Practical anti-crisis expert advices

Many businesses today are working half-heartedly, in emergency mode or even paused. How much time will still have to work in such conditions and how the situation will develop in the future, while it is difficult to predict. We asked the experts for advice on what to do in order to preserve the business and maintain the trust and loyalty of customers and partners.

Every crisis is not only the destruction of established working methods, but also the opportunity to find new approaches that did not have enough time, resources or courage. Write down detailed scenarios of the business functioning in different conditions of development of the situation. This will help to look at the state of things in a more structured way, as well as strengthen confidence and psychologically calm. We hope that exclusive forecasts and expert advice that we have collected for you will help you.

Mikhail Vinnitsky, Ph.D., Professor, Center for Family Business, Lviv Business School
Option "Correction":

• The global economy will recover shortly after the pandemic (peak of the disease is expected in early May)
• Tourist flow (external and internal) will recover in the summer
• Due to the warm winter, Ukrainian farmers expect record harvests of winter wheat and fruits
If you are also inclined to this option, then Mr. Mikhail advises you to wait until May-June and not to dismiss the staff. Refreshing the team will be extremely difficult. And use this time to plan strategies and optimize processes.

Option “Recession”:

• The global economy will recover over time: the optimistic scenario “Santa Claus will save us” - the American consumer will begin to mass purchase by the end of the year; pessimistic scenario - restoration will begin only when the critical mass of the accumulated inventory is out of date and a slow update begins (purchase of a replacement)
• During 2020-2021, tourist flow will be weak, metal prices are low, construction will stop
• Global demand for Ukrainian agricultural products will be stable, but protectionism will become the norm (quotas).
If you are leaning towards a recession, then your task is to survive until better times. Start firing staff who don't have a strategic business role. Leave in the portfolio only what brings short-term funds. Retune to the domestic market as much as possible. The hryvnia will be unstable, but not landslide, however, other currencies will expect the same.

Option "New World"

• In this scenario, the world will no longer be the same as before. Your task is to retrain the business for new needs; open a new one; become a public figure. Do not fire people, but transfer them to new projects. Volunteering and entrepreneurship will become even more popular. Retune to the domestic market as much as possible.
• The future is a family business. The West will not help us. Carefully select a "family" for yourself. With these people you will have to live a long time and experience a lot.
• Be sure to support each other morally, communicating more often. We were not so worried. We will survive this crisis.

Olga Roenko, creative entrepreneur, CEO Royenko Marketing Agency

Now the basic need of people is a sense of security. Therefore, if a business plans to provide services in quarantine mode, the first thing to communicate is how the security of the services provided is guaranteed. Both for those who produce this service, and for those who consume the service. Now we already see examples of business transformations - restaurants are being reorganized solely for delivery, informing what security measures they use for staff and for making and delivering food to their homes or the opportunity to take it with them.
The second need that has emerged is the need for support, good news and entertainment. Therefore, any advice, ideas, how to entertain yourself, to learn new and interesting things, or simply to distract from negative thoughts with an appropriate joke will be appropriate. For example, I was pleased to receive an SMS from my hairdresser “Everything will be fine. I will take care of your hair right after quarantine. We will save the world with beauty. ”
The main advice is not to “freeze” during quarantine. Many processes stop, it is important not to stop communication. Now is the best time to broadcast good news and stay in touch. Use situational context. Today, everyone is actively writing that amid stress, they eat a lot, the Internet “walks” the photos “before” and “after” quarantine. If you are a fitness trainer, plan a series of online workouts. Now is a great time for fitness challenges.
Everyone needs to get used to the new realities. We never thought we could hold creative brainstorming with clients online. It turns out that this is possible. We adapt very quickly to the new. The only thing I would like to advise is if your usual “business life” involved many personal meetings - use video communication more often, do not translate it into written or audio. This builds trust and allows you to keep in touch.

Vera Protsenko, Consultant, CEO of GOLOVABOUTIQUE

Yesterday, we made forecasts about the work of our employees online, remote work and flexible schedules. Some of the employers began to test new formats of work and even received the first successful results. And already in March we all found ourselves on an equal footing when changes are inevitable, and the only stability is its absence. Watching my clients and talking with them, I want to share important rules in this difficult “game” for survival.

Rule number 1. Evaluate critically the situation and the ability of your team to work remotely. Make sure that all your team members have the tools to work, are connected to the necessary CRM systems, internal portals, instant messengers and clearly understand how the daily cooperation will take place. It is important to create instructions on which everything will work in order to avoid possible chaos. You can prescribe the format and number of meetings, agree on what kind of communication takes place in particular groups, define a list of actions for standard situations and force majeure.
Regarding production and sales personnel, the situation here is more complicated, because you cannot let people go home or stop having certain obligations and plans. Therefore, you need to be prepared for a long time to provide the team with everything you need: carry out transfers to and from work, measure the temperature daily, process rooms, and provide stably with masks and disinfectants. Also consider consulting a psychologist and a doctor for staff. In conditions of uncertainty, they will help to quickly identify the first symptoms of the disease and provide the right help to the category of people who are at risk, as well as to everyone.

Rule number 2. Be sure to talk honestly with the team, having previously prepared three scenarios: positive, neutral and negative - regarding your company. Share your thoughts and plans, speak out the risks, support and enlist the support of people.
Rule number 3. Give the communications department a piece of good news. Some countries are already "recovering", others are developing vaccines, and many more interesting free online resources have appeared that distract from quarantine and set up in a positive way: tours of famous libraries, trainings from popular speakers, concerts of celebrities and the like. This will help maintain morale and not panic. So, do everything possible to adequately get out of this situation:
• create a working anti-crisis group that will quickly respond to changes and propose appropriate solutions;
• Set up communication with the team so that everyone understands the current state of affairs and an action plan. This will help not to lose people when it will be necessary to return to work;
• Provide support to victims of the virus. This can be both financial assistance, and the purchase of products, transportation vehicles, and the like;
• continue to ensure the quality of your product or service, project timings, consider replacing a number of services with virtual ones or provide offers with a very prolonged effect;
• maintain high-quality communications with customers and partners, provide assistance, offer special conditions, loyalty programs, do more than you usually did in your business.
Be win-win like never before! Any crisis tends to end, and those whom you supported will help you later!