From a social Darwinist perspective, companies that survive are those that adapt concretely and quickly to crises. On March 23, when the government announced the suspension of operations, were you ready?
The next time a crisis (pandemic, natural disaster or stock market crash) hits our society, you will need to havea security, continuity and recovery planreliable and established, for you, for the sustainability of your business, and for the human beings who support it on a daily basis. Below we explain the four main steps essential to your recovery plan!
Step 1: Plan the return to operations
To manage the return to operations of the entire company, create a crisis unit, made up of your best internal resources and if possible, an external consultant familiar with best organizational practices.
Together you will createa governance guide for resuming operationsand plan a gradual return to work. You will need to set upan action plan, with a timetable.
If you haven’t already done so, send a survey to your employeesto know their feelings, their suggestions and their needs. Present them with the results and say that you will consider them when updating your internal policies to obtain their commitment to them.
Step 2: Develop a Telecommuting Program
Rethink your work organization, its collaboration mechanisms, its procedures and resource management tools, its equipment and its premises.By teleworking, it is certain that you will make significant savingson current expenses, such as rent.But in addition to the financial aspect, you are also interested in human needs.
Medina Cayer, MBA, CRHA, and Professional Coach explains: “Ask your employees to express their views on returning to normal. What do they think will happen? What will their needs be? (…) Have you thought about the difficulties you will encounter if your team is already stretched thin? Are they taking steps to recharge their batteries? What if some of your employees wanted to adopt the home office as their new official workplace, have you thought about your position on the subject? ”. Document changes in writing to make them official.
Step 3: Update your internal policies
Following the crisis, you must review your internal procedures. The policies below require your attention:
- Absence policies, particularly those related to COVID-19 and vacation postponements
- La occupational health and safety policy, in particular the ergonomics of office equipment
- Daily cleaning and social distancing procedures
- Resource supervision procedures, particularly when it is difficult to supervise remotely
- Working hours policy
- The teleworking policy
Step 4: Prepare a communications plan
Following confinement, your employees will have spent weeks isolated, with different personal contexts, and variable productivity. Your priorities will be the mobilization of your troops and communication between teams.
Be proactive to prevent dissension in the collective. To rally the troops around the cause of recovery,you will organize a group meeting, such as a virtual general assembly or while respecting distancing.During the first week and first three months after the start of the school year, plan dinner meetings such aslunch & learnand activities ofteam building.
Questions to ask yourself to prepare for the relaunch:
Now that you are aware of the best practices for deconfinement, answer the questions below to prepare your recovery plan:
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