Culture is determining which businesses will survive

COVID-19 is creating a pressure-cooker for organisational culture – putting it to the ultimate test, as one of the key determining factors as to whether a business will survive, or collapse, as a result of the pandemic.

Business leaders are being forced to lean on the true culture of their organisation and the engagement of their employees, as they try to navigate the unique challenges presented by COVID-19. A culture of trust, with everyone ‘pulling in the same direction’, may prove to be the ‘heartbeat’ for business survival, ahead of many other factors.

Arun Chauhan, founder and director, Tenet Compliance & Litigation, assesses the risks facing businesses and shows how proactive leaders can change their behaviours to mitigate the losses they stand to face.

The COVID-19 pressure cooker

It’s long-stated, and accepted, that organisations lose an average of 5% of their revenue to fraud. However, reducing this impact is not a fundamental priority for many. Today, that 5% - viewed by many leaders as simply ‘the cost of doing business’ – could be the critical difference that makes or breaks an organisation as cashflow tightens.

COVID-19 has ultimately diluted the impact of ‘command and control’ leadership styles. Many leaders have had to trust their employees to work remotely driven by their own motivation and initiative. As a result, workplace cultures are under strain and for some leaders, the lack of visibility of, and trust in, employees’ work and presenteeism is only adding to the pressures, and projecting a lack of trust.

Some employees may be facing pressure from two fronts: personal financial pressure, as well as increased pressure from their leaders to counter declining revenues or operational problems

Culture is the critical defence for businesses and leaders in mitigating the risk of a good employee turning to fraud. A strong organisational culture will make that shift unthinkable for many.

Some businesses are shining, with every employee working towards a clearly defined vision, in a high-trust and virtual environment. Others may face such pressures that working from home is viewed as an opportunity for self-betterment, at the employer’s cost.