21 Jul Companies Need Talents Who Thrive in Uncertain Times

How do you survive as a company—let alone succeed and thrive—despite the uncertainty facing you now? That is the question that is haunting the minds of many CEOs and business owners right now, as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted almost every aspect of our society and still with no solid solution in sight. 

Cash-strapped customers are spending frugally (if at all), the banks are hard-pressed to provide loans and cut interests, the markets are shrinking, and the targeted amount of revenues that had been forecasted and anticipated years ago is not coming in. 

Global mobility managers themselves are wrestling with their own issues with the suspension of business travel and more stringent measures being implemented on the immigration process.

While it can be tempting to just go into your own self-hibernation, one important thing to remember is that this pandemic will not last forever. Set yourself to fight and rebuild for the long haul, no matter how tough it seems right now. 

Next, after catching your breath, call in your best minds and strongest leaders and craft a business strategy that works for the long-term but also remains agile. 

As Home Care Magazine describes it, it has to be able to sustain your company for the near and distant future with concrete plans on how to streamline operations and create streams of revenues. At the same time, it cannot be too rigid, but can be adjusted or tweaked in case one particular aspect of the strategy does not pan out. 

To maintain this delicate but important balance, you always have to keep your leaders in the loop, and encourage them to give you constant feedback. If something is working, improve it. If something is not, then better reconfigure it.

Updates and meetings to re-evaluate the effects of the particular phases of those strategies should happen on a weekly and monthly basis. Nothing falls into cracks and problems are addressed before they multiply or accelerate into a crisis. 

The second thing to do is set aside funds to invest in your leaders and your workforce. Trim them down and remove those who are redundant or cannot perform. However, that cost-cutting measure should not stop you from forming a new generation of talents who can walk with you through the forest and see you through into the other and hopefully brighter side. 

As Strategy+Business points out, the hiring process does not have to be massive or non-stop. But do set in processes, methods, and a working budget with your HR department on how to spot the kind of talent who can add value to your organization. They are of leadership material and can solve challenges that no one else can. 

Resilient and resourceful, they have the skills and core competencies that your company needs right now to achieve its objectives. Given the numerous layoffs that are happening, a little inventive recruitment effort just might lead you to discover candidates whom you would not have been able to afford before the pandemic.

Finally, Real Leaders tells you to go where the money is. Now that you have solidified your business strategy with a core of hungry, driven, and skilled professionals backing it, conserve your own time and effort by following where the revenue streams are. 

These could be the companies who managed to re-invent themselves during COVID-19. Check the industries that are drawing more customers, instead of  losing them. You might have to do a bit of self-reinvention yourself if these potential customers happen to be outside your comfort zone. Take time to study what their own challenges are, and reach out to them with solutions and answers that can add significant value to their own business strategies. 

Position yourself not simply as a business or service provider, but as a business partner who will help them attain their goals during this crisis. The value you add can help ensure that you will continue to do the same for them long after.