Is your charity ready to emerge from lockdown?
The Prime Minister is shortly to announce the key features of the plan for the UK to emerge from lockdown but are charities ready for yet more change in how they operate?
Whatever is announced next week, it is clear that social distancing will continue in some form for many months at least and a return to lockdown in some form may be necessary again in the future. There will be no return to ‘business as usual’, we must all adapt to a new normal for the foreseeable future.
Trustees and senior managers need to be thinking about what the ‘new normal’ will look like for their charity, in the short, medium and longer term. If the current crisis has taught us anything, it is that contingency planning is essential and it will be all the more so in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous future. No-one is expected to predict the future, but we must all plan for a range of possible future scenarios.
When making plans for emerging from lockdown there are a number of key questions to think about, including:
What did you learn from lockdown that you can build on for the future? Were you able to engage new/different beneficiaries? Did you find more effective ways of delivering services? Should you continue some of these new ways of working indefinitely or at least for a while to smooth the transition?
Have the changes brought you to a realisation that some things you did before don’t work well enough? What should you change or even stop altogether to deliver more impact for your beneficiaries?
What will a phased relaxation of lockdown mean for your charity, for example, how will you manage a ‘phased return’ of staff and volunteers?
How can you capitalise on the surge in volunteering the lockdown has given rise to, particularly from younger volunteers?
Can you continue to fund staffing levels similar to those before lockdown? Do you need different skills and experience to equip you for the new normal? How will you manage those transitions?
Will any of the changes decided upon in response to these questions require new or different funding models? Can you reduce reliance on grant and contract funding and move to more sustainable models, including more earned income? What foundations should you put in place now to enable this?
Is now the time to consider more collaboration or even mergers to consolidate expertise, realise efficiencies and deliver more impact for beneficiaries?
Necessity has ever been the mother of invention and a lot will have been learned already from lockdown. It would be a crime to disregard that in an understandably human desire to return to how things were before (the comfortable option perhaps). Those who build on the learning are those most likely to survive and thrive in what will certainly be a dramatically more competitive funding environment for many years to come.
Therefore, if you possibly can, take some time to reflect on your future planning and what the experience so far has taught you and your colleagues. Embed what has been good, improve what was not so good and look for further innovations as the environment continues to change around you.
Finally, make sure to recognise the incredible energy, tenacity, creativity and commitment your staff and volunteers have shown, and continue to show, in very challenging times. Congratulate them on their achievements, say thank you in a meaningful way and invest in sustaining their wellbeing. Their dedication and their continued wellbeing is your charity’s ticket to a hopeful and secure future for the benefit of those you serve.
If you would welcome a conversation about any of the reflections in this blog please do contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk.
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In partnership with the British Library Business and IP Centre, our Director, Julian Lomas, is presenting a free webinar at 2.30pm on Thursday 21 May 2020 on the subject of choosing the right structure for a social enterprise. By the end of the session you will have a better understanding of the options available and which might be the best for your social enterprise.