THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

We have many different genres on LinkedIn and the flavours change daily and weekly. With Coronavirus it has been like watching an epic story unfold on the business pages, one eye on the news watching the spread of the virus globally and keeping one eye watching the government defences.

Seeing the business response, the furloughing un-fold, the self-employed grants, as well as the general business support and loan. The one thing that I have not seen very much about is what is coming around the corner at us like a steam train. No one is talking about it, but I believe it’s ‘THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM’.

As many or most companies now embark on the strategy for the new norm, they are looking at the size of the ‘Lifeboat’ that they have and deciding who they need to help them survive and who they don’t. With a generally accepted and arbitrary 17% churn each year in most companies, they now know they will have to look at dumping reducing at least 40% of the existing workforce, simply so they don’t sink the ‘Lifeboat’. In some companies it could be much higher.

Casualties
They know it will ultimately be cheaper to rebuild in the future than keep much of what they currently have. The impact of this is simple, lots and lots of people are about to face redundancy. We have seen drip fed stories on a personal basis, lots from the airline industry as many record their personal journey after being made redundant and finding a new job, or career. The airline industry has been one of the first and most visible industries to be hit.

However, the wave or more likely the TSUNAMI that is about to hit our shores, as a huge number of people are made REDUNDANT, across a wide swath of different industries is likely to be profound. I have already seen it happen across the recruitment industry, it is now about to happen across many other industries and companies.

The strategists are already looking at the current situation and seeing how best they can use it. Many will look to get rid of the dead wood first, then those lower functions that can or could be hired back in if needed. Then it will be the middle management and those functions that are not profitable. Others will look to see what they need to do, to reshape the current offering and look at ‘digitally transforming’ parts of the business to save costs. They will look for faster, better ways to do business, improving the processes and over-haul the model.

Growth
It is not just the strategists, but shareholders, owners, all the people holding the reins of the business. The Venture Capital and Private Equity markets are already well advanced, they have some huge funds and are investing in a swath of opportunities in the Pharmaceuticals, Medical and Healthcare companies. FINTECH’s are another area that is full of opportunities.

The Human Resource (HR) departments as well as the management and directors are going to be incredibly busy over the few months getting this sorted and ensuring the lifeboat is seaworthy and fit for purpose moving forward. Not all will get it right.

Behaviour & Culture
But I ask myself, are they actually keeping and selecting the right people. Is it just about job title or job function that dictates who stays and who goes?

I look at this situation for many companies as an opportunity to take a deeper look, a deeper look at the people, it is their behaviourally and culturally ability I would be most interested in at this time. Who are the people that you actually need, not the job functions or job titles?

This is an opportunity to delve a little deeper and make sure that you have the best and fittest team for the future. Therefore, you need to know the behaviour and the cultural ability of the people you have, and definitely, those people you are looking to keep, and offer a seat in the ‘Lifeboat’.