"Surviving the pandemic, the DNA way"

There were some fundamentals we focused on to manage these turbulent 18 months:

1.Up the ante on Care – Emotionally it was taxing, managing the emotional and socio-economic impact that our staff was feeling with families and loved ones affected by Covid-19 related retrenchments, sickness and deaths. Keeping up with the demands of our work while managing loss and pain at a high scale around us has to be one of the biggest challenges we faced. The business supported our teams with funeral arrangements, medical/ emotional support, home connectivity etc. Care was paramount and a priority for us.

2.Up the ante on HR – We up-weighted our HR efforts to ensure that our staff was looked after and supported. This meant more focus on interventions aimed at keeping team morale. Conversations and check-ins with our teams were intensified to ensure that we understood the state of our teams and where we should support them. With HR efforts in place, it was easier to manage the emotional toll on our staff while also inspiring and giving them hope and encouragement to push on.

3.Reasonable business continuity and revised processes – Keeping the business moving while our Clients were experiencing disruptions needed careful attention. Things were changing daily. We needed to ensure that we were always on the pulse of any changes that impacted us. Exco conversations were constant and Client conversations were recurring to manage expectations. We introduced new measures that integrated remote working into our processes to manage effectiveness and this helped a great deal. The concern around remote working has been to ensure that our staff is comfortable where they work from and also that we manage quality control of our output.

4.Halt Non-Essential Expenditure – Before the pandemic we were busy with our office refurb and extension. This had to halt immediately as we managed the new world we found ourselves in. With this, came a period of extreme financial scrutiny to save costs and ensure the sustainability of our business. Cash flow was rough and financial controls needed to be intensified.

5.Managing Fear – It was important for me as a leader to communicate regularly and ensure that the team is appraised on the developments in our agency. There were a lot of negative sentiments in news and social media, so many of our teams were concerned if the fate of business closures could knock at our doors too. Regular communication helped to manage speculations so that the narrative is clear for all. As a fun bunch of people, we also appreciated the connections where we remind ourselves of our resilience and that together we can overcome this period.

6.Walking away stronger – Covid-19 was a masterclass in the art of the Pivot. It needed us all to relook at our businesses deeply and for me, the delicate balance of business continuation and support of our people through a global crisis.

Consistency in how we show up has been a game-changer for us. The focus on our people and their well-being has resulted in a better organization today. Our team is intact and we are grateful not to have cut staff at this time. While I was terrified when the President instituted the lockdown and subsequent extensions, the process has been a masterclass in leading through difficulty. And just like that… we keep pushing forward regardless.