By Brian Murphy, MailGard:
Are we close to living in a post COVID world? It doesn’t feel like we are there quite yet. When shutdowns in the U.S. began in early 2020, it felt like some temporary, rarely thought-about contingency plan that needed to be enacted for a short while before the world went back to normal. Who could have imagined we would still be considering evolving pandemic protocols in the fall of 2021?
Resiliency is the principle that will allow us to outlast this pandemic, regardless of how long it lasts. Merriam-Webster list two definitions for “resilience.” The first relates to the ability of something to return to its original size and shape after a disruption, like how well a stress ball returns to its original size and shape after being squeezed. The second is about the ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.
Resiliency Plans are More Important Than Ever
It seems to me that we’ve been approaching the pandemic with a resiliency that met the first definition; trying to survive while being squeezed to return to normal when the disruption passes. And normally, that’s how we look at disruptions caused by fire, floods, and other unpredictable disasters: making plans to work around the occurrence until we can regain our “shape” and get back to normal. But in the instance of the pandemic, we need to be looking at our resiliency in terms of adapting and adjusting, because even as we’ve moved beyond shutdowns and quarantines, we are still feeling the squeeze of the pandemic and its effects, making the need for a strong business continuity and resiliency plan and partner even more paramount.
For instance, when the pandemic began, Mail-Gard was able to provide production support to assist clients that have experienced capacity constraints due to staffing. In addition to being a business continuity partner to our clients, Mail-Gard was able to provide consumable supplies to a customer in need, until their inventory was replenished.
Now, while we still offer those services, we are also working on other pandemic related challenges, like logistics and supply chain and continuing to adapt to meet the changing needs of our customers and improve their resiliency plans. Of course, we aren’t immune to the challenges COVID-19 caused, but strong partner networks can help, even as partners deal with the same struggles.
Remember when “co-opetition” was a buzzword in the late 90s? If you have been able to maintain relationships with other businesses and organizations, these partners can strengthen your resiliency plans to meet customer demands and adapt to the pandemic, not just through it.
