The Next Normal - 7 Trends Redefining Business Priorities in the Post-COVID-19 World

With the majority of the world under quarantine or stay-at-home orders, wrapping our minds around the momentous changes happening every day is a challenge. As we sit at home, traditional economic and social orders are being restructured, forcing millions of businesses to change the way they work. From your neighborhood bar to Fortune 500 companies, every enterprise will need to rethink its business strategies, plans, and adapt to what many people are calling the ‘Next Normal’.

Today, we will discuss seven different ways that global business priorities are shifting as we emerge from the pandemic into the post-COVID-19 era, and how these changes will shape our lives moving forward.

The Origin of the "Next Normal"

This phrase, the ‘Next Normal’ that we will use throughout our discussion, refers to the way that businesses, organizations, and individuals will operate in the post-COVID-19 world.

It was inspired by a phrase that reflects on my experience and was common following the civil war in Liberia. People took to calling the time before the civil war ‘Normal Time’. Life during the war was referred to as ‘War Time’. After the war was over, it so irrevocably changed the Liberian way of life that anything after it was referred to as ‘Current Time’.

People were unable to consider anything after the war ‘normal’. We believe we may be on track here for a similar situation. Life after COVID-19 will be so different from what we knew before, that calling it the ‘Next Normal’ seems appropriate. 

These 7 Trends Are Redefining Our Business Priorities 

In order to adapt to our ‘Next Normal’, businesses must make strategic changes. The most agile and thoughtful businesses have already done this – instituting new work-from-home policies, making payment processing available on their websites, leveraging Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and offering curbside pickup to ensure customers safely get what they need.

These seven trends are shaping the way businesses are redefining themselves and their priorities post COVID-19. 

1. Retooling Business Strategy and Models
2. Rebuilding for Agile Operations
3. Reliance on Decentralized Workforce
4. Reliant Supply Chain
5. Reimagining Digital Transformation
6. Rethinking Enterprise Risk Management
7. Refocusing on Continuous Improvement and Innovation

1. Retooling Business Strategy and Business Models

In order to survive and indeed thrive in any way, post-COVID-19, businesses must immediately redefine their business strategy and how they operate. They should take into account both short and long-term challenges, which include everything from securing PPE for their on-the-ground workforce to responding to changing consumer demand. We’ll likely see a huge shift in the way that we view hygiene, as well as physical proximity. These attitudes will change how everything, from the restaurant industry to airlines, gyms, and more, operates. The past and present resilience of these industries is likely a good indication of how well they will rebound. 

2. Rebuilding for Agile Operations

In addition to resilience, businesses will need to prove they can be agile when faced with challenges like a disrupted supply chain or an outbreak among their staff. Businesses that are able to quickly pivot their operations to a new supplier or even a new way of working will be the most successful.

A survey from PwC done in early May 2020 found that only 30% of CFOs surveyed were confident they could identify new revenue opportunities for their company. Creativity and agility are going to be highly prized moving forward, and if only 30% of CFOs have it, it’s likely some companies will struggle. 

3. Reliance on a Decentralized Workforce

The best managers and CEOs will tell you that people are a company’s greatest resource. In order to safeguard this resource, many businesses have moved to a work-from-home model while social distancing restrictions are in place. Some businesses, like Twitter, plan to keep work-from-home as an option moving forward, regardless of when restrictions are lifted.

Allowing employees to work from home shows great leadership and trust in employees, but it needs to be done right. This involves deploying collaborative applications such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Zoom, as well as instituting robust security policies and procedures for work-from-home employees. It remains to be seen whether companies will continue to embrace the cost reductions, efficiencies, and employee engagement benefits of maintaining a remote workforce. 

4. Resilient Supply Chain

When everything gets delivered in the same plain cardboard boxes, it is easy to forget that we are completely reliant on a manufacturing network that spans the globe. Since the beginning of COVID-19, many links in the global supply chain have been disrupted by both illness and a rapidly expanding network of quarantine zones that slowed and in many cases, halted movement.

In the future, a more resilient supply chain will be required, to ensure that businesses can continue to operate consistently. Steps towards a resilient supply chain include reshoring, restructuring, and reduced reliance on China.

5. Reimagining Digital Transformation

Many companies that had put the digitization of operational processes on the backburner are quickly realizing that this task has never been more important. The old excuse of “this is how it has always been done” simply won’t cut it anymore.

Since the move to more remote work, it has never been more urgent to shift everyday processes online and ensure that people can safely and securely access necessary files and documents from home.

This is now forcing businesses to rapidly adopt digital tools and technologies to support their operations. Some are deploying Blockchain to manage contracts, complexities, and to create transparency within supply chains. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are being used to identify inefficiencies and drive them out of operational and administrative processes to reduce cost and improve outcomes. Additionally, utilizing Digital Workers or Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to automate business processes dramatically lowers operating costs with zero error rates.

6. Rethinking Enterprise Risk Management

The encroaching COVID-19 pandemic really put into perspective different approaches to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). Some company leaders responded immediately after a single employee or supplier became sick, while others took a more cautious, wait-and-see approach.

In times of economic growth and prosperity, considering enterprise risk management becomes rote. However, in order to survive an experience like this pandemic, businesses need to address their ERM strategies and make a plan to ensure that their framework serves the long-term needs of their business. 

7. Refocusing on Continuous Improvement and Innovation

In order to survive this pandemic, many businesses are working hard to build a lean organization while driving innovation. This means that all possible waste is eliminated, costs are trimmed, and workflow is simplified and streamlined.

Today, forward-thinking business leaders are shifting their focus to empowering their employees to find improvement opportunities that can accelerate performance and spark innovation within their business units. These efforts and initiatives are becoming the mainstay for businesses as they navigate in the post-COVID-19 era.

What Will These Trends Mean for You?

The scale of operational transformation that will occur because of COVID-19 is immense. It’s hard to know how much will change in the weeks and months ahead.

As it stands today, 36.5 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last eight weeks. Unless companies can identify and leverage some of these trends redefining business priorities, there will be many more to come. The scale of the ‘Next Normal’ is still being determined. 

About the Author

Alvin McBorrough is the Founder of OGx Consulting. He advises and works with executives and business leaders of leading organizations in the private and public sectors. His expertise spans the areas of strategy, business transformation, technology enablement, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity. Alvin is responsible for driving the firm’s strategy and stakeholder relationships including marketing, sales, and human capital development.

Before opening OGx in August 2011, Alvin was a Principal with Cisco Services with responsibility for service delivery in North America, Latin America, and parts of the Middle East. Prior to this leadership role, Alvin lead Global Operational Excellence at Level 3 Communications (now CenturyLink). Alvin has also worked for AT&T, Comcast, BT, and the Government of the Republic of Liberia. He is currently a Clinical Professor at the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, an MS in Telecom Management and Operations from the University of Denver, and a BA in History and Religion from the University of Ghana