Aisha Pandor, CEO, SweepSouth

‘The biggest business consideration for me is the mental health hangover that is likely to result from months of ups and downs, and the impact the pandemic will have on the many people whose family members and close contacts had suffered economically or health-wise as a result.

‘We’ve thought about ways to support our team with increased availability of our employee psychosocial support programme. We’re also aware that many team members may not want to return to the office, either due to changed family arrangements, lingering concerns over Covid-19 exposure, or because they’ve simply found that they enjoy working from home more.

‘We’ve had to think about where flexible arrangements that allow for this will be feasible, and how to adjust our office working environment accordingly, while still maintaining good business operations.

‘We’ve also had to think about how remote work could negatively impact our diverse team. When people meet in person, it’s easier to build a rapport, but when diverse teams never meet face to face, we have to find creative ways to help people to connect and to foster belonging.

‘Lastly, we’ve had to remind ourselves to remain agile and innovative. When thinking about the world we live in today versus the one we lived and worked in a year ago, it struck us how much we can’t anticipate the future. As the pandemic develops and we experience new peaks, see the impacts of testing and vaccinations, and have our behaviours as a society evolve accordingly, we need to be responsive to the unknowns that this will bring.’

Charl Ueckermann, group CEO at AVeS Cyber International

‘The first consideration for me is business culture. Most organisations and employees were very uncertain and just pushed forward to get through 2020. Now there is a realisation that things need to move back to some sort of normality where inputs are converted into outputs.

‘Organisations need to reshape their business models and culture in order to accelerate. This will mean reconsidering the role of the office itself, which is the traditional centre for creating a culture and sense of belonging, and adapting (reskilling) the workforce to the requirements of automation, digitisation, and other technologies.

‘Secondly, remote working will continue to expand, but the associated cybersecurity risks will be exploited more than ever before. A rethink is required on how data is protected in a hybrid and converged data world.

‘Cybersecurity technology will have to be realigned to be data-focused and not technology-focused. Optimising value and cost requires an out-of-the box approach to technology investments. As a result, a ‘pattern of life’ approach with regard to how data flows inside and in/out of the organisation will be the only way to reduce cyber risks and data cost concurrently.’

Nicky James, co-founder of Tribeca Public Relations

‘Managing your business’s reputation is an all-day, every-day journey. It’s certainly about much more than managing a brand crisis, whether that crisis has to do with product, process, or people.

‘It’s also about being completely open and honest at all times with your stakeholders about the state of the business, how the business is building for success and the steps it’s taking to mitigate risk or prevent failure.

‘That’s why job cuts should never be a surprise or become a crisis communications issue, for example. If a company has communicated openly and honestly with its people about every speed bump along the way, including warning them of possible staff reductions, everyone will have had time to prepare for the worst.

‘Many make the mistake of forgoing the support of a public-relations consultancy or reputation-management company when times are good, believing that they have everything under control.

‘However, as soon as things get tough, and there is a real risk to the business and brand, they call in the experts, expecting them to magic away months of poor communication and brand damage in a few days or weeks. This is much harder to do once the damage is done.

‘This is why ongoing, strategic and focused reputation management should be as central to your business as marketing, HR and production.

‘Clear, effective and honest communication is essential, particularly in a Covid-19 environment. People can handle the truth, and only get angry if they’re taken by surprise. Again, it’s better to communicate strategically, frequently, and honestly, whatever the issue is that could affect your business.’