COVID-19 is also an opportunity to transform the workforce: EY's Samir Bedi

Leaders should look at the situation as an opportunity to transform the workforce by teaching new skills and transforming the workplace through meaningful digital experiences, says Samir Bedi, People Advisory Services Partner, Ernst & Young Advisory Pte. Ltd., Singapore and EY Asean Workforce Advisory Leader

- Mastufa Ahmed

Samir has extensive consulting experience in the areas of business strategies linked to people organization dynamics across Southeast Asia. His experience includes all areas of human resources, particularly in organization structuring, manpower planning and optimization, integration of performance, reward and talent programs, and HR process review and audit.

Here are the excerpts of the interview.

Given the unprecedented crisis facing businesses across the globe in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, how can business leaders adapt to this crisis?

This is the time for leadership to think about what the future may hold for their business and to adapt accordingly. What does recovery potentially look like, and how will they tide over this pandemic when they may be faced with lower business performance? Executives need to not only think about digital transformation, but also the workforce transformation that they can achieve over this period. Leaders in government need to adapt by learning to balance the economic, social, and medical aspects of the crisis, while continuing to follow governance processes. As many countries face lockdown, governments need to make sure citizens follow the rules to help flatten the curve as much as possible.

The general approach recommended to businesses in this time is to cut all forms of non-essential costs, while ensuring workforce-related costs are among the last to be cut

We are seeing an increasing number of job losses across the globe. How can business leaders manage cost while ensuring minimal retrenchments?