AFFINITY PANDEMIC IMPACT CALL DISCUSSION NOTES

• Healthcare Providers
  • Increased focus on: adding value in a compressed time frame; agility; scenario planning & impact modeling; project mgt in a rapid response setting; and process & work flow development
  • Involvement with incident command system, business continuity, supply chain mapping and customer relations/call centers

• Insurance
  • Challenges of ICs working from home, including client relationships; maintaining desired culture; and executing successful collaboration
  • Emphasis on planning for options and risk analysis in addition to strategy revisions and plan review

• Financial Services
  • Emphasis on kaizen, rapid planning and implementation
  • Greater involvement in strategic portfolio,  shifting capacity quickly, and developing a more agile organization
  • Greater focus on digital transformation and reducing costs
  • External survey revealed the growth of IC departments across numerous companies in Europe

• Technology
  • Anticipating ICs in a work from home mode for a long while
  • Projects involving investment in infrastructure, international supply chain restructuring, revised work force footprint, and business continuity and resiliency plans
  • External consulting spend reduced with increased demand for IC support
  • Challenges for managing capacity with IC demand increase and need for rapid response to changing priorities, including crisis management initiative
  • Implications for changing the way we work with customers going forward
  • Consulting-like teams popping up elsewhere in the enterprise creating the need to effectively align with other groups doing similar work – and also stimulating better marketing/communication of IC services, with product-like announcements
  • Need for increased training and mentoring

• Healthcare Payers/Insurance
  • Increased focus on business plan adjustments
  • Heightened organizational effectiveness focus, helping leaders navigate change
  • Helping to lead/implement transition in a largely virtual environment
  • Increased realization on the need for organizations to better communicate with customers
  • HR inundated with the human impact of the pandemic
• Manufacturing
  • Emphasis on transformation programs with agility, streamlining/cost effectiveness and revenue growth while dealing with supply chain challenges

• External Consulting
  • Assisting companies in alignment of internal resources to key bodies of work
  • Projects on business/operating model impact and how to deal with uncertainty
• Supplemental research suggested by one of the participants on the McKinsey website led to the following observations for post-pandemic best practices impacting internal consulting:
  • Need for greater collaboration, flexibility, inclusion & accountability
  • Focusing on networking & teamwork with accelerated transition to agility
  • Supply chain optimization reducing vulnerability & analyzing risks
  • Long term partnering & innovation opportunities
  • Reallocation of resources & infrastructure investment plus embedding sustainability
  • Evolution of a contact-free economy & customer experience imperative
  • Accelerated transition of digitization & automation
  • Executive uncertainty & greater scenario planning
  • Need for improved decision making processes for uncertain times, including: involvement of stakeholders; scenario-based decision paths; creating a “nerve center” network of cross-functional teams; more customer effective approach; and reducing biases – all enabled with the assistance of expert facilitation
  • Transition to the post-pandemic organization with 3 dimensions (1) corporate purpose: identity; value creation; culture (2) operating approach: ecosystem perspective; strong technology platform; accelerated learning & development focus (3) growth strategy: agile working approaches; revised decision making processes emphasizing empowerment & speed; increased focus on talent management