Detroit Regional Chamber > Business Resources > COVID-19 > Watch: Workforce Strategies for Post-COVID Recovery

Watch: Workforce Strategies for Post-COVID Recovery

May 1, 2020

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In this presentation, Deloitte’s Michigan Managing Principal David Parent and Senior Human Capital Manager Terry Patterson share practical approaches and frameworks, organizations can consider as they prepare for the “recovery” phase of the crisis, including across work, workforce, and workplace dimensions.

Who should watch?

Decision-makers at middle-market and large businesses.


As businesses prepare to resume operations amid the COVID-19 crisis, they must answer the question: What changes can be made in our workforce to adapt to this rapidly changing landscape and emerge stronger? Experts from Deloitte shared insight on workforce strategies in a webinar with the Detroit Regional Chamber to help answer this question.

A company’s response to COVID-19 happens in three phases, said David Parent, Michigan managing principal at Deloitte. Those phases are to respond, recover, and thrive.

Respond is how the organization acts at the moment to mitigate the present situation and manage continuity. Recover, the phase many businesses are currently in, involves learning and emerging stronger. Thrive is how an organization prepares for and adapts to the “new normal”.

Thinking of your company’s response in phases emphasizes the importance of planning for the transition period, taking into account additional costs and operating conditions of workplace health and safety measures necessary. It also presents the opportunity for businesses to reimagine their talent strategy and operating model for the long-term. Some businesses may find that remote work is an essential asset.

Remote work may need to take place on a long-term basis, said Terry Patterson, senior manager of human capital. Feasibility and health-risks are critical factors in this. The good news is, productivity hasn’t suffered, and in some cases has improved, he added.

Companies should ask themselves: Is there a different model now to work toward that will be more effective and productive for the organization? Deloitte outlines five critical actions businesses should take:

  1. Reflect on what worked and what didn’t in the company’s response to the crisis.
  2. Recommit to workforce wellbeing and purpose.
  3. Reengage and Redeploy the workforce.
  4. Rethink work, workforces, and workplaces.
  5. Reboot the HR function and most pressing business priorities.

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