We don’t know where we are on the COVID-19 curve of confusion and destruction, but how we look back on Spring 2020 depends heavily on how global business responds to the challenge.
Government actions are key, but government actions are also by default slow. An important characteristic of the new pandemic is the astonishing speed with which the virus establishes itself in a population. Statistics are made obsolete overnight.
Business of all kinds – for-profit and non-profit – is the global mechanism upon which most hope will be pinned for speedy, common-sense and caring resolution of an unusually serious threat. (On March 3, 2020, companies and their foundations had contributed close to $800MM, 86% of the dollar value pledged to fight the coronavirus worldwide)
Corporate HR by default is on the front line. The Human Resources function is to organize and meet the needs of people in a manner that meets the needs of the organization. A basis is efficient, effective and swift communication.
While the immediate threat is to people, the outcome could be a social and economic collapse unimaginable only a few decades ago. It is a very real threat.
