‘With challenges come opportunities’
Izah Azahari
The Transform 2021 virtual townhall forum yesterday saw the exchanging of ideas on how businesses can survive, manage and prosper in the ‘new normal.’ It carried the theme ‘Preparing for the Next Normal: What Can We Expect in 2022.’
The forum’s panellists comprised Chairman of Baiduri Bank Group Board of Directors Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Dr Abdul Fattaah, Baiduri Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ti Eng Hui, Progresif Sdn Bhd CEO Hajah Nurul Haniah binti Haji Mohd Jaafar, President and CEO of Centennial Asia Advisors in Singapore Manu Bhaskaran and Managing Partner and founder of Velocity Ventures in Singapore Nicholas Cocks.
Asia Inc Forum Chairman Dato Timothy Ong moderated.
During discussions, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Dr Abdul Fattaah noted several of the challenges that the world, particularly the business community, is facing when it comes to the “next normal.” This is with regard to the aspects of economic downturn, supply chain disruption, working from home, mental health and well-being, education as well as healthcare.
“I see a lot of problems as everyone is going through plenty of hardship with the economic miseries at this time, but as everyone says, if there are all these challenges, there will also be opportunities,” the chairman said.
Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Dr Abdul Fattaah said people have to search for opportunities, which come in many ways – from enhancing skills to diversifying their bread and butter, as well as improving relations with family members and others.
The panellists comprised Chairman of Baiduri Bank Group Board of Directors Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Dr Abdul Fattaah, Baiduri Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ti Eng Hui, Progresif Sdn Bhd CEO Hajah Nurul Haniah binti Haji Mohd Jaafar, President and CEO of Centennial Asia Advisors in Singapore Manu Bhaskaran, and Managing Partner and founder of Velocity Ventures in Singapore Nicholas Cocks, while Asia Inc Forum Chairman Dato Timothy Ong moderated. PHOTO: BAHYIAH BAKIR
“We must always find a reason to wake up every morning with a purpose to improve just one aspect of our lives. To me, what I see in the next normal is very much a time of uncertainty. This uncertainty promotes the need for us, in business and in our lives, to stay resilient, sane and safe. It is key for us to be agile and adaptable in these difficult times,” Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Muda Dr Abdul Fattaah added.
Meanwhile, the Progresif CEO placed focus on how the pandemic has taught us plenty, directly and indirectly forcing and accelerating behavioural changes in the way people work, live, learn and the likes.
“The nature of work has shifted from both an employee and employer’s perspective, and even in terms of the job demands perspective,” she said.
Hajah Nurul Haniah listed out the pros and cons of working from home (WFH), including it being time-saving, which in turn may increase productivity levels and efficiency. However, she pointed out that the potential to WFH varies across sectors, depending on the occupational type.
“From an employer perspective, I feel as a business, we’ve had to adapt and manage. To me, things still moved, business did not stop. We’ve had to shift everything online with virtual meetings, online WFH, and it may be here to stay. Post COVID-19, we may be looking at a hybrid of working environments, both online and onsite, which requires perhaps physical interactions, handling of equipment, etc. It varies depending on the nature of the job,” she said.
Hajah Nurul Haniah is of the belief that even in endemic stage, the effects of the pandemic will continue to impact lives in many ways.
“Digital transformation also plays a huge role. It has accelerated due to the pandemic, in order for businesses to be sustainable, to remain relevant and competitive,” she added.
Meanwhile, Baiduri Bank CEO Ti made comparisons between the first and second COVID-19 waves to hit Brunei Darussalam, noting that the second wave had a bigger, more severe impact on the Sultanate with movement restrictions in place.
“There is a long lasting impact and businesses need to know how to adjust to it, and by-and-large, businesses in Brunei have responded quite well,” Ti said.
With regard to technology and digitalisation, he said businesses are “responding well” to the new normal. They are more familiar with the current standard operating procedures (SOP) and more businesses are moving their services online. The challenge now lies in the labour shortage, especially for businesses that depended heavily on foreign labour, he said.
“For the bank, we really had to push our envelops in terms of the boundaries because in a bank we operate in a very controlled environment and to have our staff WFH, there’s a lot of discussions with compliance, internal audit, the head of IT securities to allow more of our employees to WFH.”
The year 2022 is full of uncertainty and it is something people are cautiously awaiting, Ti added.
“Businesses will need to tailor customers’ experiences at the store level and online level to continue to improve, to be able to attract people to come out, enjoy themselves, travel, and go to the storefront, and so on. Those are very important parts in terms of customer experience,” Ti said.
The forum also saw discussions on how to prepare for the next normal, and what opportunities and challenges lie ahead.
The townhall forum was the culmination of the year-long Transform 2021 programme.
Leading up to the forum, 30 business webinars had been organised, featuring entrepreneurs and experts from Brunei Darussalam and abroad.
Now in its 15th year, the year-long entrepreneurship and local business programme serves as a platform for learning, sharing and network-building for Brunei businesses.
Transform 2021 – a programme for Brunei business owners, entrepreneurs and managers – was developed by Asia Inc Forum in partnership with Baiduri Bank as presenting sponsor and principal partner.
It is supported by Archipelago Group as the logistics partner, CIC Environmental Services and Progresif as associate partners, and Borneo Bulletin and Media Permata as digital and media print partners.
Source: https://borneobulletin.com.bn/with-challenges-come-opportunities-2/