Struggling business: how to manage your teams?

Decline in activity, emergence of new competitors, economic or health crisis… Many factors, internal or external, can impact the good financial health of a company. In these periods of instability, the manager faces new challenges and must redouble his efforts to maintain employee engagement.

 

Here are some tips for good team management in a struggling company.

 

Inform your teams of the company’s difficulties

In order to maintain solid trust with your teams, it is first of all essential, in the event of financial difficulties, to maintain close communication with your employees.

They must be informed of the situation in real time and be transparent about the extent of the difficulties and issues encountered.

The manager must, more than ever, demonstrate active listening , empathy and relational intelligence.

He must also carry out a close follow-up with his team, through regular team meetings, but also individual interviews in order to open dialogue.

This will be an opportunity for the manager to keep employees informed of the evolution of the situation and the measures taken by the management (insolvency proceedings, safeguard proceedings, recovery plan, bankruptcy, judicial liquidation, dismissals, etc.). This will also help calm rumours and unfounded concerns.

 

Adopt a positive and reassuring attitude

While it is imperative to communicate with your teams in a transparent manner without minimizing the situation, you must be careful not to be too alarmist or defeatist.

In a company that is experiencing cash flow difficulties, it is not uncommon for a wave of concern and questioning to overwhelm the company’s employees.

To soothe the spirits, the manager must show a serene and positive attitude. His dialogue must be empathetic and reassuring. He must Listen to each employee’s fears about the future of their job, without committing or promising things they can’t guarantee.

 

Maintaining his leadership posture

Although it is vital to adapt one’s management in a context of economic instability, the manager must also preserve his position as a leader.

Indeed, it is not uncommon for motivation and productivity to decrease, for conflicts to appear and for respect for the line manager to be impacted.

To avoid this, the manager must ensure that he or she maintains his or her leadership and continues to demonstrate natural authority in his or her managerial style.

 

Struggling companies: how to motivate your teams?

In a struggling organization, low morale and loss of meaning are often inevitable. Pros To motivate your teams, it may be wise to organize corporate events (team building, seminars, conferences, etc.) or informal meetings.

This will help maintain team cohesion and help boost the collective mood.

To encourage his teams during this delicate phase, the manager must also be very present in the field, closely supporting employees in their daily tasks.

These various initiatives will make it possible to establish a state of mind of mutual aid and resilience in the face of the challenges encountered.

 

The interim manager, a powerful ally for companies in difficulty

Faced with the many managerial and organizational challenges encountered by the company in difficulty, it can be very beneficial to outsource all, or part of its management, to an interim manager.

This natural leader, familiar with crisis, emergency and change management situations, will be an ally of choice to support the management of teams, but also to turn the company around.

At WAYDEN, we have a network of more than 2,000 highly skilled executives and managers with 15 to 25 years of experience in strategic roles in complex environments.

Thanks to their boldness, their leadership, their interpersonal skills and their operational excellence, these seasoned managers are able to support companies in difficult situations and to activate the appropriate levers to ensure the survival of the activity and the commitment of employees.