What Crisis Demands of a Manager
It is not a secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a
toll on many businesses and educational institutions all over the world. Many companies
have shut down and as a result, a good number of people have lost their means
of livelihood. Some have managed to survive the wave, but their quality of
delivery is poor compared to how it was before the pandemic. While many
businesses are struggling, some others have embraced a whole new landscape of
innovation which has helped them scale through the crisis successfully. In the
words of Sarah Kirby, “those who fail to change will be left behind, exposing
their employees to increased risk of financial distress, facing layoffs and
closures.”[1]
Some companies have even recorded their best numbers; COVID-19 has reinvented
the future of work for managers who have taken the opportunity to do better. So
why have so many failed and what can be done to fix it? Like Sam Adeyemi
stated, “leadership remains the core catalyst for driving creativity and
innovation in an organization.”[2]
Therefore, the manager is expected to be a skilled improviser; the spunk that
keeps the company’s fire burning, whatever the challenge may be, especially in
situations of extreme difficulty. This essay examines the role of a manager in handling
crisis by taking into account what I describe as “The Three Stages of Handling
Crisis” which include: Shock Absorption, Continuity and Recovery.
I could not help but admire the way Centreville Office
Support (Nigeria) Limited managed its business excellently in spite of the
lockdown and restriction of movement in 2020. Centreville, a subsidiary of
Kirkendall Dwyer LLP, is a rapidly growing outsourcing company with a home in the
United States. The company employs paralegals in Nigeria who assist Kirkendall
attorneys prepare their case files for hearing in America. In summary, they
take the stress of research and preparation off the shoulders of Kirkendall
attorneys. They also follow up on medical records of clients and run a call
centre which maintains communications with clients. With a staff strength of
about three hundred and fifty (350), you can imagine why I doff my hat for how
well they have gotten their acts together and excelled in spite of the
pandemic.
The first step Centreville took to save its ship from sinking
was to absorb shock. Like everyone else, staff of the company were worried
about their safety at work. The management gathered as much information as they
could about the outbreak and how to stay safe. Hand sanitizers were positioned
in every corner of the work space and nose masks were distributed to every
staff. The HR team had a talk with the staff to help them see the brighter side
of the situation and reassured them that the best way to stay safe was to
observe safety protocol, and that being infected was not a death sentence if
there was proper medical attention. This went a long way to protect against
psychological and mental breakdown, which could have affected the quality of
their work. Gradually, the panic reduced at work; people started getting
comfortable with using nose masks, gloves and sanitizers. Employees willingly
subjected themselves to testing to ensure their safety and that of their
colleagues. Unfortunately, most companies failed to apply empathy in communicating
with their staff when the shock of the pandemic first hit, as most managers do
not understand what emotional intelligence means, talk more of how to apply it
in their work. Most people suffered panic attacks while others resigned for
fear of contacting the virus. Many have been out of work till date as they have
not been able to secure new jobs. This has led to untold hardship and increase
in crime rate. Companies need to look beyond educational qualifications when
recruiting their staff, especially managers, and consider competence in soft
skills such as emotional intelligence and ability to handle pressure.
Successful establishments leverage on such skills to help them stand out in their
performance and delivery.
The next step Centreville took towards beating the virus was
to develop strategies to ensure that work continues, no one loses their job and
their clients’ confidence in their ability to deliver remains unshaken. With
the government declaring a total lockdown (except for essential services), and
the fact that their office space was not big enough to allow for proper social
distancing, the company had to introduce remote work. Apart from the
uncertainties that came with the fact that working from home demanded proper
monitoring to ensure that staff turned in their work on time, this also meant
that there was no more free internet to work with. To fix this challenge, Centerville
added an internet allowance of 30,000NGN to its staff’s pay check! For me, that
was an incredibly sensitive step to take. No one had any excuse for not doing
their job. With the unpredictable situation of internet services in Nigeria,
staff were further advised to subscribe to multiple service providers in order
to ensure continuous access to quality internet service to carry out their
respective tasks without any hitch. The Human Resources team also put in place
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which featured time management and quality of
work. This served as a target and a medium for ensuring that staff turned in
their work on time and the quality of work delivered was top notch. Commendably,
the HR put on a human face in monitoring these KPIs. If at the end of each
week, a staff does not turn in his or her work, an opportunity is created for
explanation and the team provides the necessary assistance for such staff.
Defaulting staff were only to be laid off after defaulting on three consecutive
occasions. Of course, no one failed thrice, and so far, no one has been laid
off. Conversely, many companies in Nigeria, especially educational institutions,
are not tech savvy. The majority do not work with computers and many others cannot
afford tablets or android phones. There was no way students could attend
classes from home and some companies could not afford remote work. As a result,
too many lost their jobs and students were out of school. Students who ought to
have graduated or progressed to a new class had to suffer delay. Schools have
managed to resume in person classes, but some companies have been shut down
permanently. The sad reality is that many lives have been adversely affected
and the scar will be there for a long time. This is why it is important for
every manager to put proper strategies in place to ensure continuity, especially
for times of uncertainties such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Companies have been taking steps towards recovery, as the
lockdown is gradually easing up and people are beginning to return to their
regular activities. I recently chatted with Uche Okereke Esq, one of the
managers of Centreville, to know how he assesses the damages incurred as a
result of the pandemic and what steps the company was taking towards recovery.
