COVID-19 pandemic will some day be behind us. But the economic and business-related effects will be with us for years to come. In the meantime, businesses needs sound advice and technical solutions to ensure they thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How can business leaders best plan for the post-pandemic recovery? Gartner’s report, “The Postpandemic Planning Framework,” offers plenty of help.
The report starts by noting, “The very asymmetrical nature of the crisis will complicate pandemic recovery efforts. The impacts will be positive and negative and vary by region, industry, product and service.”
That means that companies won’t be able to be guided by national metrics, GDP predictions, or whole-industry projections. The report warns that predictions “that show a single curve are too high-level for more-detailed planning.”
Rather, says the report, enterprises need to carefully examine the impact the pandemic has had specifically on them. And they need to take into the account how the pandemic affected each different part of them company. Once they do that, they can start making plans.
Companies should develop a three-stage post-pandemic planning framework for each part of the enterprise. It can be segmented by business unit, or by product or service line. The framework needs to be detailed and flexible enough so that it can accommodate a renewed lockdown period.
The report recommends that enterprises build a framework for three different phases: Respond, Recover and Renew.
The Respond phase began with government-initiated lockdowns. Physical human interactions were limited and economic activity was dramatically reduced.
This phase is still ongoing. The report says, “During this phase, executive leaders assess the immediate impacts of the lockdown to the enterprise, and respond with short-term decisions about the current business model and operating model.”
That includes assessing and reacting to the negative impacts, including shutdown and reconfiguration of the enterprise. But it should also include assessing and reacting to the positive impacts, such as an increased demand for a company’s goods and services – for example, a spike in online grocery shopping and contactless delivery.
The next phase, Recover, begins when businesses and markets start to reopen. Companies should realize, says the report, that “This Recover phase will not be ‘back to business as usual.’” That’s because reopening society will happen in stops and start and vary by region and industry. As a result, enterprises should look at this phase as a gradual series of events.
Enterprises need to take two things into account in this phase. One is that a new lockdown may be imposed at any time. The other is that “The Recover phase will be almost as chaotic as lockdown. When markets and public areas reopen, the need to scale back up to meet pent-up demand may overwhelm the supply chain and customer-facing operations.”
Finally, “Once the chaotic environment of the Recover phase settles down, enterprises will experience the real ‘new normal.’” That signals the beginning of the Renew phase.
At this point, enterprises must be guided by these three points:
- “The competitive landscape will be less chaotic and more transparent and less driven by noneconomic forces such as political and social forces.
- “Supply and demand curves will fluctuate less, compared with the previous two phases.
- “It will be easier to confirm how customers, employees and partners will want digital capabilities to be part of their interactions and operations.”
COVID-19 Pandemic Solutions for Business
Some companies have built a range of solutions to help companies remain flexible and thrive during the pandemic. For example, AlphaMED offers a COVID-19 "Back to Work" App that provides a simple solution to help screen employees to safely return to the office each morning using their cell phones. AlphaMED also offers a COVID-19 "Back to School" app that allows schools to screen students, staff and teachers for potential COVID risks before they arrive at school. See other solutions for reopening safely.
A Powerful Mobile App Builder for Companies Looking to Reopen Safely
Gartner didn’t cover the best tools for the Renew phase. But a key to success will be having the right platform for building mobile apps that can help you adapt to the new normal. Mobile apps are now critical for empowering large numbers of remote employees, enabling social distanced offices, and maintaining connections and services with customers and partners who are no longer visiting the office. Unfortunately, many companies haven't built these apps yet. They need a powerful, affordable and easy-to-use app builder now. Alpha Software has a fix for businesses facing this crisis.
Alpha Software products are ideal for companies of all sizes that want to build powerful business applications and apps rapidly during the pandemic. Read how one developer built over 50 apps in record time during the pandemic with Alpha Anywhere.
Download Alpha Software's low-code development platform that lets you build all the mobile apps you need for free. The software won the InfoWorld Technology of the Year award, and is top-ranked by users on product review sites such as G2Crowd, Capterra and Gartner Peer Reviews. Users applaud the software's flexibility, development speed and ability to built apps that can work without a WiFi connection.
Get employees screened for COVID-19 and back to work with the AlphaMED Workplace Wellness App.
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