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Is COVID-19 driving businesses to embrace existing innovations?

Is COVID-19 driving businesses to embrace existing innovations?

Spring 2020 was an economic quarter like none other in living memory, and with the vast majority of countries across the world only just starting to plan for the easing of lockdown. Most businesses are beginning to awaken from the enforced hibernation, to this new norm. The rapid transformation of the enforced lockdown changed how we behaved, how we interact as humans. The enforced social distancing has had a profound impact on how we adapted to communicate. It's resulted in video conferencing becoming the norm, even though it's been around for well over a decade. But what have we learnt?

People resist innovation until they experience it

The biggest impact of the global quarantine will be not from the invention of new things, but instead the accelerated adoption of existing things. Humans are hard-wired to resist change and follow habits. COVID-19 meant that we've all been forced out of our communication habits in a tectonic shift that will reshape both customer experience and behaviour. As people adapt to new ways of socialising, working and learning, we are seeing mass adoption of innovations that will create lasting, positive changes in our lives.

So How has This Impacted Businesses?

Like many businesses, Quiet Storm had to adapt, this meant having the whole workforce working remotely. Throughout the lockdown period the majority of services remained available, and several clients requested online software solutions which enabled their businesses to adapt to the new norm. 

These included:

  • A communications Portal for a national aggregates company, to maintain communications with its workforce on furlough leave through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
  • A site passport scheme for a regional house builder so they could deliver remote inductions and provide contactless sign in technology to all their employees, contractors and supply chain. Guaranteeing social distancing, compliance with CLC guidelines and complete visibility of the workforce. 
  • A new training format which could be remotely delivered online, blending video conferencing and e-learning. This enabled them to quickly adapt and continue to deliver courses.

Prior to the COVID-19 Crisis, these projects would not have happened?

This is because COVID-19 has accelerated the extinction of our old experiences, and the radical adoption of the 'new norm.' This included adoption of technology to conduct virtual meetings and facilitate remote working, which had been around for years. It hasn’t been until we were forced to find ways to conduct business remotely that we really embraced these tools and opened ourselves to making things like virtual meetings work. The technology hasn’t changed — the change has been in our cultural and behavioural habits that have driven effective use of remote working and collaboration tools. The biggest impact of the global quarantine will be not from the invention of new things, but instead the accelerated adoption of existing things.

Unlocking the Power of Experience

It's been fascinating to observe how different business models and industrial sectors have adopted and built upon existing innovations — changing for the better the ways that people interact. As the quote rightly or wrongly associated to Charles Darwin reminds us, "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” The most successful businesses will adopt and embrace entirely new ways of interacting. This will in turn lead to new ways of working and living that will make an entirely “new normal.”

 

Author of this COVID-19 Business Support Hub Article

Stephen Megson, Founder of Love Business and Business Owner

Steve Megson

I'm a keen sailor and experienced in encountering the unknown at sea. With my son, Josh, I sailed my boat to Spain from my home port of Poole, my greatest adventure to date (if you read the blog you'll understand why!). Encountering the unknown is about having a clear goal and making sure you keep focused - no matter what happens.

More About Quiet Storm

 

Stephen Megson

A business owner since I was 21 –I was one of the 'enterprise allowance'  generation and started my business back in 1987. I've ridden the waves of a few recessions and overcome plenty of unknowns. I understand the pressure of employing people and the emotional rollercoaster times like this put you through. I've been very fortunate in my career to work with many brilliant visionaries. I've learnt much from them, but for those who know me well, know my quest for learning is never satisfied.

I now specialise in behaviour and business process optimisation, so look at how businesses interact with their people, customers and other stakeholders. I then work collaboratively with businesses to drive out waste and optimise their processes. This is largely through some form of digitisation, resulting in web applications and operational software to manage their systems, processes and KPI's.

I'm passionate about business and have a strong sense of community, which is why I started Love Business back in 2012, as I saw the innovative business owners start to thrive whilst other remain in a cycle of self-fulfilling doom as a result of the media channels negative news coverage. This is why Love Business only covers good news, focusses on the positive and looks to share all that's helpful.

 

How to get in touch with Steve Megson

www.quiet-storm.net

 

 

COVID-19 Business Support Hub

These are challenging times for business and although our ethos is to only shout about good news, we've created COVID-19 Business Support Hub on the Love Business the website to support you with expert tips, advice and ideas from your fellow businesses to help you get through this COVID-19 crisis. 
 

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