How are organisations adapting to the 'new normal'?

Blog Layout

How are organisations adapting to the 'new normal'? - Part 3

Johanna Hooper

Jun 26, 2020

What do you think your priorities will be when your organisation comes out of the immediate crisis?

The Senior HR Network conducted a series of interviews with our extensive network of leaders from a multitude of industries both public and private sector, all above SME level, based nationally and internationally to understand their recent Covid-19 experience. Together we explored what life was like immediately after the announcement of ‘lockdown’, their experience thus far and their current thinking around managing ongoing change, transition and the future state.

We asked: What do you think your priorities will be when your organisation comes out of the immediate crisis?

The emerging themes can be grouped into two major categories: short term (next 3-6 months); and longer-term (six months plus).

In the short term, many organisations are planning for the safety of staff returning to the usual place of work and managing their safety and wellbeing. Many organisations who have become busier during COVID-19 are considering how they can “decompress” tired and overworked employees while still delivering their services. Those that deprioritised non-crisis related service delivery are now starting to plan how they reinstate those services, if at all.
Other organisations shared their anxiety of returning to previous levels of delivery while at the same time managing unplanned workforce reductions. With such a large number of employees Furloughed, many organisations are seeing staff seeking employment elsewhere in the meantime. This is particularly prevalent in organisations deemed to be more ‘vulnerable’ such as in the retail industry.

Some organisations shared a more fundamental level of survival. Revenue regeneration was top of their list of activities if they were to continue operating at all.

In the longer term, a large number of organisations shared how COVID-19 has accelerated the implementation of planned transformation projects. This is especially true of technology-based transformations. Many shared their understanding that there was no “going back to how things were” and that they were focussing on capturing and implementing learning gained during the last three months.

Many organisations indicated that they were conducting operating model reviews; this was both for cost management purposes but also to ensure viability and relevance now that "going back" was not an option. For some, this was a necessity for survival. For others, COVID-19 was seen as an opportunity to make changes that would have been unthinkable before.

What is the ‘so what?’ from this:

1. Seize the day – we would strongly encourage organisations to make those difficult changes while things are still in a state of flux. Employees, leaders and shareholders are already in an "unfrozen" state (Lewin) and therefore more likely to be responsive to transformational change, particularly where there are clear links to survivability and profitability. So "carpe diem". Review that operating model. Revisit that Organisation Design. Refresh that culture. Really notice what you have liked and loathed as a result of the COVID-19 learning. And then do something about it.

2. Be good at change – duh, right? But here’s the thing. If you want to avoid ‘change fatigue’ (although, the jury is out on if that’s even a thing), businesses have to get good at change management. Especially the people side of change and by this we mean: communicating; engaging; facilitating; empowering; inspiring; motivating; collaborating; listening etc. This is paramount to keep everyone whole and with you. Despite the name ‘change management’, this relies on good leadership, not management. So have a look at your leaders and do a mental inventory on those verbs above. If the ticks are sparse, rethink your leadership development.

3. Plan, where you can – we know that projection feels hard right now, too many “unknown unknowns” (Rumsfeld). But surely it’s better to be half right than totally wrong? Dust off those workforce planning documents so you can see whether those unintended losses are regretted or helpful. Create several scenarios about what the future could look like and run the sums on what the size and shape of the workforce should look like. Have a clear line of sight between business output and role. Build confidence that every person makes a direct contribution to the business outputs. And understand where you might have more resilience if you have to make further efficiencies.

About the authors
The Senior HR Network was set up to provide senior HR practitioners across the UK and across disciplines to share knowledge, learnings and experiences and expand future thinking in people and organisations.

Johanna Hooper, Limitless Peak Performance
Telephone: 07713196730
Email: johanna@limitlesspeakperformance.co.uk

Andrew Carter, Reward Risk Management Limited
Telephone: 07904439172
Email: andrewc@rewardrisk.co.uk

Jo Brooks, Aligned HR Services
Telephone: 07788278295
Email: joanna@alignedhrservices.org.uk

Johanna Hooper, Limitless Peak Performance
Telephone: 07713196730
Email: johanna@limitlesspeakperformance.co.uk

Kirsty Brooks, People Perform Consulting Limited
Telephone: 0333 577 1319
Email: Kirsty@peopleperform.co.uk

Richard Frost, People Perform Consulting Limited
Telephone: 0333 577 1319
Email: Richard@peopleperform.co.uk

Tina Jennings, Cosán Cróga Limited
Telephone: 07765 060298
Email: tina@cosancroga.com

Jane Baalam, Reward Risk Management Limited
Telephone: 07415 974004
Email: janebaalam@rewardrisk.co.uk

< Older Post Newer Post >