05/28/2020

Rising to the Challenges of COVID-19 Recovery

There are many strategies to examine and consider

Which companies and industries seem to be getting it right, and which are floundering?
In the middle of the COVID-19 confinement, many companies asked their senior executives to conduct scenario planning after McKinsey and others published their projections. Now that many countries have flattened the curve, people are anxious to get back to work in the next few weeks. What actions should they consider? Here we present three broad categories of actions for the short-, medium- and long-term success of your businesses.

Short-term: Prioritize social impact
The pandemic presents tremendous challenges in every country, and businesses must contribute to the recovery effort. This presents an opportunity for firms to show that they are not only committed to their shareholders, but also to their employees, clients and to the broader society.

First, firms are primarily collections of employees, and they must look after those employees. Firms that do not protect their employees in this situation not only run the risk of damaging their reputation, but they might also encounter legal troubles. In France, Amazon has been ordered to shut down warehouses employing about 10,000 people after a court ruled that the firm was putting some of its employees in danger linked to COVID-19. Renault had to close its Sandouville plant for the same reason. In contrast, several temporarily closed bars, clubs and theaters have partnered with e-commerce firms to provide gig work for hospitality workers to ensure their financial security during the crisis. Chinese e-commerce firms have worked with insurance companies to increase COVID-related healthcare cover for their front-line workers.

Please select this link to read the complete article from INSEAD.