Coronavirus pandemic: ‘New normal’ still a year away: business leaders

Business leaders are more feeling more confident and innovative than two months ago, according to a trans-Tasman survey.

Trans-Tasman Business Circle founder Johnny Weiss.

Business leaders believe it will be another 12 months before the coronavirus pandemic crisis is over, but many are feeling more confident and innovative than they were two months ago, according to a survey by the influential Trans-Tasman Business Circle.

A collation of polls taken during the Circle’s “V-vent Series: Resilient Leadership in Challenging Times” that started on March 30 found the majority of the 7000 attendees in the series felt it would be at least another year until some new normal would be established.

The attendees represented both private and public sectors, academia, government agencies and not-for-profits. The number of participants who said they were scared or challenged has dropped steadily over the past eight weeks.

At the same time those businesses feeling “innovative” have been strong (50 per cent) from the beginning but have increased in recent weeks (60 per cent).

After initial uncertainty in the first week in early April when only 63 per cent of respondents said they supported the government’s handling of the crisis, there has also been a steady and dramatic increase (90+ per cent) with the respondents showing very strong business support for the actions of both the Australian and New Zealand governments.

The industries covered by the respondents include financial services, agriculture, property, telecommunications, retail, services, innovation, SMEs, sport, tourism, technology and government. Presenters at the briefings have included the CEOs of Mirvac, NBNCo, Fonterra, Alibaba, Accor, Salesforce, IBM, Judo and SEEK, as well as Nev Power, the chairman of the National Coronavirus Commission, and the New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor.

Trans-Tasman Business Circle founder Johnny Weiss, who established the forum in 1993 with Sir Ron Brierley as the inaugural presenter, said the Circle had rapidly pivoted from a physical human connectivity organisation to one with virtual connectivity within seven days in late March as the crisis took hold.

He said the vast majority of organisations featured in the Series reported that they had handled the crisis well. “It is recognised that while unemployment may reach 10 pre cent, it means that 90 per cent of the workforce is still employed and having to adapt to new work patterns,’’ he said, noting there was significant discussion of the “future of work”, including home/work balance and future of the office.

Many organisations, he said, reported many innovative practices were now being developed.

“The period of March 16-30 was ‘shock and awe’ for most businesses as the full weight of the crisis became apparent. The period early-mid April was one of rapid pivot to home work and realignment of business delivery. Mid-April to now there is now a ‘new normal’ of relative organisational stability and evolution of new work practices,’’ Mr Weiss said. He added that overall, business leaders had ensured that “they don’t waste a crisis” for implementing long-needed change and commended the speed at which they moved from challenged to innovative, and are now seeing the opportunities the other side of covid.

“Fear has never been a factor in the response. The response to COVID has demonstrated that innovation does not need to be a cumbersome process, but can be undertaken with speed, agility and a degree of forgiveness,’’ Mr Weiss said. He also noted that the increase in the trust for government hinted at an increased desire for new private/public partnerships to restart in Australia and New Zealand.