5 Crisis Management Steps: How to Quickly Adapt Your Processes?

The wave of uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic is subsiding, so it’s time to ask questions about how to proceed. How do you handle crisis management? How do you prepare your business for the new reality?

There are no easy answers to these questions, but there are crisis management strategies and tips that can work well for your business. This article provides details on 5 of them. And a bonus one!

1. Apply the Lean principles

Lean principles were not developed for crisis conditions or for all types of businesses. However, they are wise and universal so they can become a real lifesaver for any business at any time. Here are the most important ones:

• Waste elimination. All your processes should be optimized so that no action is done in vain. This means you need to build your work in a way that excludes downtime, waiting for time, distractions, and everything else that takes time, space, and energy, but does not produce results.
• Effective communications. Useless conversations that take time can significantly reduce the chances of your business overcoming the crisis. This applies not only to employees and customers but also to the team and company leaders as well. The clearer the task is, the more likely it will be completed quickly and correctly.
• Knowledge sharing. Crisis management can be more effective if ideas for process optimization are welcome and taken into consideration. Use crisis time as an opportunity to build a new culture of knowledge sharing and communication in which everyone can be heard.

Watch this webinar on crisis management for digital companies and those who have only started their path to digital transformation.

2. Tighten the financial belt

What is the most important thing that should be included in a crisis management plan? Your new vision on how to manage finances in conditions of instability.

Here are some tips:

• Minimize costs.
  If possible, negotiate to lower interest rates and defer payments on leases, and find out what your state offers regarding tax benefits.
• Use the things you have.
  Look for ways to get the most out of, equipment and staff that you already have. Avoid extra investment.
• Prepare a far-reaching financial strategy.
  Unfortunately, the crisis will not end tomorrow. According to some scholars, the current state of the economy is comparable to the Great Depression a hundred years ago. Think about what types of businesses you can work with to offer the best quality while reducing costs.

Risk management is now becoming a key focus for all managers, which is why it is important to learn more about the approaches of their identification, evaluation, and mitigation.

3. Arrange for your employees to conveniently work in remote

And try to continue to work in this way even after the crisis. Remote work is no longer just a trend for some. This is a mandatory crisis management procedure created by the need for social distancing and staying in compliance with new regulations. Moreover, many companies will not return to the traditional business model because they will appreciate the benefits of online interaction.

According to research published in Forbes, the world expects a mental shift regarding work. People will finally understand that it is necessary to focus on the work itself, not on the time and place of its implementation. Think about that when developing an anti-crisis plan.

Use the Lean principles in order to quickly and successfully adapt to the model of remote interaction, and continue to work in this manner in the future. The crisis has already proven that almost any business process can be organized online, and yours can too.

4. Think about new approaches to your product, service, and target audience

The ability to quickly adapt to a new trend is a good skill to keep the business afloat even in regular conditions. In times of crisis, this is one more way to survive. Look at what other companies are doing to avoid being pushed out of the market.

Most companies are moving the focus of their business marketing online space and organizing work remotely, but only 4% are reviewing their products and services and searching for new target audiences. Combine these three crisis management techniques into one and you will get a real competitive advantage.

Business analysis should always be a part of your business, as it means your team is always scanning the environment and analyzing the emerging opportunities, assessing the impact of the undertaken initiatives, optimizing the processes, and increasing the value of the products and services carefully fulfilling the needs of your clients.

5. Wisely invest in blooming marketing channels

Your crisis management response should be wise and thought-out. We have already said that it is unreasonable to make large investments during times of uncertainty, but it is still necessary to boost your business and find the growth hacking techniques relevant to the time and conditions. During social distancing, which will continue for some time to come, social networks become one of the most sensible marketing channels to attract new customers.

According to the study, global time spent on social networks grew by 21%. If you have not previously focused on social presence, now is the time to start.

Hint: Consider the possibilities of target marketing on Facebook, and think about influencer marketing campaigns. Twitter is the cheapest influencer marketing platform. Perhaps it makes sense to begin to reap the benefits from this media channel at a minimal cost.

6. Bonus tip: Keep calm and remember you are not alone

All companies that were not destroyed by the first wave of the pandemic are now moving through the crisis process. Business and crisis management is a modern reality that you need to adapt to. Just remember that now everyone is on equal footing, which means that this is a new start for crisis management approaches, new products and services, and a renewed level of quality.

Try to focus on the important insight that risks and the unknown unknowns are not only threats. Risk is also an opportunity, an event that if occurs can help your business get the desired results faster, with fewer efforts and generating more value for the users.

Originally published at https://archer-soft.com