South Africa experienced its first COVID-19 infection on the 5th of March. Just 11 days later on 16 March in a nationwide television broadcast, the President announced strict measures to reduce transmission of the virus. On the same day, most South African universities announced the suspension of face-to-face teaching programmes. By the 22nd of March, one of the world’s strictest national lockdowns was implemented, commencing at midnight on the 27th of March, for 21 days. At the time of writing (6 April), and partially through the lock-down, South Africa has just over 1,600 reported cases and sadly 11 deaths, although both these figures are well below initial expectations.
The actions by the South African government were, to quote the renowned BBC, a “ruthlessly efficient fight against coronavirus” (BBC website, 3 April 2020). The country in the past has not necessarily covered itself in glory with regard to its response to public health issues such as HIV Aids. In the case of COVID-19, South Africa acted faster, more efficiently, and more ruthlessly than many other countries, because it has a limited healthcare sector, a high proportion of immunocompromised citizens, and in parts, high-density living conditions. Quick and decisive action was an imperative for survival. If President Ramaphosa had not acted with such “ruthless efficiency”, the prospective negative impact of the virus would certainly have assured catastrophe for the country.
Rapid response
The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) is the business school of the University of Pretoria. The School operates from a busy campus in Johannesburg, the region's economic hub. It offers a significant number and variety of postgraduate degrees and diplomas. GIBS also offers a large number of executive education programmes.
The School's management had already started to contemplate the prospective impact of the COVID-19 virus by mid-February. Standard business recovery procedures were in place, but the executive team started to realise that a local outbreak would have particularly significant implications for GIBS, given the School's emphasis on classroom interaction and experiential learning. Many GIBS programmes, including the MBA, also include an international travel component.
On 26 February the executive team developed three scenarios, ranging from a fully operational campus with a heightened focus on hygiene habits, through to a complete closure of the physical campus. The School was facing an unprecedented and complex situation for which there was no single best-answer. The team focused on asking the right questions rather than trying to predict answers. On the 3rd of March the first dedicated ExCo meeting was held to discuss the response to the looming crisis. Apart from the obvious issue of international travel, the impact on how our key stakeholders might be affected was also discussed in detail. Plans were formulated and communication to all stakeholders drafted, ready for deployment.
Immediate on-campus actions
Over 5,000 people pass through the relatively compact GIBS campus in a busy week. Ensuring that everyone on campus (students, visitors, faculty and staff) was kept safe, required rapid, decisive action. Fortunately, a member of ExCo had experience within the healthcare sector. To change on-campus habits and behaviours while engaging with the School’s community, a social behavioural campaign branded #HealthyHygieneHabits was launched. This consisted of stickers, leaflets, and electronic messaging from the World Health Organisation deployed across the School's digital signage.
Once the basics of healthy hygiene and social distancing were covered, GIBS recognised that a business school is not expert in complex public health matters. With the exponential rise in false, misleading and fake news, there was a risk of missteps. It was agreed that the only external sources of advice the School would take cognisance of, would be the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the World Health Organisation, to the exclusion of all others. GIBS also liaised with the University of Pretoria’s own medical and health experts who were in the process of forming a task team.
The School announced a ban on all travel to China on the 5th of March. In line with efforts to ensure constant and consistent communication, a special staff briefing was called the next day. The measures taken to protect everyone on campus were discussed. This was followed up with an email, the contents of which was also later posted on the GIBS website. Although most South Africans were still shaking hands at this stage, employees were asked to actively demonstrate “healthy hygiene habits” so that these became the norm as quickly as possible. Within days most people on campus were making regular use of hand sanitisers, washing their hands for more than 20 seconds, not touching bathroom doors (by using the disposable paper towels provided for such), and albeit sometimes awkwardly, avoiding any physical contact. “Flatten the curve!” became a rallying cry by staff and students alike.
A member of faculty gets infected
Prior to the 15th of March, the School’s preparations had all been in anticipation of the virus. That changed dramatically once a faculty member was told she had been in contact with someone who had later tested positive for the virus. As per protocol, she immediately self-quarantined. By the 20th of March, her positive test results were received.
The School’s elaborate preparation immediately came into play. Within three hours, the University, students, staff and media were informed. A follow-up letter to the two classes of students who had been taught by the faculty member was sent through our digital channels, providing an opportunity to engage directly with the Executive Director of Academic Programmes about any concerns. We also publicised a COVID-19 specific email address we had created the week before.
