Ten measures companies need to take to tackle a pandemic (part 1)

When most countries are fighting a pandemic, the role of companies in this scenario is crucial. As key players in the economy, the social responsibility of companies consists of good corporate governance and, above all, ensuring the safety and proper organisation of all their employees.

At the moment, companies are facing a number of strategic and operational risks, such as a delayed or interrupted supply of raw materials, changes in customer demand, rising costs, logistical reductions leading to delivery delays, employee health and safety protection issues, insufficient workforce or difficulties related to import and export trade.

Based on an analysis of leading business practices in business continuity planning and emergency management, we outline ten measures to deal with this situation.

1. Establish emergency decision-making teams

All companies should have an Emergency Action Team that sets the strategy and objectives of the emergency plan, ensuring that decisions are made as quickly and accurately as possible.

This group should also assess the strengths and weaknesses of the company and its professionals to adjust processes in times of crisis.

2. Assess risks and establish emergency response mechanisms

Many multinational companies have established “emergency contingency plans” or “corporate sustainability plans”, which are usually implemented immediately in the event of a major emergency.

Suppose a company does not have such a plan. In that case, it should conduct a thorough assessment of all risks immediately, looking at its human capital, subcontractors, supply chain, customers and the public sector (governments).

Based on the risk assessment, the company must respond to issues related to office space, production plans, procurement, supply and logistics, personnel security and financial capital, as well as organise other relevant aspects related to emergency plans and division of labour.

3. Establish a positive information communication mechanism for employees, customers and suppliers, and create standardised communication documents.

It is necessary to maintain fluid communication with both internal and external audiences and strengthen customer services. This will prevent negative public opinion.

At the same time, the information system established in the company should be used to collect, transmit and analyse information on epidemics and to issue immediate risk warnings.

4. Maintain the physical and mental well-being of employees

According to a recent survey conducted by Deloitte, 82% of companies state that flexibility at work is currently the most important means of managing professionals.

It is advisable for companies to establish holiday and flexible working mechanisms, using the technical and technological means available to establish non-face-to-face working methods during extraordinary periods.

In addition, the company must establish a system for monitoring employees’ health and keep personal information on their health with a total guarantee of confidentiality.

The company should ensure the safety of working environments by cleaning and disinfecting these spaces, complying with the hygiene management requirements of national and regional public health authorities for periods of serious infectious diseases.

The company should strengthen epidemic safety education, establish proven employee self-protection guidelines and raise awareness of safety and risk prevention.

5. Focus on supply chain risk response plans

Companies usually have sufficient raw materials and different procurement channels to avoid stopping production or restarting production as soon as the quarantine period is over.

In managing inventories, organisations must consider factors such as consumption lock-in, the corresponding increase in financial costs and pressure on cash flow.

At the same time, in industries with long production cycles, organisations should prepare in advance for a spike in consumption when the epidemic has subsided to avoid the risk of insufficient inventory.

Organisational culture is key to a company’s success

Workers seem to agree that organisational culture affects their motivation, productivity and satisfaction.

A recent Randstad survey revealed that organisational culture is critical to employees. According to this survey, organisational culture greatly impacts the morale, productivity, and satisfaction of a company’s workers. Therefore, in times of crisis such as those of the last two years, when organisational culture has been affected by layoffs and worsening employee conditions, the right thing to do is precisely to strengthen the culture to improve performance and better cope with the crisis. By Catalina Franco R.

Organisational culture has been a recurring theme in human resources analysis and departments. For some, a topic of great importance; for others, a somewhat trite one; and for others, one that is overrated, that does not transcend too much and in which it is not necessary to invest more than necessary.

It is precisely this group of those who do not care much about organisational culture that came to the fore during the economic crisis of the last two years, when it became evident that a significant number of companies focused only on staff and cost cuts to control the budget, almost completely forgetting about organisational culture and well-being within their organisations, which probably had a bearing on the overall business results.

This is according to Randstad’s latest “Work Watch” survey, which claims the organisational culture is key to success. While organisational culture could have been a very effective strategy and the best tool to retain star employees and strengthen their engagement, morale, and productivity during the crisis, companies bludgeon it, making workers feel less and less committed to their work.

The survey was conducted online among more than 1,000 employees over the age of 18.

Agreeing on the importance of organisational culture

The crisis has seen organisational culture take a back seat for companies in difficult times; reflecting its importance does not mean that it is also important to employees, nor does it reflect how relevant it is to them. According to the report, 66% of workers surveyed agree that organisational culture is very important to the success of their companies, 35% believe it has the greatest impact on employee morale, 22% believe it has the greatest impact on employee productivity, and 23% of younger workers (aged 18-34) believe it has the greatest impact on job satisfaction.

