A Hidden Benefit of the Covid19 Economic Slowdown

With the fast pace of business, we don’t often take the time to reflect on the totality of what our businesses are doing. Through this economic slowdown, our clients have had the opportunity to reflect on everything they are doing. This has allowed them to ask several questions and deeply examine the possibilities. Here are some of the questions they are asking?

What assumptions have we made about the people we’ve put in every position? Are they truly suited to the tasks required for this position? Are the processes and procedures used in each position the most effective and efficient way to get the job done? Do I have the right number of people to get the work done? Do my people have the training, tools, space, time, attitudes needed to get the job done? Are there things we haven’t even thought of yet that would help us be more productive? Does everyone who comes into work really need to come into work to get their job done? Have we clearly stated our expectations for every position and have we clearly delineated what everyone is supposed to be doing? What assumptions have we made that are really making things more difficult? Does everyone know our why as a business and does everyone have their own why for being part of our business? That’s a lot of questions! But we all need to ask them and seek clear and accurate answers.

During this slowdown, many of us have the opportunity to dig into these questions and clearly state our answers. The answers are crucial to our success as businesses and they need to be answered on a regular basis. Answering these questions once is not sufficient, especially if your business is dynamic. As most businesses today are evolving endeavors, they will need to hit the pause button at scheduled times to make sure the answers to these questions are still relevant. Just because on May 1, 2020 our answers fit doesn’t mean they will still fit on August 1, 2020. The pace of business can be blistering, and I’m sure everyone hopes it will be like that again soon. When things are happening at the speed of light, it’s hard to see your way through the dust. We need to schedule our pauses to make sure we don’t unwittingly get off track.

Our clients who are taking the time to answer these questions, and perhaps several other questions as well, are finding answers that range from surprising to supporting. Sometimes they figure out that the person they had doing a job really wasn’t suited for the job. In one case, the person didn’t want to do the job, but was so loyal to the company they never complained once and did the job even though they were miserable doing it and had to put in more hours doing it than a more suited person would. Hitting the pause button allowed this company to figure this out about an employee who was on the verge of quitting. By rethinking the entire situation, a better position was found for a great employee and a more appropriate person was found for the position. Now both people are happier and work is being done more efficiently and effectively. The lesson learned is don’t wait for a business slowdown to examine what you are doing. Schedule time to ask these critical questions so that you can maximize your productivity through better processes, procedures, and talent alignment. Covid19 has created a pause. Let’s not wait until the next crisis to cause the next pause. By hitting the pause button on our own terms, we can make sure we stay on track towards the company culture we really want! We can all have a Culture By Choice!