I was impressed when he said, “none at all. In fact, we have gained even more
by working remotely because we have been able to save money that would have
gone into cost of running the business such as diesel, stationeries, utility
bills etc”. I gathered that the company
is considering permanent remote work, seeing how effective it has been. Only
management staff work from the office and this does not happen every day of the
week”. Can this be achieved in other Nigerian companies and schools? I doubt
it. Most establishments have returned to regular office activities without putting
in place adequate plans that will help them recover properly. When some secondary schools managed to re-open
to enable seniors take their WAEC examinations, it was sad to see that the
government was not doing enough to protect students and staff in public schools
by putting in place safety measures such as nose masks, sanitizers, gloves etc.
People were exposed to the risk of being infected by the virus because they
needed to be in school or keep their jobs. A few private schools did the best
they could, but it was not enough. For companies, some have completely shut
down since the pandemic, while a few others are still struggling to survive,
counting their losses. There are possible steps these organizations could have
taken to aid their recovery, which include: prioritizing people’s health and
safety, ramping up digital transformation, seeking government and insurance
support, documenting critical gaps and incorporating them into the next round
of business continuity. Unfortunately,
their various managements were not proactive enough to think about these steps,
hence their failure.
With all that has happened, the role of the younger
generation in driving the change in order to secure the future of work cannot
be overemphasized. Youth unemployment has remained high since the on-set of the
pandemic. The traditional reliable pathways to permanent job are failing. It is
difficult for young people to find work in their field of study or
specialization, making education appear almost needless. As stated by Kate
Torii and Megan O’Connell, “many young people are left behind, and this
challenge will only intensify into the future.”[3]
Generations to come will face a vastly different world of work to that of their
predecessors as technology is rapidly disrupting how we live and work- many
skills are being automated. Young people will need new skill sets to thrive in
a technology-rich, globalized job market. The younger generation needs to adapt
a technological approach to education in order to be properly equipped with the
capabilities that will enable them scale through these complex education and
employment settings. Knowing how to use technology must no longer remain the
exclusive preserve of computer engineers or programmers; young people must open
their minds, learn and adapt to new ways of doing things. This will keep them
relevant in the job market, wherever they find themselves. Today, knowledge
garnered through university education is no longer enough, talk more of the
future. The youths must also focus on capacities to solve problems if they must
succeed in the labour market. These skills can be learned, nurtured and
developed over time. If this generation of digital natives take it upon
themselves to develop these skills and change the “knowledge is enough”
mindset, this trait will be passed on to future generations, which is an
amazing way to prepare for and save the future of work!
It is obvious that the future of work is changing rapidly. Therefore,
it is important to come to terms with the fact that the Covid-19 crisis might
not be the last of its kind. Employers (companies, educational institutions,
government agencies etc) have to align with the changing trend immediately, in
order not to be left behind or pulled down by the wave. To achieve this, there
are a number of actions that should be taken. First, up-skilling: managers need
to put in place training programmes for the purpose of teaching employees additional
skills in order to expand their capacities to handle their tasks effectively
and build resilience in times of crisis. Secondly, it is important to foster
digital literacy. This skill is not just a “nice to have” component for
companies and educational institutions. It is a crucial necessity if a company
is to scale through any crisis that requires staff to change their method of
work. Companies that were fortunate to invest in technology are already reaping
the benefits. Finally, it is important to look beyond educational
qualifications as a major factor in recruiting new employees; soft skills are
just as important. According to a recent LinkedIn Learning Report, resilience
is at the top of a list of important skills. It is pertinent to target a
workforce that can think quickly on their feet, scale through obstacles, and
can be proactive rather than reactive in the face of challenges. It took the
Covid-19 pandemic for companies to realize that it is no longer business as
usual, and that as we make our way into the next normal world of work,
upskilling and reskilling are essential. Again, the pandemic has shown us that
many businesses and institutions are inadequately prepared for cultural and
demographic change. We have the opportunity to create an equal and inclusive
future for everyone, now that we have learnt the lesson. The time is now for managers
to re-imagine the workplace for the post-pandemic era and in preparation of any
challenge that might hit the world in the future. I completely agree with the
following quote by Paul Hawken, that “good management is the art of making
problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants
to get to work and deal with them”.
[1] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/covid-homeworking-symtom-of-changing-face-of-workforce-management/
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2021/02/22/seven-steps-for-fostering-innovation-in-your-organization/?sh=2495018d392c
[3] Torii, K. and O’Connell, M. (2017). Preparing Young People for the Future of Work. Policy Roundtable Report. Mitchell Report No. 01/2017. https://core.ac.uk
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