And with the road to recovery likely 
to be a bumpy one, as the world deals 
with the ebb and flow of coronavirus 
infections, organizations that can maintain 
operational agility stand to be better able 
to navigate the uncertainties ahead. Embrace an agile workforce 
and supply chain
Organizations in the business of 
hospitality will need to rethink their 
staffing needs in a world of physical 
distancing and fewer customers. The 
new normal may no longer support pre-
pandemic staffing levels, and companies 
may need to look at reducing staff or 
reassigning employees to other roles 
(e.g., organizations may need more 
cleaning staff than before). Yet at the 
same time, they may find themselves 
dealing with sudden changes in customer 
volume for reasons related to COVID-19. An outbreak could suddenly require 
restaurants and other establishments 
to be closed temporarily, for example, 
or re-imposed travel restrictions could 
mean hotel guests don’t show up for 
their reservation. To deal with this, 
organizations may want to make more use 
of flexible or contract staff or third-party 
service providers so that they can quickly 
respond to changing business conditions 
and staff up or down as needed. The pandemic has also illustrated the 
fragility of the global supply chains that 
companies have come to rely on: consider 
the problems that COVID-19 outbreaks 
in North American meatpacking plants 
are causing for restaurants, grocers, and 
consumers alike. The economic downturn 
may also have caused many of the 
small suppliers that hospitality sector 
companies had done business with in the 
past to shut their doors. Organizations 
should ensure they identify new sources 
of supply for the products or services 
 they rely on so that should COVID-19 
disrupt supply chains in the future, a 
Plan B is already in place. As well, 
organizations should determine 
how to change their offerings in 
case the supply of a key item is 
interrupted. If you’re a steak 
restaurant, for instance, 
what happens if 
your steak supply 
suddenly stops?