Within a span of nearly three months, the global economy and society at large went from prosperity and security to upheaval and uncertainty due to the grave threat of coronavirus. Many owners and executives quickly shifted their attention to survival measures, such as cash flow management, expense reductions, government relief programs and headcount reductions. Regardless of the pandemic’s impact on a specific organization, it is clear that the economic strain and health risk will not dissipate any time soon.
While it’s hard to predict how it will look, the future is coming and companies need to be ready. The best way to prepare for recovery is to develop a corporate plan that can streamline and rally a company along the path to emergence from this crisis. Corporate recovery planning benefits overall company performance in a number of ways, including serving as a beacon of hope and security for employees and a structure for efficient and effective decision-making.
Recovery Planning Action Items for Owners and Executives
- Commit and get started: Set a goal to have the plan ready within a few weeks of reading this. Accept that the plan will not be ideal or complete – think of taking an 80/20 approach.
- Learn from experience: In the early days and weeks of the crisis, teams put new practices into place as a form of triage. Explore ways to expand or modify those efforts. Consider prior levels of efficiency and whether process or technology improvements can help meet customer demand with what might be a lower staffing complement.
- Be objective: Conduct an unbiased company-wide assessment of performance to identify drivers of revenue and cost as well as underperforming areas. This includes a fresh and critical look at your supply chain.
- Stay strategic: Even when identifying short- and medium-term tactics, keep a strategic mindset. Perform a deeper analysis on cash flow by doing scenario planning on your customer base and markets to identify weaknesses and opportunities.
Five Tips for Successful Execution of Recovery Plan
- Set expectations and hold people accountable to executing the plan.
- Communicate and discuss the plan and continue to do so over the upcoming months.
- Establish regular check points to ensure forward progress and maintain momentum.
- Treat the plan as a live document and use feedback on progress and the fluid situation to make adjustments as necessary.
- Don’t forget to celebrate milestones and successes. It’s been a difficult time and everyone can use some wins.
At a time when so much remains unknown, a corporate recovery plan can serve as a rallying point for a company and its team and help lay the foundation for a future amidst the new normal. Ready to start or revisit your organization’s recovery plan? RKL’s strategic advisors facilitate sessions with owners and leadership teams and helps clients execute on their plans and improve performance. Contact us using the form below to start the conversation.
