Due to the health emergency, the daily life of companies has been altered, forcing the implementation of action plans that mostly include the limitation of trips to risk areas for their workers, the cancellation of face-to-face meetings or their replacement by digital meetings, the temporary suspension of both national and international trips and the promotion of the use of remote work means.
Uncertainty has taken over the workplace, but also the organizational one. The general population feels fear and concern. This triggers a crisis of confidence that affects all stakeholders and, therefore, will negatively impact the business.
The uncertainty in the different target audiences has negative effects: in the consumer, the decrease in income; in the investor and in the analysts, a higher cost of capital and decrease in value; in the employee, lower productivity; in the regulator, fiscal pressure and obstacles to the activity; and in journalists, the dissemination of negative information to different audiences.
While business continuity plans should ensure that critical business functions can be recovered and restored in the face of natural disaster, technology failure, human error, or any sudden disruption of processes, they should also consider measures to preserve good communication, Which may be affected, as in the case of the pandemic that afflicts us with contagion risks that prevent personal contact. A communication plan for emergencies needs to be developed and regularly updated. You must indicate the names of the people to contact, including suppliers and customers. If this is the case, this plan should consider the dissemination of measures to avoid contagion and the specific regulations in force in the company for this.
Another important aspect is that companies must know how and to what degree the crisis affects their reputation, know the expectations and demands of their stakeholders, have periodic information that allows the response to these demands and follow certain guidelines that at the end of the process reduce the negative impact on the business.
The return to the facilities, be it in person at one hundred percent or in a hybrid way, must entail the evaluation of the consequences left by the period during which the company operated irregularly. This ranges from material, tangible, to reputational damage. The latter must be quantified in terms of the perception that said operation has generated in each of the stakeholders, to determine where to start from for the implementation of a reputational management program.
A study carried out by Villafañe & Asociados and Nethodology shows that: “multinationals from different sectors have lowered their forecasts of economic results for this year; many companies are having logistical problems due to interruptions in their supply chains, others are trying to negotiate agreements with their employees to undertake temporary employment regulation files, and the vast majority are canceling trips, public events and registering a drop in their income ” . Although the determination of reputational damage varies in each company, depending on its line of business and the number of interlocutors it has, as well as the level of service they have reached throughout the health emergency, the irregular operation will invariably have left consequences for the company. public perception of the company.
In the return to activity, the recommendations and indications of the public health authorities and organizations must be disseminated among the personnel, as well as the indications for the progressive return of employees to their work centers and the sanitary measures that they must observe. Communication and help channels should also be established to guarantee care for employees and their families in the event of possible post-pandemic sequelae.
It is important to address the priorities related to business continuity and health protection, but for this, a communication program with internal and external audiences must be developed and implemented to support those activities to protect the health and viability of the company.
Having contingency plans that respond to most of the scenarios that may arise, as well as having a permanent proximity with the main stakeholders of the company, to know their needs and expectations, are fundamental elements for a successful return to the activities in the company facilities, in order to preserve its good reputation as a company, the most valuable intangible.