Issue No. 12, March 24, 2020
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Volume 6 Issue No. 12 map.org.ph March 24, 2020 “MAPping the Future” Column in the INQUIRER BOUNCING BACK: Business Recovery and Continuity in Crisis Second of 2 Parts March 23, 2020 Usec. ALMA RITA “Alma” R. JIMENEZ BOUNCING BACK AND BUILDING RESILIENCE The Philippines is on the top 10 list of countries with highest risk for disasters and crisis. While COVID-19 is the immediate problem, we are warned that other disasters will occur with increasing frequency and severity, especially because of the climate change effect. Therefore, we ought to plan better, not only to bounce back from this crisis but to ensure that we build resilience into our systems. Though we had experienced similar crisis in the past, e.g. SARS, H1N1, MERS-COV etc., we seem to have not built on the lessons and come up with business recovery and continuity plans that would have been immediately activated when similar events recur. Yet today, we are still not prepared with our response mechanisms. Let the crisis we are experiencing today be the impetus to be more proactive. The forum yielded helpful suggestions from the subject experts, speakers, panelists and attendees summarized into these 3Ms: MITIGATE to lessen/palliate the immediate negative impact of the COVID-19. There are certain actions that can give quick wins, among them: • Counter the fears through better communication and greater transparency o There must be a regular, timely and factual information to feed news sources and other communication outlets. o Flood social media with good news; share recoveries rather than additional cases o Communicate better. Positive actions and showing confidence that there is a problem, but these are being handled well can allay fears and anxiety. 1 o “Layman-ize language” - Have a dialogue with health counterparts for consistency of actions – and caution in communication because what is normal for the health sector is panic-causing for laymen. o Conduct orientation for employees and families so that their own fears are managed. They can be useful conduits of proper information. • Handhold the events already awarded to the Philippines; giving extra perks or services so that cancellations (if they are thinking about it) will be a more difficult decision for the clients. • Instead of cancellations, suggest to customers rebooking – so as not to totally lose the market. • Offer specialized tourism products for domestic travelers that will not present health risks – open air instead of indoor events, nature tourism, solo travel, forest bathing, farm tourism – these are some options that can be configured in attractive tour packages. • Widen the circle of experts, people who can come in and help – unity is a major factor - a strong alliance for dedicated to enhancing competitiveness especially cohesive action in disasters that we know will increase in frequency and severity. MANAGE or addressing the crisis through effective response mechanisms and processes. Having concrete action plans that are executed well boost confidence, for instance: • If this is not yet ready in your organizations, start preparing (or updating) your enterprise’s Crisis Management, Business Continuity and Recovery Plans. It is already late, but better late than never – or the next casualty will be you – and it’s on you. • Train continuously, not just reactively, especially within your own enterprises. The employees must know what to do, what to say, how to act. Practice makes perfect and response should be automatic and rote. Just as we do disaster drills, also do health hazard drills. • Train front-liners in gateways, in public places in the proper way of handling equipment and doing safety checks. They are oftentimes obtrusive, and without regard for the sensitivities of the customers and clients. They also promote fear and anxiety when implemented by untrained, unrestrained and disrespectful front-liners. • We need to continuously learn from every crisis experience and integrate the new information into our planning. These should find their way into the Crisis Manual, making this a ‘living’ document that is always updated. • Spread the market, lessen the dependencies. The economy and the enterprises will feel the huge effect of the loss from the five source markets in tourism. This is a good time to look at other potential sources, see how they can at least minimize the losses and lessen the dependencies on the big markets. MOVE FORWARD or building resiliency and planning for the future. It makes sense that our horizon should be widened to include other possible disaster events that can affect the industry. Making tourism sustainable include adopting measures that can help build a more resilient future for the sector. • Urge for the establishment of a National Plan for Business Recovery and Continuity in Crisis for Tourism, with inputs coming not only from the public 2 sector but all stakeholders. This way, there is ownership of the plan, and it is practical and actionable for everyone. • Upgrade/invest on better health scanning equipment at all gateways so that they are accurate yet unobtrusive. • Study tourism market segments better using data analytics and customize offering and product lines for identified clients. The idea is to differentiate the offering. For instance, how can we become one of the alternative destinations to China’s 142 Million inbound tourists? • Propose for the allocation of funds that can assist tourism enterprises during times of crisis. • Multi-sectoral approach that cuts across agencies is critical, not siloed actions. The problem is too big for one to handle. CRISIS is a test of our COMPOSURE, RESILIENCE, INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH, INNOVATIVE SPIRIT and SUSTAINABILITY. It is possible to win in all these fronts and it starts with recognizing that the problem is too big for anyone to do it alone. It is time for cooperation and collaboration, of working with other sectors, and opening our minds to let new ideas come in. The stakes are too high not to. It can spell the difference between survival and extinction of our businesses. Let us rise above this crisis and its challenges. (The author is Chair of the MAP CEO Conference Committee, former Undersecretary of the Department of Tourism and the President of ASEAN Society Philippines. Feedback at <[email protected]> and <[email protected]>. For previous articles, please visit <map.org.ph>) “MAP Insights” Column in BUSINESSWORLD Navigating the Future: The UDENNA Way First of 2 parts March 24, 2020 Mr. DENNIS A. UY Whatever you believe to be true about life, one thing is for sure – time passes whether you like it or not. The future cannot be stopped. And since the future is a mystery, many of us want to get a peek or at least get the best possible guess on what the future’s going to be like, to see if things will play out the way we hoped they will. Well, we don’t have to try so hard. 3 It’s very easy to predict the future. I can simply say that in 10 years, you’ll be ten years older. What’s hard is predicting the future correctly. The future can be intimidating. But come to think of it, today is the future we created yesterday. I’m here now because almost 20 years ago, I could have said that “this is the future.” In a 21st-century world, which is more global, digitally enabled, with faster speed of information flow, and where nothing big gets done without some kind of a complex matrix, what I’ve discovered is that, successfully navigating the future is not so much about intelligent predictions, data analytics, not even technology. It’s about us overcoming every challenge and seizing opportunities, day in and day out. Sometimes, we have to look back in order for us to look into the future. Eighteen years ago, Udenna Corporation started in Davao. For lack of a better name, I named it UDENNA, which is the greek word for handsome. So there I was, in my 20’s, not sure yet of what to do, but I went on to register UDENNA just to explore my own venture after serving the family business for 10 years. With the little savings that I have and some earnings from trading stocks, I thought of what business there is to be made. I looked around for opportunities and since I’m a foodie, I started a small barbeque restaurant. Eventually, the chain grew into 8 branches, which is good, but I saw that there’s a better opportunity in oil retailing. I didn’t know anything about petroleum but I had the confidence because there's a real market. Since oil was deregulated in 1998, there were only a handful of brands, so we can be one of the first 10 brands in the market. Today, there are over 60 brands, as per DOE, so it was good that we started earlier. I took a leap, went all-out and all-in. But the first challenge came - capital. When you do business, you need financing. In our space, we don’t have venture capitals to lend a hand. So with my limited capital, I borrowed money and held off the construction of my house. I was newly married, so you can just imagine my wife’s reaction. But I overcame that challenge, and with my wife’s trust and support, I handed the land title to the bank to add to my capital. Looking back, it wasn’t an easy road. I entered an industry dominated by international players. We were losing money. The JV fell off and my partners walked away. I was left with three tanks in the depot, 2 million liters each.