THE HEAVY HAND OF TIME

    Time has no fall back. Once something is practised for a period of time, it becomes a habit. If time allows us to try new things in either positive or negative circumstances our psyche will evaluate it. Time is definitely having its say in the business community. The effect on the employer and the employee is unmistakable. The demands placed on employees to work with shorter timelines have become the norm. Employers continue to transition to online spaces as they too are weary of the next crisis to come. However, there are some things in life that cannot be reversed.

Employers are now seeing the importance of keeping updated on new technologies. Agility in markets and in converting to virtual operations played a key role in the survival of most businesses. From a marketing perspective, I recommend the following steps:

1. Conduct an in-depth situation analysis
2. Review how the industry responded to the virus induced crisis. Pay specific attention to how your target market responded to the crisis. It is a consumer market now so this can be a game changer 
3. Review your vision and mission statements with the new market conditions in mind
4. 
   Examine the product life cycle

You will have to answer some tough questions. The old adage, 'honesty is the best policy' seems most appropriate at this point. Certainly in a crisis this has worked. It is called 'taking ownership'. 

Time affects people. Firms want employees who can work under pressure. Firms want to save on expenses. They exist more for the profit than for the service. Employees are expected to do more within a shorter time frame for this purpose. With remote work, more is expected. Unfortunately, the attitude of many employers or managers who lean towards self-importance, a lack of trust in employees lends itself to neo-colonialism. 

Employers now require employees to have a sense of urgency. They are expected to do more for less. Similar to the period of transition of workflow and tasks when PCs became available. In this crisis with less resources, firms face having to downsize, re-structure and diversify. But to maintain the staff complement talent transformation is necessary. It means that employees may have to undergo re-training and career changes to help firms meet the needs of the customer. 

Don't forget, staff training has to be done in the most cost efficient manner. However, most companies do not have an appreciation for the difference between knowledge work and traditional or task oriented work. Any concerns in this area is ignored by employees mostly to simply hold onto a job. Despite it all, employees have to transition and within a shorter time frame.

Amazon workers complained that they were overworked and not protected. They had quotas to fill that did not diminish despite the mental stress, emotional and physical strain during 2020. Time proves the heart of a business. In 2020 e-commerce grew due to lockdown and restrictions. 

Time will bring tests, trials and temptations and there will be a cost. It is common in business that personnel are lost and along with them is the potential worth they can bring to the company. In a strained situation, valuable employees are expected to lead the way for subordinates or accept additional responsibility. It is a pet peeve of mine to see employees walk away because of bad treatment or unrealistic goals set. 

From a strategic planner point of view, business is about the product life cycle and the relevance of the product. If your product is no longer needed, you have to face converting your business, diversifying, starting a new product line, or shutting down. In this case time will cost. Staying open for business is a liability that increases with time.  The business owner is as the proverb says, ‘caught between a rock and a hard place’.  

Time is required to plan and map out trends but the longer the business is open the cost increases. I think the answer is to plan short-term and ensure it can scale up. Determine the right amount to invest in a product for a quarterly period and monitor developments that affect your firm closely. People, process and technology converge to add value for the customer in a quick time. Are you up for the challenge that comes with time?

The effect on employees is unfortunately predictable and life changing as with any crisis. But, employees appear to bear the brunt of it. Among all the changes I do see a constant, times are changing but the expectation to do more for less remains the same. It is funny how that seems to also be a constant drive in business that even in a global crisis remains the same. Perhaps the way we operate business, economies and thinking has to be adjusted to allow personnel to feel like people and not robots.

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