Ultimately it is the talented leadership team that will guide your way out of a crisis.
The COVID 19 pandemic has affected most businesses. Customer needs and wants in 2020 are different from those of 2019. Costs increased, and demand decreased. With the revenues and profits nose-diving and customer demand dipping, survival has been the priority.
After wading through the challenges of the pandemic for months, we all accept a’ socially distanced world’ as the new normal. The companies are, therefore, beginning to focus on recovery and stabilization. But the growth plans are mostly abandoned.
Plans developed before the pandemic are no more relevant in the post-COVID era. Besides, it is much more challenging to strategize in an uncertain environment. The paths to growth and profitability are unclear to most businesses.
So, what is the way out?
Innovation is considered to be the best approach for recovery and sustainable growth in the changing operating environment. Innovation is defined as the introduction of something new idea, method, or device. In other words, it is the process of introducing new products and services that add value to the company and its customers.
The challenge is that innovation is not something one can buy from the marketplace. It must germinate within the company. Companies need to ideate, collaborate and implement the plans well to add value.
The fundamental factor that can drive innovation is talent. A talented team of staff and strong leadership are pre-requisites for business-recovery and returning to growth and profits.
“People are not your most important asset. The right people are. Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.”: Jim Collins in Good to Great.
The logic is simple. At the time of a downturn, companies need a strong leadership team to drive the business. A team that can ideate, turn the challenges into opportunities. A team capable of developing and launching products and services that can add value to customers and the company.
So, the talent search is essential even in a slump. In a pandemic disrupted environment, talent-search can be challenging. Crises force companies into prioritizing the more urgent (probably less strategic) activities. Besides, HR was busy finding ways to protect from the threats of a pandemic and help them to continue with the work. The epidemic has stretched HR Departments to their limits and tested resilience.
If the talent search by the HR Department is not practical, a company can approach the specialized external consultants. The consultants tend to use effective method headhunting is such cases. Headhunting is a method of targeted search.
A company should choose a consultant with experience in the particular markets for getting the right persons for the job. The consultant must have access to a good network of talented professionals are factors.
Future Options Consulting has been headhunting talent for over a decade in African Market. Please contact us at info@futureoptions.org for more information.
