Lessons from 2020? The Silver Lining
by Donna Hayes and Suzanne Weston
We grew up in a time of relative stability, but the current environment has been anything but stable. On March 17th, almost overnight, Americans were forced to change how we work, socialize, and envision the future. A global pandemic with massive unemployment and disruption shattered our established patterns. For many families, a normal day was getting up, waking the kids and putting them on the bus, showering, and driving to the office. Now, everyone wakes up and logs in, kids to their virtual classrooms and adults with pajama bottoms on into work.
Seems simple enough, yet after almost a year some people remain vigilantly resistant, refusing to accept the need to change. Their stubborn denial seems pointless since after 18 to 254 days our adaptations become ingrained behaviors. They long to ‘return to normal’ because our minds rewrite memories and romanticize the past. Established patterns are more comfortable and predictable, but they were not necessarily better. Beginning a new year is a good time for reflection. What have we learned and how can it help us as we navigate 2021? 2020 tested our ability to reimagine our lives and our values — prioritize and explore approaches, stabilizing with — a new normal.
Consumer activity suddenly shut down as people were sheltered in place, forcing the industry to shift focus to survive.
Businesses were forced to rethink economics, scale back or close stores, exploiting less costly e-commerce solutions that catered to customers’ convenience and safety concerns by limiting customer-retailer in-person interactions. Reduced household incomes drove customers to purchase off-brands, and search for sales or price matching, resulting in companies who could not adjust filing for bankruptcy. What’s next? Stores may become mini-fulfillment centers as direct interaction with shoppers is replaced by virtual or contactless touchpoints. As online sales soar, stores will handle returns. Store consolidations may create interesting pairings — like Hallmark leasing space in Shoprite.
Malls, having difficulty filling available spaces in the pre-COVID environment, are now largely empty as retail stores continue to close. Fortunately, rethinking their purpose, they began repositioning themselves as entertainment meccas, extensions of the community in an enclosed environment. Instead of providing a bastion for shopping, malls are increasingly focusing on converting common spaces into food halls, movie theaters, amusement parks, (think Mall of America and American Dream Mall), and gyms, widening their appeal. Other malls have expanded to include healthcare offices, grocery stores, business offices, data centers, apartments, and schools. Public spaces offer environments for sitting, walking, and children’s play areas. COVID has added face-masks to the required dress code, but as the colder weather approaches, malls may again become a climate-controlled gathering place.
The restaurant business was hit heavily by COVID with limited or no in-person dining, which has changed the nature of their business, focusing on to-go orders, shared outdoor food-halls, and ghost kitchens (delivery only restaurants), a cost-effective option for restauranteurs. The key to the recovery of the restaurant industry may lie with food delivery or shared dining. Gone for now are buffets, and intimate tightly packed dining spots. Here to stay are spaced dining experiences.
The transportation industry relied on government support and will need to restore customer confidence.
Transportation is necessary to shuttle essential workers to and from work and service people who cannot work from home. But ferries/boats, planes, trains, and buses have been operating far below capacity. Government subsidies helped core transportation systems remain operational with a skeleton workforce as ridership disappeared, but it is doubtful that commuter patterns will return to pre-COVID levels due to population shifts, workforce reductions, and increased acceptance of telecommuting. Can these massive infrastructures remain privatized?
Leisure travel may rebound but business travel will not. The pandemic saw a 96% reduction in air travelers. Some airlines were able to shift from carrying people to parcels, taking advantage of the increase in e-commerce. The recovery of travel requires an increase in consumer confidence about safety concerns and the adequacy of emergency response plans. People need the assurance that if something happens they will be safe. We need to develop new safety standards that restore trust, as well as new behaviors that may involve wearing masks and maintaining safe distances. Over time we will develop trust and comfort that we know how to navigate safely in a post-COVID world.
The silver lining of COVID
The disruption of commerce forced a reexamination of our industry cost structures, pushed companies to embrace existing technology, and gave people a much-needed push to show appreciation for what is important.
Redefining Inclusion and Appreciation
Despite the need for social distancing, and living in our bubbles, COVID re-enforced our interconnections. We learned to work together to navigate the pandemic and create a “new” normal. We worked together as employers and employees, schools, government, retirees, and recent graduates. COVID redefined inclusion, because everyone, every race, religion, nationality, age, and ability, was at risk. We saw that in the face of crisis people genuinely want to help each other. Everyone played a role in creating an ecosystem that functioned, from the front-line heroes to the delivery workers. We learned to appreciate the mail delivery person, the grocery store clerks, and those we had previously taken for granted, who took a risk to support their communities. We discovered our humanity.
Restoring Work-Life Balance
Companies embraced telecommuting. Moving to a virtual workplace-, provided access to broader candidate pools which helped fill positions with qualified personnel. Diversity increased with the infusion of labor across different geography, lifestyle, familial status, etc. Salaries for virtual teams become more competitive, without requiring geographic cost adjustments, and employees no longer needing to factor in commuting costs/time when considering employment offers.
Working from home humanized employment, managers discovered their employee’s potential to be exceptional. And teams learned — flexibility to accommodate colleagues caring for children and older parents. Giving employees the ability to manage their situation showed a positive effect on productivity.
As we enter into 2021, what lessons can we apply from 2020?
- Think beyond yourself. Remember our inter-connections and keep others in mind by recognizing their support, expressing gratitude, and taking the time to ask how you can help them. Compassion and empathy are more than words, they require deeds and dedication. Try to look through someone else’s’ eyes. You will discover that their view is very different than yours. Give them a virtual shoulder to lean on by providing emotional support. Learn to listen for signs of stress, in yourself and others. Rather than rushing forward, take a pause and treat each person with kindness and respect.
- Remain Flexible. Learn from the business community the importance of moving forward rather than remaining entrenched in the past. Brands that adapted to e-commerce have been more resilient, while those who failed to change are threatened with extinction. Continue to learn! Listen actively to others, challenge assumptions, and gather facts. Always be prepared to change direction and pivot. Even with the vaccine, we need to continue to look forward — evolving and progressing. Some offices will stay 100% remote, while others will adopt a hybrid approach (combining a return to the physical office with virtual) but new business models will emerge. Things are changing quickly - be prepared to adapt and be open to change.
2020 allowed us to embrace technology, shuffle priorities, and pull together as a global community to collaborate and find a cure. Disruption challenged each industry to take a critical look at itself and redefine its value proposition. For retail, it may be a shift to eCommerce but for transportation, it may be time to rethink their value. One thing is certain, 2020 redefined commerce and community for the foreseeable future. Humans may have discovered our sameness and the importance of supporting each other. We found our resilience, and our ability to recreate imaginatively and productively. As we move forward remember goodness and compassion as the silver lining of 2020 — kindness, respect, and flexibility.
