Adapting to the COVID-19 Reality:Technology & Navigating the Pandemic

Key Highlights by Zia Paton, Partner, PwC16 March 2020

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

Share crisis planning

tips from our Global

Experts to help you

navigate through this

ongoing crisis.

Objective

Draft for discussion

Where are we now….

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

What can companies do to build its resilience during uncertain times?

While the safety and well-being of workers affected by COVID-19 is the first priority, companies will also triage other essentials, such as incident management and stakeholder communications.

– How can businesses verify the information that’s coming in about the virus? What data is important to know, and where are there gaps that need to be filled?

– If the outbreak continues, how will that create health risks to employees and financial risks to the business?

– Even if the virus is contained in a relatively short time frame, it’s likely to leave a number of tough issues for businesses to manage.

In response to COVID-19, companies are developing their contingency plans quickly. Some are adapting existing plans to handle this outbreak, while others are starting from scratch.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

Immediate Responses to COVIC 19Pandemic Plan - existing business continuity plans are not capable of handling the fast-moving and unknown variables of an outbreak like COVID-19. A pandemic plan should be designed to protect employees, address business objectives, consider all phases of a pandemic and mitigate the impact on the business.

Working remotely - many companies are enabling employees to work from home and so the use of virtual tools and company managed devices should be made available to maintain productivity.

Network Availability and Capacity - as the need for working remotely increases due to travel restrictions there is a need to reinforce your IT infrastructure to support these arrangements. It should include optimizing gateway/cloud services and bandwidth performance.

Availability of key decision makers - in the event key decision makers are affected by the virus, alternative measures, such as the availability and security of electronic signatures and virtual tools, should be considered to ensure business continuity.

Develop a Communication Strategy - we are already seeing mixed messages being delivered on preventing the spread of the virus, therefore, proactive communication for all stakeholder groups based on factual information is essential in reducing the detrimental impact on the economy and individuals.

Defer Large Gatherings and Business Travels - consider developing specific travel policies, in accordance with local and international restrictions, to ensure the health of employees and business continuity with customers. In addition, restrictions on large gatherings should be considered as part of the efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Impact on Supply Chain - where clients are reliant on supply chains in affected areas, rapidly depleting stock levels are becoming a significant risk and clients are working through strategies for alternative sourcing.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

Three key factors in an effective crisis management plan

Create a dedicated crisis management team - a crisis like COVID-19 can have an impact on every part of your business.

Establish the facts - reliable data underpins both crisis planning and response. We have found that establishing facts accurately during a crisis is extremely important. Capturing the correct information and verifying its reliability is vital.

Collaborate internally and externally - this involves the orchestration between the public relations, legal and operational response teams.

Technology solutions can effectively support each of these factors. You will need to determine what works best for your organisation.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

1. Create a dedicated crisis management team

1. A crisis like COVID-19 can have an impact on every part of the business.

2. Senior-level oversight — and internal cohesion among cross-functional teams, grounded in preparation, training and testing — are key to good outcomes.

3. Every member of the team — from executive leadership down — should know who is doing what.

If you haven’t already, train the people involved in executing the plan to be sure they’re ready at a moment’s notice.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

2. Establish the facts

Reliable data underpins both crisis planning and response.

It’s essential that the crisis plan outlines how information will flow and that everyone has confidence in its veracity.

Strong data also reinforces a central element of crisis planning — exploring different scenarios and how they could affect the business in the short, medium and long term.

Our survey found that three-quarters of those in a better place post-crisis strongly recognize the importance of establishing facts accurately during the crisis.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

3. Collaborate internally and externally

Three key participants are at the heart of any crisis response.

o Public relations and communications teams: They’re responsible for developing and delivering the organisation’s messaging internally and externally.

o Legal and regulatory teams: Their role is to understand the organisation’s risk exposures and advise on appropriate responses.

o Operational response teams: They essentially handle everything else – including establishing the facts that the other two groups need to do their jobs.

Achieving the close orchestration needed between the communications, legal and operational teams is not always easy, partly because they’re often used to working in separate silos.

Create a small core committee drawn from across them, empowered to make tactical decisions and escalate important issues to board level.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

3. Collaborate internally and externallyCraft a stakeholder communications strategy

A company’s messaging during a crisis should be authentic. It’s important to address all the organization’s stakeholders. In past crises, we’ve seen some corporations focus narrowly on particular stakeholder groups—perhaps investors, regulators or highly vocal consumers – while neglecting others like business customers or suppliers.

Part of your communications strategy will undoubtedly be centered on ensuring the safety and security of your workforce. Employees, or the potentially impacted communities they work in, will be looking to your organization for a response, guidance and regular communications.

Review your travel rules, HR policies, first-aid plans now, and create ways to exercise the arrangements.

Many companies are focusing on global mobility, enabling employees to work remotely and reinforcing their IT infrastructure to support these arrangements. Learn more on planning for remote working.

There are specific travel, immigration and custom issues related to ensuring the health of employees and business continuity with customers. Learn more about the conditions and steps to consider.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

3. Collaborate internally and externally

Critically, your communications strategy should also incorporate a clear understanding of all the audiences it needs to reach. Here are two considerations:

Financial disclosures: How companies plan for the uncertainty and choose to respond to events is often watched by the financial markets.

Customers: Companies with direct exposure to the COVID-19 outbreak are updating customers about delays and adjusting customer allocations to optimize profits on near-term revenue or to meet contractual terms. Learn more on how global manufacturers are managing supply chain disruption.

An often hidden upside of comprehensive stakeholder engagement and transparency is that it could potentially lead to external stakeholders rallying to advocate for you during a crisis.

PwCAMCHAM March 2020

Where to focus next… consider what happens after the pandemicCreate space to scan the longer-term horizon

Consider what happens not just today, but tomorrow and beyond. This may involve allocating dedicated resources who are freed up from the day-to-day pressures of managing the crisis.

The resulting wider and longer-term perspective can help make the company’s emergence from the crisis even stronger and more sustainable.

In our experience, the response window for a crisis is typically measured in months, while recovery is measured in years.

Now’s the time to run scenarios to create a crisis-agnostic plan that’s fit for your business.

Thank you

© 2020 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.