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Lisa-Ann Joseph

What are the responsibilities of corporate TT as the fallout from covid19 threatens to devastate the economy, undo the health system and affects human life and survival?
What is certain is that countering this virus, which has caused more than 3.5 million deaths worldwide and sickened over 170 million, is not the sole responsibility of the government.
Neither is it merely a spectator sport in which we in the corporate and commercial sector in TT are allowed to sit on the sidelines and seek to find fault with those on the playing field.
To adopt such an attitude is, one, to be very irresponsible; two, to act as if we are without a stake in the economy and society; and three, if we settle for any of the above, our stance will define us in the corporate world as being merely fair-weather beneficiaries of the goodies of society.
Such an attitude not merely opens the corporate world to criticism of an unkind nature, but in fact distorts the reality of our being historical contributors to the growth and development of the people and nation.
We therefore have a responsibility to fulfil ahead of us.
So what do we do? First and foremost, we have to adhere to the protocols that have been repeated in the public space on many occasions by the health experts.
We begin where many have already started. Show in word and deed with us, the corporate leaders, as the best examples, through our employees and partners in business, our patrons and all others, that we adhere strictly to the oft-repeated protocols of washing hands, outlawing overcrowding in our establishments, wearing masks as prescribed and insisting that others do, as medical science and common sense dictate.
Simply put, following the requirements makes sense and acts as our protection against the out-of-control spread of the virus that we have been experiencing over the last almost two months.
Even at the expense of losing sales, we must adopt a pattern of behaviours which can and will slow down our business operations, but we do so in the knowledge that it will be a temporary price to pay for the long-term good.
As the Prime Minister has consistently said, it’s more than losing revenue for a period of time; it’s about staying alive and well. We shall eventually reap the benefits of such a strategy.
Let us make untrue, or something that has happened in the past, that certain commercial operators have sought to "duck" the protocols through some sleight-of-hand method – "smartman thing" that Trinis are supposed to be good at.
We play with our lives, our reputations and those of our employees, clients and customers if and when we give in to those base instincts. Instead, we have to start from the position of looking around for ways, in addition to partnering with the governmental authorities, to devise our own methods to initiate anti-covid19 programmes.
We must applaud the initiatives committed to by a couple of major corporations and their intention to purchase vaccines for distribution amongst employees and the general public.
As indicated by the authorities, international commercial sale of vaccines is not an option at this point. However, standing in line to do so whenever that opportunity arises is an initiative to show we care.
The provision of masks is a base requirement for all. Are there needs to be met here? It may seem not, from the simplicity of someone acquiring an inexpensive mask.
However, the mask is a fragile item which needs changing quite frequently. Therefore, our corporate and business sectors can assist those who may need to repeatedly acquire masks over the period of time that they are needed.
We should gear up and mandate our public-relations teams and those we contract to expand on the government communications outreach programmes. Let’s make corporate social responsibility come alive in this time of absolute need to show we truly have a place in our communities across the country.
We know about targeting specific audiences to promote and sell products with crafted messages, well directed. The task therefore is for the corporate and communications bodies of the private sector to develop outreach programmes and to work with governmental institutions if and when necessary.
The objective of changing behaviours is a massive and complicated task. We in the private sector often boast of our nimbleness compared often to slow-moving government machinery. Let us put that capacity to work in the interest of TT.
The point is that there are several opportunities for the corporate-business world to work in the interest of all.
To do so will be to ensure that we come through this thing without being scarred too deeply. Increasingly, all of us are coming to know of someone – friends and family members – who have contracted covid19 and not survived it.
Once we become ready for the task ahead, plans and programmes in which we can all become involved will be generated by that nimbleness and awareness which we often boast of.
So the question to corporate and business TT is: “Are we ready to do our part in an organised and strategic manner to advance the effort to assist our fellow citizens and ourselves to come out on the right side of this pandemic?”

Lisa-Ann Joseph is managing director of Reputation Management Caribbean, a public relations and crisis communications agency. Recently she launched a training division, Institute for Reputation Management. For any questions and comments,connect with her at lisaann@rmcaribbean.net
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