Turning The Tide

The ability to tide over a crisis is the mark of a robust organisation. And the HR can play a seminal role in turning threats into opportunities.

- Aditya Narayan Mishra

The last major slowdown was a decade ago during the global financial crisis. We learnt several lessons then. All stakeholders of a business, right from the owners, management team, employees, and customers to suppliers, partners, and government are impacted by it. Some businesses fail to deal with the slowdown and die, while some thrive very well and get stronger. The management team, including the HR leader of the organisation, play a huge role in dealing with a downturn.

Spotting the trend and figuring out a way ahead The automobile sector in India is facing a downturn. Consumer demand is not picking up in spite of promotional pricing and many new products coming in. Business leaders are figuring out how they can boost sales, optimise costs, change the technology in use, improve processes, diversify into new products or categories, and explore all possibilities.

It is important for leaders to communicate transparently within their organisations so that the people [within] know the reality, contribute in terms of ideas, and do not waste their energy on watercooler conversations. Two-way communication within the organisation helps in spotting trends in the external environment and evolving solutions. HR teams have to facilitate this conversation between the senior executive team and the rest of the organisation.

Evolving solutions and deploying them

Business leaders sit together to discuss potential alternatives. The HR leader must have the stature to sit at the same table and contribute meaningfully. It calls for a good understanding of the external as well as the internal environment.