Continue your business virtually and successfully

Now that the first contingency plans have taken effect and the immediate ability to work is ensured in most institutions, it is now important—given the current level of uncertainty—to ensure your organization’s ability to work in the medium term. Due to the health effects of the crisis and the “social distancing” associated with it, working from home and virtual teamwork has become a new reality for many people. Redundant operating models must be maintained for critical areas and risks in existing outsourcing/near-shoring concepts must be reassessed, especially in the context of recent developments in India and Malaysia. 

In the first days and weeks, measures focus in particular on the current crisis situation as well as basic protection, e.g. functioning IT, setting up virtual workplaces and working in shifts in critical areas. It is already clear that many employees are not only troubled by existential fears (Will I get sick? How safe is my job?), but are also uncertain how to operate in the new environment. The increasing stress factor resulting from this is already reflected in an increased level of non-corona sickness, which further exacerbates the precarious operational situation. For this reason, in addition to the implementation of emergency plans, transparent, ongoing and broad internal communication that responds to the needs of the respective areas is essential.
Over the next few days, it will be necessary to ensure that employees can work efficiently and effectively in this unfamiliar environment. In addition, the personnel situation must be continuously monitored and adjustments made quickly and easily. The same applies to the IT organization, especially as connection bottlenecks and increased cases of fraud are to be expected against the background of increased network usage. Immediate tasks include in particular

• Setting up an IT operations war room and continuously ensuring IT performance
• HR monitoring and continuous shifting of capacities along the in-house infection course and other sick leave
• Setting up effective internal communication platforms in order to be able to communicate broadly within the company and to receive feedback quickly
• Training of team leaders with regard to leading and working in the virtual world
• Creation of platforms for informal exchange (i.e. “virtual coffee update”) to strengthen cohesion and reduce emotional stress
• Continuous information about cybercrime methods to minimize the danger of a (human induced) attack

In the medium term, operating models must be fundamentally reviewed and dependencies on suppliers reassessed. This includes the permanent expansion of the proportion of virtual workplaces, the revision of emergency plans with newly-gained experience and, if necessary, downsizing the branch network in line with the increased rollout of digital offerings. These measures help to stabilize ongoing operations and maintain performance in a prolonged crisis.