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Introduction by Karen Blake, Senior Lecturer. 

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Introduction by Karen Blake, Senior Lecturer. 

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50 seconds duration

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COVID-19: guidance for employees, employers and businesses 

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COVID-19: guidance for employees, employers and businesses 

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May help with considerations with your innovation

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Stay at home

Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)

If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times

Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don't have symptoms.

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COVID-19: guidance for employees, employers and businesses

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Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home) If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times Wash your hands as soon as you get home Do not meet others, even friends or family.

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5 ways organisations are responding to the “Coronacrisis”

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5 ways organisations are responding to the “Coronacrisis”

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Published by University of South Wales-April, 2020

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There is no denying that organisations have had to undergo sudden, enforced change. Many organisations have already invested significantly to adjust to a new business as (un)usual. The rush to a virtual way of working has been a well-publicised example of rapid digital transformation, organisational adjustment and behavioural change. It is already hard to imagine everything simply rubber-banding back to how it was, pre-crisis. Would we wish it to anyway? Let's explore key learnings from the current crisis and questions we ought to be considering at this time.

Rapid versatility and innovation

Organisations have had no choice but to face current challenges head on. Governments have likened their response to being on a wartime footing. As part of the call to 'fight' the virus, organisations have had to demonstrate versatility. Whether this is Burberry manufacturing surgical gowns and masks or 'Project Pitlane', in which Formula 1 teams are manufacturing and delivering respiratory devices.

It is impressive to witness what can be achieved in a short space of time. Rapid progress through hyper-focus is an approach often adopted in agile environments. Indeed, agile approaches are designed to respond quickly to change and to seek out new ways of creating results in a changing world. The opportunity for team members to come together and collaboratively swarm on problem-solving demands creativity and a willingness to try things out. Focussed teams can be used to great effect, whether it's to create long-range radar in wartime or attempting to produce a COVID-19 vaccine at pace.

Problem-solving requires innovation, critical thinking, creativity and commitment to find a way forward. Can organisations now continue to pull together and commit to tackle problems with greater urgency, persistence and laser-guided focus?

This principle of partnership through purpose also extends to the wider public who have been answering the call to support and utilise their skills and competencies in unexpected ways. This questions many of the traditional constructs which exist, such as organisational rivalries, competition, protectionism and societal boundaries. How can we collaborate more effectively?

Effective project leadership

Now consider project delivery. There is a clear need for effective project leadership through the current crisis. Rather than simply project managing against pre-defined, pre-crisis criteria, there is a clear need to step back, assess and position the organisation's portfolio of projects according to current organisational need (rather than the strategy that was perhaps entirely valid only a few weeks ago). This is not to panic, but to ensure that the right projects are in play, thereby avoiding unnecessary waste. Deciding which projects ought to start, continue or stop will enable organisations to navigate through the current situation. Projects are a key enabler for organisational change. Since it is a necessity for organisations to adapt at pace, there is a clear need to innovate and adjust quickly. Projects are a catalyst for this. For many, this will enable organisational survival in the immediate term whilst ensuring growth and opportunity going forwards. Do we have sufficient project leadership capability? Do we have the necessary project delivery competency.

Actively managing organisational risk

There are varying views regarding the UK government's state of readiness for the current pandemic, even though it was at the top of the National Risk Register. There is potentially a wider learning here for organisations to actively manage and prepare for risks materialising. Keeping live risks actively managed with effective responses in place is a challenge, but a necessary one. If we consider other major risks we face, such as the forthcoming impacts of climate change, the same questions regarding preparedness need to be continually assessed. Are we ready for further future threats and challenges? What opportunities do these risks pose for us?

Acknowledging the complexity of change and personal impact

For many, the lived experience is far from one-dimensional. Organisations and individuals are experiencing challenges with health, well-being, income shock and problems with supply and demand. It's times like this that organisations have an opportunity to pull together and act more like a 'family' than simply a place of work. Giving people the support they need requires empathy and understanding. If we consider the personal change curve and diagnose (with absolute honesty) where we are right now, we can start to understand our personal change journeys and those of our colleagues. Are we in shock, in denial, experiencing anger, feeling depressed, exploring possibilities or committing to new ways? There are great opportunities here to find new and different ways of supporting each other. The crucial thing is that we continue to have caring conversations, whilst supporting our organisations through the challenges that still lie ahead. Considerations that perhaps enable us to hold these conversations include; Do I really listen? How empathetic am I? How can we strengthen our resilience? What are we aspiring to achieve?

Embracing positive mindset through change

Organisations have had to make changes before; the 2007-2008 financial crisis is one example. These situations require us to change. There is a 'letting go' dimension here, for which we will all need support. The future, however it shapes, requires us not to hold on to everything as it was and simply hope things will return to the way they were pre-crisis. Things have already changed, with some organisations investing heavily in these changes and feeling the pain of sudden transformation. People are coming to terms with new patterns and contexts.

