As the world continues to suffer from the COVID-19 pandemic, research and advisory firm Forrester places many North American and European countries in phase three of their model, the management phase. During this phase government, schools, and every organization in society needs to put in place safe ways to travel, connect and work. Mismanagement of this phase, according to scientists and research, would likely create a year-long economic disruption instead of the current three-month one underway.
In order to avoid this Forrester stresses the need for companies to start planning their recoveries now.
“A pandemic recovery, just as with pandemic planning, requires its own unique response because disease outbreaks can subside and then flare up again,” explained Stephanie Balaouras, group research director and vice president at Forrester. “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 reopen their operations if there is a new burst of infections or a second wave.”
Forrester’s report, “Returning To Work: How To Prepare For Pandemic Recovery,” emphasizes the importance of starting the planning process even while the infection rate is hitting its peak. This is a challenging task because of the unknowns such as the duration of the pandemic and the risk associated with relapse. With this in mind, Forrester recommends a phased-in approach to pandemic recovery that entails bringing employees back in stages and reducing both financial risk and infection risk before demand resumes.
Other key recommendations are the leveraging of digital resources for new opportunities, reconfiguring work spaces for employee well-being, keeping communication with all key audiences open and building business resiliency that serves as a competitive advantage.
