14 BUSINESS AND TRAINING
Five focus areas to see your business through tough times
By
Vishal Haripersad , Regional Manager for Knight Pièsold Africa
Business schools always tell their students to “ expect the unexpected ” and to plan for scenarios one might not expect to see in their organisation or industry . But the Covid-19 pandemic is something no business was truly prepared for . While some companies were better prepared than others , everyone had lessons to learn .
At Knight Piésold , we have historically strived towards “ productive paranoia ”: planning for the worst but always hoping for the best . However , even we could not have predicted the new normal .
These are some of the key lessons to help guide any business through a crisis , as well as some of the experiences of Knight Piésold during the National State of Emergency of the past year , which remains relevant as South Africa is currently experiencing the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic .
Communication – think carefully about what and how you communicate ! The first , and most obvious , business implication of lockdown was the death of the traditional office , and all the interactions it housed . We quickly learnt to communicate without gathering in the boardroom or turning around to talk to a colleague in close proximity . These types of meetings were promptly replaced with teleconferencing , and thus the ability to plan , strategise and execute was disrupted , but it didn ’ t disappear .
But what about the ability to pop your head into someone ’ s office , or brainstorm at the water cooler ? Communication is not purely about achieving an outcome but is also about sharing ideas , testing theories or even just catching up socially . Business generally had no difficulty communicating about a product , but managing and keeping people engaged initially came with its challenges . Covid-19 forced us to relook at how we engaged , and to become more proactive about being ‘ people-centric ’ – not just as an idle tagline but as an ingrained element of our company culture . With ‘ Zoom fatigue ’ and the mental health burdens associated to the pandemic , it is not easy to encourage socialising and sharing , but I implore every business to find a way to make it happen .
Vishal Haripersad , Regional Manager for Knight Pièsold Africa
Get closer to your people There is nothing like a good crisis to expose the cracks in an organisation – or to bring people closer together . As Knight Piésold we had to leverage our communication skills to get a better idea of how our people operated . When you can ’ t physically see your workforce , you have to dig a little deeper to understand what drives them – and what stresses them out .
This was especially interesting for Knight Piésold Southern Africa , as we span multiple countries and had traditionally operated somewhat differently in each location . From Botswana to Namibia , Zambia , DRC and Madagascar , each office had its own culture , management style and ‘ local flavour ’. The pandemic allowed us to celebrate these differences while building a more common identity , which helped us align better through the hard times .
This is important for trust-building , too . Global research is pointing to how employees have avoided bringing up concerns for fear of losing their jobs . People have become tight-lipped , not wanting to cause trouble . Trust building needs to be an ongoing exercise for all companies .
Credit www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline August 2021 Volume 27 I Number 6