I recently read an article that caught my attention about the how executives in China have led the health crisis over coronavirus pandemic. Executives and leaders of companies, institutions state, startups and multinationals shared their main lessons in the management of their organizations.
I would like to share what we have been doing in each area of the UPC, with the aim of learning from each other, in the same way that I would love to learn of your strategies in their own organizations.
Lean on culture
Our culture of innovation has allowed us to take a step forward in the distance classes modality, and all that this implies for carry it out. The culture of innovation has allowed us to be flexible, adapt and have a very fast implementation speed. With a lot effort, understanding the differences between a virtual class and a face-to-face one, We have been able to adapt the face-to-face classes and thus meet our academic schedules. When we are in times of change what has been very important is to maintain a constant communication with all collaborators, teachers. This has allowed us to cope with the situation, the uncertainty and the very measures that the Government implementing over the days and this has become a constant. We are all constantly thinking how adapt, then we validate the ideas, and then implement them. Sure, as always when something is implemented new is subject to improvement. Even more so, when we go out to implement something new in the shortest time, one must always follow up and control to go adjusting and improving.
Communication at all levels
It is difficult to lead (setting goals in this scenario of crisis), execute the necessary changes with excellence, and at the same time be communicating and available for all doubts that arise in the collaborators, clients, suppliers, shareholders and others. But we know that as leaders we must do. This is why creating communication mechanisms on all fronts, define the people who should do it and the topics to communicate day by day is important. Then define who will be in charge prepare these communications and ensure that you are aware of all changes and the reasons for them. What I am doing is that a member Communications is permanently in my meetings, in this way Communications is permanently in my meetings, in this way This allowed us from the first moment to have a direct and clear communication with all our stakeholders. Through our crisis committee, we have been meeting every day to review the progress of our changes, we analyze the main indicators and take action defining priorities of the day, as well as defining who is in charge.
We being an institution of higher education, our great goal is the academic continuity of all our students. This is why we anticipate the measures that the Government took with compulsory social immobilization, and we were the first university in Peru to announce that we would start with all the classes in virtual format. On the other hand, we implement a series of support measures, both for our students and our teachers, allowing them to face this crisis, in as much as possible. We have organized this comprehensive help plan into 3 fronts: financial aid, technical support and academic support.
On the side of our collaborators, through Human Resources, we have maintained constant communication about labor procedures and the modalities that we should follow, respecting the provisions of the Government. Even from the health side, we developed a prevention and a protocol of care for confirmed cases with COVID-19.
Leader visibility
Since the period of social isolation began, and as leader of the UPC, I made live broadcasts to all collaborators and teachers through of our social network Workplace, in which I commented daily on our main advances on every front. I was also able to interact directly with all collaborators and I was able to absolve all the doubts and concerns they had about this juncture. A very effective way to allay fears, reduce tensions due to uncertainty and knowing their needs closely. These transmissions are also recorded for that those collaborators who could not connect in alive.
Maintain the quality of service
It is a moment to demonstrate to your clients and your stakeholders the importance that they have in all the decisions we make in the short, medium and long term. An organization may postpone its strategies, but never cut or decrease the levels of quality in the service. What else we have to ensure that we are complying with our value proposition, not only with our external clients, but also with our clients interns who are our collaborators. Only then can we build links affective in the long term that allow us to establish ourselves as a love brand.
Finally, it is very important to take care of the variables that impact the customer satisfaction, and financial health, including cash flow. Generate scenarios, understand what the impact will be and see how we counteract the impact. This special juncture nobody imagined it, however, let’s look at it as a great learning opportunity that allows us to see how prepared we are to face crises with leadership, creativity and innovation and closeness.
Finally, I would love for this to be a learning forum. I invite you for everyone to share their good experiences in the comments. Thank you very much.
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