Adapting for COVID recovery: how businesses can connect for long-term success

By Andromeda Wood, senior director of data modelling, Workiva

As we move toward the end of 2020, individuals and businesses face COVID fatigue. But with the promise of new vaccine trials and a new year to look forward to, companies and their employees are ready to rest, hit reset, and prepare for the next phase of COVID recovery.

For many companies, that means it’s time to take stock and review how they’re using the remaining weeks of the year.

Connecting the patchwork of business
For companies with international staff, the variance in lockdown measures and economic impact likely means that within an organisation, different offices will be at different points in the business’ road to recovery. And with the tiered system being reintroduced here in the UK ahead of the holidays, we’re seeing that impact magnified across even smaller companies with hubs in various UK locations. In a way, it’s a ‘patchwork’ of recovery, with slightly varying requirements, challenges and opportunities from city to city, or region to region – all ultimately creating a working ecosystem with its different parts.

The questions now are as follows: Are we as businesses prepared to deal with all these ongoing variables and continued shifts? Can we ensure companies at varying stages of internal recovery are able to cope and move forward into 2021 with minimal adverse internal and business implications? Are the quick fixes and triage process changes from earlier in the year fit for long-term use, or do they need revisiting as we head into the new year?

If the answer to these questions is broadly ‘yes, we’re in a good place and functioning smoothly’, the next step is to prepare to come out the other side of the pandemic. There’s good reason to think this is still a way off, but depending on an organisation’s size, communication, and business structure, asking questions now could save headache and risk later down the line. Ask yourself if all of your teams would be better off if we returned to ‘normal’ tomorrow: operationally, financially, reputationally?

If the answer is ‘no’, there’s work to be done, and the best place to start is by looking at what you can do to best prepare for in advance. Plan for the knowns in order to minimise unexpected challenges to business function, and chart the course for the next normal.

Steps to sustainability
The good news is there is still time to prepare. As we head into winter and the media rumbles on about the promise of vaccinations and what this will mean for the wider economy, some companies already are making the most of this continued ‘down time’. For example, PwC and Deloitte both announced permanent changes to their office use policies, and retail businesses are optimising for a long-term swing to ecommerce, away from the high street. In both cases, these businesses are taking proactive steps that ensure the business is making the best use of its downtime while preparing for real long-term change to how the economy operates.

Businesses that follow suit will be setting themselves up to bounce back stronger when we’re through the worst of the COVID crisis, and give themselves a platform to surge ahead of competitors that do not make effective use of this period.

With this in mind, what can businesses do to prepare now?

One suggestion would be to use the remainder of the year to put in place and stress test resilient, flexible systems that allow existing processes to continue and improve, while also unlocking hidden efficiencies.

Businesses that embrace a remote work-style and move toward innovative technologies like connected solutions will gain a competitive edge, but it’s critical that these solutions are adapted and implemented across the business as a whole, rather than by individual departments, if they’re to have any true, meaningful, and lasting impact. This means that businesses need to choose solutions that are flexible and meet functionality criteria as set out by the business as a whole, as well as ensuring that solutions are being used to their fullest potential to maximise the company’s return on investment, minimise frustration internally, and maximise efficiencies. In short, companies that invest in connected technologies – like cloud-based connected reporting platforms – will be best set up for success as we head toward the next normal.

Ideally, businesses will put in place a system that is robust, new, flexible, and fully digital, to connect the dots between departments, cut down on manual financial administrative tasks, and the flow of information. This relatively straightforward approach will address the ‘patchwork’ problem of companies struggling with various stages of recovery and readiness, and instead unite business units internally for a stronger, more integrated approach that will ultimately drive efficiency and resilience as we move into 2021.