While most people’s reaction was to show concern for the faculty member, GIBS had a duty of care to its entire community. Significant effort was spent informing anyone who had contact with her. These follow up actions became of even greater importance later, when a delegate on a programme also informed the School that his son was positive. This required identifying all staff and faculty who had been in contact with him and advising them to self-quarantine.
Management imperatives during the pandemic
The COVID-19 crisis has required the School to make a number of significant, short-term changes to its management routines and practices over and above teaching. Examples include changes to working practices, rewriting leave categories and procedures, tracking the health of employees, (and until the shutdown to campus, students and visitors), and redeploying employees to support areas who need them most. The School is still in the early stages of revising forecasts and trying to assess and predict the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the School.
Communicate, communicate
Communication with all stakeholders has been an imperative since the crisis started. In addition to dramatic shifts to ways of working (many staff were already working from home in the fortnight prior to lockdown), employees have needed support, as many were understandably afraid of the virus and its consequences, especially in the early days of the crisis. Managers were asked to communicate regularly with their teams working from home with at least one voice communication daily. In addition, the School’s entire employee community comes together daily via “Zoom at Noon” hosted by the Dean. At the same time GIBS reached out to clients and to its many suppliers, especially those with employees who work on campus, to ensure they understood what was going on, and why.
Continuity of the academic programme
In the early days, student and delegate concerns revolved around travel restrictions. This was predominately raised by MBA students, as the international travel component of the GIBS MBA is a big differentiator in the market, and much anticipated by students though the hard grind of the programme. It is also a fully integrated, assessed component of the degree. That said, the first concern was everyone’s health. It also became evident at this time that everyone (MBA students included) considered themselves something of an armchair expert on the spread of Corona viruses. It was partially these interactions which focused management on taking “advice” from only a limited number of clearly expert external sources. Decisions regarding international travel were eventually taken out of GIBS’ hands, as countries closed borders, ending all debate.
By the 12th of March preparations were in full swing to present programmes via a hybrid model of face- -to-face classes, augmented with video broadcasts for those students who did not wish to come onto campus. The School began communicating this option to student groups with a focus on academic programmes, where class attendance is mandatory.
Less than a week into this initiative, the national lock-down was announced. In spite of all our efforts, the School would have to cease all face-to-face teaching. Simultaneously, we activated our plans for the bulk of our employees to work from home. Faculty immediately pivoted to teaching using Zoom and academic programmes continued.
On the 24th of March, it was decided to pause and regroup, evaluate progress and decide the optimum way forward. While students were no longer on campus, their wellbeing remained the School’s primary concern. Feedback was elicited, and four concerns became apparent: high data costs for students who now needed to connect from home; lack of connectivity for some students; family responsibilities during the lockdown; and the inability of those students deemed essential services workers to attend lectures at scheduled times.
By the 28th of March, the School had formulated and documented plans to offer students the choice of either “attending” lectures on Zoom, watching recordings or deferring and attending lectures later in the year. This was duly communicated to the student body. No sooner had the communication gone out than it was announced that the international data cable which was key to Zoom and other high bandwidth methods of delivery, had been damaged.
Members of the executive team met to again reconfigure a student solution that would now rely on asynchronous learning that was less bandwidth dependant. While not as engaging for students as our standard, experiential andragogical approach, this would facilitate student flexibility and access during the lockdown period.
By the 2nd of April, templates for converting programme to outline formats, which were originally designed for face-to-face classes, had been created and shared with faculty. The processes to ensure that everyone who needed to upgrade their skills to deliver content and host asynchronous engagement using a range of tools, was initiated. The School’s Digital Learning Solutions team had already started working closely with programme managers in the Academic Programmes area and agile support teams were also established to assist individual faculty members.
Much has had to change at GIBS in the past month. The School has been required to be responsive, flexible and change even its core, entrenched activities given the circumstances at hand. Staff and faculty have had to adapt to the technological and social challenges of working remotely. Faculty in particular have shown resilience and fortitude as they have pivoted from one teaching methodology to another. Learning curves have of necessity been steep. GIBS’ collegiate, “can do” culture, and its communities’ determination to do what is best for everyone, has guided us thus far. It is impossible to tell at this juncture just how enormous the impact of COVID-19 will be on South Africa, business or the GIBS community. What we have learnt, without doubt, is that a quick and decisive response is the only way to mitigate the impact of this worldwide crisis.
The GIBS campus, closed under lock down, and deserted by students, has seen a return of significant amount of bird life