The human factor has undoubtedly been the most impacted in recent months. Fear, unrest, anger, and concern have become recurring moods for the vast majority of the population, and since this is a widespread situation, support has been lacking where it once existed. This issue must be a top priority for the recovery efforts of efficient organizations. Implementing policies of containment, support, and Ethical Management appears to be the right path towards reassessing the next steps. We all need to minimize uncertainty, and it’s crucial for organizations to engage with their teams during these times. So, what should be done? Taking the time to discuss, evaluate, and align both expectations and team skills. It’s a good opportunity to sow and invest in people.
When we talk about processes, they generally align with the business and adhere to internal policies regarding revenue and costs. Management typically focuses on not exceeding established budgets or achieving economic goals, which is often sufficient for many executives. This encourages a natural resistance to change, especially in more traditional companies: ‘we’ve always done it this way and it has worked well, why change?‘ is the phrase most commonly heard at the first hint of process review.
In this new scenario, pretending that processes shouldn’t undergo a thorough review is a rather suicidal strategy, considering that the entire environment is seeking adaptation. This is particularly critical for sectors that were completely overwhelmed by the change in social behavior, such as last-mile technology and logistics service providers.
Given this, how do we proceed? It’s crucial to develop an eye for evaluation and continuous improvement: starting from the premise that having no problems is a problem in itself, and building from there.
When it comes to technology, there is the perverse incentive to automate everything possible. This paradigm often hits back hard against the less cautious, because while the end scenario is expected to be very promising, the path is challenging to navigate: high economic costs (especially for early adopters of innovative technologies) and time costs (in training and internal/external adaptation). Therefore, the analysis must be very careful and focus on strictly necessary automation or updates, always with the aim of adding final value to the customer.
In summary, a good strategy to redefine the path to efficiency in the face of short-term scenarios is to start by focusing on people and recovering their capabilities, then continue with a periodic review of processes, and finally, meticulously evaluate the implementation of technologies that support the organization’s new reality, only if essential.
At Addval Consulting, we can assist companies in analyzing and implementing efficient processes that meet current needs. We are a multidisciplinary team composed of former executives from major industry players, giving us the strategic insight needed to guide continuous improvement within organizations.