This leads us to consider opportunity. Rather than resisting, preserving and maintaining we ought to be pattern-breaking; focussing on creating, collaborating and supporting. This challenges us all to consider our own mindset. As we go through our personal experiences of change during this crisis, we need to ensure that where we end up enables us to contribute effectively in the 'new world'. Is my mindset helpful? How is my mindset framing my actions and behaviour? How we can take the positives from the current situation and adapt for the future?

The challenge to organisations right now is to consider how best to handle the changes we face and embrace new ways of operating. Many of these changes are likely to become part of a new way of operating. Hopefully some good will then have come from this enforced transformation.

Miles Huckle
USW Project Management Facilitator and Director of Annovista Ltd.
The University of South Wales works closely with Annovista Ltd. deliver a range of Project Management workshops, from accredited open-access courses in PRINCE2, AgilePM, MSP and Change Management to tailored and customised solutions for your teams and organisation. Our virtual change series is coming soon, i f you're interested in finding out more, arrange a virtual meeting with us by emailing uswcommercial@southwales.ac.uk

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Change Management | University of South Wales

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There is no denying that organisations have had to undergo sudden, enforced change. Many organisations have already invested significantly to adjust to a new business as (un)usual. The rush to a virtual way of working has been a well-publicised example of rapid digital transformation, organisational adjustment and behavioural change.

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Think about the best-case scenario': how to manage coronavirus anxiety 

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Think about the best-case scenario': how to manage coronavirus anxiety 

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Guardian Newspaper piece. Think about team/staff anxiety

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Just over a week ago, our world looked very different from how it does today. The shift has been so rapid and frightening, it feels as if the ground beneath us has given way. It is disorienting, as if normal life is just over there, out of reach. I have been through two major bereavements, close together, and this has the same unanchored feeling of grief.

The human brain is not wired to tolerate uncertainty, but it is wired to be alert to any threat. So, if you are feeling pandemic panic, it is only natural. Blame your brain. For most of us, life has never felt more uncertain, and uncertainty is, according to a 2016 study by neuroscientists at University College London, an even more stressful state to be in than actually knowing something bad will happen. It may explain - if you're young-ish and otherwise healthy - why you may be almost hoping to contract Covid-19, just to get out of that will I-won't I? mental tussle. Those of us who are older or more vulnerable don't have such a privilege.

According to Robert Leahy, the director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy and author of The Worry Cure, we are all locked in "an international human trauma, where everybody has a sense that their life, or the lives of people they love, is threatened". When we are anxious, he says: "We tend to equate uncertainty with the worst outcome. For example, after 9/11, I heard so many people say it's inevitable that there's going to be another major attack on New York City, or a nuclear attack by al-Qaida. That never happened. When we're anxious, we tend to treat the uncertainty as a bad outcome. But uncertainty is neutral - we don't know what's going to happen."

We want to be assured the way our world looks when we get up in the morning is the way it will look when we go to bed

Prof Daniel Freeman

We can look to what has happened in other countries with understandable horror, but we can also hold on to the fact that measures such as testing, social distancing, quarantining and travel restrictions seem to have some effect, and that at some point, there will be potential treatments. None of this is to underplay the seriousness of the pandemic, and the many lives that have already and will be lost. But the point is that at the moment, nobody really knows what is going to happen.

Most of us crave stability. "We want predictability," says Daniel Freeman, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford. "We want to be assured that the way our world looks when we get up in the morning is the way it will look when we go to bed. And if change occurs, we prefer it to be on our terms." But sometimes life has other ideas.

"We have to come to terms with such uncertainty," he says. After all, we already live with plenty of uncertainty and lack of control, even if it is on a much smaller scale, such as driving a car or being a passenger in one. "We have to accept that no action is 100% risk-free and that we can't totally control events, no matter how much we try. No matter how much we worry, we can't know what's in store for us. And we can't prevent problems happening just by worrying about them. In the end, it is best to concentrate on what is meaningful in our lives."

As a lifelong catastrophiser, and despite knowing with hindsight that in every instance, my imagined worst-case scenarios didn't come true, my worry doesn't feel unwarranted at the moment. The question is: how helpful is it? Not very. "We know that this is a dangerous virus," says Natasha Page, a therapist and member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. "But are we catastrophising about some things? Are we trying to predict what the outcome is going to be? It can be helpful to think about what the best-case scenario could be as well. Anxiety can be a helpful emotion to have - it can help us to keep safe and do the right things - but fixating on the worst outcome is not a healthy thing to do." (Unless, of course, you're one of those in charge of stopping the spread.)

Constantly checking the news may feel like a way of asserting control over events, says Freeman, but it can exacerbate anxiety. "Knowledge is power. So make sure you get your information and advice from the very best sources. You'll also have to keep checking in to make sure your plan fits with the expert advice. There is an obvious temptation to seek out information all the time, but although this may be helpful as you first orientate yourself to what is going on, a moment comes when we need to put limits on it."

