SynFiny Advisors Latin America presented its Spanish webinar “5 Lessons from Consumer Goods Industry on Covid Crisis” on August 27. The presentation featured Sales Vice President of P&G in Latin America, Alberto Moriana, and moderator IIhiana Rojas Saldana, founder and CEO of BeLIVE Coaching & Consulting.
SynFiny Advisors has developed a series of Crisis Management Insights to help you strengthen and grow your business after having faced a major business interruption. Our objective is to provide a framework that allows any business (no matter how big or small) to maintain focus while dealing with the multitude of distractions that take you away from your core business. Our advisors’ share their seasoned experiences and “been there, done that” practical advice to not only survive but thrive in a crisis situation.
This Insight will address actions to ensure your banking and payment transactions will continue to be processed during a period of business interruption. Receivables and payments represent critical cash flow to the organization and careful transaction management is necessary to sustain your operations.
You have 3 key partners with whom to share and mutually exchange your continuity plans:
Since today’s banking transactions and payments are heavily reliant upon automated processes and systems, the actions to be taken will be dependent upon the type of business interruption. The table below briefly summarizes the most common type and possible action:
| Type of Loss | Action |
|---|---|
| Loss of location – An event has disrupted the operation of your physical site. | Work-from-home element and/or an offsite location (hotel). Ensure employees have required equipment and secure access to maintain the automated workflow. Address expected working hours to meet banking and payment cut-offs. Communicate changes to impacted stakeholders. |
| Loss of Infrastructure – An event has disrupted the operation of your financial information system, your email communication tool, your phone system. | Plan dependent on (1) which infrastructure type has been impacted and (2) alternative solutions available. Typically requires advance testing and alternatives. Definitely requires understanding and communication of return to reduced and/or normal accounting operations. Impacts can be very broad, internally, and externally. |
| Loss of People – An event (typically local or regional disaster) disables your staff from executing business processes or functions. | Plan is typically the more complex as this involves ensuring your alternate resources have the business knowledge, training, and in many cases assets and access to perform the required business process. Where possible, consider alternate locations to support impacted locations, but be sure legal requirements (i.e., payment approvals, local government requirements) are adhered. |
SynFiny Advisors exists to bring talented “been there, done that” experience to bear on solving client problems. Each engagement results in measurable, pragmatic, and actionable recommendations. We can assist you in developing Banking and Payment continuity solutions to minimize the disruption to your organization and business partners. These approaches may involve reviewing communication plans, identification of critical payments, determining business interruption limits, reviewing current work processes and system’s capabilities, developing and implementing testing plans, and documenting/modifying plans for possible future interruptions. Our approach is very simple, we Define, Design and Transform. And in doing so, transform your business from ‘existing’ to ‘exceeding’.
Download and read the full insight.
For more information, contact Doug Schupp (dvschupp@synfiny.com).
Other contributing authors to the “Crisis Management” series include the following:
SynFiny Advisors has developed a series of Crisis Management Insights to help you strengthen and grow your business after having faced a major business interruption. Our objective is to provide a framework that allows any business (no matter how big or small) to maintain focus while dealing with the multitude of distractions that take you away from your core business. Our advisors’ share their seasoned experiences and “been there, done that” practical advice to not only survive but thrive in a crisis situation.
This Insight will address the key actions to take during major economic and political crises that impact market sizes, availability of funds and that create a flight to safety ($), thus impacting soft currency countries resulting in high inflation and volatile consumer markets.
As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a flight to safety, where investors move to strong currencies, i.e. U.S. dollars, thus resulting in the weakening of developing market currencies of 20-40% as it happened to Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and other markets even before these countries were impacted by the virus. Next, we are exposed to closed businesses, low sales, lack of liquidity and reduced consumption. The perfect economic storm.
When faced with a perfect economic storm it results in lower sales, higher local production and operational cost and a devalued currency. Surviving these challenges requires cash – CASH IS KING – and the optimization of the balance sheet to avoid currency risks and to better utilize assets like inventory.
Did you have enough cash to weather the crisis? Do you have line of credits available? If outside of U.S., could you borrow in local currency?
If borrowing is available, that is great move in soft currencies impacted by devaluation and inflation.
Where are your profit margins after you have been impacted by devaluation?
If your business has a margin of 20%, with a 20% devaluation (Mexico) and a 50/50 local to imported cost structure, you are starting the crisis with a 10% margin, if devaluation is 40%, you are at breakeven.
