If someone told you six months ago that you’ll be quarantined for three weeks (or more), would you have believed them? Our way of living, interacting, working, and socializing has changed forever since the COVID-19 virus came about.
Similar to those who have experienced war-like environments, everything seems surreal; with a snap of a finger our lives have turned upside down. The global pandemic has taken a strong grasp on our way of living but not our humanity.
In a world where the news are filled with the most grim predictions, the numbers of friends with COVID-19 are spiking up, and deaths from this virus haven’t plateaued yet, one thing is surely coming to the forefront: the best in people is pushing and pulling together across generations, backgrounds, communities to do their part in overcoming this. In healthcare, like in many other essential industries, this is visible now more than ever. The feeling that we all can make a difference is real and all around us.
The impacts of COVID-19 on the industry in general is real as well and will leave a mark for decades to come. There is a lot of uncertainty, but seeing the best in people every day should give us all the hope that this too shall pass. I want to encourage you to look at this whole situation through an optimistic lens.
How has this changed the healthcare industry?
Healthcare delivery models foremost have moved forward years in a matter of weeks. Processes and workflows that took months to implement before are implemented in a matter of days. Out-of-the-box thinking is so prominent and it proves we are able to pivot to crises in real time as it continues to evolve and change. The impact and importance of healthcare workers, like many other critical industries, is now visible more than ever, and this resilient way of adapting to the extreme circumstances will be one of the reasons we will overcome this. Together.
How about the people business and what changes will occur there?
This type of environment definitely has an impact on operations of all organizations and especially so on human resources. The concept of human-centric operations to achieve the impossible is coming out more now than ever. People operations to support the front-line workers are ever changing to pivot to the also ever-changing environment. Operating models that seemed rigid before, have shown unprecedented flexibility in an environment of exponential change. It is impacting human resources operations in a way that should help us coin the title Chief Humanity Officer representing not only the people in an organization, but using those people within the organizations to serve humanity.
The long lasting effects of COVID-19 will also be the human-centric vision
When I look at the staff across the healthcare spectrum, from the remarkable environmental services teams working tirelessly to keep everything sanitary, the cafeteria staff still feeding everyone, nurses endlessly caring for patients, physicians, and clinical staff the technical support and other administrative teams having all operations run as smoothly as possible, I see how all are working together for the common goal: survival and restoration. We are all doing our part to win this war on COVID-19 pandemic together. It is something truly remarkable to witness.
Even though this pandemic has attacked our routines, our sense of hope, and especially our health, it has brought out the best in people in an unprecedented way. Yes, the long-lasting negative effects are undeniable. But so are the positive ones. I have no doubt that we will keep on caring more for others, break social barriers, and create a long-lasting camaraderie. We all will emerge from this stronger than ever!
What gives many of us the drive to push forward in healthcare like in many other industries, is that the good we see in people makes us proud. It also humbles me to see this every hour of every day. It gives me hope that we will overcome this together and motivates me to press forward. And even though the news cycle and data is grim right now, the numbers of people caring for people has never been larger. We will get through this together!
About the author:
Alen Brcic is a leader at Novant Health, responsible for the digitization and operations of the people business.