Communicate
When the economy changes the way you have to do business, it is crucial that you act quickly to implement new ways of gaining business. Communication during that process is also critical in making sure plans don’t fall through.
“We have meetings continuously to talk about the challenges that are going on in the environment and within our own organization,” Delie says. “We focus on those items as often as we have to. Communication within the company is critical, particularly during a period when business isn’t normal — it isn’t business as usual.
“You have to have a system where you can elevate issues or ideas and discuss challenges in the marketplace. We’ve institutionalized that within the company and how we interact with each other. I think you become a little quicker and more nimble when you have that.”
It’s always easy to identify what needs to be done, but actually doing those things takes time, work and people who understand the direction the company needs to move in.
“You need to clearly communicate,” Delie says. “You need to correlate what’s required from a production standpoint from the employees to the ultimate financial plan of the company. They have to understand even though they’re a small piece of the total equation that their contribution is needed and is necessary and we are relying on them to get us home. Making sure they understand how their little piece fits into the total picture is probably one of the most important things. You have to also provide the appropriate incentives to make sure that they achieve or exceed those objectives. Recognizing success within the organization and sharing victories pays dividends.”