He advises creating a plan in order to make it easier to deal with anxious thoughts so "we have formed our response and know what to do. A little time worrying isn't necessarily a problem, as it may alert us to modifications we need to make, but too much time spent worrying skews our thinking. We catastrophise when we worry, leading to less measured responses." Freeman suggests constraining worry to one or two set periods each day. "When worry comes at other times, just note the thoughts down, then don't fight them but let them go. Notice the worry, acknowledge it, but don't let it distract you. Stay as calm as you can, focus on what you're doing and not what you're thinking, and watch the worry recede into the distance."

With understandable concerns about job security and how you will survive financially, "try to take as much control as you can over the situation," says Page. "We know there are things being set up in order to help people with mortgage or rent payments, and help for businesses. Get yourself well-informed and think about what you might need to plan for."

If you are reading this piece, chances are you are currently healthy. "Remind yourself that in this moment you are safe and well," says the therapist Eve Menezes Cunningham. "Anxiety is defined by fears around the future. With a pandemic, no one's imagining that future is going to be all sunshine and rainbows but at the same time we don't know how it's going to pan out." When we're anxious, she says, we typically try to control more, but so much is now beyond our control. "We can only control what we are doing - staying at home for the sake of more vulnerable populations, if you're not already self-isolating because you are part of a more vulnerable population - not stockpiling. Be kind to yourself - anxiety is a normal reaction to have in a really unusual situation."

Can you dare to think about the future? What if you had big plans that are now suddenly on hold - going to university, trying for a baby, moving house or changing career? Nobody can tell you what the best decisions for your life are right now, and it might be better to think no further ahead than a day or a week. "Don't deny reality but remind yourself that this will pass, although we don't know when," says Cunningham. "For some people, being at home all of a sudden, there is time and space to think about what we want to do with our lives. A lot of people will be looking for more purpose and meaning. It might not be the best time to make big changes, but thinking about a happy future in which you're doing work that you love or you have the family you've longed for will help. When we're stressed and creating cortisol, it perpetuates stress." Too much cortisol also compromises our immune systems. "When we think happy thoughts - imagining the love we'll have for our future baby or the fulfilment we'll have in our future career," she says, "we might not only feel better, but we should also be boosting our immune function."

Be aware that our emotional estimate of risk, says Leahy, "is extremely high. What we tend to do when we're emotional is think about anecdotes, not probabilities. This is human nature - we're not evolved to calculate baselines and probabilities. So we think about stories and how they're related to us personally. The question is: what is the absolute probability that I'm going to die from Covid-19?" He believes someone is more likely to eventually die from cancer or heart disease. In China, which has a population of around 1.5 billion, at the time of writing 3,245 people have been killed by Covid-19 (and, Leahy points out, China has reported no new domestic transmissions). I'm not sure how comforting this is, especially for those of us who are vulnerable - the virus still seems an unknown quantity, and we still don't know how much havoc it will wreak, how overwhelmed our healthcare system will get, or (if we do get a handle on it) when it will spring back again once the restrictions on our lives are lifted. So it comes back to building tolerance for uncertainty.

"There are things you can do to boost your ability to cope in these uncertain times," says Freeman. "Our lives are becoming much more restricted, so it is absolutely crucial that we have enough activities that we really want to do. Ideally these activities will be meaningful to us and build on our strengths. We need to think about new ways to connect with and support our friends, family and neighbours. In these times, our relationships with others become even more important."

Anxiety is contagious, as a 2014 study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany shows. "Empathetic stress" increased as a result of witnessing someone else in distress, whether they were a loved one or a total stranger. When we see worrying on a global scale, it is not surprising that we will be affected. So try to be the person who calms a friend or partner down, and you should both benefit. Don't buy everything in the supermarket, don't go out with symptoms, check on your neighbours, help each other out - because kindness is contagious, too.
Topics

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'Think about the best-case scenario': how to manage coronavirus anxiety

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Just over a week ago, our world looked very different from how it does today. The shift has been so rapid and frightening, it feels as if the ground beneath us has given way. It is disorienting, as if normal life is just over there, out of reach.

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Example from Scotland around harnessing Talent during Pandemic

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The NHS Clinical Entrepreneurs Series will harness entrepreneurial talent across NHS Scotland to equip health professionals with the skills, knowledge and support to translate innovative ideas into commercial success.

The series of 'breakfast style' workshops are free to attend and open to all aspiring clinical and allied health professional entrepreneurs, and NHS Scotland innovators

Developed by Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL), they present an extension of the health innovation support the organisation has been providing to NHS Scotland for over 15 years, building upon a strong history of innovation within our health service.

