As organisations tailor their business models in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, project professionals emerge as go-to change-makers providing the knowledge, experience and guidance needed to move confidently into the new era. Project professionals are uniquely equipped to lead crisis management initiatives due to their ability to execute iterative processes, perform qualitative and quantitative risk analysis and plan and implement risk responses.
Navigating COVID-19 Risks
Project managers help organisations to create workplace strategies, gather requirements and review standards. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this process becomes even more comprehensive; in addition to traditional responsibilities, project managers are also analysing alternative employee schedules and spatial distancing guidelines to ensure all potential solutions are taken into consideration and full-circle due diligence is being performed. By managing relocation logistics and employee communication, project managers provide timely guidance and methods to ensure transition periods run smoothly while creating both temporary and permanent solutions to accommodate employees as they return to the workplace.
Key Actions to Take Now
In order to navigate crisis, an iterative assessment should be conducted to understand the level of complexity, identify possible causes and create action plans.
Create Response Team
For organisations to survive crisis, a governance and process management structure must be established and managed by the project professional and team of key stakeholders. This Response Team will be responsible for:
- Risk management strategy
- Risk assessment
- Risk response implementation
- Communication
Conduct Assessment
This process will include analysing risks that impact:
- Customers, employees and clients
- Demand for service/product offerings, availability of inputs from suppliers
- Cash flow and the ability to pay staff and vendors; and receive payments from creditors
Build Action Plan
Building an action plan enables the Response Team to properly address threats and opportunities identified in the assessment. Critical to this process are:
- Reviewing assessment data
- Building a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
- Quantify the cost and value of risk management outputs
- Implementing and managing the action plan
- Monitoring and controlling the execution of the tasks; responding quickly to changes
Review Outcomes
Routinely assess outcomes from the action plan. Given the ever-changing nature of this COVID-19 world, ‘plan, execute, adapt, replan’ has become the normal— aim to stay ahead of the potential negative and positive risks.
Preventive action>corrective action
In today’s world, the ability to make decisions rapidly under conditions of extreme uncertainty has become the new standard for organisations and with a strong Risk Response Team, they can easily create strategies to minimise threats and capitalise on opportunities that arise.
Contact me for assistance with developing and implementing risk management strategies.
Good read
Thanks