Accenture: ‘Every business will be a health business’

Consultancy firm Accenture says all firms will have to be focused on health even after the coronavirus outbreak ends.

Theme parks taking guests’ temperatures to factories using thermal scanners could become permanent fixtures.

“We used to say every business will be a digital business,” said Gianfranco Casati, Accenture’s chief executive for growth markets.

“But today we say every business will be a health business.”

Mr Casti gave the example of Ferrari which has launched its “Back on Track” plan developed with a pool of virologists and health experts to create a safe working environment for its employees.

He predicts that other companies may be required to put in place various conditions for people to return to work, such as having an onsite medical team.

“Companies will need to invest in health resources to make their employees feel safe. Thankfully, technology can help them get there.”

Last week, Disney executive chairman Bob Iger warned the entertainment giant might require visitors to have their temperatures checked when its theme parks are reopened, even after restrictions on public gatherings are lifted.

“Just as we now do bag checks for everybody that goes into our parks, it could be that at some point, we add a component of that that takes people’s temperatures,” Mr Iger told financial magazine Barron’s.

Accenture, which employs 509,000 employees globally, said the majority of its China-based staff have now returned to its offices, having been working from home during the national lockdown.

“But they are not going back to how things were before. We are now faced with the new normal.”