In dealing with this situation, ITB School of Business and Management (SBM) through the People and Knowledge Management Expertise Group initiated a webinar and coaching titled "Returning Business in the New Normal Situation" which was held on Saturday (06/13/2020) online. The speakers at the event were Noni Purnomo (CEO of Bluebird, Tbk), Veranita Yosephine (CEO of Air Asia Indonesia), and Eri Palgunandi (VP Marketing of JNE).

Prof. Dr. Ir. Utomo Sarjono Putro M. Eng., as the Dean of SBM-ITB, in his speech said that many business people were not ready to face the current situation. This unpreparedness caused many layoffs to occur. “For companies that are not ready to face this situation, layoffs often occur. While companies that survive, they must change or modify their business models, optimize resources, and operational efficiency,” he said.

He added, the new normal is a sign of the need for quick and precise adjustments between business process and surrounding environment. In addition, the role of each stakeholder is also very important. But the main focus is how the role of company leaders being able to find solutions together with various stakeholders to run the business. With this webinar and coaching, Prof. Utomo hopes that the stakeholders can learn and share with each other. “This webinar is a forum for mutual learning and sharing for a better Indonesia,” he said.

Head of SBM-ITB People and Knowledge Management Expertise Group, Prof. Dr. Ir. Jann Hidajat Tjakraatmadja, M. Eng., emphasized the challenges for all of us to find new systems, new management, and new concepts in the current distancing economy. “Are we going to survive or not? This challenge is not small, and we will survive if we collaborate,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his presentation, Noni Purnomo, CEO of PT. Bluebird TBK, shared experiences on how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Noni said, companies must balance crisis management during the current situation with preparation for the future. If the company only focuses on the current crisis, then when the economy has recovered, the company will be overwhelmed. This is caused by changes in behavior, needs, and ecosystems.

“When conditions have recovered, the behavior of consumers will change. It includes their needs and the business environment. It will definitely change greatly. For the transportation industry itself, it is important for us to be aware of these changes,” said Noni.

The next guest speaker, Veranita Yosephine, CEO of Airasia Indonesia, shared how Airasia could survive the crisis. “We have experienced many crises, such as Sars, Avian Influenza, and the economic crisis. But we do not expect the current crisis to have an impact of this large magnitude,” she said.

Veranita added, besides COVID-19, what was also a challenge was the rules that often changed. But this is not the fault of the government, but indeed the situation is like this. “Therefore, we must not only survive but also have to strive,” added Veranita.

In other sectors such as logistics, Eri Palgunandi as JNE's Vice President of Marketing has a different perspective. For him, every crisis is an opportunity to re-serve consumers, the challenge now is how to build optimism in innovation. “Indeed, logistics is one of the backbone of the national economy, so we hereby accelerate a number of programs to be carried out while still observing health protocols and optimism in innovation,” said Eri. He added, in the early days of COVID-19 there had been a decline in shipments of goods but lately shipments of goods had continued to increase so that the logistics sector could still survive in the current conditions.
In closing, senior lecturer from SBM-ITB Ir. Jhon Welly M.Sc., delivered three main points of conclusions from this webinar. The first point is, the current crisis conditions as learning for company leaders to find out what type of leadership. “Some are taking risks and some are streamlining companies by laying off,” he said.

The next point is how to apply the appropriate strategy to be implemented in the current conditions. “Applying the right strategy is very important. Later, SBM-ITB is also challenged to make a playbook or guidance in dealing with crisis situations like this,” added Jhon Welly. The final point is how to apply talent management by utilizing our competencies to be able to provide solutions in solving problems.

Reporter: Deo Fernando (Entrepreneurship, 2021)

Translator: Evita Sonny