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Holding on to what already exists gives security. However, the corona pandemic has shown that changes – even at short notice – are necessary and possible. Using change management to make the company’s processes fit for the future is an ongoing task.
Reflecting, questioning processes and procedures, there is rarely time for that in day-to-day business. The Corona lockdown in spring 2020 brought the necessary motivation – and time for some industries. Globalization and our previous economic activity put the corona pandemic to the test.
“Sales and procurement across continents became a fragile business model in spring 2020,” says management consultant Holger Fischer at Ecovis in Nuremberg. Business travel and tourism came to a standstill. While the corona crisis made long overdue measures visible to some, such as the digitization of business processes, the lockdown forced other industries, for example in production, to adapt their companies to the new framework conditions – and thus to change management. The goals: Uncover the potential of the company, align the company with trends and markets, maintain growth or qualify staff for new tasks.
Mercilessly honest
While change management was an instrument in recent years to implement the challenge of digitization and globalization in companies, today – caused by the Corona crisis – other topics are in the foreground that require new strategies and structures: How viable is the business model? How should payment flows be adjusted? How should supply chains be organized in the future? How do the changes affect the employees?
In the change process, it is essential to look into the future of the company. This includes the answer to the question, what will remain of the changes that have already been implemented in the company in the post-Corona era? Which ones have proven to be practicable and sensible, which ones were long overdue? “In order to adapt structures to new framework conditions, entrepreneurs should take an honest look at the status quo,” says Fischer. Three blocks of questions need to be examined more closely:
1 Structures & Digital
- How did operations develop up to March 2020?
- What is the company’s vision and does it inspire customers?
- Can the business model survive in the future?
- Which processes and meetings can be held digitally?
- Can funds be used for digitization?
2 Market & Customers
- How are procurement and sales markets changing?
- Which political conditions influence the business?
3 partners & suppliers
- Are suppliers and partners developing at the same speed or are they blocking?
- Can products and raw materials be bought regionally?
After honest reflection, preferably with an experienced sparring partner, implementation measures are defined in stage goals. “The first steps should be small, the goals should be easy to achieve and the employees should support them,” advises Fischer, “because they have to live the process of change in the company.” Open communication is the basis for this and helps to change the corporate culture integrate.
The lesson from the crisis
From a business perspective, the realization from the corona pandemic is that there is no substitute for equity. Companies suffer from liquidity bottlenecks. The cash flows are slowing down. Banks cannot and do not want to compensate. State aid measures exist, but do not always reach the companies. Smart change management tries to anticipate the future in order to adapt earlier and better to future conditions. “That can be a decisive advantage over the competition,” says Fischer (see interview below).
Focus on the employees
The world of work has changed in a very short time at a large number of companies. Wherever possible, employees were sent to the home office. In the meantime, surveys, for example by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of the MDR, show that employees are in favor of the right to work from home. From a legal perspective, home office is a special form of mobile work. The Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Working Hours Act apply as well as for work in the office. “It is important to have a written agreement as a supplement to the employment contract,” says Gunnar Roloff, a lawyer at Ecovis in Rostock.
Employees often want weekly instead of daily maximum working hours. In the competition for suitable personnel, employers will increasingly have to create the legal basis for this. The conclusion of (amending) employment contracts, company agreements and collective bargaining agreements is conceivable. Clear rules in cooperation prevent misunderstandings and dissatisfaction among employees.
Get an overview, uncover potential, minimize risks
The checklist that the Bundesverband Deutscher Unternehmensberater e. V. (BDU) supports you in asking the right questions. You can download the checklist here: https://de.ecovis.com/unternehmensberatung/corona-checkliste-was-koennen-unternehmer-jetzt-tun and talk to the Ecovis experts: https://www.ecovis.com / business consultants
Gunnar Roloff, lawyer and specialist lawyer for labor law at Ecovis in Rostock
Holger Fischer, management consultant at Ecovis in Nuremberg
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