So, questions to consider when you are facing these cash challenges:
Cash is king in times of crisis. Careful analysis and management of the balance sheet is of utmost importance. Avoid debt in hard currency. Incentives for prompt payment of receivables is a most. Localization in local currency of manufacturing inputs is critical. Careful attention is required to profit margins and cost reductions and or pricing are key in maintaining dollar-based profit margins.
SynFiny Advisors brings talented “been there, done that” experienced managers to solving client challenges. Each engagement brings measurable, pragmatic, and actionable recommendations. We assist in developing Business Process Transformation scenarios to survive changing economic conditions and minimize disruption to your business. Our approach is very simple, we Define, Design and Transform. And in doing so, transform your business from ‘existing’ to ‘exceeding’.
Download and read the full insight.
For more information, contact Jose A. Alonso (jaalonso@synfiny.com).
Other contributing authors to the “Crisis Management” series include the following:
SynFiny Advisors has developed a series of Crisis Management Insights to help you strengthen and grow your business after having faced a major business interruption. Our objective is to provide a framework that allows any business (no matter how big or small) to maintain focus while dealing with the multitude of distractions that take you away from your core business. Our advisors’ share their seasoned experiences and “been there, done that” practical advice to not only survive but thrive in a crisis situation.
Procurement Leaders and Teams will be placed under significant stress during periods of major business interruptions arising from unexpected natural disasters, civil unrest, massive economic disruptions like the 1997 and 2008 global financial crises, and the COVID-19 global health pandemic of 2020. This Insight outlines 3 Key Action areas that Procurement Leaders and Team need to focus on with speed and urgency, during the onset of a crisis:
Crises situations usually present rapidly changing conditions early on, putting the onus on Procurement leaders to be closely engaged with internal stakeholders, suppliers and external partners, to monitor and regularly communicate high risk areas, and create rapid response action plans to protect sufficient supply of goods and services throughout and beyond the crisis.
SynFiny Advisors exists to bring talented “been there, done that” experience to bear on solving client problems. Each engagement results in measurable, pragmatic, and actionable recommendations. We assist in developing Business Process Transformation scenarios to survive changing economic conditions and minimize disruption to your organization and business partners. Our approach is very simple, we Define, Design and Transform. And in doing so, transform your business from ‘existing’ to ‘exceeding’.
Download and read the full insight.
For more information, contact Jet Antonio (jantonio@synfiny.com).
Other contributing authors to the “Crisis Management” series include the following:
SynFiny Advisors has developed a series of Crisis Management Insights to help you strengthen and grow your business after having faced a major business interruption. Our objective is to provide a framework that allows any business (no matter how big or small) to maintain focus while dealing with the multitude of distractions that take you away from your core business. Our advisors’ share their seasoned experiences and “been there, done that” practical advice to not only survive but thrive in a crisis situation.
This Insight will address the key actions to take and important considerations during major economic turmoil and devaluation in a developing market. Developing markets are increasingly important for all international businesses, however, they do present high level of risk and uncertainty that business needs to plan for.
In most emerging markets, major economic crisis is something that needs to be expected and anticipated. Following are 5 general guidelines for business to survive such turmoil and minimize negative impact to the business.
Major devaluation in a developing country requires organized and structured approach – by addressing the key risk areas with agility, planning for worst-case scenarios and prioritizing management can minimize exposure and create a basis for faster recovery.
SynFiny Advisors exists to bring talented “been there, done that” experience to bear on solving client problems. Each engagement results in measurable, pragmatic, and actionable recommendations. We assist in developing Business Process Transformation scenarios to survive changing economic conditions and minimize disruption to your organization and business partners. Our approach is very simple, we Define, Design and Transform. And in doing so, transform your business from ‘existing’ to ‘exceeding’.
Download and read the full insight.
For more information, contact Natalia Beketova (nvbeketova@synfiny.com).
Other contributing authors to the “Crisis Management” series include the following:
SynFiny Advisors has developed a series of Crisis Management Insights to help you strengthen and grow your business after having faced a major business interruption. Our objective is to provide a framework that allows any business (no matter how big or small) to maintain focus while dealing with the multitude of distractions that take you away from your core business. Our advisors’ share their seasoned experiences and “been there, done that” practical advice to not only survive but thrive in a crisis situation.
