At the beginning of this month, the World Health Organization decreed the end of the Health Emergency due to SarsCov2/COVID-19. However, this disease will remain with us permanently. When it broke out in December 2019, few people imagined the scope that this multisystem inflammatory syndrome would have. This situation served as a catalyst for many transformations in various aspects of life.
Market Research was no exception. Latin America was a region that registered great advances with respect to the situation of the segment before the Governments ordered the population to keep physical distance. Now that it seems that we can move towards a new normality, it is a good opportunity to review the lessons that this historic event left us.
Strengthen virtual tools. Although some virtual work solutions already had a considerable degree of penetration, with the confinements there was a dizzying growth in their use and adoption. For months there was no other alternative. If you wanted to go ahead with the operation, it was essential to use platforms such as Zoom. It was a golden age for Webinars too. Today, many activities must be designed, for the most part, in a hybrid format: both with face-to-face and remote options.
Plan conjunctural scenarios. Until 2019, many things and situations were conceived as unchangeable. With the pandemic, many certainties faltered because it was necessary to change many dynamics. Thanks to this crisis, it became a priority to consider scenarios such as epidemics and wars in business and operation plans. It will always be more profitable to prevent than to remedy. One experience many have learned is that while you cannot anticipate all possible risks, you can buy time when the majority is unprepared and you have at least the outline of a response plan for an unusual event.
Give more weight to the health aspect. Before, it was socially accepted that a person with the flu could show up to work at his office with no further impediment than controlling his runny nose or sneezing. Now, we understand that health is a good that can be lost if attention is not paid to basic hygiene measures. Clean air is beginning to gain followers as a requirement that cannot be missing when we imagine a healthy and safe space. Continuing to use face masks in high-risk situations and ventilating all spaces are practices that will not be completely lost and will gain strength over the years.
Delocalize some functions. The face-to-face format of work was strongly questioned due to the health emergency. One of the first consequences that companies faced was that people who could work remotely, even increasing their productivity in this way, experienced a positive change in their quality of life by not having to waste time in traffic and being able to save by not have to eat out. Although some workplaces eventually ordered all their workers back to the offices, the percentage of organizations that retained the hybrid system to some degree or moved completely to a virtual scheme is not small either.
Surely, as the years go by, we will face new crises that will force us to reconsider other certainties and practices. However, with COVID-19 we confirm that we are much more flexible than we could have imagined. That the lessons learned are not lost and that they serve as the basis for creating increasingly inclusive and safe working and development conditions for all people.
At Acertiva we take note of these lessons learned and continue to apply them as much as possible. We put at your disposal our almost 20 years of experience in LATAM so that you can carry out your market studies. Contact us today to start writing your next success story together.
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