Businesses large and small have been impacted by the pandemic; for some it’s been positive but for most it’s led to significant disruption. The effects have touched every area of business including how businesses engage, motivate, support and communicate with their staff. One client that Secantor has worked with for over a decade has deployed effective team management strategies to adapt to the challenges of remote & hybrid working by modifying its communication style, methods and technology to strengthen cohesion with their team. Here’s their story…
The Founder/Owner of this 30 year old engineering business worked with Secantor over several years to plan his business exit strategy and prepare a smooth transition to the management team. Secantor, acting as Finance Director & facilitator guided the team who created business vision and values together with strategic business goals through a carefully executed strategic business planning process. The team worked well over several years using various ways to improve business performance, adopting business analysis metrics and key performance indicators to monitor progress against plan. The result was steady growth in market share and company profits, and a carefully nurtured culture of team working with all staff.
It was just 12 months before the first lockdown that the well-established management team of Directors took over ownership from the Founder. They had continued to grow steadily and generate some cash reserves when the pandemic hit. This helped them through the first two to three anxious months of poor trading in 2020 when they were unable to visit customer premises. However they were determined to recover trading back on plan which started to upturn during June 2020.
The Directors had recently introduced an intranet platform for all staff to communicate together. As remote working took hold, this platform became the central hub for company-wide communication and collaboration including:
The Directors devised & introduced effective team management strategies to ensure each person was safe & secure, both as individuals and as part of the team. Homeworking was arranged and Directors maintained close links with each member of staff through intranet, telephone & video calls with some home visiting. One Director plus a few staff started working in the office on a rotating basis with safety paramount.
Capitalising on the newly deployed technology, the management team actioned a plan that saw a 100% digitisation all company records. The storage units that previously housed the physical records were no longer needed so these were removed freeing up valuable office space. The Directors did not want or need to take on further debt despite generous Government loan support but they did exercise best practice financial planning & analysis and strong business cost control under the watchful eye of Secantor.
The company owns and operates from industrial premises which included workshop & store with basic offices above and tiny functional kitchen & bathroom facilities. During the early months of 2021 lockdown with few staff attending the Directors arranged a complete renovation of the building, with tired décor, partitions, furniture and filing cabinets removed. A new modern “hot-desking” working environment was created separately from a comfortable staff lounge, dining room & kitchen which was tastefully decorated in relax mode complete with TV. Similarly, both a conference room and training room were created complete with full digital communication technology plus modern bathrooms with showers for the cyclists.
Staff were determined to win following the Director’s caring & inspirational leadership. Everyone stepped up a gear and trading performance mushroomed with all KPIs being exceeded and profits for Covid year much greater than plan and prior year. The combination of intranet, video & in-person communication has bonded the team to nurture & encourage one another in a very positive manner for the future.
Staff are sharing in the success of the business including:
And so the good news continues. The Directors are reaping the rewards of investing in their team. Staff feel valued so respond by supporting each other to deliver business objectives. As a result the workplace atmosphere is positive, friendly and dynamic. This is building a very strong future for the business. It is privilege for Secantor to support and guide the Directors of this exciting company as they continue their successful journey.
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Since all businesses are different and may have varying financial requirements, it makes sense for one of our experts to get to know your company in greater detail so we can create the perfect package for you. To do this, we provide a free business review or site visit, enabling us to obtain all the relevant information we need to improve and manage the financial side of your operations. Contact us today to start the conversation.
Over the years we have helped hundreds of businesses take control of their finances. By working closely with owners and directors we become an integral part of the management team and as a result have long-standing relationships with our customers, many of whom have relied on our expert knowledge, advice and guidance for many years. Why not review some of our case studies or watch the one-minute video below to hear what our customers have to say?