"Our NHS must be celebrated, cherished and encouraged to move forward. It is through innovation and forward thinking we have come this far, and during the 70 year celebrations of our NHS it is apt that we extend the opportunities for talented, inventive health professionals to develop their ideas and innovations into viable products and services to improve patient care.

"Since 2002 SHIL have been working in partnership with NHS Scotland to build supported clinical entrepreneurship into our health service. The NHS Clinical Entrepreneurs Series presents an extension of this support and I encourage staff with innovative ideas to get involved - learn new skills, gain insight into the expertise and support available in Scotland and hear first-hand from the experiences of NHS innovators"

Catherine Calderwood, Chief Medical Officer, Scottish Government

With more than 160,000 staff working across NHS Scotland, it is a rich resource of ideas and innovation. Harnessing this entrepreneurial talent, from front-line clinicians, researchers, nurses, pharmacists, specialists, managers, or support staff, to translate innovative ideas into viable products and services to improve patient care is central to the role of SHIL

"Uncovering transformational healthcare ideas and providing a systematic approach to supporting innovation can transform patient care; stimulate economic wealth and drive commercial return to NHS board. Over the years we have successfully commercialised a range of products and spin-out companies, working with health professionals across the spectrum of disease and medical backgrounds, to support new ways of improving patient care. These products now in use throughout the NHS in Scotland and beyond."

Graham Watson, Executive Chairman

A track record of success includes

Many products and spin out companies supported by SHIL have gone on to achieve international success, helping position Scotland as an entrepreneurial and innovative nation.

"Scotland has a proven track record of pioneering medical innovation; and the new NHS Clinical Entrepreneurs Series, hosted by SHIL, will help uncover transformational ideas from talented and ambitious health entrepreneurs across Scotland.

"Fostering and supporting the spread of healthcare innovation has the dual benefit of improving patient care and stimulating economic wealth; whilst supporting Scotland's vision to become a world-leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation. I encourage health professionals to get involved and continue Scotland's innovation story."

Ivan McKee, Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation

If you are a health professional with a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship we encourage you to get involved. Workshops will be short, focused, practical sessions that acknowledging time pressures on health professionals with opportunities to get involved in new ways via remote participation and on demand content. They are supported by experts in the innovation and commercialisation field and will be backed up by the real experiences of NHS Scotland innovators helping to:

Create communities of clinical entrepreneurs

Overcome barriers to innovation

Harness insight and expertise across Scotland

Provide specialist knowledge on a range of key commercial topics

Share innovation success

Highlight available support

Places are limited but you can book now for:

Edinburgh, 31 January 2019 (08:00 -12:00), Surgeon's Quarter, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DW

Glasgow, 28 February 2019 (08:00 - 12:00), Technology & Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde, 99 George St, Glasgow, G1 1RD

Dundee, 27 March 2019 (08:00 - 12:00), West Park Conference Centre, 319 Perth Road, Dundee, DD2 1NN

Stay up to date with latest dates and programmes by following @ScotHealthInno.

Further Information

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The NHS Clinical Entrepreneurs Series will harness entrepreneurial talent across NHS Scotland to equip health professionals with the skills, knowledge and support to translate innovative ideas into commercial success.

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On World Health Day, new report says the world needs 6 million more nurses

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On World Health Day, new report says the world needs 6 million more nurses

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World Economic Forum published 7th April, 2020

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The world needs 6 million more nurses, says the World Health Organization

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A new report released on World Health Day 2020 - in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic - examines the state of nursing in 2020.

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There’s no time for change management during Covid-19, but there must be time to change management

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There’s no time for change management during Covid-19, but there must be time to change management

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Hughes (2020)-28th April.

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(Image credit: Image source: Shutterstock/Igor Masin)

The initial days and weeks that followed Boris Johnson's announcement of the UK-wide lockdown was one the most unusual times I have ever experienced in business. No sooner had Johnson uttered those fateful words on the 23rd March 2020 "You must stay at home," every business owner and manager began frantically preparing for life under lockdown.

The mad rush to get Britain's employees set up for home working will be one of the defining moments of the pandemic. But when you have fitness celebrities, weather presenters and even chat show hosts seamlessly shifting to a life on Zoom within just a few days, you not only see how adaptable people can be when the situation demands it, but also how easy homeworking is to set up. The fact that home working is so easy to setup is perhaps the least surprising part of the whole situation. The more surprising element for many employers has been the recurrence of this question - "how exactly do I manage a mobile workforce?"

No time for change management

While the rush to homeworking may not have been the change most companies wanted, it was the change they got. And they embraced it gladly in order to survive. Typically however, in "normal" circumstances, no business would embark on such a fundamental change to its operations without assessing, planning, and mapping out all of the knock-on effects of the change to the rest of the business. In other words, a business would not move to homeworking without developing a change management plan first.

