Covid-19 hit the world economy hard, as the global GDP shrank by 3.3 per cent in 2020. Even the growth of Bangladesh's resilient economy fell from 8.2 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the same year

In March 2020, when governments around the world announced lockdowns and quarantine to prevent the spread of a contagious disease, no one could anticipate what would happen. Covid-19 changed the order of businesses in such a disruptive manner that it made even long-established corporations rethink management practices and how to do business in this new reality.

Covid-19 hit the world economy hard, as the global GDP shrank by 3.3 per cent in 2020. Even Bangladesh's resilient GDP growth fell from 8.2 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the same year.

As we attempted to restart the economy, old-proven business strategies were not enough to face ground reality. Amidst economic and health anxiety in the global population, businesses faced three key challenges: changed workplace environment, heightened uncertainty, and disruption brought by information technology to make up for in-person communication.

Shortly after the pandemic began, many businesses across the world took defensive actions such as mass layoffs and pay cuts. This period of economic slowdown, health concerns, and work environment imbalance eventually led to what is being called the Great Resignation in early 2022.

Led by healthcare and IT sector employees, other sectors also saw higher rates of resignation, especially in the developed economies like the US, the UK, and Australia.

The US resignation rate was at around 3 per cent, a two-decade high, and even our neighbouring country India saw large-scale resignations in the IT and consultancy sectors. The causes most cited for these resignations were preference for flexibility in terms of time and location, fatigue, and dissatisfaction with work.

Retaining the workforce, especially highly skilled workers with the right talent-fit, is the first challenge managers are facing post-Covid. Strategies to tackle this must focus on performance recognition and enhancement by supporting employee career growth.

Since many industries had to make way for remote work during the lockdown, companies also started hiring full-time remote workers to save infrastructure and overhead costs. However, this created multiple issues in terms of both client and employee performance management.

Employees in industries such as the IT, consultancy, and finance sectors could not easily perform client visits, have personal interactions, and in-person mentorships due to quarantine protocol.

At the same time, managers could not appropriately appraise individual performance and potential. This is especially of note in developing countries like Bangladesh, where state officials and most corporate clients still prefer face-to-face visitations over virtual meetings.

As employees return to work, the transition must be well managed to re-establish in-person communication with the right stakeholders and maximise the efficiency of the resources that are being invested.

In addition to people management, leadership now must strategise for resilience against the uncertainty of this technologically disrupted, politically divided, and socially restive reality.

Since the lockdown period, some level of official interactions and client service have gone online and may be adapted increasingly in the future. This dependence on digital means calls for training the existing resources to operate and deliver on online channels, which can be a daunting task for older, experienced employees.

Uncertainty is also underlined by rising inflationary pressures around the world due to supply chain disruptions, further increasing economic anxiety. In many economies, including Bangladesh, rising food prices and import challenges are also being caused by the war in Ukraine.

An increased level of digital interaction generates more data to be monitored and analysed to gain insights into the post-Covid consumer preference. Decision-makers must be wary of information overload because they need to analyse only the pertinent data for data-led decisions. In this new reality, management should have integrated data collection, management, and evaluation systems in place to differentiate the noise from the voice of their customers.

While dealing with a barrage of employee, client, and technology-related challenges, seniors in most organisations are also having to deal with weakened businesses.

The halt to the economy brought on by the pandemic meant most industries saw lower revenue in 2020 and 2021, and client-based industries like consulting could not develop business pipelines, an impact that may be felt many years into the future. Thus, managers must also attempt to repair the damage caused by poor business in the previous two years by seeking additional growth and building resilience in their organisations.

While challenges exist in the post-Covid world, opportunities also exist.

The workforce is now flexible enough to deliver while working from different locations and time zones, a feature that may be leveraged for higher efficiency in the right situations. Moreover, the rising automation of internal processes will free up resources to expand businesses and ensure client satisfaction.

Finally, technological disruption across sectors may lead to the emergence of more efficient business models and unique products and services that can be developed for value optimisation. However, it will be crucial for leaders to maintain the right balance of managing employees and clients in a humane manner while leveraging technology and internal resources in an efficient way in order to get ahead in this new and uncertain business landscape.

At the same time, maintaining profitability or net margin in an environment of increasing inflation and persisting supply chain disruptions with a low-skilled workforce and rising corruption may pose a further threat for corporate seniors.

The author is an economic analyst.