William Shakespeare said, ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.’ The same can be said for change—sometimes we choose to change and other times it is ‘thrust’ upon us. This has never been more relevant than in this past year with the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The pandemic has caused changes for individuals as well as the organizations or companies they work for.  The management staff has been faced with the difficult decisions about how to continue work with a significant portion, if not all, of their staff being remote not to mention the potential for security risk.  Questions like:

  • Is everyone’s remote workspace secure?
  • Can we conduct meetings via the web (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) with the same confidentiality and security? 
  • Do we have the technical support to address remote issues?

Project management was another concern. There were deadlines that were established prior to the shutdown and now those dates were affected. This prompted another set of questions and concerns:

  • What if a significant number of our staff becomes ill?
  • Can we support our clients with the same effectiveness?
  • Will the staff that works remotely stay motivated, productive, and connected?  

How does an organization answer these tough questions, especially when a situation is not anticipated but has been forced upon them? Some devise quick solutions to keep moving forward and hope for the best until they can develop a more solid plan. Others may reach out to an organization such as netlogx that has systems and processes in place to help guide their team through this significant change with minimal stress. 

An example of the difference that netlogx can make in unprecedented times is a State project I was on at the onset of the pandemic. We were in the final stages of gathering the necessary data to complete a Care Management system certification that would be presented to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval.  Previously, presentations are in-person and at a State location but with everyone working remotely, the netlogx team went to work formulating a different solution with the State management team. 

One of the main requirements for any certification presentation is security, ensuring that only those required have access to the meeting. Documentation was provided electronically prior to the meeting to CMS; web conferencing was set up with test meetings run to validate participants and removal ability for non-participants; and a backup conferencing option put in place.  Through two half-day meetings, the State was able to present the new system to CMS in a secure environment and receive certification within the established timeline. 

Maybe it won’t be another pandemic, but change can be forced upon us anytime, so we need to be ready, flexible and open to new approaches.