C19 Business Recovery: How it’s Evolving

We work with some brilliant brands and businesses in a huge variety of industries and that’s what makes our jobs, our people and our business so interesting. We also recognise the privilege and knowledge this gives us and is one of the reasons why we run our Fluxx Exchange events, to bring together leaders to chat and learn from each other’s experiences.

It’s also a great way to collaborate, embark on future scenario planning, research trends and talk to our peers about the important stuff that’s around the corner. All this helps us place our bets on what’s ahead. Here’s a roundup of some of the current trends, hot off the press from our latest Exchange.

1. We’re in data heaven right now.

The number of online sales in April 2020 is triple that of April 2019. Lockdown life has forced a mass shift to e-commerce, and all our search history is being recorded. This provides richer than ever before data sets, incredible consumer behaviour insight, and fertile ground for innovation.

On a micro level, consumer search history reflects a want for a product. On a macro scale, this want becomes a need. Coupled with that, limited stock, or reduced distribution channels, means brand loyalty is jeopardised; when supply is limited, we’re less concerned with who makes it, and more concerned with who can get it to us fastest.

2. The future is hybrid.

As we slowly start to see a shift to return to work, a hybrid model is likely to develop. Individually, this could be a balance between remote working and office working, on a larger scale it could mean half the business working together, in an office, and the other half at home.

What this means for team rituals, leadership styles, and the repurposing of office space is yet to be seen. Check out this article for what the future of teams might look like.

3. Will businesses keep their newfound ‘agility’ or will it slow down again? It’s all to play for.

Many companies have risen to the challenge of decentralising their business and accelerating digital adoption. Necessity has shown to be the mother of innovation; “we’re not good at making new things when we’re comfortable”, remarked the Head of Compliance Operations from Fidelity International.

C-19 has forced businesses to respond to the crisis quickly, adopting agile methodology almost overnight. Many organisations did this because they had to, to survive.

Next, a significant cultural and structural shift must take place from the leadership team to support a truly sustained shift to agile. Financial service provider James Hay, took 20 customer journeys online in just 20 days. Now, their CEO is asking employees to make a case for something to go back to what it used to be.

One of our clients, Mars Wrigley, is an example of a company that has fared brilliantly through this pandemic. Used to working remotely, their teams have the customs and tools in place to successfully run a business from home.

4. Will this forgiving nature of employees and customers run out?

Lloyds Bank has around 65,000 employees. Recently, their employee engagement score has been the highest to date. A Change Manager owed this to the fact that employees have been patient with the leadership team, understanding the challenges of operating a business during a crisis, and really getting behind the company mission of supporting their customers through a difficult time.

Similarly, the business has also had one of its highest NPS to date. The senior leaders at the Exchange felt both customers and employees have cut businesses some slack over the last few months, allowing for a greater level of understanding than usual.

Moving into the next phase of business recovery, there will be more pressure to ‘get back to normal’, expecting excellent service, experience, and support for customers and employees alike.

If you liked this, you might want to check out Get ready for the recession or If you don’t deliver, you’re not coming in. For more thoughts worth sharing, follow us on LinkedIn or sign up to our WTF Newlsetter.

Join us at Fluxx Talks, where we’ll be sharing our findings from The Great Work from Home Experiment; click here for ticket information — all donations go to Stand up to Racism.