And workers do notice when their organisational culture is affected and when managers neglect it: 59% believe that the economic crisis, with all its layoffs and reductions in pay and benefits, had a negative impact on their company’s organisational culture, resulting in demotivation.

According to Eileen Habelow, vice president of organisational development at Randstad, “The elements that build a culture are unique to each organisation. However, there are similar characteristics among strong cultures. Companies looking to change their culture should focus on a few key areas – building employee morale through incentive and training programmes, clearly defining values through mission and vision, establishing strong leaders who set the tone and empower others, and, finally, creating better relationships with both employees and customers.”

To understand the common priorities, the survey asked participants for the most critical elements for organisational culture and found that the first is employee attitude (69%), followed by effective management (64%); strong, trusting relationships (57%); customer focus (55%); high standards of accountability (50%); commitment to training and development (47%); compensation and reward programmes (45%); support for innovation and new ideas (42%); helpful resources, technology and tools (41%); and emphasis on recruiting and retaining outstanding employees (40%).

Organisational culture as a strategy

As mentioned above, the study focuses on organisational culture as an opportunity and as a strategy that can be very effective in improving the current and future conditions of a business, especially if it is facing a crisis or going through a difficult time.

The report stresses that, as the recovery progresses, companies will need to look for ways to improve their overall productivity and performance. To do this, it talks about the possibility of creating improvements in organisational culture, starting with the current culture as a point of reference (being clear about its definition, what it means to employees and what they would like it to be), and then moving on to make the changes that are deemed necessary.

In Habelow’s words, “Companies that will perform well will take care of the factors that make their employees feel happy, engaged at work, more connected to the overall results, and more motivated to make greater contributions. Going forward, companies cannot ignore culture. Instead, it should be considered a critical component of their overall business strategy”.

According to the data revealed by the survey, organisational culture is a fundamental part of how any company operates and is perceived in this way by its employees, making it necessary for a company to take it into account and capitalise on it if it is not to become an aspect that works against the overall bottom line.

, often focused on supporting the most vulnerable who bear a disproportionate share of the burden. 

How to maintain a good working environment in times of pandemic

Maintaining a good working environment in times of pandemic has become a challenge for companies operating in the country due to the instability and uncertainty caused by the health crisis.

Promoting a harmonious atmosphere within an organisation helps to improve performance and the sense of belonging among workers, even more so in times of crisis such as the one we are currently experiencing. In that sense, a good organisational climate promotes the overall well-being of the company and its competitiveness in the market.

Although the lack of interaction within the same physical space has been the main challenge that human resources managers have had to face, it is possible to create a good working environment with the participation of all the elements that are part of the same organisation.

According to a study conducted by Mandomedio, a human capital management company, in several Latin American countries, 55% of the participants indicated that there was a good working environment in their companies during the pandemic. However, 23% indicated that it had become more tense and had communication problems.

To promote a good working environment, it is necessary to implement strategies that will inspire enthusiasm in employees and provide them with security in times of uncertainty. Here are some tips that should be implemented to improve the organisational climate.

Conduct a work climate survey

The first step is to carry out a work climate survey to determine how employees perceive the company during the health crisis. However, it seems that distancing has become an obstacle to this. 62% of Latin American companies have not yet conducted a work climate survey this 2020 (Mandemio).

Knowing the opinion of employees through this study is important because it helps to implement innovative and competitive strategies that will boost the company to overcome the economic crisis.

Promoting internal communication 

Work teams must be more connected than ever to face the difficult times we are going through successfully. Physical distance should not be considered an excuse for lack of communication. According to a study conducted by the Randstad consulting firm, the dissemination of messages from the CEO to communicate results (57 %), informal conversations to find out about the well-being of employees (54 %), and the implementation of informative talks (50 %) are some of the activities implemented by organisations to improve the organisational climate during the quarantine.

Therefore, to promote an optimal work climate during the contingency, companies should be attentive to employees to ask them to carry out activities and support them, sharing positive news about the organisation, celebrating achievements, etc. In other words, to become empathetic companies.

Caring for the health of employees

In times of pandemic, it is important to take care of employees’ health. 66% of employees say that human resources managers are not implementing strategies to reduce stress and anxiety levels in work teams (Randstad). 

To avoid similar situations, companies should provide facilities for workers to find a balance between their work and family life without affecting their mental health.

Encourage remote recreational activities

Confinement and lack of interaction with co-workers can lead to episodes of stress. One way to avoid this is to promote remote activities where employees can socialise and forget about working hours.

For example, you can encourage meetings through digital channels to share experiences, propose games or watch films and series as a team.  

