Am I stating the obvious when I say that in all the years, I have been in business I have never seen such a challenging time in personal and business life? When creating a Crisis Management Plan, you review and identify all the potential risks and then prepare a set of processes to deal with each situation. I can safely say that on all the plans I have worked on, a pandemic was not on that list!
So, my question is, what happens when the COVID19 health crisis is over. Do we go back to normal? What does normal look like?
There is no doubt in my mind that the hospitality industry will never be the same. We already new that large footprint restaurants were needing to reduce their foot print, has COVID19 exponentially accelerated this?
We are all now very settled into working, eating, exercising and entertaining (via video) from home. What will this mean to office spaces, a city such as Melbourne with all the fast-casual lunch time food outlets?
When lockdown ends there will be an initial honeymoon with influx of patrons and this will need to be managed well. As well as a Covid19 Safe plan I believe that food businesses will also need to ensure that they have a plan for diversification. How will they now reach the percentage of population which is working from home and not returning to offices. The most important factor I believe will be how they stayed in touch with their customers now, as well as ensuring that they develop different reasons for patrons to return to dine in. The planning and preparation should be occurring now, not when lockdown is over or when we have a vaccine!
We have been dealing with the current health concerns and we must appreciate that even though we have made mistakes, Australia has managed the situation well and our health professionals have been outstanding. Listening to various doctors and nurses it is evident to me that they are being tested professionally and emotionally, with some of them also having to separate from their families to keep them safe. We thank and commend them and appreciate all that they are doing for us.
For our personal welfare we need to stay connected and ensure that we look after each other. Belonging is one of our most fundamental human needs and during this time it has been very difficult to connect.
While you are working on your return to work plan and recovery, as well as all the business strategies, ensure you include the care of your people. What will you put in place to ensure everyone is ok and dealing well with the new transition?
On a positive note our environment has been doing well during this time which shows that we can make an impact and this dispels the idea that we cannot improve our conditions. Let’s keep the momentum.
For me, this time has meant many hours spent with my husband and kids enjoying fresh cooking, walking and just hanging out. I will definitely continue to do this after lockdown as I have really enjoyed it immensely.
Stay safe and keep smiling.
Ciao, a presto.