A change management plan is necessary because every business change leads to a myriad of consequences - some expected, some hoped for, and many more totally unexpected. Some consequences are good, some are bad. Therefore, it is important to put a change management plan in place. It is necessary to dissect every business operation, interaction, and employee process in order to see how changing one part of it can affect the whole.

Any change management plan should consider the impact of change on the following four elements of the organisation prior to any changes being made:

In the case of Covid-19, there simply wasn't time for any form of a change management plan, let alone time to evaluate the four main elements of change that would normally be considered. So where does that leave us? The only thing we can do is to look at what has changed and reflect on how to make the most of it. There isn't time for a change management project, but there is certainly time to change how we manage.

Tech is only part of the change

For many employers, the fact that their workforce can work from home - and still be productive - has been a revelation. But the fact that home working works is hardly news to anyone by now. What is new is that these same firms are now starting to realise they need to change how they manage their people too. The old "office approach" to management - and the many expectations that comes with it (9-5 hours, the perceived notion to always be busy etc.) - no longer work if no one is working from the office.

For some firms, the solution to managing a mobile workforce enabled by technology is more technology to monitor their productivity. Yet technology is only one of the four components of a change management plan as mentioned above. The thinking that more technology will ensure better management of remote workers is the wrong approach, and is borne out of old fashioned, almost Dickensian thinking. i.e. it is based on the assumption that this now "invisible" workforce will start slacking off because it doesn't have a boss physically standing over them. This approach simply takes the same 9-5 office mindset and attempts to apply it to homeworking. It will not work.

Embrace the cultural benefits of homeworking

One of the primary benefits of homeworking is its flexibility. Why should staff work 9-5 if they no longer have an office to travel to? This is where a shift in metrics is required. Too often we value human resources by the amount of time they contribute. We price a person's time by the hour. But surely the most important metric for an employee is their productivity, not how much time they spend? So, if productivity can be maintained or even improved with "non-standard" hours and unconventional workwear, why wouldn't you support it? Do not bring 19th century expectations into the 21st century workplace (especially considering the workplace is no longer a physical "place" anyway).

In summary, what needs to change?

Management expectations: Don't expect 9-5 from your employees. Focus on their productivity instead. Perceived activity is irrelevant.

Employee mindsets: Employees should also be more mindful of changing their attitudes. They should think about when they are most productive and, where reasonably possible, align their work patterns to that.

No one-size-fits-all: Homeworking is an opportunity to re-evaluate your preferred work environment and build one accordingly. While some people really thrive working in isolation (so are well suited to homeworking and really struggle in an open plan office), others need the stimulation of people around them to stay focused. Know what makes you tick and find virtual solutions which deliver it as best they can (while you can't recreate the office environment virtually, those who need regular interactions with their colleagues can instigate more virtual meetings or even recreate their lunch break with colleagues over Zoom).

Infrastructure: Provide employees with more options to communicate with each other, both formally and informally, so all the different social aspects of the office environment aren't lost. What's more, with the infrastructure now in place - and homeworking proving to work for many people - you should be prepared to support it in your culture after the lockdown.

Don't forget your data security obligations: Building on the infrastructure point, it is important to be mindful of the additional data security risks that remote working can introduce (i.e. working on non-corporate devices, reliance on VPNs, using home Wi-Fi networks, shadow IT etc.), which increase the likelihood of falling foul of GDPR and other data protection legislation. IT departments need to make sure their data policies are updated to reflect this change in work practices and that people are adequately trained to manage the potential data risks of remote working.

Covid-19 has provided a unique opportunity for everyone to take a moment and take stock of what is really important in life - our family, friends, and health. Many of the leading companies in the world already knew this, and have found that providing their employees with the right work/life balance, allowing them to spend more time with their family, providing breaks or facilities so they can focus on their health etc. yields better financial results. It is a true win: win. While it took a global pandemic for many other companies to realise this, I am confident that the cultural change we have seen towards more homeworking will continue once the lockdown is over. This truly has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reflect and change how we work for the better.

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There's no time for change management during Covid-19, but there must be time to change management

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(Image credit: Image source: Shutterstock/Igor Masin) The initial days and weeks that followed Boris Johnson's announcement of the UK-wide lockdown was one the most unusual times I have ever experienced in business. No sooner had Johnson uttered those fateful words on the 23rd March 2020 "You must stay at home," every business owner and manager began frantically preparing for life under lockdown.

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Resources to Help Healthcare Organizations Navigate COVID-19 Business Disruption

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Resources to Help Healthcare Organizations Navigate COVID-19 Business Disruption

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We realize that you are on the front lines trying to fight this virus to protect our families and communities. We truly appreciate the leadership that you and your organization has shown during this unprecedented time.

Huron has assembled the educational resources you need to address the most pressing challenges your organization is facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage you to connect with us if you need immediate assistance.