During times of crisis, there are two fundamental questions that every company must ask: How do we eliminate discretionary ‘nice to have’ processes so we can better support essential ‘have to have’ business operations? Whether you are in manufacturing where maximizing revenue or profit may be the most critical objective or a hospital where patient care is most critical, value is unique for each business during a crisis. Therefore, take the necessary steps to ensure that your organization can continue to maximize value creation during difficult times. Here are a few considerations as you position your organization to thrive during a crisis.
Your ability to distinguish between ‘have to have’ and ‘nice to have’ processes is key for setting your business up for long-term success during a crisis.
‘Nice to Have’: Discretionary functions and processes that have minimal impact to the business, including all non-core functions that can be outsourced or be put on hold until resources become available.
‘Have to Have’: Mission critical functions and processes that dramatically curtail or stop business production, including those that are responsible for generating revenue.
In a crisis, ‘nice to have’ business processes can distract your organization’s focus from mission-critical actions. However, rarely do these ‘nice to have’ processes exist in isolation. Instead, they exist within an interdependent, dynamic system where decisions can have unintended consequences. For example, decisions meant to maximize performance according to local measures may lead to damages in global performance. Therefore, a holistic, systems-level approach must be used for making decisions about which processes are ‘nice to have’ and which are ‘have to have.’
Once you have determined the mission critical operations for your organization, focus on optimizing these key business processes so the organization can maximize value creation. Here are four key steps that your organization can take to optimize mission critical operations during a crisis.
Inevitably, you will encounter workflow issues as your streamline your mission critical business operations. Follow these three steps to ensure that your transformation has minimal impact on your business by asking these 3 key steps:
SynFiny Advisors exists to bring talented “been there, done that” experience to bear on solving client problems. Each engagement results in measurable, pragmatic, and actionable recommendations. We assist in developing Business Process Transformation scenarios to survive changing economic conditions and minimize disruption to your organization and business partners. Our approach is very simple, we Define, Design and Transform. And in doing so, transform your business from ‘existing’ to ‘exceeding’.
Download and read the full insight here.
For more information, contact contact Susan Thomas (sethomas@synfiny.com).
Other contributing authors to the “Crisis Management” series include the following:
SynFiny Advisors has developed a series of Crisis Management Insights to help you strengthen and grow your business after having faced a major business interruption. Our objective is to provide a framework that allows any business (no matter how big or small) to maintain focus while dealing with the multitude of distractions that take you away from your core business. Our advisors’ share their seasoned experiences and “been there, done that” practical advice to not only survive but thrive in a crisis situation.
Many companies and organizations will be placed under significant stress during periods of major business interruptions arising from unexpected situations like natural disasters, civil unrest, massive business and economic interruptions. Examples include the 1997 and 2008 global financial crises, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. This Insight provides business leaders with key guidance on what they need to do to sustain their teams and keep their business running through a major crisis.
With an impending crisis, it is critical for leadership to identify and reinforce areas vulnerabilities within their organization. These areas of concern may not be consistent from crisis to crisis; therefore, it is important to look at each crisis on an individual basis. Some common areas of vulnerability include:
Identification of vulnerable areas is a great first step. The second step is to develop plans to reinforce vulnerable areas during a crisis. Some key considerations include:
Once your Rapid Response Actions are complete, the Leadership Team’s focus should shift towards post-crisis preparation. Some actions include:
Crisis situations also present new business opportunities. These opportunities can come in the form of M&A deals for struggling organizations and enhanced government support.
SynFiny Advisors exists to bring talented “been there, done that” experience to bear on solving client problems. Each engagement results in measurable, pragmatic, and actionable recommendations. We assist in developing Business Process Transformation scenarios to survive changing economic conditions and minimize disruption to your organization and business partners. Our approach is very simple, we Define, Design and Transform. And in doing so, transform your business from ‘existing’ to ‘exceeding’.
Download and read the full insight here.
For more information, contact Jet Antonio (jantonio@synfiny.com)
Other contributing authors to the “Crisis Management” series include the following:
SynFiny Advisors kicked off series of HR breakfasts with HR Directors and Organization Development Directors.
As of June 1, a number of lockdown constrains were lifted which included gradual return to the new normal in office spaces. Post the first lockdown period, with some relaxations of constraints, became a good moment for HR professionals to get informally together to exchange learnings, best practices, pain points, emerging trends and issues.
