Do You Have the Right Team in Place for a Recession Turnaround?

Economists are predicting the recession is starting to make a turnaround. This is good news for companies that suffered in the last 12 to 18 months and others who made significant cuts to ride out the rough times. Now that things are starting to get better, some of these businesses are taking a closer look to be sure the team in place is the right one to take the company forward.

Top management is key.

During slow times, companies sometimes hire “turnaround” managers, who are experts at developing new products lines or reformulating strategies to take advantage of what opportunities exist. While these managers are key to short term survival, they might not be the most appropriate people to have on board for a long haul. A turnaround specialist, by definition, helps you navigate tough times. Many such managers only expect to be at a company a short time; they come in, analyze the situation and develop an action plan, then move on to the next challenge. If you decide to hire for a key management positions, keep in mind that you now need people who can operate under your new business model and focus on growth.

The management team you keep in place must develop a new mindset. During the last year or more, you were probably focused on streamlining cost, managing for a shrinking marketplace and operating with a skeleton staff. Your managers had to say “no” a great deal, to employee requests, to vendors and suppliers, and to their bosses who continually asked for more for less. I’m not suggesting your managers now go out and start spending with wild abandon. Focus on smart spending for programs, such as training or new technology skills, that were postponed due to budget constraints.

Now is the time to manage out of opportunity. How can you motivate the team to take advantage of a stronger economy? Who on the team showed their potential during the tough times and now should be rewarded? Where is the team lacking? Smart companies use a downturn to analyze their next steps and determine what needs to be in place to move ahead once conditions improve. They look at the team in place and determine strategic hires that will help keep things moving forward.

If you cut back on your marketing budget during the recession, don’t assume your companies are still out there waiting. If you have been out of sight, perhaps now you are out of mind. Depending on what strategy you took, you may have to hire based on your current market share. If you cut back communication, now you need an aggressive market chief to get you back into the game.

Don’t forget employees.

Your management team is in place and you have a strategy for rebuilding or enhancing your customer base. Who is going to implement the plan? Your employees. Too many companies downsize and forget what I call the survivors—those employees still onboard after the cuts. Some companies falsely assume these people are thankful to still have a job. How can you make employees feel like part of your turnaround? Share sales figures and give them the realistic picture, good or bad. Share budget information. It’s likely you asked everyone for input on how to cut the budget not so many months ago. Now, give employees a say on where added funds could be allocated.

As business starts to grow again, celebrate large and small victories to keep people motivated.

A company learns a lot of what it is made of during a recession. How did your company overcome mistakes, reposition it’s strategies or learn to do more with less? What would you do differently under the same circumstances? Take those lessons and put a team in place that is motivated and equipped to position your company for growth.