As everyone in the UK is acutely aware, it has now been a year since the first covid-19 lockdown began. Something we all hoped would only last a couple of weeks. But here we are, one year on – three lockdowns later, it’s been a very testing year for everyone.

Every sector has had to adapt and change to keep afloat, and every Government briefing has been eagerly listened to, in order to try and determine what direction organisations may need to go next. Being in uncharted waters for such a crisis, it really has been a steep learning curve for every business.

Stakeholder analysis

We know that stakeholder analysis is critical to the services we provide, but during covid-19, this has been amplified – our customer requirements changed very quickly along with the regulations that organisations were allowed to operate in. It meant businesses had to think on their feet to adapt to keep their businesses going.

By carrying out more frequent stakeholder analysis during a sustained crisis such as covid-19 you can:

• Make sure that your customers or potential customers are kept in the loop of your changes and know what services you can still offer them.

• Find out from your customers how their needs have changed and what you can be doing to keep them coming back to you.

• Make sure that your employees are being listened to, by asking their thoughts and opinions of the crisis; you can find out about their wellbeing and anxieties and can look at address these quickly.

• Keep your shareholders in the picture as to what the businesses priorities need to be based on your customer and employee feedback. This is vital for making decisions and funding for different areas of the business that may need more support than they previously did.

• Understand the concerns of the trade unions that you work with – this can be critical in getting out important information such as safety out to colleagues, as your Union Reps will be beacons of support like never before during a crisis.

Next Steps

It’s been a lot of hard work for many businesses and making sure that safety information and new ways of working are in place. So all this groundwork that has gone on needs to be recorded and logged for future reference, should another crisis come along. The better your lessons learned are the better prepared you’ll be. Making sure new members of staff are aware of where to access these records is vital so that everyone knows what has gone before.

This pandemic has also undoubtedly added to you crisis management plans – and it is good practice to revisit these and test them out as needed to make sure they are fit for purpose for future sustained crisis. We really can’t account for every eventually, but covid-19 will certainly may have highlighted holes in your current plan that you can now correct through this lived experience.

Taking time to reflect is also about taking time to thank everyone for their continuing support in your business – be that from employees that have gone above and beyond to help or customers that have stood by your business – it is great to find outlets of thanks for these different groups to show your organisation’s appreciation.