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Contact Us
We realize that you are on the front lines trying to fight this virus to protect our families and communities. We truly appreciate the leadership that you and your organization has shown during this unprecedented time.

Huron has assembled the educational resources you need to address the most pressing challenges your organization is facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage you to connect with us if you need immediate assistance.

Telehealth and Virtual Care

Key steps to quickly establish or expand telehealth and virtual care capabilities.

Telehealth: Essential Steps for Healthcare Organizations

Immediate actions to help healthcare organizations defend against the uptick in cyberattacks, including ransomware and phishing scams targeting healthcare workers.
Cybersecurity: Immediate Actions to Protect Healthcare Organizations
Technology

Suggested actions to help organizations stay focused on looming CMS interoperability deadlines as COVID-19 continues to strain resources
Technology: Accelerating Interoperability
Remote Workforce

Five tips on how to effectively work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic
Employees: How to Work from Home Effectively
Five tips on how leaders can apply now to manage remote employees during the COVID-19 pandemic
Leaders: Managing Virtual Teams Effectively
Steps to quickly shift call center agents to virtual work environments, stemming the spread and risk from COVID-19 while increasing safety, access to care and overall consumer and employee satisfaction.
Organizations: Creating Virtual Contact Centers
Financial and Business Disruption

Key guidelines to review and act on to help healthcare organizations prepare for and endure the economic stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic
Financial: COVID-19: Prudent Financial Management for Healthcare Organizations
Consider taking these immediate actions with payors to reduce administrative friction, protect revenue and maintain financial stability.

Financial: Immediate Actions to Streamline Reimbursement with Payors

Eight steps to build the agility to get through the tough near-term conditions, while keeping an eye on the horizon to build perspective on what will matter as the crisis ebbs.
Mitigate Business Impact: Innosight, Strategy and Innovation at Huron
Recommendations for rapid response in three key areas of the healthcare organization.
Business Disruption: Respond Rapidly to Withstand Business Uncertainty
Consider these revenue cycle strategies to help provide financial relief as organizations navigate shortfalls in cash due to COVID-19.
Financial: Revenue Cycle Strategies to Accelerate Cash Flow
Ambulatory Care and Operations

Consider these recommendations as ambulatory operations resume.

Ambulatory Operations: How Organizations Can Begin to Stabilize and Recover Following a Crisis

Communications and Leadership

Lean on these leadership skills to help you guide others through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leadership: Four Timeless Leadership Principles to Connect With People in Crisis
In times of high stress, providing frequent, clear, consistent communication about priority actions and information from the top down is critical to keep teams focused. Apply these tactics to maintain clear, consistent communication with your team during COVID-19.

Optimize resources and processes to keep patients and staff safe with daily leadership safety huddles.
Leadership: Optimizing Daily Safety Huddles
Mobilize your teams to navigate uncertainty with an intentional change management strategy.
Leadership: Change Management and Leadership During Times of Uncertainty Compassion and Resiliency Resources
Standardize, automate and track rounding activity in your healthcare organization.
Huron Rounding
Healthcare in The Home

Reimagine today's healthcare delivery system to create a value-based, consumer-centric future.
Home Care: COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals Gaps in Healthcare Model
By delivering hospital care to the home, organizations can save resources and lives.
Expanding Hospital-at-Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Hospital-Based Research Programs, Academic Medical Centers, Children's Hospitals and Education Institutions

The global impact of COVID-19 has had significant impacts on hospital-based research programs, academic medical centers and education institutions. Huron has assembled resources to help leaders of these institutions respond promptly and manage effectively during uncertain times to advance their core mission.
Resources for Higher Education Leaders Navigating COVID-19 Response
Additional Resources

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Resources to Help Healthcare Organizations Navigate COVID-19 Business Disruption - Huron

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Contact Us We realize that you are on the front lines trying to fight this virus to protect our families and communities. We truly appreciate the leadership that you and your organization has shown during this unprecedented time.

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The COVID-19 Crisis Has Sparked Innovation and Offers Lessons We Must Not Forget

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The COVID-19 Crisis Has Sparked Innovation and Offers Lessons We Must Not Forget

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by Sonja Marjanovic

April 1, 2020

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COVID-19 has shocked the world and caught most countries unprepared, forcing them to improvise how best to protect the health of their populations. Among all the potential consequences now being faced, the health risks are undoubtedly the most alarming. The wider social and economic consequences are also starting to hit home, but have yet to fully unravel. However, amid all the confusion and the fear, the power of individuals, organisations, and communities to think differently and to innovate shows what can be achieved when people are united by common, clear priorities and necessity.

Earlier this year, RAND Europe published the results of many years of research focused on innovation in the healthcare system. We flagged that a lack of funding is not the only (and perhaps not even the biggest) barrier to medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, and innovative methods reaching those in need, on time and at scale. Our recommendations considered how to build innovation skills and train the healthcare workforce and entrepreneurs, and how to strengthen leadership, incentives, and accountabilities to help the adoption of innovation in the NHS.

