Let the Past Inform the Future, but Not Define It
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Let bygones be bygones. Forgive and forget. Relive and regret. Keep moving forward and don’t live in the past. You drive a car looking through the windshield, not the rearview mirror.
If the past 12 months have given us nothing else, it has told us that although we may prepare for many, many scenarios of varying severity, we can’t prepare for them all. There is a certain rigid nature to preparedness. In our business, we have disaster recovery plans to kick in automatically if there is some drastic loss of service to our clients. We have immediate response protocols in the event of a data breach. We study the variables; we write policies and procedures and we practice them in table-top exercises. All to be as prepared as we possibly can be while hoping all the time that it stays an exercise.
We don’t do these things because we have experienced a data breach or a loss of service ourselves. We do them because other companies have, and the possibility – no matter how remote – exists that we could face them. If we do, I am highly confident that we will be prepared and have the policies and regimen to fall back on and overcome them.
These steps we have taken are all now widely considered to be a best practice, something every business should have in place. We have them in place because they COULD happen, even though we expect them not to. In December of 2001, there was a failed attempt to blow up a passenger airline by the now-infamous “shoe bomber.” Since then, it is estimated that passengers have taken off their shoes well over 60 billion times. We don’t expect what’s normal to become a disaster, but it is always a possibility.
Business Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Pandemic
What are some of the lessons learned that should inform policy going forward? First, to have adequate flexibility in our policies to allow for rapid decision-making when it is called for. Hindsight is 20/20 and we all may look back at February of 2020 and realize now what we should have done then. But reality says that we made decisions based on a very limited understanding of the enormity of the situation. We got some right, but we got a lot more wrong.
Let’s make sure that we have policies and procedures in place, well documented and rehearsed, to cope with grave challenges. Let’s also leave enough room to allow them to be modified during actual events that are often unanticipated.
Lessons Learned from 2020 and the COVID Chaos
ALL businesses, not just big businesses, need a well-defined, well-articulated, and accessible set of policies in place.
Your policies need to cover risks known and have the ability to make decisions to cope with risks unforeseen. If you need help getting a baseline of reasonable policies, ask for help – there is lots available – and if you even need help getting started, let us know and we’d be happy to introduce you to fairly priced and highly qualified partners who can provide that support.
Make it easy and not onerous for your employees to find out basic policy information, learn your basic policies, and demonstrate their knowledge with a few simple questions. To follow the rules, people need to know them!
In summary, anyone who says they had all the policies in place to help employees understand rules and expectations on working from home, wearing a mask, getting a vaccine, or anything else that happened for the first time last year is not being honest. Do the best you can, but put that framework of baseline policies and deployable technology in place so that the next time you face the unexpected, you’ll be in a better place to make decisions and inform your team.
The ETHIX360 blog brings you weekly updates on all things human resources and compliance.
MEET THE AUTHOR
J Rollins is the co-founder and CEO of ETHIX360. J is a well known leader and innovator who has served on senior leadership teams ranging in responsibility from Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer.
ABOUT ETHIX360
At ETHIX360, our goal is simple: to provide an affordable, flexible, and comprehensive answer to employee communication, policy management, corporate training and case management on issues related to corporate ethics, code of conduct, fraud, bribery, and workplace violence.
