers
Generally, consumers feel that the world will be fundamentally changed on the other side of the crisis.
Acupoll Precision Research has been tracking consumer sentiment throughout the crisis and is making the reports available for free.
Among the headlines from its research are that:
- People are more willing to make sacrifices to protect the health of themselves and others.
- To feel safe in shops and other crowded places they expect to see a high degree of sanitization and additional cleaning, plus limitations on interactions with others.
- A significant number say they will be shopping, eating out and attending entertainment events less than they used to.
- Activities which people are planning to increase include spending more time with family, caring for mental well-being and taking exercise.
#2 You probably need to spend more time planning for the return of your employees
A recent survey found that 60% of respondents had not started planning or did not intend to do any planning for the return to work!
The report from the Institute of Public Relations and the agency Peppercomm polled 403 communications leaders.
Nearly half of those surveyed had NOT discussed changes to the physical workspaces to increase physical distancing of employees – steps such as closing shared workspaces, creating physical barriers, adding plexiglass shields and changing procedures to limit physical contact.
As it is likely that you will have some employees in the office while others continue to work remotely, you will also need an easy-to-access platform to share information, updates and health alerts.
Our own In Case of Crisis platform has the tools to keep employees connected and informed, while giving an employer the power to instantly notify the team if there is an adverse health event and to share instructions with them.
#3 Your pre-Coronavirus business recovery plan will be of limited use
Pre-COVID-19 business recovery plans were created for disaster scenarios such as extreme weather and IT failures - and will be of limited use in the coming weeks.
This is the conclusion of Forrester Research Group in its new report about the recovery phase of the global public health crisis.
“Since this global pandemic is the first in 10 years, and only the second in 50 years, organizations need guidance on how to quickly close and then re-open their operations if there is a new burst of infections or a second wave”, observed Forrester’s Stephanie Balaouras in a news release.
Among the report’s recommendations are:
- Rethink physical spaces to safeguard employee well-being.
- Invest in increasing a digital presence.
- Align employees’ return to work with the organization’s gradual return to financial viability.
- Maintain continuous communication with key audiences, especially employees.
- Build in business resiliency to your strategy and operating framework.
THE IN CASE OF CRISIS ‘COVID-19 PLAYBOOK’
RockDove created our COVID-19 Playbook, available on mobile devices via In Case of Crisis, to help organizations share their trusted information with employees and stakeholders during this unprecedented public health crisis.
GET INFORMATION ON THE SPECIAL EDITION OF THE IN CASE OF CRISIS APP
SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION & UPDATES
The latest official national & international updates are available here:
Learn how hundreds of organizations large and small are using our award-winning crisis management platform, In Case of Crisis, so you can be better prepared and respond faster to emerging threats like Coronavirus.
