We are living exceptional historical moments that will mark a before and after at all levels: economic, political and social.
Apart from the drama that this crisis is causing for many people, both the health emergency and the measures being taken to curb the pandemic are having serious repercussions on the economic outlook.
The national and international business fabric is being compromised. Although SMEs and the self-employed are particularly affected, large companies are also feeling the blow, depending fundamentally on their sector of activity.
According to a recent study by Moody’s and Deutsche Bank, we can differentiate between industries with high, medium or low exposure to this crisis, and some “safe” or positive impact sectors could even be highlighted.
This picture should be analysed with caution, since even if a service company has a moderate exposure, if its main customers are in the “hot zone”, it will carry part of the risk.
Against this backdrop, it is essential to have a contingency plan that helps the survival, recovery, and revitalization of the business. To do this, we must take into account both the current situation and the horizon that is presented to us: a low-contact economy and high digitalization.
This new horizon drives us to work more dynamically than ever, making decisions that ensure the survival of our organizations and minimize economic impacts. We will only be able to do this if we work on three types of measures: labour-administrative measures, cultural transformation measures and people management measures.
- Labor-administrative measures:
Firstly, we must comply with the measures adopted by the administrations in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In this situation, the adoption of extraordinary measures with respect to our workers will be protected, more than ever, mainly aimed at the negative economic effects on people and companies:
- Measures already adopted to facilitate teleworking.
- Measures that provide protection to workers affected by the coronavirus who must undergo isolation, so that they can process their medical leaves due to occupational disease with the coverage of 100% of their salary from the mutual insurance companies.
- In those companies that cannot continue their normal activity or it has been drastically reduced, granting vacation periods, voluntary leaves of absence or paid leave.
ERTES: Even so, our legal system provides for situations of force majeure or for economic, organisational or productive reasons, other measures aimed at overcoming such causes, which may be of a temporary nature such as the suspension of the employment contract or the reduction of the working hours of the workers, which entail the communication to the labour authority and the workers simultaneously, with the final approval by the labour authority, in the event of force majeure.
These are extraordinary measures but of enormous economic importance for companies that will see their financial difficulties overcome to pay their workers’ salaries while their productivity has been drastically reduced or eliminated.
- Cultural Transformation Measures
In the same way, and no less important, once the economic costs that will allow us to continue the project from an economic point of view have been adjusted, it is essential to ensure the optimal performance of the teams, many of them teleworking.
- Teleworking, without a doubt, is here to stay and it is essential to align the performance of our remote teams with the business objectives, -we will evaluate the performance of these teams- favoring engagement and the feeling of belonging through a series of tools and procedures that enhance the employee experience.
- To do this, we need well-prepared teams, with skills and abilities, motivated and in a position of constant learning, both of new content and new ways of working, in agile and client-centric environments.
LIFELONG LEARNING: it is the new learning scenario in which all professionals have to develop, the constant learning required by an environment in constant change. In this case, we must refer to virtual learning, which focuses on the relationship between trainers and students and between them. This channel is the ideal way through which we can work from today both the engagement and the training of our teams.
- In this section we cannot fail to mention the important stimulus that the FUNDAE bonus represents in this regard. Organisations in a situation of ERTE for productive, economic or organisational reasons have the obligation to provide training to their workers.
- People Management Measures
As we work with our teams, we will surely discover that in addition to developing skills, we have to identify new external talent, reformulate the content of jobs with new functions that, without a doubt, will have to include a high digital component. Let’s analyse our workforces and strengthen them, when necessary, with the best professionals in the digital and technological field:
- Digital Strategy: Chief Digital Officer-CDO & IT Director, Digital Marketing Director
- Digital Marketing: Inbound Marketing Expert, SEM & SEO, RTB & Traffic Manager, Growth Hacker
- Digital Communication: Digital Communication Manager, Content Manager, Social Media Manager, Community Manager
- Big Data/Business Analytics: Digital Analyst, Big Data Expert, Customer Intelligence
- Technocreativity: Digital Designer
- Customer Experience: UI/UX Designer, Customer Experience
- Digital Business & E-Commerce: DB & EC Manager, Digital Account Manager
- Human Resources: HR Digital Manager
- Tech & Business Innovation: Director of Computer Security, Expert in AI solutions for bots.
- Tech: Mobile App Developer, Blockchain Developer, Backend Developer, 3D Modeler and Animator, Web Developer, CRM Developer, SAP Consultant, AI Developer, Technology Project Manager, Cloud Architect.
REDEFINITION OF JOB PROFILES: It is time to update our job profiles and define what types of professionals we will need from now on. If the desired type of professional is already in our organization, let’s develop them. If not, let’s not delay your search indefinitely.
Although the situation has taken us all out of our comfort zone, it is now that we must lay the foundations that allow us to recover and evolve our organizations. If we aspire to recover, we must anticipate and start making decisions today.
It has never been so important to be flexible, to have the ability to adapt, to anticipate and to decide. To help you on this path, we want to share with you an image that summarizes some of the main decisions we are facing these days and three paths that will help us achieve success:
- Labor adjustments
- Cultural Transformation and Skills Development
- People Management
In any of these areas, at Psicotec we can help you. Do not hesitate to contact us.