TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

To supplement the 10 questions provided in Issue 128 of Board Perspectives: Risk Oversight, the following additional questions are offered to directors serving on boards of technology, media and telecommunications companies. We have organized these questions into three groups: innovation and customer engagement, talent and culture, and risk and compliance responsibilities.

Innovation and Customer Engagement

1. How are we reevaluating our strategic portfolio to ensure alignment to shifting priorities in the market? Do our technology investments align with our updated strategy?
   
    
2. Are we evaluating our product offerings to identify opportunities to make them more relevant in this evolving environment? Have we considered how we might ensure our products are as valued in a virtual work environment?
   
    
3. How are we handling requests for service/subscription discounts from customer contracts? Do we have a plan to recoup our investments post-pandemic?
   
    
4. Has delivering against our contracted service-level agreements been challenged, including among third-party vendors? If so, how are we adjusting?
   
    

Suggested resources for further insights:

• So You Had a Plan . . . Resetting the Technology Portfolio to Align With the Reemergence Strategy
• Taking RPA to the Next Level in the TMT Industry 
• COVID-19: Paradigm Shift in the Boardroom

Talent and Culture

1. How are we preparing our people and our culture for the potential shift to long-term remote work? 
   
    
2. How are we enabling management at all levels of the organization to lead a remote workforce?
   
    

Suggested resources for further insights:

• Going Back to the Office: Determining Key Personnel Risk in a New Reality
• Remote Workforce Challenges: Managing Employee Productivity
• Leading Remote Teams in Times of Uncertainty
• Webinar – U.N.I.T.E. Your Remote Teams: Maximize Effectiveness and Minimize Risk
• The Purpose of the Corporation and the Future of Work

Risk and Compliance Responsibilities 

1. Are we updating our cybersecurity programs to adjust for the new threats and risks facing our environment?
   
    
2. What supply chain challenges have been uncovered during the pandemic experience, and how will we address these going forward?
   
    
3. What weaknesses have been revealed in our enterprise risk management (ERM) process, and how can we fast-track dynamic risk assessment processes and tools to address them?
   
    
4. How robust are our scenario planning capabilities to prepare for various contingencies given the national and global economic impacts?
   
    
5. Do we have capabilities to identify and react to potential changes to the compliance landscape? Do we have a compliance monitoring program that could support the business should the regulatory atmosphere change significantly post-pandemic?
   
    

Suggested resources for further insights:

• Modify Cyber Monitoring to Support a Remote Workforce
• Cybersecurity in the Technology Industry: A Path for Accelerating Progress
• The COVID-19 Outbreak: Is Your Business Immunized Against Supply Chain Disruption?
• Webinar – Focusing on the Risk Assessment Process in a Dynamic Environment
• Respond and Learn: COVID-19 Disruption Provides Opportunities to Improve Operational Resilience