In conclusion, in order to maintain the working environment at this time and generate a positive organisational culture, the participation of the leader and/or leaders of the organisation is key in the process.

Best practices in corporate governance during the crisis

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The covid-19 crisis has brought to the fore new problems related to the supply chain, the lack of liquidity or inability to pay short-term debts, and even the difficulties presented by new working practices such as teleworking.

Against this backdrop, the role of the Management Board and that of managers and other key positions in companies has increased. In this way, all the decisions taken by this body create a greater influence on the company’s future, and it is vital to take the appropriate measures to ensure the continuity of the business.

In addition, the importance of the Board’s commitment, its support for Executive Directorship and the need for new profiles in this body have been highlighted, among other practices that should be followed during the crisis and in the post-crisis period. We explain all of these below.

The role of the Management Board

As noted above, the role of the Management Board is key to ensuring the success of any company.

While Executive Directorship must be responsible for taking the initiative and disseminating messages, and must therefore ensure effective communication, the Board is responsible for ensuring that the company has all the necessary skills, bearing in mind that during the crisis, new profiles of professionals have emerged to mitigate the different risks.

Board commitment and involvement

Furthermore, during this period of crisis and uncertainty, it is essential to achieve the full commitment and involvement of the Board members in the Management. This effort will be accompanied by a general meeting at which all processes related to covid-19 and the present and its future effects can be updated.

Board support to the Executive Directorship

In addition to this full involvement, the Board must participate in decision-making related to the company’s survival and may even emerge stronger from the crisis. It should be noted that a series of opportunities accompany every threat, generally hidden, and it is advisable to take the time to analyse these. 

Questions to be asked by the Board

Finally, every Management Board needs to consider a number of questions in this crisis. First, has the delegation protocol been reviewed? Secondly, what would be the effects on the company if the CEO or the CIO were to be absent for long periods, and is the company prepared to deal with such events?

Given this situation, the Appointment and Remuneration Committee needs to address succession planning, whether for the President, CEO or other key positions.

In addition, the Chief Executive should be asked about his or her views on the impact of covid-19 in attracting and retaining talent.

On the other hand, what do Directors need to be aware of? Each Board Member needs to fully understand his or her role so that there is no doubt as to when and how he or she should be involved and his or her participation in external activities, communications with third parties, or other related tasks.

Trust between management and shareholders

Fourthly, we emphasise trust between these parties as a fundamental factor, thus ensuring good and transparent communication between them, which should become standard practice.

We point out that, during this crisis, many companies have seen these good relations broken and jeopardised in this period of crisis. In response to this, we recommend holding a meeting to recover or maintain good relations. In this meeting, it is very important to clarify the reasons and repercussions of this trust on the company’s future.

New profiles on the Management Board

During crisis and post-crisis periods, it is necessary to reorient the Board’s activity so that it can respond to the problems of the crisis in an efficient manner. To this end, there are likely no specialists capable of dealing with the new situations that may arise among the people who make up this body.

Therefore, any Board must check that it has professionals capable of solving the different problems presented below:

• Financial problem: as we have already mentioned, a large part of the problems that companies have to face is the lack of liquidity or inability to meet the payment of short-term debts, so it is essential that Boards have experts capable of creating a practical approach while generating a contingency plan for different future scenarios;
• Legal challenge: an expert must be available to understand the complex legislative and regulatory framework that lies ahead;
• Strategic issue: given the total paradigm change in recent months, it is logical that the strategy will be highly modified. It is therefore essential that the Board has an expert capable of managing the creation of a new strategy, both for the short and long term, and always in line with the contingency plans created;
• Health issues: likely, many Boards do not have a health professional, but this is another new issue that every company needs to be able to manage properly;
• Technology issue: especially now that teleworking has become a reality in many companies, it is necessary to have an expert capable of managing this change.

Finally, it is necessary to have leaders capable of overcoming the obstacle of uncertainty.

In conclusion, we stress the importance of measuring the results of all actions carried out, creating corrections that allow senior management to understand the failures made, thus being able to refine the strategy planned for these periods of crisis and post-crisis. In addition, it must be ensured that the company has the necessary tools to manage change.

Source: https://www.diligent.com/es/gobierno-corporativo-mejores-practicas-crisis/

Works councils… defence or defencelessness

Any law or regulation should be constituted to include, in addition to the precise and concrete functioning of what it intends to legislate, the guidelines that allow us to preserve the fundamental rights and obligations established in the rest of the laws that govern us. In other words, a law, by the fact of compliance with it, cannot oblige us to break another law.

In principle, this imprecise and casual definition is something that we do not naturally question. And we may even be convinced that these objectives are the ones that are always taken into account when making a law, rule or regulation.

