A BRAVE NEW WORLD
The Covid-19 pandemic is a true test of crisis management. These business leaders share what they’re doing to get their organisations through this.
The Covid-19 pandemic is a true test of management. These business leaders share what they’re doing.
The world will never be the same again. At the time of writing, over two million cases of Covid-19 have been reported worldwide since the first recorded case was revealed in November last year – and industries are reeling from its effects.
In March 2020, the Young Presidents’ Organisation ( YPO) – a non-profit, global leadership community comprising over 29,000 chief executives, surveyed over
2,750 respondents across different industries to get a sense of the impact of the virus on businesses. Due to the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic, a second survey soon followed in April with 3,534 respondents across 109 countries. The results were largely expected of any global crisis: growth slows or grinds to a halt.
What’s truly significant, though, was the outpouring of strong, inspiring leadership from across the globe that was based on decisive action, clear, open lines of communication and, perhaps most importantly, empathy.
Predictably, in a time of closed borders and social distancing, hospitality is one of the hardest hit industries. Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International, released an emotional video addressing employees on the issue. He displayed vulnerability and honesty while revealing the unprecedented devastation of the pandemic on the company and the measures it will be taking, and ended on a note of hope.
“I know we as a global community will come through to the other side and when we do, our guests will be eager to travel this beautiful world once again. When that great day comes, we will be there to welcome them,” he told the Marriott employees.
Both Sorensen and executive chairman Bill Marriott are forgoing their salaries for the rest of 2020.
Walk Japan, an organiser of luxury walking tours, has cancelled all tours scheduled to start before May of this year and is offering those guests priority bookings once travel restrictions are lifted. “This was done to protect guests, tour leaders and the communities our tours are intricately linked with. Additionally, we have arranged for our tour leaders to use their free time by taking part in our Walk Japan Community Project in Kunisaki Peninsula in Kyushu to help villagers with crop growing,” shares CEO Paul Christie.
“This is our new norm. First and foremost, we’re going to acclimate,” says Elizabeth Zucker, YPO’s Chairman for 2019-2020. And doom and gloom seem to be the last thing on everyone’s minds. In a YPO discussion between Zucker and the organisation’s CEO Scott Mordell, one of the key points highlighted was the pandemic as an equalising force.
“This is a humanitarian challenge. A lot of things that used to
seem important aren’t so important right now because we are all concerned about health and safety,” says Mordell. To that end, helping one another is the best way to see this through. Mordell calls for those with the ability – both companies and individuals – to support small and medium enterprises, which might not have the financial reserves to cushion a loss in revenue, by continuing cashflow relationships. This can be something as simple as not pausing a gym membership even if the gym might be closed.
While the world works together to overcome this crisis, what is interesting to consider is how the end of the pandemic will shape the coming economy. “We’re not going to be stuck sitting in closets and talking to each other on handheld devices. We’re going to start engaging again – it’s innately human. Everybody [will] reconstruct opportunities and values based on the new habits that society will create [as a result of the pandemic],” adds Mordell.
CLOSER TO HOME
Since April 7, Singapore has been under circuit-breaker measures to minimise social contact. Business leaders have taken action to fight the pandemic by putting into place solutions to safeguard livelihoods while also banding together to support those on the front lines. For example, Motherswork, together with Gourmet Food Holdings, Zouk Group and Grab, have donated thousands of meal packages to medical staff.
One of the pioneers of speciality coffee here, PPP Coffee, which runs Chye Seng Huat Hardware cafe in addition to other coffee-related businesses, has had to implement salary adjustments across the group to ensure no one loses their job. “It’s one of the toughest decisions we had to make to sustain the business,” shares group CEO Marcus Foo. The management at PPP Coffee is taking a 50 per cent pay cut over three months, while other employees will have their salary reduced by a third, spread over three months.
Business models have also had to be adjusted. Nelson Loh, executive chairman and co-founder of Singapore-based Novena Global Lifecare says: “We had to rethink shifting front-line staff to focus more on e-commerce sales and product/ service delivery. Our medical professionals are also providing more online consultations. This is a global problem that will require all governments, institutional bodies, corporations and every single human being to come together and work as one.”
“WE’RE GOING TO START ENGAGING AGAIN – IT’S INNATELY HUMAN. EVERYBODY WILL RECONSTRUCT OPPORTUNITIES AND VALUES BASED ON THE NEW HABITS THAT SOCIETY WILL CREATE AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC.”