Lessons Learned from the Pandemic: Part II
My last blog post looked at some of the lessons organizations and individuals should learn from the pandemic as they relate to how, where, and with whom we work. This blog talks about some of the more macro-organizational questions that boards and executive directors should ask to prepare for the next disruptive event.
1. Do you have a disaster plan? If not, write one. If so, review and revise it. Regardless, take time to review your response to this disaster. How did you keep your staff, volunteers and clients safe? How did you meet their needs? How well did you meet their needs? What would you do better? What would you do the same? The apparent lack of preparedness of even some fairly large organizations amazes me; many seem to lack the basic infrastructure to successfully pivot to meet the needs of their staff and constituents during the pandemic. While still fresh in your mind, take the time to write down what you did well and what you wish you had done and create plan. Once you have the plan, don’t let it collect dust on the shelf. Share it with all employees, integrate it into new employee orientation, and practice it. One colleague shared that her organization practiced their disaster plan each quarter. It felt like a waste of time… until March 13.
2. Do you have a crisis communication plan? If not, work with a communication professional (internally or externally) to create one. If so, review and revise it based on your pandemic experiences. A good crisis communication plan considers each of your audiences and their needs; develops a set of critical messages (or assigns responsibility for creating and disseminating those messages); details appropriate avenues and spokespersons for message dissemination including contact names, emails, and phone numbers as well as any needed usernames and passwords; and develops an ongoing strategy to keep your audiences updated. Don’t forget about your internal audiences in a crisis. How will you keep staff informed of organizational changes in a crisis? Does everyone know how to reach someone at home in a crisis?
3. Is your funding disaster-proof? How did your funding fare in this crisis? Organizations with poor funding source diversity tended to have more challenges than those who receive funds from many different sources. Case in point: most local funders canceled their spring grant programs or changed them to fund emergency response, often for basic needs, and nearly every spring gala got cancelled. Organizations that relied on those funds for operations likely suffered a significant loss of income. Similarly, do you have enough money socked away for a rainy day? If not, figure out a way to have a couple months of operating expenses saved where you can access in case of another emergency. A line of credit or insurance might also save you in the event of a protracted emergency. Wimbledon, for example, reportedly paid $2 million a year over the last 17 years in pandemic insurance that will allow them to absorb the loss of revenue from cancelling this year’s tournament. What is your financial disaster plan?
4. Use this opportunity to evaluate your programs and program delivery. Is every program essential? Did you miss programs that couldn’t occur during the pandemic? Did your clients? Did alternative delivery methods better meet their needs and make you more efficient? This disruption gives you a chance to evaluate your programs and make necessary changes for your financial health, mission fit, and client needs.
Your board retains responsibility for assuring that your organization has these types of plans and policies in place. I recommend that your board work with your staff and executive director while everything is still fresh in everyone’s minds and focus on creating these types of plans. I hope you never have to use them, but better to prepare and not need it than need it and not have to scramble once again. Or worse yet, find yourself out of business.
