Given the hurly-burly of Covid-19, it is entirely understandable for confusion and miscommunication to have prevailed for the last 8 weeks, as all South Africans have laboured under our lockdown provisions.
However going forward, surely we can do a better job in communicating to our people. As we shift from level 4 to level 3, risks of Covid infection are going to increase significantly.
The science of epidemiology is a multi-factorial study of how disease spreads.
If the epidemiologists are to be believed, levels 3, 2 and 1 are going to be a lot more difficult than levels 4 and 5.
All the more reason for ensuring that we have a coherent framework, through which we execute our strategy.
More so, all citizens need to be better informed about what the country’s plans are.
With conservative estimations of up to 40 000 deaths due to Covid-19 by November, all people need reassurance that our country is doing the best it can, under difficult circumstances.
What we need less of are unnecessary side shows and confusion about why the ban on alcohol has been lifted, and the ban on cigarettes has not.
The disease is agnostic to human values, beliefs and politics. It will carry on infecting us, regardless of our views.
So long as we adopt scientifically proven measures in managing the epidemic, we should have favourable outcomes.
If we take actions which are not scientifically proven, and measurable, we are wasting scarce resources.
Which brings me to the main point of this article.
As there are many small business owners who may read this, I thought that I would share the ‘APIME’ model on how to manage disease in your workplace.
It’s an acronym, and it stands for:
A: Assess your workplace risk for Covid-19 infections
P: Plan your workplace response
I: Implement your strategy
M: Monitor your programme
E: Evaluate the outcomes.
It was the management thinker Peter Drucker who coined the phrase ‘You can’t manage what you can’t measure.’
Managing Covid-19 in your workplace is no different.
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