Three Insights On How To Lead In Uncertain Times

Workplace: Leading with digital upskilling

Before we knew that this was to become a global pandemic, we saw colleagues in other territories going into lockdown, temporarily halting the lives they knew. We reacted quickly to the uncertainty of the situation and, as one of the first large organisations in Switzerland, switched to remote work, following our core value of caring for each other by putting safety first.

There is a lot that can be done wrong when going remote: putting off important decisions until “things go back to normal”, creating an “always on” mentality in the virtual space, or missing out on managing expectations amongst employees, clients and leaders.

Thanks to a foray into digitalisation we started several years ago, combined with our existing routine to work remotely, digital upskilling and the appropriate IT infrastructure in place, we managed to avoid most of these issues. What helped us manage the remote work transformation of 100% of our workforce was our short term and long term strategy. Short term, we try to support each other as much as possible, for example:

• by an adjusted offering to empower colleagues to prioritize their physical and mental well-being also in the home office;
• with a group of colleagues who created various tips and tricks to make life in the home office easier; or
• by offering flexible solutions to colleagues with children.

Long term, as we expect more people staying within a remote setting, we are reviewing our onsite and remote culture for the post COVID-19 time:

• we continuously adjust our remote work policy in compliance with relevant laws and regulations as well as the feedback of our colleagues;
• we will keep on upskilling colleagues in leadership and adjust learning and development programs to remote settings where needed;
• we will adjust our hiring process to attract and onboard exceptional remote talent.

Strategy: Leading with agility and resilience

Only very few people could have foreseen how serious this crisis would become, and how stressed and scared we all would feel, overwhelmed by worrying about the health of our loved ones, by isolating at home, or by the burden of homeschooling kids and working at the same time.

What makes planning ahead even trickier is that the future seems to happen faster these days. It feels like decades are happening within weeks. Corporate headquarters might become a status symbol more than an actual gathering space. Business travel might be largely replaced by telecommuting. Medical screenings might become a defining norm at work. Automation might be accelerated. And climate change, our largest global challenge to date, might just add more pressure to it all.

But panic is not a strategy. This crisis will end. Our colleagues in other territories have started returning to their offices, and I will ride my bicycle to the train station and take the train to the office soon again. For now, it’s important to find the right way to travel through it and strategise with agility and resilience.

What has been helpful for us to plan ahead is:

• staying very close to clients and colleagues to know what’s happening on the ground;
• reemphasising our purpose – “to build trust in society and solve important problems” – and signalling that we are not narrowing our focus, but staying true to our guiding principles;
• Taking stock of our stakeholders – from clients to colleagues, communities, and society as a whole – identifying their needs and defining how to serve them effectively.