LET’S NOT FORGET THE LESSONS WE LEARNED

BY MARTIN KUBLER,

taught us. I’m not talking from a personal perspective, but from a business point of view. Sure, I’m still a bit sour that I spent the lockdown mostly sitting on my couch playing video games instead of learning five new languages or musical instruments, but there are other matters, which I think are more important. Particularly right now when business in many markets is booming and companies are pushing employees to return to offices full time, we shouldn’t forget that tragedies aside, the lockdowns also created many interesting initiatives and changes. These may well be worth keeping or amending and incorporating into our post-pandemic operations.

to another point I thought was very valuable: internationalism.

Suddenly, because meetings and gatherings were all online, people from across the world came together to network and hold events together. Even in my usually very European-centric networking circles of the Institute of Hospitality and others, we suddenly had fellow professionals from countries like Ghana and Malaysia participate, because a) they could easily join online meetings, and b) they had the time to do so.

tiser dispensers on the wall. I guess we’ll live with visual memories of the pandemic for a fair while.

Thinking back to the same time a few short years ago when the UAE and the rest of the world went into lockdowns and business ground to a halt, I felt that we seem awfully quick to forget some of the lessons COVID

For example, remember how we came together via Zoom meetings, WhatsApp, and other online groups regardless of business type and brand? Some of these initiatives are still ongoing although at a slower rate. The pandemic taught us the importance of cooperation and putting our brands and egos aside for the greatest good of the industry. I believe that’s worth keeping, not just locally, but beyond our daily operational borders – which brings us

Remember time? Operations are back to crazy-busy levels for many of us but wasn’t it a luxury to have more time during the lockdowns? Too much time, some might say, and they could be right, but having or making a little more time for us, for our teams, for things that aren’t purely focused on whatever the operations are just throwing at our feet, is a good thing and we should find ways of holding on to it. I know some companies who, since the lockdowns, have dedicated half-day Fridays or other selected hours every week set aside for the team’s development, coming together and planning new things, training, and coaching. No employee there takes outside meetings during these times, and they all seemed to enjoy the focus and results these sessions bring.

Speed is another thing: It was interesting to see how fast some companies reacted to the new reality (remember that term?) Operations changed, websites were created, delivery structures were implemented – all within a few short days and weeks. Often this was possible, because we came together, focused, and trusted people to create new things – something that’s not always a given in our operations and, I think, is worth keeping, too. Let’s not wait for the next big catastrophe to negatively impact our industries until we start to brainstorm and innovate again. Let’s make it a regular occurrence.

Needless to say, COVID also taught us that not every meeting needs to be a physical meeting and, perhaps more importantly, that not every meeting is actually necessary. Remember this insight. We have too many meetings. We also have too many useless meetings.

Lastly, compassion. We looked out for each other then and checked in with each other regularly. We supported employees and others who were stuck in faraway places away from their families and who saw their incomes reduced. Granted, a few companies used the pandemic as an excuse to massively lay off people, but many of the smaller players looked after their hospitality families. Walking into a small coffee shop in Dubai’s Barsha Heights neighbourhood and being greeted by the same faces and with the same smiles I got used to before COVID hit was memorable. People (employees, suppliers, guests) will remember how we treat our staff and how we support our neighbours.

For many of us, COVID is in the rear-view mirror, but not for everybody. Besides, you don’t need a crystal ball to realise that COVID wasn’t the last worldwide event to impact our industries, so remember what got us through it and don’t forget all the lessons we learned.