Operating in a COVID-19 World
by mckinley siegfried
This topic was scheduled a while ago. Months actually. The post was supposed to be about spring cleaning. I was going to write about cleaning up your operations: dusting off some best practices that might have fallen to the wayside as you’re trying to reach those lofty business goals. But now, in light of the new COVID-19 world we find ourselves operating in, “spring cleaning” takes on a whole new meaning. Even “operations” means something new today.
How can we set ourselves up for success in this new environment? How can we keep ourselves, our teams, and our customers happy? How can we operate efficiently and effectively?
I wish I had the answers. We all do. What I can offer is a list of practices we’ve implemented at Cunningham Collective that have helped us weather the storm so far.
Operate Efficiently
Kick the morning off with a team call. The catch? No talking about work or Coronavirus. Try having team members take turns asking random or ridiculous questions to spark conversation. Today, for example, we talked about our favorite songs when we were 12. Yesterday’s topic: If you could be any superhero, who would you be? Camaraderie is key for efficiency.
Provide additional structure. Working from home is hard, especially with kids and partners and small spaces and distractions. People often crave structure in the face of ambiguity. One of the best things you can do for your team is give them a sense of stability through structure. Set up more calls so you can touch base more often, check in on projects, and get a feel for everyone’s workload. Set even clearer expectations for deadlines, quality, and workflow.
Give more feedback. If there was ever a time that every single employee needed to step up, it’s now. The more you communicate with your team and the more direct the feedback (positive and constructive) you give, the better everyone will perform.
Set the stage for a trusting environment. These are uncertain times and absolutely no one benefits from you keeping your team in the dark. Honesty communicates trust, and the more honest you are, the more trust will flow through your organization. People will want to work harder for you; they will want to work harder for the company.
Raise your expectations. With honesty and communication, you can raise your expectations of your employees. We are at war with this virus and the destruction it’s leaving in its wake, and we all need suit up for battle. All of us. Give people the chance to fight alongside you, and most likely they will.
Through empathy, you can give people permission to be authentic. We’re all still figuring out how to exist within the confines of our living rooms, and it’s hard. As leaders, it’s important that we empathize with employee needs and roadblocks as they arise. For the sake of our people and our businesses, it’s crucial that we allow them to do whatever it takes to thrive in this crisis. If that means wearing a sweatshirt to a Zoom meeting, that's okay. If getting dolled up from the waist up helps people get into work mode, great. We are asking people to be their best in a world that keeps dragging them down.
Do whatever it takes — but timebox it. Things are changing on a daily basis, so communicating a timeframe is imperative. The economy has taken a hit and nobody knows how long the pandemic will last or what recovery will look like. We all have a lot of hard decisions to make. At Cunningham Collective, we’ve expedited some strategies and postponed others. We’ve moved people around to fit the immediate needs of the business. We’ve taken a hard look at our financials and cut unnecessary costs. You probably have too. But have you communicated the timeframe? It’s imperative that we establish and communicate the timeframe in which business will be anything but usual. People are more likely to step up, take on more work, adjust their day-to-day priorities, and even adopt new roles if they know the changes are temporary. If you ask people if they are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the company alive for the next six months, most of them will say yes. But if you ask them to work 60 hour weeks and take on tasks beyond their job description for an indeterminate period of time, they’re more likely to be reluctant, and the quality of work will probably slide.
While keeping our business efficient is critical, keeping it effective has never been harder. The reality of the situation is that we have to adapt strategies, shift priorities, and pivot plans to maintain success. It’s tempting to cut budgets and freeze departments, and sometimes that’s necessary. But we also have to set ourselves up for success post-pandemic. (Hell, we have to succeed in surviving the pandemic!) We can’t be so reactionary that we lose sight of the future and our place in it. The best way to do that is to stay connected. Maintaining communication with your customers has never been more important. If we freeze our marketing and communication efforts, we risk losing even more.
Operate Effectively
Pivot your product. Where authenticity used to reign supreme, agility is now king. Staying relevant means adapting to a world in which people are likely interacting with your product or service very differently than they did two months ago. Think to yourself, what resources do I have that would add value to my customer’s day at this particular time. For example, a lot of businesses are moving to an online distribution model (e.g., Netflix watch parties and online group fitness classes).
Re-evaluate your position and messaging. Solidifying your company’s position in the market means you can successfully answer the following questions: Who are you and why do you matter? Why your company? Why now? What is your unique role and relevance? But in the face of global adversity, industries and categories change. Inevitably, so will your answers to these questions. This is not the time to completely overhaul your position, but looking at that position through a contemporary lens will help you stay relevant in today’s climate. Think to yourself: “What resources do I have that will add value to my customer’s day in this particular time. How can I resonate with my target audience now? What is my role and relevance today?”
Connect through content. Budgets are being slashed left and right. Trust us, we’re feeling it! But now isn’t the time to cut yourself off from your customers. Now is the time to reconnect in new and innovative ways. Unfortunately, live events and other traditional forms of marketing have had to be put on hold. Fortunately for us, however, we have the internet, and we can still reach our target audience. In fact, that audience is more willing than ever to give us their attention; we just have to earn it. The content we put out there has to solidify our company’s position and push our strategies forward. The messaging must align with business strategy, while simultaneously being sensitive to the crisis we find ourselves in. This type of content isn’t easy to write, and it’s not enough to flood your audience’s inboxes with coronavirus-related company updates. It must move your audience to action. Creating content that reflects this balance is tricky. Let us know how we can help.