The impact of the pandemic on management in public sector organisations

Purpose - This study investigates management challenges, communication plans and crisis decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus highlights management excellence for future operations. Using Deloitte Consultancy’s (2015) time frames of organisational crisis management strategies: response, recovery and readiness, this article explores management approaches of the UK’s public sector organisations (PSO) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach - A mixed-method approach consisting of a quantitative survey followed by semi-structured interviews was used. About 33 part-time master’s degree students on a business administration (MBA) course, who were also full-time managers in the UK’s healthcare, education and other PSOs, completed the survey. The survey responses were subsequently used to select nine participants for follow-up semi-structured online interviews. Findings - Qualitative data showed the importance of speedy decisions and clarity of communication during the pandemic. Teamwork was seen as paramount to successful decision-making despite many changing job roles. On reflection, managers gained confidence in future crisis decision-making with the importance of sharing ideas between departments, but further reflection was needed to prepare for future challenges. Research limitations/implications - One of the limitations to this research is that the participants are all part-time MBA students, and although they were all full-time managers in PSOs, they may be more critical of the status quo. Practical implications - Practically, organisations would benefit from reflecting on their reaction to the pandemic and what can be learnt. It is clear the majority of the managers interviewed felt that after the pandemic the organisations just moved on and there was no in-depth reflection on what had happened; the last stage of Deloitte’s (2015) model was never fully realised. The post-pandemic phase is an area that would benefit from further research, as it has now been over four years since the beginning of the pandemic, and some of the positives, such as teamwork and a sense of belonging, seem to have been lost. The pandemic has left organisations with staff absences and long-term illnesses; last year alone workplace absences cost the UK economy £32.7bn (Nolsoe, 2014). To survive, organisations have to be resilient, responsive and flexible. The next challenge will emerge from navigating times of austerity and the need for PSOs to restructure post-pandemic, an area that would benefit from further research. Originality/value - The COVID-19 pandemic was a crisis that impacted all organisations, including their goals, operations and employees. It was clear that the amount of planning was vast, but as soon as the pandemic was over, quite a few of the organisations went back to the status quo and the “readiness stage” did not happen. The smaller organisations were more likely to reflect and improve than the larger ones.