Our research also outlined actions to support better coordinated collaboration between different research and innovation initiatives, funders, and policymaking bodies, and steps to ensure that patients and the public can effectively contribute to progress and benefit from it. Our assumption was that many of the recommendations we put forth will take months at best, and years more likely, to be put into practice-because the translation of research and innovation into practice generally takes a lot of time to unfold.

But if there is one thing that the response to COVID-19 is demonstrating, it is that when there is a critical mass of will and clear priorities, innovation can quickly reach the front line-to save lives and protect the health and well-being of healthcare workers, patients, and the public. People can be trained up, skilled, and re-skilled at pace. Political will and clear lines of accountability can shift courses of national action rapidly, in response to a rapidly evolving evidence base.

When there is a critical mass of will and clear priorities, innovation can quickly reach the front line.
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Innovation is coming together in the most inspiring of ways. Researchers are working closely with policymakers and those at the NHS front line to roll out innovations that would in other circumstances take years to bring to patients. Digitally-enabled consultations (e.g., video consultations, online consultations) are now becoming routine practice for dealing with patients overnight in both acute and primary care in the NHS (wherever possible). And guidance on how to do them well has been produced in response to the degree of need and urgency that COVID-19 presents. The best available evidence on issues such as diagnosing breathlessness is being translated into testing regimes in a matter of hours and days (PDF).

This fast pace of translation comes with its own risks and trade-offs, for example, data security risks or perpetuating inequalities in access to care for those who are not digitally connected. But all those involved are working hard to learn quickly about how to leverage the power of digital communications, while managing the risks and ensuring practices have individual consent behind them.

The research community is also turning around studies and publishing evidence at an unprecedented pace. For example, Oxford University has established a COVID-19 Evidence Service which publishes regular reports on questions that NHS staff at the front line and policymakers urgently need answers to.

Industry actions are reminiscent of what happened in response to the emergence of HIV, when large pharma companies donated compounds for testing to accelerate antiretroviral research and development. Compounds are being donated, tested, and entering trials quickly. For example, the UK has just begun a trial of a combination of compounds used to treat HIV (i.e. iopinavir and ritonavir) and a steroid used to reduce inflammation (dexamethasone) to assess their effectiveness for treating COVID-19.

Interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration and innovation are coming out in full force-and making an enormous difference at great speed to save the lives of those most badly affected. For example, Formula One is working with government and health authorities to boost the supply of much needed ventilators to the NHS and is repurposing some of its manufacturing capacity to achieve this. And the British army is working with the NHS to ensure that personal protective equipment supply chains are rapidly improved to address the shortages of getting much needed protective gear to health workers. Supermarket chains are innovating to curb the 'dark side' of individual behaviour as a result of stockpiling by many shoppers. Major risks to continued supply may still exist, but innovation in supply chain management is happening by the day.

Perhaps most inspiring of all is the social innovation I am witnessing in my own city, which provides one story among countless others. While it started with WhatsApp groups in small localities like mine, the NHS has now extended volunteering nationally. Our hearts have been warmed by stories of individuals helping the most vulnerable and needy to provide basic supplies and offering friendly conversations to combat loneliness due to social isolation, particularly among those who lack the technology to connect. Educational aids abound to keep our children engaged in learning and entertained. The spirit of community is shining through as much as possible, with a good dose of humour to make the days a bit brighter.

The critical links to make all of this happen appear to be a very clear sense of priority and strong awareness of interdependence. It would be naïve to think that every issue facing society will in the future be met with the same collective effort and urgency as is the case with COVID-19 at the moment. However, as a result of the crisis being faced now, people will hopefully all become more united by the pursuit of collective well-being. Innovating-individually and collectively-could change the future. And hopefully the changes in attitudes, mindsets, and energies that are uniting people now will persist once this emergency is over.

If people can come together around COVID-19, and all developments are showing that they can, then perhaps they can be equally innovative in tackling many of the more silent 'COVIDs' of the time-i.e., the less immediately impactful but equally urgent and important challenges associated with aging and frailty, mental health, cancer, comorbidities, and health inequalities as just some examples. Along the way, lessons are being learned.
Sonja Marjanovic leads health innovation and healthcare improvement research at RAND Europe.
Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.

Authors

@SonjaCambs
Director, Healthcare Innovation, Industry and Policy, RAND Europe

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The Pandemic Has Sparked Innovation, Offering Lessons We Must Not Forget

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COVID-19 has shocked the world and caught most countries unprepared, forcing them to improvise. But amid all the confusion and fear, the power of individuals, organizations, and communities to think differently and to innovate shows what can be achieved when people are united by common, clear priorities and necessity.

