Malcolm Bland
Managing Director at Timely Intervention
The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic
The new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all sectors on a massive scale, yet this impact is felt differently across global and UK businesses. While many organisations have faced unprecedented challenges leading to downscaling and redundancy mitigations, others have had the unique opportunity for significant growth.
In both cases, companies that have historically invested in their staff are better placed to either retreat to a competent core and rebuild or adapt to new roles and organisational structures. Those who are successfully making the transition to doing because the operation has the right skills, attitudes, and training already established as a foundation for ongoing change and development. The investment in people has provided the substance that allows for a more cohesive and successful integration into new working ways.
Those organisations that focus on the short term often mistake treating staff development as a variable cost, rather than a significant investment. As such, they put themselves at a clear disadvantage. They may not be agile enough to adjust to meet the demands (or scale) of the current situation or even fit enough to compete longer-term within competitive markets. Put plainly, although a great deal will be different post-COVID-19, the principles of what makes a company not only survive but thrive, have remained unchanged.
Each organisation needs both competent and confident people, able to engage with customers and execute its business plan, meet operational needs, and secure future revenue. Skills need to be maintained and developed at an affordable cost. Learning technology, when embraced, can improve productivity, and create a more competitive business model. Business leadership must be provided with the tools to exert ownership and be alerted to emerging threats to make knowledge-based decisions and control the quality and safety of the operation and the well-being of colleagues and customers.
The thirst for real-time data must be quenched with relevant management information which is served error-free. The turbulence being experienced today will be uncomfortable. Still, turbulence is a business reality that comes in many forms, and with the right people and resources in place, it can be predicted, and appropriate measures are taken. A key element is the ability to understand the organisation’s talent profile, current and future so that gifted and talented team members are retained, and new skills are attracted to help the organisation navigate safely.
Tempus is a suite of applications for Learning and Development, Performance and Safety Management. The applications can be deployed individually or in concert to deliver a holistic management system shaped for your organisation’s needs. Real-time is compiled and presented in dashboards so that the leadership can monitor the business at-a-glance. There is no need to compromise safety for cost savings. Tempus is very affordable and packed with tools that will help you to monitor your business and have peace of mind.
COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on our lives. To compete in what will be, for many, post-pandemic quite different industries, organisations must adapt and reshape their infrastructures accordingly. In any change process, draw on the people’s strength that makes up your business and work with them to respond to the new challenges you face as a cohesive, united team. An investment in Tempus can help lead you to navigate through uncertain times and steer yourselves towards a much clearer, healthier future.