Reflections on business resilience from the CBI Director General

Every person, family and community in these testing times is dipping into new reserves of resilience. The world is different. Streets are virtually empty. Families are hunkered down at home. And NHS workers are going above and beyond for us all. Coronavirus has changed life as we know it, and for businesses it’s no different. Firms are stepping up to the mark in these incredibly challenging conditions. They are keeping the wheels of daily life and the economy spinning. They are the fifth emergency service that will help our country get through.

The last few weeks have been as testing a time for businesses as they have ever faced. Some are struggling to survive. Demand – and cash – have rapidly dwindled. Disruption in supply chains continues to grind. The Government’s unprecedented support packages in the last fortnight have staved off the very worst for many firms, large and small. But it can’t shield every job and every business.

In the midst of all this we are seeing countless reminders of the powerful difference firms are making in support of the health service, vulnerable people, their employees and other businesses.

Much has been written about the fantastic work by UK manufacturers to support public health. It is extraordinary. Beer, gin and whisky makers turning their hand to anti-bacterial sanitisers; a consortium of our biggest and best manufacturers working at breakneck speed to increase ventilator capacity. Small businesses are playing their role too. Take Patchwork, a small business that in normal times brings together cash, time and people for celebrations. In Covid-19 times, they are bringing together a group of independent businesses in London to provide food boxes to NHS staff.

Firms are also a backstop for the most vulnerable among us. Karshare in Bristol is asking people to lend them their unused cars to support volunteers, care workers and foodbanks. Energy and water companies have worked with government to help people struggling to pay their bills.

And, most important of all, firms are putting the safety of their people first and reaching out to others. Drinks giant Diageo has launched a package of support for the whole drinks industry which includes a £1m fund to help support bartenders, alongside access to free online training. Ebay is assisting 300,000 smaller businesses with cashflow problems, while TSB and Vodafone among others have committed to pay their suppliers faster than usual.

Businesses are rightly rolling out all kinds of support for staff to work from home with new technology. And for those whose physical premises remain open, they are rapidly putting in place social distancing measures such as perspex screens on production lines, staggered working hours and extensive cleaning. Protect people to protect your business and the jobs that will be needed when normal life returns, as it will.

The vast majority of firms are doing the best they can in these highly pressurised circumstances. Some are criticised for following government guidelines and staying open. Others may make mistakes in good faith.  I won’t pretend that a very small minority won’t let themselves, suppliers or their staff down. But they are the few. The many know their actions now will define their relationships with staff and society later. Reputations are forged in a crisis.

UK businesses of all sizes and sectors are showing exactly what it means to be a business with purpose. The list grows by the day and more will follow. And when we do recover, firms will not just have helped keep our economy resilient, but shown their value to the whole of society as the UK’s fifth emergency service.

The CBI in action

The CBI is committed to helping UK businesses get through the Covid-19 emergency. We have set up the CBI Coronavirus Business Hub, bringing the best of analysis and guidance together in one place, and are working with government at the highest level to protect health and livelihoods. Access is free to all businesses with daily webinars and updates.

This article was originally published in The Times.