Many workplaces are responding to the COVID-19 threat with temporary travel, remote work and self-quarantine policies. 

The health impact of coronavirus is not yet clear, but the economic impact over at least the next several months will certainly be significant. Some are beginning to forecast a recession and businesses are already cutting costs.

Surviving the COVID-19 Recession

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), it is possible to survive a recession and thrive afterwards. The article notes that those who simply "hunker down" tend to fare worse than those who make smart investments during a recession.

What's a Smart Investment During a Downturn?

According to the HBR article, two of the smartest investments during a downturn are:

1. Decentralized decision making

2. Digital workplace technology 

During rapid growth, the focus is on production to generate revenue and it can be difficult to slow down for internal projects. A downturn presents an opportunity to strengthen organization, infrastructure, and productivity for the future.

This pandemic, in particular, highlights the need for businesses to strengthen their digital capabilities so they are less dependent on a vulnerable centralized workforce. This virus is likely to re-emerge in future years and new strains may appear. Organizations need to create digital workplaces that are resilient in spite of being physically separate.

Strategy Questions to Think Through During COVID-19

• How are you leading your organization into a digital future? 
• Are you making it easy to work remotely? 
• Are your sales, marketing and customer care people able to continue to nurture relationships even when the office is closed? 
• Is two-way internal communications still strong without the ability to have in-person meetings?
• Are you able to continue to move forward on projects even when you can't meet in person?

C5 Insight is 100% Digital

Every employer and individual will need to decide what they believe a responsible approach to this pandemic is. At C5 Insight, we have decided that it is important to play whatever role we can to minimize the burden to our health systems, keeping good health care available to those who are most likely to need it. 

Today, we announced that we are shifting all of our projects to 100% digital and all of our employees to 100% remote work until further notice.

Most of our work has been delivered remotely in the past. But beginning several years ago, we began to develop digital approaches to facilitate even complex brainstorming workshops remotely. Making the shift to 100% digital will be seamless for C5, and presents our clients with an opportunity to advance their own digital transformation. 

We're proud to be able to play a leadership role in helping our clients and others to make the transition.

Digital Transformation During the Pandemic

Looking for ideas to do more work digitally? Contact C5 Insight for a complimentary digital brainstorming session. And keep your eye on this blog for more ideas.