Overall, remote home offices were quickly established, no major technical issues faced. Companies that practiced work from home (WFH) prior to COVID-19 embraced it further, companies that were new to it had a quick positive response from employees and management. However, some companies faced situations with line management being strongly concerned whether employees were indeed performing their work to the same extent as in the office. Fearing losing touch with the organization, resulted in situations of rigorous control by individual managers, including top managers, over tasks performed. HR Leaders stepped in to sense the situation thoroughly and work with line management on a range of organization related topics and individual coaching sessions including psychological insights. In general, the situation had once again proven the fact that high and good performers sustained their effective performance levels; same was proven for poor performers with sustained poor performance level and accelerated the thinking about exit plans.
On the employee side, WFH became a huge challenge of multitasking since culturally home is not perceived as the place where you work. In a majority of situations, homes are not designed and equipped to be used by family members as their place to work and study.
Additionally, many extended families live in one household trying to accomplish their work, help their children of different age groups with remote learning and connectivity, while continuing to perform daily household tasks – cooking, cleaning, etc. Engagement levels significantly went up which is supported by pulse survey data. The dividing line between working and non-working hours with the WFH setup led to ongoing non-stop working hours including weekends and bank holidays. The increased need for personal space, time and even moments of silence became key.
Colleagues and professionals from a local employee assistance company shared insightful statistics to their hot line/call center specialists. The index of calls in May was up by 12% vs March and up by 85% in June vs March
With the lockdown being over, yet the statistics maintain at relatively high level, this confirms the fact of existing and growing concerns and should serve as food for thought for employers of different sizes. Individual and human touch must be leveraged and addressed via corporate programs, tools, pulse surveys and Employee Assistance Programs. Employee Assistance PULSE surveys provide anonymous summary of the organization health based on the content analysis of individual calls and enables real time sensing on what’s on the minds of employees. This is practical and insightful data for employers to take appropriate and timely action.
The lockdown situation urged many processes, traditionally supported face-to-face with paper and pencil, to move to online. This included but is not limited to such big areas as:
Some participants mentioned new hire voluntary attrition during the first 3 months of the trial period is of a growing concern – unwanted, initiated by employees due to the hard adaptivity, lack of corporate connectivity and link to live corporate culture. More global companies with global systems and institutionalized practices are not experiencing this issue but share the concern on new hire onboarding. This is big area which requires special effort, attention and adjustments vs existing practices.
Sensing received from HR community on office return readiness:
The series will resume in September after the summer holidays season and return to the new normal is back on track.
SynFiny Advisors Eastern Europe
SynFiny Advisors has developed a series of Crisis Management Insights to help you strengthen and grow your business after having faced a major business interruption. Our objective is to provide a framework that allows any business (no matter how big or small) to maintain focus while dealing with the multitude of distractions that take you away from your core business. Our advisors’ share their seasoned experiences and “been there, done that” practical advice to not only survive but thrive in a crisis situation.
These Insights have the following objectives:
We will cover the following topics in this set of Insights:
SynFiny Advisors exists to bring talented “been there, done that” experience to bear on solving client problems. Each engagement results in measurable, pragmatic and actionable recommendations. We assist in developing Business Process Transformation scenarios to survive changing economic conditions and minimize disruption to your organization and business partners. Our approach is very simple, we Define, Design and Transform. And in doing so, transform your business from ‘existing’ to ‘exceeding’.
Download and read the full insight here.
For more information, contact Doug Schupp (dvschupp@synfiny.com).
Other contributing authors to the “Crisis Management” series include the following:
On June 11th, SynFiny Advisors’ CEO, Jeff Wuest, presented a webinar sponsored by Marquette University Alumni Association. In the webinar, entitled “Business Continuity ‘Plan’demic”, Jeff looked into how to maintain business functions amid a crisis like COVID-19 and what consumer changes and business opportunities we can expect after the pandemic in the “new normal”.
According to a poll of 50 business professionals from the webinar, the top concern for the future of businesses relative to COVID-19 is growing or getting back lost revenue. In fact, almost 50% claimed that this was a bigger concern than financial survival, remote work force, and having the right technology.
As a response to this concern, Jeff Wuest suggests that in order to gain back lost revenue, you must reach out to the consumer to understand their changing behavior and their needs for the future as well as prepare your Business Development and Sales Departments for these needs.
To hear more from our CEO Jeff Wuest on how to navigate a crisis like COVID-19 and what to expect in the “new normal”, watch his presentation.
Download the presentation slides
Special thanks to Marquette University Alumni Association for inviting Jeff to speak and for sponsoring the exciting webinar as well as an additional thank you to Matteo Arena, Finance Chair and Associate Professor at Marquette, for hosting.