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Digital business future after Covid 19 pandemic

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Digital business future after Covid 19 pandemic

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Some of the industries that thrive during Covid-19

Video conferencing and remote work tools (Zoom)

Edtech, e-learning (not only for children but also adults who would like to take this time to learn new skills)

Food delivery gig-economy (Deliveroo, Just Eat)

Grocery delivery

Fitness apps

Media and entertainment (gaming, eSports, Netflix, YouTube)

Healthcare marketplaces (A Perfect Job web application built by Empire Elements team has seen an increase in demand for heath workers too)

Wellness and mindfulness apps

Childcare apps and marketplaces that connect nannies with families

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The current coronavirus pandemic is forcing many businesses to re-think their digital strategy, remote working and how and what to sell to survive or even thrive.

You may think that unless you start selling rolls of toilet paper you may not be able to take your business through these difficult and challenging times but there is a way and it's thinking 'digital-first'.

The worst affected industries include travel, leisure and hospitality however Covid-19 has a ripple effect on all types of businesses including small local businesses such as cleaning companies. Worried customers are cancelling bookings and it looks like there won't be much action over the next 3 months. As an entrepreneur you can use this time to re-think your business and digital strategy rather than binge watch Netflix shows.

Some of the industries that thrive during Covid-19

Video conferencing and remote work tools (Zoom)

Edtech, e-learning (not only for children but also adults who would like to take this time to learn new skills)

Food delivery gig-economy (Deliveroo, Just Eat)

Grocery delivery

Fitness apps

Media and entertainment (gaming, eSports, Netflix, YouTube)

Healthcare marketplaces (A Perfect Job web application built by Empire Elements team has seen an increase in demand for heath workers too)

Wellness and mindfulness apps

Childcare apps and marketplaces that connect nannies with families

Can your business adopt smart-working strategy?

Not all businesses can leave their employees working from home, there are plenty of jobs that require a person to physically do it, whether it's a cleaner, gardener or key workers such as police officers, doctors and nurses and care workers.

But because of some workers having to keep going to work, no matter if there's a pandemic, they need help with childcare, keeping the kids entertained and fed. Childcare startups and edtech startups are seeing a sharp increase in demand in countries where people are still allowed or required to work. Because the schools are shut and because of quarantine and social distancing they can't let their grandparents, the most vulnerable group, look after them.

There is a way for businesses to adapt and start thinking about offering digital products rather than physical products. Fitness instructors can stream their sessions online live or upload videos to YouTube. A lot of people will be following the government's guidance and staying indoors while staying on top of their healthy mind and healthy body. Staying positive will be crucial so you can think about how to help people get moving, improve their mood and mental health. Perhaps you can offer yoga exercises, meditation sessions or whatever else you can think of to lift people's spirits.

How your startup can be smarter with money during difficult times

Look at all your expenses and see if you can either cancel a subscription or downgrade to a cheaper one. Is your business going to run without it and most importantly will your customers even realise when you downgrade or cancel it? Instead of laying off your key employees how about they take take a salary cut? If they can work from home they don't have expenses such as travel and can live on less money. Although our governments all over the world are doing their best to help startups and businesses we can help by trimming down on unnecessary subscriptions.

Use this time to work on your digital product

Yes, there is uncertainty but we think of this 'downtime' as a huge opportunity to work on your startup or business and be ready when business starts to pick up. Take this opportunity to plan new strategy, come up with digital products or start developing those app features that you didn't have time for before. See this as a chance to finally finish what you had planned but never had the time to get around to it.

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Digital business future after Covid 19 pandemic

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The current coronavirus pandemic is forcing many businesses to re-think their digital strategy, remote working and how and what to sell to survive or even thrive. You may think that unless you start selling rolls of toilet paper you may not be able to take your business through these difficult and challenging times but there is a way and it's thinking 'digital-first'.

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Propeller:UCLan Business Support for Students 

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Propeller:UCLan Business Support for Students 

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Propeller helps you develop the skills and knowledge needed to be more enterprising and start your own business through interactive workshops, events and activities.

We are dedicated to preparing UCLan students, graduates and staff to excel in the gig economy, developing the skills needed to make the most of any future.

We offer a complete enterprise support programme providing skills, training, mentoring, workspace and networking to the students, graduates and staff of UCLan.

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Propeller helps you develop the skills and knowledge needed to be more enterprising and start your own business through interactive workshops, events and activities.
We are dedicated to preparing UCLan students, graduates and staff to excel in the gig economy, developing the skills needed to make the most of any future.

We offer a complete enterprise support programme providing skills, training, mentoring, workspace and networking to the students, graduates and staff of UCLan.

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Propeller is still open - just working differently. We are offering 1-1 sessions via phone, Skype or Teams. If you already have a mentor, contact them through the usual means. If this will be your first appointment, call 01772 895950 to arrange an online meeting. Workshops are also still going ahead.