Webinar Exploring how the Lockdown Easing will Affect Businesses and Different Sectors

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Trend analyst and Flux Trends founder, Mr Dion Chang provided a glimpse into how the lockdown easing will affect different businesses and sectors in his presentation titled: The Great Staggering, at a webinar hosted by Professor Ana Martins, interim Dean and Head of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership, as part of its Webinar Series. This series of webinars aims to empower postgraduate students, alumni and business partners with information that will assist in navigating the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘The Great Staggering is what I’m calling the interim period from the time the pandemic hit to when we will get a vaccine, which is probably going to be next year. This trend briefing is on making a plan for life in limbo, but I mainly focus on innovation as I think this is the perfect time to really innovate,’ explained Chang.

Chang shared insights from research conducted by Flux Trends on life after COVID-19, part one. This included what happened before the pandemic struck and the trends that were affecting business before the pandemic.

‘I will start where we left 2019. We are all following what is happening in America and a nerve has been hit as we are coming from a very volatile 2019 and now live with the fear of the pandemic and the lockdown around the world,’ said Chang.

‘In January and February, the world was put on pause and with the easing of lockdown we are seeing a staggered approach in the reopening of businesses. The reality is that we are divided about which businesses can survive by moving online and how those that cannot, will survive and we are going to be seeing a lot of collateral damage,’ he added.

Chang also shared guidelines for businesses as best practice for their survival. He cited examples of ailing organisations such as Edcon and SAA and the devastating effect that the lockdown has had on lower income households and South Africa’s sluggish economy.

‘The key to innovation is businesses looking at new and agile business strategies and embracing a culture of innovation and not outsourcing. Leadership needs to create an enabling environment and encourage “a speak up culture” in their companies and continue to upskill their workforce. Every organisation should be thinking about how their brands will have more impact and brand value,’ said Chang.

“The Great Staggering” webinar can be viewed by clicking on this link.

Words: Thandiwe Jumo

Photograph: Supplied