Thus, for example, the Law of the Statute of Workers (Spain) establishes the right of workers to participate in their company through certain representative bodies, mainly the staff delegates and works councils. It also establishes their competences, the way they are elected, their amount, etc.

Without discussing the details, and as I am sure everyone knows, workers’ representatives are elected every four years by voting from lists of candidates proposed by the trade unions.

Once elected, and this is a very important factor, throughout their term of office, these representatives have the power to sign and negotiate with the company whatever they wish, without the need or formal obligation to consult the workers, as their election implies a delegation of worker representation to them.

It should also be said that both the electors and those elected must be employees of the company, meeting only the minimum age and length of service in the company.

In general, nobody pays much attention to their representatives or works council in a company if everything is going well. This is like what happens with insurance: it is better to spend the extra money but never have to use it, rather than not having it. A strange contradiction perhaps, but indisputable in its practical essence. But as with insurance, when you have to use it, there are often problems and surprises.

Being a member of the works council has disadvantages because of its obligations and advantages because of its rights, or as the law says, because of the guarantees required to protect the development of its activity in defence of workers’ interests.

On the one hand, they cannot be dismissed during the four years of their mandate or the following one. Nor can they be included in any redundancy programme. Unlike the rest of the workers, they also have the right to reply to any labour sanction imposed on them. They have a certain number of free hours per month without justification for their work activity and preference in the company’s training programme.

For the company, its existence also has advantages. The first and reciprocal to that of the workers is to have a concrete and defined body for dialogue and decision-making with the workers. But no one is unaware that it is undoubtedly much easier to “kidnap” the will of 10 members of a works council than that of its 8,000 representatives, to give an example. And therein lies the problem.

Power corrupts, and there is no need to spend dozens of lines here to corroborate this. But, unfortunately, it is a circumstance that is almost consubstantial to the human being and tends to appear as temptation as soon as we add 1 to the loneliness of the individual. And trade union activity is not exempt from these temptations. Trade unions in this country (Spain) move a lot of money, both directly and indirectly. In 2011 alone, they received 18.3 million euros indirect subsidies from the Ministry of Labour, in addition to other income, mainly from the training courses and social and labour insertion programmes they developed (175 million euros in 2010).

And within a company? Well, let everyone draw on their memory and experience and assess the kind of temptations, favours and advantages to which their trade union representatives are subjected and draw conclusions. How many have turned them down, and how many have not.

The worst thing is that at that point, workers in practice can do nothing to demand the highest quality of union representation from their union representatives, just as nothing can be done, to take the example of insurance, to change the conditions of our ill-fated insurance when the claim has already occurred.

We conclude that the system is perverse, and while pursuing healthy and equitable preservation of justice and workers’ rights, once again, human “idiosyncrasy” has taken care to make the most of it for the benefit of itself and a few.

The delegation of workers’ rights, for certain causes and processes of labour disputes, should be able to fall to professionals, we insist, to professionals who are competent and independent in this defence and, above all, completely alien to any possibility of acquiring debts and special favours on the part of the company. In the negotiation of a Redundancy Procedure (ERE), people without a “rucksack” who, among other things, will not take away your job but will not keep it either.

In the same way that when a worker or the company itself is faced with a relevant process that affects their rights, they hire the best quality legal services they can afford, outside the scope of their company in the second case and those they can access in the first case.

Taking CX’s ERE as an example, have they not hired a prestigious law firm as advisors instead of their legal professionals? Does the FROB itself not hire external consultants and advisors for its reports, instead of doing so with its technicians, which it has, and of indisputable quality?

The lives of 2,453 people cannot be left in the hands of 13 people, without the latter having the necessary mechanisms to be able to moderate and express their participation and agreement in the decisions of these few, who do not even have the right to approve the representativeness of those who will sit at a negotiating table, with the excuse of a simple question of union discipline or due obedience for four years.

In civil society, one person can grant powers of attorney to another. Still, just as freely and voluntarily as he or she grants them, he or she can revoke them and render them ineffective.

The problem is not a new one, but just another variant, with the same effects and implications and causes, as the often controversial and discussed Spanish electoral system and its closed lists.

We know that the solution is not simple and that the purpose of raising it should not be considered as a proposal for a grotesque discussion on what we believe to be the privatisation of the trade union function, far from it. But there are certain situations, frequent and in everyone’s memory, which, due to their critical nature in the labour and personal future of workers, the role of trade union representatives is not up to the task in terms of credibility or prestige, nor does it respond to the real needs or the will of the workers.

Source: http://dimesecretillos.blogspot.com/2013/09/comites-de-empresadefensa-o-indefension.html